“Right now? In this outfit?”
Yuji points at himself as he speaks.
Going to an anime screening in a maid outfit?
Even though he’s a kind-hearted pushover, there’s no way he wouldn’t feel embarrassed dressing up as a maid.
If his classmates saw him like this…
“Aren’t you gonna guide me? Please, big brother… Haru is asking like this! Okay?”
But with Haru’s sparkling eyes and deadly plea, Yuji couldn’t resist and ultimately gave in.
“Okay, got it. I’ll guide you, Haru.”
“Yes! Then let’s go right now!”
Haru leads the way with the maid-dressed Yuji in front as they walk down the street.
Following behind are the entourage: Saori, Rena, Kusunagi, and Ishihara.
“Why am I even…”
Ishihara mutters to himself while staring at his own maid outfit with a sour face.
There was an hour and a half left until the anime screening.
*
With Olivia’s red bean bingsu coming to an end, nothing particularly noteworthy happened at the cooking club’s cosplay cafe.
What a relief.
“Well then, I’ll take your payment.”
“Got it, President.”
Before leaving the cafe, there was a brief stare-off between the maid-costumed Kasumi and Aris at the counter, but that was about it.
I managed to smoothly escape the danger zone known as the cosplay cafe.
“Hmmm… It was a hazardous space where indecent acts were carried out. Just barely safe according to school regulations… Such unwholesome…”
Aris’s face turns red.
“Hmph. Anyway, it’s a relief that Kim Deok-Sung didn’t partake in such indecent acts.”
“I think I made the right choice in being a committee member.”
For once, this was a 100% sincere statement.
[Isn’t it because you were next to Saionji-san?]
The Black Prince’s voice immediately echoes in my head.
It’s not because I like Aris at all.
If I hadn’t been a committee member, I’d probably be inside the cosplay cafe right now dressed as a butler, or handing out flyers while cosplaying on the street.
Both scenarios were undeniably terrible and cringe-worthy.
Being a committee member is definitely the best.
“Really? That’s good to hear.”
Upon hearing my response, Aris’s lips twitch slightly.
Her face turns a little pink.
“Well then, let’s move to the next club activity, Kim Deok-Sung.”
After the cosplay cafe, the inspection of the club activities was uneventful.
The last stop was the traditional Japanese tea house of the tea ceremony club.
“Now we only have the events and performances in the class left.”
As Aris mumbles this while coming out of the annex, she’s right; with the street vendor and club activity inspections done, all that’s left are the haunted house, cafe events, and the school band performance inspection from our class.
“Well then, let’s check on 1st Year A-Class.”
At Aris’s words, my mind snaps back to reality.
1st Year A-Class?
That’s our class!
The cultural festival event our class prepared is an anime screening.
That’s right.
A freaking otaku anime featuring yours truly, created using the full cultural prowess of South Korea.
This is a damn, filthy otaku animation where I’m the protagonist.
The terrible truth that I’ve been trying so hard to forget resurfaces in my mind.
Do I have to see that? With Aris?
My face stiffens.
“Kim Deok-Sung? Is something wrong? You don’t look well.”
Aris speaks to me with a worried expression and voice.
Her palm touches my forehead.
Her warm body heat transfers to my forehead.
Aris pulls her hand away.
“You don’t seem to have a fever…”
Aris tilts her head in confusion.
[Saionji, such natural skinship… She might not be an easy opponent.]
The Black Prince narrates useless commentary in my head.
I sigh internally.
Yeah, it’s a damn animation I have to face someday.
I prepare myself mentally and look at the still worried Aris as I say, “I’m fine. Let’s just go.”
“Understood, Kim Deok-Sung. If you ever feel unwell, you must tell me.”
“I will do that.”
So I walk with Aris and arrive at the Main Building.
Banners hanging from the windows of the Main Building flash by my sight.
After entering the building, we head toward the 1st Year A-Class.
The sight of our classroom approaching looks like the entrance to a dungeon.
I can see the anime posters stuck to the walls.
Seeing my depiction, drawn like the protagonist of a filthy anime, makes my eyes want to bleed.
Is this the cosmic horror that drives one insane just by looking?
Just when I was in agony.
“Hawa-wawa… Kim Deok-Sung! It’s been a while! It’s the girl, Evangelin!”
A familiar voice echoes from afar.
With a swaying pink blonde ponytail and a bizarrely cute tone, a school uniform-clad beautiful girl stands out.
It was the patriotic spicy chicken princess Evangelin.
