Chapter 6: My Female Friends Are Super Excited About the School Festival

“It’s finally here! Minato, Ruka, are you ready?!”

“Ready?”

“What were we even talking about?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot! We’re talking about preparations for the school festival, the school festival!”

“Oh, right.”

“I see…”

At Hazuki’s words, Minato and Serina, who had been lost in a kiss, finally parted.

Today, everyone had gathered in Hazuki’s room.

Since Minato had been staying over at Hazuki’s place often lately, they tended to meet here more than at his house.

Though Minato and Serina started with their usual kiss, they weren’t gathered today just to fool around—there was another purpose.

“But, come to think of it, we still need to take off our clothes.”

“Yeah, it’s actually perfect timing.”

“Hm? Clothes? Aren’t we supposed to take them off anyway?”

“Normally, you keep them on. When you hang out with friends, you’re usually fully dressed, you know.”

Hazuki shot Minato a glare.

All three of them understood that the friendship they’d built was a bit different from the norm.

“Now that you mention it, didn’t you two bring something with you?”

Besides their school bags, Hazuki and Serina had each brought a large paper bag today.

“What’re you playing dumb for? It’s the outfits for the school festival, obviously.”

“Oh…”

Though Minato had heard they were discussing the school festival, he had no clue what they were actually doing.

The moment he heard the three of them were meeting up, his mind instinctively jumped to that.

“But, it feels a bit embarrassing… There were other options for our class’s booth, weren’t there…?”

“What’re you talking about, Ruka?”

Hazuki stood up, clenching her fists.

“A maid café is totally awesome!”

“Sigh… So it’s settled on a maid café, huh.”

Serina seemed a bit dissatisfied.

According to Murokumi High’s schedule, the school festival was set for late November.

Minato’s class planned to run a stall at the festival.

With Hazuki’s outgoing clique in the class, there was no way they’d settle for a simple display.

Everyone knew they’d go all out with a stall.

The stall’s theme? A maid café.

Exactly as it sounds—a café where the girls dress as maids to serve customers.

“Hmm, a maid café, huh… In this day and age, a maid café feels pretty cliché.”

“Minato, don’t you start complaining too. Even if we wanted to do something unique for the festival, the school would never approve.”

“That’s true.”

Schools these days were overly sensitive to societal backlash due to compliance issues.

In the end, they could only do something conventional.

“To be honest, we did consider a cosplay café.”

“Isn’t that basically the same as a maid café?”

“You’re too shallow, Ruka. A cosplay café wouldn’t just have maids—it could include bunny girls, nurses, miniskirt police officers, way sexier outfits!”

“If we went with a cosplay café, I might’ve had to transfer schools…”

“You hate it that much?”

Her words shocked Hazuki.

Serina had come to Murokumi High for some complicated reasons.

But it seemed she’d rather give up on this school than participate in a cosplay café.

“But ‘cosplay’ is too broad a theme to unify, so we settled on a maid café.”

“Maids are cosplay too. Why bother specifying a maid café…?”

“Everyone secretly wants to try cosplay. Sure, cosplay isn’t rare these days, but doing it at school feels different, you know.”

“That ‘cosplay isn’t rare’ mindset is such a popular kid thing to say…”

Minato felt resistant to that idea.

Cosplay was something to watch online or on TV, not something he’d actually do himself.

“Don’t call us popular kids. People cosplay at karaoke booths too, right? And don’t they dress up casually for Halloween or Christmas?”

“No way, I’d never do that. Now that you mention it, I remember when we hung out with your group in the summer, you guys were cosplaying at karaoke…”

Hazuki and Honami Mai had dressed up as anime characters to sing.

That said, it was just throwing on a jacket, a wig, or bunny ears—stuff like that.

Maybe that could be called “casual” cosplay.

“That was too half-baked. I want to do it properly at least once. So, while a mix of costumes would be cool, I think focusing on maids is better.”

“Maids… maids, huh.”

“What’s wrong, Ruka? Do you hate maids that much? I think the exposure is way less than a bunny girl outfit, and it’s easier to pull off.”

“Comparing it to a bunny girl is already a problem… The school would never allow that.”

“No way they would.”

The worst-case scenario would be the whole class getting scolded by the teachers.

“No, it’s not that I hate maids… It’s just embarrassing…”

“……?”

