Chapter 9
[Warning: Cringe Overload, you have been warned.]
Maid Café.
On paper, not that different from other cafés, where you go in, get served by the staff and enjoy the vibe while you do your own thing. However, that couldn’t be any further from the truth.
Concept play, or roleplay? Honestly, I don’t know! Whichever you prefer! Anyways, it’s a Japanese-themed restaurant that focuses on roleplay, where you, the customer, is treated like a ‘master’ by the maids (the staff working there).
Aside from that, there wasn’t really much else I knew about it, or… so I’d have liked to say about a day ago.
“Xia…”
“Sister, please don’t give me such a face, it’s for your own good~! Getting experience is good, right~?”
“Master~☆ Here is your serving of Delish MoeMoe ☆ Heartshaking Omurice~☆ Do you want to, ehe~♡ Participate in the love ☆ spark ‘make it~delish’ spell ♡?”
“Yes~! Me and my sister here will do so~”
“How cute, master ♡! Repeat after me, okay~☆?”
How did it even lead to this…
To understand what even happened, we would have to dial back to last night’s dinner.
◈
“M-Maid… what…?”
“Maid café, sister. I think it fits for you?”
“I-I know, but… Wait, what do you mean it fits?!”
“Uh… aha…?”
Hey Xia…? Why are you avoiding my gaze? Did you just think of something really mean just now…! Ugh… Calm down, she is your little sister… It’s fine to be insulted like that, yes.
“I-I guess, I can hear y-you out…?”
“Huh? You’re seriously considering it, sis?”
“...?”
“Jia Xia, mom and dad aren’t very sure about this ‘Maid café’ thing, but you think it suits your sister, right? Still, café work is tough and—”
“Ah, don’t worry about that, mom. Maid cafés are different from normal ones. It’s just… slightly hard to explain…”
Xia, ‘slightly’ is a very big understatement here… Now please explain before your big sister dies in the infinite layers of embarrassment-land.
“It’s more of an… entertainment…! Yeah! Entertainment-focused environment! They wouldn’t care too much about big sister messing up… and uh… that’s pretty much it?”
“If what you said is true, I guess it wouldn’t be a bad experience for our Jia Lin…”
“As long as you get experience out of it, it’s good enough.”
While Xia managed to explain it in a way that conveniently left out the negatives, I, who had dipped my feet in otaku culture, understood what she was trying to get me into…
Me working as a RP maid… I don’t really get much outside of that, but don’t these people usually go “Kyaa~ Master ☆!” when serving their customers…?
While I don’t really mind living as a girl and eventually accepting the idea of dating men… even that kind of act is too much for someone like me.
Just because I’m dead inside doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to corrode? I still very much take the same amount of embarrassment damage as any other normal person, you know? In fact, I might be even more vulnerable compared to others…
Considering that, working at a maid café is umm… Argh!! Didn’t I just say that I’d take a chance? Why am I pulling back now just because it's embarrassing?! Fine fine…
“I-I see… I guess it wouldn’t be that b-bad, yeah…”
I barely managed to voice out my consent after hundreds of retries inside my faulty brain (took less than a second of processing time…!), which I suppose means that there’s no going back now…
“Hmm… If you’re still that hesitant about it, why not experience it with me, big sis? I remember there being a location that’s close to our province.”
“Huh…?”
“Oh, that’s a great idea, XiaXia! Bringing your big sister there could help her decide better! Tomorrow you are free after school, right? Why not have your big sister pick you up and go straight there before coming home?”
“Sure.”
“...?”
“What do you think, Jia Lin?”
“I uh… that works too…?”
“Good! Then let’s continue eating, don’t let the food get cold.”
“Ah, yeah…!”
It does make sense. If I am unsure, it’s best to experience it and then rethink my judgement, right? So I agreed but…
‘Why do I feel so unnerved?’
Oh well, I’ll just leave it to tomorrow’s me.
Surely it would work out if I do that.
I hope…
***
New day, new trials.
And today’s trial…
Gulp!
“Big sis, they won’t eat you, you know?”
