Golden Festival Day 18
Nicholas checked on Odd Job's Shiogram feed. His hand immediately trembled: "Uh… guys?"
Everyone turned simultaneously.
Nicholas swallowed and announced the news: Our promotional video hit… 50 million views."
The room fell silent. Diego dropped the cloth he was using. Kagura let the cup she was holding fall, shattering on the floor. Shinatsu's jaw slightly dropped. Iris' jaw fell even more open, closing only after Ariel poked it to make sure she didn't swallow a fly. Beatrice blinked, stoic, but her eyes sparkled faintly. Chifuyu stood frozen, half proud, half terrified. Caesar stood straight, arms crossed, pretending this was only natural. Even the refrigerator in the back hummed louder, as if in disbelief.
Then, Kagura ignited like a festival firework: "We did it!" She grabbed Chifuyu and shook him violently, "We did it, Chifuyu!"
Chifuyu screamed incoherently as Ariel jumped over his shoulders.
Diego jumped onto the nearest table: "Bwahahaha. That other cafe doesn't stand a chance against us!"
Shinatsu: "It hasn't even been a full day yet."
Nicholas cleared his throat: "And, uh… the comments say things like… 'Where can we meet the White Ranger in real life?' 'Is Purple Ranger single?' 'Red Ranger's footwork is insane.' 'Pink Ranger is kind of adorable.'"
Ariel immediately turned away, cheeks puffing: "I-I am absolutely not adorable! I am a powerful Vampire Lord! I am fear and devastation given form—"
Chifuyu: "Since when are you a tsundere?"
Diego: "Yeah, that's Shinatsu's archetype."
Shinatsu: "Oi."
Caesar waved his phone: "People are already making edits of it."
Chifuyu: "Haha. No way, let me see."
That was when the front door opened. Ina stepped in. Everyone straightened instantly. She wore her long black coat, hair neatly tied, posture commanding. She looked around the cafe with a businesswoman's precision: "Good morning."
Kagura: "Good morning, Ina!"
The others greeted her altogether.
Ina nodded, crossed her arms, and leaned against the counter: "I can see you guys have seen the numbers. Odd Jobs has already been maintaining a positive cash inflow. Now I'm sure it'll double that. It'll get a lot busier around here."
Nicholas: "We're ready!"
Diego: "You can count on us!"
They nodded vigorously.
Ina turned: "And Shinatsu."
Shinatsu stiffened: "…Yes?"
Ina: "You're the most skilled cook here. If you ever want to introduce a specialty dish, something uniquely yours, I'll approve it."
Shinatsu blinked: ""I—don't have anything like that."
Ina: "It's an option. Consider it."
Shinatsu lowered her gaze: "…Okay. I'll think about it."
Ina adjusted her coat: "Good. Then I'll take my leave. Get ready for many new customers."
She stepped out without another word. The door closed.
Kagura: "I have an idea."
Shinatsu: "This should be fun."
"We're doing a maid cafe today."
She pulled out a duffel bag full of maid uniforms.
Shinatsu: "Lovely, you already have them."
Iris: "The video was one thing. B-but a maid cafe… I don't think I can—"
Kagura: "And boom, I just posted the announcement on our social media."
Ariel: "A maid huh? Is that any different than serving our customers like usual?"
Chifuyu: "Yeah, it's different alright."
Beatrice: "Cosplaying 2 days in a row should be fun."
Diego: "So do the guys have to work today?"
Kagura: "In the kitchen, yes! Let's have all hands on deck."
Once the mid-afternoon hit, chaos began. The line wrapped around the block. High school students. Middle schoolers. University students. Even working adults. Hundreds of them. Today, the majority of the younger ones were gathered for one reason: the maid cafe.
Every maid outfit Kagura bought was insanely frilly, cute, and sparkly. Kagura put her hand over her mouth as she blushed when she first saw Shinatsu in her maid outfit.
Kagura: "Welcome Masters and Mistresses!"
Ariel made a heart with her hands casts a spell: "Become delicious! Moe Moe Kyun!" The group of high school boys at her table fainted instantly.
Diego: "Let's keep it going boys! Don't stop!"
Chifuyu: "This is crazy, the orders have not stopped for over an hour!"
