About starting a part-time job as a rental boyfriend and then getting a lifetime contract from the most popular heroine at the university - Chapter 26 - Cafe Rabbit Horse

“Ugh, today is finally over!”

As the day’s classes ended, Ryoma let out a big stretch.

Beside him were Ran, Haruya, and Akiba.

These members had become the regular crew.

They had become recognized by the class as a close-knit group of four.

It goes without saying that envious gazes were directed at Haruya, who was close to Akiba, the university’s heroine, and even at Ryoma.

“Are you guys heading to club activities today, Ryoma?”

“We do have a club meeting, but it’s just a meeting, so it’s probably about 30 minutes. Right, Ran?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Haruya and Akiba, you can wait for us if you want! After the meeting, we can all hang out together!”

Ran’s oddly Kansai-dialect-infused enthusiasm was a concern, but Haruya and Akiba had no plans today.

So, they had no reason to refuse.

“In that case, let’s go to that coffee shop I mentioned at Rawin yesterday. Actually, you guys can go ahead.”

With that, Ryoma sent Haruya the location of the coffee shop.

Based on the photos, it seemed to be a retro-style, old-fashioned coffee shop.

“We’ll wait here.”

“See you both later.”

“Yeah.”

“See you later.”

With a wave, Ryoma and Ran walked towards their clubroom.

After confirming the direction again, Haruya set off in the opposite direction with Akiba.

“Can you send me the link to that coffee shop too?”

“Sure, just give me a sec… sent it.”

“Thanks.”

The map app displaying the location also included information from websites.

The coffee shop had a homepage, where the menu was posted with prices and photos.

“Wow, this pudding a la mode looks delicious…!”

“But, isn’t this omelette rice also amazing?”

“That’s true…! The rice dishes look delicious too! But I think I still prefer sweets.”

“Akiba, you really like sweet things, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I love them.”

“She didn’t say that to me…! She didn’t say that to me…!”

Even though he understood, Akiba’s “I love them” was incredibly powerful.

Just walking beside her made his heart race a little.

A sudden counter-attack was a foul play.

“Is this the place?”

The coffee shop was about a 10-minute walk from the university.

Since it was in the opposite direction from the station and located slightly off the main road, there weren’t many pedestrians around.

However, there were a few groups of customers inside the shop, leisurely enjoying their afternoon tea time.

“It says ‘Rabbit Horse.’ Rabbit Horse…? What a strange name.”

Looking at the signboard outside the shop, Akiba tilted her head.

“No, it’s probably ‘Rabbit House’.”

“No, it’s ‘Rabbit Horse.’ It says ‘Rabbit Horse,’ not ‘House.'”

“Huh? …You’re right. It’s not ‘U,’ it’s ‘R.’ It’s a horse…”

“It’s a strange name, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it surprised me.”

After getting excited about the signboard in front of the shop, Haruya opened the door of the shop.

The soft sound of the door bell echoed inside the shop.

The moment they entered the shop, they were greeted by the pleasant smell of coffee.

It was the kind of coffee shop that you could tell was good as soon as you walked in.

“Welcome.”

At the counter, a young girl dressed in a light blue uniform was grinding coffee beans.

And for some reason, a white, round rabbit was perched on her head.

“Please take any seat you like.”

The two chose a seat by the window where they could easily spot Ryoma and the others when they arrived.

Then, they opened the menu and began their time of indecision.

“Which one should I choose…”

“It’s difficult, everything looks delicious.”

“Right. Haruya, do you prefer something with rice? Or a dessert?”

“If it were just based on time, I’d say dessert, but the omelet rice and spaghetti Napolitan look too tempting…”

While they were having such a conversation, a good aroma of butter drifted over. Then a waitress dressed in purple brought over a very orthodox omlette rice, the quintessence of a coffee shop.

At that moment, Haruya made up his mind.

“I’ll have the omelet rice.”

“I was torn between a parfait and… yes, I’ll go with the pudding a la mode that I mentioned first. I’ll also have a cream soda.”

“Oh, I want to drink cream soda too. Excuse me…”

When Haruya raised his hand, a waitress in pink uniform who had been leisurely basking in the sun came over.

“He~y. Have you decided on your order?”

“Uh…one each of omelet rice and pudding a la mode. And two cream sodas, please.”

“Understood! Please wait a moment!”

The waitress, who had responded cheerfully and went away, came back with three coffee cups on a tray. She placed them on the table and, pointing at them with her hand, said,

“This is Colombia, this is Blue Mountain, and this is our original blend!”

“But we didn’t order these…”

“We’re currently running a campaign where we offer these for free so that you can appreciate the deliciousness of our coffee! Limited to one set per table!”

“I see. Well then, we’ll gladly have them.”

“Yes, please do!”

The waitress left, and now there were three different types of coffee, one each, in front of Haruya and them.

“Do you want to drink anything?”

When Haruya asked, Akiha seemed a bit hesitant before she said,

“To be honest, I don’t really know much about coffee… But I’ve heard of Blue Mountain, so I’ll go with that.”

“Then I’ll have Colombia.”

The two of them each took a coffee cup and carefully brought it to their mouths.

“Bitter! But it’s tasty enough to drink.”

“Bitter…! But it’s delicious…!”

Though they weren’t used to drinking black coffee, they could appreciate the taste of the coffee here. It may have been due to the skill of the waitress.

“This is good.”

“This one is also good.”

They naturally exchanged words and naturally exchanged coffee cups. Then the other person’s cup came to their hands and stopped abruptly.

“Wait… Isn’t this indirect…”

“What should I do…!”

After some hesitation, the two of them almost simultaneously put their mouths to the cups in their hands. It felt strange to return them now as it would reveal that they were conscious of each other, and they couldn’t do it.

“I can’t taste anything…”

“I can’t taste anything anymore…”

The two of them fell silent with red faces. The campaign at Rabbit Horse had ended in an unexpected semi-failure.