2

The following Saturday.

It was time for my second date with Mashiro.

Since I was still short on money, I had to wear the exact same clothes for a third time. That was the other reason I needed a job, but I still couldn’t decide on one. I looked through several postings on recruitment websites and apps, but none of the options looked very enticing. Some jobs seemed fun, and others seemed like they could help me meet otaku girls, but none fit both of these descriptions.

After following Kokoro’s grooming advice, I left the house and reached the place where I was supposed to meet Mashiro, with a bit of time to spare.

“Oh, Ichigaya, there you are! Sorry to keep you waiting!” she chirped as she arrived.

“Hi! I... I just got here too!”

Seeing Mashiro in person after all this time—okay, it was just two weeks—made me pretty nervous.

She was wearing a white sailor dress, with her hair up in a side ponytail. Between the hem of the dress and her white knee-high socks there was only about an inch of exposed thigh, but boy what a beautiful inch it was.

Though I was currently sharing my home with an equally beautiful girl, Mashiro’s cutesy presentation was on another level.

She’s the embodiment of everything I look for in a girl... How could I leave her like that last time? This time, I have to make a good impression!

“Hm? Ichigaya? Is everything all right?” she asked.

“Oh, er, I’m just... I’m so sorry about last time! It was so rude of me to leave you like that...”

“D’aw, don’t worry about it! Let’s just have heaps and heaps of fun today, okay?”

“U-Uh, yes!” I replied, taken aback by the sheer power of her smile.

Why is she so good at making me fall in love with her?! Maybe she was serious when she said that she was looking forward to meeting me again...

“So... let’s head to the planetarium,” I said.

“Yaaay! I haven’t been there since grade school! I can’t wait!”

I’d texted her beforehand asking where she would like to go between the aquarium and the planetarium, and she’d chosen the latter.

After this part of our date, I was planning on taking Mashiro to Animate, so that I could learn more about her tastes like Kokoro had advised. That way, I could get even closer with her.

Of course, the best outcome would be finding out that her tastes really were the same as mine, but I was ready to accept whatever kind of otaku stuff she was into. And whatever that was, there was no way it could be worse than that deranged stuff that Kokoro drooled over.

We entered the planetarium and checked out the programming for the day.

“Let’s see...” I said. “We can watch Healing Through the Starry Sky or Summer Meteor Shower without waiting too long. The first one is ‘a relaxing show narrated by a famous voice actor,’ and the second is ‘an orchestral show with a soundtrack by a popular composer.’ Which one sounds better to you?”

“Can we watch Healing Through the Starry Sky? Can we, can we?!”

“Hm? Sure, of course...”

I personally didn’t mind either way, but I was surprised by how quickly she’d chosen.

“It says the narrator is Soichiro Umehara... Have you heard of him?” I asked her.

“You don’t know about him?!” she suddenly shouted, like she’d just stepped in something bad. “He’s the biggest male voice actor right now!”

“O-Oh, sorry, I just don’t know much about male voice actors,” I replied, startled by how much louder her voice had become.

Mashiro looked away shyly, her voice back to her usual squeak. “R-Right, of course! I actually only follow cute voice actresses too, mostly, but you know... I have a friend—that’s right!—a friend who loves voice actors, so I heard about him from her!”

“I see...” I said, relieved that she’d gone back to her usual calm, smiling face. The way she’d yelled at me had me worried that I’d accidentally said something rude, but thankfully that didn’t seem to be the case. I must have been imagining things.

I went to the counter and paid for two student tickets.

“Ah, Ichigaya, here...” Mashiro said, handing me the money for her ticket.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay for yours too! It’s the least I can do after what I did last time.”

This, too, was Kokoro’s idea.

“But it wasn’t that big of a deal... You don’t need to...” she said, blinking her large eyes at me.

“I insist!”

“R-Really? In that case... thank you!” she said with a cheerful smile.

I’d spend any amount of money just to see her smile again, I thought, remembering all the meals and gacha rolls I’d already had to skip just so I could afford this date.

We entered the projection room and took our seats next to each other.

I haven’t been to a planetarium in a while, but were the seats always so close together?!

If I moved my hand to the side even an inch, I could have touched Mashiro. What’s more, the seats were already reclined so that we were leaning backwards, meaning that this, essentially, was just like sleeping together.

My heart is going to jump out of my chest... Will I make it to the end of the show?

“Wooow, I can’t wait for it to start!” Mashiro said.

“Oh? R-Right, me neither!”

I looked over at her and saw that she was staring up at the ceiling, with a huge smile and sparkling eyes. I would never have guessed that she liked planetariums so much.

“I-It’s just because I haven’t been to a place like this in so long, you know?” she added nervously.

“Hm? O-Okay.”

Is it me or does she sound a bit strange?

The room finally darkened and the projection began, accompanied by the narrator’s voice.

Mashiro let out a little excited shout, surprising me. Even in the darkness, I could tell that she was holding a hand over her mouth.

Is she really so excited? I wonder what’s up with her... I thought, though she seemed to have noticed my gaze. She took her hand away from her mouth and went back to staring up at the ceiling. Puzzled, I fixed my eyes on the projection as well.

