An entry in the Miss Contest.
Chihiro freezes for a moment at the unexpected
proposal. But he manages to regain his composure and guides the second-year
student who brought the proposal to a relatively quiet corner of the corridor.
「Umm, Miss Contest is... a popularity contest
for girls, isn't it?」
「No, it's not? We have a boys' division and a
girls' division. Didn't the committee say so?」
「...oh, I see」
Indeed, he remember that the committee had
talked about it in such a way.
The reason he had forgotten about it was
because he was dragged by the name of "Miss Contest". And, to be
frank, the committee members just treated boys as "an extra".
Therefore, it is only natural that the popularity contests like this attract
the attention especially Hana.
The reason for holding a boys' division is
probably to silence the voices of discrimination and sexual harassment.
**a
「So, I am entered in the men's division, right?」
「No, it's not correct」
「Eh?」
Chihiro let out a sigh of relief, but was soon
followed by another blow.
The female senpai in front of him smiles at
him and tells him a cruel fact.
「But you're half right... Izumi-kun entered
"both boys and girls". Don't worry, I also made sure to enter the
girl's division」
「So, umm, why am I in the girl's division?」
「Why don't you wait until you see what you look
like?」
「Ugh」
Chihiro had to grunt when he was told such a
thing.
「Also, I think the deciding factor is this.
Here」
She operates some kind of smartphone and shows
him the image on the display.
It was a picture of Chihiro in a maid's
uniform, smiling and serving customers.
「I've registered you with this picture」
「Eh, no, no, no, why are you doing this?」
「When you were working in 1-C, didn't someone
asked you if it was okay to take your picture?」
「Oh. If you say so, yes, of course」
In a sense, Chihiro thought it was part of the
job, and he allowed them to take pictures under the condition that it would not
be misused. Nevertheless, the existence of the photograph itself is not strange
in that sense. The only reason she has them is because somebody sent them to
her by e-mail or something.
「But the condition of no misuse is...」
「Is entering a contest for Miss Contest
considered misuse? It's just a popularity contest within the school, right?」
Well, she didn't upload the photos to any
websites or sell them.
Miss Contest is also completely free of charge
and does not benefit the organizers. Rather, there should have been prizes for
the top winners, so in that sense, the committee members lost money.
Having been easily persuaded, Chihiro gave up
his protest and sighed deeply.
「I understand. Do I have to do something to
participate?」
「No. For now, I'm just going to post some
pictures here」
「For now?」
「Yes, for the Miss Contest, there are
preliminary and final contests. If you win the preliminary, you'll perform on
stage tomorrow. The finalists are the top five」
「Oh, I see」
He nodded in understanding.
Well, if that's the case, no problem. There is
no way that Chihiro will get votes in either the boys' or the girls' division.
「...I hope it's possible...」
「What did you say?」
「No, nothing. Well, Izumi kun, good luck」
「Thank you very much. Senpai too, please do
your best」
And so, with a light wave of the hand, he
parted from her.
The "good luck" at the end sounded
slightly meaningful to him, but he decided that it was probably just his
imagination.
Once again, he went to the locker room again.
As expected, he is not stopped twice and
arrives safely. So, without thinking, he opened the sliding door and peeked
inside...
「Welcome back, Master!」
His eyes met Riko's with a big smile on her
face.
**b
「Heh?」
「...eh?」
From the blank expression on her face, he
could tell that her voice was not welcoming Chihiro.
Riko was dressed in a maid's uniform. She is
fully dressed, from her apron to her headband, ready to go out to the store at
any time.
In the locker room, there are no other
students. Just Riko.
「Wha, eh, Chihiro? Why?」
Riko's face turned bright red and she raised
her voice again.
「I-I'm sorry. You were practicing your
greetings... right?」
「Eh, um... Yes, that's right, but... why'd you
open the door suddenly?」
「...I'm sorry, I was careless」
About that, it is only Chihiro's fault.
Besides, what would have happened if there had
been a girl who was changing her clothes in the room? And having changed
clothes twice here, he had become accustomed to the situation and had become
carefree. But it's not good for him.
Fortunately, it was Riko, and she was not in
the middle of changing her clothes.
Phew....
As Chihiro was reflecting on the situation,
Riko seemed to have regained her ability to think.
She exhales lightly with her cheeks flushed.
「Well, it's okay because it's Chihiro. I mean,
it's my fault that I was practicing in a place where people might come. So,
Chihiro, are you going to get changed too?」
「Uh, yeah」
He realizes that he is still standing near the
entrance and hurriedly closes the door.
Riko, on the other hand, throws a glance at
Chihiro, who moves forward a few steps.
「Is something wrong?」
「Eh, no. It looks good on you, but it's a
little awkward. Is that Aika's uniform?」
「...hmm, well」
He nodded his head, and this time he sighed
deeply.
「You two get along really well, really」
「Thanks to Aika」
「Make sure she doesn't abandon you. If she
does, we'll be there to comfort you」
「Thank you. But I hope it doesn't come to that」
A few more words are exchanged, and he learns
that Riko was preparing for her next shift.
「Oh, you're changing already. It's early」
「I still have a little time. And I... had some
business to attend to, so I came early」
It seems that she's talking about that
practice session earlier.
And from the smile on her face and the way she
was dressed, it seems that she liked the maid uniform.
If so, it was worth suggesting the maid cafe
for the show.
「Riko, you still look good in that costume」
「...hmm, thanks」
Riko accepted the compliment again with open
arms.
When the conversation was over, Chihiro went
to the back of the partition to the changing area. If the other girls are going
to come soon, he had better get changed while he still can.
Also, he is going to return this uniform to
Aika later.
So, deciding to change back into his boys'
uniform, he takes off the skirt first.
**c
「Okay. I'll take care of it」
「Oh, thank you」
He hands the skirt in his hand to Riko, who
stands beside him. Then, Riko carefully hangs the skirt on a hanger.
「Riko?」
「Hmm?」
「What are you doing here?」
「Well, I'm bored. I thought I'd help you anyway」
The girl's eyes were clear and showed no sign
of lying.
It is a little embarrassing to be helped to
change clothes by a girl in a maid's uniform. Although there was no need for
such devotion, of course Chihiro was happy to receive it.
After all these years, being seen naked is not
a problem for him.
While thinking so, he decides to thank her for
helping him, and then hands the clothes he has undressed to Riko. This helped
him to work much faster than if he had done it alone.
In between the chats, they talked about the
incident that had just taken place.
「Heh~. Chihiro is in a Miss Contest for girls」
「Yeah. I tried to get her to stop, but she kept
talking me out of it...」
「Okay. I'll vote for you later」
「Riko?」
He gave her a pleading look, and she said,
without a hint of apology, "Eh, I can't?" and tilted her head. Then,
she speaks again.
「It's okay, you're so cute. Just because you
get one vote doesn't mean you'll win a prize」
「That's, well. I guess so」
「Right? So, I'll let Maria and Aika know too」
「Wait a minute」
