624 - I Was Genderswapped and Reincarnated as a Villainess, but I’m Making this My Personal Yuri Game
I returned to classroom 2-3 as it was time for the shift change of the store staff. Even though everyone who isn't part of Class 3 is welcome to continue enjoying the cultural festival, for some reason, the entire group tagged along. Not all the members of Class 3 are scheduled to serve as staff at the same time. We must involve others from the class, including the boys. If the eight of us were to serve as staff simultaneously, there'd be no room for other classmates to join in. So, we're divided into two teams to take turns as attendants. "Kujo-san, nice to meet you." "Nishikori-kun, this time you didn't dress up as a girl to work as a staff member, did you?" "Ugh!? Wh-What are you saying, Kujo-san!? I'm not like that!" Among the boys working with us is Nishikori. Since he’s on the staff, I half-expected Nishikori to take the opportunity to dress up as a girl, but today he's wearing his regular men's school uniform. That’s not as fun... I mean, he won’t get to fulfill his desire. "There's still time to change, you know? Isn't it true that female staff tend to be more popular? It’d be great if Yanagi-chan could stand in as staff..." "Stop! That's not it! You're misunderstanding, Kujo-san! I'm really not like that!" With those words, Nishikori left the room with an irate expression and blushing face. Most of the boys are stationed in the hallway, handling the exchange of money and tickets. Placing sturdy boys in charge of money matters is an understandable precaution. Of course, there are girls in charge of accounts as well, and boys are assigned as staff within the classroom. However, numerically more boys are involved in accounts, while more girls serve as attendants. "Sakuya-chan, don’t tease Yanagi-chan too much; it’s a bit cruel." "He seems to think he's hiding it, at least." "Haha!" Hmm... Nishikori, the girls in our group are laughing at you. A real man would boldly declare his love for cross-dressing instead of mumbling about it. "Anyway, shall we switch the staff now?" "Okay!" The first shift of staff includes me, Tsubaki-chan, Renka-chan, and Seri-chan. All of us have pretty mellow personalities. After us, the next shift consists of Azami-chan, Satsuki-chan, Yuzuriha-chan, and Akane-chan, all of whom have brighter or more straightforward personalities. I’m not sure why we’re split this way. I’m just following orders as a staff member. I remember facing opposition from the whole class when I said I’d join as a staff member. Though I somehow managed to get included, the rest were all decided by the class, and all I can do is follow their instructions. Do I really seem that unreliable? "Anyway, let’s check how the sales are going... Wait, huh?" Looking at the product shelves, they’re almost empty. Items made anonymously still remain to some extent, and products from classmates are sparsely left. However, all the other shelves are empty. Are the products, including those replenished at ten, already sold out? What's going on? "It seems like there aren’t many products left, right?" "Yes. I don't think anything much will sell until the next restock." When I checked the situation with the classmate who was the earlier store clerk, I was told this with a smile. Is there any point in us being here as staff if there’s nothing to sell? And if there’s hardly anything left, shouldn’t they be restocking earlier? "Wouldn't it be better to restock sooner?" "Doing that would cause chaos. It's important to adhere to the announced restock timings." "Well, true..." I understand the logic. If the prediction for when items will be restocked is altered because of good sales, it would become impossible to explain to customers who believed in the posted schedule and are waiting. However, being a staff member in such a product-empty store with no customers gives me nothing to do. "Oh! Sakuya-sama!" "Huh? Is it empty here?" Even though there were hardly any customers or products, the job is still a job. As soon as we switched the staff, Katakuri and Fuki showed up. They seemed puzzled by the lack of customers. Right now, all who's in classroom 2-3 are my classmates and the group we were walking around the festival with. "Katakuri-chan, Fuki-chan? What was our agreement about how to address people at the school?" "Ah... umm... I apologize, Sakuya-senpai." "Sakuya-senpai." Oh! Yes! Very good! Wonderful! The word 'Senpai'... Such a sweet sound! Oh, senpai! Yes, indeed, I’m a senpai! "Sakuya-chan is drifting off into another world again..." "Now that you mention it, we’ve never had an underclassman character before..." "A missed opportunity... If I had acted as an underclassman sooner, I might have become special to Sakuya-chan!" While I was talking with Katakuri and Fuki, everyone else seemed to be whispering among themselves. But being left out is nothing new for me, so I don’t mind anymore. They must have their own secret discussions. "Come on, both of you, don’t hold back, come on in." "Okay!" As I said that, they obediently came into the classroom. They stopped to look at the product shelves. "Huh...?" "Is this really all that's left?" "Yes... We still have items in stock, but the timing for restocking has been set, so we can’t bring them out just yet." The two seemed to think the stock looked low. I agree. But since I was just told not to restock prematurely, we’ll have to stick with this until the next restock time. "So that’s how it is..." "Too bad, Katakuri-chan. Oh! But this is cute! Right? I think it would suit Katakuri-chan well!" Said Fuki, trying to cheer up the disappointed Katakuri. Fuki is quite a considerate friend. Wait, that item... "That’s a bead ring Azami-chan first made." "Huh!? From Tokudaiji-sama?" "Then why is it placed on the unnamed shelf?" The item that caught Fuki's eye was the first bead ring Azami-chan made when she was uncertain about which group to join. I remember it because Seri-chan helped make it. "Oh! That's right! I made that one! I told them it could be anonymous since I didn’t end up joining the beads group after all!" Could it be that they allowed products to be sold anonymously upon request? All of my products are being sold with my name attached—probably because I never mentioned anything about wanting anonymity. "Oh my, what is this nearly-empty store? It looks