“That was so, sooo fun!” Mashiro said once the show was over.

“Y-Yeah, I’m su— it sure was!” I replied. To be honest, I’d not been getting enough sleep lately, so it was a struggle just trying to stay awake in there, but I decided not to mention it.

Whatever the case, I was happy that she hadn’t found it as boring as I had.

“I was thinking we could go to Animate next, since it’s close by... Would you like to?” I asked her.

“Aaah yes, I’d love to! That sounds wonderful!”

We left the Sunshine City complex and headed to the Animate just outside.

One of the books in the “recent releases” corner immediately caught my eye.

“The new volume’s out already?!” I exclaimed, taking the manga from the shelf.

“Oh, that’s that one with the anime that’s airing right now,” Mashiro said. “I’ve never read the manga, but the anime is great! You think so too, right?!”

“It really is! And the manga is just as good! I have all the volumes except this one, but... I think I’ll pass for today,” I said, putting the book back on the shelf. By now, I was close to being completely broke, so I just couldn’t afford it.

“But why?” Mashiro asked, curious.

“Well, I’m just... a little short on funds, you know? Haha... I’m looking for a part-time job, actually.”

“What?! But I even had you pay for my ticket! I-I’m so, so sorry!”

“No, no, that’s fine! Really!” I quickly replied, regretting opening my mouth.

“But maybe I can help! A part-time job, hmm... Oh! I know, I know! The company I work for is hiring part-timers right now!”

“What...?”

She works for a maid café, doesn’t she?

“But I’m a guy... I can’t work in a maid café,” I said.

“No no, I mean, the kitchen is mostly run by men!” she explained.

“Oh, I get it.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “That makes more sense.”

“The one I work at now is just a normal maid café, but the company is opening a new cat-maid café next week. All the maids wear cute kitty ears, and I get to move there! They needed someone who already had some experience to help the newbies. I’m so, sooo excited to be going there.”

“O-Oh...”

I’d never thought about working in a maid café’s kitchen, but that’s a brilliant idea! I’d be able to work in the same place as the beautiful Mashiro, and I’d also get to meet other cute otaku girls! N-Not that I want to... I mean, Mashiro’s my dream girl, after all...

Furthermore, since it’d only be part-time, I could always quit if I needed to.

“They’re looking for both men and women for this new place?” I asked.

“Yep yep! Girls to work as maids and boys to work in the kitchen.”

This also meant that I could suggest it to Kokoro. She’d be able to cosplay as a maid for work and even possibly meet otaku guys.

“Thanks for letting me know! I don’t know if I’ll get the job, but I’ll try applying.”

I’ve never worked before, so I’m kind of nervous, but it’s definitely going to be worth it! I can already imagine being surrounded by cute girls in maid outfits... Not that it matters as long as I get to see Mashiro!

“Really?! Yay! Working with Ichigaya would be the bestest thing ever!”

“M-Mashiro...!”

Just how happy is she going to make me?! Who could refuse after hearing something like that? I’ve got to be the luckiest guy alive... Anyway, for the time being, I need to do my best to get that job!

We continued browsing the new releases in Animate. The more I chatted with Mashiro, the happier I felt. She liked all the same titles as me, and she was shockingly knowledgeable about series which were supposed to be for guys.

I thought back to what Kokoro had told me earlier—that all otaku have something that they’re especially passionate about. I wanted to find out just what that was for Mashiro, but I was pretty much already convinced that what she was most passionate about was content for otaku boys...

But, before I could ask her directly, we were interrupted by someone shouting.

“Hey, Mariko!”

Mashiro, for some reason, turned around to look, and, curious, I did the same.

I saw the person who had shouted, a girl, who then proceeded to address Mashiro: “So it really was you! You’re here to preorder Soma’s new album, right?! Awaaah, we’ve been waiting so long for this! I just preordered my copy too!”

Look, I know I may not be one to talk, but this girl was the quintessential otaku. The glasses, the ponytail, the loud clothes, the rambling... and the most eye-catching detail of all: a shopping bag adorned with an extensive collection of character badges. It was an ita-bag, and a very unapologetic one at that.

Is this a friend of Mashiro’s? She sure has some hardcore otaku friends, huh. But... didn’t this girl just call her “Mariko”? What’s up with that? And who the hell is Soma?

“Huh?! N-No, I, er...!” Mashiro stammered, looking more nervous than I’d ever seen her.

The girl kept speaking, so loud and fast that I couldn’t even hear Mashiro. “I’m so glad I came here on the very first day! It was almost sold out already!”

Mashiro froze. “Almost sold out?” she asked the stranger, who I assumed was her friend.

“Hm? Yeah, I think they only had ten or so left. Wait... You don’t mean you haven’t preordered it yet?! You said you’d work extra hard so you could buy a dozen copies just for yourself!”

Preorder? Work extra hard? Huh?!

Mashiro, looking terrified, turned around to face me, as if she’d just remembered I was there. Flustered, she looked at me, then at her friend, then back at me.

“I-I’m so sorry! Do you mind if I go to the floor where they sell CDs for a second...?” she asked.

