Chapter 82 - Preparing for the Cultural Festival (2)
After finishing my conversation with Himeno Karen, I left the café and headed back to school.
It was to meet Mashiro, who was preparing for the cultural festival in the classroom after school.
“Well then, I’m counting on you, Shindou. And you don’t have to add -san when talking to me, okay? Let’s keep it more casual, yeah?”
At our parting, Himeno Karen—Himeno—told me with a cheerful tone to speak more casually with her before waving goodbye and walking off.
It worried me that I had no idea how things would unfold from here since the story was now diverging from the original work, but I was happy to have found an opportunity to get closer to Himeno like this. Even as a fan of Fusekoi, I never disliked her character. And if I could form a friendship with a heroine who was supposed to be my enemy, it might be a good sign that I was breaking free from the role of a villain.
“...The real problem is Fusegawa Raito’s change, though.”
The protagonist, Fusegawa Raito, who now behaved nothing like the one in the original.
What was the reason behind his actions that strayed so far from the archetypal romcom protagonist?
Up until now, I thought it was all due to the irregularities I had caused—but from what Himeno said, there might be another factor at play.
If I could figure out what it was that Himeno sensed, I might be able to help them reconcile. Thinking about what to do first, I opened the door to Class 1’s classroom.
Glossy black hair shimmered beautifully under the sunset. Standing there—cute, elegant, and radiant—was Mashiro, the epitome of a pure and lovely girl.
Mashiro was busily working at her desk, talking with her friend, Haimura Yui—a former gyaru known for her gray short bob and trademark glasses.
Mashiro and Yui were classmates and close friends, often seen together during breaks. It was a familiar sight, but today, something about it felt a little different.
“I think this design isn’t bad... Hey, Yui, what do you think?”
“Mashirocchi, you’ve got great taste! You’re good at drawing too—maybe you could even become an illustrator someday!”
Apparently, they were discussing designs for the maid costumes they’d wear during the cultural festival, sketches spread out in a notebook before them.
I’d heard that instead of buying or renting costumes, Mashiro herself would be handmaking them.
Mashiro was a very domestic girl—good at cooking, laundry, sewing, even knitting. With her skillful hands, I had no doubt she’d craft something wonderful.
Chatting happily with her close friend Haimura, Mashiro was sketching new designs with a serious expression. There was still plenty of time until the cultural festival, but her careful preparation was so very her.
She pressed her mechanical pencil against her lips thoughtfully before showing Haimura a rough sketch of her envisioned maid costume. Haimura looked it over and nodded repeatedly.
“Hey hey, Mashirocchi, this one with more frills is super cute! I think I like this kind of maid outfit the best!”
“Ehehe, cute, right? I thought it’d be nice if it had a bit of a princess-like feel.”
“But the more orthodox one is adorable too. It’d look good on anyone, which is definitely a plus.”
“Since everyone’s going to wear it, that’s important too. Uuu... it’s so hard to decide.”
“When you come up with designs like this, Mashirocchi, what do you use as reference? Like, do you picture yourself wearing it, or imagine working at a maid café like that?”
“Hmm... I guess I try to imagine how people would react when they see it... or, um, how happy they’d be seeing someone wear it. I draw while thinking about that.”
Mashiro’s cheeks flushed as she shyly traced a finger over the maid outfit drawn in her notebook.
Maybe she was imagining someone in particular being happy about it. Her cheeks softened into a gentle, dreamy smile.
“Mashirocchi, you’re making such a cute face! Who’re you thinking about, huh? Is it that person, maybe~?”
“Th-that’s... geez, Yui, don’t tease me like that...”
Mashiro’s cheeks turned red as she fidgeted in embarrassment.
Seeing her reaction, Haimura let out a mischievous giggle.
“Mashirocchi, you’re just too cute! You’re awakening the wolf inside me, you know—!”
“Wahh! I told you before, you can’t just hug me all of a sudden—ah...!”
Laughing playfully, Haimura wrapped her arms around Mashiro.
As I watched the two beautiful girls playfully clinging to each other, feeling an overwhelming sense of blessedness, Mashiro’s gaze suddenly turned toward me—standing awkwardly at the classroom entrance.
I’d been waiting for the right moment so as not to interrupt their preparations, but since our eyes met unexpectedly, I froze up, unable to say anything.