Minato let out an “Hm?” feeling something was off.

Serina gave a wry smile and shook her head—but the gesture seemed a bit unnatural.

It seemed she had some issue with the maid café.

But it was already obvious that the shy Serina would have reservations.

“Serina, if you have any thoughts, you can share them, you know?”

“Uh, um… It’s fine if Aoi-san and the others want to be maids, but…”

Serina frantically waved her hands.

“W-Why do only the girls have to dress up? The boys could too, like in butler outfits or something…”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about.”

Minato had an epiphany.

It made sense that Serina would care about this. But—

“That wasn’t decided by the boys, you know? It’s not like the boys chose this just to see the girls in maid outfits. The decision came from Hazuki’s clique.”

“It’s only because the class president told me to decide.”

Hazuki flashed a bright smile as she said this.

In fact, the situation unfolded exactly as Hazuki described.

During class discussions, everyone argued endlessly, unable to reach a consensus.

With so many outgoing popular kids eager to plan the event, their enthusiasm made it hard to agree.

So the class president handed the reins to the class leader, Hazuki.

Basically, they dumped the whole thing on her.

Hazuki took on the task without hesitation and quickly came to a conclusion.

The final decision: a maid café.

The girls would dress as maids to serve customers, while the boys would transform the classroom into a café and handle backstage work on the day.

The task assignments were decided swiftly, with almost no objections.

Without a doubt, Hazuki’s leadership far surpassed the class president’s.

“Aoi-san, isn’t it tough for the boys to handle all the decorating? Some people raised that concern during discussions…”

“And didn’t Hazuki say, ‘Then let’s have the boys do cosplay instead’? That was terrifying.”

So the boys unanimously agreed to take on the decorating work.

With Hazuki and her group’s personalities, it was impossible to imagine doing any cool cosplay.

They’d definitely force the boys into something bizarre.

Some of the popular athletic boys resisted especially hard.

They didn’t mind being funny, but they absolutely didn’t want to be a laughingstock.

It seemed popular kids had a lot of pride.

If Minato had to choose between troublesome backstage work and dressing up in cosplay to be a laughingstock, he’d be torn. But—

“Hmm, we’re probably better off doing the grunt work…”

“Don’t call it grunt work. It sounds like we’re forcing you.”

“No, I mean, compared to being in the spotlight, backstage work is better. Being a laughingstock is one thing, but bombing the vibe would be awful.”

“Minato, you’re surprisingly sensitive about weird stuff.”

“Wallflowers can be pretty prideful too, you know.”

If you were a popular kid, even if you bombed, you might turn it into a laugh, but Minato and his kind weren’t that skilled.

“Hm, it’s probably safer to have the girls be maids. The customers might be looking forward to it too.”

After all, their class had beauties like Hazuki, Serina, and Honami.

Compared to having the boys cosplay, high school girl maids would definitely be more popular.

“And since the girls aren’t against it, there’s no issue.”

“I don’t recall agreeing to be a maid… Somehow, I just ended up having to dress up…”

“Don’t be silly. If Ruka doesn’t dress up, other classes will complain.”

“N-No way that’s true…?”

Sadly, it was true.

No, Minato didn’t find it sad at all. He really wanted to see Serina dressed as a maid.

“This isn’t just our class’s issue anymore. If Serina doesn’t become a maid, in the worst case, the whole school might riot.”

“N-No matter how you look at it, that’s impossible!”

“It’s true, it’s true. Ruka needs to realize how popular she is.”

It was unclear whether Hazuki, saying this, recognized her own popularity or underestimated it.

How many customers would Hazuki draw as a maid?

The stalls were ranked by customer votes, so their class taking first place wasn’t a pipe dream.

“Well, the outfits are already prepared, so we just have to go for it.”

“No choice… It’s too late to back out now…”

The girls’ outfits were prepared by the whole class.

They were purchased using the class’s festival budget.

But some bold individuals apparently had “their own cosplay outfits.”

As for why they owned maid outfits—that was a question better left unasked.

“But, even with maid outfits, there are all kinds, right?”

“You know your stuff, Minato.”

“Yeah “

“Well, maids show up in games a lot.”

Classic black-and-white, long-skirted maid outfits.

Miniskirt maid outfits common in Akihabara maid cafés.

Beyond that, maid outfits weren’t limited to black and white—there were red, pink, and all sorts of colors.

