The Maid of Romance
“You want me to wear *this*...?”
The cafe where I’d decided to work was called Romance. The name sounded a bit tacky, but the interior, seen from the outside, looked incredibly luxurious. It had a vibe that felt distinct from your average chain cafe. However, the location was poor—tucked away in a remote alley with very little foot traffic. It didn’t seem like the kind of place that would get many customers, yet they were offering three times the minimum wage. Regardless, I opened the door and stepped inside.
Jingle.
The interior was just as clean and high-end as it looked from the outside. And it was completely deserted. There wasn’t a single customer in sight. Even the area behind the counter was empty.
“Hello...? I’m here for the interview~”
Bang!
The storage room door flew open, and someone came stumbling out. He was a man with bronze skin, broad shoulders, and a menacing look with bulging muscles. His eyes lit up the moment he saw me.
“Oh! You’ve arrived! I’m the owner!”
The man held out a business card. I took it with both hands. The card had the cafe’s name and the owner’s name printed on it: Romance, Choi Deok-bae.
“Please, have a seat!”
The owner even pulled out a chair for me. Despite his intimidating appearance, he was incredibly kind.
“Thank you.”
Once I sat down, the owner asked, “Would you like something to drink?”
“Oh...”
“It’s on the house, so please, feel free to ask for whatever you’d like.”
“Then... an iced Americano, please.”
I chose it because I figured it would be the cheapest item on the menu. The owner went back to the counter and brought out an Americano in no time.
“Thank you.”
As soon as I received the coffee, the owner’s eyes sparkled as he asked, “When can you start working?”
“Pardon? Oh, I’m available anytime.”
When I answered with a bright smile, the owner clenched his fist in excitement.
“Then let’s sign the employment contract right now!”
“Excuse me? What about the interview?”
“You’re hired!”
“Oh, but... I’ve never worked at a cafe before. Will that be okay?”
“It’s perfectly fine! I’ll teach you everything slowly!”
“Ah, I see. Okay.”
Feeling a bit dazed, I signed the employment contract. The condition was to start working from tomorrow. Once I finished signing, the owner tucked the contract into his chest pocket as if it were a precious treasure.
“Say, can we speak casually now?”
“Oh, sure. That’s more comfortable for me, too.”
“Mm-hmm, right. Your name is Lua, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll explain what you’ll be doing from now on. Our cafe is... a little different from others. But it’s not difficult at all... um, hold on a second.”
The owner went into the storage room and came back holding something.
“When you come to work, you have to wear this first.”
What the owner handed me was... a maid outfit. A black dress with a white apron. Up to that point, it was a standard design, but the chest area was cut out in the shape of a heart. On top of that, the skirt was extremely short—short enough that my panties would likely be visible. Plus, there was a headband and a choker for my neck...
“Pfft. How magnificent!”
Adel, who had been quiet until now, giggled.
“You truly are a born whore, aren’t you? You’ve found a job that suits you perfectly!”
Ignoring Adel, I asked the owner, “Um, you want me to wear... *this*?”
“It’s not exactly a strange outfit! It has a bit of exposure, but it’s not that extreme...”
“But, this is a bit...”
As I muttered while looking away, the owner’s shoulders slumped.
“Is it too much...?”
This definitely feels like a strange cafe. No, but... the conditions are too good to turn down. What the hell, should I just give it a try? It’s not like I’m selling my body or anything.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll wear it.”
“R-really? Thank you!”
The owner’s face contorted with emotion.
“Thank you so much, Lua...!”
“I just need to wear this, right?”
The owner stiffened slightly.
“Oh, right, and...”
The owner continued, looking a bit hesitant.
“Since it’s a maid outfit, naturally, you have to use maid-speak.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s a basic way of speaking. When a customer arrives, you have to greet them with ‘Welcome, Master,’ and when you take orders or serve food, you have to act like a maid... you have to be submissive.”
“No, that’s a bit...”
I stood up.
“I’m sorry. I think I’ll have to...”
Thud!
Suddenly, the owner knelt before me.
“Please, I beg you!”
“O-owner?!”
“If you just do this, this cafe can survive!”
The owner started to shed tears.
“This place is where men’s fantasies come to life! I’ve dreamed of a place like this my whole life, and I worked my fingers to the bone in manual labor to set this up!”
“...”
“But even when I hire staff, they all run away, and now the cafe is on the verge of bankruptcy... *sob*!”
Seeing the owner sobbing, my heart ached. I could feel his sincerity deep in my bones...
“What are you hesitating for!” Adel shouted.
“Tell him you’ll work right now! What’s the big deal about playing maid? You’re just a floor mat destined to be crushed and scissored under those monster bitches anyway!”
What kind of logic is that? I let out a deep sigh and said to the owner,
“O-okay. I’ll, I’ll give it a try.”
“R-really?!”
“Yes, well. I don’t know if I’ll be good at it, but...”