Come to think of it, there was a time before when I’d stumbled upon Mashiro and Haimura being all friendly like this too.
Back then, Mashiro had reacted like a puppy spotting its owner—and now, she looked just as eager, as if her invisible tail were wagging wildly. She really was such a warm, affectionate girl.
Noticing me as well, Haimura quickly let go of Mashiro and greeted me cheerfully.
“Yo yo, Ryusuke-kun! You planning to join in on the maid outfit designing too?”
“So you two were preparing together, huh? Mind if I join in for a bit?”
“That’d be super welcome! We’ve been wanting a guy’s opinion too! Come on over, come on~!”
Haimura grabbed my arm and tugged me toward them, guiding me to the seat next to Mashiro.
Mashiro quickly stood up, straightened her hair, and smiled at me gently.
“Ryusuke, thank you for coming. Your cold’s all better now, right? I’m so glad.”
“Yeah, I’m fine now. You even took care of me yesterday—really, thanks for that.”
“No, it’s okay. You were sleeping, so I tried not to wake you. Sorry for sneaking in like that... but I’m really glad you’re feeling better now.”
Mashiro sighed in relief, her hand resting lightly on her chest.
I’d made her worry so much over these past two days.
I wanted to thank her properly for helping me recover, and since I was here anyway, I decided to join in their festival preparations.
I placed my bag on the desk beside me, took a seat, and looked at Mashiro’s design notebook.
The pages were filled with rough sketches of maid outfit ideas, each one showing the effort Mashiro had poured in.
“Did you come up with all these yourself, Mashiro?”
“Yup! Yui and I talked while I came up with a few ideas. I’m narrowing them down right now. This one’s the classic maid outfit, and this one next to it has lots of frills—super cute, right?”
Every design Mashiro had drawn was adorable, delicate, and yet practical. No matter which one she chose, the visitors at the festival would love it.
“Mashiro, you’ve got really good sense. You could totally be a fashion designer. The details are so well thought out, and they’re all really cute... I think either one would look amazing on you.”
“Ehehe, thanks for the compliment. By the way, Ryusuke, which one do you like better? I want to use your opinion as a reference for which one we should make for the festival.”
Mashiro asked, smiling bashfully.
I glanced down at the notebook and pondered.
Both the classic and frilly designs had their own charm, which made it hard to decide.
I’d love to say “both,” but given the class’s budget and the time left before the festival, that wasn’t realistic.
I couldn’t help but start analyzing things—like which design would draw in more visitors, which would contribute more to sales, or which would cost less to make...
As I was getting lost in thought, Haimura raised a finger with a playful grin.
“Ryusuke-kun, how about just choosing the one you’d rather see Mashirocchi wearing? No need to overthink it—trust your instincts!”
“My instincts, huh...”
I took a moment to seriously consider it.
The orthodox maid outfit had a long skirt and a modest, clean impression. The simple white apron accentuated its purity—a classic design that would suit anyone.
The frilly one, on the other hand, had a big ribbon at the chest that emphasized its cuteness. The knee-length skirt, adorned with fluffy frills, created a soft silhouette. Add a white headdress, and it’d be both cute and elegant—a perfect combination.
Both were wonderful, but if I had to choose, the frilly design that highlighted Mashiro’s sweetness won out for me.
Mashiro, the ultimate beautiful girl, in a fluffy maid outfit... It’d be downright unbeatable. And wanting to see that was only natural for any guy, right?
“Then... I guess I’d go with the frilly one. It seems like it’d suit Mashiro really well.”
“Right? I think Mashirocchi would look super cute in a fluffy frilly outfit too!”
Haimura and I nodded in agreement.
Apparently, boys and girls thought alike when it came to these things. Even though I hadn’t talked much with Haimura before, we saw eye to eye here.
Mashiro smiled in relief at our words.
“I’m glad you both think so. Actually, the frilly one was my favorite too.”
“So, all three of us are in agreement, then.”
“Yup yup~ Mashirocchi, let’s tell everyone about this idea tomorrow!”
After discussing it after school, we finally decided on the maid outfit design for the cultural festival.
I hadn’t contributed much since I joined midway, but if I could help Mashiro even a little, that was enough.
Class 1, with Mashiro in it, was really fired up for the festival.
Watching them, I thought that Class 2 should take a page from their book—and with that, the three of us began getting ready to head home together.