Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

「...Uh, maid cafe, please」

「Wow, unexpected」

It must have really caught him off guard.

Maisaka grumbled and then gave him a wink.

But regardless of his reaction, the class is buzzing.

「Izumi-kun, why the maid cafe?」

「Oh, yeah. I just wanted to see someone in a maid cafe」

The classroom is buzzing again.

「I mean, Takatsuki-san」

「Oh. C-Chihiro-kun. It's embarrassing...」

Aika's cheeks flushed as she looked down.

More voices coming from the crowd.

「But is it okay? Everyone will see Takatsuki-san in her maid uniform. Even her legs」

「Oh, I would love to see her in a long costume」

「Izumi, you're so honest with yourself!」

Really, this was not what he wanted to hear from someone who had talked to about erotic thing on the first day of a real conversation.

But he chukled and muddled his thoughts.

（...Well, I wanted to see Aika, but it was more like Riko, I can't say that here）

Riko's desire that he saw the other day is still haunting him.

He would like to see her as a maid, and at the same time, he would like to dress her. He was considering buying it, but it would not be a bad idea to take advantage of such an opportunity.

If everyone wears it together, it will be a good reason.

Riko had an indescribable expression on her face and looked back at Chihiro for a moment.

「Okay, let's vote on it」

Since the first vote is unlikely to make a proper difference, the votes are cast again, leaving only the ones which received votes.

Then, the votes for the maid cafe, where Chihiro alone voted the first time, increased.

...Mainly because of the boys who had gotten carried away.

However, there are some female votes as well.

「I'll vote for a maid cafe too. But I want to make a condition」

「Conditions?」

「I think it's unfair that only girls have to wear embarrassing outfits, so boys should wear them too. Well, only those who look good should wear it. Just "those" who look good」

For some reason, all eyes are on Chihiro.

Maisaka nodded with the most joyful smile.

「Okay, okay. So Izumi, the one who started it all, should dress up as a woman?」

「Eh, wait a minute, that's not how it works...」

He tried to raise his voice in protest, but was interrupted by a loud yellow voice.

「OH, then I'll vote for a maid cafe too!」

「ME TOO!」

「OH, Maisaka. Can I change my vote to a maid cafe now?」

Before he knew it, it had the highest number of votes.

「Well then, Class 1-C's performance will be a maid cafe」

And so, there is a huge round of applause. Mainly for Chihiro.

"...it shouldn't have been like this" Chihiro thought.

Even though the performance he had recommended was chosen, there are some things that didn't seem right.

Because of the strange excitement in the class, the rest of the agenda - the rough division of roles in the preparation - is quickly decided.

The girls are mainly in charge of making design plans, sewing, and serving customers.

And since the girls would be in charge of the important parts of the event, the boys would be in charge of setting up the venue, carrying the shopping bags, handing out leaflets, accounting, and other miscellaneous tasks.

「Izumi, you will be busy, after all you'll be the main person serving the guests on the day」

「Thank you?」

He wasn't sure if he should thank it or not.

Even after the discussion is over, there was a lot of noise in the classroom and the number of people did not seem to decrease. In the midst of this, Chihiro talked to Aika and Riko.

「I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd say something like that」

「It's true」

「I'm sorry」

Aika smiled bitterly and Riko stared at him.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but apologize to both of them.

「But it's a good, right? It's not like we're going to lose anything, so why don't you just dress up like a girl?」

「Yeah. It's only fair if Chihiro-kun wears a maid's uniform too」

Well, both of them seemed to be confused but not in a bad mood, and said with smiles.

Especially, Riko, she seemed to be enjoying herself.

She must have realized the reason why Chihiro suggested the maid cafe. Her personality was such that she might have sulked at the thought that it was none of her business, but even so, she understood in a positive way.

「Hmm... you're right. I'll take responsibility for this now that it's happened」

「Oh, that's the spirit.」

Then, Maisaka patted him from behind.

In his other hand, he's holding a piece of paper that looks like a document.

「Here」

「Eh?」

He took it and confirmed that it was an application form for an event. The words "maid cafe" are written on it, as well as the place where the event will take place, the name of the person in charge, Maisaka.

「While you're at it, why don't you go submit the form to the student council? You're going there now, right?」

「Yeah, sure. I'm going, but...」

Aren't these things supposed to be brought directly by class representatives?

「It's okay. I'm sure they won't suspect it of being a fake」

「That's so random」

「What do you mean? I'm worried about you」

「Haha... okay」

It sounded really fake, but it was just a coincidence, so he agreed.

After that, he said goodbye to Aika and Riko, took his bag and left his seat.

The student council room is on the floor where the second-year students' classrooms are, so he walked one staircase down.

He felt uncomfortable just because it is the floor where the upperclassmen are, but fortunately, there is almost no one in the corridor because it has been a long time since HR.

The second-year students are probably not used to Chihiro's [Mind-reading] too, so it's nice not to have to worry about being seen.

After walking down the corridor toward the back, he turned at the end of the corridor and walked a little further.

According to the map he checked beforehand, it should be around here... 

「...there it is」

The student council room.

The room had a simple plate on it, but from the outside he could not see what was going on inside. The door has a small window at eye level, but it is made of low transparency frosted glass, so it cannot be used for peeping.

Therefore, he could not tell whether there are people inside or not, and if so, what kind of people they are, until he opened the door.

To prepare himself, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door cautiously.

Then...

「Geez, even though I'm in the middle of something」

「No, you shouldn't do that. If the guests hear us」

A voice complaining and a voice chiding can be heard.

...In fact, it could be heard clearly by Chihiro. How can a student council member complain about a visitor?

He hesitated, wondering if he should come back, or if he should just knock. But then――

「Yes, come in.」

A third voice rang out from inside.

That voice sounded familiar. It's from Yotsuba, the student council president, who he knows well. So, he opens the door, relieved to see her inside.

「Excuse me」

Immediately, a fragrant smell wafted from the room and tickled Chihiro's nostrils.

...Is it coffee?

Next, Yotsuba's voice sounded surprised.

「Oh!」

The voice drew the attention of the other people in the room to the entrance, and Chihiro found himself face to face with them.