Chapter 507

Has anything interesting happened in the Service Club lately?

"Still the same, but two uninteresting things happened... What do you want to do?"

Her gaze held a hint of wariness.

"Nothing much, it's just that I'm a bit lacking in fun. What two things?"

"..."

She scrutinized him for a moment with suspicion before explaining slowly, "One is a request for help with tennis practice, and the other is a request for help in finding anonymous and offensive text messages."

"Both of them are classmates of Classmate Yuihama and Hikitani classmate."

"Your school is really small..."

Yukino Shita Yukino gave him a charming glare, which conveyed the message, "Mind your own business."

Seeing her like this, he didn't plan to tell her that the next request was still related to that class...

"Okay~ I'll go browse around the store first, and I'll come visit you at your school in a few days when I have some free time! Goodbye for today in advance~"

"Oh, okay... What did you say? Come to my school?! Hey!"

"..."

Leaving the counter, instead of looking for the Kessoku Band that might be behind them, he sneaked over to PA, who was fiddling with the sound system, gently patted her shoulder, and whispered in her ear:

"Yo~ Good morning, Alte."

"Eek!"

PA shuddered and gasped, nearly hitting the knob on the working equipment. Seeing it was him, she calmed down. "It's... it's Talent! You scared me to death... Didn't you have something to do today and have Miss Yukinoshita fill in for you?"

She was still dressed in a dark-colored outfit, a long, form-fitting dress that covered her face completely, her movements as demure as a lady from an ancient noble family.

Paired with long, glossy black silk hair and a cute Princess cut, she gives off the vibe of a Princess or witch in a castle.

But the lip piercing and ear bridge above her head clearly told everyone that she was definitely a mischievous and avant-garde woman to the point of being a little scary.

The difference between her and the street duo who chased after Kawaragi Momoka in Kawasaki back then is probably that she's pretty.

Another thing is that he has a cool, aloof personality and is a homebody; despite his unconventional appearance, he's never been in a relationship...

"I've finished taking care of things outside, so I came over to check things out. Also... Alte, do you want to gain more followers?"

"Gaining followers?"

PA tilted her head.

When he referred to himself as Alte and mentioned gaining followers, she roughly understood that he was referring to game streaming.

"It would be best if it went up... but how do we do that?"

"Hmph~"

He grunted and pulled out the bag he'd just used. "Did you watch the news today?"

"You mean you watched it when you got up for lunch?"

Her dark, beautiful eyes flickered slightly as she glanced at the boxes in her bag.

"Have you seen the news that a new product is supposed to be launched tonight?"

"Ah~ it's that Smart Contact Lenses, right?"

"Yes! Would you like one?"

"This is my plan: I'll see if I can snag one after tonight. Maybe I can use it for the live stream, but I doubt it'll be cheap..."

"Then pick one of these colors that you like."

"Huh?"

PA was momentarily stunned, not understanding what he meant, "Um, what is this?"

"These are Smart Contact Lenses. To thank you for our long-standing partnership as colleagues and gamers, I'm giving you a set! Join me for a live stream after work tonight, you're sure to gain a lot of followers!"

"Eh~"

She stared at him in astonishment, "But, but..."

"No buts! Consider it a gift from me! Will you accept it?"

"This must be expensive, right? How much is it? I'll pay you later..."

"No need, what's our relationship?"

"Then, what about the boss and the others..."

"They don't play games, let's talk about it later."

"So, in other words, this was specially made for me..."

She stammered, covering her face and whispering, her ears, which were covered with earrings, flushed with heat.

Is that... is that what it means? Is that it?!

No, it shouldn't be, but it should still be considered very good progress, right? She thought shyly.

For a moment, her heart pounded wildly within her body, which was arguably the most beautifully shaped among the Starry, even more so than the electronic drumbeats beside her.

"Thank you, thank you..."

She thanked him with difficulty, then mustered her courage and looked up. "Would you like to come to my house tonight, after so long?"

"Ah?"

Sakurakoji Talent red eyes widened in astonishment.

Also on a Sunday evening, in a secluded coffee shop in a residential area of Tachikawa City, one of the 26 cities under Tokyo's jurisdiction, located further west than Tachikawa City Fuchu City.

The sign outside this cafe reads "BAMBOO Café".

At this moment, looking through the inside of its automatic door—

"Why is the hamburger cold?!"

"Hey--, is my food ready yet?"

"What's going on?! What's happening?!"

"Hey! You spilled water on me!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm sorry--!"

"Sakayori, please help me! Help me!!!"

"Hey hey! We're here! You guys are here..."

In this chaotic restaurant, both the waiters and the manager were completely incompetent, utterly inept at everything from kitchen duties and cleaning up to taking orders and providing service.