In games, those outfits were often special costumes unlocked after meeting certain conditions.

For an otaku like Minato, they were all too familiar.

“First, me and Ruka will try on the outfits and take pictures. You know what to do, right, Minato?”

“Yep.”

Hazuki had somehow gotten her hands on maid outfits.

The paper bags contained those clothes.

It was only natural that Hazuki and Serina were chosen as the try-on models.

“So, Hazuki, Serina, what kind of maid outfits are you wearing?”

“You’ll see soon enough—stay tuned! ♡”

“P-Please don’t laugh at me, okay?”

Hazuki shed her open white blouse, then her checkered miniskirt.

Her panties were black, her slender thighs dazzlingly fair.

Serina also removed her white blouse, then her slightly longer skirt.

Her bra and panties were white silk.

“All right~ That’s all for the stripping show.”

“Y-Yeah. I’d rather you see us in the outfits.”

“Ah~ Got it.”

Though Minato wanted to keep admiring their bras and panties, they were right.

Instead of watching them change piece by piece, it was better to see them fully dressed as maids.

“B-But… if it doesn’t take too long, before that…”

“Uh, um… want to… play with our chests…?”

Hazuki and Serina leaned forward in front of Minato, showing their cleavage—then slightly pulled down their bras, revealing their cute nipples.

Their small, pink areolas and perky nipples were outrageously erotic.

Of course, Minato had no reason to refuse—

With two female friends letting him do as he pleased, today was, as always, incredible.

After thoroughly savoring their cute nipples, getting a chest service from Hazuki and a mouth service from Serina…

Minato went to Hazuki’s living room, passing time on his phone—

“Minato, we’re ready~!”

“S-Sorry for the wait!”

Their voices came from Hazuki’s room, so Minato got up and headed back.

What he saw there was—

“H-How’s this? I look pretty good, right~?”

“I-It’s still so embarrassing… The most embarrassing part is probably Minato-kun seeing me…”

“…This is amazing.”

Minato stared at them, dumbfounded.

“Hehe, right? You’re honest, huh.”

Hazuki was wearing a miniskirt maid outfit.

The skirt was so short it couldn’t get any shorter, paired with thigh-high stockings.

The neckline was low, her cleavage clearly visible.

“P-Please don’t keep staring…”

Serina wore a classic long-skirted maid outfit.

Her black hair was styled in twin braids, and the white headband suited her perfectly.

“Uh… c-could you both maybe show me your panties too…?”

“Idiot! That’s the first thing you say?!”

“Minato-kun’s still as interested in our panties as ever…”

Minato had seen every inch of Hazuki and Serina’s bodies.

Even so, he’d still beg on his knees to admire his two cute female friends’ panties.

That determination would probably never change.

“L-Like this…? Even for me, this pose is embarrassing, you know.”

Hazuki got on her hands and knees, sticking out her hips.

The simple motion lifted her short skirt, faintly revealing white panties.

It seemed she’d changed her panties while getting dressed.

“Th-Then, like this… is this okay?”

Serina stood, lifting the hem of her long-skirted maid outfit.

The sexy garter stockings suited the pure Serina surprisingly well.

She’d also changed into new panties—pink ones.

“This is unreal~ It’s too perfect… But Hazuki, with a skirt that short, won’t it show easily?”

“Y-Yeah, on the actual day, I’ll wear safety shorts, of course.”

“R-Right… With a skirt that short, regular panties are probably a bad idea.”

As for Serina, though she’d shyly show Minato her panties anytime, that didn’t mean she liked exposing them. She was actually quite cautious.

“So, what can I say? You’re hopeless. This is a special service just for Minato ♡ Miniskirt maid panties… take a look ♡”

“The only one who gets to see long-skirt maid panties… is my friend Minato-kun ♡”

“…”

“Eek, hey, so fast! ♡”

“Noo! ♡ I-It’s fine to do it… b-but you can’t dirty the outfits! ♡”

Unable to hold back, Minato pounced, hugging them both.

Hazuki and Serina laughed as they fell to the floor.

Of course, it wasn’t because Minato forced them down—they playfully collapsed on their own.

“Geez, you’re too eager! ♡”

“Eek, my skirt flipped up again… ♡”

Hazuki lay face-down, her hips facing Minato.

Serina lay on her back, her long skirt lifted to reveal her panties.

