Working at the Dessert Shop, Boss Lady Yoko Nakano

Tsukishima left, brushing off his sleeves without taking a single cloud with him.

In the director's office, father and daughter sat in slight silence.

Sakayanagi Arisu tapped her cane, then smiled as she spoke: "Father, isn't this person interesting? I'm very curious about his past now. Why was he assigned to Class D?"

Shigemori Sakayanagi adjusted his glasses and looked helplessly at his daughter: "How would I know? Student records aren't under my jurisdiction."

"Daddy~"

"Sigh, fine, I'll look it up."

Shigemori Sakayanagi's resolve was sunk. He opened the computer on his desk, logged into the system account, and began checking student information. After seeing Yuto Tsukishima's details, his expression turned strange:

"Maybe something like this shouldn't be shared with you..."

"Daddy~"

"Sigh, alright, alright. After his interview, he set up the interviewer with someone—his middle school homeroom teacher's husband..."

Sakayanagi Arisu frowned slightly: "Isn't the interviewer's gender assigned based on the student's gender?"

Shigemori Sakayanagi nodded: "So he set up a male interviewer with a boyfriend. Those two are living quite well now and got married abroad."

"As for his homeroom teacher, she found a girlfriend... also arranged by him. It was his father's girlfriend from outside the marriage. That girlfriend turned out to be a man—a transgender person..."

Sakayanagi Arisu was stunned: "Then his mother..."

Shigemori Sakayanagi looked at the data, took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on: "His mother is that interviewer's boyfriend, his homeroom teacher's husband... also a transgender person."

Sakayanagi Arisu furrowed her brow, finding this web of relationships somewhat complicated: "Then does he himself know that his family is so... so tangled?"

Shigemori Sakayanagi wiped his glasses again: "His parents never told him. The divorce was explained as incompatibility. His mother never contacted him after transitioning. But judging from the results, he very likely knows..."

"What a resilient young man..."

Sakayanagi Arisu rubbed the head of her cane and asked: "Then why was he assigned to Class D? From the results, everyone was satisfied, right?"

Shigemori Sakayanagi was silent for a moment: "Actually, the interviewer wasn't too satisfied. He wanted to be the aggressor, but because he drank a few too many, he ended up as the receiver..."

Sakayanagi Arisu laughed: "So he outsmarted himself?"

Shigemori Sakayanagi sounded uncertain: "Maybe. Perhaps he didn't expect the interviewer had the right to complain about students, or maybe he didn't fully understand the specifics of same-sex relationships at the time..."

"Oh, and I need to issue him a special approval document."

Sakayanagi Arisu watched her father's actions and asked: "So this is just a special case?"

"Yes. We can't let student conflicts spread to the faculty. Otherwise, this school would fall into complete chaos."

"What a shame."

The conversation in the director's office had no effect on Tsukishima.

He had already arrived at the dessert shop, and his phone rang right on cue.

The sender was the director. The director sent him several files: a PDF, an image, and a document.

He opened the files and handed them to the Boss Lady for review.

"Boss, I'm back. These are the director's documents."

The Boss Lady looked them over for a moment, nodded, and smiled: "Learning to make desserts is fine, but don't let it affect your grades."

Tsukishima nodded: "Don't worry, my grades are still pretty good."

"Also, the shop mostly does afternoon tea, girl talk, and small group gatherings, so it might get a bit busy sometimes. Of course, you won't work for free—800 points per hour."

"Can I still eat desserts for free?"

The Boss Lady laughed: "Don't worry, you won't like desserts much after this. Alright, start tomorrow. Come whenever you have time, or you can come earlier to help me out."

Tsukishima gave an OK gesture and was about to leave when the Boss Lady called him back: "Hold on."

She handed him a crepe: "Leftover stock that won't last a few days. Take it and eat it. Consider it a celebration for getting your special approval."

Tsukishima's face lit up with surprise: "Thanks, Boss! See you tomorrow!"

The Boss Lady waved: "See you tomorrow!"

Just as Tsukishima was about to go, he suddenly paused: "Boss, what's the name of this shop? I couldn't read a single character on the sign."

The sign was written in artistic calligraphy—too artistic for Tsukishima to decipher.

The Boss Lady rolled her eyes: "Sweet Words!"

Tsukishima grinned and bolted off.

The sunset had dyed the sky a deep orange.

Walking back to the dormitory, Tsukishima pulled out his phone and sent a message to Yamada.

[Tsukishima]: Boss, starting tomorrow I'll be learning to make desserts at the dessert shop, so I might not come to the club as often.

[Yamada]: Huh? Making desserts? Why the sudden interest in that?

Tsukishima listed three reasons: learning another skill, getting feedback for recommending manga, and his love for sweets.

[Yamada]: That works? Hey, Tsukishima, we've drawn some manga too. Can we display them at the dessert shop to collect opinions? We can pay points!

[Tsukishima]: I need to go ask the Boss Lady first. If she agrees, there's no need for points. If she doesn't, no amount of points will help. And I can't stock too much—there's not much space in the shop anyway.

[Yamada]: No problem! Waiting on your news!

He was about to put his phone in his pocket when it buzzed again.

[Kushida]: All set?

[Tsukishima]: All set. The Boss Lady said I can start teaching tomorrow.

[Kushida]: You actually pulled it off?

[Tsukishima]: Of course. When I step in, how could it not work out?

[Kushida]: Already getting cocky?

[Tsukishima]: Just stating the facts.

[Kushida]: I'll come find you after school tomorrow.

[Tsukishima]: What for? To supervise me?

[Kushida]: To see if you're really learning. What if you're up to some shady scheme to screw me over again?

Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

[Tsukishima]: Fine. Just don't cause trouble when you're here.

[Kushida]: When have I ever caused trouble!

[Tsukishima]: You tore up my drawing paper.

[Kushida]: That was an accident!

[Tsukishima]: You left your stockings in my room. Stank to high heaven.

[Kushida]: That was an accident too.

[Tsukishima]: And you pretended to be nice to try and get dirt on me.

[Kushida]: You're the pervert who grabbed my leverage first! And you grabbed my chest!!!

[Tsukishima]: You think I wanted to? Weren't you the one who pulled my hand onto your chest? Right, Handprint Sister?

[Kushida]: Getting the advantage and acting smug, huh? You damn pervert!!! If the desserts you make aren't good, you're dead!

[Tsukishima]: Mess with me all you want, but don't affect the shop's business. Otherwise, I'll really have to mess you up!

[Kushida]: So annoying. I'm not some spoiled little kid!

[Tsukishima]: Good. The school has protective measures for on-campus shops. Disrupting normal operations gets you seriously punished, you know.

That wasn't just talk. The School Rules really did have measures to protect on-campus shops, and they were quite detailed.

Probably because there had been incidents before where student conflicts spilled over and affected the shops.