Part-Time Job Emperor Bazett / Fired Again

Since Shirou has said so, she can only help. It's not that she's in a position to stop it. If it were Shirou, she might be happy to have him all to herself, but deep down she might also feel disappointed.

"Sakura, do you know where they are?" Shirou asked.

"Yeah, I can sense it to some extent. Speaking of tracking, I'm actually quite good at it," Sakura said with a sweet smile.

'No, no... this isn't something you can just say with a smile.' Shirou broke out in a cold sweat. Had he really designed the girl's personality like this?

That said, where did the girl appear from? If she wasn't in this room, but outside, that would be quite frightening.

After finishing breakfast and tidying up, Sakura, wearing a plain long dress and a short jacket, turned around and spun 360 degrees, then looked at Shirou playfully with her hands behind her back.

"Then let's set off, senior!"

"Um."

The two went out the door.

After going downstairs, Sakura stopped at the entrance of the subway station, seemingly making a choice.

"Sakura?" Shirou looked at the girl with a puzzled expression, wondering how she had found the other girls. He remembered that when he wrote the story about the girls, it was indeed a fictional everyday world, so there shouldn't have been any supernatural powers.

"Yes, there are several different auras. Which way should we go?" Sakura put her index finger to her lips, making a choice. After all, this was like helping her senior find a rival. In the end, she didn't want to face those strong enemies.

'Could there be other girls besides the blonde and the twin-tailed girl?' Shirou wondered.

Shirou is known in the light novel community for his prolific output, having written numerous works both in print and online.

Because I used outstanding women I knew as the female protagonists in my works, I didn't encounter many writing bottlenecks. Especially for some stories written as a memorial, more than 80% of the content was already etched in my mind from the beginning.

He focused more on learning writing techniques, striving to present the stories that had happened to readers as completely as possible.

Half an hour later, Sakura brought Shirou to Shibuya Parco.

"You've arrived, senior. There's a child over there," Sakura said, pointing to the mall's main entrance.

"Hmm?" Shirou looked closely. The Pikachu doll was handing out balloons, and the surrounding area was full of kindergarten-aged children, all of whom were very cute, but none of them looked particularly special.

"It's not those kids, it's the bigger one," Sakura reminded Shirou.

"Hmm?" Shirou then turned his gaze to the married women who had brought their children over not far away, but he had never written any novels about married women.

"Senpai~! No, wait! It's the biggest one, the yellow one," Sakura corrected again.

"Huh? You mean that character from Pikachu, actually a character in my novel?"

Shirou looked closely at the Pikachu; it was the same one he had seen when he came here with Mikoto Misaka before.

By this time, Pikachu had finished distributing the balloons and waved goodbye to the children who had returned to their mothers, watching them leave.

Before Shirou could speak, Pikachu swaggered towards a door on the side, a passage for internal staff where outsiders were not allowed to enter.

"Oh, Pikachu, thank you for your hard work!" The staff member greeted Pikachu as it entered the changing room.

Pikachu sat down in the chair, removed the top half of the Pikachu plush toy's head, and replied:

"You've worked hard!"

Inside the round, yellow body was a beautiful young woman with short, wine-red hair, red eyes, and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye, exuding the charm of a powerful, exotic woman.

Chapter 1100 Bazett, the King of Hired Managers

The red-haired girl was wearing only a short-sleeved shirt under her mascot costume. She pulled out a clean towel and wiped away her sweat. Although the weather had turned cooler, the temperature inside the mall was kept around 26 degrees Celsius thanks to the central air conditioning.

This does keep the shoppers warm inside the mall, but it's incredibly stuffy for the people inside the almost sealed dollhouses. Not to mention, sometimes they have to interact with children and jump and dance to the music during events.

While dressing up as a mascot may seem cute, it's actually much harder than you might imagine. Physical strength, stamina, and a strong sense of service are all essential.

The red-haired girl took a small sip of water. It was already 10 a. m., and her shift as the mascot would end at 11 a. m.

"Bazett -chan, what are your plans for lunch after this morning's work? Would you like to come have lunch with me?" A man in his twenties, who was also a mascot performer, stepped forward and asked.

Bazett stood up straight, bowed to the man, and answered loudly:

"I'm sorry! I have other part-time jobs to do at noon. Thank you for your kindness, but please allow me to decline!"

"Is... is that so? Then there's nothing I can do," the man said awkwardly. Being rejected so bluntly made him feel like he couldn't even crack a joke anymore.