“Hm? Of course not, go ahead...” I replied, unable to understand what was going on.

“Oh? This guy’s a friend of yours, Mariko? Nice to mee—”

“Eeek!” Mashiro interrupted her friend as she was trying to talk to me. “N-Naoko, don’t call me by that nam— I mean, don’t call me by that weird nickname!”

“What? I’m just calling you by your n—”

“Eeeeek!” Mashiro let out a high-pitched squeak as she quickly hopped behind her friend, slapping a hand over her mouth.

What the hell? I’ve never seen Mashiro act like this...

“I’m sorry, Ichigaya! I-I just remembered I have something really important to do! D-Do you mind if we split for today?!”

“What? O-Oh, okay...” I instinctively replied, surprised by how intense she’d suddenly become.

“I’m really, really sorry! I’ll do something to apologize next time! Thank you so, so much for today!” she said, forcing a smile, but she was still obviously freaking out.

Still keeping a hand over her friend’s mouth, Mashiro dragged the poor girl up the stairs to the second floor.

I stood, alone and confused, in the middle of the store.

Mariko? Is that Mashiro’s real name? And what was that about a CD preorder? An album? Why was she freaking out like that? I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m pretty sure of one thing... Mashiro is hiding something from me.

I briefly considered sneakily following Mashiro to see what kind of CD she was trying to buy—since I wanted to know more about her tastes, of course. But that sounded like way too much of a headache, so I headed back home instead.

Around the same time I got on the train, I received a DM from her, apologizing for leaving like that. I immediately replied telling her she didn’t have to worry, since I’d pretty much done the exact same thing to her already.

I was disappointed, since I’d been planning on spending the whole day with her, maybe even having dinner together, but at least I could look forward to the possibility of working with her.

Still, I can’t help but wonder about what that friend of hers was saying. I’ve been calling her Mashiro all this time because that’s what’s on her Twitter account but... could her real name really be Mariko?

I already assumed that the CD they were talking about was the new album from a singer she liked, but I didn’t understand why she felt the need to hide something like that from me.

I got home, but Kokoro wasn’t there, so I had cup noodles for dinner and sat through some of the anime I’d recorded.

“I’m back!” Kokoro greeted me at around eight.

She said that she’d be out with friends today, right? What kind of gyaru comes back home by eight? Her parents must have been really protective for her to grow up like this.

“Oh, hi,” I said.

“So, how was your date?”

“It was fun. Mashiro really seems more and more like my ideal girl, but...”

“But what?”

“There’s something that bugs me...” I said, and explained to Kokoro what had happened at Animate.

“Then, they started talking about this new album, and Mashiro—I think her name is—went to preorder it, dragging her friend with her. That’s when our date ended.”

“And whose album was that?” Kokoro asked.

“Hm... It was a guy’s name. That’s all I remember.”

“You’re telling me you can’t even remember the most important part?!” Kokoro scolded me.

“I can’t help it! I was so confused by all that happening out of the blue!”

“Well, now we know that Gojo girl is a fan of this mystery musician, or idol, or voice actor—or whatever he is. But, like, she doesn’t want you to know about it.”

“You think so too?” I asked.

“If you find out who that artist is, it could be a chance to get even closer to her. The real her!”

“But she basically ran away... I didn’t even get the chance to ask her...”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway though, I think I get her a bit better now. Just as I thought, she’s also drooling after some otaku-industry hottie. Lining his pockets, as we all do,” Kokoro said.

“Don’t phrase it like that!”

I’d have been surprised to learn that Mashiro was into male idols, but that wouldn’t have lessened my opinion of her. I hoped that, on our next date, we could talk more honestly about her tastes.

“Oh, right! There’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about!” I said, suddenly remembering our mission. “Mashiro works at a maid café, right? The company that manages that café is opening a new place, and they’re looking for part-timers. Girls to work as maids, and boys to work in the kitchen.”

“A maid café...?” Kokoro asked, sounding interested.

“Why don’t we both apply? You could meet otaku guys there, and you’d also be able to cosplay for work, like you wanted to!” I suggested.

“Working while wearing a cute maid outfit does sound lovely, and I’m sure that I could meet guys too, but... I don’t think I could work in a maid café. The customers are almost all men, right? I don’t even have that many male friends... I’d probably be too nervous to talk with them...”

“You say that after applying for that modeling job?!”

“But that’s different! You just need to pose without saying anything! And I like having my picture taken in cosplay anyway... But as a maid I’d have to actually, like, talk. Ugh. I’ve never worked before, you know? That’s super hard to do right from the start!”

While she was definitely interested, I could tell that she was probably also scared. It did make sense. I mean, I was scared myself. The only difference was that, in my case, the dream of being able to see Mashiro in a maid outfit dominated my fears...

“Let’s try and take a look at their website, okay?” I said, taking out my phone to look up the soon-to-open café.

“Okay...” Kokoro replied half-heartedly, but her attitude changed as soon as she saw the pictures on the recruitment page. “Wait, they haven’t even opened and they already show the costumes?! Look, maids with cat ears! Ahhh! They’re so cuuute!” she screeched.

“And the pay isn’t bad either. Look,” I pointed out.