completely unfashionable!" "You are..." "Sakamoto Sudachi..." At that moment, Sakamoto Sudachi barged into the classroom, entourage in tow. She glanced at the product shelves and sneered. "Hmph. What is this? Is this all you have to offer? Such low standards, I wonder who would ever buy this kind of stuff?" "......" Katakuri and Fuki fell silent. Could it be they don't get along with Sudachi? Though there's a difference in social rank, as internal students, Katakuri and Fuki should still have an advantage over external student Sudachi. But perhaps noble relationships aren’t so straightforward. "I heard Kujo-sama's handmade items are being sold here. Which ones are hers? Surely, it’s not these shabby-looking items, right?" Sudachi said with what appeared to be a malicious grin. However, it seemed more like she was forcing it. I have a feeling that Sudachi isn't inherently a bad person. Since Natsume failed, perhaps Sudachi received directives from the Ichijo faction. It's unfortunate for those who are made to dance to their superiors’ tunes. "I'm sorry. All the morning stock has been sold out. We can’t put out any new items with the creator's name until the next restocking time." "What...? I can't buy Sakuya Onee-sama's handmade goods?" Suddenly, Sudachi looked utterly forlorn. What did she just say? Her voice was too quiet after the initial "What?" to catch. "W-Why can’t I buy them!? If they're to be restocked later, that means there are still some, right? Please sell them to me! I'm saying I'll buy them! Bring them out now!" "Well... um...?" Suddenly, I had no idea how to respond to Sudachi, who had started yelling. Was she emotionally unstable? Perhaps being part of the Ichijo faction means constant stress, leading to emotional strain or depression. "Just give it up. The restock time is public information, so come back then." "Azami-chan..." "Remember this!" "Oh! Wait, Sudachi-chan." "I've told you to call me Sakamoto-sama in public! Let's go!" Sudachi left as loudly as she arrived, her entourage in tow. What was that all about? I've asked An to gather information on Sudachi. Though I doubt she'll uncover anything groundbreaking... "Alright, Sakuya-sama! It’s almost time for us to switch shifts." "Well then, Kujo-san, we'll take over now." "It's that time already..." Said Azami-chan, as the next round of staff, Enju and others, arrived. In the end, the only sale we made as staff was Fuki buying the bead ring made by Azami-chan for Katakuri. Incidentally, when Fuki placed the ring on Katakuri’s finger, it looked like a rather improper relationship. Could it be that the two of them have that kind of relationship? How curious, they’re both employed at the Kujo household for manner training... Would I catch them in an intimate moment if I spied on them? Haha! After the shift change, we stayed in the classroom without making any sales. While a few people came by, it felt like they were more interested in observing the staff than looking at products. Some pretended to take pictures of the products only to capture the staff, earning them a reprimand. And so, without much happening, our shift as attendants came to an end. "Now that our shift has ended, it's about time for lunch." "What shall we do, Sakuya-sama? Shall we grab something from the food stalls?" "Hmm... let's see...” While the cafeteria is open, eating there today seems rather mundane. Still, the options at the stalls don't feel like substantial meals. Of course, some can fill you up, but they feel more like snacks, or something like that. "Shall we visit a café?" "Huh?" "Won't the cafés be crowded during lunch?" My suggestion surprised everyone. Certainly, regular cafés offer meals, and it's common to see them crowded at lunchtime. But a cultural festival café can't provide full meals. Therefore, customers seeking meals might not come, making it less busy during lunchtime. "Since festival cafés can't serve full meals, those looking for a meal might not visit. It might be less crowded now, even though lunch starts late for us, a quick peek before the lunch rush could be just perfect." "That makes sense." "Perhaps you're right." With everyone in agreement, we decided to take a look at Class 2-1’s café. If it’s crowded, we can always go somewhere else. In the worst-case scenario, checking the vibe and crowd from outside would suffice. It’s not that I'm particularly interested in Ibuki or Class 1's café, but having run a café ourselves last year, I’m curious about the other classes’ café setups. If time permits, I'd like to peek into other cafés besides just Class 2-1's. "Oh...? It should be here, right?" "Yes, it’s supposed to be in the home economics room." When we arrived at the home economics room, there was no line. When we ran our café, there were lines from opening, so maybe Class 2-1 found a good way to manage the crowds? Perhaps they handed out tickets to avoid lines? We also used tickets, yet still had lines; I wonder what they did differently? "Um... excuse me, is the café open?" "Oh, yes! We’re open!" I cracked the door slightly to ask. With no one outside to guide or explain, it was the only option. "We’re quite a large group; is that alright?" "The more, the merrier! Please come in! Oh, Kujo-sama!?" Although they seemed surprised, they confirmed that there were open seats, so we went in. "What?" "Not a single customer?" Indeed, there were no customers seated in the home economics room set up as the café. Support with a Like Currently not accepting Encourage the author by adding points! To rate, please log in. *Note: To write a comment, please log in. ▲Back to the top of the page Share via X (formerly Twitter) or LINE Send via Twitter LINE +Note+ Unless otherwise specified, all works published are purely fictional and have no relation to real persons or organizations. Unless otherwise stated, the copyrights of the works belong to the author (excluding some works). Unauthorized copying beyond quotation by anyone other than the author is prohibited and would be a violation of copyright laws. This work is free to link. Feel free to link (introduce) it. This work is compatible with desktop usage. It automatically detects whether you are using a smartphone or desktop and displays the appropriate page. Estimated reading time assumes a reading speed of 500 characters per minute. 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