“Thank you! Thank you so much! I’ll raise your pay to five times the minimum wage!!”
“Y-you don’t have to go that far...”
“No, this is an investment! If a cute girl like you works as a maid, business will definitely boom!”
The owner’s eyes were full of conviction. Hmm, I wonder if that’s true... Will business really boom if I play maid in such a remote area? Regardless, I was happy about the five-fold pay increase. Playing maid is a bit much, but whatever. I’ll just give it a go.
I forced a smile and said to the owner,
“Then, I’ll start tomorrow.”
“Y-yes, *sob*!!”
The owner started sobbing again, and I had to spend a while comforting him.
It was another harmonious dinner time. I told my family that I had found a part-time job at a cafe.
“If my pretty daughter serves the coffee, customers will be lining up~” my mother said with a satisfied smile. On the other hand, my father’s eyes widened.
“Hmm! If any wolf-like guys try to hit on you, you must quit immediately. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Is the uniform modest?”
I hesitated for a moment. A slutty maid outfit with a heart-shaped hole in the chest and panties that were practically visible. I could never tell them the truth.
“It’s... completely modest... haha...”
Then, Adel, who was eating a can of tuna under the table, chuckled.
“Telling such shameless lies while wearing a slutty rag. You’re a truly excellent whore-in-training!”
I stealthily stretched my foot and stepped firmly on Adel.
“Squeak, squeak!”
Adel let out a muffled scream.
“What, what do you think you’re doing, you damn bitch!”
Fortunately, my family didn’t hear.
“Unnie! I want to go see where you work!” my younger sister, Lu-mi, said with sparkling eyes. I smiled awkwardly.
“Haha, sure. Come visit sometime.”
Of course, that would never happen. If Lu-mi came, my parents might come too. I had decided that the cafe where I worked would be kept a strict secret.
After dinner, I did the dishes like I did yesterday. Then, after a warm bath, I returned to my room.
“I will never forgive you for that insolent act earlier!”
As I lay on the bed, Adel jumped onto my stomach and shouted.
“Daring to trample on a sacred mascot with your feet! Either do a naked dogeza or spread your pussy wide and show me your pink flesh to apologize!”
I lightly ignored Adel’s nonsense and turned on my smartphone. It suddenly occurred to me: Do I not have any friends? I opened my contact list. There were a few people saved, but there was no record of recent contact. Hmm, this feels kind of similar to my past life. I felt a bit bitter.
When I opened the internet, I saw the news. There was a headline that caught my eye.
“...”
I clicked on the article to read the content. It mentioned that the damage to the roads and buildings caused by Sera and Yerin fighting was far greater than what the monster had destroyed. The comment section was also active.
Huh? I tilted my head.
“Aren’t Magical Girls supposed to hide their identities? Why do people know Sera and Yerin’s names?”
At my question, Adel scoffed.
“How could they hide it? They transform and fight out in the open.”
“But I heard that if your identity is revealed, you get dragged off to a national secret laboratory...”
“Ha! Who’s going to drag those monster bitches away? Even the government can’t handle them, so they just pretend not to know and leave them alone.”
“I see...”
I kept reading the comments. Suddenly, my gaze stopped.
“...”
So someone saw me, too. I’ll have to be careful from now on. I don’t want my family to know I’m a Magical Girl if I can help it. I should just make sure not to detransform in places where there are people. Of course, my face doesn’t change drastically when I transform. My hair turns silver and my outfit changes, but my face remains the same. But after a quick search, all the photos of Sera and Yerin transformed were blurry shots taken from a distance. Well, those two only transform when monsters appear, and it wouldn’t be easy to take photos in such situations.
I turned off my smartphone and rested my head on the pillow. It’s the first day of my part-time job tomorrow, so I should get some sleep. I’m a little nervous. Will I be able to do well? Yeah, I’ll be able to do it. It’s five times the minimum wage. Let’s do my best.
“?”
Just then, I felt a strange sensation on my chest. Slurp, suck... Adel had burrowed into my pajamas and was sucking on my breast.
“Hey!”
I pulled Adel out, startled. When Sera and Yerin kicked and stepped on Adel, I thought it might have been a bit too much. But now I think I understand why those two did it.
“If you do that one more time, I’m going to hit you like Sera and Yerin did. Understand?”
“How dare you, a mere floor mat, treat a sacred mascot like this... Ugh!”
I squeezed Adel’s round beak shut.
“Pfft-fub-fub!”
Adel struggled and slapped the back of my hand with its wings. I didn’t let go and gave Adel a stern warning.
“Sleep quietly. Got it?”
Adel finally nodded as if resigned.
“Yeah, good boy.”
I smiled and let go of Adel’s beak.
“Just you wait. Someday I’ll...”
I pulled the fuming Adel into my arms. Its mouth was foul, but its texture was incredibly soft and warm. I closed my eyes and said,
“Good night~”
I drifted off to sleep while holding Adel just like that.