Chapter 131: Maid Service at the Temple

“So… are you going to forgive me for being late now?”

What was the point of explaining the situation at such length? Wasn’t it all an attempt to appease Mariel by making the best excuse possible?

Perhaps thanks to my last comment, Mariel just opened and closed her mouth, hesitating, but she didn’t seem angry anymore.

Honestly, even I thought that last line was pretty cool.

“Saintess?”

Still, she remained spaced out without an answer for quite some time, so I called out to Mariel.

“Huh? Oh? What, what did you say?”

“I asked if you’ve found it in your heart to forgive me now. Are you less angry now?”

“No, I wasn’t particularly angry in the first place…”

“Your Americano is here!”

“Ah, thank you.”

The girl who had come to take our order earlier placed the coffee in front of me, then sat down next to Mariel across from me.

The inside of the shop was packed with people, and I wondered if it was okay for her to slack off like this, but seeing that the other theology student nuns in maid outfits passing by didn’t say anything, it must be fine.

“I didn’t add syrup since you didn’t specifically ask, but do you need any?”

“No, it’s fine. If I wanted something sweet, I’d usually order a different menu item altogether.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Actually, I had tried to order a sweet drink, but since someone else was treating me, I ended up forced to drink an Americano.

But since it was a drink someone else was buying, even the Americano could be savored sweetly. Free things are always sweet, after all.

“Hmm…”

While I was sipping my coffee through the straw, the girl sitting across from me was staring intently at me.

Just as I started feeling burdened by the inexplicable attention, the girl finally spoke.

“Hey, you know? Could you stand up for a moment?”

It was a sudden request, but it wasn’t difficult enough to complain about when I was being treated, so I stood up from my seat.

However, she seemed unsatisfied with just me standing up, gesturing for me to move towards the outside of the table.

“Hmm… By any chance…”

Looking me up and down, circling around me, the girl slowly got to the point.

“Are you perhaps interested in a part-time job?”

“Excuse me? A part-time job?”

At the girl’s unexpected words, I asked back in a flustered voice.

“You don’t necessarily have to serve customers, just showing your face to people for a bit is enough. I think that alone would be great for publicity.”

“No. I don’t particularly need the money. I’m sorry.”

“Aw, don’t be like that. You have such a naturally good foundation, I bet the maid outfit would look incredibly good on you. How about trying it on just once, even just as a souvenir? Huh? Huh?”

“Still, that’s a bit…”

No matter how accustomed I’d become to women’s clothes, I wasn’t at the point where I’d deliberately try them on just for kicks.

Of course, if there was a reason, a justification, then naturally I would wear it. A prime example being the uniform I absolutely had to wear for academy life.

Therefore, without even a moment’s hesitation, I immediately refused her suggestion once more.

“What do you think? Mariel thinks so too, right? Don’t you think it would look incredibly good on her?”

“Hmm? The… Hero-nim? In a maid outfit? …I might want to see that?”

“Saintess, we agreed to go see the festival together today. Where would I find the time for a part-time job?”

Sensing that if I just stood there, I might really end up having to wear the maid outfit, I quickly tried to change the subject.

However, despite my efforts, our Saintess still seemed interested in the maid outfit, not even pretending to listen to me.

“Well, that’s true, but just for a little while… Ah! Hero-nim? Didn’t you ask me earlier if I could forgive you?”

“…I did?”

“I’ll forgive you, so won’t you wear the maid outfit just once and serve me? I’ll be the customer, you’ll be the staff!”

Instead, Mariel presented a justification I couldn’t refuse, demanding I wear the maid outfit.

…Damn it.

---

“Ugh… This is really uncomfortable…”

“You’ll get used to it soon, so don’t worry too much. It’s plenty pretty, so have some confidence.”

The girl who bought me coffee, whose name was Rosaria, ended up dragging me to the staff changing room and making me wear the maid outfit.

Anyway, even though it was called a maid outfit, it looked slightly different from the clothes worn by the maids I’d seen at the Imperial Palace or my friends’ mansions.

Unlike the exceedingly plain traditional maid outfits, this one had cute frills here and there, or the skirt was a bit short, among other differences.

Feeling awkward, I hesitantly stepped out of the changing room, out of the staff room, and headed towards the table where Mariel would be sitting.

“I’ve put it on…, huh?”

However, when I reached Mariel’s seat, I found some unexpected faces.

“El, you were here too. I didn’t expect to run into you here… What a coincidence.”

“Ahaha… We were all walking together and got thirsty, so we came in, and there was the Saintess. There were no seats, and she seemed to know Celie, so we asked to share the table.”

Seeing that they came to the temple because they were thirsty, unlike me, my friends must have already known that the temple was operating a cafe during the festival period.

When I looked back at Mariel, she nodded her head in confirmation that they had indeed joined the table.

“…Don’t forget your promise not to interfere later.”

“Even though you’re not part of the agreement members, since you’ve provided an unexpected gain, I’ll keep the promise.”

As expected of their good relationship, Celian and Mariel were whispering something to each other.

