is impossible to buy more on the day of the event, we cannot restore the stock now.

"Please immediately put a "Sold Out" sticker on the menus. And handwrite the corrections on the posted signs.

"Uh-huh." 　

I take a marker and immediately correct the menu signs at the entrance of the store. 　

Both are cheap props were cheap for the store but they work.

"There we go." 　

The sign at next to Darjeeling tea reads "Sold Out Due to Popular Demand" and should be emphasized.

Immediately after, an arm reached out from the left behind my back. 　

I was not in my school uniform, but in the fabric of a suit.

"Don't turn around, just take it." 　

The white paper, folded in half, shakes in the slight breeze coming in through the window. 　

Just when I thought there might be no contact, here it is. 　

It would be easy to ignore the order not to turn around, but I silently accept it. 　

I was not the only one who had approached at such a short distance without giving me any indication of his presence.

"May I ask your name?"

"You're asking for too much."

As soon as I grabbed the paper, his left arm disappeared from my sight. 　

After maintaining this position for a while, another presence approached.

"What's wrong, Kiyotaka?"

They were worried that I didn't come back immediately so Yosuke came out of the classroom.

"I was approached by a guest who got a little lost, and I was dealing with him. Is there any trouble?"

"Orders are starting to go out of order. The food stalls seem to be doing better than expected. "

"I see. The turnover is getting out of control. I'll be right there." 　

After confirming that Yosuke had moved away, I unfolded the paper I was holding in my right hand.

-They're here to pick you up. You must decide for yourself what to do. We're waiting at the front gate.- 　

The paper also politely included a phone number. 　

Decide what I should do? If you are really giving me a choice, do you really think they I would choose to leave? 　

It is unclear how much significance this note will have.

The only thing I know for sure is that it was given to me by at least one source in the White Room. 　
Is it that they have decided that they cannot use force directly and are leaving it to their my own judgment?

However, the fact that they have taken no steps to this point may also have something to do with this statement.

Either way, it's useless to worry about it. I rolled the paper into a small ball and swallowed it in my mouth. 　

Paper is originally a plant and its main ingredient is cellulose.

Since it does not have a degrading enzyme, it cannot be digested, but is simply expelled.

While there would be no problem if a third party picked up this note, it would be a disadvantage to keep it in one's possession.

Since I'm stuck in the middle of the cultural festival, it is better to do this quickly and easily because there will be no need to deal with the aftermath.


PART 4

Three hours have passed since the festival began. 　

It was noon and new guests were arriving to replace the families who had gone to the school first thing in the morning.

I was near the entrance when I received a report from Ike and the others who had gone out to scout the area.

"That's it!" 　

Ike pointed to where several girls from Ryuuen's class were raising their voices.

"We, the 2nd year class C, are competing with the 2nd year class B for sales at the concept café! If we lose, someone will be held responsible and may be expelled from school!" 　

The atmosphere was clearly different from that of many of the students, who were basically smiling and cheerful as they continued to serve customers. 　

Many of the guests stopped in their tracks to listen to the sad expressions on their faces as they raised their voices.

"We would be grateful for your cooperation!"

One after another, they handed out flyers that they had probably been working on.

We approached a boy of middle school age who seemed to have received one of the flyers and asked him to take a quick look at it. 　

It describes in detail what their class will be doing at the Japanese-style concept café on the second floor of the special building, but it does not mention the menu or prices.

Instead, they emphasized confrontation, making a strong statement that this was a battle they could not afford to lose.

"Wha... what? This is bad, right?"

The girls' heartfelt appeals were not something you would expect to come out of their mouths. In all likelihood, Ryuuen was probably threatening his classmates with explusion.

"I wonder if Ryuuen is really planning to expel someone."

"I doubt it. The possibility of that is low. If it was a forced expulsion as a penalty, it would be a problem if they threatened to expel a student without their consent. If the student who was threatened actually reported the incident to the school, Ryuuen's standing would be jeopardized and their class points would plummet."

"Then that means it's a lie! Let's go and stop them now!"

"It's impossible. My classmates are very frightened by that 1% chance of explusion. Besides, I can only tell by listening to the end of the sentence, that I might leave school."

In other words, there is nothing to suggest that they are lying to the guests. 　

The fact that they do not settle for mere confrontation is typical of Ryuuen, which takes one measure after another.

It would appear that they are working more to get the number one position than to just be in the top four.

"If we lose, we will lose one million private points, right? This is bad!"　

I'd like to tell the Ike not to worry, but it's important to show the public how he's scared.

The importance of this confrontation becomes even clearer.

"So, what do we do?"

"If they want to do that, we'll use a similar strategy."

"Does that mean you're threatening to expel us!?"

"Not that way. We will appeal that we are also putting all of our effort into the Concept Café matchup as a second-year class B. We are ready for that."

