Episode 40: We Just Need to Get Them to Spend Money!
Some time after a crack had formed in Kazuma and Kosuke’s friendship, unexpected guests arrived.
From outside the classroom, along with the high-pitched cheers of the female students, the Knights of the Round Table appeared.
“Didn’t those guys go home?”
The Knights of the Round Table should have judged Alicia’s appearance as disadvantageous and left. Yet, as Kazuma tilted his head, wondering why they were here, the Knights of the Round Table approached.
“Well, hello there.”
“You lot… what gives you the nerve to show your faces here?”
“Well now, haha. That’s a harsh way to put it.”
Tristan and Bedivere gave a wry smile at Alicia’s harsh words. Despite having retreated so easily due to Alicia’s appearance, they had brazenly shown their faces again. It was only natural for Alicia to lash out with harsh words.
“So, what did you come here for?”
“To tell you the truth, we didn’t intentionally come here. The moment you arrived, we backed off. However, just going home would be boring. It’s a rare chance to be in Japan. So, we figured we might as well enjoy ourselves and were looking around the school festival.”
“It’s just as Tristan says. We have no intention of recruiting Satsuki Kazuma-kun over there.”
“Hmm. I’ll ask just in case, but were you planning to have him join the Knights of the Round Table?”
“I wouldn’t know about that. That’s something for our king, Arthur, to decide.”
“Oh, really. Never mind then.”
Having lost interest, Alicia continued eating her remaining pancakes.
As Momoko was holding her head, wondering how to resolve this yet again chaotic situation, this time the Holy Maiden’s Guard appeared.
“Are you unharmed, Holy Maiden-sama!!!”
“Ngh?!”
Charlotte, who had been stuffing her cheeks with pancakes, was startled by the guard’s shout and choked on a pancake.
Kazuma, who had appeared beside Charlotte at some point, handed her juice and rubbed her back.
“There, there.”
“Kehok, kehok… Thank you very much.”
“Y-Youuuu! Get your filthy hands off the Holy Maiden-sama—”
Fools learn from experience, but due to his memory being worse than others, he hadn’t learned a thing.
“Uguaah?!”
“Haaah… Char. Should I dispose of this guy for you?”
“P-Please forgive him. He doesn’t mean any harm. It’s just, he’s a bit too serious, or rather, inflexible… He’s a tad troublesome, but he’s a good person at heart.”
“Haaah… You’re as soft as ever.”
“I’m sorry…”
Charlotte, who had been choking, defended the guard and succeeded in persuading Alicia.
However, reality was cruel.
“Well then, bye-byyye.”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah?!”
“Eh? Eeeeeeeeeeeeh?!”
The man, who had been lifted by Telekinesis, was thrown out the window. Since Kazuma and the others’ classroom was for first-years and on the ground floor, the guard wouldn’t die from the fall. But this was Alicia. She had meticulously lifted the guard several meters into the air and thrown him outside the academy grounds.
“Ooooh~~~”
Kazuma watched the thrown man as if he were watching fireworks. Seeing the man fall in the distance while letting out a pathetic cry, Kazuma put his hands together in prayer.
“(Live a serious life in your next one, okay?)”
“(You’re one to talk…)”
“(That’s hurtful~. I’m extremely serious, you know?)”
“(That’s why I’m telling you not to reply so naturally!)”
Momoko, who was in the middle of eating the pancakes Kosuke had made, retorted to Kazuma’s inner voice, and since he replied normally, she almost choked on her pancake.
Momoko glared sharply at Kazuma. Kazuma, being glared at, looked away as if it didn’t concern him at all. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t seem to win. Physically and mentally, Kazuma was nigh invincible.
However, he was weak to Honey Traps, so there were plenty of openings to exploit. That said, he could also sense dangerous opponents on an instinctual level, so it was still difficult for Momoko to win against Kazuma.
Meanwhile, Charlotte, having had one of her guards sent flying, instructed the other guards to go help him immediately. Of course, she also reminded them not to forget to contact her right away if he was injured.
“With this… will he be alright, I wonder.”
“That guy’s a Body Enhancement Gifted, right? He’ll probably just have some bruises.”
“I hope so…”
Although she murmured worriedly, Charlotte trusted what Alicia said, so she started eating the rest of her pancakes without concern. It was a glimpse of a surprisingly resilient Holy Maiden-sama, perhaps.
“H-Hey, Satsuki-kun, Ibuki-kun!”
“”Hm?””
One of their classmates, Hyodo Kureha, had approached them before they knew it. She wasn’t the one who planned this café, but as the class president, she had become the representative.
Since she was beckoning them with small waves of her hand like a maneki-neko, the two approached Kureha.
“What’s up?”
“No, Satsuki-kun. It’s not ‘what’s up.’ At this rate, we’re going to be last in sales, you know?”
“Eh?! W-Why?!”
“Kazuma. If you look, you’ll understand.”
“Eh, what do you mean?”
Urged by Kosuke, Kazuma looked around the classroom, but he couldn’t find anything particularly strange. Kazuma wondered what exactly the problem was.