“You’re right. Hm... I do want to try it out, it’s just...”

She didn’t entirely sound convinced, but she probably only needed one last little bit of encouragement.

To be honest, I’d be much less anxious starting a new job if Nishina were with me, even though I know Mashiro will be there... I have to convince her...

“And this is just a short-term job, so it’s not that big of a commitment!” I told her.

“Oh, that’s a relief... Let me see what it says... ‘Maids will have to entertain customers by chatting with them and singing on stage.’ They even have a stage, wow... ‘Maids can refuse requests for particular songs.’”

“Maids have to sing?” I asked. I’d only been to a few maid cafés, so I wasn’t that familiar with them.

This is bad... She was already nervous about applying for this job, but if she also has to sing in front of strangers, there’s no way she’ll do it...

“This sounds fun!” she said. “I love singing Vocaloid songs and stuff from anime.”

“R-Really?” I couldn’t hide my surprise. “So, you’re going to apply...?”

“You know,” she went on, ignoring my question, “I wonder if I can really meet potential dates at a job like this. Even if there are guys working in the kitchen, it doesn’t look like we’d have time to talk to each other...”

“Ugh. L-Let’s see if we can find anything about that,” I replied, admittedly thinking that, unfortunately, she had a point.

After a bit of googling, I found something promising.

“Oh, this is a thread full of people who used to work in maid cafés!” I said, showing my phone to Kokoro.

Former café maid here. Most of the girls working at the cafés are dating boys working in the kitchen or from management. Makes you sad for the customers that spend so much money on them...

“For real now?! Is this real?!” Kokoro asked, her voice rising with excitement.

As with all information from anonymous online boards, I knew that it had to be taken with a grain of salt, but, if it were true, it’d be pretty awesome. I could end up dating a café maid! That’d be the best job ever!

“There’s another post here,” I said, scrolling further down.

Is it true that voice actor “S” is a regular at some maid café? Is he shooting for one of the girls working there?

As soon as she read about the voice actor, Kokoro’s eyes began to sparkle, and she emitted a high-pitched squeal.

“Ichigayaaa! What are you waiting for?! Let’s apply!” she shouted.

“Whoa! How’d you get convinced so fast?!”

She really can’t control herself when it comes to voice actors... And after struggling to decide for so long too! I thought; although, as an otaku, I could somewhat relate.

“It says that in order to apply you need to submit a picture and a cover letter. If you pass that stage, then there’s an interview,” I explained after reading the details on the café’s web page.

And so, it was decided that we’d both try to get a job at the new maid café. Kokoro was already enthusiastically preparing her application.

“It says that you don’t need to send a resume!” she said, sounding extremely relieved.

“Huh? So what?”

“If we had to send one, we’d have to write our addresses on it, right? They’d find out that we live together! And they could get all sorts of weird ideas!” she said.

“Oh! You’re right! I hadn’t thought about that.”

We had to register on the recruitment site in order to forward our applications, so I started filling in all the required fields.

“What?! They even need pictures for kitchen staff jobs?!” I asked, appalled.

“Well, isn’t that standard for any part-time job? You’d put a picture on your resume, right?” Kokoro replied.

“Hm... But do I even have any decent pictures of myself?” I mumbled, scrolling through my phone to find something that I could use. “I don’t think I have... Oh, I have that selfie that Ai forced me to take with him...”

The last time Ai and I had gone out to eat together, he insisted that I let him take a selfie so that he could upload it to Twitter and Instagram, and so on. Since he said that he’d cover my face with stickers, I’d eventually agreed, and he sent me the unedited picture on LINE.

I looked at our selfie. Being side by side with that girlishly pretty face of his made me look even uglier than I actually was.

“He takes selfies with you...? He’s... a boy, right?” Kokoro asked, confused, leaning over to peek at my phone without even asking for permission. I braced myself for her to be disgusted by the sight, but she was staring intently while breathing heavily.

“Is this that otaku friend of yours? He’s so cute... You two are super close, huh?” she asked with a creepy grin. “Hm... I-I see...”

“H-Hey, what are you grinning at?! You aren’t coming up with some elaborate gay fantasy in that head of yours, are you?!” I asked, finally understanding why she looked so amused.

“I-It’s not like I was daydreaming about the two of you slowly realizing that your friendship transcends the boundaries of platonic male companionship or anything! I’m not the kind of fujoshi that ships just anyone, anywhere, anytime, o-okay?!” she huffed, still completely failing to hide her grin.

“Why do you sound like the world’s creepiest tsundere?!”

I thought she only shipped fictional characters! And if she really has to come up with these weird fetishes, can’t she at least choose someone else?!

“A-Anyway!” she said. “More importantly, you can’t send that! It’s a selfie, and there’s someone else in the picture!”

“But it just says ‘a picture that clearly shows the applicant’s face.’ Maybe it’s important if you’re applying to be a maid, but it can’t be a big deal for kitchen staff...”

“They wouldn’t tell you to upload a picture if it wasn’t important, you dunce! If they wrote that, it means that the picture you choose also plays a role in the selection process!”

“Mm... Okay. Then, can you take a picture for me? In front of the white wall there...” I asked.

