TRPM 427

chapter 427

Ryu Ah-Young had proposed that our class’s booth for this festival be a pet café.

“…Then isn’t it just a regular café? How’s it different from the cafés other classes are doing…?”
“No! It’s different! Because it’s a pet café!”

…Different?
Other than having a dog there, isn’t it basically the same?

“…I suppose it is kind of special.”
“Hm?”
“That’s right. Our class would be the only one that could run a pet café.”
“?”

Kang Garam and Elena agreed with Ryu Ah-Young. Then Kim Eun-Yeon, Lee Ha-Eun, and even Grandma Bokja nodded in agreement, saying it sounded fine.

Wait, why?

“Hey, do you guys understand what they’re saying?”
“No… not really.”
“Me neither…”

I wasn’t the only one confused; Ryu Ah-Min, Elliot, and Lee Doo-Min also looked puzzled.

Why is a pet café supposed to be special…?

“Well, because there’s a dog you can touch. Visitors can come to our booth and freely pet Love, Ha-Eun’s familiar.”

Noticing that we didn’t understand Ryu Ah-Young’s intention, Kang Garam came over to explain.

“Love’s fur is super soft, right? Plus, it doesn’t shed much and hardly gets dirty. I’m not even sure if a familiar made of magical energy would shed in the first place.”

“…So the booth is basically about petting Love?”
“Pretty much. You don’t need to focus on the café part—just let people pet Love.”

…Will people even come?
The boys, including me, thought not, but Kang Garam was confident people would flock to it.

“You guys have probably petted Love sometimes when summoned, so you don’t realize this, but many other students would pay just to pet her.”

And that’s not all…

“Normally, pets aren’t allowed at school, but familiars like Love are an exception. That’s why only our class could run a pet café.”

Hmm, I see.
I kind of understand now.

“Then we don’t really need to prepare much.”

We just have to leave Love in the classroom. People will come, pet her, and leave.

“Why wouldn’t we need to prepare?”
“…?”
“Do you think people will be satisfied just by petting Love?”

Of course they’d want to play with her directly.
We should prepare toys she can play with, right?

“……”
“Also, some people might want to feed her treats, so we should have some ready, and maybe decorate a backdrop for photos…”
“Ah, fine. You handle that yourselves.”

It seemed the conversation would continue, so the boys and I stepped back.
With the girls full of energy, they could handle it themselves.
Honestly, I wanted to leave entirely, but…

“Hey, can’t we go out?”
“Even though the teacher isn’t here, it’s still class time.”
“Ah…”

So we stepped back and watched the girls and Grandma Bokja discuss the pet café.

“But, Gunwoo…”
“Hm?”
“Is it just me, or does Love look tense right now?”

Lee Doo-Min’s words made me notice Love, who had been summoned.
…Indeed.

“The longer the girls talk, the stiffer her expression gets.”

If Love could speak…

‘Me? Play with people? Here?’

That’s probably what she’d say.

“She’d be happy to run around a big playground or fight monsters, but being told to act like an ordinary dog in this cramped classroom? Naturally, she wouldn’t enjoy that.”

Still, she would obey her owner, Lee Ha-Eun.

“Ah, that girl… even though she usually appears as a dog, she’s actually a huge wolf, right?”

Lee Doo-Min said as if he had forgotten.
Considering the sweat and her pleading not to put her in a cute dog outfit, it’s understandable he forgot she’s Fenrir.

‘The girls don’t care about Love’s opinion at all.’

Just then…

Clatter.
“I’m back.”
“Why isn’t anyone watching the movie?”

Jin Cheon-Ha entered the classroom naturally, as if the cheating suspicion had been cleared. The teacher came in behind him.

“Oh, you’re thinking about what to do for the festival? Continue.”

The teacher sat in a corner, understandingly. Other classes might be watching the movie or preparing for their booths with permission too.

“Hmm… can I hear what kind of booth it is?”