Next to her is a beauty with beige hair, wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a mask.
“Ah, hello. Kim Deok-Sung…”
It’s Yoo Se-Ra, the K-pop idol.
She speaks to me in a shy voice.
“Hehehe. The girl flew all the way from the far east to see Kim Deok-Sung in person and witness the anime featuring him! But oh my! I bumped into Yoo Se-Ra here!”
“W-Well, that happened…”
Yoo Se-Ra awkwardly nods at Evangelin’s words.
It’s obvious they’re meeting for the first time, and Evangelin’s excessive friendliness is overwhelming the shy Yoo Se-Ra.
Aris mutters lowly as she observes the scene.
“Kim Deok-Sung really…”
“Senpai?”
Really what?
At my words, Aris looks a bit surprised but quickly returns to her usual expression, shaking her head.
“Never mind. Let’s proceed to the 1st Year A-Class inspection.”
Whoosh.
A cold breeze rushes by as Aris enters the 1st Year A-Class ahead of me.
Oh, do I really have to go in?
I was prepared, but hesitating as I approach.
The promotional video was horrifying enough; I can’t imagine how dreadful the actual thing will be.
Just then, I hear the voices of Evangelin and Yoo Se-Ra behind me.
“I want to go, too!”
“I want to go, too! Kim Deok-Sung!”
In the end, I was half-forced by them and stepped into the 1st Year A-Class.
To that horrible place where the damn animation is being screened.
The Heroic Tale of the Black-haired Boy
In the end, there was no choice but to enter the classroom.
It was dark inside the classroom.
Blackout curtains covered the windows, and the walls were plastered with anime posters.
That damn poster with my face plastered on it was huge.
“Hawa-wawa… It’s all Kim Deok-Sung! The girl is touched!”
Bam.
Evangelin clasps her hands together as if in prayer and speaks.
“What’s going on here?”
As Yoo Se-Ra, who was beside me, fiddled with the poster and our eyes met, her face flushed red.
“I’m s-sorry, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung!”
Yoo Se-Ra bowed her head.
No need to go that far.
While accepting her half-hearted apology, I looked around.
The familiar sight of my 1st Year A-Class—blackboard, teacher’s desk, and desks and chairs—was nowhere to be seen.
All the desks and chairs had vanished, replaced by rows of seats you’d expect to find in a theater.
“An anime movie featuring the Black Beast and Harem members?! What on earth could the plot be?”
“Shouldn’t it be rated R18?”
“I’m already so embarrassed….”
The extra audience members sitting in the spectator seats whispered to each other.
Embarrassed?
What on earth were they imagining to react like this?
I was pondering this when—
“Y-you’re finally here?!”
From a distance, a familiar voice rang out.
I turned my head.
There sat Olivia, a platinum-haired beautiful girl in a maid outfit, in prime viewing position.
Unlike the French maid outfit she wore earlier, now she was in a Victorian maid dress with less exposure.
“You’re always late! Hmph. Tardy idiot, fool, dunce, sea cucumber, sea squirt, anemone…”
Olivia puffed up her cheeks, reddening her face.
Next to her were Hoshino Kasumi, Makoto, Eri, and Rin, all dressed in maid outfits as well.
“Master! You’re here! Eri was waiting for you!”
Eri’s cat ears twitched, perched on her orange twin tails.
Damn it, is she still using that cat talk?
“Junior, you’re late.”
“I’ve been waiting for you, my lord.”
Makoto and Hoshino Kasumi, both in their maid outfits, addressed me.
“Welcome, Deok-Sung. Everyone’s been waiting for you.”
Rin, wearing a kimono over her maid apron, gave a gentle smile.
Why is everyone in maid outfits?
This isn’t even a cosplay event!
“Whoa! Look! It’s the Black Beast Harem members!”
“They’re all wearing maid outfits!”
“It must be true that they summon Harem members to the dorm at night, dress them as maidens, tie them up with ropes, and then take them all to bed at once!”
“Ahhhhhh!”
The extras were shrieking just from my entrance.
What is this madness in the Black Beast universe?
At this point, it’s past ridiculous and just plain funny.
While I chuckled to myself, I heard—
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung. This way.”
Aris’s voice reached my ears.
She tapped the seat next to her.
And then—
“Excuse me! You aren’t actually thinking about sitting next to the class president, are you? You should sit next to me, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, your loyal maid! It’s an order!”
With a dramatic flourish, Olivia placed her hand on her chest.
