Chapter 344: Almost Discovered
Eriri looked around curiously and whispered, "Kaede-kun, what do you think those two girls went into the shop for?
Are they here to work?
They don't look like it, and they came with a few classmates."
"Of course they aren't working."
Kaede shook his head and said, "Those two girls—let's ignore the one with the bun hairstyle for now—the aura of the black-haired girl doesn't suggest she's the type to work at a Maid Cafe.
To draw a comparison, do you think Kasumigaoka-senpai would come here to work?"
"Hmm... That's true.
I've seen a similar aura on girls in many different circles.
She's probably a young lady from a good family."
Looking at the three boys over there, Eriri didn't pay much attention to the dead-eyed one and the fat one, but the cute boy wearing sportswear caught Eriri's interest.
"Kaede-kun, Kaede-kun, that boy is really cute!
If I hadn't faintly heard him speak just now, I would have thought he was a girl."
"He is indeed quite cute."
Kaede expressed his complete agreement: "A boy like that must have a lot of trouble in school, especially when changing clothes during gym class."
Covering her mouth, Eriri held back her laughter: "Pfft!
You're right, I feel like the other boys would be embarrassed to look at him!
This reminds me of a light novel."
"My Friends Are Few?"
"Kaede-kun, you thought of it too?"
"Well, people like that are quite rare, so it's easy to make the association right away."
Discussing others behind their backs wasn't very polite, so Kaede and Eriri stopped talking after a brief discussion.
After another ten minutes or so, the two girls who had left finally reappeared.
This time, however, they had changed into the Maid Cafe's uniform.
"Wait~~~ Can you try on the maid outfits here?"
Eriri looked over in surprise, her voice involuntarily rising and drawing the attention of the group.
Seeing them all look over, Eriri flashed an awkward smile and chuckled at the group.
It would have been fine if he hadn't looked, but once he did, the fat guy among the five immediately stood up in shock, pointed at Kaede and Eriri, and yelled helplessly, "Ah ah ah ah ah!!!!"
Well, crap, they were discovered.
Kaede quickly raised a finger to signal silence, while simultaneously gesturing to the others with his eyes.
Although the certain dead-eyed "Great Teacher" didn't know what was happening, he instantly understood and pulled the fat guy down, smacking him on the head, which finally eased the attention of many people in the shop.
Letting out a big sigh of relief, Kaede whispered to the group, "Thanks."
However, everyone still didn't quite know what was going on.
Looking at the still-shocked fat man, Hachiman Hikigaya said, "Hey, Zaimokuza, what exactly were you yelling about just now?"
"You guys don't know?"
Yoshiteru Zaimokuza looked at everyone in disbelief, then pulled out his phone, frantically tapped the screen, and showed it to everyone: "This is the big news from the last few days!
You guys don't know about it?
Hachiman, you read light novels and manga too!"
Everyone leaned in to look and saw the photo on the screen.
Weren't they the two people sitting at that table?
After looking at the specific information, they finally understood everything.
"Eh!!! Fiancés!!!"
Yui Yuigahama didn't pay much attention to light novel authors or manga artists, thinking of them only as impressive figures, but the phrase "fiancés" written there made her incredibly curious.
Based on the news, the couple was the same age as them.
Had they already reached this stage?
Seeing that the group's attention had shifted entirely to them, Kaede and Eriri exchanged a helpless look, called a server, paid the bill, and prepared to leave.
Since they had been discovered, staying any longer would not be peaceful.
Seeing the two paying the bill and preparing to leave, Yoshiteru Zaimokuza quickly rummaged through his backpack, pulled out a signature board, and cautiously walked over just as Kaede and Eriri were about to depart, saying, "Um... excuse me, could you give me an autograph?
I really love both of your works!"
Although the guy had yelled just now, nearly exposing them completely, at least the outcome wasn't too bad.
Plus, when they encountered fans outside, they didn't mind fulfilling requests as long as they weren't excessive.
Smiling, Kaede took the signature board and pen, whispering, "Yes, but please don't be as loud as you were just now."
After he and Eriri signed their pen names, Kaede returned the signature board to him, nodded at the other four people, and finally led Eriri out of the Maid Cafe.
After the two left, Yukino, who hadn't spoken much, finally said, "Are they... very famous?"
Hachiman Hikigaya nodded and said, "Yes, they are the youngest creators in the industry right now.
One was last year's best-selling light novel author, and his work has already been animated.
The other is a rising star manga artist whose popularity exploded after debuting in Jump last year.
This is the first I've heard about their identities being exposed; looks like I haven't been paying enough attention lately.
Red Maple... that is, the boy, Kaede, has a fairly ordinary background, but Ms. Sawamura has a formidable family history.
It's said her father is a diplomat and her mother is from a prominent Tokyo family.
However, according to previous speculation, both of them achieved financial independence a long time ago, and they seem to have moved out together after getting engaged.
Tsk, their setting feels like something out of a main character story."
Listening to Hachiman Hikigaya's explanation, Yukino began to ponder Eriri's name.
Although she didn't like attending her family's social events, she still knew about some of the families in Tokyo.
"Sawamura, huh... So it's that Sawamura Family from Tokyo..."
Then, the more she thought about it, the more a feeling of imbalance spread in her heart.
At their age, they were doing what they loved, had someone they truly loved, and faced absolutely no opposition from their families.
And what about her?
Even moving out on her own after high school was an achievement she only barely managed after a fierce argument.
The more she thought about it, the more unwilling she felt, but Yukino was clear about the current priority.
She quickly suppressed her inner thoughts and shook her head, saying, "They aren't here; they aren't on the schedule.
Hikigaya, where are the other shops named "Angel"?"
"Ah, as for 'Angel'..."
On the other side, after Kaede and Eriri left the Maid Cafe, they prepared to return to the hotel.
It wasn't a good time to go straight to dinner, so they decided to go back to the hotel first and have the hotel chef prepare their dinner.
The main focus today was still on going to the hotel's top floor later that evening.