Soon, Hasebe Haruka took Saiki to the café and ordered him a mocha.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
After taking a sip of the coffee and showing a satisfied expression, Saiki looked at the girl in front of him and asked.
"I wanted to talk to you about Airi-chan."
Hasebe Haruka looked at Saiki very seriously.
[Airi-chan is very interested in you, Kusuo-kun.]
'Yare yare, does Hasebe know? But could you not come up with these strange nicknames on your own?'
Saiki sighed helplessly in his heart.
With his telepathy, he naturally knew that Sakura Airi had feelings for him that went beyond those of ordinary classmates.
Given Saiki's personality, he didn't want to be noticed by others, as it would only bring him unnecessary trouble.
However, since Sakura Airi's personality was somewhat special, Saiki hadn't taken any particular action yet.
"Originally, Airi was supposed to handle the kitchen work... but I think she's actually more suited to being a server."
Hasebe Haruka said very seriously,
"You might not have noticed, but Airi's appearance isn't bad. I think being a maid in the front would be good for her. It might help her learn how to interact with others..."
'I actually noticed that a long time ago.'
Saiki replied in his heart.
In fact, Saiki was the first person in the school to know Sakura Airi's true identity.
Even Hasebe Haruka didn't know about Sakura Airi's other identity.
Online Idol.
After Hasebe Haruka finished speaking, Saiki slowly said:
"So, you're asking me to find a way to move Sakura to the front?"
"Yes, since you're the manager now, you're the only one who can do it."
"I see."
Saiki said.
'If I agree, Horikita will probably scold me later. Given her personality, she'll definitely think having Sakura as a maid server is very inappropriate...'
"If you can help, I'll treat you to a meal later! I know you love the desserts at school!"
Before Hasebe Haruka could finish, Saiki had already nodded vigorously.
"I'll do it."
This wouldn't cause any loss for Saiki, so agreeing was fine.
Moreover, Saiki also knew that Sakura Airi secretly wanted to be a maid.
She wanted to wear a beautiful maid outfit and appear in front of everyone.
Sakura Airi believed that if she did that, she might become the person she wanted to be.
To become like her other self, 'Shizuku.'
"Thank you so much!"
Hasebe Haruka was a bit surprised. She hadn't expected Saiki to agree so quickly, but she soon smiled happily and gave Saiki a satisfied look.
...
After parting ways with Hasebe Haruka, Saiki returned to his dorm and called Kushida Kikyo in advance, inviting her to his room to discuss the cultural festival.
Although Saiki didn't want other students in his room, visiting a girl's room at night as a guy might cause unnecessary trouble, so he had to invite her to his room instead.
Aside from Horikita Suzune, he planned to recruit Kushida Kikyo and Karuizawa Kei for the cultural festival. After all, in the class, these two were the ones Saiki was slightly closer to.
Moreover, Saiki felt that if he didn't invite them, something might go wrong.
Although it would be more efficient to meet them both at the same time, for some reason, Saiki chose to meet them separately.
A few minutes later, Kushida Kikyo arrived at Saiki's room.
"Good evening, Saiki-kun. What did you want to talk about?"
"I wanted to discuss the cultural festival with you."
"Oh?"
Kushida Kikyo's face showed curiosity, and Saiki explained the details of the cultural festival to her.
"So, you want me to be a maid?"
"It sounds a bit strange, but yes."
Saiki replied.
"Sure, I'll do it. After all, I owe you a favor."
Kushida Kikyo readily agreed to Saiki's request.
"Oh?"
This left Saiki puzzled.
"You helped me get Yagami-kun expelled."
Kushida Kikyo smiled,
"Ayanokoji-kun mentioned before that you could help me expel Yagami. At the time, I didn't fully believe it, but I didn't expect you to actually get him expelled during the uninhabited island exam. Impressive."
'...'
Saiki was momentarily at a loss for words. He hadn't expected Kushida Kikyo to know that Yagami Takuya's expulsion was related to him. It seemed Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had told her something.
Yagami Takuya's expulsion was somewhat of an accident.
If he hadn't provoked Saiki, the latter wouldn't have taken action against him so quickly.
But because Yagami Takuya acted recklessly, this was the result.
However, Yagami Takuya's expulsion also benefited Kushida Kikyo.
She couldn't accept having someone in the school who knew her true identity.
"Saiki-kun, how exactly did you get Yagami-kun expelled?"
Kushida Kikyo asked.
This left Saiki struggling to answer:
'I can't exactly say I made him experience ten free falls from the atmosphere, can I?'
A few seconds later, as Saiki was about to make up an excuse, Kushida Kikyo smiled again:
"If you don't want to say, I won't ask. Pretending not to know and keeping it a secret is the best choice. That's why I'm willing to trust you, Saiki-kun."
"....."
"Yagami-kun's expulsion was his own fault. He brought it on himself. After all, I don't think his mouth is as tight as yours, Saiki-kun... I'll handle the cultural festival. I don't like owing favors."
Kushida Kikyo nodded with a smile.