“Master! You’re going to sit next to Eri, right? Eri might just die without your presence….”
“My lord, will you sit between me and Eri?”
Makoto chimed in, pushing her way forward.
“Anyone who chooses to ignore us and go sit next to the class president is a bad man. You’ve trampled on a girl’s virtue… I hate you. I’ll curse you.”
A long-awaited bad guy remark came from Hoshino Kasumi as she puffed her cheeks.
“Deok-Sung! Sit by me. It’s perfectly fine to hold hands during the movie, and well, you could touch my thighs too… I wore these highlight-revealing white thigh-highs just for today…”
And lastly, Rin gently bowed her head, her face flushed.
This was a complete mess.
“Whoa whoa whoa… This isn’t a scenario we should be a part of. Yoo Se-Ra, let’s sit separately.”
“Y-yeah… That sounds good.”
Yoo Se-Ra and Evangelin subtly slipped away and took empty seats.
Just as the tension in the air plummeted.
At that moment, things became chilly.
“What are you doing, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung? You’re supposed to be my attendant right now. This is an order from the Student Council President. Sit beside me.”
Aris speaks to me with a blank expression.
Upon hearing Aris, Eri pouts and says, “I oppose power abuse! Saionji-senpai! Uuuh…”
“Ugh…”
Rin bites her lip.
“Uuuuu… How could you succumb to power…? This is unbelievable…”
Olivia, turning red-faced, slams her chair’s backrest in frustration.
“Saionji-senpai… using your power, you’ve caught me off guard.”
“Geez…”
With a single remark from Kasumi-senpai and Makoto making her usual sound effects.
It’s a complete mess.
“Indeed, Saionji-senpai! Even the Black Beast can’t stand against the power of the Student Council President!”
“Awesome! Charismatic! Saionji-nee! Take me!”
“Maybe on the bed, Saionji-senpai is a queen?”
“Even the Black Beast becomes a little lamb on the bed?”
Yet another evolution in the Black Beast universe.
It’s no longer surprising.
Anyway, thanks to Aris, the pointless debate over who sits next to whom has been sorted out, so there’s that.
“I understand, Saionji-senpai.”
“Right now, you are my attendant. Don’t forget that, Kim Deok-Sung.”
Just as I was sitting next to her, slightly miffed by Aris’s words…
“Deok-Sung oppa! I’m here! Nishishishi.”
I hear a familiar laughter from afar.
I turn my head.
There’s Haru waving at me.
“Deok-Sung-chan is here! This might be Saori’s paradise? Ah! It’s Deok-Sung-chan! Long time no see!”
Beside her, Saori shines her glasses and shakes her white coat.
You can see my character t-shirt peeking out beneath the unnecessarily long sleeves of the white coat.
It’s truly an embarrassing sight to show anyone.
Next to me is the light green-haired beautiful girl, Satou Rena, shyly hiding behind.
And behind them…
“Hahahahaha… Hello, Kim. Ah, good afternoon?”
Wearing a maid outfit, a surprisingly well-suited black-haired pretty boy, Kurosawa Yuji, whom anyone might mistake for a real beautiful girl, appears.
He seems embarrassed, turning a disgusting shade of red.
Next to him is Ishihara Daiki, dressed in maid attire, looking like a total fraud, obviously not a girl at all.
“Hahaha. How are you, brother! The weather is really nice, isn’t it?”
Ishihara awkwardly talks about the weather in a situation where even he can’t see outside because of the blackout curtains.
What am I even looking at?
My eyes hurt.
On the other hand, Kurosawa Yuji looks absurdly good in the maid outfit.
Well, it’s a rule from the early 2010s that light novel protagonists look better in cross-dressing than the heroines.
It was a scene that appeared several times in the original anime with nice artwork back then when “otokonoko” was trending, but now with the BL drift sweeping through, that kind of humor can’t even be joked about.
Anyway, I don’t like cross-dressing.
“What are you talking about? Why are you looking at Kusunagi’s master with such lewd eyes? You really…”
That’s to say, every time Kusunagi has one of her unnecessary outbursts, I want to throw the damned sword away and forget the original story.
“Shut up, damn it. Why do you keep branding someone as gay?”
“What?!”
Just as Kusunagi was about to retort in response to my words…
“Kusunagi, Deok-Sung oppa told you to shut up. Can’t you understand? Is it possible that Kusunagi has an auditory issue?”
Haru speaks coldly.
Her icy gaze pierces Kusunagi.
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