Leave a comment

With the ceremony finished, I returned to my room. In the end, the fact that I was Unknown didn’t get spread around. There were many students that knew because of the field trip, but for some reason, none of them exposed it.

“I’m home.”
“Welcome back, my lady.”
“Why are you eating yōkan?”
“Because they were there.”

Ask permission first. Shirose brought these as payment for staying over, if I remember correctly. It’s not like these can replace rent, but she also bought various foodstuffs and ingredients, so I kinda accepted it.

“Lady Kotone, would you like some as well?”
“I’ll have one. That should be alright.”

I moved about so much, so I’m hungry. The plan is to have dinner as the others arrive, and there’s still some time before that. The graduates are going to arrive even later, too.

“A~h, yōkan really goes well with green tea.”
“It’s also good with coarse tea.”
“How are the preparations?”
“All completed.”

It’s possible that I wouldn’t make it in time if I started preparing when I reached home, so I had Misaki assist me this time. Though I say that, we’re having okonomiyaki for dinner, and that really doesn’t take much time to prepare.

“Still, you’ve made some erratic moves as usual, Lady Kotone.”
“It only ended up like this because someone dragged me into it. There was no way I would’ve done such a ridiculous plan if I had been alone.”
“No, there’s also the possibility of you taking similar actions.”

There’s no way I’d do something stupid during the upperclassman’s graduation ceremony. I’m not part of the rogue’s den. If I’m alone and there aren’t any idiots piggybacking my plans, things won’t escalate out of hand. Today is a good example of that. But I never expected Kataribe to be there.

“Done resting. Let’s prepare.”
“Isn’t it still early?”
“I have a hunch that someone might barge in earlier than planned, you see.”

If Shirose is returning by herself, then I would have had some leeway. But if she’s with Kataribe, then their travel time will decrease drastically. Without her limiter, she acts much more quickly.

“Can a helicopter land on the apartment roof?”
“Isn’t that normally impossible?”

I know, right? If that was possible, Sherry would arrive before the rest. I did also invite her to the party, so there’s no telling what kind of chaos awaits us. I don’t have any kind of entertainment prepared for her, though.

“Hmm. I really hope Sherry and the girls don’t develop some weird chemistry between themselves. Also, no more additional people, please.”
“You’re really quick to find company with curious fellows.”
“The worst part is that I can’t deny it.”

For the rogue’s den, eccentricity is the standard, so I don’t really care anymore. However, I seriously didn’t expect the famous songstress Sherry to be this unhinged. Give us back our delusion.

“I knew they’d come early.”

As we finished the preparations, the doorbell rang. Now then, let’s see who’s first. I thought, and when I opened the door, there was Sherry with her arms around the other two. Kataribe had a strained smile, while Shirose had a look of resignation, so I can somewhat imagine what happened on the way.

“I picked them up.”
“That was practically a kidnapping.”
“We were pulled into a car while we were walking.”
“I’m surprised that it didn’t get reported.”

It would have been dangerous if someone had seen them. And if they were also seen being brought to my room, I would have been in trouble as well. Sherry is the one who moves erratically; I’m still far off in comparison.

“Well then, we’re coming in.”
“I’m back.”
“Woah, so this is Kotone’s room. Just as I imagined, it’s clean and minimalist.”
“Welcome home. And welcome inside.”

This isn’t Sherry’s first time in my apartment, so she didn’t have anything to say. Kataribe is probably thinking that the way I arrange my room hasn’t changed much. Despite how it looks, I actually have more stuff now. Thanks to my visitors, that is.

““Woah, it’s a real maid!””
“Ah, so you had a personal attendant with you.”
“I am Lady Kotone’s personal maid, Misaki.”

The way she handles herself is always so impressively beautiful. I really don’t understand how she can be so klutzy. People who just met her may not notice her true nature, but when faced with sweets, her mask immediately tears away.

“I’m so hungr~y; what’s on the menu?”
“Okonomiyaki. Since there wasn’t enough time to prepare much to begin with.”
“Nice. It’s been a while since I had a taste of it.”
“Are we doing spatula scoop head-catch?”
“Don’t play with the food.”

When I had an okonomiyaki party with the rogue’s den, there were so many people, so I had to throw the ones that were done so I could focus on cooking. They’d catch it with their plates, but once they started fighting over it, several of them were hit directly on their heads with piping hot okonomiyaki.

“There’s still some time before the graduates arrive, but we can start eating.”
“They have their own friend groups. I won’t be able to wait until they arrive.”

It’s not unusual to eat out with friends. I had them prioritize those and come after they celebrated with their friends. Until then, there’s no telling what will happen to these people. Welcome to hell, I suppose.

“Say, Anne. Why is there a chocolate sauce bottle when we’re having okonomiyaki?”
“As a trap.”
“You really can’t go wrong with traps here and there.”
“This takes me back.”

I don’t remember who started it. There was an idiot who mistakenly brought ingredients for crepe, I think. The worst part is that if you don’t look at the bottle, it’s hard to differentiate it from a regular sauce bottle. I still remember the few who unwittingly ate okonomiyaki with chocolate and choked.

“You girls seem to be having some unique fun.”
“Cabbage-filled okonomiyaki abundantly topped with fresh cream and chocolate sauce was pretty nasty.”
“The seafood okonomiyaki topped with that was a lot more destructive.”
“I’m surprised a fight didn’t break out.”
“““Eh? It absolutely does, though.”””

Hearing our words, Sherry could only respond with a wry smile. There was also that idiot who mixed chocolate sauce with regular okonomiyaki sauce and spread it on the okonomiyaki. A guy noticed it before it was too late and then force-fed it to the culprit. Karma.

“I have some pancake mix prepared this time, so if you want to play, play with that.”
“Normal sweets.”
“We’ll just enjoy it normally. There aren’t any idiots around this time.”

Even among the funseekers, there are those with conscience. Not every one of them is purely idiotic. However, these guys tend to escalate things out of control when they get carried away. It seems like we’re fine this time.

“Anne, is there any alcohol?”
“There is from Akane’s stock. No need to be reserved, right?”
“I’ll make sure to pay it back.”
“Koto-cha~n. Is there any Tabasco?”
“I’ll get it if you eat it yourself.”
“What should we mix?”
“Same as before.”

While I’m no better, they just normally add in traps on their own. I don’t know who’s going to be the victim this time, but what will I do if it ends up being Sherry? I have no idea what could happen next.

“How do I say this, is this a situation one can get used to?”
“There’s only one thing I can say: get used to it.”

As expected, it seems like Misaki is confused about the current situation. Because everyone is acting on their own, Misaki doesn’t know how to serve the table right now. In general, just leave them alone. They’ll just speak up when they need something.

“Just be careful of the traps.”
“I really hope I can discern them.”

The fool who can make perfect disguises is absent this time, so there shouldn’t be any issue. However, just between you and me, I can also disguise food. Time for payback.