“Huh? I mean, sure, I can take your picture, but you aren’t planning on taking it like this, are you?! In that ugly sweater, with your hair all messed up?”

“That’s... a problem?”

“Of course it is! They’d throw your application right in the trash! I mean, think about it. A maid café’s kitchen is probably a pretty popular place to work at, isn’t it? You can work surrounded by cute girls, the pay isn’t bad, and even high schoolers can apply. So there are going to be a lot of other candidates.”

“Oh... That’s true...”

If this place was good enough to convince even me to apply to work there, it was probably also really popular with a ton of other people.

“I’ll go change then,” I said, going up to my room to put on the only decent outfit I had.

“And I also need to fix my hair, right?”

“You haven’t had it cut in a while, have you?”

“I don’t have the money...”

“If you leave it like that it just looks shabby and dirty,” she remarked.

“Ugh.”

“You need to style it so that it looks decent at least.”

“All right...” I said, going into the toilet and opening my tub of hair wax.

“Wait right there!” Kokoro, who’d followed me inside, asked, “How are you planning on styling it?”

“How...? Just like I always do...”

I was going to do my hair in the “messy” style I’d used for the otaku meetup and for my dates with Mashiro. Actually, that was still the only style I knew how to do.

“No! You can’t use that for a job application! You have to look totally clean-cut and reliable!” Kokoro said.

“And I can do that... with my hair?”

She switched on the blow dryer and pushed on my shoulders, telling me to squat down.

Is she gonna do my hair?!

I silently did as commanded, crouching ever so slightly so that she could comfortably reach my hair. It certainly wasn’t a comfortable position for me, but I couldn’t complain. A beautiful girl was touching my hair. She was standing so close that her pleasant scent reached my nostrils. Even if the girl in question was Kokoro, I couldn’t help but get nervous.

“What are you looking at?! Look at the mirror and learn how to do this! I’ll only show you once!” she shouted right into my ear, loud enough to overcome the dryer’s noise.

“S-Sorry, ma’am.”

“It’s my first time doing this too, so it’s far from perfect, but look here. You take these stupidly long bangs of yours and pull them up like this. Then you use the hot air from the dryer to fix them in place, all right? And then you won’t look as messy anymore,” she explained, as she showed me what to do.

I followed her every move, trying to memorize the process.

Once my bangs stopped fighting back and remained set where Kokoro had put them, she turned off the dryer.

“Ohhh!” I said, checking out the boy in the mirror, whose new hairstyle was uncharacteristically proper, and more reliable than usual.

“This is incredible! How can you even do this?!” I asked Kokoro.

“I style my own hair all the time, so I can sort of do boys’ hair too.”

“Whoa...”

“But next time, do it yourself! And hurry up! Let’s take this picture before your bangs fall down again.”

“Of course! Thanks!” I said, walking way too eagerly to stand in front of the living room wall.

“Your face is all stiff! Smile a little!” she said.

I curled the corners of my lips up and pressed them together.

“Don’t force it! Act natural!”

“I can’t!”

Since I wasn’t used to having my picture taken, making a face that was neither stiff nor obviously fake was quite a challenge. However, after struggling for some time, we managed to get a shot that even Kokoro was satisfied with.

“Whew, am I good or what? I managed to take a picture where you look so good you’re barely recognizable! You’d better be grateful!” she said, handing me my phone.

“Wow...” I said, staring down at the screen. She wasn’t exaggerating. I really did look kind of good.

After that, we continued with our applications. I used the picture that Kokoro had just taken, and she used the same one that she’d sent in for the modeling session job. As for our cover letters, we helped each other out so that they were both as charming as possible.

I believe that this job would be an opportunity to create valuable experiences for the otaku community while doing something that I enjoy. As an otaku myself, I want to contribute to the happiness of other people who love anime, manga, and games.

I’d have hired us, anyway.

Two days later.

During lunch break at school, I checked my phone, and discovered an unread email from the recruitment agency. I opened it and clicked on the link inside, holding my breath all the while, and...

“Yes!” I whispered to myself, punching the air with joy. I’d passed the first phase of screening and had been invited for an interview.

My phone buzzed in my hand, notifying me of a LINE message from Kokoro.

“I passed the screening!!! What about you?”

“Me too!” I replied.

Thinking about it, I realized that my success was probably due in no small part to Kokoro’s efforts to make me presentable in that picture. I promised myself I’d offer to clean the toilet the next time it was supposed to be her turn.

While I was there, I also sent a message to Mashiro to let her know I’d gotten an interview. I hadn’t really messaged her after our last date, so I was worried about whether she’d reply at all, but she quickly congratulated me and wished me luck.

I was already over the moon with her reply, but then she even wrote, “You can do it, Ichigaya! Go, go! ♡ ♡” and I was utterly overjoyed.

Of course, if I failed the interview, there was no way I could look the beautiful Mashiro in the face ever again. I’d die from embarrassment. Failure was not an option.

Three days later, it was time for our job interviews. Kokoro’s interview was scheduled for the same date as mine, so there were probably even more people going for their interviews at the same time.

