5.1

As 9:00 a.m arrived at the maid cafe in the special wing of the school, an announcement was made to all students at once.

Guests stepped through the main gate and the opening of the festival was announced.

"What do I do, I'm getting nervous..."

"I haven't had any contact with outsiders since I entered this school."

I heard a conversation with Ike, who was standing shoulder to shoulder with Shinohara. I guess being in a closed environment for so long certainly created extra tension.

Meanwhile, Satō and the other maids continued to discuss the shift change due to Matsushita's absence.

Although the burden on each of them would inevitably increase, the time adjustment was nearing completion. Satō, dressed in her maid costume, clasped her hands together in anxiety, but quickly slapped her own cheeks between her palms to regain confidence.

"We can do it, we can do it!"

"Maya-chan will be fine. I'll back you up too."

Kei, who was helping behind the scenes, cheerfully encouraged her.

"Yeah, I'll do my best!"

Since overcoming a big hurdle, the two of them have really grown closer.

Their relationship as best friends won't be broken in the slightest from now on.

The only other member I had to worry about was...

I looked around and observed the other students. Sudō and some of the male team members were not listening to the announcements and were having their final meeting with Yōsuke.

We had to keep our feet on the ground about what to do when it gets crowded or in case of trouble. After giving out all the instructions, we realized that we were short two students. Immediately after, Horikata and I looked at each other.

We must've been thinking the same thing. She approached and spoke to me in a whisper.

"Hasebe-san and Miyake-kun seem to be missing."

"I guess it's not like they're in the restroom."

The other students seemed to be too busy minding their own business to have noticed yet.

"I knew there was something going on at this festival, but ..."

"If it's just simply slacking off, I guess I'm rather grateful."

For Horikita, who had not calculated them as a force to be reckoned with from the start, there was no need to get worked up if they just didn't help out.

However, if they were to sabotage the project, that would be a different story.

"But it also adds fuel to the fire because of the rumors."

"If you leak information and then skip the festival, well, that's enough blame, isn't it?"

"I've been keeping an eye on it so far, thinking only time will tell, but ... I still think we should do something about it early on. We should at least dispel the rumors."

"I understand what you're saying, but we should focus on the festival today."

"Is that what you want?"

"Even if we can erase the rumors, we can't erase the fact that those two have slipped out. Besides, there is still a possibility that they could embarrass the class in some other way at the festival."

With multiple sources of anxiety, a poor response could lead to unnecessary animosity. Taking sides is certainly only for when Haruka and Miyake are determined to not be the enemy.

"I agree."

Horikita was a bit nervous, but she cleared her throat to get rid of her thoughts.

"I'm sure you'll be able to handle Hasebe-san and Miyake-kun just fine."

I replied with a glance, and decided to start greeting the guests.