7

My conversation with Yume ended there, but Elena and I kept messaging each other. She told me about how things were going with her videos—as much as she could considering her contract, anyway. She then told me that her meeting with the company was planned for that week, and that she would do her best to tell them everything on her mind so that she had no regrets later.

I hoped things would turn out well for her.

Although I was disappointed that Yume and I didn’t keep talking, I decided to try to text her again soon.

Of course, we’d also followed each other on Twitter, too, but I actually hadn’t even looked at it since I’d found out Mashiro had misled me like that—I didn’t want to be reminded of her. She was always tweeting, so I’d have only ended up seeing her posts on my timeline, but I also didn’t feel like blocking her.

Quitting Twitter altogether because of a girl would be overkill though...

I wanted to see what kinds of things interested Yume, and replying to one of her tweets was much less stressful than messaging her privately on LINE. So, while rolling around on my bed, I decided to load the Twitter app on my phone.

Before I went to check out Yume’s profile, I scrolled a way through my timeline out of curiosity. Sure, I know—I was looking for Mashiro’s tweets, knowing full well that I would only regret it. She was probably still fishing for attention from her army of followers.

“Huh?”

Yet I couldn’t find any new tweets from her.

Did she block me? I thought, suddenly scared, and I checked my follow lists. Her name was still there, and she was still following me. That meant that she hadn’t blocked me, but for some reason she’d stopped tweeting. I had to be sure, so I checked her profile.

She hadn’t tweeted at all since our falling out in front of the café. Before then, she would usually tweet several times a day, even just to write “good morning” for the dozens of replies from (probably male) followers. But now... nothing.

A few (probably male) people had even tagged her in tweets, asking why she wasn’t tweeting recently, if she was sick, and things like that.

What happened to her? Is she really sick or something?

I was so curious that all my thoughts were consumed by Mashiro. I even forgot about messaging Yume...

It was now my final day at the café.

“This job’s over next week, huh,” Kusumi said while I was doing some dishes.

“Oh, actually... this is my last day,” I said.

“What?! Really?! It’s our last time working together?!” he exclaimed before returning to his dismal state. “You know... I actually started working here so I could try to get a date with one of the maids...”

“D-Did you now?”

That’s not something you want to say out loud while on your shift, I thought, conveniently forgetting my own motivation. At least there weren’t any customers sitting at the counter.

“In the end, I didn’t get to date any of them, and things didn’t work out at all with the one I actually liked. But, you know, I’m happy that I was able to make a great new friend!” he said.

How he could say something like that directly to my face, I don’t know. It was kind of embarrassing; to the point where I was at a loss how to respond at first. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel happy about it. I was grateful to have had someone like Kusumi working with me.

“We should meet up sometime, after all this!” he told me.

“Oh... I guess you’re right!”

When his shift ended, we said our farewells and I was left alone in the kitchen. Mashiro was on the same shift tonight, and I couldn’t help but be hyper-aware of her presence. While I was wiping a glass clean, I saw her talking with a customer. Much to my surprise, she didn’t look sick in any way.

But why’s she staying so quiet on Twitter if she isn’t sick?

“I’ll have an omurice and an iced coffee.”

“Yes, master...”

She was taking her orders as usual. Of course, as she was working, she had to keep that bright smile on at all times, which made it look like she was okay, but unless I was just being too imaginative, she did seem to be lacking some of her usual pep.

“You’ve gotten used to the kitchen, huh? It’s been, what, a month since you started?” Sasaki, who’d taken his usual seat at the counter, asked me.

“Yeah, more or less... But this is my last day, actually,” I replied.

“What?! You’re quitting? But you’ve only just started.”

“I know, but it was a month contract...”

“Awww! Seeing you slowly getting the hang of the job was one of the things I always looked forward to...”

“R-Really? Haha... Thank you.”

During my break, I sat down to get some rest. I was definitely the only one in the break room this time, so I could let my mind wander without worrying about overhearing any more terrible things.

I still haven’t told Mashiro that it’s my last day...

Despite the way she’d made me feel, I was sad that we’d never see each other again. It was also unfortunate that we had to part on such bad terms.

Oh well. I’ll just concentrate on finding love elsewhere. I’m sure that’ll make me forget about her eventually, I thought, feeling kind of emotional.

“So, say, you got a boyfriend, didn’t ya?” I heard an unfamiliar voice say from the dining hall. Since the break room was only separated from the kitchen by a curtain, you could hear most of the conversations going on in the café.

“No, really, I haven’t.”

That voice... Mashiro is in the kitchen.

“You aren’t tweeting anything except for your shifts, and you don’t reply to me at all anymore!”

“I think I have mentioned this before, but it’s a café rule that we can only reply once per customer on each thread...” Mashiro said, clearly annoyed by the way the customer was speaking to her.