“Listen, you two. Just… just once…”

“I knew you’d say that… This time, really just once, okay? ♡”

“The first time… um… we can’t dirty the outfits, so you have to wear one… But after taking it off, you can do it directly… As many times as you want after… ♡”

“O-Okay…”

Minato swallowed hard.

He couldn’t believe he’d get to do it with both of them at once.

And today, Hazuki and Serina were both in maid outfits.

“Doing it with two maid friends at the same time… This is too perfect.”

“You keep saying everything’s perfect.”

“W-What’s with ‘maid friends’… No, I guess that’s accurate.”

Hazuki and Serina gave wry smiles, their faces flushed.

“It’s seriously perfect. So let me take a closer look… at my maid friends’ panties.”

To get a better view of Hazuki’s hips and Serina’s panties, Minato plopped down on the floor.

Faced with his two cute female friends’ insanely erotic cosplay outfits, doing nothing wasn’t an option.

“Oh, if you’re wearing one… I could do it again… No, as many times as you want…”

“Aoi-san, you’re backtracking way too fast… F-Fine, if it gets dirty, we can wash it… So it’s okay without one ♡”

“Ruka, you’re backtracking too. Geez, you spoil Minato too much… Letting him go without one… ♡”

“Aoi-san, you’re the same! Didn’t you say as long as he wears one, he can do it as many times as he wants… ♡”

Hazuki lay face-down, raising her hips high, her white panties faintly visible, showing off her full, elastic curves to Minato.

Serina lay on her back, gripping the hem of her long skirt and pulling it up, revealing her pink panties.

No one could resist such a scene—

“Alright, today, no protection—please let me do whatever I want!”

“Geez, Minato, you’re way too excited about maids… Fine, just for today, we can start without one ♡”

“I-I’ll make sure to wash both mine and Aoi-san’s… So go ahead and make as big a mess as you want… ♡”

Both female friends were blushing furiously but smiling happily.

It seemed that, with outfits different from usual, today’s after-school games would be even more thrilling than ever.

—

“So, today, let’s decide the general direction for the maid café.”

“…”

The day after the maid outfit reveal, during afternoon classes—

The class held a meeting to prepare for the school festival, allowing everyone to discuss freely.

Standing at the podium was Aoi Hazuki.

“Alright, everyone, please share your opinions!”

Next to Hazuki stood Honami Mai.

It seemed she’d volunteered to take notes.

On the blackboard, written in slightly messy but beautiful handwriting, was “Maid Café Operating Policy.”

Could it be that Honami Mai wasn’t just smart but had also studied calligraphy or something?

Minato wondered this as he sat obediently at his desk.

He had no intention of raising his hand to speak—not because he lacked enthusiasm.

The other boys were similar, seeming uninterested in joining the discussion.

The maid café was already being led by the girls in the class.

Even the athletic popular boys didn’t dare interject easily.

Since it was, in a way, pretty relaxing, Minato just wanted to sit back and watch.

“First, has everyone seen the photos sent to the class LINE group this morning?”

Hazuki slightly raised her phone.

Most of the class followed suit, pulling out their phones to check the screens.

Minato opened the LINE group and looked at the photos.

“…”

Aoi Hazuki in a miniskirt maid outfit.

Serina Ruka in a long-skirted maid outfit.

Hazuki stood tall, confidently flashing a victory sign.

Serina also stood straight, hands clasped in front, smiling shyly.

They stood so rigidly to show off the full maid outfits.

Otherwise, Hazuki would’ve posed more dynamically.

“As you can see, these are photos of me and Ruka—Serina-san—trying on the maid outfits. Both are super cute. Though it’s a bit conceited to say that myself.”

Hazuki’s comment made the popular girls burst into laughter.

It wasn’t particularly funny, but popular kids laughed when they felt like it.

“But—looking at these two maid outfits, I think we need to make a decision.”

Minato muttered to himself that it was heading this way, as expected.

Of course, he was the one who took the photos of Hazuki and Serina.

And those were the tamest ones.

His laptop was filled with provocative maid photos that could only be stored on his home hard drive.

Though it was hard to say whether those were maid photos, lingerie photos, or nude photos…

Anyway, that morning, he’d sent the two least problematic photos to the class LINE group, which everyone was part of.