In such a large and popular store, it's rare to find a single employee you can trust.

How exactly does a store like this manage to stay open and operating for several years in a row, with its business even getting better and better? This is one of the ten most unbelievable things in the nearby residential area.

Of course, if you could work there for two or three days, you would easily find out the answer.

At this moment, having heard enough of her colleagues' cries for help, a shop assistant hurriedly moved through the various corners of the store, cleaning up the mess left behind by her colleagues (including the store manager).

She had light purple hair, which was tied up in a bun and covered by a green round hat when she was working.

She was very young, probably only in high school, but she exuded a maturity and composure completely different from someone her age.

Her eyes were brimming with emerald green, and her skin was snow-white, but the faint dark circles under her eyes and her slightly tired skin diminished some of her moon-like beauty.

Of course, the main reason was the somewhat outdated black work uniform.

An experienced person could immediately tell that the light-colored dark circles were actually concealed with concealer.

She walked briskly, seemingly with no time to rest, yet every task she handled was always resolved meticulously and without error.

Faced with the customer's complaints and dissatisfaction, she simply pressed her colleague's head down and apologized to them together, her smile revealing not a trace of dark emotion.

Young yet mature; beautiful, yet neglecting to maintain her appearance; socially reliable, yet still exuding youthful energy; like an oil lamp nearing its end, yet maintaining an activity level that would exhaust even an athlete...

In short, she is very special, truly special, special enough to astound even Sakurakoji Talent is accustomed to all walks of life.

"Manager! The new burger patties are in the oven. I'll leave the rest to you!"

"Thank you so much, Sakayori!"

"Ms. Hayashida, I'll clear the plates here. Could you please take care of the order for table number eight?"

"It's all up to you, Sakayori, you're simply a goddess!"

"I'm so sorry, sir! It's all our fault, anyway—I'm so sorry! To express our apologies, we've prepared a small gift for you, please forgive us..."

"Since you put it that way..."

"You lost your order receipt? I know, it was for table number 6, right? I glanced at it when I passed by just now, and I think I had it... Anyway, give it to me at the cashier."

"Thank you so much!"

"..."

"..."

"I'm going to rest now--"

The relentless work continued for an unknown amount of time. Finally, after enduring the Takamine passenger flow, exhausted Sakayori Iroha, with a desperate dance step, limped back to the staff break room.

"I'm so tired, I'm exhausted..."

She spoke in a hoarse voice, puffing out white smoke.

"Thank goodness it's the weekend. I got a full six hours of sleep, which I haven't had in a long time, and recharged. Otherwise, sleeping only two or three hours as usual would really be..."

"Working is different from going to school; it's really difficult not being able to sneak a nap in class... Fortunately, I finished my studies today, and I didn't miss any games or live streams, nor did I miss Yachiyo's shows or music..."

"Phew~ another day has passed..."

She had just been slumped on the rest table with her eyes glazed over when she heard the sound of the door being unlocked. She quickly sat up straight, a professional smile plastered on her face.

The next second, a waiter/waitress walked in.

"You were a great help today, Ms. Sakayori! Thank you so much!"

"No, it's nothing, it's just what I should do!"

"Wow~ Sakayori. Sakura is simply a goddess! Let me treat you to dinner next time!"

"Really?! No, I mean... if there's time!"

"Hey~ Of course, do you have time after get off work tonight?"

"Uh, I've already met my calorie goal for today, I can't waste it... Can I do it tomorrow?"

"Then it's settled! I look forward to your guidance in the future!"

"Of course! Being able to help my colleagues in the workplace is my greatest happiness!"

"..."

After dealing with her colleagues, Sakayori Iroha breathed a sigh of relief and leaned her weight entirely against the back of the folding chair.

"Call..."

She temporarily relaxed her gaze, aimlessly staring at the "Wash Your Hands Frequently!" poster on the wall. Her eyes then naturally slid to the side, naturally noticing the words "Precautions for Selling Alcohol" and "Correct Way to Wear Uniforms."

"It's only May, but it feels so long..."

Finally, my gaze fell upon the calendar.

"Seven... fourteen... twenty... three?"

Whenever she sees the calendar, she subconsciously counts how many days are left until payday—it's one of her little habits.

Then she worked backwards to calculate how much she could spend each day—another pathetic habit she developed after a year in Tokyo.

[Note: In the original novel, this scene takes place on the second Thursday of July, which is July 11, 2030. Therefore, we know that Iroha's payday is the 3rd of each month. Coincidentally, this time it is May 11... Is this fate? They don't even need to change the numbers.]

Okay, looks like I can barely make it through this month. Maybe buying one more energy Drinks won't hurt... No! I can't!

It's not surprising that anything could happen to a high school girl living in Tokyo, so she has to save money, no matter how tight it is, just in case!