| Author: Hidsuki Shihou | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 2718 characters |
| Translator: PunishedLyly | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1348 words |
| Editor(s): Fire | ||
Getting dragged into the student council’s activities, my orderly private life was in disarray. However, I was told that as long as we finish this, I’ll be free again for a while. The work after this doesn’t need that much urgency, they said. Now that I know that I’m really just a temp in the truest sense, I feel relieved.
「Good morning.」
And for the first time since working with the student council, I showed up at work this Saturday. To work, naturally. I washed my hands, made sure it’s disinfected, wore my apron, and entered the kitchen. There, Saori was preparing the kitchen as she usually does.
「Morning Kotone. I heard you’ve joined the student council, are you doing good with that?」
「Was it from Kaori? I was appointed as a temp in the student council, so I only work with them in extremely hectic situations. Besides, I had conditions for joining them, so the student council activities will not affect my work here.」
「Then that’s fine. There’s no point in having school activities restrict your personal life, after all.」
I frankly don’t plan on using my holidays to contribute to the academy. The president might be working with the betterment of the students and the campus in mind but I already have my hands full with changing my current circumstances, so I really don’t have time to poke my head in other people’s lives. Though contradictory to that, I’ve been giving advice to the principal and even joined the student council.
「Oh right. Saori, I want to ask a favour.」
「If it’s about your wage, ask my husband. I don’t touch on that topic.」
「No, it’s not about that. Could I ask you to make a birthday cake for next Saturday?」
「Whose birthday is it?」
「My younger brother and sister. They’re twins, so they have the same birthday. Though on that topic, that day isn’t the actual day of their birthday.」
Their birthday is on a weekday but I really can’t just go and drop by the mansion immediately after classes. Even on next Saturday, I plan to contact Misaki to check if father’s there before I drop by. If he is, then I’ll just have Misaki pick it up and maybe send a birthday card with it. I’m absolutely avoiding encounters with father no matter what.
「Wouldn’t it be better if you made it yourself?」
「There is no certainty that an amateur’s handmade cake would turn out good, you know. Besides, I have never made one before.」
I’ve made simple cookies and stuff but cakes and pastries are outside of my repertoire. Rather than fail with something that uses a lot of ingredients, it’s more practical to have a professional make it. And more importantly, this will be my first ever birthday present to the twins, so it needs to be good.
「I trust your craft, Saori. So, can I ask this of you?」
「I’ll have to charge you for it, okay?」
「That’s fine. I had that in consideration to begin with.」
Just because I work for them doesn’t mean I should expect special treatment. If you don’t pay things their proper dues, it might come back to bite you someday. Besides, I’ve already been given that watch, so I’d feel bad receiving more.
「Hm~m, couldn’t you at least do some decorations?」
「Just decorations should be alright.」
「Then let’s go with that. Gifts are better if you at least had a hand in it, after all.」
「Then I’ll make something as well. I can at least bake cookies.」
「A formal gift and a completely handmade one. That should be good. I guess I should make it on Saturday morning.」
「Thank you very much.」
It’s better to give freshly made stuff than one that’s made the day before. In that case, then I guess I’ll have to borrow the kitchen to make cookies. I’ll bring my own ingredients and consult with Saori on the process. It’ll end up better that way, after all.
「Then let’s talk about the details later. Now is the time for work.」
「Understood. Is there anything I can help with?」
Leaving the discussion for later, we start preparing for the open hours. While I can’t cook the cafe’s menu yet, I’ve been helping with preparing the ingredients. I’m also the one in charge of cleaning. When it’s time, we switch the door sign to OPEN and wait for customers to enter.
「Welcome.」
When the cafe opens, the first to come is always set. Ever since I started working, it’s been either a relatively young man or a woman roughly the same age coming in first. Rather, at that point, it’s easy to figure out who they really are.1
「Cold water.」
「Sorry about that.」
That’s why today I’ll be considerate and offer water. As expected, I can’t just hand out free coffee and all that. Still, as usual, looking pretty exhausted so early in the morning. Is my morning routine really that tough? By the way, it’s the man this time.
「Has work been difficult?」
「Yeah, particularly in the mornings. If not for that, it’s actually a pretty easy job.」
「I don’t plan on decreasing my running distance. Rather, maybe I should run more?」
「Please no…… Ah.2」
「You let your guard down too much.」
Leaving with that, I went off to deal with the next customer. I casually blended it into the conversation and he really exposed himself. So they really are my bodyguards. Still, to think that they’re having a hard time with my routine. I’m just running at my own pace, though. On another topic, I’m curious why most of the customers seem to be male.
「You working here really helped us out, Kotone. We’ve been getting more customer traffic ever since.」
「Is that so?」
「It hasn’t changed that much on the weekdays but, on weekends and holidays that you’re in, there have been more customers coming in for you, you see?」
「Like I’m the cafe’s poster girl, then?」
Come to think of it, Saori doesn’t leave the kitchen, so it’s inevitably the owner who’s serving the customers. I guess having some beautiful flowers in the shop really affects the number of customers. I’ve always had female co-workers in the part-time jobs I’ve had before, so I really didn’t notice that. Still, me? Poster girl? That really doesn’t suit me.
「You work well and increase our earnings. It’s a happy miscalculation if I say so myself.」
「That’s great then. Oh, a new customer.」
While occasionally chatting with the owner, I continue serving the customers. While there are a lot of male customers, it’s not like there are only a few female customers. Saori’s cakes and pastries are pretty popular, so many of the customers come again. They didn’t have any issues with the sales even before I came but they did have a hard time with only two of them working. You could say that’s another reason why they hired me.
「Are you alright working with your injuries?」
「That was already a long time ago, Minamoto. Besides, the owner would have scolded me if it isn’t alright.」
「Obviously. Like I’d let my precious employee do the impossible. Or do you think I’m that callous of a man, Minamoto?」
「I’m kidding, owner. I just wanted to have a chat with the young lady.」
Ever since I returned to work after fully recovering, many of the customers have been worried about me. A part of it was because I was out for two weeks despite being always present on the weekends up until then but also because, surprisingly, I seem to be popular. Well, the customers don’t really know Kotone’s past after all.
There are occasionally some customers who spout out sexual remarks but I just threaten those sorts with a smile. Naturally, with a glare from the owner as an extra.
