And so another day passed, and the day of the festival arrived.
The academy, usually bustling with many students, was particularly crowded today.
Normally, outsiders were banned from entering the academy, but during the school festival, they were allowed in.
This time, it was a place filled not just with students and professors but all sorts of people.
I heard Class B had already started their business. It was almost time for Class A’s booth to open up shop as well.
Of course, it wasn’t easy to attract as many customers as Class B using ordinary means. So we decided to use a different strategy.
“Now’s the time, Iria. You can go out now.”
“What should I do?”
“Just stand in front.”
“······?”
Rena was smiling faintly as she watched Iria, who was dressed in work clothes.
Her already pretty face looked particularly radiant today.
Perhaps because she always wore a school uniform, seeing her in different clothes felt fresh.
Unlike the uniform, this outfit highlighted her figure quite a bit, which might have been part of it.
Though not to the extent of being called busty, Iria’s chest size was among the top in the academy.
Not to mention, her thighs, slightly visible between the short skirt, were also attractive. They were pleasantly plump, with skin clear of any blemishes.
She was a cute girl whose cute face didn’t match her not-so-cute figure.
Iria could pull this off now.
Iria in a maid outfit equals money.
*
The first-year students of the Combat Magic Department’s Class A quickly spread the word that they were running a maid café booth.
This was largely due to Iria standing right in front of it.
At this moment, her influence was undeniable.
She was the top student of the first year and had caused quite a stir shortly after enrolling.
In particular, the rumor that she had made the second daughter of the Aster family kneel and lick her feet had become quite famous.
People might not know who was in Class A, but upon hearing Iria’s name, they’d react, “Oh, Class A is the one with Iria?”
In a way, Iria was more famous than Class A.
Whatever the case, the impact of her name was more substantial than expected.
The first ones to rush over were some otaku types who had clinged to Iria and made her life difficult for a while.
Of course, they were more interested in Iria than the café, so they didn’t enter but waited outside instead.
More people surrounded Iria than I anticipated.
After all, they were there just to catch a glimpse of the local S-rank beauty in a maid outfit.
Among them were also those who, out of curiosity, joined the crowd because they saw so many people gathered.
For whatever reason, there was a surprising number of people gathered around Class A’s booth.
“Hey, move! I can’t see!”
“Over there! Look at that! Crazy, it suits her so well!”
“But what’s going on over there?”
In the center of everyone’s attention stood a woman with silver hair.
She was an incredibly beautiful woman.
Her silver hair, swaying slightly in the breeze, was as silky as satin, and her bright red eyes matched perfectly with her white hair, leaving a strong impression.
She stood still for a moment, leading to the impression that she was a well-crafted doll.
Despite all the attention, her expression remained utterly calm.
All she did was blink her eyes, maintaining the same expression she had at the start.
“······.”
How did so many people gather here?
Iria was momentarily standing there blankly, then brought out a small knife and an apple.
“Oh, is she going to show us something?”
“Is she going to peel the apple?”
“So what is this about anyway?”
With all eyes on her, she tossed the apple high and showed off some fancy moves.
To the naked eye, it was almost impossible to follow her movements. It all happened in an instant.
– Swoosh, swoosh, slice!
Iria spun through the air and sliced the apple with lightning speed, then held a plate above her head.
Beautifully cut pieces of apple landed neatly on the plate.
“Hmm.”
Iria put on a slightly proud smile as she set the cut apples down.
She seemed to be waiting for a reaction.
Sure, it was indeed impressive. This was a trick you couldn’t see anywhere else.
A regular person wouldn’t even be able to imitate it. Was this kind of movement possible for a top first-year student?
Some students with good dynamic vision caught a glimpse of Iria’s white underwear during her aerial tricks.
A few passersby blushed slightly as they walked by.
The audience went wild.
In more ways than one.
While Iria showcased her apple-cutting skills, customers from Class A started pouring in.
There was hardly any room left inside, and they had to line up several rows to wait.
‘I didn’t expect this would work so well.’
Of course, the one struggling the most was Rena.
She had to cook for every customer Iria attracted. For someone responsible for the kitchen duties, it was like a disaster.
Of course, being busy was better than having no customers at all.
‘You just said to stand still, so why did you go and cut apples?’
Still peeking, Rena shook her head in disbelief. But if the response was good, that changed everything.
Rena decided to use this to promote their booth.
“How about giving out the cut apples for free to passersby? Keep making Iria cut more.”
“Oh… that sounds good.”
“Go grab some apples from the supply room and pass them to Iria.”
“Got it!”
Rena left this instruction while preparing the dishes, and Teresa, who handled the kitchen duties and serving, nodded.
While the kitchen was the busiest area right now, the staff in the dining area were just as frantic.
After all, the essence of a maid café is in service and hospitality.
“Welcome! What would you like to order?”
“I’ll cast a delicious spell for you!”
In the decorated café, the sounds of beautiful female students welcoming customers echoed.
Outside, Iria was still cutting apples. Naturally, complaints from the customers were heard.
“So when is Iria coming in?”
“Is she going to stay out there the whole time?”
These complaints were about Iria’s absence.
Most of the people gathered here came to see Iria.
They entered because they saw the cute silver-haired beauty performing tricks, only to find Iria absent and others present.
Of course, given Class A was renowned for its beauties, many were still satisfied with the girls present in the café, but it didn’t change the fact that they felt let down.
These complaints soon reached Rena’s ears.
It was an outcome she had somewhat anticipated. After all, they were drawn in by Iria’s name.
If they didn’t see her, they would inevitably become disgruntled.
“Tell Iria to stop cutting apples and to come greet the customers.”
Thus, the plan was to capture the initial wave of guests and then have Iria handle the service to keep them from leaving.
If she could just catch the initial customers, the word would spread quickly. Rena intended to capitalize on this.
If she could satisfy the customers who’d come in, she wouldn’t have to worry about future ones too much.
But there was one problem.
“Please, just don’t cause any trouble…”
Even though everything was flowing as planned, the worry remained the same.
She knew how terrible Iria’s social skills were. But now that the situation had escalated far beyond her expectations, she couldn’t pull back.
While preparing the dishes to serve, Rena was desperately praying that Iria wouldn’t cause any incidents.
And not long after, word reached her that Iria had stepped on a customer’s face.
*
This all happened when Iria had showcased her apple-cutting trick about twenty times outside the café.
“Iria! Stop cutting the apples and come help with the customers!”
“Yes.”
Iria organized the knife in her hands and stepped into the café.
Rena had taught her the manual for receiving customers. When unsure of what to do, it was important to follow the manual and do what the customers wanted as much as possible.
What the customers wanted, you ask?
Iria smiled faintly. Unlike Rena’s worries, this was her area of confidence.
She knew what customers wanted just by making eye contact.
“What would you like to order?”
“Ugh.”
Iria briefly asked while locking eyes with a customer.
Upon closer inspection, it was someone she knew. One of the guys who went crazy wanting to duel after she defeated Lucia!
It felt a bit awkward but wasn’t a huge concern. Iria didn’t dwell on the past.
She decided to ignore that and read his thoughts.
‘Wow, she’s even prettier up close… I wish she’d just step on my face once. Preferably with those stocking-clad feet.’
What kind of person thinks like that?
Iria thought there were some peculiar people in the world.
What the customer wanted was to serve them. It wasn’t hard at all.
“Could you please press your face against the table for me?”
“Eh? Like this?”
Iria lifted one leg and stomped down on the customer’s face.
