Although Kushida had to leave the event temporarily, she made a brilliant comeback after that.

She succeeded in keeping the long line of customers.

However, this time, we were short of staff due to the excessive number of customers. 　

The capacity was clearly exceeded, and the situation continued for a long time.

After an hour's break, the maids were still tired, and their movements had become quite sluggish.

Although there were enough men to do the backstage work, it was a tough battle because they could not help out in the hall.

We prepared a total of eight maid outfits. 　

Two of them are basically considered spares, and no more than six maids are allowed to work at any one time. 　

With the exception of breaks, Sato and Mii-chan are always on the go as aces. Horikita, who was not scheduled to work in the hall, started serving customers and is now moving around as well.

The remaining maids were Ishikura, Kushida, and Matsushita. Also Inogashira, who specialized in distributing menus. 　

Since Kushida was working in the corridor to stop people from coming in, there were only four people working in the hall. 　

We should have brought in additional people, but we just don't have anyone that can fit the roles.

We cannot accept just any girl. 　

This is not due to appearance or attractiveness, but rather to the individual's consent.

I approached several people, including Sonoda, but they did not accept due to the feelings of embarrassment from wearing a maid's uniform and the severity of the work involved.

"The number of customers waiting outside has increased. I think the waiting customers may have grown weary of the work. ...... I don't think we'll be able to hold on to them forever."

In between, Kushida peeks out from the hallway and calls out to us.

Horikita, who had been serving customers (although she was mainly serving food) in this emergency situation, saw Kushida and approached her.

"How's the line?"

"I told them they would have to wait for a long time, and some of them did stay, but most of them went home." 　

I think that people will not be willing to wait if they see a long queue. 　

The guests who stay behind now are not mere customers, but merely guests who have come to the festival.

We cannot expect them to continue to stay because they feel that the time they spent waiting was a waste. That is why Kushida's act to hold them in line no longer worked.

"There were two leftover maids' uniforms, weren't there?" 　

It may be time to pull out the spare costumes in case of an emergency.

"Yes, but it won't matter if there's no one who can do it."

"I see. Is Karuizawa-san no good?" 　

Kushida's suggestion. She probably thought that Kei, who is my girlfriend, would listen to my instructions. 　

It is true that it is not impossible if I force her to do so.

"She starts her break at 2 p.m. right?"

"Yes. She's on break right now. It's doubtful she'll be much use to us if we let her change after we get back at 3p.m.." 　

The two of them don't know this, but she can't just change her clothes in the ordinary locker room with others potentially seeing her body. 　

At worst, she would have to go back to their dormitories to change and come back, which would take another 20 or 30 minutes.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" 　

Ike, who had brought in the food for what may have been the second time today, called out to me.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no, I just heard that you're short on staff right now... I was wondering if you could leave it to that Satsuki"

"Shinohara-san? But I wonder if she'll take on the job."

"I think she'll be fine. The first time I heard about it, I was very surprised." 　

The three of us looked at each other as we heard this story for the first time.

Shinohara is currently in charge of cooking food at the stalls.

"Can you call her right now?"

"Okay! I'm on it!"　

It was a relief knowing that there was another student willing to put on the maid uniform.

Later, with the encouragement of Shinohara, we also strongly persuaded Azuma to join us. She agreed to participate.

"I know you already know this Ayanokoji-kun, but I have to take a break at 3:00 p.m. I'm going to need to manpower after I leave."

"Don't worry about that. I've thought it through."

Fifteen minutes later, Shinohara was in the hall, and Azuma and Kushida were asked to hold up the guests waiting in the hallway. 　

However, Kushida's expression in the hallway was grim, and this was not a development that we were hoping for.

"It's hard to say if she's right person for this. Shinohara-san doesn't have a strong visual impact, and she doesn't have good customer service skills."

"We're in an emergency It can't really be helped."

"Is Hasebe-san still not willing to help?"