"Well, break time is over, I'll head out now." Bazett put the Pikachu headgear back on, adjusted its position in front of the mirror to make sure there were no mistakes, and then walked outside.

When Pikachu, with its pigeon-toed gait, walked out the door, the men inside burst into laughter.

"Haha, as expected, I got rejected."

"Everyone said it was impossible."

"Damn it, I thought she'd agree to just lunch," the man who had extended the invitation said, sitting down with his head down.

"There's nothing we can do. That girl's nickname here is 'Iron Woman,' meaning there's no opening for her to slip through."

"Hey? Isn't she the queen of wages? But she really doesn't have any of the spoiled attitude of a girl. Even the work that makes us rough men complain is all done quietly and thoroughly by her."

"Well, I understand what you mean, but she really is a beauty," said the man who extended the invitation.

"Hmm, hmm, she's definitely a beauty just by looking at her face, no doubt about it. But a normal person probably couldn't be her romantic partner, because she's even stronger than men."

"Isn't there any other way? I really like that type. I want this strong woman to only show her vulnerable side to me." The man who made the invitation said, rubbing his head.

"It's hopeless, it's hopeless, just give up."

Meanwhile, outside, Shirou and Sakura were sitting at a beverage shop near the main entrance, waiting for Pikachu to reappear.

"Sakura, do you know who's inside the doll?" Shirou asked.

"I don't know, at least not the children in it. You've always been consistent in every one of your works, haven't you?" Sakura said.

"Is that so?" Shirou nodded. It seemed he could only guess. In the novels he had written, there were quite a few female protagonists who worked part-time jobs; rather, there were only a handful of carefree young ladies.

In Japanese families, it's common to encourage children to become independent as early as possible. Parents typically cover tuition, meals, tutoring fees, and a fixed allowance. If they want anything more, they have to earn the money themselves by working part-time.

Of course, this is not to say that they are wrong. Beyond having enough to eat and wear, everyone has things they want to pursue.

"Hmm." Sakura lowered her head and sipped her tea.

Of course, the girl also had something she didn't say: the path she chose was actually the one with the lower level of threat.

Just then, a woman in high heels, carrying a designer handbag, walked by in a not-too-distant passageway, her footsteps clicking.

"Wait! Wait for me!" A man wearing a leather jacket and gold chains, with a somewhat fierce-looking face, caught up with the woman.

"Hmph! Don't follow me! Didn't you go to another woman's place to spend the night? Then go to their place!"

"It's all a misunderstanding! It was just business entertainment!" the menacing man shouted, reaching out to grab the woman.

"Let go of me, or I'll call for help!" The woman, unable to break free, turned around and glared at the man.

"Here we go again. Okay, honey, calm down. I just brought you shopping, that's all," the man said with a fawning smile.

The woman had not yet spoken.

At that moment, Pikachu rushed over and knocked the man's hand away.

"What? What's wrong with you, Pikachu?"

Pikachu raised its short arms in a boxing stance and hopped around in place.

"Huh? Are you trying to meddle? Listen up! This is my woman. I can do whatever I want with her!"

Bang!!!

Pikachu's fist swung out with incredible speed, as if its arm had stretched out, and struck the man in the leather jacket squarely in the face.

The man's eyes rolled back and he fell backward.

"Aaaaah! What did you Pikachu do?! Why did you attack my darling?! Darling! Are you alright?!"

The woman, no longer the gentle Yoko she once was, revealed an expression even more ferocious than the man's. She abruptly shoved aside the bewildered Pikachu and launched into a shrewish tirade.

The woman knelt down and hugged the unconscious man, crying and shouting, "Call your supervisor right now! If anything happens to my darling, I'll make you pay!!!"

"Ah..." Shirou's eyes widened.

"Senior, do you know who she is?" Sakura asked.

Shirou nodded. Although there were many part-time job characters in his novels, there was only one person who could make this kind of gesture.

As Shirou suspected, the girl inside the Pikachu plushie was indeed Bazett, an eighteen-year-old girl. In the novel, she is a girl who came to Japan from a rural area abroad in search of her lost family treasure.

This young girl is honest and kind-hearted. She is serious and straightforward in everything she does, to the point of being somewhat foolish. She is completely incapable of being cunning.

Shirou recalled the story he had written and said, "In the novel, she also played the role of a mascot. She was the local promotional mascot in the novel. After receiving the budget, the mascot was to be given the ability to make a sound."

