“Oh my, such a cute attire you have, Mahiru-chan.”

Amane’s parents arrived early by the time it was their shift. Amane welcomed them alongside Mahiru, trying to force a smile on his numb, cringing face.

Shihoko in particular was being excited as Mahiru was dressed in maid outfit; she excitedly observed the clothing, and even touched it.

Mahiru could only show a wry smile, probably because she was used to it, but by the rules, she had to refuse. Even if it was an acquaintance, if anyone was to set a precedent so openly, those who misunderstood might attempt to do the same, which Amane did not want.

Mahiru might have difficulty refusing, for she let Shihoko touch to her heart’s content. Amane sighed, and reached out to stop.

“Dear customer, please do not touch our maid.”

“Of course, it’s your personal maid, Amane.”

“Normally speaking, the maid belongs to this shop!”

Shihoko seemed to understood Amane’s intent that Mahiru belonged to him, and his face twitched. Nevertheless, she did not seem to mind.

Amane too understood that it was pointless to posture, and decided to serve as usual.

“Goodness me, this waiter’s rude..well, is it because you want her to yourself?”

“Of course not. Rules are rules, no touching, we don’t provide this service. Do stop, or it’ll be a bad example to other customers.”

“Even if it’s mom?”

“Nope, and you’re not her mom.”

Shihoko might have deemed herself as Mahiru’s mother already. She was already acting more like a mother than Mahiru’s actual mother, and doted on her more than her own son, but Mahiru nevertheless was her son’s girlfriend.

Amane was more anxious to get his parents seated, rather than retort about this. A few customers, and even the students, had been casting glances here, which was really embarrassing.

“What’s bad about that? It’s no difference.”

“So I say..ah whatever, let’s bring you to your seats.”

“Of course, there are other customers here. Lead me there then, waiter.”

Shihoko’s genial smile had Amane’s lips quivering, and a silent Shuuto gave an apologetic look. Amane quietly sighed to himself, and turned to look at the customers.

“Excuse me, I shall lead you to your seats.”

Shihoko stifled her giggles due to Amane’s professional attitude. Amane ignored it, and led them to the empty seat. Mahiru must have went off to serve another customer, taking orders.

Why do my parents have to see me like this? Amane felt embarrassed, and wanted to sigh, but held it in as he showed his parents the menu.

“This is the menu of our shop. Please take note that all the items are sold in sets.”

“Oh, I see. What do you want, Shuuto-san?”

“Hm, any recommendations, waiter?”

“If you like coffee, I recommend set A. If you like tea, set C might be more appropriate.”

Amane’s father was not one to tease like Shihoko, but the bemused smile was something Amane found unacceptable. It was one thing to serve his classmates, but exceptionally awkward when it came to his family.

Shihoko continued to snicker away, and Amane was increasingly frustratred.

“Can we bring the maid back?”

“This shop doesn’t provide such service.”

“Even though you want to.”

“Don’t make it sound so bad. That’s just going home.”

Amane accidentally blurted his usual drawl, but Shihoko did not mind as she was obviously discussing personal matters. There was nothing more to say.

“..Well, you’re going to bring her back home anyway, Amane.”

“We’re going home anyway, and besides, she’s bringing me home.”

“Woah!”

You’re spending the night together? Shihoko gave an excited look, and Amane immediately regretted his slip of the tongue.

“..I’ll explain the rest later. Let’s not talk now, seriously.”

“You’re at that age after all.”

“I’m talking common sense. Don’t talk about that in the shop.”

Amane scowled, and Shuuto finally coaxed Shihoko.

“Alright, we’ll talk about that later.”

“Of course. We’ll ask about the details later.”

“Just don’t. Anyway, your orders?”

“One set A and one set C. Is it fine with you, Shihoko-san?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine with both.”

Shihoko was delighted, and Shuuto knew what Shihoko wanted without having to say anything.

“Certainly. Please wait a moment.”

Amane took their orders, and hurriedly left, since he knew they would start flirting.

As expected, there was an amicable conversation behind him. He sighed, informed the counter of the order, and his classmate there stared at him.

“One set A and one set C..what?”

“That’s your parents, Fujimiya?”

“..Unfortunately, yes.”

“What do you mean, unfortunately..but well, I feel that you’re very different from your mom.”

This classmate saw how cheerful Shihoko was, and obviously, the contrast was stark.

After looking back at the chatting duo for a while, the classmate looked at Amane.

“..Ah.”

“What do you mean, ah?”

“You resemble your dad.”

“Really? Well, I guess I got more resemblance to him..”

“Yep yep that’s it.”

Amane narrowed his eyes at this obliging answer, but before he could answer, I got something to do,the classmate hurried off, stating so. Amane did not know what was going on, and was suspicious as he returned to his position.