“Sure, I get that, but I actually checked out your main account, and you aren’t tweeting anything there either. So you have a boyfriend. There was a guy you were sending off replies to a while back. Is he the lucky one?”

“Y-You know my main account?!”

Mashiro had both a personal Twitter account and one that she used as a maid to post her shifts at the café, but lately she hadn’t been using either of them very much.

“Yeah, it wasn’t that hard to find. I’m following you there too.”

This guy stalked her online and found her main account... Is this okay? He sounds pretty creepy...

“What was his handle? Shadow something, right? I saw you comment on his tweets a couple of times. Is he your boyfriend?”

And he’s talking about me now?! It’s true that Mashiro used her main account to reply to my tweets sometimes but...

“Th-That’s not the case...”

“Hmm, really now? And anyway, the café rules don’t apply to your main account, do they? So if I comment on your tweets there you can reply to me as much as possible!”

Ugh. This guy is starting to sound dangerous...

Since Kusumi had already left, I was the only male staff member on shift.

What does it even matter? It’s my last day here anyway. I mustered all my courage and walked back into the kitchen.

Mashiro looked at me, surprised.

“Excuse me, sir,” I said to the customer at the counter, “could you please refrain from asking personal questions to the staff?”

“H-Huh? I’m not doing that!” the customer nervously replied. He was a youngish, scrawny man.

“You purposely went looking for a maid’s private Twitter account and asked her to reply to you more than the café’s rules allow. You’re clearly bothering her,” I said.

“What?! What’s bothersome about that?!”

Mashiro stared at me silently. She must have been confused.

“In any case... I’ll have to report this to the store manager,” I said.

“Ah...?! J-Jeez! I’ve had enough! Bring me the check already!” the customer replied, frustrated, as he quickly took his wallet out of his bag. Mashiro immediately gave him his check.

After making sure that the customer had paid and left the café, I went back to the break room.

The curtain moved, and Mashiro’s head poked through it.

“Thank you...” she said without looking at me.

“Y-You’re welcome...”

I thought that maybe I’d been a bit too heavy-handed with that customer. Of course, I didn’t want him to treat Mashiro even worse because of me. For the time being, the best thing to do would be to tell the manager about it, so that he could ban him from the café.

After remaining silent for a while, Mashiro closed the curtain and went back to work.

After my break, I worked for my last two hours at the café. Then I changed and took out my phone to kill some time. My bad luck meant that today, of all days, Mashiro’s shift ended at the same time as mine. In order to avoid any awkwardness, I decided to wait a few minutes so that she would leave before me and we wouldn’t run into each other.

When I heard the sound of the door of the girls’ changing room opening and closing, I knew that she was done changing. I came out of the boys’ changing room and found the manager in the break room.

“Oh, hello...” I said. “This is my last day, so... It’s been a pleasure.”

“For me too. Good work. Make sure to pass by next month to collect your salary,” he replied robotically.

“Of course. And, er... There was a problematic customer today, and I think it would be better to ban him from the café altogether. He found private information about one of the maids, like her private Twitter account, and he even asked her to break the café’s rules regarding online replies to customers. For the customer’s name you should ask Mashi... Gojo.”

“Huh? Really? I’ll ask her then. Thanks.”

Now I’ve done what I had to.

Thinking melancholically about how I was never going to come to this café again, I opened the door and walked up the stairs. I was surprised to find Mashiro standing outside the entrance.

“I-It’s been a pleasure...”

“M-Mashiro? What’s...?”

“This was your last day at the café, right? I just wanted to talk one last time.”

“B-But it’s forbidden for maids to be seen with male staff outside the shop...”

She wants to talk with me? Why now?

“You aren’t a member of staff anymore,” she said.

She looked and sounded nothing like she had so far. Her pitch was lower, her speech was slower, and her face was calm and unsmiling. This was probably the real Mashiro.

“I-I guess so. I don’t mind either way...” I replied.

Since I didn’t work for the café anymore, I didn’t have to worry about the rules. She was the only one who would be taking a risk, so, if it was her choice, I had no reason to argue.

“I’m really grateful for what you did for me earlier in the kitchen,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it... Oh, and I told the manager that they should ban that customer, so when you have the time, you should go and tell him what his name was.”

“Really? Thank you!” she said, and then the conversation stopped. We awkwardly looked at each other in silence.

What did she even want to talk about? I can’t stand this silence, I thought, and decided to break it myself.

“You aren’t using Twitter at all lately. You used to tweet every day.”

“Oh... I’ve quit Twitter,” she replied.

“Huh?!”

“After you quit, your account stays up for a month.”

“But why would you quit?!”

“Because it’s pointless... What’s even the point in having so many people like you...?” she said, emotionless.