"Eh? We're already for that?"

"Open the cardboard box you brought me." 　

I let Hondo and Tonomura take the box down to the ground and remove the packing tape. 　

Out of the box came a bundle of flyers.

"Are these...? They look just like those flyers!?"

"I planned to send out flyers to entice guests, too, if necessary. They beat us to it, but it will be effective." 　

The flyers prepared by Horikita and Ryuuen quickly made their way around the school.

The whole school knew that the two classes of 2nd year class B and C were engaged in a one-on-one battle. 　

In this way, people will imagine that they are playing for a big stake in our competition. 　

Knowing this matchup, one would think that both classes are taking on similar risks.

There is no need for me to threaten our own classmates.

"From now on, call all the girls who have free time and ask them to spread the flyers."

"Okay, got it! I'll let them know right away!"

Hondo and the others will informed our classmates by asking them to help out with the fliers.

Then, in addition to the prearranged points for handing out flyers, the boys running the stalls were notified about the confrontation as well.

"Did you hear that? Horikita's class and Ryuen's class are competing against each other for a lot of points."

"I heard that the leader of the class that loses will be expelled from school." 　

It seemed that even ordinary students, who had nothing to do with the matter, began to hear about the match.

Speculation led to rumors, and rumors led to speculation.

"I'm going back. Let me know if you hear anything else."

Ike and the others who delivered meals are always on the lookout for changes in the situation. 　

They nodded their heads encouragingly, and we decided to leave everything to them and return to the special building. 　

On the way there, we found a woman dressed in kimono holding a flyer in a corner of an empty hallway.

The way they occasionally hand out flyers to adults passing by reminds me of the lethargic adults I sometimes see at the Keyaki Mall handing out tissues unenthusiastically.

They are simply handing out the predetermined number of sheets.

"May I take one?"

"..."

Perhaps they didn't even notice my presence, but they muttered a little thank you and offered me one.

I was about to receive it, but then the other person looked at me in the eyes.

"Geh."

"So you're handing out flyers in a place like this, Ibuki."

"Ugh, go away." 　

She looked at me with such a disgusted expression on her face that I looked away.

"I've a bit about you earlier, I guess that means you're being a good person and keeping your word." 　

I had heard that she was going to dress in a kimono after losing a match with Ryuuen, but it suited her better than I had expected.

"Even a boy in a dress has a costume." 　

I was given a strong glare, but I was relieved to see that she didn't seem to understand the meaning of that phrase.

"It's nothing,"

It's not easy to distribute all the flyers even if you are handing out flyers in unpopulated places.

"Shouldn't you move to a different location? I saw Yamashita and his friends handing out flyers over there."

"You must be joking. Why should I work with those people?" 　

I already knew she would say this, but I asked anyways.

"Here, can you take all of these?"

"That's an impossible request."

"I might as well just stuff them in a garbage bag and throw them away...." 　

Looking down at the bundle of flyers she doesn't like, she swears at them.

The reason she says she'll do this, but doesn't do so is because Ryuuen wants to make sure she is punished for her loss. 　

Doing something like winning and forcing your opponents to do the same and running away when losing.

If she does that she won't be able to compete with Ryuuen and other opponents in the future.

"By the way, why did you and Ryuuen compete with each other?"

"I wanted to compete with him and he suggested we play a card game."

"Card games? You mean like poker?"

"Well, it was something similar to that."

The game itself was not important, but the fact that Ryuuen suggested it was a little sketchy.
Ibuki may have fallen into his trap.　

Anyways, I don't want to get in Ibuki's way any further.

"I'll make sure to spread the word about what you've been working so hard to advertise here."

"Don't spread it. I'll blow you away."

As her costume shook, a sharp kick flew at the same time, so I hurriedly avoided it.

"Tsk."

"By the way, the greeting that cafe workers use 'Welcome back, master'. Please give it a try sometime."

"I'll tell say that , if you can take my kick to your face."

"Alright, I'll give up."

The animal raised its leg slightly to threaten me, so I quietly left.

By the time I got back to the maid cafe, the somewhat relaxed atmosphere that had prevailed earlier in the day had been replaced by a line of customers, the largest of the day.

Horikita also joined the queue and guided the visitors.

"I see you started distributing the flyers without any problems."

"Yeah. From this point on, Ryuuen's class and ours should start to outshine the others."

"It's all going according to your plan."

"Though I'm not the one who added the uniqueness to it." 　

Horikita and I nodded at each other and faced our respective positions.


PART 5

The maid's cafe was tough road to go through. However, the fact that Ryuuen made his movements known at an early stage may have had the opposite effect; there were no other classes that followed, and we were able to still attract customers in an effective manner.

While this in itself was a joy, a problem arose that had not occurred during the practice sessions. 　
The problem was that we were staring to too much of an overflow of customers.

