The Little Fangirl

After leaving the Bookstore, Eriri and Arifureta didn't head home right away. Instead, they continued strolling around the bookstore area. Located in Tokyo's Akihabara, Fujikawa Fantastic Bookstore was in the heart of what's often called the "Otaku Paradise," surrounded by electronics shops, model toy stores, anime merchandise shops, and themed cafes. Among these, maid cafés were especially popular, with servers in various maid outfits beckoning customers from the street.

Eriri and Arifureta decided to enter an adorably decorated maid café, and as soon as they pushed open the door, they heard two sweet voices call out.

"Welcome home, Masters!"

Two girls, who looked about the same age as Eriri and Arifureta, stood before them, dressed in maid outfits. They seemed like high school students working a weekend job. When one of the girls, with long, straight hair, saw Eriri, she froze, her eyes widening in shock. The other maid, wearing twin pigtails, let out a surprised cry.

"Eriri-sama?"

Her eyes shone with excitement, though she quickly clamped her hands over her mouth, realizing she had used her private term of endearment for Eriri.

"Oh, so you're a student at Yumenosaki Academy?" Eriri asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes…" The maid's cheeks turned slightly pink. While Yumenosaki didn't forbid students from working part-time jobs during school breaks, meeting her idol while dressed in a maid outfit left her feeling deeply self-conscious.

"Eriri-sama, Arifureta-sama, I'm Ayaka Kitahara, from Class 1-B," she introduced herself eagerly, her blush deepening. Arifureta, with her beauty and as one of Eriri's companions, was equally famous at Yumenosaki, second only to Eriri herself. Kitahara, a member of Eriri's fan club, knew exactly who she was.

"So you're Ayaka-chan, hmm? I'll be counting on you to take care of us," Eriri replied, giving her an amused nod.

"Yes, absolutely!" Kitahara replied with infectious enthusiasm and led them further into the café. She had never dreamed that someone as high-status as Eriri would come to Akihabara, let alone to a maid café. But this was her golden chance to serve Eriri personally—a dream for any fan club member.

What she and the other members of the fan club envied most were Eriri's three official companions: Arifureta, Megumi, and Shea, followed by the personal service that Eriri's personal maid, Aoi Kujo, could offer her.

Still frozen in place, the maid with long hair finally snapped out of her trance and hurried to catch up with them.

Inside the café, a few other customers were already seated, but Eriri's arrival instantly drew everyone's attention. Patrons and servers alike halted what they were doing, staring at her in awe.

Most of the customers in the maid café were otaku, and Eriri's sheer presence overwhelmed them. Not a single one dared to keep their eyes on her for too long.

…

After seating Eriri and Arifureta at a table, Kitahara placed a menu in front of them and asked eagerly, "Eriri-sama, Arifureta-sama, what would you like?"

Eriri glanced over the menu casually before making her choice.

"Hmm… I'll have an omelet rice," she decided, closing the menu right away.

They weren't there for the food, but rather to experience the atmosphere of the maid café. If it was fine dining they wanted, Aoi's cooking would have more than sufficed. Her culinary skills, after all, were world-class.

"Got it! One omelet rice." Kitahara confirmed Eriri's order and turned to Arifureta. "And for you, Arifureta-sama?"

"We'll just share the omelet rice," Arifureta replied with a smile.

Seeing Eriri nod in agreement, Kitahara felt a pang of admiration for the bond between them before she hurried off to prepare the order, nearly bursting with excitement.

On her way to the kitchen, her fellow maid, who had helped welcome Eriri and Arifureta in, grabbed her arm.

"Ayaka, Ayaka! Do you actually know Kashiwagi Eri-sensei?" the girl whispered excitedly.

Kitahara looked puzzled. "Kashiwagi Eri-sensei? Who's that?"

"She's the guest we just served!" the girl, Hibiki Kirishima, exclaimed. "She's an incredible yuri artist—didn't you know? You go to the same school!"

"Oh, right," Kitahara replied, surprised. She hadn't realized Eriri had this side to her; it only made her admire Eriri even more.

"Ayaka, do you think you could get me her autograph?" Kirishima asked, sounding almost desperate.

"Why don't you go ask her yourself?"

"I… I don't have the guts…" Kirishima admitted, scratching her head as a flush of embarrassment spread across her face.

Kitahara gave her an knowing look but didn't laugh at her; she understood perfectly. "Honestly, you'd better go yourself. It'll mean a lot more if you do it."

After a moment of thought, Kirishima nodded. "Alright, I'll try."