“What?”

“I was stupid,” she said, as if each word coming from her mouth was causing her pain. “Even if everyone’s giving you compliments and falling in love with you... So what? What’s the point if the one you really care about doesn’t like you? Or worse, if you end up making him hate you?”

She took her gaze off of me and smiled bitterly. Her eyes seemed to be glistening.

W-Wait... “The one you really care about?” Would that be... me? No, no way. It has to be another lie.

“Aren’t you just saying that so that I’ll start liking you again? So that you can use me?” I asked. I didn’t choose my words with any care because I feared that if I showed even a hint of delicacy, Mashiro could take it as a chance to fool me again.

“Wh-What are you talking about?!” she said. Her voice grew louder. “Who would go through so much trouble just to use someone?! Who would do all that for someone that they didn’t care about?!”

Her eyes, now full of tears, were piercing straight into mine. No matter how much I distrusted her, I couldn’t bring myself to believe that she was faking this.

“But you were the one who talked about greasing wheels and stuff...” I said.

I honestly didn’t know what was what anymore. Was she lying then or is she lying now?

“You heard me talk in the changing room, and you found out the truth about me,” she said, reminding me of what had happened a few days earlier.

I had found out that the girl I’d believed to be an angel could speak as harshly as Iroha, and that she was a die-hard otaku when it came to male voice actors. However, our conversation after that had shocked me so much that I’d almost forgotten about what I heard her say inside.

“When I saw your reaction to finding out about my real hobbies, I thought you were done with me. I was so frustrated I said all those things...”

What...?

“My hobbies, my personality... I know that they drive boys away. So I knew that the second you learned about them you’d want nothing to do with me anymore...”

“What?! So the thing about just wanting to gain another person who liked you... Was that a lie?”

“Would I go through all this trouble if that was the only reason?! Maybe I’d pretend to be friendly just to be polite if I ran into you, sure, but would I keep messaging you? Would I bake you a cupcake? Of course not!” she cried, blushing so hard that even her ears were red.

Wait a second. So she, uhm, actually liked me, at least a little bit? Is this what she’s trying to say here?

“I-If that was true, then... what other reason could you possibly have?” I asked.

“When we first met... I thought you kinda were my type. And it looked like you liked me as well, so of course that made me happy. So I figured it’d be cool to try and go on a date...” she explained, getting even redder.

Kinda her type? She really thought that about me?!

“And when we went on a date, you were kinder and more considerate than I’d expected from someone who’s obviously never had a girlfriend. I thought that maybe I could become your girlfriend, but...”

Did she just use the g-word?! And she even thought of becoming my girlfriend without asking whether I wanted to or not. Is she serious?!

“...even though you’re older than me I was the one who had to ask for your contact and invite you on those dates! And then you went home early! I was furious! And you never tried to make a single move! Not one! But the worst part was after all the effort I put into hiding it, you found out that I’m a voice actor otaku... I wanted to disappear...” she said, basically crying, hardly stopping to breathe until she was done.

“A-Are you serious?”

So she actually liked me from the start? This is unbelievable, but she said it herself, didn’t she? But why?! I’m as popular with girls as a cockroach, and the last time someone called me handsome I was in kindergarten.

I thought back to when Mashiro and I first met. On that day, I’d done my best to look as good as possible, achieving—if I may say so myself—quite a decent result. This, of course, was all Kokoro’s doing. She’d taught me how to style my hair, how to choose my clothes, and how to tidy myself up properly. The unbelievable result was a girl as cute as Mashiro thinking that I was “kinda her type.”

Of course, I was still having trouble believing what she was saying. I was half ecstatic, half shocked.

“I don’t care if you like male voice actors! Who am I to judge people for their hobbies? I spend most of my time playing gacha games and watching anime!” I told her, letting the words flow out without thinking about it. “Why did you hide it?”

She could have just saved herself the hassle and been honest from the start...

“Back when I was in middle school, I used to talk about it all the time... but the boys would bully me for it,” she said.

Mashiro, the mayor of Attractive Town, being bullied by boys?!

“And you’re shocked too, aren’t you...?” she asked sadly.

“More than anything, I was shocked by the fact that you hid your real personality from me. I just wished you’d been honest to begin with, and told me about what you really like. Male voice actors aren’t that weird of a hobby,” I replied.

“R-Really—?”

I didn’t get a chance to reply. I’d noticed the owner walking along the road in our direction.

“Ah! Over there!” I said. I didn’t have any reason to fear him, but Mashiro could be penalized for breaking the café’s rules.

It’s better if he doesn’t see us talking to each other right in front of the shop...

“I’m going to get a move on so you don’t get in trouble!” I said, and she stood there, dumbfounded, staring after me.

I caught the train alone, but made sure to send Mashiro a message.