“Ugh, but still…”
“Hah… It can’t be helped, come with me.”
“W-Wait…!”
Going to a Maid café.
“What…?”
“Do I look off? Am I missing anything or is something wrong with me?”
“That’s the 11th time you’ve asked this…”
“But…”
“No buts! You’re too worried and paranoid, It’s not like you are going there for a job interview right away.”
To be honest, she’s right. I was so worried that I barely got any sleep last night, plus I even went out of my way to wear the fancy and pretty looking clothes that I bought with Xia.
I’m currently wearing a slightly puffy shoulder off shirt with long pants, which gives me a somewhat good look? Or at least that’s what I think… Xia didn’t complain about it, so I suppose it looks passable enough?
In the end I was just too worried… I guess I’ll stop.
“Hah… You’re right.”
“If you get it, let’s go right away.”
“...”
To be honest, I still haven’t mentally prepared myself for this. I mean… who the hell could? If you knew that you were heading to a place that would 100% give you an embarrassing experience, then would you even go? Of course not, right? So I’m totally justified here!
Ugh… I really don’t want to go…
Fine, fine! I’ll stop being a baby and get it over with… Ah, though I still have some unanswered questions.
“Xia, how did you find out about this place anyways? And are they even looking for employees right now?”
“Yes? Overheard it from classmates during class. As for employees, well… I just knew…?”
“You came here before, haven't you?”
“H-Huh…?”
“How else would you have known, Jia Xia…? You don’t need to lie ab—Mmph?!”
“Aghh!! I just heard it from classmates, okay?! I definitely didn’t come here by myself before! So shut up!”
“Mmmhph!!”
“A-And look…! The sign that they put out over there clearly shows that they are hiring new employees, right?! So you understand now?!”
“Uuuuu…”
Hey, Xia…? Your big sister is having a hard time breathing here?! Please take your hand off??? Pretty please?? I’m going to suffocate…
“Eh…? Jia Lin?! Wait, don't collapse on me!”
“Hah… Hah… That was too mean, Xia…”
“Sorry…”
To think that I almost got assassinated by my younger sister, how scary… Either way, I didn’t have any intention to tease her, and seeing how hard she is trying to cover it up, I guess I’ll just pretend I fell for the lie.
“It’s no worries. You never came here before, right? I’ll believe you.”
“Y-Yeah…”
“I guess you’re right, they are hiring.”
Ignoring her flustered outburst earlier, I guess she was right about the recruitment.
“Café Moe ☆ Kira Kyun, now hiring new Maids. Flexible hours, shift work, breaks and meals included, privacy guaranteed… Woah?”
While I was reading the recruitment ad with interest, one part about it stuck out in particular: The salary.
“Monthly wage starting from 4,300 Yuan, not including bonuses and new employee welfare? That’s quite generous for our city, don’t you think?”
“It is, but from what I’ve heard, the owner is a rich person doing this as a hobby or something? He pays handsomely for this job, so it’s quite popular amongst part-timers.”
“I see…”
Still, to pay this much just for the employees… If I remember correctly, isn’t the minimum wage in this city around 2,500 yuan? To pay that much in a place like this… I guess the owner does care for the employees.
“Well, a job like this has to pay well, no? You’re essentially selling away your dignity after all.”
“You understand that much yet you’re telling your sister to do this…?”
“Ahaha…”
Looking at my sister like that, she really has changed so much, hah…
Ah, I’m not complaining though. Seeing her like this is way better than seeing her being gloomy around me after all. I can sacrifice this much just for some sweet sisterly bond.
“Hah… let’s not waste anymore time and go in, I guess. The quicker, the less we suffer.”
“You make some sense for once.”
“Ugh…”
◈
Ding
Entering the café, I could say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Despite being advertised as a maid café, the interior is surprisingly rustic and neat. Not overly flashy but still gives off a soothing positive vibe. It’s simple but gets the job done, I like it.
“Surprisingly better than I thought?”
“I know right? I was surprised too.”
“Was…?”