A certain refined, long-haired girl had protested, “I get that we had to share photos, but at least put a mosaic over our faces…”

But adding a mosaic would ruin the photos’ vibe, so the idea was shot down, and Serina reluctantly agreed.

Plenty of boys were thrilled to legally get photos of Hazuki and Serina, the class’s pride and joy.

That wasn’t a big deal.

The bigger issue was—

“So, for the maid café’s operating policy, we have two options!”

As Hazuki spoke, Honami turned and scribbled on the blackboard with chalk.

Classic British Style

Modern Party Style

The white chalk spelled out these two phrases.

“So, which kind of maid café should our class choose?!”

The class was divided on which style to pick for the maid café’s outfits.

The division came down to the maid outfits.

The flashy, colorful party-style maid café suited Hazuki’s miniskirt maid outfit.

The traditional British-style maid café suited Serina’s long-skirted maid outfit.

In short, the issue was what vibe to give the café’s interior—that’s where opinions clashed.

“But, Aoi, no matter what we choose, we can’t make super elaborate decorations, right?”

“Whether we go all out with the cliché ‘moe moe kyun~’ maid vibe or have refined maids gently say, ‘Welcome home, master,’ it’s totally different. We need to nail down the core concept.”

“Oh, got it.”

Hazuki answered Honami’s question, who was taking notes.

It seemed the clever Honami had preemptively asked the question others in the class might have.

The two styles were indeed completely different—not just the skirt length of the maid outfits but also the decorations. So they had to decide soon.

Even the boys couldn’t stay out of it.

“It’s gotta be the miniskirt maid outfits, right? If we go too serious, it’ll scare off customers. Everyone’s already in uniforms and miniskirts, so that’s fine, yeah?”

“Hold on, this is a school festival. Instead of a party-kid café, we should make a legit British-style maid café to learn about their culture, right?”

Suddenly, Hazuki’s clique and the studious girls clashed.

From there, the girls quickly split into two factions, arguing.

“…”

Minato glanced at Azusa Kotone.

She was his first female friend, and though they’d grown distant a few months ago, their friendship had recently recovered.

Azusa gave a wry smile, seemingly uninterested in joining the debate.

Of course, some in the class stayed neutral, but with two strong factions, it was hard to remain a bystander.

Minato was a bit worried about Azusa—but it seemed he didn’t have the bandwidth to focus on others right now.

“We’ve got Aoi Hazuki in our class! A more open vibe will let Aoi shine, right?”

“Hold on. You’re not forgetting Serina Ruka, are you? A quiet café with a beautiful black-haired maid serving tea—that’s the best!”

Before they knew it, Hazuki and Serina were being pushed as the leaders of the two factions.

It felt like Minato and the other boys had less and less room to speak.

“U-Um…”

Serina raised her hand and stood up.

In an instant, all eyes in the classroom focused on her. Though she seemed a bit nervous, she spoke—

“I think… this isn’t something worth fighting over… I’m sorry, but personally, I don’t mind going with the modern, party-kid style… or something like that…”

“No way, Ruka.”

“Huh, no way?”

“If you say something like that, what about the girls who are firmly set on the other side?”

“W-Well…”

The “other side” Hazuki referred to seemed to be the girls supporting the British style.

“Besides, you can’t just give in so easily. This is a class event—we need to discuss until we reach a consensus everyone can accept.”

“Huh…”

Hazuki’s words left Serina a bit flustered.

That was only natural, as Serina was the type to avoid conflict rather than stand her ground.

But since the discussion had already started, Hazuki’s point made sense.

“We might only get this one chance in our lives to run a maid café at school. So we’ve got to hash it out thoroughly!”

Hazuki was unusually passionate.

Or rather, she seemed like the type who enjoyed the process of debating.

“Geez, that Hazuki…” Minato muttered under his breath.

Honestly, whether it was the party-kid style or the British style, Minato didn’t care either way.

For the boys handling backstage work, it only meant different types of decorations or signs—the workload and difficulty were about the same.

But he knew if he said that out loud, the girls seriously discussing it would give him the stink eye.

“Sigh, Minato. How do you think this’ll turn out?” a boy next to him whispered.

“Whatever happens… time’s running out. I just wish they’d decide soon.”

“You’re so chill. But you’re not wrong.”

The manual labor would mostly fall to the boys.

If the discussion dragged on too long without settling on a direction, they’d never start the work.