She took a deep breath, grabbed a notebook and pen from her bag, and stiffly made her way over to Eriri's table.

Watching Kirishima's nervous approach, Kitahara chuckled to herself before heading to the kitchen. When she came back out, Kirishima was already grinning with her new autographed notebook in hand.

"Ayaka, look! Kashiwagi-sensei's autograph! And she said I'm the first one to get it," Kirishima beamed, showing off her notebook, Eriri's signature scrawled across the cover page.

"Congrats, Hibiki," Kitahara replied with a smile.

…

The café had a few other customers as well, but most were already served and occupied playing games with the maids, so Kitahara quickly brought out Eriri's omelet rice.

"Are you going to cast your magic to make it even tastier?" Eriri teased, looking up at Kitahara with a smile.

Kitahara blushed and nodded shyly.

"Alright, let's see your magic then," Eriri encouraged her.

Kitahara clasped her hands together to form a heart, aiming it at the omelet rice on the table, and began the chant. "Be delicious! Be delicious! Moe Moe Kyun!" She finished, cheeks flaming red as she tried to cover her face in embarrassment.

"Bravo!" Eriri and Arifureta both applauded warmly.

Hearing their drawn-out cheers, Kitahara's embarrassment flared even hotter, and she squatted down, covering her face as if to hide.

After a while, she recovered, though she still couldn't meet their eyes. Eriri and Arifureta then took turns feeding each other bites of the omelet rice, their intimate interaction feeding Kitahara a whole mouthful of envy.

The omelet rice wasn't huge, and the two finished it quickly.

"So, how was the omelet rice?" Kitahara asked, slightly nervous. Eriri's wealth and status were common knowledge at Yumenosaki, so Kitahara felt uncertain about her café's food quality holding up to Eriri's standards.

"It was delicious," Eriri replied, giving a warm, if noncommittal, answer to keep Kitahara from feeling disappointed.

Kitahara beamed happily at her response. For the next half-hour, she entertained Eriri and Arifureta with games, helping them fully enjoy the maid café's unique experience.

Soon enough, it was time for them to leave, and Kitahara bashfully mustered up the courage to make a request.

"Eriri-sama, could we take a photo together?"

"Of course," Eriri agreed without hesitation.

"Yes!" Kitahara squealed with joy, immediately pulling Kirishima over to take the photo. Kirishima snapped a picture of Eriri and Kitahara standing side by side, though Kitahara kept a respectful gap of about ten centimeters between them. Eriri noticed and shook her head, closing the gap until their arms touched.

The warmth of Eriri's presence and her faint perfume scent made Kitahara feel like she could die happy.

Soon, the photo appeared on Kitahara's phone, where Kirishima stared at it with unabashed envy. But unlike Kitahara, she didn't have the courage to ask for a photo herself.

When Kitahara checked her photo, Eriri's clear, sweet voice brought her back to the moment.

"Well, we should be off now. Ayaka-chan, could you please let us settle the bill?"

"Oh, no need! Let me treat you, Eriri-sama," Kitahara stammered, unconsciously using the club's nickname for her.

"No, no, that won't do. You're working part-time to save up, right? Besides, do I look like I need a freebie?"

"Alright then…" Kitahara reluctantly gave in, smiling gratefully at Eriri's firm kindness.

After paying, Eriri and Arifureta bid farewell to the two maids and left the café, while Kirishima stood there, a little shell-shocked at receiving Eriri's goodbye.

When they were gone, Kitahara whipped out her phone and opened LINE, entering a chat group titled "Eriri-sama's Fan Club," which boasted a few hundred members.

[Ayaka Kitahara: Hahahahahaha!!]

[Ayaka Kitahara: Today is the happiest day of my life! Not only did I meet Eriri-sama at work, but I even got to take a picture with her. I can die happy now!!]

[Ayaka Kitahara: (Photo)]

The chat exploded with messages, as group members who usually lurked couldn't resist chiming in. Every message brimmed with jealousy, including the fan club president's.

[Eriri-sama is gorgeous! And that other girl's getting in the way. I'll edit her out so it's just you and Eriri-sama.]

[Why can't I ever have this kind of luck? Ayaka, I'm seriously envious!]

[Did you touch her hand, Ayaka? Did you catch a whiff of her perfume? I'm so angry just thinking about it! I'm splitting from envy!]

Kitahara scanned the messages with growing unease, especially when her childhood friend chimed in. A sense of dread crept over her.

She'd been too reckless. In hindsight, bragging in the group might not have been the best idea.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon: 

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven