"No rush."
Shizuka reached out to take the menu handed to her, quickly scanned the dishes listed, and then passed it to Nishimiya Yuzuru, who was sitting opposite her and looking around.
"Yuzuru, see what you want to order."
Hearing this, Nishimiya Yuzuru finally withdrew her gaze from the Maid Cafe outfits, her eyes landing directly on the main course section, though they still uncontrollably shifted to the dessert section for a few seconds.
"If you want to order dessert, you can only do so after finishing your meal," Shizuka said, resting her face on one hand as she observed Yuzuru's subtle changes in expression.
"Okay, okay."
Yuzuru's eyes repeatedly scanned the main course section of the menu: omurice, curry rice, pasta, sandwiches.
Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the edge of the price list, finally stopping at the simplest omurice option.
There were three types of omurice listed: a regular one for 300 yen, a heart-shaped one for 400 yen, and a specially requested heart-shaped one for 500 yen.
She didn't understand the difference between these omurice dishes, but she didn't dare to order out of curiosity, because Miyamura Auntie would be paying later.
"Is there anything else you want to order?" Shizuka asked kindly, taking back the menu Yuzuru had returned.
Yuzuru shook her head repeatedly. "No need, one omurice is enough."
"Alright then." Shizuka quickly scanned the menu and made a decision in her mind. "What's this requested heart-shaped omurice like?"
Takagi, who was nearby, overheard and repeated the explanation Ajitani had given them earlier.
"Then, one requested heart-shaped omurice and two cups of 'Magic Potion.'"
Takagi quickly jotted it down in her notebook. Before she could ask, she heard Shizuka immediately say:
"'Magic Potion' should be strawberry and grape flavored, and for the requested omurice, just let Tsuna come out and draw it for me."
"Okay, Auntie."
Takagi didn't think much of Shizuka asking for Miyamura to come out. After confirming with her, she took the pink menu and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
"Yuzuru, lend me your camera for a bit. I'll give it back to you after we finish eating."
"Okay, okay... alright."
Yuzuru took off the camera hanging around her neck and handed it to her without hesitation. Unable to resist the curiosity in her heart, she asked:
"Miyamura Auntie, what are you going to do?"
Shizuka's lips curved slightly upwards, but she didn't explain much. "You'll know in a bit."
She adjusted the camera in her hand, placed it on the edge of the wall corner, pointed the lens towards them, and began to wait quietly.
Meanwhile, Takagi, holding the order torn from her small notebook, walked into the bustling kitchen.
Tsuna, who was assisting Shouko, explained the order in his hand.
"..." After hearing her explanation, Tsuna's hand paused.
"What's wrong?" Takagi caught the fleeting strangeness in his eyes, feeling a bit confused.
"It's nothing. I'll just deliver that one later," Tsuna said, waving his hand and continuing his plating work.
With over a decade of mother-son relationship, he almost instantly guessed that his mom had definitely planned something big and was waiting for him. Even if it wasn't, it was close enough...
Seeing this, Takagi didn't press for more details. She chatted with Shouko, who was occasionally glancing over with her small eyes, for a few sentences before leaving the kitchen.
"Tsuna, shall we go out and see Auntie and Yuzuru together later?"
After Takagi left the kitchen, Shouko slowly spoke once she had finished making the omurice she was working on.
"Sure, whatever," Tsuna said, taking the omurice she handed him and arranging some cut and blanched carrots on top.
"If we're not busy later, stepping out for a bit shouldn't be a problem."
"Okay, okay."
Shouko immediately turned around and worked non-stop on making the two omurice dishes for Yuzuru and Shizuka.
---
"Here you go."
Tsuna skillfully reached out and took it, noticing the fine sweat on her forehead.
"Then I'll go out first. I'll come in and cover for you later so you can go out and rest for a bit."
As soon as he finished speaking, regardless of whether she agreed or not, he placed the steaming omurice dish onto the tray and quickly walked out holding the tray.
The warm sun streamed through the glass windows decorated with ribbons, and the lace trim of the Maid Cafe skirts fluttered like white waves as they ran.
Ajitani stood on tiptoe to adjust her crooked bow hair accessory, her fingertips still stained with cream she hadn't had time to wipe off.