In the end, they’d be left with no time, rushing to finish everything.

“No idea who’ll win. Minato, who’re you betting on?”

“I’m not betting on anyone. Hazuki’s clique is small but full of loud, attention-grabbing people.”

From Minato’s perspective, most of the party-kid style supporters were from Hazuki’s group.

They were only six or seven people, but each had a strong voice.

“It feels like Serina’s side has the numbers advantage. In other words, it’s a close match.”

“Seems that way.”

The boy nodded, and Minato agreed.

Besides Hazuki’s clique, there were about twelve or thirteen other girls in the class.

Most of them seemed to lean toward the understated but elegant British style.

Above all, they were apparently moved by Serina’s pure, long-skirted maid outfit.

Today, the classroom was abuzz with girls talking about it.

“Come to think of it, this feels like a showdown between Hazuki and Serina…”

Hazuki’s clique admired her flashy miniskirt maid outfit, while the other girls were drawn to Serina’s pure, long-skirted one.

Which of these two would take the lead for the class’s maid café—

In simple terms, that was the crux of the issue.

“A one-on-one duel between the two. Wonder how it’ll end?”

“Do your best, Minato.”

“Huh? What’s that got to do with me…?”

Mid-sentence, he suddenly realized it might actually be true.

It was common knowledge that Minato and Hazuki were close.

Recently, the whole class also knew he was close with Serina.

“What’s everyone expecting from me…?” Minato mumbled to himself.

At this rate, he might end up having to mediate between the two opposing factions.

—

That evening at Hazuki’s place—

Of course, Minato was still staying at Hazuki’s house.

Today, it was just him and Hazuki alone in the house.

Dinner was white rice and miso soup prepared by Minato, plus some ready-made dishes from the supermarket.

Afterward, the two lounged around in the living room with nothing to do.

“Mmm… ugh…”

Hazuki was doing stretches to aid digestion.

Not only was she athletic, but her body was incredibly flexible.

She sat on the floor with her legs spread wide, pressing her torso flat against the ground, showcasing her remarkable flexibility.

“Can’t believe you can bend your body like that.”

“What’re you marveling at? Wanna try, Minato? You look pretty stiff.”

“No way I could do a 180-degree leg split like you…”

Hazuki casually spread her legs almost in a straight line—something most people could barely manage.

“You could do it with daily stretches. You’re just not active enough, Minato.”

“If you’re not in a club, this is normal. You’re the one who’s too active, Hazuki.”

Though she ate whatever she wanted, Hazuki worked hard to maintain her stunning figure.

She was wearing a bright pink tank top and black safety shorts.

The tank top revealed deep cleavage, and the tight shorts clearly outlined her hips.

Whenever she bent forward to touch the floor, even more of her cleavage came into view.

Though Minato desperately wanted to bury his face in that cleavage, acting too eager felt tacky, so he held back.

“But didn’t you just eat? Isn’t it bad to do intense exercise right after?”

“That’s exactly why I’m moving—to help digestion. Besides, I didn’t eat that much.”

“Oh… I really miss Serina’s cooking.”

Hazuki felt the same. Whenever Serina cooked, she always ate more than usual.

“Ugh, I don’t hate instant food or anything. But if I saw you start making fried rice or curry, I’d get anxious.”

“No need to get anxious. By the way~ I can make ham and eggs too.”

“H-Ham and eggs…?! When did you learn an intermediate dish like that?”

Hazuki’s face twisted in surprise, but even that expression was cute.

“It’s not even low-intermediate. It’s the most basic of basics.”

Minato could make ham and eggs without any special practice.

But he thought of it as a breakfast dish, and since he was too lazy to cook in the morning, he’d never had a chance to show Hazuki.

“You can even make ham and eggs in the microwave.”

(Illustration 010)

“I don’t approve of that method. If you’re not using oil in a frying pan, it’s not cooking!”

“You don’t cook at all, so where’s this conviction coming from…?”

Minato still couldn’t fully grasp Hazuki’s logic.

“But yeah, Ruka’s cooking is seriously delicious.”

“That creamy pan-fried salmon she made last time was insane. What kind of upbringing teaches you to cook like that…?”

“You can’t get that kind of food at fast food joints or convenience stores.”

“Honestly, I’d love to eat Serina’s cooking every day.”

