1.4

Since we were headed to the same place anyway, I walked with Horikita to the special building. When we arrived in front of the classroom designated by Satō, for some reason, we found Maezono there.

"Oh, I'm on guard duty. I don't think there's anyone coming to the special wing after school, but I had to make sure."

"You were on guard...? This is a lot more elaborate than I thought."

She seemed surprised that they had even set up a security system, although it was important to keep your exhibit a secret until the day of the event. Not only did they ask the teacher to rent a room in the special building, but they also set up a guard to prevent third parties from interfering. In addition, there was a simple but effective barrier to prevent people from seeing the inside of the classroom through shaded windows.

"Well then, I'll take a look inside right away."

"Oh, wait a minute. From here on, it's going to be a practical format, so both Horikita-san and Ayanokōji-kun should experience it as customers."

"Oh? I understand that you've planned this out quite thoroughly. This is easier to understand than looking at a poorly written plan."

Seeing how elaborate the process was, Horikita would undoubtedly be raising her expectations. Whether or not she actually decides to adopt their idea is another matter, but it's clear even at this point that they're making a real effort to win the cultural festival. I'm sure Horikita will be happy to see the effort.

Horikita and I checked again to make sure there were no other people around, and then slowly opened the door. The first thing that jumped out at us was an unexpectedly colorful décor. The room was so brightly decorated that it was hard to believe that it was an inorganic and nondescript classroom.

"This is..."

"Welcome~. We're Maimai, the maid café!"

All at once, three girls, each in a distinctive costume, greeted us.

The two girls who greeted us here, Satō and Matsushita, were dressed as maids. Mii-chan, who was looking at us shyly, was dressed in a Chinese style maid suit.

The classrooms are usually equipped with monitors, but the special wing, which is rarely used, still seems to have a whiteboard. The name of the restaurant was written on the whiteboard in a cute way with a marker.

We were shown to our seats and given a handmade menu list.

"What would you like to order, master?"

"Hold on. Can I ask you something before I order?"

"Go on."

"Didn't it take a lot of time and money just to prepare this?"

It certainly looks like it would be difficult to prepare on the same day.

Even if they could do their best to decorate, what did they do about the costumes?

"Ayanokōji-kun has a point. How long did it take, Matsushita-san?"

"About four days of preparation. I think the cost I incurred is surprisingly reasonable. All in all, 13,200 private points. The three of us here and Maezono planned it and split the cost, so it's 3,300 points per person.

The breakdown is that we bought three rental outfits and some decorations such as origami and pens at the general store. The tableware was our own, so there was no cost."

I see, that's the reason why the tableware lacks a sense of unity. Of course, since we are still in the planning stage, this is not a negative factor. In fact, I'm impressed with how well they prepared the event while keeping the cost to a minimum.

"The impact was perfect, better than anything I've ever seen. But..."

Horikita praised the presentation, saying that it was perfect for grabbing the audience, but she wasn't so naive as to make a decision based on that.

"I wonder if you've created a budget for the whole thing. I'd like to see a concrete process."

Satō motioned towards Mii-chan sharply.

"Well, I've summarized as much as I can..."

Taking out a clear file from her bag satchel, Mii-chan presents it to Horikita. There were three pages of details written in beautiful, clean letters, probably written by Mii-chan. She said that she had rented the costumes, but that she had gotten quotes from three different companies and rented one costume each. The price, quality, and selection of items were compared. The difference in cost between the cheapest and most expensive tableware to be used on the day. The number of people to be expected, and the difference in guest capacity due to this.

"This is head and shoulders above any proposal I've seen so far. That's quintessential."

When I praised her honestly, Satō and Matsushita poked Mii-chan in the side and told her that she was being praised. She still looked embarrassed, but bowed her head to meet her lightly.

So far, the project proposal from Satō and the others could be said to be perfect. However....

"That's certainly an interesting proposal. It may not be an uncommon genre, but I feel that it has potential if it's put together properly. However, there are some disadvantages. The costume rental fee is 4000 points per outfit. If that's the case as per the proposal, 40,000 points for 10 outfits. After that, the estimated cost of preparing snacks and drinks is 50,000 points. This alone is 90,000 in total. Classroom decorations cost 5,000 points, and if you add in the cost of the location, you're looking at... that's not a cheap price to pay."

Even if the manpower doesn't require a wage and can be secured without difficulty, it would mean spending almost half of the current budget on one event.

"Yes, that's true, but I think we can raise the sales price to counter that."

The menu list that Satō and the others made, for example, cost 800

points for a cup of tea. The price is higher than what you would pay for a cup of tea at a café in the Keyaki Mall. Of course, the price could be revised downward significantly depending on future adjustments, but they still think it has a good chance of selling.

Horikita's face was serious as she read over the three separate proposals. However, the outfits of Satō and the others around her seemed strange and unrealistic, like a fairy tale. Eventually, perhaps having come to a conclusion, Horikita looks up.

"I'm going to check again, but no one saw this performance, right?"

"Of course not." She nodded her head, looking confident. Satō and Mii-chan followed suit.

"Very well. I'll do my best to make sure this maid café goes through.