“I-I mean…!”
“Oh~☆ What’s dis nyan ☆? We have a returnee, nya ☆! Welcome back, Master Jia Xia~nyan ☆! Do you want to stamp your check-in sticker~☆? Nyan?”
“...”
“I… Uh… Sister… I can explain… I… I…”
“Xia…”
“...”
“In times like these, we stay silent, okay…?”
“...Yes.”
“Good.”
...
“Umm… I-I’ll get the u-usual check-in, p-please…”
“Alrighty nyan~☆ Table for two, nyan ☆? Master brought a guest toda-nya ☆! Uwooh ☆! Wuzzat nyan ☆? An extremely beautiful guest has arrived-nyan ☆!”
“Y-Yeah… I c-came with my s-sister…”
“Ooh ☆! Esteemed guest~☆ Nya~ Welcome to Café Moe ☆ Kira Kyun~ Where all dreams and desires reside, nya~☆! It’s my pleasure to serve you, nya ☆!”
“W-What’s with the ‘nya’, if I may ask…?”
“Sherly’s a cat, it’s her whole thing…”
“Exactly-nya~! Sherly is master’s devoted cat maid-nya ☆!”
“...”
“S-Sherly, please bring us to our table?”
“Alrighty-nyan~☆ Follow me nyan~☆!”
“Xia…”
“I heard from my classmates that the maids act like this…”
“You’re terrible at lying, Xia…”
“...”
Sigh… Even I can’t ignore this anymore, you know? If she tries too hard to hide it like that, it becomes more apparent and embarrassing, so it’s better to just expose it now.
“I noticed earlier, but this place is really packed, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s actually quite a popular spot around town. It was only open recently too, so the popularity still hasn't died down.”
“I see…”
“That aside, these menu items…”
“...”
“Super Gap Moe Latte filled with Heart Attack ☆, Burning Passionate Love ♡ Confession ♡ Parfait, Super Duper Awesome Fried Shrimp Rice…”
While I did prepare myself to some extent, how the hell was I supposed to know that a hell hole like this would crush my poor mental health like this… Ugh… The names…
Not to mention, the name of that maid earlier... Sherly, huh? I suppose they wouldn't use their real names. That makes sense.
“...”
“Let’s… just order, yeah?”
“Yeah, let’s order…”
“Hello master~☆ What will you be getting today~☆?”
“Ah, hello, two Delish MoeMoe ☆ Heartshaking Omurice~☆, please.”
“Excellent choice, my cute masters~! Two Delish MoeMoe ☆ Heartshaking Omurice~☆ coming~☆! No drinks, right~?”
"Yeah."
"Alright~☆"
Ignoring the mental corruption, I watched as Xia smoothly ordered the food. It seems like she has returned to normal. Though, it might be weird to call ‘that’ normal…
“You’re so used to it, Xia…”
“Ugh, it can’t be helped, you know? I do come here often! Not for the maid roleplay thing, of course, but because the food here is genuinely really good.”
“That much I can understand I suppose.”
Can’t be helped, if it’s because the food is good, I guess it's worth enduring the embarrassment.
“Hmm, then most of the customers here?”
“Probably for the maid thing, good food is just a plus on the side.”
“Oh…”
Unsurprisingly, most of the customers here were men, which is to be expected, I guess. It’s a concept that targets the male audience after all, so it’s not really a surprising sight.
“Still… They are working hard.”
“Mhm, it’s a job at the end of the day, you can tell that they enjoy it too. I suppose that’s good for them.”
“...”
It was my turn to contemplate. Honestly, working in an environment like this doesn’t seem so bad. The general vibe is positive and wasn’t as bad as I expected despite the terrible impressions.
Still, that’s only if I can somehow get in though… I’d probably be too unqualified for this.
Sigh, no negative thoughts, just enjoy it for now, Jia Lin.
Yeah, it doesn’t look too bad after all, maybe I will apply for the recruitment.
“Ah, there’s our order~ Pft… Get ready, sister~”
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Xia? Ready for what?”