“Thank you for being honest with me. If you want to, I’d like to talk things over sometime.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt, or how I was supposed to feel. I wasn’t infatuated with Mashiro like at the start, nor was I completely hurt like a few days ago.

She’d revealed her true colors, but that also meant that she wasn’t my ideal girlfriend. That being said, seeing her cry while telling me that she liked me had warmed my heart somewhat. I wanted to learn more about Mashiro—the true Mashiro. I wanted to become friends with this girl that I barely knew.

She, however, didn’t read my message for some time.

“I’m back.”

“Oh, hey,” Kokoro greeted me from the kitchen.

“What’s for dinner?”

“Ginger pork and miso soup.”

“Oh! Sounds yummy!”

“Hmm? Is it just me or are you in high spirits today?” she asked.

“N-Not really...”

“You’re grinning to yourself. Creeepy...” she said, but her harsh words didn’t bother me at all.

Just as I decided that I’d tell Kokoro about what had happened with Mashiro over dinner, my phone started to ring.

Speak of the devil? I thought, hurriedly checking my phone.

It wasn’t who I’d expected. It was Elena, calling me through LINE. Nervous and confused, since we’d never called each other before, I ran to my room.

“H-Hello?” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. I could count the number of phone calls I’d had with girls on one hand.

Why’d she call me out of the blue? Is she okay...?

“Hello. I’m sorry for calling you all of a sudden... Do you have time to talk?” Elena’s voice reached me through the phone.

“Oh, yeah! I do!”

“Wonderful. Well, today I had that meeting with my company, the one about my future videos. Since you were the one to give me advice and motivate me, I wanted to tell you about it like this rather than in a text. I-Is that a problem?”

“Not at all! I didn’t know you had that meeting already! I absolutely want to know how it went!”

“Th-Thank you! I managed to tell them about all the issues I have with the recent policy. And they said that in the future, I won’t have to do videos that I’m uncomfortable with, especially the kinds that fans dislike so much. I’ll have to keep putting in the effort to find new subscribers, but I’ll also be able to do what I’ve always done and loved: talking about my hobbies, playing the games I like, and so on.”

“Really?! That’s awesome! The meeting went great then!”

“I think they listened to my opinion because I found the courage to tell them directly... and I found that courage thanks to you.”

“Huh?”

“You listened to my troubles and offered me such kind words, which gave me the confidence to talk to them. Thank you so much.”

“I-I haven’t really done anything, but I’m glad things turned out well!”

“I’m glad too!”

As someone who was rooting for both Elena and Emily Saionji, this was fantastic news. The fact that she was relying on me so much, and that she was even calling me to tell me about how it went, just made it even better.

“I-Ichigaya...”

“Yeah?”

“I have never had a boyfriend before, and I’ve never had any close male friends, so... Thank you for being so kind to me. I called you without thinking too much about it, but... you mentioned that you were looking for a girlfriend, did you not? Did you find one? If you did, then I shouldn’t have called you... I’m sorry...”

“Oh, don’t worry, I still haven’t found one—”

“R-Really...?!” she said, sounding mysteriously happy.

She must be happy because I’m still single! That means... No, no, I’m being way too optimistic. She was just glad that it wasn’t a problem to call me, that must be it.

“I-In that case, when I am in need of advice, I’d like to continue coming to you. If that doesn’t bother you, of course...”

“It doesn’t bother me at all! I’d be happy to help!”

“Really? That’s a huge re—”

Knock knock.

“Ichigaya! I’ve been calling you from downstairs! Can’t you hear?”

Oh, damn! Did Minami hear her?!

“I’m coming in!” Kokoro said, opening the door without waiting for a response. “Oh, there you are! Why didn’t you answer me?”

“Wait, no, you—” I couldn’t even manage a complete sentence.

“I said dinner’s ready! It’s gonna get cold! Oh, wait... You were on the phone?”

“Th-That voice...” Elena said, shocked. “Is that... Nishina? Do you two... live together?”

“Huh? The voice on the phone... Is that Minami?” Kokoro asked, just as shocked.

I was at my wit’s end. The phone call was still going, but I got a message notification and looked at the screen to read it.

“I’m coming back to Japan by myself next month.”

“What?”

The text was from Kisaki, who I hadn’t heard from in a while. Kisaki, as in, my younger sister. I was completely paralyzed with confusion.

She’s coming back? By herself? How come?! I didn’t know that would happen! Nishina’s living in her room...!

“What’s going on here, Ichigaya?!”

“H-Hello? Ichigaya...? Are you still there?”

Kokoro was in my room. Elena had overheard her through the phone. Kisaki had just told me she would be coming back to Japan. I just stood there, dumbfounded, with absolutely no idea how I was going to get out of this one.