Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

「Hey, Chisato-chan. Those people...」

「Yeah. Kurohane-senpai, the student council president, and Lucille-senpai, the vice president」

「...Wow. And Maria-chan, that's kind of awesome」

Yes, it's great.

It's hard to describe it better than "great", but a first-year student is sitting alone against the top two members of the student council. And she does not look intimidated.

If a well-informed person saw this scene, he/she would either pull a face or his/her eyes would light up.

Unfortunately, the class rep from 1-C, whose face comes to mind immediately, is not here.

In addition to that.

Just a few days ago, Yotsuba became Chihiro's slave.

This should be interesting for both Maria and Aika.

Although he hasn't talked to Yotsuba about the details so far, her attitude makes him think that she knows something about it.

「I was just thinking that I would like to talk to you once」

「May I ask why?」

「Well, because I was interested. Both your personality and your abilities」

「...I see」

The exchange was harmless if one just asks.

A girl who transferred to Shibahou Academy in the first semester of her first year, and with a rank C, it is not surprising that Yotsuba is interested in her. She also mentioned that she is considering her to join the student council.

However, when he thinks of the "other side" of the two girls, he starts to think about the meaning of their words.

「Hmm. Are you regretting it, Yotsuba? Maybe you could have used her more than Chihiro」

「No, that's」「Lou's thinking too much」

「Heh, huh?」

Maria and Yotsuba, their voices overlapped each other, and Lucille's voice was unusually raised.

* * *

「Well then, see you later. You two look good together」

「See you later, Chihiro. Don't forget your student council duties」

Lucille and Yotsuba exchanged a few more words with Maria before leaving. Although there was some doubt about it, it seemed that they knew that the maid "Chisato" was Chihiro.

.......or maybe, they knew it from the beginning.

But he was hardly made fun of. Rather, they praised him... It means that they didn't feel so strange to it.

Should he be happy about it or not?

Anyway, the shift ended without any major problems.

It might have been easier in the latter half of the shift, since there was one more maid to serve customers and partly because he got accustomed to the work gradually.

After this, Chihiro handed over the baton to the other shifts, including Maria, who returned a while after leaving the cafe, and then, the three girls and him went back to the changing room.

「Thanks for your hard work!」

「Chisato-chan, you were great! I bet more than half of the guests didn't even notice」

「...ahaha, thank you. But it's thanks to all of you that I was able to do my best」

As they were about to go back to the partition, they praised Chihiro for his good work after the struggle.

「What a waste! Why don't you just stay in that outfit?」

「No, that's not right... ah...」

He stops to laugh back at a casual joke from a female student. Aika saw this and tilted her head curiously.

「Oh. What's wrong, Chihiro-kun?」

「Uh, yeah. I just remembered that I want to show this to my senpai... but I don't want to keep wearing my maid's uniform」

On the other hand, he did not bring an outfit other than a maid's uniform.

Just when he thought it would be safe to give up, Aika nodded her head in understanding of the "senpai I want to show you".

「I see. Then, do you want to wear my uniform?」

「Ehh. Is that okay? 」

「Yes. Look, I'm going to the infirmary now. Actually, I've prepared some outfits over there too」

Aika says she can wear a jersey if she is just going to the infirmary.

「No, no, no, Takatsuki-san, you can't lend him uniform, can you?」

「Don't worry. It's just a uniform, right? It's not like I'm lending him my underwear, too」

「That's right, but... Well, it's fine if it's Izumi-kun」

「Yes, they're boyfriend and girlfriend, after all. And it's fine if It's Izumi-kun」

Why did they say "If it's fine if It's Izumi-kun" twice?

Chihiro gave them both a wry smile and borrowed Aika's uniform.

「Don't sniff too much, okay?」

So, is it okay if he sniffs a little?

He tooks her advice and put his nose close to her uniform, and he could faintly smell Aika's scent.

And realizing that he was now performing even more perverse acts on top of cross-dressing, he changed from the maid's uniform to a girl's uniform. Aika also had brought a change of blouse, so he put on the blouse.

Then, using a hand mirror, he made a quick check to make sure that all the details were in order.

The over-knee socks are still on, so that the legs are hardly exposed. The semi-long wig is an authentic one, so it goes well with the uniform.

Still, he left the partition with some reluctance.

「So, what do you think?」

Chihiro asked, and all three of the girls were in a stupor.

「…Yeah」

「Well, that's good, isn't it? I mean, I don't want to praise you any more than that, out of pride」

「Chihiro-kun, be careful not to be approached by boys」

Meanwhile, Chihiro is not happy.

* * *

And now, while holding hands with Aika, they took the stairs down to the first floor.

After a brief wave to each other, they parted and Chihiro walked to the entrance of the building. He plans to wait in the student council room for about an hour after this, but he has a little time so he plans to stock up on food first.

「Ugh」

However, he is more embarrassed in this uniform than he thought he would be.

He thought it would be fine to be inside the school since he had walked around the town in plain clothes the other day, but he realizes that it is a completely different experience to be "dressed differently" in a space where he usually spends his life.

If it is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, it does not matter if people think him look a little strange.

But if he is exposed to someone whom he knows, he may not only feel awkward but may also be mistreated in a strange way.

（Maybe I'm getting a little carried away...）

Chihiro walks with tears in his eyes.

He walked with a shortened stride and a half-step in order to avoid being seen by the crowd of students and customers. Occasionally, people looked at him, but he did not want to think too much about what they were thinking inside.

While thinking this, he quickly buys some college potatoes, fried potatoes, croquettes, and drinks, and return to the school building, not forgetting to show his student ID card.

（Please, I hope they are there）

By the time he went up the stairs to the corridor leading to the student council room, he felt a little more relaxed.

He knocks on the door with the stuffs he has bought, and the voice he wants answers from the inside. With a sense of relief, he opened the door.

「Excuse me」

「Thank you for your hard work. How can I help you? Huh?」

Ayase, who was sitting in "her" usual seat, filing papers, looks back and smiles. But when "she" sees Chihiro, "her" eyes widen and "her" smiles become deeper than before.

「You look even better than I thought, Izumi-kun. It was worth all the effort I put into teaching you」

Immediately after that, Chihiro was hugged so tightly by Ayase that he almost dropped the food and other things he was carrying.