I got up twenty minutes earlier than usual and did my best to style my hair like Kokoro had shown me. I didn’t quite look like the handsome young man that she’d turned me into, but all in all it was decent.

After classes were over, we waited for each other by the school entrance, taking care that nobody saw us together, then we went to the station to take the train to Akihabara. We were both extremely nervous.

The interviews would take place in the café where Mashiro worked, but she wasn’t there today.

We were greeted by a maid as soon as we entered.

“Welcome back, master!”

“I-I’m here for an interview for the job at the new location! I’m Ichigaya!”

“I’m also here for the interview! My name’s Nishina!”

“I see! Please follow me,” she said, showing us to a room in the back where three other people were already sitting down, probably waiting to be interviewed just like us.

One of them was somewhat of a pretty boy, probably slightly older than me—the kind who looked like he fooled around with girls a lot. There was also a beautiful girl with dark brown shoulder-length hair, also probably older than me, who looked like the serious, diligent type. The last one was a cute high schooler, still dressed in her uniform, with bright orange hair bunched up in twintails.

Kokoro and I both greeted them, and all three said hello back.

Ugh, they’re all too attractive to be otaku! Do I even have a chance at this? Why do I even have to look good to work in a kitchen in the first place?! Nobody will see my face!

A bearded, rough-looking dude appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. “Now that you’re all here, let me introduce myself,” he said. “My name is Todo, and I’m the owner.”

“Nice to meet you,” we all replied, one after the other.

This bling-bling covered guy owns a maid café?! He just needs a dragon tattoo on his back to be the perfect yakuza thug! He’s the farthest away from an otaku I’ve ever seen...

“I want to ask all of you a couple of questions, okay? Let’s start with... Kusumi,” he said.

“Sure!” the pretty boy replied.

The owner asked him about his work experience so far, which days of the week he was available to work, at what times, and so on. Once he was done with him, he started doing the same with the rest of us.

After hearing how politely he talked with the candidates, I got the impression that this Todo dude, despite his intimidating looks, was much more pleasant than Matsubara, the owner of that modeling session agency.

I practiced selling myself, but the other candidates haven’t been asked anything like that yet. Job interviews must be easier than I thought they’d be...

“And next... Ichigaya.” The owner addressed me.

“Yes!”

“You wrote on your cover letter that you’ve never had a part-time job before, but you can work evening shifts in the week and any shift on weekends, correct?”

“Yes, sir! I’m free every day after school at around half past three at the earliest, and five at the latest, since I’m not a part of any kind of after-school club,” I said. I’d been trying to point out the advantages of hiring me.

“That’s good. Oh, I see that your school isn’t that far from here. The train fare must be cheap... I see...”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“And you also mentioned that you cook for yourself at home?”

“I do! I live by myself, so I cook my own meals several times a week!”

“Oh, that’s very nice. We cook everything from scratch here, so being able to cook is a huge plus. Of course, having experience working in a professional kitchen would be preferred, but cooking at home is a good start. By the way, if you don’t live with your parents, does that also mean that you have no curfew?”

“Hm? Yes, th-that’s right...”

“I see... But you’re still in high school. Hm... Now, next up: Nishina!” he said.

What? It’s over already? That’s all he needs to know?! At least I’m glad I mentioned cooking at home...

Kokoro nervously replied to all the questions that the owner asked her, which concluded the interview.

“All right,” Todo said, “you all pass. If you can come in tomorrow, we’ll start with training.”

“Huh?!” All five candidates, including me, were extremely shocked.

Do job interviews really work like this?! He immediately told us that we’re all hired! Doesn’t he care about his café?! Not that I’m complaining...

The others were already thanking the owner, so Kokoro and I quickly did the same before leaving the room and walking back into the café’s dining hall.

The maid behind the counter addressed a man standing not so far from her: “Nishiyama called in sick. Said he can’t come today...”

“Again?! How many times do I have to tell him to give us more notice?!”

“I’m the only one on the late shift tonight! Who’s going to take care of the kitchen?” the maid, who was clearly distressed, asked him.

The only group of customers that were present when we’d first arrived had left, leaving the whole place to the staff. That must have been why the maid could talk so freely in the dining area without fear of being heard.

So even a place like this can be empty at times... It’s a weekday evening and everything.

“Ugh, I have to go to the new café today!” the other man lamented.

They both seemed to be in trouble.

“Are you short on people?” Todo, who had overheard their conversation, asked them.

“Yeah... One of the kitchen guys just called in sick,” the maid replied.

“Maybe we can do something about that. Hey, you,” Todo said, pointing at the attractive guy who had been interviewed alongside me and Kokoro. “You’re Kusumi, right? You said you’ve worked in a kitchen before. Are you free today?”

“I-I... Yes...” the pretty boy replied.

“Could you start right away then? This guy here’s the manager, so he can show you the ropes,” he said, nodding in the direction of the man who had been talking with the maid.

“I don’t mind, but is that really okay?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s a weekday, so there aren’t going to be so many customers, and it’s not that hard of a job. And also...” he said, looking at Kokoro, “you’re Nishina, right?”

“Huh? Y-Yes!”

