"So this is our new gig?" asked Shizuku Watanabe, the center of the idol group 7-Star-Crossed, as she surveyed the finished café.
"This is no mere gig Shizuku-tan. This is 7-Star-Crossed's new permanent employment," said Tomoe, as she led Shizuku and the other members of the group on a tour of the café.
"Permanent employment? What do you mean?" asked Shizuku, her eyes wide.
"I mean that this is going to be your off-season fallback job. If you need extra work or money, just pull a shift at the café," said Tomoe.
"Wow! So no more waiting for the next gig? We can get a steady paycheck?" asked Shizuku, her eyes sparkling.
"Exactly, and with Master Zakhrov's new customer vetting system, this becomes a reservation-only fan interaction café," said Tomoe, as she showed them the reservation system.
"OK, so no more random stalkers and creeps?" asked Shizuku, her voice serious.
"No more random stalkers and creeps. But you'll still need to enter and leave with SEGA security," confirmed Tomoe.
"So when do we open?" asked Shizuku, as the other girls nodded in agreement.
"In three hours. This is a special opening event for Master Zakhrov and his friends," said Tomoe, as she led them to the staff room.
"These are the uniforms? They look and feel way too premium!" said Shizuku, as she picked up the black and ivory satin maid uniform.
"That's because they are using Sirius Software fashion tech. Haven't you heard? It's blowing up on gaijin social media," chuckled Mika, another member of 7-Star-Crossed.
"No. What's so special about it?" asked Shizuku, as she slipped into the uniform.
"Apparently, their high heels are so comfortable that you can wear them all day without pain," said Mika, as she adjusted her own uniform.
"Well, I can tell that this fabric is super comfortable," said Shizuku, twirling around and inspecting herself.
"Try the heels, you'll see what I mean," smirked Mika.
Shizuku slipped on the 8 cm black metal stiletto pumps and bounced up and down experimentally.
"OK, these are definitely more comfortable than even some designer heels I've had to model," she said.
"Enough fashion talk girls! It's showtime!" said Tomoe, as she clapped her hands to get their attention.
---
Aaron stood outside the café, with Kazuya, Harry, Margaret, Natasha, Friedrich, and Hajime.
"Are you sure you want us here Aaron?" asked Friedrich, as he adjusted his tie.
"It was last minute, but I thought the more, the merrier. Besides, we're all connoisseurs here," said Aaron.
Friedrich chuckled at the open-ended interpretation of 'connoisseurs'.
"Well, the construction is impressive. My compliments, Mr. Smith," he told Harry, who smiled in acknowledgement.
The doors to the café slid open, to reveal Shizuku, standing at the head of an honor guard made up of the six other members of 7-Star-Crossed, all dressed in the black and ivory satin maid uniforms.
"Welcome, Masters and Mistresses to the opening of the Star-crossed Maid Café," she said, bowing politely with the rest of the maids.
Aaron and the others entered, and were led to one of the secluded dining booths.
"Please take a seat, Masters and Mistresses. May I take your orders?" asked Shizuku, as she handed them the menu.
"Yes, I would like the special of the day, and a glass of your finest sake," said Hajime, not bothering with the menu.
"Very good, Master. The special of the day is venison steak with a side of roasted vegetables. How would you like it cooked?" asked Shizuku, opening her tablet.
"Medium rare, please," said Hajime, as he looked around the café.
"Very good, Master. And for you, Mistress?" she asked, turning to Margaret.
"I'll have the omurice, and a glass of iced tea," said Margaret, as she looked over the menu.
"Very good, Mistress. And for you, Mistress Natasha?" asked Shizuku, turning to Natasha.
"Filet mignon, medium rare," said Natasha.
"I'll have the wagyu steak, medium well," said Aaron.
"I'll take the beef bowl," said Kazuya.
"And I will have the same, but with extra egg," said Friedrich.
"And I'll take the same as Master Zakhrov," said Harry.
