As expected, after Liuli and Serveyia flipped the sign hanging on the door to “Open,” a group of Students immediately swarmed into the Room, heading straight for Liuli.
“It’s the Princess’s Maid Uniform! Although the style is different from Lady Serveyia’s, it’s still so cute~”
“Princess, could I please have an autograph! I’m the Princess’s most loyal fan!”
“Um, you’re… you’re a bit too close!”
Being surrounded by so many people made Liuli feel a bit shy, especially since they were staring at her with burning gazes, looking as if they wanted to swallow her whole.
“Sorry, Princess. We’re just too excited. After all, no Princess has ever started such an accessible project before. We’re truly thrilled!”
In truth, their excitement was within her expectations.
If she were in their shoes and her own idol started such an accessible project where she could interact with them up close, she would probably do everything she could to get an autograph too.
However, being within expectations was one thing; whether she could handle signing for so many people was another.
This was a Maid Café, not a fan meeting, wasn’t it?
“Alright, everyone, there’s no need to stand so close; our Princess is going to get shy.”
In the end, she had to rely on Serveyia to bail her out.
With Serveyia’s help, the surrounding Students stopped making things difficult for Liuli.
Instead, they found seats and sat down with maternal smiles, though Liuli had no idea what they were smiling about.
“Young Lady, may I take your order?”
Although being watched by the other Students with those smiles made her shy, she was, after all, a Maid in the Maid Café now.
She had to do what needed to be done.
Standing by a table, Liuli tried her best to act like a professional Maid.
“Princess, is there no Hidden Service?”
To Liuli’s surprise, an outgoing-looking girl from the Leopard Tribe looked over the menu and actually said that to her.
“Sorry, we don’t offer that kind of service. We are a pure and wholesome Maid Café.”
Liuli still remembered what Serveyia had told her: if a customer made her uncomfortable, she should just say so.
Even if the Leopard Tribe girl’s words sounded like a joke, some truths were often hidden in jests.
She had to protect herself and not let anyone get the wrong idea.
“What a pity. I was thinking that if the Princess was willing to do something like that, it would definitely be a huge hit,” the Leopard Tribe girl said regretfully.
Liuli didn’t know what she was so disappointed about.
Even without such special projects or a Maid Café, she was already famous in Saint Laia just by being a Princess.
Her current focus was on satisfying her classmates’ expectations while keeping herself comfortable and safe.
Indeed, whether it was Serveyia or Lien, their first requirement for her was to protect herself.
“But we don’t have any such plans for the time being.”
Her current life was stable, and there was nothing she needed to achieve by selling her charms.
Liuli didn’t think of herself as a Lady Buddha, so she had even less reason to do so.
“I see. Then just an Iced Americano will do.”
To be honest, Liuli thought the Store’s menu was a bit too simple.
There weren’t even any decorations on it—just basic pictures and prices.
It didn’t really spark any desire to buy anything.
She had mentioned this to Sofia, but Sofia clearly didn’t care.
“Princess, this is where you’re wrong. As long as the Emotional Value is provided, not many people will care about the food.”
“Then why did you specifically hire a chef?”
This was the conversation she’d had with Sofia.
Liuli’s point was that if it was all about Emotional Value, then a beautiful girl making hand-poured coffee on the spot would be more attractive than a professional chef’s work, and it would save quite a bit of money.
“Princess, you don’t understand. In a closed environment like our Maid Café, it doesn’t matter who the chef is since the customers can’t see them. That kind of Emotional Value is meaningless.”
“It’s better to do more in the areas they can see. Not to mention, we’ve been promoting your Maid Uniform from the start, so we must fully showcase the Store’s characteristics.”
So now, when Liuli returned to the Leopard Tribe girl’s side with a cup of Iced Americano, she saw the girl looking at her with starry eyes.
“Young Lady, please enjoy.”
Speaking of Emotional Value, the title they had originally decided on was “Master,” but Liuli had rejected it, finding it too embarrassing.
She was just opening a Maid Café and providing value; was it really necessary to use such an embarrassing form of address?
“Mm, Princess, this coffee actually tastes quite good!”
What did she mean by “actually”?
Sofia said the coffee beans were high-quality, and the chef had years of experience.
Although Liuli couldn’t tell good beans from bad, she trusted Sofia’s confidence.
By this point, Liuli finally understood what Sofia meant.
It seemed everyone really wasn’t here for the coffee.
This made her feel both helpless and amused.
Helpless because her Maid Café was turning into a fan meeting; amused because she wasn’t so different from them—she wasn’t here for the coffee either.
“It is a coffee shop, after all. The coffee can’t taste too bad, right?”
“Actually, Princess, I think as long as you’re the one making it, people would buy it even if it tasted terrible.”
“Let’s not do that. We should cherish our food.”
Even if there’s an idol effect where things made by an idol have a natural appeal, Liuli felt that appeal would fade as the effect wore off.
Paying for an idol once was fine, but surely no one would keep buying something they knew tasted bad?
“It’s just coffee. Provided one knows how to make it, it shouldn’t be that bad. I don’t think even a kitchen disaster could make it taste truly awful.”
“Then why were you surprised it tasted good?”
“I just said it wouldn’t be bad, but making it taste good isn’t easy. Princess, your chef must be exceptionally skilled.”