Chapter 34: The School Festival! Something’s Bound to Happen…
There’s a saying that “a rumor only lasts seventy-five days,” and Kazuma, who was once famous for a time, was now completely forgotten, and talk about him had faded away.
More importantly, they were busy with something else now. The students of the Seventh Esper Academy were constantly running around. Not because they were chasing Kazuma, but for a certain event.
That’s right, the school festival. The students were swamped with preparations for the school festival, which was fast approaching tomorrow.
Kazuma, being on the executive committee, was busier than others. He and his partner, Momoko, were incredibly busy with their executive committee duties and preparations for their class’s café. Kazuma and Momoko, working at a dizzying pace, seemed on the verge of collapsing from overwork.
“(Pant, pant… I’m gonna die~)”
“(J-Just this once, I agree with you…)”
The executive committee’s tasks were diverse, including securing budgets and materials. On top of that, they had to prepare for the café their class was running. No matter how much more capable Kazuma was than an ordinary person, there were limits. Momoko’s fatigue was even more severe.
In addition to monitoring Kazuma, she had school festival preparations and executive committee work. She was working as hard as a corporate warrior in an exploitative company. Because of this, Momoko would always crash into a deep sleep after returning home. It wouldn’t be surprising if she died from overwork at any moment.
“Hey, Kazuma~”
Called by Kosuke, Kazuma headed over with sluggish steps. Kazuma’s class was running a café, and they were divided into a kitchen team and a serving team.
Kazuma was on the kitchen team and, along with Kosuke, was in charge of pancakes, a menu item for the café. Kosuke handled the cooking, and Kazuma did the plating. Additionally, Kazuma, with his Transposition Gift, was also responsible for transportation.
“About the shifts for the day, Kazuma. What are you going to do? I’m fine pretty much anywhere, but you have executive committee work, right?”
“Yeah. I have patrols, so as long as I’m free for those, that’s enough.”
“Aren’t you going to look around the school festival with your friends?”
“Ah~, I forgot about that…”
Kazuma still had few friends. To be precise, friends in the Support Course. He was a rare case, having strangely many friends in the Combat Course but fewer in his own Support Course.
Prompted by Kosuke, Kazuma remembered his promise to go around the school festival with his friends from the Combat Course. He had promised to go with Alice and Kaede, as well as other friends like Shunsuke and Tsuyoshi.
“Umm, Ibuki-kun and Satsuki-kun are our aces, so if possible, we’d like you to be here during the times we expect a lot of customers…”
A female student from the kitchen team looked at their faces apologetically.
“Like I said earlier, I’m fine anywhere. But it depends on what Kazuma does.”
“Satsuki-kun, would that be okay?”
Kosuke, like Kazuma, had plans to go around the school festival with friends, but he didn’t have as many commitments as Kazuma, so he was flexible with his shifts. However, Kazuma was also on the executive committee, so his schedule was packed, and he didn’t have as much leeway as Kosuke.
“Hold on a sec. I’ll ask them when they want to go around.”
So, Kazuma took out his phone from his pocket and sent messages to his friends in the Combat Course. Replies came back almost immediately. A pop notification sounded, and when Kazuma looked at his screen, there were messages from his friends specifying their desired times.
They had designated the times considering that Kazuma was on the executive committee and was also the ace of the café. He sent them words of thanks and told them it was no problem.
“They adjusted their schedules for me, so we’re okay on this end.”
“Thank you, Satsuki-kun! Honestly, we’d like Ibuki-kun and Satsuki-kun to be here the whole time, but that’s probably too much to ask, huh.”
Surprisingly, Kosuke was skilled at making pancakes. The pancakes he made for a tasting session were a huge hit. Thanks to that, they became the café’s flagship menu item, and Kosuke became the ace of the kitchen.
And Kazuma, though he handled plating, was an ace thanks to his Gift. With his Transposition Gift, he could instantly deliver the finished products.
Fast service and delicious pancakes. Since they could achieve both, the two of them were the aces of the kitchen.