"She has been absent since this morning. She is technically participating in the festival, but she may be back at her dormitory."

"Is this payback for Sakura-san's expulsion? You talked to her before the festival, didn't you?"
"Well, I only observed the meeting."

"Even so, you have more knowledge about what's going with her than Shinohara-san, Higashi-san and the others, don't you?"

"This is why their revenge is being effective right now. Even if we planned the festival without them, we're still in trouble without their strength."

"I see. I thought that if Ayanokoji-kun knew that much, you would have considered the possibility that those two would not participate in the event and thought of another way."

"Even if we knew from the beginning that we would not be able to increase the number of students to help us out, Haruka and Akito would eventually find out about it. I decided that it would be a disadvantage if they tried to sabotage us unexpectedly."

"It's a form of harassment, but that's all it is. That's not enough to get revenge on us if it's just this."

"What do you mean?"

"Akito and Airi were looking forward to the festival. That's why they were planning to see it through until the actual day of the festival. And after that, there's no reason for them to stay at this school. "

"..... Does that mean they're leaving school?"

"Probably. If two students voluntarily drop out, in addition to the disadvantage of having two less students in our class, a significant drop in class points is inevitable. The class would suffer tremendous damage."

"How much damage exactly?"

"I estimate 600 class points for the two of them together."

"600 hundred class points!?"

"That's nothing to be surprised about. Expulsion under the normal rules of this school has always had a penalty of that magnitude."

Except in limited circumstances where the risk of expulsion is high due to rigorous special exams, this is normal.

"If two students really drop out, it means that my chances of going to class A are ..... hopeless."　
The fact that she says "my" is so typical of Kushida, but she's right.

"It would be almost impossible for us come back from that amount of damage."

"Are we just supposed to sit on our hands and watch?"

"I was hoping to come up with a solution." 　

I look down at my phone.

Unfortunately, the expected notification has not arrived yet.

"Some unexpected trouble came up and my trump card hasn't arrived yet."

Haruka's strategy of disrupting the festival, or rather voluntarily dropping out. 　

This is basically an unstoppable, almost inevitable move. 　

No matter how many countermeasures you plan, there is no way to completely prevent it.

If Haruka herself were to remain at the school and repeatedly sabotage the school in desperation, as Kushida had done in the past, she could take advantage of the special exam rules to force her out.

It was no small feat to come up with a strategy that would go above and beyond.

However, Haruka did not take an inappropriate strategy.

She chose the most efficient method after realizing that her skills were far below mine.

"Is this all right?"

"I'm not the who can make a decision. It's up to Haruka and Akito. If they decide not to participate in the festival, then that can't be helped."

"I don't think that's what Ayanokoji-kun really thinks."

"Do you understand now?"

"I know that you are actually willing to do something. You wouldn't leave Hasebe-san and the others like this, would you?"

It seems that Kushida may have realized what I was planning on doing.

"Why didn't you get me to do this before?"

"I didn't know what they were trying to achieve. Were they planning to ruin the festival or not? But I had a pretty good idea now from the fact that they have done nothing so far. I'm going to make contact now."

"Do you have any idea where they might be?"

"I have someone that has already done the work for me."

I showed her my cell phone screen and showed her a message from someone with Haruka's current location on it.

"I'm glad you have someone like this on your side. It was thanks to this person, that you found out where I was before, right?"

"Yes, because they're the best person to look for someone or to watch for someone." 　

"But at the end of the day, I am limited in what I can do. Whether or not I can influence the hearts of those two people is another matter entirely. My work here is done now."

I decided to leave the situation to Kushida and the others and headed back to Haruka's place.

PART 1

After stopping by a classroom, I grabbed the cardboard I had brought with me this morning and walked through the school building to the path leading to the Keyaki Mall.

I soon came across a place with benches for students to take a break. There are no stalls on this side of the road, and of course, no students or guests are to be seen. 　