The classrooms are at their maximum capacity, and cramming more people in will only make things more difficult.

The only solution is to make visitors wait in line, but the time usually spent in the maid café isn't so short.

It is essential that the students dressed as maids and the adults enjoy talking with them. 　

Usually, in such a situation, we would consider handing out numbered tickets or other measures to encourage people to come back later. 　

However, in a cultural festival, this is idea is out of the question.

What if a customer has about 3,000 points left in his/her fund and is asked to pick up a ticket and come back in an hour? Some customers may be willing to do so, but most of them will spend their money on other entertainment during the waiting time.

They find themselves having to drop off nearly 3,000 points, and then leave without stopping by the maid cafe because they have no more points.

This is a very likely scenario. 　

That is why we want customers who have lined up once to keep waiting in line until they enter the store and drop off their money.

And if possible, we would like to absorb the points that they might've planned on using elsewhere.

"This is not good. The customers are getting impatient and starting to leave the queue."
A yellow light comes on the prospect of taking a risk and getting a big payoff. 　

We had no choice but to stop the new line at the end of the line.

"I'd like to take a break from customer service for a little while. I have an idea."

I was just about to walk to the end of the line when Kushida called out to me.

They must have been concerned about the situation and came to check on the situation.

"What are you going to do?"

"The waiting customers are just bored waiting in line, but they are very interested in the maid cafe. But they're probably hungry, so it's understandable that they'd want to leave."

"That's right." 　

Since it was right around lunch time, it was clear from the adults in the classroom that many of the customers were there for food and drink.

Kushida picked up one of the bags filled with handmade cookies she had prepared as a souvenir and started walking down the hallway with it. 　

She then smiled and said to the customers who seemed to be getting impatient.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Then she takes a cookie out of the bag and starts handing them out to the waiting people. 　

The aim may be to fill a small stomach, but that is not the only reason. 　

Once you've received something in return like this, you start feel guilty about leaving.

It would not be difficult for Kushida to run away from the line with some sense of guilt if she had to leave herpost, but she stayed and kept talking to her with a smile on his face. 　

With the cookies in her hand, it was no longer easy to impatiently leave the line. 　

There are some disadvantages to having Kushida leave the hall, but it is certain that the customers who have already taken their seats will drop some money. 　

It is more important now to keep the money-generating entities that we have here now for the future.　

They know what is going on in the store better than anyone else, and they know how to make the most of themselves. 　

What can you do to win over as many people as possible to his side? 　

Conversations that make adults of the opposite sex feel closer and more comfortable with each other, and sometimes even hand-holding and other forms of skinship.

They show no resistance or aversion to these actions.

The other girls have also been working hard all day, but Kushida is the only one who has perfected all of these elements.

Even when she occasionally works as an accountant, the number of mistakes she makes, such as stumbling or miscalculations, is close to zero. 　

She has never participated in any real-world practice, so he must have a natural talent.

"She's showing her true potential."

Yosuke nodded his head in admiration as he watched her work.

"It looks like this will be a bit of a tailwind for Kushida, who has had strong headwinds, and Horikita, who has protected her." 　

She has done such a good job so far. I have to admit that to a certain extent.

"People are creatures that easily resent, but on the other hand, they are also creatures that easily approve. Especially when they are young, their evaluations are like the two sides of a coin. From front to back, and now back to front again. However, because of the way we are pushed around, we may feel as if we are a tiring existence."

"But I'm all right. If only Kushida-san could join forces with everyone our class."

"I'm really impressed by what I see. Can someone really just do it that perfectly on the spot like that?"

"I think it was a cumulative process. During the preparation period for the festival, it seems that Kushida-san visited Horikita-san's room quite late at night. They might've been practicing."

In addition to her own talent, she was also practicing hard behind the scenes. 　

If Yosuke's reading was correct, that would be another reminder of how great Kushida is. 　

It would also confirm that Horikita was confident that there was nothing to worry about with regards to Kushida.

I went back to the waiting room and pulled the camera around for about 30 minutes.

"Excuse me, Ayanokoji-kun, where is Kushida-san?"

Mii-chan came out of the room while looking busy.

"Kushida? She should be in the hallway where the queue is."　

I had already informed the maids of this fact.

"I was told the maids that there was a customer who wanted to take a picture with her, but I couldn't find her."

Did she disappear even though she was supposed to be keeping an eye on the line of customers?

When Yosuke and I immediately looked in the hallway, we saw that she had disappeared.

"Excuse me, have you seen a girl standing in line here?"

"Oh, you mean the girl who was handing out cookies? She was approached by a girl from the same school and seemed to be following her. It was about five minutes ago."

"What did she look like?" 　

I asked about the person who answered Yosuke, as if interrupting the conversation.

"Um, let's see, a girl with her hair tied in two knots like this." 　

Yosuke didn't seem to have a clear idea of