“This is your first job, huh? Well, would you like to try your hand at it today? Just for an hour or so.”

“B-But wouldn’t I risk making lots of mistakes if I started right away?” Kokoro asked.

“Nah, today you can just bring the empty dishes back to the kitchen and chat with the customers. It’s easy stuff, but the sooner you get used to it the better,” Todo explained.

“I-I’ll start immediately then...” Kokoro nervously agreed.

“Milk-chan, I’ll leave her in your hands, a’ight?” he then said to the maid.

“Yes, sir...”

Nishina’s already off to a busy start. She’s still nervous though. I wonder if she’ll be okay...

“The rest of you can go home for today. Thanks for your time!” the owner said, and we left. I couldn’t even say “see you later” to Kokoro, since she was already listening to the instructions given to her by Milk-chan, the other maid.

Later that day, as I was finishing up making dinner—it was my turn to cook again—I heard Kokoro come back.

“I’m back...” she said, sounding completely exhausted.

“You all right? How was your first day of work?” I asked her.

“I’m not sure I can do this...” she said, collapsing onto the couch.

“Whoa, was it that hard?”

“The work itself isn’t difficult or anything, and today I was mostly just learning, but... having to talk with male customers is way too much for me!”

That was the reason why she was so nervous about applying in the first place...

“It’s not like I hate talking to men, but starting a conversation is super scary, and I have no idea what to talk about!” she said.

If by some utterly impossible turn of fate I happened to be in the same situation as her—that is, having to chat with girls for work—I imagined I’d be just as scared.

“And how am I going to find a boyfriend if I’m so spent just from talking to customers?”

“Come on, today you were asked to start right on the spot, so of course you were gonna be unprepared. You can always think of some topics in advance next time,” I said as I put dinner on the table.

“Hmm... I guess you’re right. I should do that. But I get so nervous that I’ll probably forget them all anyway...”

“Maybe you could practice here first?” I suggested.

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea! You can be my customer and I’ll try chatting with you!” she said.

“Huh?”

“Won’t you be the customer? Pleeease?” Kokoro stared right into my face with a hopeful expression.

“S-Sure...” I mumbled.

Being part of her rehearsal didn’t sound like much fun, but I wanted to help her in any way I could.

“But is this really going to help at all? It doesn’t seem to make much sense to me,” I said skeptically.

“It’s still better than practicing in my head, don’t you think?” she replied.

And so, with me in the role of a rather confused customer, Nishina’s maid training began.

We ate the food I’d made while it was still hot, then, after doing the dishes, Kokoro went up to her room for some reason.

When she came back into the living room, she was wearing her maid outfit, cat ears and all.

Is that the café uniform...?

“Why exactly are you wearing that...?” I asked.

“I brought it back with me so that I could wash it, but I figured I might as well use it to get into the role! I’d rather practice in the same clothes I’ll be wearing on the job. And I also feel more motivated like this,” she explained.

The uniform was composed of a blue dress, a frilly apron, cat ears, and a long white tail. She honestly looked like the real deal. Shockingly cute too, much more so than the average maid.

Isn’t this just a practice run? Seems a bit like overkill to me...

“Okay, so, you’ll be the customer. Walk in through that door,” she said.

“I have to go as far as that?”

“There’s no point if I don’t practice the whole thing!”

“Fine, fine...” I muttered, leaving the living room and immediately walking back in.

“Welcome back, meooowster!” she greeted me.

“...What was that?!”

Having a cute maid meow at me felt weirdly good, sure, but also extremely embarrassing. I could feel my face glowing red.

“Ohhh, come on! We just started! Try to stay in character! The maid café where we had the interview today was a normal one, but the one where we’ll be working is a cat-maid café, and we’re supposed to greet customers like this!” she said, flustered.

She’s blushing... This must be embarrassing for her as well.

“Go back out and let me do it again!”

I did as she told me, walking out and in again. She was surprisingly serious about all this, and she probably wouldn’t be satisfied until I properly played my part as well.

“Welcome back, meowster! Would you like to sit in the smoking area?”

“Huh? N-No...” I replied, caught off guard by something as surreal as a girl dressed up as a cat-eared maid asking something so pragmatic.

“Would you prefer a table or a counter seat? Er... Ugh, I forgot! I have to explain the menu and how the café works to customers, so there’s a ton of stuff that I have to memorize... And I already had to say it so many times today!”

After having me go back and forth through the door what felt like a thousand times, Kokoro finally nailed her customer greeting and we could move forward.

“Purrdon the wait. Here’s the omurice you ordered, and an orange juice, meow!”

“Thanks...” I said as she pretended to hand me my order. I felt like a kindergartner at an imaginary picnic.

“And now, I’m going to cast a meowgic spell on your omurice to make it even tastier!” she announced.

“Huh?!”

She curled her fingers like cat’s paws, wiggling them at the wrists.

“M-Meow meow kitty, cute and chummy... M-Make this omelet super yummy!”

What the hell was that?!

“Why are you staring at me like I’m crazy?!” Kokoro shouted at me, completely red in the face.

“I-I’m not...”

What does she even want me to do?! That was so awkward I almost died from secondhand embarrassment!