So, in order to better fulfill children's dreams and to be able to express a variety of emotional sounds, she specifically took voice acting classes.

Sakura felt a mix of emotions and muttered, "Hey... isn't he supposed to be a pretty passionate person...?"

Shirou continued, "Well, actually, the puppet is equipped with a recording and playback machine. They hired a professional voice actor to record, and then it identifies the actor's tone and produces different sounds. There's no need for overly complex emotions, because puppet mascots are meant to bring joy to children."

Chapter 1101: Fired Again

"So... what she did was actually a waste of time?" Sakura turned her head, looking at Shirou with a somewhat subtle expression. She felt she needed to re-evaluate her senior; she always felt he wasn't just a gentle person. Could he also be a sadist?

Of course, she liked even her sadistic senior, and she felt she could accept it if it was teasing done with affection. So, when she got home today, wouldn't it be better to prepare some rope and candles?

Fortunately, Shirou was unaware of the girl's thoughts at that moment, and simply replied with a smile:

"Yes, it wasn't just a waste of time; she was soon fired for some reason, and she also spent all her hard-earned savings."

The girl glanced at the Pikachu that had caused the trouble, then looked at her senior.

"Senior, this story is really cruel to this child. Isn't there anything good about it at all?" Sakura asked doubtfully.

"No, after that incident, she understood the true meaning of even working part-time, you should think about people, so the outcome was good," Shirou said with a light laugh.

Although it's just a small part of the story, being fired and scolded was no pleasant experience for people at the time.

At the scene where the man in the leather jacket had collapsed, the mall manager and the mascot's supervisor had already arrived.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am. Is the gentleman alright?"

"What's the use of apologizing now! Do you think he's alright? Darling! Wake up!" The woman hugged the man and said urgently and anxiously.

"Ugh..." The man frowned slightly.

"Great, the guest has woken up."

"Darling, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?" the woman asked.

"Ugh, I feel dizzy." The man had already opened his eyes, but his face was blank.

Although Pikachu's hand was covered by a cloth pad, the power of that punch was definitely no less than the swift strike of a world-class female boxing champion.

"You think an apology is enough? My darling isn't fully awake yet. He needs to go to the hospital for a checkup," the woman snapped. Japan places great importance on etiquette, and even the smallest details are explicitly prohibited by law.

However, sometimes, when people take these rules too seriously, they overlook other equally important things. Japan is a case in point, which is why there are instances of people abusing their power and being unforgiving even when they are in the right.

Even if someone doesn't break the law, they may still be scorned by society as a whole.

"I'm truly sorry, it's my fault for not disciplining them properly." The middle-aged supervisor bowed his head and apologized to the two.

"Hmm! I'm alright! Help me up," the man in the leather jacket said.

"Darling, don't push yourself. We really need to go to the hospital for a checkup! No! We also need to call the police! This is all the mall's fault! They absolutely have to be held accountable!"

"I'm so sorry, our company will cover all of your medical expenses. She's still a student, please don't call the police, let her go," the supervisor apologized.

"Her? Is it a woman inside?" The man in the leather jacket raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Yes! She's not even eighteen yet, a wild and reckless girl. Please be magnanimous and forgive her!" The foreman bowed again.

"It's alright, I'll just take my bad luck." The man in the leather jacket waved his hand, telling him to go to the hospital to complain that he was knocked down by a Pikachu. He's not Ash Ketchum! Besides, there's a woman inside; he has his pride too!

"But! Darling!" the woman persisted.

"Shut up! I already said everything's fine!" the man shouted.

"I'm so sorry!" The supervisor bowed again in apology.

"You too! Come here, take off your mask, and kneel down to apologize to the guests!" The manager turned around and scolded Bazett inside Pikachu.

Bazett held the hood tightly, not looking down for a long time, because her gaze could see the child's reflection.

Meanwhile, on the other side and up the stairs, there were children who had come looking over after hearing the argument. They were looking at Pikachu with innocent eyes, wondering why any adults would scold such a cute and friendly animal as Pikachu.

"You idiot, get out of there right now!" the middle-aged foreman yelled.

"No! There are children here!" Bazett clutched his head tightly, refusing to let the caretaker remove the mask.

She couldn't shatter the children's dreams. If they found out that the mascots were fake, and that there was actually a real person hiding inside the plush toys they hugged and cuddled, it would be a huge blow.