Can you guys further scrutinize this proposal, including thorough cost reduction?"

"Really? Yes!"

The three of them exchanged a touch each for joy.

"It's too early to rejoice. Don't forget that we're still in the process of reviewing the proposal."

Although she said this, it was still a big leap forward that Horikita was even seriously considering this idea.

As the two of us walked out into the hallway, Maezono, who had been watching us, waved happily at us. The commotion in the classroom must have reached Maezono's ears as well.

"I'm kind of surprised how well that went."

"I wouldn't readily admit it was a good idea if I didn't feel that way. In fact, most of the ideas that were brought to me were rejected on the spot, or at best, put on hold. That's how powerful their presentation was."

The idea of a maid cafe is not that unusual. However, it seemed that Horikita was willing to help because she saw the potential for our class to show off its strengths and impress the guests.

"So, even if some other class adopts the same maid cafe, we can win?"

"I'm fairly certain we have a good chance."

Even if you open a store with bad food, you'll be fighting against several rivals. On the other hand, even if one or two maid cafes are covered, you might be able to screw them over with your strength. Aside from the three people who wore the same costumes, there are still other students who could be useful.

"I'm going to ask for your help Ayanokōji-kun to ensure that the girls'

project is a success."

"My help? Don't tell me you want me to cosplay as well?"

"Why are you so stupid? I'm going to give it my all, but I'll also need some help from the boys, right? I think that kind of thing should be handled by you."

"No well... I know what you mean, but... I'm sure there are other suitable people."

"Right. Ike-kun, Hondō-kun and the others may have better eyes for this kind of thing. But if you tell them about this, it could lead to a leak. They seem to be light on their feet."

"Can't deny that."

"I don't want to unnecessarily increase the number of people who know what's going on inside. You understand, don't you?"

"I see."

Maybe it was just my bad luck that Satō had called me here, and I was destined for this.

"So, I'll leave the selection of people to you first. Of course, you can tell whoever takes the job about the case, but remember to keep it a secret. If anything happens to you, the project will be shut down." That's how important it was to keep the information safe. "In that sense, I want to keep the number of people sharing information to a minimum. Can I leave everything to you? I'll set up a formal budget later, and I'll need you to arrange people, pay for everything, and manage it."

"Wait, wait. You're taking a big leap at once. You're just going to leave it to me?"

"There's no single program for this festival. In terms of the balance of men, women and human resources, multiple stalls are a must. It's also going to be quite a challenge to figure out how to increase sales on a low budget, and I'd rather focus on that."

I was tempted to let her handle the entire thing at this point but she strongly felt I should share some of the burden.

"So, you're accepting my offer, right?"

I don't remember showing any pretense of wanting to accept, but I didn't have much of a choice.

"I suppose so."

I wonder if it is possible for me to run an ideal maid cafe. I can't say I'm very confident. I'm not sure how many more waitresses I'm going to be able to recruit. Still, for now that I've got Satō and Matsushita down. Even though it is still a long way off, the list will need to be compiled in the near future.

"I'm going to head to the student council room. I'll see you later." Said Horikita interrupting my thoughts.

"I'll head back too then."

I was about to leave the special building when I spotted Chabashira-sensei; who didn't seem to be passing by chance, given the location.

"You've seen Satō and the others? I heard about the performance. And what they're planning to do. Not a bad idea."

"It was great. For Satō and the others, they had to make sure that pitch was good enough first before they can even start actual preparations"

It's no laughing matter to have prepared so much in earnest without knowing if they'll get permission.

"I was wondering how you were doing personally, so I thought I'd come check on you. How have things been going?"

"Horikita was positive, so I suppose things are going fine. I guess they figured the odds were in their favor. We're working out the details now."

"I see. Then it looks like it's an easier road from here on out.

"They got me involved, though, so things got a little tricky."

"What do you mean?"

"Under Horikita's direction, I've been assigned to direct the performance.

"Ayanokōji leading a maid café...?" Chabashira-sensei laughed somewhat mirthlessly as she gave me a pitiful look. "Horikita makes some pretty interesting suggestions."

"I think people like Ike and Hondō are many times more suited to this kind of thing to be perfectly honest."

"As for understanding otaku culture, that may be true. But what's important at a cultural festival is sales. They may be able to improve the quality of their performance, but they aren't good at calculating and making a profit. That's why it's important for you to supervise them. It's a problem that can be solved by asking them for their opinions if necessary."

Easy for you to say. In order to absorb opinions, we must also acquire a minimum level of knowledge. If we only listen to advice in ignorance, there's no guarantee that we'll arrive at the right answer, and conversely, it's difficult to point out what's wrong.

"You've got to be hungry for the opportunity to learn something other than studying. The manager of the maid café sounds like a hefty role."

"I guess so."

I was about to leave, but Chabashira-sensei stopped me in my tracks.

"Ayanokōji. Next time you're free... can you give me a few minutes of your time?"

"Next time? When?"

"I'll send you a message soon. Would that be okay?"

"Well, I don't mind. If I have plans, I'll make myself available."

I could have refused, but after receiving a serious look from Chabashira-sensei, I decided to accept.