"Shirakawa... At this rate, you’ll lose me sooner or later..." The cute little Ise Yu said wistfully, "Saying that Sakurazawa and I are mere accessories in the battle between Tachibana and Hayakawa... Have you ever seen such a cute accessory combo?"
"That’s right... Shirakawa, this time you’re really going to lose me..." the whiny one followed up with a complaint, "Double standards are the worst, ugh! Scumbag..."
Miss Tachibana Chiboku used a napkin to shyly cover half of her small face. Her cheeks were rosy as she secretly glanced at the three of them without making a sound.
Shirakawa Sawahei remarked curiously, "Who said you guys were accessories..."
"Hmph, now it’s too late to butter us up, Shirakawa! Unless you give us more compliments..."
"What I meant was you’re not even worth being called accessories." Shirakawa Sawahei smiled, "At best, you’re just there to make up the numbers for starting the battle."
Seeing the two suddenly turning fierce, Shirakawa Sawahei calmly said, "If you want to fight, think it through first. Even together, you might not win."
"You should well know the consequences if you lose."
"Ahem... What’s Shirakawa saying, girls don’t go around hitting people?"
This set of words nearly instantly dampened the fighting spirit of the lazy girl, while Tsukimi Sakurazawa, not having been punished by Shirakawa Sawahei before, was still warming up her fists, ready to pounce at any moment.
"Orikin... what happened to you? Did Shirakawa threaten you? Damn it, it’s definitely a villain’s typical move!"
Ise Yu Yuzhijin: "..."
This wasn’t really about threats or lack thereof... If we went at him together, I’d still have to live with him afterwards...
You have no idea how tough Shirakawa is... I’ve felt his fists quite a few times...
"The food is here, sit down properly and eat, stop fooling around."
The whiny one gave a disgruntled sigh but eventually didn’t continue with the tantrum, sitting down obediently to prepare to eat.
"Shirakawa, you better not think just because I’ve sat down, that I’m giving in."
"Alright, alright, you’re tough, the toughest."
This time they chose a restaurant offering both sushi and sashimi, with a Japanese-style decor. They entered a private room, where guests sat on tatami mats and enjoyed dishes like sashimi laid out on low tables, exuding a bit of a bourgeois vibe. Unfortunately, Shirakawa Sawahei wasn’t fond of eating sashimi since savoring its freshness requires a lot of courage.
Fish roe sushi wasn’t on his list either. He had two regular tempura sushi and after a drink, he put down his chopsticks to signal he was full.
"Eek~ Shirakawa, why are you such a picky eater?" The lazy girl observed, "My mom says being picky can actually stunt your grow..."
The girl glanced at Shirakawa Sawahei’s physique and corrected herself, "Being picky can cause hair loss."
Shirakawa Sawahei shot her a glance, "I’ve got plenty of hair, no worries."
"Eh~ Shirakawa, that’s where you’re wrong. There’s a saying that when young you don’t know the value of black hair, when old you face the mirror and cry empty tears! The ancient Huaxia people weren’t wrong~"
Hmm? Is that how the saying goes? Why does it feel a bit off?
Shirakawa Sawahei retorted annoyingly, "Even sushi can’t plug your mouths... Believe it or not, I’ll eat everything in your bowls."
The lazy girl hurriedly protected the food in front of her, "No way..."
"Then behave and eat your meals."
Miss Tachibana Chiboku was the second to be full. The whiny and lazy girls seemed to enjoy these sashimi dishes quite a bit, the two discussing their eating techniques at length, looking quite happy.
Shirakawa Sawahei, feeling a bit bored, originally wanted to chat with the quiet girl for a while, but she happened to be sitting opposite him. Trying to chat across the two people in between was a bit too much of a challenge. With no other options, he pulled out his phone to check if he had any messages to reply to.
[Brother Shirakawa! I heard you’re also going to this summer Comic?]
As soon as he opened his phone, Imamura Takuya’s eager message popped up. This guy seemed to have changed his profile pic, so Shirakawa didn’t recognize him at first.
Finding it odd, Shirakawa Sawahei replied with a question mark, typing: [Why do you say ’also’?]
[Of course, because Ajie and I are going too!] Imamura Takuya exclaimed excitedly, [Awesome! Brother Shirakawa is going too, turns out we made the right decision!]
[The manager truly did us no wrong!]
[What did you two... do...]
Shirakawa Sawahei had a vague sense that something was amiss. Initially, he recommended these two guys there, not hoping they’d cause him any trouble.
Though he had specifically instructed Dubian Ichiro to not give Imamura and Aoki any crucial roles, seeing the response from Yuri Painter Dubian Ichiro, it seemed the two notorious buffoons were regarded as some kind of newfound talent...
Could it be... they teased the maid girls?
[We owe it all to Brother Shirakawa!]
Imamura Takuya sent a teary-eyed emoji, typing excitedly: [At first, Ajie and I were heartbroken, finding the world bleak and dark... It felt like life lost all meaning...]
[Oh, oh... After we were interviewed by the manager, he was very pleased and decided to entrust us with important roles! It was the first time we felt valued... extremely happy...]
[So, we decided, not just for Brother Shirakawa’s well-intentions, but also for the trust bestowed by the manager, we must make something out of it!]
[The ancient Huaxia saying goes, "A hard-working person, destiny won’t forsake!" Through our relentless efforts, Ajie and I finally ran the official Twitter account of this Maid Cafe quite successfully! The follower count increased dramatically!]
[I handle the script planning, and Ajie handles communication! Together, our combined efforts have made the manager’s shop somewhat famous!]
[Many even came online attracted by our fame, to visit our shop!]
Shirakawa Sawahei, "..."
[You... your job is to use cute emojis and expressions online to pretend to be adorable girls... to engage and interact with fans... managing the official Twitter account?]
[Brother Shirakawa, as expected of Brother Shirakawa! You summed it all up in one go! Impressive!]
Why do you speak with such a proud tone about this... Is it me who’s misreading the situation?
But... regardless, if these two delinquents found their worth and discovered what they’re good at, perhaps that’s not such a bad outcome...
[Hmm... it’s already great that you’re striving... keep it up.]
[That’s not all, Brother Shirakawa!] Imamura Takuya continued: [Through our efforts, Ajie and I finally realized that supposedly popular people don’t start out that way... if you don’t actively pursue, even in harem anime, the main female character won’t like you!]
[Now, both Ajie and I, we get along pretty well with the girls in the shop... well, we’ve gained a little sense of popularity...]
Is this guy bragging?
[The manager has influenced us significantly... leading us without complaint into a brand new world...]
Shirakawa Sawahei vaguely sensed something ominous...
[In any case, be it the manager or Brother Shirakawa, you are both very important to us... this summer Comic is when the manager encourages us and takes us along!]
[Ajie and I have decided! From today on, to embrace the world of otaku! Nothing can stop us!]
[Hey, Brother Shirakawa, you’d for sure, right?]
Shirakawa Sawahei slowly typed out a question mark.