In the gap between the simultaneous buzzing of three pancake machines, the doorway suddenly erupted with a chorus of clear greetings like silver bells:
"Okaerinasaimase, Goshujin-sama! (Welcome home, Master!)"
Tsuna stood by the kitchen exit holding a round tray, straightened his slightly wrinkled butler uniform, and walked directly towards table number five.
"Mom, your requested heart-shaped omurice."
He placed the still-steaming omurice dish in front of Shizuka and then handed the tray to Nishikata, who was passing by, to hold.
Shizuka and Yuzuru simply glanced at his attire and then withdrew their gazes. They had already seen that standee in the hallway outside.
Moreover, Nishimiya Yuzuru had taken several photos and planned to sell them to her sister later...
"Tap... tap..." Shizuka bent her index finger and knocked on the table. "Hey, hey, hey! Like this, I'm going to give you a bad review!"
Without waiting for Tsuna to ask, she immediately continued: "Where's your smile? And where's the heart-shaped writing on my requested omurice?"
When Shizuka said these few sentences, she deliberately lowered her voice. Coupled with the noisy environment, only the three people at her table could barely hear clearly.
After all, it was just to tease her bratty son.
"Alright, alright..." Tsuna forced a smile and borrowed ketchup from a passing Maid Cafe girl. "Mom, what do you want to write?"
"Mom is forever young and beautiful," Shizuka said without batting an eye.
"..." Yuzuru, who was quietly eating her omurice with her head down.
"Okay..." He felt a bit speechless but still nodded in agreement.
He moved the omurice in front of her to his own spot and began writing and drawing on it.
"Done."
"Wait."
"What now?" Tsuna returned the ketchup to the Maid Cafe girl who was passing by again, asking confusedly.
"You haven't said the magic words yet."
"Magic words?" Tsuna hesitated for a moment, then quickly reacted.
"Mom, you're not talking about that awkward little line you have to shout at the omurice when you serve it, are you?"
In some of the more famous Maid Cafes in Japan, there's usually a "magic ritual" before the omurice is served.
The maids would make a heart shape with their hands towards the omurice and sweetly shout loudly: "Kono omuraisu ga, goshujinsama o shiawase ni suru yo~!"
(This omurice will bring happiness to the Master!)
If it's a cat-eared Maid Cafe, they'll also add a 'Meow~' at the end of the phrase.
Some Maid Cafes even offer 'magic word lessons', letting the guests hold a spoon and shout the magic words themselves, while the maids provide sound effects, making the ritual complete!
In short, it's the kind that directly maxes out the cringe factor...
The last time he and Nishikata went, they ordered afternoon tea, so they didn't experience this highly interactive service.
"That's right." Shizuka crossed her arms and nodded.
"Okay, wait a moment." He had initially wanted to refuse directly, but after a second thought, he said decisively.
"I'll go call Shouko out to cast the happiness spell on your omurice, and let her rest for a bit while I'm at it."
As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly turned and left. Seeing this, Shizuka could only swallow the words she was about to say.
This is a good excuse; it can prevent his mom from pestering him too much, and he also has an excuse to directly let Shouko come out and rest.
"Shouko, Shizuka needs you for something, I'll cover for you."
"Okay..." Shouko hesitated for a moment, nodded, and handed her work over to him, thinking that Miyamura Auntie's matter was more important.
And Tsuna knows how to make this omurice, so there shouldn't be any mistakes.
---
As soon as Shouko came out of the kitchen, she deliberately sniffed herself to make sure the smell of oil smoke wasn't too strong before walking directly towards Shizuka's table.
If the smell was strong, she had planned to go stand by the window in the hallway for a few minutes first, but doing so might have felt a bit unfair to Tsuna...
"Miyamura Auntie, is there something important you called me out for?"
"Didn't that brat tell you?" Shizuka patted the empty seat next to her, her meaning already very clear.
"No, he just said you had something important to ask me," Shouko said, shaking her head in confusion.
"Come, wipe your sweat first." Shizuka rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small pack of tissues to hand to her.
Only after Shouko took them did Shizuka explain the whole story. "That's how it is, Shouko. Are you willing to cover for him?"
