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Don’t share it around. The owner and Saori are busy with the cafe, so they can’t come this time. They could just close the shop for this day, though. Rather, Koari, what about your class’ exhibit?

「I’m in charge of doing odd jobs, so I have a lot of free time. And I wanted to check if the plan went well.」
「Are you accomplice to this too, Kaori?」

There’s surprisingly many accomplices to this. What I can say with certainty is that the president’s likely an accomplice too. Heck, maybe Kishita is too. They are pretty passionate about what I should wear, so it’s easy to imagine.

「I only proposed the idea. As for who actually supplied the clothes, I don’t know.」

She definitely knows who acted on her idea. Only the president would waste money to ready multiple outfits like this. Moreover, from his own wallet. He’s the type not to spare money for his interests, after all.

「So, your order is?」
「Before that, guide me to a seat.」
「You’re not buying for takeout?」
「I see you’re taking it personally.」

Of course I am. I’m put in a situation I can’t escape from and I’m being kept on public display. Who can I take this stress out on? Most likely the president. I’ll make him pay when he comes.

「Kotone, what’ll you do for your free time?」
「Coop up.」

Like I can go outside wearing this outfit. I’ll just stare at the air at the empty classroom we’re using as a break room. I guess I should ask someone to buy stuff for me later.

「C’mon, have some fun outside.」
「In this outfit?」
「They’re not going to stop you from changing, are they?」

I looked at my surroundings and they all avoided eye contact, so I stared directly at Kaori. As you’d expect, she felt a bit awkward. Which I guess is why she approached Harumi and whispered something to her ear.

「I got her permission.」
「Nice job.」

Should I just take the chance to escape? Right now, I’ve persuaded myself that it’s just part of the job, but I’m actually really embarrassed right now. Moreover, I’ll have to change into at least one more outfit.

「I’ll be tagging along to monitor you, though.」
「We’re in different classes.」
「She might not look it, but Harumi is pretty well known. She already ran to my class to tell them.」

She’s really got initiative. By the way, everyone serving tables is wearing the same outfit as me. If this wasn’t the case, I was fully prepared to boycott the whole event. Though it seems like they intended to do this from the get go, so I was just being paranoid.

「Does me being embarrassed look weird?」
「In your case, you’re overreacting. But I can’t blame you this time. Since the frilly-type doesn’t suit you at all.」

Again, don’t laugh at me. If I was wearing a gothic lolita instead, I wonder how she’d react? Would she laugh out loud, or would she think it surprisingly suits me? Not that I want to wear one.

「To begin with, where does this originate from? At first I thought it was a plain waitress outfit, but I feel like that’s not it.」
「It’s terrible in terms of functionality. Rather than a uniform for work-use, isn’t it a mainly cosplay-use outfit?」
「Just when did our class exhibit turn into a cosplay cafe?」

No one told me about it. At first I could have sworn that we would just be wearing aprons over uniforms or clothes that we can be messy in. Where and when did we make the wrong turn leading us to this situation?

「Isn’t it because you’re there?」
「If it’s my fault, then who I can take this pent up stress out on?」
「The mastermind?」

And that’s the question, who the heck is the mastermind?

「Who’s the mastermind?」
「The president.」

She straight up exposed him. Perhaps he didn’t tell her to hush about it. That’s a likely answer. Just because we can’t hold an exhibit as a student council, don’t mess with my class. Will he take responsibility if anything goes wrong?

「So you’re enabling him to do as he likes in the academy?」
「Don’t you feel like cheering for the president for this one last time? After all, once the school festival ends, his duties will end too.」

Well, yeah, I do. But even so, I’m sure Kishita and I would stop the president from running amok. Even if this is his last hurrah, I’d rather not proactively get entangled with his mess. Though in the end, I still got dragged into it.

「Do you have any words for the affected party?」
「Nothing at all.」

This little… Then try being in my shoes, Kaori. You’ll go through even more embarrassing stuff that I did back then for my image improvement plan. Like having cosplay pictures taken.

「Still, there hasn’t been much customer traffic.」
「Isn’t it because most start going for the outdoor stalls? It’ll probably take a bit more time for people to come here.」

Was it the same during last year’s? It’s likely because right after the gates, there are stalls lined up and there are some play areas, basically a lot of exhibits catching the eye. I guess it really will take some time for people to reach us.

「I didn’t participate in the previous year, so I don’t really have a sense of that.」
「And yet you’re pretty proactive this year. I heard you managed most of the planning in your class.」
「I have actual work experience, after all. And it seems like doing a cafe was already decided from the start.」

They might have had discussions about this ever since summer break. After all, they’ve been talking about the cafe since the opening ceremony. I honestly would have cooperated regardless if they had a different exhibit planned.

「More importantly, shouldn’t you actually return to your class, Kaori? A lot of time has passed since you came here.」
「Maybe I should do that. Call me when you have your break.」

Looking out the window, I see the festival attendees enter the campus building. It’s going to get busy soon. That’s if customers come by, though.

「When will be the next outfit change?」
「After the break~」

Hearing my classmate’s reply, I felt dejected. They really do plan on dressing me in the other outfits. I’ll stop thinking about it too much. It might start affecting my performance.