Chapter 131: Pride Breaking

「Are you stupid?」

Cockroach maid looked at me with a scornful scowl.

「……」

I stared back unconsciously.

It was in the locker room after the bar had closed and all the cast girls had left.

Indeed, looking at the results alone, I was ranked fifth out of five in the popularity contest.

I got zero votes.

The number of customers I offended was two.

The drink money was 400 yen for two drinks.

Considering the goal of earning three million yen, the situation is certainly not good.

But it’s not my fault.

It’s unreasonable for me to have to lower my level to accommodate those people.

Besides, I shouldn’t be blamed by a maid.

「I don’t want to deal with such a vulgar old man. I’m not the kind of person who belongs in this filth of society! If the customers are scum, so are all the women in the bar! Flattering, seducing and flirting to get money from them is just pathetic!」

When I spat that out, Cockroach maid raised one eyebrow.

「So? Honorable Chairwoman of the Public Morals Commission. Do you think you’re better than them?」

「It’s obvious!」

「What part?」

「The way I live my life. I correct the disorder and I study hard!」

Cockroach maid sighs in annoyance as I bark at her.

「Are you serious? You’ve got to be kidding me」

「What? What are you trying to say?」

「May I? Today’s cast girl you’ve made fun of. Two of them are college girls and one is a nursing student. They’re struggling students who earn money on their own and work for a living」

「Those girls?」

「Yes, that’s right. That’s them. And right next to them, while they’re struggling to survive, you sulk, get spoiled, and make fun of people according to your own selfish standards. I don’t have any other word to describe people who justify their own poor performance by claiming that it’s not my fault, other than “stupid”」

「But still, a person who chooses a job like this…」

「There is no such thing as a noble profession. Money is exchanged because it is necessary. That is capitalist society. Men who live in a harsh society beyond the reach of students visit the bar for a little relaxation. And you call them vulgar」

「There are plenty of other ways to relax, y-you know!」

「You’re a little brat who lives comfortably on your parents’ coattails and thinks you’re better than everyone by criticizing them. It’s really nothing but an abomination. How can you be useful?」

「But a student’s duty is to study! My teachers praise me, and so do my mother and father!」

Then, Cockroach maid shrugged her shoulders exaggeratedly.

「Of course they do. Customers who don’t need help are easy to deal with. The praise makes you feel good and makes you think you are great. So, what’s the difference between you and the customers who were sitting at the counter?」

「What!? Don’t put us together!」

「It’s the same. I’d rather you tell me what the difference is」

「I-I’m serious…」

「You say you’re serious, but I dare say this. Why don’t you work a little more seriously?」

「What!?」

「You’re obstructing business in a bar that’s open for business. Pissing off two valuable customers in one night and bringing the bar to a standstill. Let me get this straight. Public Morals Chairwoman-sama. You’re the one who’s disrupting the mood of this place tonight. You are the one who is causing trouble for everyone with your selfish behavior」

「Me… Troubling?」

「Yes, if this were a school, you’d be suspended. If it weren’t for the order of the Great Confinement King-sama, I would have given up on you」

「Suspended…」

「In that respect, Mako-sama, who joined the bar today as well, is excellent. Even though she doesn’t have any familiar customers, she is ranked second in the popularity poll. All the customers she served left in a good mood. The price of the drink was the same, and the charge was the same. And yet her customers spend the next day in a good mood, while the customers you dealt with go home dissatisfied」

「Even if you say so…」

「She quit school to work in order to pay for her sick mother’s hospitalization. Now, you called her a scum, but who is the real scum, you or her?」

I didn’t know what to do anymore. I sat down on the folding pipe chair as if I were running out of energy, and let my shoulders slump. I was so sad, so sorrowful, that tears spilled down my face.

「You really are a helpless person, crying as soon as you are scolded. Please cool down there for a while」

As Cockroach maid left the locker room, the only sound in the locker room was the sound of my sniffling.

「I don’t know what to do…」

A sob rises from the back of my throat.

I want to run away. But if I run away from here, I’ll never get away with it.

I’m sure Sensei will be in a lot of trouble.

Just as I squeeze the hem of my mini-skirt, the locker room door opens with a small snap.

A girl with platinum pink dyed hair peeked out fearfully.

「Mako… -san?」

「Oh… Are you okay? Taka-chi」

Then she walked into the locker room, her footsteps stealthy, and gently took my hand.

「Somehow… you seemed to be upset. I was worried, so I came back. Don’t worry, Taka-chi is cute. It’s just the first day. Let’s work hard together. Okay?」

I couldn’t stop crying.

I don’t know what’s sad or what’s hard, and I cried out loud like a child while holding Mako-san’s hand.

◇ ◇ ◇

「Lili-sama… Head Maid… Cockroaches and Earthworms. We have returned」

I reported this as I bent down, and Lili-sama nodded her head, “Thank you, Devi” as she floated through the air.

Next to me was a platinum-pink-haired, brown-skinned earthworm named Masako Inui.

It was an honor for me and Earthworm to be asked to act as the whip and carrot for the chairwoman of the Public Morals Committee.

My words and behavior followed Lili-sama’s scenario. And I can only say that Lili-sama was right.

「It seems to be going well」

When the Head Maid said this, Earthworm opened her mouth a little proudly.

「Yes, Takata-sama has asked me to teach her how to serve customers tomorrow」

「What is she doing now?」

「She has returned to her room and is asleep. I’ll bring her some food when she wakes up」

「Very well. Make sure everything goes smoothly」

「「Yes!」」

When we replied, Lili-sama nodded in satisfaction and spoke.

「When the Public Morals Committee’s Chairwoman is completely corrupted, Lili will ask Fumi Fumi to call two of you to his bedchamber, Devi」

「「T-thank you so much!」」

Earthworm and I looked at each other and rejoiced. Thinking that my dream is about to come true, I will put more effort into training Takata-sama.

I’ve heard that Centipede and Tapeworm have each been given a job to do.

If anything, I want Confinement King-sama to love all four of us together.

Then, as we left the presence of Lili-sama, Earthworm and I bent at the waist and said in unison.

「「For the Great Confinement King-sama!」」