"..." Shouko now just wanted to go back and bite that person.
"Auntie, our shop doesn't have this service..."
She wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and quickly changed the topic. "Oh right, Auntie, where did you all go on campus this morning?"
"If there's none, there's none," Shizuka waved her hand and pushed her untouched iced drink towards Shouko.
At the same time, she didn't forget to put away the camera and check the results of the recording she had just made.
"Thank you, Godmother," Shouko picked up the purple drink without hesitation and took a small sip.
Meanwhile, Nishimiya Yuzuru, who was beside them, also became talkative because of Shouko's previous comment and excitedly shared her experiences from this morning.
"Are the two people next to Shouko her mother and sister?"
The classmates present naturally noticed Shouko coming out to rest next to the guests, but because they were busy at the time, they didn't ask too many questions.
"Yeah, she must be her mother, and her skin is so well-maintained."
"If she went shopping with Shouko, and they didn't say anything, people would most likely just think they were sisters."
"No," Ajitani slowly shook her head upon hearing this, saying with a serious expression:
"That little girl is indeed Shouko's biological younger sister, but that auntie is not her mother."
"Really?" The girl wearing a maid outfit looked suspiciously at Table 5 again.
"Shouko is even drinking her drink, so their relationship must be very close. I guess she's her biological—"
Before she could finish speaking, Ajitani seriously interrupted her: "That auntie is Shouko's 'Okaa-san'!"
"'Okaa-san'!!?"
As soon as Ajitani said this, the maids and butlers resting during their break around her all turned their gazes toward her, and even a few people passing by stopped in their tracks to look at her.
"Okaasan" means a mother formed through marriage (non-blood related), and it is the most common term in Japan, conveying both respect and closeness, similar to the Japanese "Mama."
The pronunciation is the same as for a biological mother, but when mentioned in writing, it can be clearly distinguished from the meaning of a biological mother.
"Haha..." The girl lightly patted Ajitani's arm. "Ajitani-chan, you're kidding again, right?"
Ajitani was still seriously shaking her head, and then she stopped speaking.
And that girl, unwilling to give up, asked Takagi, who usually interacted with Shouko the most: "Takagi, is this true...?"
"Yes," Takagi Sana took a small sip from her water cup and nodded calmly.
"..."
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent but quickly returned to normal. Everyone realized and felt that the two were definitely joking.
And it was the kind where they had already colluded and teamed up to trick them.
The remnants of the ten o'clock morning frost turned into water streaks on the School Festival signboards, the steam rising from the takoyaki grill wrapped around the brass band music, dyeing the morning mist a maple syrup hue.
The sound of kendo club bamboo swords cutting through the air mixed with the aroma of grilled dango sauce, striking out twelve noontime chimes on the fallen ginkgo leaves.
The two-thirty westerly wind lifted the indigo-dyed curtains of the handmade market, and the cracks in the pottery held the white smoke from the soba noodle stall.
From the direction of the archery range came the tremor of arrows embedding in the target's center, startling the pigeons on the eaves.
Those wings carried the unsold doujinshi of the third-year students, swept over the heads of the girls from the astronomy club who were using constellations to tell fortunes about love, gently pushing time towards three o'clock in the afternoon when the tea ceremony club folded their tatami mats.
"It's over, it's over."
"I feel like my back is about to fall apart."
"I didn't expect so many people to visit on the first day. Luckily, we prepared enough ingredients."
"Enough? Like hell! Around 1 o'clock, I was the one who ran to the gourmet club to borrow six trays of eggs, and we have to return them tomorrow!"
"I feel like after finishing lunch and cleaning the classroom, I won't have the energy to walk around anymore."
"We also have to trouble the kitchen staff to prepare our lunch. I suddenly feel a little guilty..."
The two life-sized standees had been moved into the classroom, and the front door was hung with the large characters "Closed." The butlers were all slumped in their chairs without any regard for their image.
"Clap, clap, clap...!"
A sudden round of applause rang out in the classroom filled with complaints.
Everyone looked toward the source of the sound and saw it was Teacher Fujiro carrying two large bags.
"Everyone worked hard! Come, come get some drinks to quench your thirst," Teacher Fujiro placed the bags with convenience store logos on the round table.