"Thanks for your hard work. Here's the proposal. Please keep this confidential."
"Keeping secrets is what I do best~"
After receiving a copy of the proposal, Kushida Kikyo left Saiki's room.
Watching her leave, Saiki couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Kushida Kikyo had always been pretending, and that was her choice. Saiki didn't feel like interfering.
After all, if Kushida Kikyo could keep up the act, that was her skill.
If she could maintain the act forever, then in a way, it wasn't really an act anymore.
Still, it was fortunate that Saiki had used mind control on Kushida Kikyo before, making her lose her hostility toward him and others. Otherwise, Kushida Kikyo's existence alone would have been a problem.
For example, during the previous unanimous class exam.
If Kushida Kikyo had still held a grudge against them, she might have teamed up with Yagami Takuya to sabotage the exam, potentially causing the class to fail.
Of course, this wasn't a problem for Saiki.
After seeing Kushida Kikyo off, Saiki called Karuizawa Kei:
"Karuizawa, do you have a moment?"
"Kusuo, how many times have I told you? Just call me Kei!"
Karuizawa Kei's lively and slightly playful voice came from the other end of the phone.
"I might have time, depending on what you want."
"Can you come to my room now?"
"Ah, come to your room now!"
Hearing Saiki's words, Karuizawa Kei's mind immediately started racing, even imagining some strange things.
[What does Kusuo want with me at this hour?!]
After hearing Karuizawa Kei's hesitant response, Saiki immediately realized she was overthinking things:
"I wanted to discuss the cultural festival with you."
"The cultural festival, huh."
Karuizawa Kei's tone carried a hint of disappointment.
[Couldn't this have been discussed over the phone... No, this is a great chance to see Saiki-kun. I can't miss it!]
Thinking this, the disappointment in Karuizawa Kei's voice vanished, and she quickly agreed to Saiki's request.
A few minutes after hanging up, Karuizawa Kei appeared in Saiki's room.
Saiki then explained the cultural festival details to her.
"So, you want me to be a maid..."
Karuizawa Kei frowned slightly.
[Wearing that kind of maid outfit... It feels so embarrassing... Wearing that in front of others would be super awkward!]
Thinking this, Karuizawa Kei asked:
"Are there others participating in this maid café?"
"Yes, Wang, Matsushita, Hasebe, Kushida, Sakura, Sato..."
Hearing Sakura Airi and Sato Maya's names, Karuizawa Kei's expression immediately changed.
[They're participating too?]
'Yare yare, does that mean it's a no? But I'm just asking. Whether Karuizawa participates or not doesn't really matter...'
"Alright, I'll do it!"
Karuizawa Kei's eyes burned with determination, as if ready for battle.
[I can't let those two show off in front of Kusuo. If that's the case, I'll make this cultural festival the stage for our showdown.]
'Hey, hey, hey, what are you talking about...'
Saiki felt a bit helpless.
But since that was the case, things were progressing smoothly.
Karuizawa Kei then chatted with Saiki about some ordinary topics, taking three times as long as Kushida Kikyo before finally leaving his room.
"It's getting late. I need to explain things to the last two quickly."
Saiki muttered to himself, then sent a message to the next person.
A few minutes later, Horikita Suzune appeared in Saiki's room.
"Saiki-kun, you said you've arranged the staff. Is that true?"
Horikita Suzune asked seriously.
"Yes, I've already asked Kushida and Karuizawa to join."
[Those two?]
[Kushida's true personality is terrible, but she's actually a great fit for the cultural festival. Having her participate is definitely a good idea.]
[As for Karuizawa, I didn't think she'd agree to join this project, but she actually did. That said, I've noticed that Karuizawa seems to listen to Saiki-kun quite a bit. What kind of persuasive skills does Saiki have?]
'I didn't say anything.'
Saiki replied in his heart, then spoke up:
"I have one more person in mind, and that's you, Horikita."
"Oh?"
"We need more people, so it's only natural for you to join."
Saiki's words were a small act of revenge for Horikita Suzune forcing him to be the manager.
"In that case, I should indeed participate. But I don't have any experience, so I might need Sato and the others to guide me."
The ever-rational Horikita Suzune replied.
"But there's one thing. Although the number of maids is much smaller than the original ten, renting eight maid outfits will probably be expensive. I think eight maids is already too many. Should we reduce the number further?"
Saiki actually hoped the number could be smaller, as it would mean less work for him during the cultural festival.
However—
For this school, hosting a cultural festival open to the public was a first, and it might also be the last.
For the other students, this might be the only cultural festival of their high school lives.
In that case, they might as well go all out.
"No, I think eight is just the right number. It's not a problem."
Saiki immediately replied.
"But the cost of the maid outfits will be high, won't it? That'll drive up the expenses."
"The school didn't say we can't use personal points to cover the costs. As for the materials, I can think of something."
Saiki replied.
After all, he knew the owner of a certain shop in the school. Using her connections to get the necessary items wouldn't be a problem.