“Alright, alright. You need to take orders quickly, right?”

Although I had come out wearing the maid outfit, seeing me just standing there blankly, Rosaria pushed my back, urging me to take the orders.

Wearing a maid outfit, even as a temporary part-timer, and taking orders from my friends felt incredibly embarrassing.

Of course, I had shown my friends even more embarrassing sides than this, but that didn’t lessen the embarrassment I felt now.

Trying my best not to show my embarrassment, I started taking their orders.

“What would you like to order?”

“I’ll have the chocolate parfait!”

As soon as I asked, Anne Klain shot her hand up and exclaimed. As expected, a menu item packed with sugar.

Smiling faintly at Anne’s energetic demeanor, I took orders one by one. Just as I was about to head to the counter with the paper listing the menu items, Rosaria snatched the paper from my hand.

“You don’t really need to work, so I’ll take this and put in the order. You can stay here and chat with your friends. Or… it would be nice if you just showed your face to the customers while walking around the shop once.”

“…I’ll just sit here.”

Rosaria clicked her tongue lightly as if disappointed, but without another word, she headed straight for the counter.

“I’m going to use the restroom for a moment. Please continue talking.”

As soon as I sat down in the empty seat, Celian stood up as if she had been waiting and quickly moved to find the restroom.

“Ah, Celie! That’s the staff changing room! The place you’re looking for is over there!”

However, Celian couldn’t find the restroom and was heading in the wrong direction, so I quickly told her where the restroom was.

Of course, I didn’t want to embarrass her by openly saying she was going to the restroom in front of everyone, so I phrased it indirectly.

That’s how sensible I am.

“Ah… Yes… Thank you…”

Perhaps despite my deliberate indirectness, Celian seemed a little embarrassed, her voice lacking confidence.

---

“Anyway, I don’t see any other theology students? To be precise, the male students.”

“Ah. They’re probably working at the temple inside the academy. This side is the maid cafe, that side is the butler cafe!”

“I see, so the targets are different, meaning you’re choosing to focus your efforts.”

“That’s right! Why? Disappointed?”

“Not at all.”

What would I gain from watching guys serve customers? Especially when there’s a much better place like a maid cafe right here.

Of course, I never expected I’d be the one wearing the maid outfit.

“Ah! Come to think of it, there should be one butler outfit here too, maybe you could try…”

“I refuse.”

It was obvious what she was going to say without hearing the rest, so I rejected it immediately before she could finish.

Of course, the butler outfit, being men’s clothing, would be much more comfortable and less awkward than the maid outfit.

But why would I change into it when I know perfectly well I’d become a spectacle? I’d rather just change back into my original clothes and walk around the festival street with Mariel.

“That’s too bad… Maid El is nice, but I was looking forward even more to Butler El…”

“…Even if you say that, I won’t wear it. Besides, wearing a butler outfit here would make me stand out.”

A girl wearing a butler outfit alone when everyone else is in maid outfits… It’s obvious people would glance over at least once out of curiosity.

“Then… does that mean it’s okay if it’s not here? Um, Saintess… If it’s alright, could we possibly borrow the remaining butler outfit?”

“I don’t mind, but… you can’t treat it roughly, okay? Of course, I’m not saying I don’t understand that kind of p-play, but… it’s not my outfit either.”

“Excuse me?”

However, my intention didn’t seem to get across, as Yuri Atilea instantly asked Mariel to borrow the clothes, and Mariel readily agreed to Yuri’s request.

Sigh… Still, well, wearing it in front of friends isn’t something I absolutely can’t do.

“Shall we get going then? The Hero-nim and I need to go on our date! now.”

“Kuh… Since I promised… I have no choice. But please stick to the rules we discussed earlier.”

“Unlike you guys, the Hero-nim and I aren’t like that yet, okay?”

“Yet… you say?”

“Haht!”

It seemed to be a continuation of the conversation they had while I was changing into the maid outfit, as incomprehensible words were exchanged between the two.

Since I didn’t know the context, it was difficult to jump into the conversation, so I stood up, clearing the empty glasses to wrap things up.

“I’ll help you!”

However, perhaps seeing me carrying several cups on one tray looked precarious, Anne surprisingly jumped up from her seat, offering to help.

“Really? If you do, I’d be grateful.”

“Uh, yes! Then I’ll carry this one and this one!”

Anne said, taking my cup and her own cup from my tray. It was only two, but even that was a great help in carrying the tray laden with cups.

“You can throw the straws away separately over here… Ah, you already did.”

Placing the tray on the counter, I was about to tell Anne that unlike the cups, the straws were disposable and should be thrown away separately in the trash bin, but it seemed she had already figured it out, as only the empty cups without straws were visible.

“W-well, I know that much!”

Thinking I was looking down on her, Anne grumbled in a small voice and quickly walked back to where our friends were, so I quickly followed behind her.

“Did something fun happen? You look really cheerful?”

“Huh? Ah, it’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

Well, at least she doesn’t seem angry, so that’s a relief.