Fresh from the staff room, Jin Cheon-Ha asked the girls to explain.
The girls started spilling all the details of their pet café plan.

“Oh… this is definitely going to be a unique booth.”
“You understand?! The other boys didn’t get it at all.”

Jin Cheon-Ha praised the girls’ ideas for being innovative.
Hmm…

‘I don’t think he listened from the middle onward.’

So the praise was probably just polite.

The day of the school festival arrived.
The festival officially started with a brief speech from the principal on the classroom TV, but the festival mood had been in the air since we arrived.
Food stalls lined the school gate.

‘Before the reset, there was someone trying to sell alcohol at the festival and the teachers kicked them out.’

I didn’t expect someone to try selling alcohol at a high school festival, though at special high schools for awakened students, outsiders often visit.
The festival at an awakened students’ school is bigger and has more attractions, which is why someone might try selling alcohol to outsiders.

“Did you see that on the way here? Teachers literally threw a food stall outside.”
“Oh, that? That stall was trying to sell alcohol.”
“……”

Apparently, the same thing happened this time as well.
But that’s not important.

We now focus on Love, in the center of the classroom, wearing a cute outfit.

“Aww, so cute!”
“Love, you know what to do when customers come, right? Be as cute as possible…”
“No, the cute behavior is for the people petting you, not just anyone entering…”

The girls were giving Love instructions, but…

…Blank…

Love just nodded mechanically, looking resigned.
It naturally stirred sympathy. But we couldn’t do anything for her, so I looked away deliberately.
The other boys seemed to do the same, and our eyes met naturally.

“…Hey, Gunwoo. Which booth are you going to first?”

Trying to change the subject blatantly.
I didn’t point that out.

“I haven’t decided yet. Anyway, my mom isn’t coming, so I’ll go with you guys.”
“Oh, your mom isn’t coming?”
“Yes. She can’t make it, exactly.”

As I mentioned, awakened students’ high school festivals attract many outsiders, mostly parents.

“Our parents said they’re busy and can’t come either.”
“It’s not just your parents. Things are chaotic, so everyone’s busy.”
“My parents also said this festival would be too much.”

This time, it seems the situation is different.
Due to ongoing incidents, many people indirectly affected can’t spare time easily.
Even the boys’ parents are all too busy to attend.

“Then we’ll go on our own. Which booth should we go to first? Popular booths will have lines, so let’s decide quickly.”
“I’m most curious about the talisman-making booth.”
“…Never mind why there’s such a booth. It doesn’t seem popular, so let’s go later.”
“Oh… I’m drawn to what seems to be the karaoke booth.”

The boys, including me, talked as we left the classroom. Meanwhile, the girls were still giving Love tasks.
Hang in there, Love.

“Hey, Gunwoo, isn’t there a booth you want to visit?”
“Not really. If we move quickly, we can experience almost all the booths, so deciding isn’t necessary.”

I wasn’t entirely uninterested.
There was a booth run by the Qi Engineering Club from before the reset.
The club had prepared a meditation booth.
But…

‘A meditation booth… who’d go there?’

The booth’s name was blatantly about just meditating in the clubroom.

“Meditation booth…! Spending time here meditating might be nice!”
“……”

Someone is interested. And close by.

“Cheon-Ha… if we meditate, we won’t visit all the booths we prepared.”
“Hmm… I’d like to try it once.”
“If you go, go alone later.”

Lee Doo-Min, calming Jin Cheon-Ha, seemed to decide which booth we would visit first using the pamphlet.

“First, let’s go to the maid café booth.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“Are you serious?”

The others fell silent.

“Ah, and it’s not because I want to see girls in maid outfits.”
“Really? Then why?”
“The ones in maid outfits at this café are boys.”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
“…Are you serious?”

I had just asked if he was serious, but this question carried a very different meaning.
Do we really have to see boys in maid outfits…?

“Still, recording their embarrassing moments might not be bad… but my eyes decaying is a bit…”
“Gunwoo… don’t think about it too seriously…”