"Very good, Masters and Mistresses. Your orders will be ready shortly," said Shizuku, as she bowed and walked away to place their orders.
The remaining maids moved in to serve drinks and appetizers, the soft swishing of their uniforms and the click of their heels accentuating the soft classical music playing in the background.
"I'll admit, this is quite a different experience from the usual maid cafés," said Hajime, as he sipped his sake.
"In a good way, I hope," said Aaron, as Mika approached their table with the first orders.
"Oh most definitely. I had my doubts about an American coming in and rebuilding a struggling café, but I must say, you have exceeded my expectations," said Hajime, as he took a sip of his sake.
"It's one of the reasons I cut a deal with him as well," chuckled Kazuya.
"Well, I suppose I can cut to the chase. I'm interested in buying your construction drones for my shipyards. They would be a great asset in building new hulls," said Hajime, as he set his sake down.
"I'll give you the same deal that I gave Friedrich. You get the robots but no equity," said Aaron.
"Excellent. I will take fifty thousand units," said Hajime, as Kazuya shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Aaron, are you sure this café is secure? I'd rather not be pulled up in case Hajime starts getting the wrong kind of attention," said Kazuya, his voice low.
"You can excuse yourself to the bathroom if you want plausible deniability, but if you're worried about the cameras, you can relax. They don't pick up audio," replied Aaron, in the same low voice.
Kazuya visibly relaxed, and nodded.
"Mika-chan, can you show this old man the way to the restroom?" he asked, as he stood up.
"Of course, Master Kazuya, this way," giggled Mika, leading him to the restroom.
"All right. Fifty thousand units for five billion. I'll have the paperwork drawn up and sent to you tomorrow," Aaron told Hajime, who's eyes were sparkling.
---
Kazuya returned to the table, and sat down.
"Oh yes, I've been meaning to ask you, Aaron. How is that reservation system you built supposed to work? We simply walked right in today," he asked.
"That's because they were disabled for today. However, if you look at the entrance, you can see that there are actually two doors. The inner doors only open after a guest has confirmed their reservation with the scanner and cameras," said Aaron, gesturing to the entrance.
"And how do I make a reservation?" asked Kazuya, his eyes narrowing.
"Scan the QR code on the menu for now, and it will take you to the reservation page. The same code is displayed outside the café," said Aaron, watching as Kazuya pulled out his phone and scanned the code.
"A 40,000 yen monthly membership fee and a valid photo ID! That's a bold deterrent," chuckled Kazuya, as he looked through the reservation page.
"Combined with the security measures, it should keep out the riff-raff," said Aaron, as Shizuku returned with their main courses.
"Here you are, Masters and Mistresses. Your meals," she said, bowing politely, and placing the dishes in front of them.
"Oh, these look delicious!" said Margaret, as she picked up her fork and knife.
"Thank you, Mistress Margaret. Please enjoy," said Shizuku, as she stepped back to let them eat.
"Aaron, I've actually got a bone to pick with you," said Friedrich, as he set down his chopsticks.
"What's that?" asked Aaron, as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"You've been building your own nuclear reactors, and are producing heavy water along with probably your own Uranium. Are you trying to muscle in on my business?" asked Friedrich, his voice serious.
"Not at all. That was just the pursuit of vertical integration. While I have incorporated Sirius Nuclear, nobody has expressed an interest in my pressurized heavy water reactors, save perhaps for some terrorists who tried to steal some of my heavy water," said Aaron.
"I suppose you have a point there, Canada and India have already got the heavy water based reactor market covered, and the US isn't all that keen on expanding its reactor fleet," chuckled Friedrich.
"That's true. However, I'm getting more than enough revenue from my other enterprises," said Aaron.
"You just scored a five billion robot deal, you don't have to brag about it," grumbled Friedrich.
"This coming from the man who's just bagged a contract to power Japan's newest warship?" shot back Aaron.
"Haha, touché!" said Friedrich, raising his glass.