“And eat Ruka too, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, that slender figure is addictive—no, wait! I really just want to eat Serina’s cooking every day.”

“Hm, that’s true. By the way, Minato, aren’t you going to learn cooking from Ruka again?”

“I was planning to, but I haven’t found the chance.”

“Can’t you just ask her anytime?”

“That’s what I thought.”

Even if Minato wanted to learn, Serina would just say, “If you want to eat, I’ll cook for you.”

So, for now, Minato’s cooking skills remained limited.

“Ruka probably prefers cooking for others herself rather than teaching. She’s just super nurturing.”

“That’s the reason? Well, no matter how hard I try, I’ll never match Serina’s cooking, so it’s better if she cooks for me.”

“Asking someone to sleep with you and cook for you—that’s called being a kept man—”

“No, no, we’re just friends! My female friends!”

But Minato kind of felt that way too, so he hurriedly denied it.

He realized anew that relying too much on others for cooking wasn’t good.

Though asking them to sleep with him was something he couldn’t seem to quit.

“But Ruka can’t cook for you every day.”

Hazuki, who had no intention of learning to cook, nodded in agreement.

“Come to think of it~ It’s such a luxury to eat food cooked by a cute girl like Ruka. And in your case, Minato, you get to eat with Ruka.”

“Don’t loop back to that topic…”

“Compared to me, aren’t you more excited about Ruka in a maid outfit?”

“Ugh…”

Hazuki grinned mischievously, teasing Minato’s crotch with her foot as he sat on the sofa.

“Hey, hey…”

“Whoa, it’s already like this… Getting excited from being stepped on? Are you a pervert, Minato?”

“A-Any stimulation would do this…”

“Oh~ So is Ruka in a maid outfit more stimulating?”

“You’re still on that topic?”

“It’s because~ after we took those maid outfit photos, we did it with you, didn’t we?”

Hazuki glared at Minato while continuing to tease him with her foot.

“I used protection twice, Ruka went without twice, and used her mouth twice. But Aoi-san knows. While I was taking a quick five-minute shower, you used this naughty boy one more time, didn’t you?”

“H-How did you know…?!”

“How many times do you think I’ve done it with you? I can tell just from the vibe. Oh, but the number of those didn’t go down, so the extra time was with her mouth, right?”

“N-No, how do I put it… straight in?”

“…Ruka really lets you go in raw so easily… No wonder she’s done it more times than me. No surprise Minato-kun’s little Minato is so excited.”

“Ugh…”

Hazuki pressed harder on little Minato with her foot.

It didn’t hurt much, but it felt so good he was about to burst.

“Next time, I’ll try a long skirt~”

“Oh, that’d be great.”

“Idiot, dummy. But wouldn’t pure clothes like that not suit me?”

“No, I’d love to do it with a pure Hazuki…”

“S-See, I knew it! Fine, I already know that’s just your flattery.”

Hazuki finally moved her foot away from Minato’s crotch.

Then, with a plop, she sat next to him and kissed him.

“Mmm, chu… By the way~ Does cosplay really get you that excited?”

“O-Of course… That’s why our class is doing a maid café, right?”

Minato pulled Hazuki onto his lap, facing each other and holding her close.

He continued kissing her while enjoying the sensation of her G-cup chest pressing against him.

“Th-Then… how about I wear other cosplay outfits as a thank-you for staying here? A little special service for you.”

“Hm~ How about a bunny girl?”

“You really went straight for a costume that screams sex appeal. Eek, hey!”

As Minato made the suggestion, he tugged at the neckline of her tank top, exposing Hazuki’s chest.

Her heavy, full breasts spilled out, revealing cute pink nipples.

“Noo~ You want to touch my chest that bad?”

“I want to touch them like crazy.”

“…Fine, touch them as much as you want. But first, kiss me again.”

“Okay…”

Minato kissed Hazuki softly while touching her bare chest.

“Ah, ahh, mmm… A-Almost… time to hit the bed, right? Or should we shower first…?”

“Hmm… Let’s do it once in the bathroom, then on the bed… I’ll wear one, so can I ask for something? Just the miniskirt one—I want to see you in the maid outfit again…”

“Geez~ That maid outfit’s actually pretty tight and tiring to wear… T-Today, max two times, okay?”

“Only two times…?”

“Don’t look so disappointed~ Geez, what am I gonna do with you. Chu.”