Incidentally, Momoko was on the serving team, so she was obligated to wear a maid outfit on the day. Momoko had already decided she’d be drowning her sorrows in alcohol that night.
◇◇◇◇
Just like the sports festival, the school festival began with a celebratory cannon blast. Many visitors entered through the main gate, and numerous stalls lined the path leading to the school building, with students shouting to attract customers.
Many visitors held flyers distributed the day before the festival, heading towards their desired stalls or exhibits. Some were also heading to see their friends’ or acquaintances’ daughters or sons.
And so, several tens of minutes after the school festival began, Kazuma’s class was a massive success. Although it wasn’t a maid café, the female students wore maid outfits, and the male students wore tailcoats. The relatively good-looking students livened up the café.
“Here is your menu~”
Momoko was diligently serving customers, putting on a sweet, coaxing voice. She was dressed in an adorable, frilly maid outfit. Momoko-chan, twenty years old. She had decided that tonight’s drink would be shochu with gesoten.
“Order up! Two pancake sets for table five! For table three, one French toast, one hot coffee, one orange juice!”
“Got it!”
“Roger!”
In the kitchen set up at the back of the classroom, Kosuke-led cooks prepared their respective menu items. After Kazuma plated the pancakes he received from Kosuke with whipped cream and fruits, he swapped the order ticket he got from a server with the product using Transposition.
“Wow! As expected of an Esper Academy. They’re so good at using their Gifts~”
“Dad! Let’s eat quickly!”
Orders kept pouring in, and the kitchen got busier. Kazuma, who was handling almost all the food delivery by himself, had reached a state of selflessness. It seemed he had entered a state of extreme concentration, like working on an assembly line.
Kazuma plated pancakes like a machine and delivered them one after another using Transposition. His precision was almost unnerving, but right now, he was the epitome of reliability.
“(…………)”
“(I can’t hear his inner voice…)”
Momoko tilted her head, puzzled by Kazuma’s unusual quietness today, as he would normally be shouting some lewd joke. After collecting empty plates from a customer who had finished eating, she headed to the washing area, handed over the plates, and peeked into the kitchen. There, she saw an emotionless Kazuma finishing plating pancakes at an astonishing speed.
“(A-Amazing…)”
At this, Momoko didn’t offer a jeer but genuine praise. Currently, Kazuma’s class café was boasting considerable popularity, with a constant stream of customers. There was even a queue forming in the hallway.
Normally, some people would give up due to the hassle of waiting in line, but Kosuke’s pancakes were being advertised by word-of-mouth, and thanks to Kazuma using his Transposition to its full extent and running the shop without making customers wait, the flow of customers didn’t cease.
“(…………)”
“(I-I see. So that’s why he was quiet.)”
Momoko was surprised by Kazuma’s silence, so unlike his usual self, but once she understood the reason, it was no big deal.
“Momoko-san! Customers are waiting, so hurry!”
“Ah, y-yes!”
Momoko had been observing Kazuma in the kitchen, but she was too busy for that. Urged by her classmate, she headed towards the customers. Despite being subjected to lecherous gazes, Momoko carried out her duties without complaint.
After a while, lunchtime arrived, and things calmed down at Kazuma’s café. As expected, people wanted to eat a hearty lunch, so they flocked to food stalls selling items like yakisoba and okonomiyaki.
Thanks to this, Kazuma and Kosuke could take a break.
“”Phew~~~””
The café’s menu mainly consisted of three items: pancakes, French toast, and sandwiches, along with drinks like coffee and juice. The most popular item was the pancake set. Thanks to this, Kazuma and Kosuke were exceptionally tired.
“Man~! Thank you, Ibuki-kun, Satsuki-kun! Thanks to you two, we were a huge success!”
“Ah~… Glad to hear it.”
“Yeah…”
Lacking even the energy to reply properly, the two looked lethargic.
“Alright then, you two take a break. I think people will start gathering again around three o’clock, so you’re free until then!”
“Aye, aye~”
“Rog~”
Kazuma and Kosuke slowly stood up and went to take their break.