9 The Newly-Hired Maid

Mori Ken starts to get on Sakura's nerves by the time he appears in the cafe that she is currently working on. Just why on earth does she have to see his annoying face every single time these past few hours of her life?

Hayashi Sakura now recovered from the momentary shock she experienced earlier and was about to greet the newly-arrived guest when someone from behind her appeared out of nowhere and did the job for her.

"Welcome, Master Ken. It's been a while since the last time I saw you here." It was Sakamoto Cheska who greeted him, a.k.a Cupcake in this exclusive realm they are in right now where they could be anything they wanted. Cupcake is, let's say, her best competitor in the cafe.

When Sakura made it into the top, Cupcake wasn't so happy about it, unlike their fellow maids in the cafe. Ever since then, she became hostile towards the girl whenever their paths and their gazes happened to cross.

But wait… Sakura can't help but raise her right eyebrow. Mori Ken is a regular here? How come she didn't know about that?

"Ah, Cupcake, it's you. It's nice to see you again." Mori Ken flashed his most adorable smile that got Cupcake blushing hard right now.

As what Hayashi Sakura had known so far, Mori Ken is so shy to talk to other girls besides her when they were kids. Hence, she was the only female friend that Ken has in the past. But ever since he started avoiding her for the past few years, Hayashi Sakura should have known that people do change over time. It just makes her sad how she hadn't seen those changes in her former best friend's appearance and behavior.

Hayashi Sakura's train of thought was soon interrupted when she suddenly heard a voice of her previous customer calling out for her. Sakura's attention snapped within seconds, and she started walking away from her co-worker and her schoolmate, who is still talking with one another at the moment, and went her way towards her customer.

There is no way Mori Ken could tell that this is me, Sakura convinced herself. After all, she is wearing a mask that protects their identity inside the cafe.

---

Mori Ken's aunt, Ms. Cookie, owns this place where he used to hang out whenever he and his family happen to visit Tokyo. By the time he opened the door of the establishment to visit his dear aunt, something had caught his attention all of a sudden.

He pretty much knew all the maids that worked in this cafe ever since he started hanging out here (but not their real names and faces since Ms. Cookie doesn't allow him to loiter in the personnel room inside). As far as he knows, his aunt only hires five maids to work in this cafe excluding the two cooks she has inside the kitchen. But the one wearing the waist-length blonde hair has new facial features that he is not accustomed to look at.

"Maybe a newly-hired maid here, I guess?" Mori Ken thought to himself.

He starts to take one step towards that particular maid, but as he did, Cupcake, the one that always serves him whenever he happens to set foot in this place, advances towards him and starts to entertain the young boy.

"Welcome, Master Ken! It's been a while since the last time I saw you here." says the ever-energetic Cupcake. Mori Ken really wanted to speak with the newly-hired maid and get to know her more, but it is also impolite for him not to entertain the maid in front of him right now.

Therefore, he plasters a timid smile across his face and meets Cupcake's gaze.

"Ah, Cupcake, it's you. It's nice to see you again," he says as friendly as he could. While Cupcake is being occupied with Mori Ken's innate charm, the boy's eyes are attempting to sneak a glance in the new maid's direction. But she was already gone entertaining other customers before he could have the chance to speak with her.

"So, you wanted to order something master?" Cupcake spoke once again that made Mori Ken to quickly return his gaze at the girl in front of him.

Everyone in this cafe already has an idea that he is related to the cafe owner but he still pays for his own meal and drink. However, he is sure that the new maid doesn't know it yet.

"Yes, give me the usual order, please."

"Alrighty! One cinnamon cake and strawberry parfait coming right up! In the meantime, please have a sit here…" And Cupcake gently leads him by his arm into a vacant couch near the large arched window reserved for their regular customers. Ken follows her lead until he is finally comfortably seated in his chair. Then Cupcake quickly excuses herself to get his order.

While waiting, Mori Ken keeps on sneaking glances at the newly-hired maid of the cafe, who is still entertaining her guests. From what he is seeing, this maid is really on-demand right now. No wonder when he came over here a few minutes ago, there was a long line of bachelors waiting outside the cafe.

"Her name's Patty. She is my newly-hired maid four weeks ago."

Ken snaps back to attention as soon as he hears the voice of his aunt, Ms. Cookie.

"Aunt Cookie! It is so nice to see you once again!" Ken stood up and gave his aunt a tight hug. The latter did the same thing.

"I saw you eyeing my new maid with the utmost interest. Would you also like me to make a reservation for you to be her master for a week, perhaps?" his aunt flashed a teasing smile at the young boy, who in turn rolls his eyes at her.

"Oh, please. I am just curious about her, that's all. Why did you suddenly hire a new maid?"

"The maid before her had to resign because her family had found out she has been working here for almost a year now. So I have to find someone as quickly as possible, and fortunately, she came just in time." Ms. Cookie clasps his hands together in delight as she smiles in the maid's direction.

"Oh, I see."

"Anyway my dear nephew, I'll be going now. This week's reservation is already up. You may as well want to use your acquired points in requesting something from her." Ms. Cookie winks and flashes a grin before she heads back into the kitchen.

Ken, on the other hand, shakes his head in disapproval. His aunt surely knows how to tease him sometimes.