Hazuki kissed Minato with a troubled expression.

“I don’t feel like moving, so use my mouth or chest however you want…”

“For real? Alright, Hazuki, lie down, and let me use your chest.”

“I-I can use my chest to, you know, squeeze you…”

As Hazuki said this, she pressed her nipples toward Minato’s face.

“Whoa!”

At that moment, Hazuki let out a yelp.

Her phone, sitting on the living room table, suddenly buzzed.

“S-Sorry, hold on.”

“Okay.”

Hazuki picked up the phone.

“Huh? It’s Ruka.”

“A phone call? At this hour?”

“Right? We usually just use LINE… Hang on, I’ll take it. Hello~”

Minato gestured, “Should I step out?” but Hazuki waved with a smile, signaling, “It’s fine to stay.”

Even if it was a mutual friend, it was polite not to eavesdrop on their conversation during a call.

Of course, with Hazuki’s straightforward personality, she didn’t care much about that.

“…”

Minato felt a bit nervous.

Hazuki and Serina were clashing a bit over the maid café’s direction.

It wasn’t a real fight, so it wasn’t surprising that Serina would call. But…

“Oh, yeah. I was just teasing Minato. This guy said he wants to see Ruka in a bunny girl outfit.”

“I didn’t say that—well, I do want to see it.”

Minato muttered his retort quietly to avoid interrupting Hazuki’s call.

That pure, dark-haired beauty would absolutely rock a provocative bunny girl outfit.

Her chest wasn’t as small as she thought, so it wouldn’t look flat in the costume.

“Yeah, yeah, next time, let’s forget about festival outfits. You know, we can’t wear anything too revealing at school.”

She was right—Hazuki’s maid skirt was short, but that was the limit.

The cleavage-revealing outfit was just barely within the acceptable range.

Besides cleavage, Minato, of course, wanted to see more provocative cosplay outfits.

He didn’t want other guys seeing Hazuki and Serina in those, but if it was just the three of them, he’d be all for it.

“Mhm, mhm… Huh? Oh, oh, is that so?”

“……?”

Hazuki’s tone shifted.

Her voice sounded a bit puzzled.

“Got it, I’ll tell Minato. Hahaha, you don’t have to refuse that hard.”

Hazuki hung up with a wry smile.

“What’s up? You guys mentioned me, right?”

“Yeah, Ruka’s at the entrance hall of our apartment building now.”

“Huh? At this hour?”

It was almost 8 p.m.

It wasn’t exactly a time for high school girls to be out wandering—maybe not that extreme, but a refined girl like Serina shouldn’t be out this late.

“That’s kinda dangerous… She’s so oblivious, it’s worrying.”

“But Ruka’s house is nearby. Maybe she just decided to drop by on a whim?”

“We should still warn her. Oh, so she’s coming here?”

“She wants to meet at your place and asked if I could lend you to her for a bit.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

For Ruka to consult Hazuki first instead of contacting Minato directly—

That said, since Minato was staying at Hazuki’s to look out for her while she lived alone, it made sense that she’d want Hazuki’s permission first.

That was typical of the meticulous Serina.

“She probably wants to do it with you alone tonight. You sometimes do it with me privately, but lately, it’s been the three of us together, right?”

“Yeah, yeah… Like kissing you while doing it with Serina, or sucking Serina’s chest while doing it with you… It’s just too good.”

“Saying it out loud makes it sound like you’re living way too luxuriously…”

“…I’ve got no defense.”

Enjoying the bodies of two beautiful girls at once was an extravagance beyond belief.

Though it had become his normal routine, it was undeniably a dreamlike situation.

“But you’re right—maybe I should spend some quality time alone with Serina… No, no, she’s not necessarily coming to do that!”

“Hahaha, true. Mhm ♡”

Hazuki kissed Minato and said:

“She’s probably here to talk about the festival, right? She can’t exactly say that stuff to me, her ‘rival.’ How interesting.”

“What’s interesting about it…?”

“I’m curious which side you’ll end up on, Minato.”

“…”

Hazuki gave Minato a meaningful look, sending a shiver through him.

Minato suddenly realized that in groups of three or more friends, situations like this sometimes arise.

If two of them clash, the remaining member can’t just stay a bystander.

Whether it’s same-sex or opposite-sex friends, these kinds of issues seem to crop up.