"Arigato, Teacher Fujiro!" Everyone shouted in unison, seemingly without energy.
They were tired, but they would still get some money after the School Festival ended as comfort. However, Teacher Fujiro was different; she had clearly refused everyone's invitation at the time.
---
Moreover, these were drinks she had bought for everyone at her own expense.
Seeing this, Teacher Fujiro didn't say much else. She called the Class Monitor to organize the distribution, reminded them a few things about hygiene, and then left.
In about ten minutes, everyone had a steaming hot plate of fried rice in their hands.
"Tsuna, my arms are so sore," Shouko said softly, feeling wronged.
"Want me to give you a massage when we get back? If you don't mind, I can also give you a massage now," Tsuna said, swallowing the food in his mouth.
Shouko quickly shook her head. "Let's just wait until we get back."
Everyone in the class was here now. Having them watch Tsuna massage her would be worse than finding a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"Why? I feel like..." Tsuna compared the amount of fried rice he had with hers, saying somewhat confusedly, "Why do I feel like my portion is missing something?"
"It's just your imagination, Tsuna. Eat quickly. Let's finish fast. After we clean up, we still need to go walk around."
"Okay, okay."
Hearing this, Tsuna didn't say anything more. As long as he could eat his fill, that was fine. He had just asked casually anyway.
"..." Nishikata swallowed the fried rice in his mouth. He always felt his fried rice was a bit salty.
But seeing everyone else eating with such relish, he thought it must be his taste buds that were off or that his palate was too bland.
"I won't disturb your little world for two anymore. Takagi-chan and I are going to look around first," Ajitani said with a light chuckle, patted Shouko's shoulder, and quickly ran off.
"Bye-bye, see you tomorrow," Takagi waved to Shouko beside her and quickly followed the steps of the person who had run off.
Standing in front of the changing room door, Shouko watched the two people walk away and mumbled softly:
"Tsuna and I aren't even together yet, so where's this 'little world for two' coming from..."
"Let's go, we'll go look around too. Mom just messaged me. She said she and Yuzuru went back first," Tsuna, who had changed his clothes, walked forward at this moment.
"Okay, okay!" Shouko nodded excitedly.
However, to be honest, even if the two of them weren't together yet, this didn't seem to be much different from a 'little world for two'.
The two of them slowly started walking towards Teaching Building Number One. However, because it was already around three-thirty in the afternoon, most of the open specialty stalls and simulation shops had already closed.
"Tsuna, should we take a look here?" The two of them reached the third floor, and Shouko raised her finger, pointing to a classroom, and asked.
Tsuna looked in the direction she pointed. There was a silver plaque hanging by the door of that classroom, engraved with "Magic Starry Sky Fortune-telling."
"Okay."
Tsuna confirmed there were no teachers around, took her hand proactively, and walked in alongside her, lifting the black curtain at the front door.
Black fabric covered the classroom walls, with LED string lights in a starry sky pattern, glowing moon decorations, and constellation charts projected by a projector.
This was Tsuna's first impression, while Shouko, who was beside him, looked around with eyes full of curiosity.
On the table in the center were small night lights shaped like vintage kerosene lamps, electronic candles, and purple Japan signs.
Words like "Fortune-telling" and "Fate" were written on them. Although the light was dim, it was enough to see the cards clearly.
There was a dark red tablecloth with gold tassels sewn along the edges. The table also had props like a crystal ball (plastic imitation), tarot cards, and astrological dice.
The scent of burning sandalwood incense wafted over.
"Have the two of you also been guided by fate to enter?"
At this moment, the fortune-teller sitting behind the table, draped in a black lace veil and wearing exaggerated metal jewelry, imitating a gypsy, said in a faint voice.
Both of their attentions were drawn by her words. Tsuna just felt that this person was probably suffering from Chuunibyou...
He remembered that the essence of a fortune-telling classroom lay in 'five parts mystery + five parts nonsense' and students talking nonsense with a straight face.
Shouko went straight to the point: "I want a fortune reading for my relationship!"
Although she didn't know if they even did fortune-telling for relationships, it was worth asking.
Anyway, there were only the three of them in the room, and with Tsuna by her side, she wouldn't feel embarrassed.