“You see, there are no customers. It was a huge success this morning, but now, as you can see…”
Hearing that, Kazuma finally understood. Right now, the only people in the classroom were Alicia, Charlotte, the Knights of the Round Table, and a few of the Holy Maiden’s guards. To put it bluntly, there were very few people.
Over a thousand customers were visiting the school festival. They had benefited from that in the morning, but in the afternoon, because Alicia and the others were occupying the place, their sales were low.
“Ah, I’ll go make those guys pay up!”
“W-Wait a minute! Sure, those people look like they’d casually pay a hundred million yen or something, but I don’t think the academy would allow it… Besides, Satsuki-kun, you’re on the executive committee, right? Wouldn’t that be cheating?”
“I’m not forcing them, so it’ll be fine. If I ask nicely, the academy will probably turn a blind eye.”
“If the Witch shows up, they’ll have no choice but to turn a blind eye…”
Kureha vigorously nodded her head, agreeing with what Kosuke said.
“So, what do we do then? At this rate, our class will be last, right?”
“Yeah. So, we just have to do our best tomorrow.”
“The second day, huh…”
The Esper Academy’s school festival is held over two days, Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to that, many ordinary people and students from other schools can also participate.
“But, considering this afternoon’s sales, isn’t it pretty tough?”
“It’s just as Ibuki-kun says, but we have no choice but to do what we can, right?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
And then, at that moment, an epiphany struck Kazuma.
“Let’s get Alicia and the others to help!”
“”Huh?””
Kosuke and Kureha’s mouths hung open, wondering what on earth he was saying.
“Look, there are places where alumni like OBs and OGs help out, but strictly speaking, they’re outsiders, right? Technically, as long as the academy gives permission, cooperation from outsiders is okay. So, if we get Alicia and the others to wear maid outfits and serve customers, we’ll definitely be number one in sales!”
They understood what he was saying. But, as a fundamental premise, was it really okay to make a world-renowned Witch and Holy Maiden wear maid outfits and help out at a mere school festival café run by students?
“Um, do you realize you’re saying something outrageous?”
“It’s fine. If I explain it to Alicia, she’ll understand.”
“That’s not the issue! That’s not the issue at all…!”
Kureha let out a sorrowful cry. However, it didn’t get through to Kazuma. There was no longer any way to stop this man.
“Well, I’m off then.”
“Ah, wait!”
“H-Hey, Kazuma!”
Shaking off their attempts to stop him, Kazuma returned to where Alicia and the others were.
“Is your talk over?”
“Yeah. Alicia, actually, I have a favor to ask…”
“What is it? Could it be, you want me to go on a date with you?”
“That’s an attractive offer, but no, that’s not it. Actually, in this school festival, we students are competing over sales. And right now, my class is apparently in last place.”
“Okay. Leave it to me, I’ll make you number one with my pocket money.”
“No. That’s not it.”
“Eh? Then, what is it?”
“Wear a maid outfit.”
“Eh! Could it be, Kazuma… you have that kind of hobby?”
“No, I want you to work with us tomorrow.”
“Ah~… So that’s what it is.”
Alicia understood that while she could probably fluster Kazuma by pressing him while wearing a maid outfit, she likely wouldn’t be able to win him over. She knew it wasn’t that Kazuma had no interest in women, but Alicia didn’t know what to do.
She felt she was making some progress. However, there was some kind of gap between her and Kazuma. That was probably why Kazuma was friendly with everyone. In fact, he even conversed normally with Charlotte, who was lauded as the Holy Maiden and a rare healing Gifted even on a global scale.
She wanted to somehow bridge that gap, but it was frustrating that she couldn’t do it at all.
“If it’s impossible, it’s fine, though…”
Seeing Alicia suddenly fall silent, Kazuma started to worry that perhaps his request was too much after all.
“Ah, no, I was just thinking about something else. Becoming a maid is okay! Ufufu! I might actually be looking forward to it a little!”
“Eh! Are you serious? Won’t you get in trouble with your superiors?”
“The only one who can complain to me is the King!”
“Oooh! Thanks, Alicia! If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to tell me! I’ll lend you my strength then!”
“I’ve got your word on that! I won’t forgive you if you go back on it!”
“You bet!”
And so, having successfully persuaded Alicia, she roped in Charlotte and the Knights of the Round Table, and it was thus confirmed that the second day of the school festival would be met with great turmoil.
Then, on that day, after the school festival ended, Kazuma reported to his homeroom teacher, Tanaka-sensei, that Alicia and the others would be cooperating. Tanaka-sensei turned deathly pale, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed, but was revived by the Holy Maiden. Then, in a state of utter desperation, he reported to the academy principal that Alicia and her group would be participating in the school festival.
Incidentally, that night, Momoko, still in her maid outfit, drank herself into a guaranteed hangover out of sheer frustration.
“Damn it! How can I deal with this, you idiots! Confound it all!”
It was probably understandable that she would complain. Clutching a one-sho bottle, Momoko fell fast asleep. There was a glint of tears in the corners of her eyes. She had truly been through a lot.