Ariel approached a table of high school girls. She crossed her arms proudly: "Hmph. You are fortunate to be served by me—the magnificent Ariel."
They squealed.
"Ariel you're so cool!"
She placed their coffees with flourish, twirling like she was on a theater stage. Then she added whipped cream shaped like donuts.
Iris approached her table trembling, tray shaking: "W-welcome.I-I hope your, um, desserts… are… good…?"
Her customers, 2 high school boys stared awkwardly.
"Oh, yeah. It's delicious."
"Do you recommend any other desserts?"
Iris glitched. She froze. Then stiffly walked away like a malfunctioning robot. Chifuyu noticed this as he came out of the kitchen for a second.
"I guess not. She was pretty shy."
"It's just cuz I was so good-looking."
"Get real."
Beatrice served her tables elegantly: "Welcome. Please enjoy your stay." Girls swooned and boys blushed.
"She looks like she belongs in a royal palace…"
"She's too powerful to be a maid…"
"Yeah, she should be the princess."
Beatrice served flawlessly, every step coordinated like choreography. Some girls even asked for pictures with her.
For the maid cafe, Kagura designed heart-shaped omurice with ketchup drawings personalized by each maid, ranging from elegant floral motifs by Beatrice to chaotic scribbles from Ariel that somehow still charmed customers. Shinatsu, despite not being eager to do this, prepared the highest-rated dish: a rich curry rice adorned with a tiny edible purple cat made of mashed potatoes and food dye. They served pastel-colored parfaits stacked with mochi, fruits, and star-shaped jelly. Ariel made a signature drink called the "Donut Dream Float," a strawberry soda topped with soft-serve ice cream and a mini donut. The most popular drink, however, was Nicholas's creation: the "Maid Matcha Miracle," topped with latte art that looked… vaguely maid-themed if you tilted your head. It was the best because it was the tastiest which only he made. Every dish came with chaotic charm, and customers loved it.
Shinatsu approached a table of male university students.
They froze.
Because she glared like a military commander.
Shinatsu: "Welcome," she said with a stone-cold stare.
The boys flinched.
They whispered: "She's terrifying…"
"I think she'll stab us if we breathe wrong…"
"Is this… is this the appeal…?"
Kagura silently walked by and whispered into her ear: "Greet them properly."
Shinatsu gritted her teeth and forced a smile: "Welcome, masters. How may I serve you?"
"She's scarier than before!"
The cafe didn't slow down. As one party left, another immediately entered.
"CAN WE GET A GROUP MAID POSE PHOTO!?"
All the girls froze. Kagura, of course, agreed instantly. Shinatsu tried to run, but Beatrice caught her by the collar. A group photo was taken. Shinatsu's soul visibly left her body.
The image went straight to Shiogram.
Within 30 minutes:
100,000 likes.
Iris turned pale: "I wanna crawl in a hole…"
As the evening settled in, the final wave of customers poured in.
Every maid had developed a fanbase:
Kagura: Ganored the most due to her personality
Ariel: fangirls and donut cult
Iris: the protect her faction
Beatrice: second most popular
Shinatsu: fear-based devotion
By closing, they were exhausted, but they did it. Their busiest day yet. And it would not slow down.
Mostly everybody collapsed onto the living room couches. The guys sprawled like roadkill after 8 hours of preparing and making orders. Iris was curled like a shy exhausted hedgehog. Beatrice sat upright, unshaken. Kagura glowed with triumph. Shinatsu was full of regret.
Chifuyu groaned: "I want the rest of the week off."
Kagura grinned: "Hehe. Denied."
Chifuyu: "You're cruel."
Shinatsu held up a knife from the kitchen: "I'm never doing that again."
Iris: "Ditto."
Kagura hid behind Diego.
Nicholas checked Shiogram one last time for the day. "…Guys? Our maid cafe post doubled in likes and our PV passed 70 million views."
Shinatsu: "Great."
Caesar: "Haha. We're in danger."
Beatrice: "Our video is currently number one on trending."
Iris faints.
Chifuyu: "Iris!"
Yuji: "This is way too much attention."
Ariel: "Is that a bad thing?"
Meanwhile, Kagura chuckles to herself, knowing what she has planned for the coming days.