While I was busy contemplating absolutely nothing, it seems that our food has come and… the beginning of my nightmare.
“The chant, you know?”
“Chant?”
Whisper, whisper~
…!
“No!! You’re not making me do that!!”
No, please… anything but that!
“Don’t be too sad, sister~ I’ll do it alongside you too, so what’s the problem?”
“But still…”
“It’s fine~”
As the maid approached with our order, I could only glance in horror as I anticipated what’s about to happen.
“Xia…”
“Sister, please don’t give me such a face, it’s for your own good~! Getting experience is good, right~?”
“Master~☆ Here is your serving of Delish MoeMoe ☆ Heartshaking Omurice~☆ Do you want to, ehe~♡ Participate in the love ☆ spark ‘make it~delish’ spell ♡?”
“Yes~! Me and my sister here will do so~”
“How cute, master ♡! Repeat after me, okay~☆?”
Damn it… What she said was true… I’d really have to… do that… ‘chant’...
Hah… there isn’t much I can do now… Let’s just get this execution over with…
“Moe moe ♡~”
“Moe moe ♡~”
“M-M-Moe moe…”
Perhaps not noticing my despair or she is simply a sadist, the maid continued her cringeworthy performance at an agonizingly slow pace, increasing the embarrassment that I felt…
“Lovely shining ☆ shining ☆~”
“Lovely shining ☆ shining ☆~”
“Lo-Lovely shining… shining…”
“Please be delicious~☆! Chuu~♡”
“Please be delicious~☆! Chuu~♡”
“P-P-Please… b-be… de-deli… what…?”
Did she just blew a kiss...? Am I'm supposed to imitate that...? Actually, wait... Xia also did it like it's nothing...? Am I the weird one here? No, right? Wait please... I just said I'd get this over with but I definitely cannot do the kiss! Surely, they would understand?!
“Oh my~♡ What a naughty master~! You messed up the spell and now it’s all ruined~☆!
“Wow~ Sister, how could you~?”
“N-No… what…? You can’t expect me to…”
“Master~♡! You have to recite the spell by yourself to make it work now~☆!”
“W-What…?!”
“Sister, you messed it up~ You have to fix it now, right~?”
“N-No.. Xia, this doesn’t make sense, right?! Why do I have to do this alone?!”
Pat, pat.
“Big sister Jia Lin, fighting~”
“Ah…”
I became the big sister who was betrayed by her younger sister… Left for ruin, in this desolate land. I have nothing but my sorrows… I… Okay, that’s enough cringe dialogue… Just because I’m in despair now, doesn’t mean I should increase the dosage…
Ugh… I… no choice…
“Alright, master ♡ repeat after me again, okay~? No stopping this time ♡!”
“Y-Yes…”
“Moe moe ♡~”
“Moe… moe…”
“Lovely shining ☆ shining ☆~”
“Lovely… sh-shining ☆ shining ☆…”
“Please be delicious~☆! Chuu~♡”
“P-Please be delicious…”
“You gotta end it off with the kiss~”
“That’s right~☆!”
Sensing my agony, it doesn’t seem like the two would let me go that easily… Not much I can do…
“C-C-Chuu…♡?”
“Pfft, ahahaha!! What was that flimsy kiss, just now, sister~? Ahahaha!!”
“Pfft M-Master, you did your… best just now~☆ Pfftt…”
“Ah…”
I… I…
Getting made fun like this… It’s fine… Yeah… as long as my sister is enjoying herself… I…
It’s just a memory, that’s all, yeah… there’s nothing to… I…
I…
Hic…
“Umm… sister…?”
“Master…?”
Hic… sob…
“UWAAHHHH!!!!”
“Sister?! Please calm down!! It was just a joke, I’m sorry!!”
“M-Master?! Please don’t cry!!”
…
On that day, Jia Lin burst into tears in front of everyone inside the Maid Café.
Needless to say, it was a sorry sight, and this incident would remain as one of her worst black history for the rest of her life.
But of course, she doesn’t know that everyone that day secretly enjoyed her cute outburst.