As I move forward, I naturally come into their line of sight.

"How did you find this place, Kiyopon?" 　

Haruka sits on a bench and Akito stands near her and looks at me.

"I know you and Airi used to chat around here after school." 　

I have received reports that Haruka and Akito have been walking around everywhere in the school all day. 　

And after all that, they must have chose this place as their final destination.

"As expected from a member of the former Ayanokoji group. Correct." 

Haruka, who talked to me without laughing continued.

"What are you doing here? I'm not interfering with the cultural festival."

"Sure, you haven't directly interfered with us, you haven't helped us at all today."

"That's true."

"I feel bad for you..., no actually, I feel bad for the class."

Akito, who had not shown up since this morning, apologized.

"Listen, I know what you two are thinking of doing."

"Instead of that, I'd like you to answer my question first."

"What am I doing here? The maid cafe is even more popular than we anticipated, and we're short of maids."

"Well, maybe things would have been a little different if Airi and I had participated since you're short by two maids."

"If that happened instead, Kushida probably wouldn't of been helping us. In that case the situation would've been even more miserable."

"You responded to sarcasm with sarcasm."

"I was just stating the facts." 　

Haruka's argumentative style tends to lead to verbal exchanges.

It's clear she's trying to irritate me.

"Could you lend us a hand for the last hour of the festival?"

"You already know the answer to that question, don't you? It's pointless to try to persuade me."

"Well, if there was a condition to bring Airi back somehow, you might've accepted it."

Of course, that was impossible.

"Anyways, just listen to me for now. You're probably wondering what this is about."

I put the cardboard box that I held onto my hands onto the ground.

"I want you to open this box." 　

When I told her this, Haruka only raised her eyebrows in suspicion.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to get involved in anything strange." 　

Saying this, Haruka takes out an envelope from her pocket. 　

On the white envelope is a handwritten note that reads, "Withdrawal notice."

"You aren't surprised, are you?"

"I knew there was a good chance you would quit after the festival. And you're going out with her as well, aren't you, Akito?"

"....Yeah." 　

Akito also took out an envelope with a notice of withdrawal written on it.

"You're amazing to have already predicted this, Kiyopon. I guess that's why you were able to expel Airi with no troubles at all."

While she was talking, her were eyes not looking at me. They were simply staring into the void.

It was as if she was talking from another dimension, separating herself from this world.

"Airi was looking forward to the festival. It was supposed to be a big stage for her to change herself and take a big step forward." 　

She closed her eyes in frustration and pounded her fists on the seat.

"It's true that I expelled Airi from school. I also used the emotions that people of the opposite sex have to deal with them. I'm not going to say that the blame doesn't lie on me."

"She needed me, Kiyopon, and the Ayanokoji Group. How do you think she felt being expelled by the person she loves? Do you ever even think about that?"

"What kind of face does she have now? What is she thinking about? I want to know those things."
Haruka's emotions are pushed forward, perhaps because she is angry at my lack of understanding of her attitude.

"Of course, I've been crying all this time. I'm so frustrated, sad, and bitter that I sit in a corner of my room and think back to our happy school days. Can't you see that?"

"Is it because of your beloved Airi?"

"It's not just me. This is how much that girl meant to me! How can you not know?"

She was not loud, but clearly was angry.

"Isn't it the same for you too Kiyopon!? You just don't want to face reality anymore. You don't want to think about Airi who is suffering because you forced her out of school!"

Haruka assumes that I'm just running away from what I did to Airi.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that way at all. I don't care about the students who dropped out of school. It's just a waste of brain resources to think about that."

Knowing that she would be offended, I only told her truth.

This, of course, strongly irritates Haruka.

"You really are the worst." 　

Haruka slowly gets up from the bench.

"I wonder if Airi didn't have the best eye to fall in love with such a ruthless man."