“I-I have to do it like this, you know?! Those are the company rules!” she continued.

“I haven’t said anything! And why aren’t you in character anymore?!”

“Oh, snap, right! Sir! I-I mean, master! Do you visit cafés like this very often?”

“No, this is my first time.”

“I see...”

“...”

“Well... Have fun then!”

“Huh? That’s it?” I asked, appalled.

“What?! That wasn’t good enough? Be honest!”

“Do you honestly think that was good enough?! You weren’t even smiling!”

“Ugh...”

“And you can’t ask me a question like that and bail on the conversation right after I reply!”

“B-But,” she said, “I don’t know what else to say...”

“You didn’t sound like you were having any fun at all—like you were talking to me just because it’s your job! That might be the case but you should at least pretend to be interested in what the customer has to say. Most people go to maid cafés just to chat with the maids, you know?”

“But how can I be interested in someone I’ve just met?”

“I don’t know, maybe... just think of what you’d say if your favorite character came in as a customer! Or if it’s too hard to do with a fictional character, imagine your favorite idol, or voice actor, or something! Wouldn’t you be interested then?”

“My favorite character or voice actor, huh...” she mumbled to herself.

After thinking for a while, she started slapping my shoulder as a grin crept over her blushing face.

“Haha, that’s even worse!” she said. “I’d be so nervous I couldn’t speak at all!”

What did she even imagine?

“Then, like... What about a customer who’s really your type?” I suggested.

“Oh, maybe that’d work! I can totally use that to fuel my imagination! Let’s try it again! Ahem! Do you visit cafés like this one often, master?”

“Not really...”

“D-Do you come to Akihabara often then?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And what do you do when you come here?”

“Hmmm... I visit Animate, or Toranoana, usually.”

“Ah! I go there all the time too!”

Our conversation continued like that for several more minutes.

“I think I get it now! I only thought of the customer as some stranger, but as soon as I started thinking of them as a person I’d actually want to talk to, it got way easier!” she said after we were done.

So, basically, the second she imagined having an attractive guy in front of her she let herself go... Talk about shallow.

“Now that I’ve got this down, let’s try the part where I bring you the check!” she said, and so I went on helping Kokoro practice her maid skills for what felt like an eternity.

“Whew. All perfect!” she eventually rejoiced, well past midnight.

“Uh... good,” I said. Just let me go to bed already...

“Now I know what to do in every situation, even if I end up on the same shift as some handsome kitchen guy or if someone famous like a voice actor comes to the café!”

“That makes it sound like all this roleplay was just to help you find a boyfriend...”

“Of course it was! I can’t look for guys if I’m having trouble with work, and nobody wants to date a maid who can’t even get her job done properly,” she said.

As always, she’ll do whatever it takes to find a boyfriend... Which is good and all, but why do I have to stay up so late for this? On the other hand though, since she’s starting this job for that, maybe what she’s doing is kind of right.

“That guy at the interview today was handsome too... I wonder if it’s normal for the kitchen staff in a maid café to be so attractive!” Kokoro said, clearly already imagining all the boys her new job would allow her to meet.

“If I can chat with customers like I did just now, I don’t think I’ll have any problem. And I’m getting more comfortable with guys since I speak to you every day, so I just have to get used to the job a bit more!”

“Sure, but by the way... How should I behave at work?” I asked her.

“What do you mean?”

“I want to get closer to Mashiro, but I don’t know whether it’d be okay to talk to her at work...”

“I think you should follow the flow of things, you know? If all the staff chat with each other, then we can do the same, but if they’re super focused on work and don’t say a word, then maybe it’d be better to stay quiet.”

“That sounds about right...”

“And also, I mean, this goes for everyone there, but your priority should be getting your job done properly. You don’t want people to think you suck as an employee...”

I-I hadn’t even thought of that!

I had somehow managed—partially thanks to Kokoro—to take Mashiro out on two dates, but if she got the impression that I was a lousy worker, then it’d all have been for nothing. I had to make sure I pulled my weight in the kitchen.

“Oh, and also,” I said, remembering the other maids, “there are going to be girls there other than Mashiro... Do you think it’d be better not to speak with them much?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I don’t want Mashiro to think I just hit on anyone...”

“It’d just be weird and rude if you ignored the other maids! Again, it depends on the work environment, but it’d be way more natural to talk to everyone we work with,” she said.

“I guess you’re right...”

“Of course don’t, like, hit on all the maids, or ask them for their LINE, or invite them on dates, and stuff like that. She’d obviously find out about that stuff.”

“Of course,” I said, having no intention of doing anything like that in the first place.

“The best thing would be to make yourself useful to her while working, but that might be hard. She’s much more experienced than you, and she’s a maid, while you’ll be stuck in the kitchen.”

I nodded.

So I need to learn how to do my job properly, talk to all the maids in a way that sounds natural, and try to make myself useful to Mashiro... I thought to myself, already overwhelmed.

Making a good impression on a girl in the workplace wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d expected. And I’d never even worked in a kitchen—that was enough to make me nervous. I had to make sure not to screw up, or else Mashiro might not like me anymore...

So my top priority has to be doing my job right!