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Airi had been thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere of the cute little breakfast-style restaurant that Ena recommended to her. It was modest and cozy, and she felt a sense of relaxation come over her just from sitting inside and browsing the menu.
That is, until the waitress arrived.
“Welcome to our café!” Minori said, dressed in an elaborate maid outfit complete with a ruffled headband across her hair. “Would you be interested in hearing about today’s — Momoi-senpai!?”
For a solid two seconds, Airi’s brain seriously considered the possibility that her kouhai had followed her into this establishment and was impersonating an employee for the express purpose of involving her in some random nonsense. The maid outfit certainly didn’t refute this theory, either.
But then on the third second, it clicked.
“Minori,” she said, lowering her menu, “you work here, don’t you?”
She tilted her head. “Huh? Of course I do, Momoi-senpai.”
Great. Of all the cafés I could have picked…
Well, it was Ena who had suggested this one. And she hardly would have recognized any of the students that went to Airi’s school, much less the one that regularly gave her headaches.
But still.
“By the way,” Airi said. “Why are you wearing a maid outfit? This isn’t a maid café.”
“Well I told Saki-chan that I had one, and she thought it would be cute if I wore it to work. Oh, she’s my co-worker here! I almost forgot to mention that.”
“Okay, but… why do you have one to begin with?”
“Hm?” She blinked. “Why wouldn’t I?”
…No, Airi thought to herself. No more questions.
This was still salvageable. She could still manage a peaceful, even enjoyable breakfast. All she had to do was minimize her interaction with Minori. The less she opened her mouth, the less of a possibility she would say something that didn’t make any sense.
Yes, it would be fine.
Airi cleared her throat. “Never mind that. I’m ready to order.”
“Great!” Minori pulled a little notepad out from her pocket. Upon flipping it open, however, her smile gave way to a look of confusion. “Um, do you have a pen? I think I lost mine.”
Why would I bring a pen to a café? Is what Airi wanted to say, but she knew that was a quick route to getting caught up in Minori’s crazy little world. So instead, she shifted the conversation.
“Don’t worry, it’s an easy order. Just think of it as practice for memorizing interview lines.”
Minori’s eyes widened. “So even this is part of my idol training… okay, I’ll do my best!”
And then, for some reason, she sat down next to Airi.
“Go ahead,” she said, looking at her with an expression of intense concentration.
A couple of the other customers were staring at them, implying that Minori did not normally sit next to people to take their orders. And Airi wasn’t going to ask why, either. She just wanted to get this over with.
“I want the omurice,” she said.
Minori nodded. “With or without egg?”
Airi felt her eye twitch.
“How would it be an omurice without — I mean, yes, with egg.”
Almost slipped up, she thought. I guess this is idol training for me too?
It reminded her, if only slightly, of the sorts of conversations she often had to engage with while starring in variety shows. Those had well and truly taught her that patience was a virtue.
“Excellent choice!” Minori said. “I prefer mine with egg, too. How about rice? With or—“
“I want it exactly as it normally gets made.”
There. That should make it simple.
“Oh, okay! I’ll put in a special request with the cook.”
No? What part of that sounded like a special request!?
“Last thing,” Minori said. “I assume you want it with the sauce on top, right?”
Airi clenched her teeth.
This was tricky. On the one hand, it sounded like Minori was referring to the ketchup that was usually drizzled over an omurice. But then why did she call it a sauce? Ketchup was not a sauce. Was she talking about a different condiment?
Airi wanted so badly to ask her what on earth she was talking about. But she had to resist. Because who knew where that rabbit hole would lead?
Oh, I’m talking about tartar sauce! said the Minori in her head. Like they use on hamburg steak!
No, the risk wasn’t worth it. But thankfully, there was an easy way out.
“Just ketchup, please.”
“Oh, ketchup?” Minori nodded, then stood up and brushed off her maid dress. “I’ll use that instead, then. Coming right up!”
As she left, Airi sat horrified, wondering what would have been put on her food instead. At least she ended up avoiding it, whatever it was.
Honestly, it had gone mostly okay. A couple bumps in the road, but overall relatively painless. There was still a chance for her to start the day off right.
It wasn’t long until Minori returned with a plate of steaming omurice in her hands, setting it down onto the table with a smile. The food looked full and fresh, plus the surface of the omelette had been decorated with ketchup in the shape of a puppy’s face.
“Is this Samo-chan?” Airi asked, marveling at how cute it was. “You did a really good job at drawing it.”
“Thank you!” Minori sat down next to her again, a gleeful expression on her face. “I hope you enjoy.”
Are you going to… watch me eat? Airi thought. She very nearly almost said it out loud, but stopped herself in time. It was fine. As long as she didn’t say anything, it was fine.
Airi cut a portion of the egg, revealing the heap of rice that had been packed inside, and lifted it up to her mouth to take a bite.
“Oh, by the way,” Minori said, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “I made it with love!”
Airi gagged, immediately grabbing her drink and swallowing down a mouthful of water.
“H-Huh!?” Minori frowned. “Is it because my love wasn’t good enough?”
“No,” Airi said, shutting her eyes closed and pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “It’s because I asked for ketchup.”
“Hm? I don’t understand.”
“Did you use ketchup?”
“Of course!”
“Are you sure, Minori?” Airi shot her a look. “Are you absolutely certain?”
She wavered. “Well, ketchup is the red one, isn’t it?”
"Minori..."
Airi sighed, then grabbed her drink again.
“That was hot sauce.”