Haruka slowly walked up to me. She was close enough to reach me if she reached out her hand.
"I can't stand talking to you any longer. Will you just die with me?" 　

Saying this, she thrusts a notice of expulsion at me. 　

"Die with me" or in other words, "Will you leave the school with me?" 　

The devil's invitation. 　

The words, which seem to cause déjà vu, brings back memories of the old days.

"You've been getting a lot of bad attention around school since you decided to expel Airi. And it's not like you have a strong desire to graduate to class A, right? If that's the case, it doesn't matter if you leave." 　

Human relationships can be easily disrupted by a single thing.

Until recently, no one could have imagined that such a conversation would take place between me and Haruka.

"I don't care if you're pressuring me to leave the school, but it just doesn't add up for me. I can't help but wonder what Airi would think about what you're doing right now."

"What? What do you mean?"

"It doesn't seem to me that you understand Airi's feelings."

"I understand her better than anyone. You're the one who doesn't want to admit the truth!"

"Don't get carried away, Haruka."

"!?"

Haruka was silenced by my intimidating words.

Mistaking my words for a reflexive attack, Akito sidestepped in front of Haruka and held out his left hand as if ready to defend her.

"I was just a little surprised. I'm fine. Move aside, Akito."

Akito's instinctive sense of personal danger must've been something Haruka didn't quite get.

While still keeping an eye on me, Akito lowered his left hand and moved back a little.

"What do you mean by 'don't get carried away''? What is Kiyopon doing acting all high and mighty now?"

"I'm telling you not to speculate on Airi's feelings and give convenient answers based on your own behalf. Only Airi knows what Airi is really thinking."

"I don't understand you at all, Kiyopon. Do you think she feels fine being expelled like that?"

"I'm sure she was in despair when that happened, but how could you know how she feels now?"

"That's .... I can understand it if I just imagine it for a moment."

"No, you're wrong. That's simply just your imagination, it is necessary for Airi to even be suffering now?"

"....Huh?"

"The hardest part for you was not that Airi was expelled from school. It's the fact that her existence which was convenient for you, disappeared. You wanted to stand by Airi, who was inferior to you, and arrogantly play the role of a guardian. You loved the sense of superiority and satisfaction you got from doing that."

"That's not true! I never thought about her in that way!"

She strongly denied it, but there was a slight wavering in her eyes.

"When I think of how she feels right now, I..!"

"Did you really think about how she feels now?"

"I've thought it about it a lot!" 　

In an exchange that could be described as a parallel line, only Haruka's heart wears out violently.

"You don't really know the truth about how she feels."

"Well... there's no way to directly confirmed that in these circumstances!"

"Certainly there is no way to directly ask her, but here's a hint, it's this cardboard box. This is likely to be the answer that we're looking for."

"What? I don't understand. That's not what I need."

"Even if this is the last message that Airi left you?"

"....Eh?" 　

Haruka, who had been all bullish up until then, opens her eyes with Akito standing behind her.

"What... is this a joke? Why did you bring this box here anyways?"

"On the day it was decided that Airi was going to leave school, she sent a package to me. It must have been because she realized she only had a limited time left."

Haruka's gaze falls on the cardboard box at her feet.

"If you look at the sender, you can tell that I didn't prepare it, see?"

Haruka crouched down and looked at the slip pasted on the cardboard.

It was the recipient of the package and the sender's name was an online store. 　

I myself only found out about it after I received the package and searched about it. 　

I noticed that Haruka reached out and tried to roll up the edges of the tight tape with her fingertips. 　

After repeating the process several times, she finally succeeded in peeling it off. 　

The cardboard box was then opened. Inside the cardboard box, there was a maid's outfit.

"This is....." 　

Haruka should've known what it meant.

"I was supposed to wear this..... with Airi, why ─ ─"

"She must've realized you might not participate in the festival. That's why this was delivered to you to prevent that from happening, right?"

"Airi...."

"I can at least sense Airi's strong feelings