Sweet Talk Dessert Shop, Kushida Comes to Boost Sales

The next day after school.

Tsukishima walked into Sweet Talk Dessert Shop with his bag in hand.

"Boss Lady, I'm here~"

He took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, set the jacket aside, and pulled a cartoon devil kitten apron out of his bag, slipping it on.

The kitten on the apron had little devil horns, a tiny fork in its paw, and a fierce expression that somehow looked more like it was pouting.

The Boss Lady glanced at him, covering her mouth with a laugh: "Oh, I forgot to tell you, I have spare aprons here. But your taste in style is pretty unique, I'll give you that."

Tsukishima chuckled and puffed out his belly a little, making the kitten pattern jiggle.

Seeing him like that, the Boss Lady laughed even harder: "Alright, alright, stop messing around. Wash your hands quick—the students will be here soon. Today, you'll help me whip cream."

Tsukishima flashed an OK sign: "No problem!"

The Boss Lady led him to the back, pointed at the whipping tools, and started explaining:

"The first step in making desserts is whipping cream. A lot of sweets need cream, and if the cream's off, the dessert can't possibly taste good. I do have a stand mixer here, but since you're a beginner, you need to start by whipping by hand to understand the different stages of cream!"

Tsukishima glanced at the stand mixer, and his chuunibyou spirit suddenly flared up: Hmph, you wretched machine, the cream you whip could never surpass cream whipped by human hands with emotion!

He washed his hands, picked up the manual whisk, and held it like a spear.

"Next up is the cream. There are many kinds—animal cream, plant cream, mascarpone, crème fraîche, clotted cream, coconut cream, and so on. Different consistencies suit different desserts."

The Boss Lady smiled: "Get ready to eat so much cream you'll be sick of it. I won't go easy on you."

"Today we're making crepes. There's the Japanese stacked style and the classic French single-sheet style. Let's start with the classic French—it sells better."

As she spoke, the Boss Lady took a carton of animal whipping cream from the fridge: "This is animal whipping cream, specifically for whipping into piping cream."

She poured the cream into two small bowls and used one to demonstrate: "Not too fast, not too slow—pretty similar to beating eggs. Have you beaten eggs before?"

Tsukishima nodded immediately: "Yeah, big circles."

The Boss Lady nodded: "Come watch. Pay attention to the cream's state—different consistencies look different. We're making crepes, so the cream's main job is for spreading, basically like a sauce. Just whip it to 50-60% stiff. Stop when it looks like yogurt."

Tsukishima picked up the other bowl and started stirring. The stuff was a bit sticky, so he secretly dipped a finger in and tasted it—kinda greasy, kinda cloying...

After about five or six minutes, the Boss Lady showed him her bowl: "About this point is good. Yours is a bit over, but it's fine—just a little stiff."

Tsukishima stared at the slightly stiff cream, feeling like this was way out of his knowledge zone: "So why does constant stirring make it stiff? What's the principle? Non-Newtonian fluid?"

The Boss Lady pinched her chin, trying to recall: "Probably nothing to do with Newton. The teacher who taught me desserts mentioned something about fat bubbles or something?"

She shook her head: "Alright, don't overthink it. Let's move to the next step. Once the cream's ready, we can make the crepe batter."

Then she started teaching him how to pick flour, mix the batter, and spread the crepes—though the first two steps were just verbal instructions, since those needed to be prepped ahead.

"Spread crepes... so the so-called French crepe is just a French fruit-and-cream pancake?"

Tsukishima couldn't accept it! It sounded so fancy... though he wasn't sure where the fancy part was, but never mind the details!

They said French crepe, and now it's a French pancake—dropping from an average of 2000 yen to an average of 10 yuan (RMB)!

He really couldn't accept it!

The Boss Lady saw his expression—wanting to complain but not knowing where to start—and laughed: "Desserts are really just like this. Different flours, different sugars, plus some fruit and cream."

"Alright, the students should be coming soon. Head to the front. As for your first crepe, go ahead and taste it yourself."

Tsukishima sighed, rolled up the French pancake, took a big bite, chewed for a moment, and frowned: "I don't know what went wrong, but it's not as good as yours, Boss Lady?"

The Boss Lady placed her own crepe in the display case: "The cream, the batter, and the fruit chunks you cut—all of it affects the texture."

Tsukishima nodded, wolfed down the rest in a few bites, and walked to the front counter to start serving customers.

Kushida Kikyo arrived, bringing her group of friends with her.

When Kushida Kikyo saw Tsukishima at the counter, her smile grew warmer, and she started with her signature opening: "Eh~"

"Is that Tsukishima-kun? Really Tsukishima-kun? Why is Tsukishima-kun at a dessert shop? Are you working here?"

Tsukishima kept his face neutral, greeting her with a smile: "Kushida-san, welcome. How many?"

This two-faced bastard, here to boost my sales, huh?

The war hero returns to find his wife and daughter in a brothel, rallies ten thousand soldiers to boost their sales—that kind of vibe?

The Boss Lady smiled at Kushida: "Kushida-san, brought a lot of friends today. Thanks for the support!"

Kushida gave a sweet smile: "Boss Lady, if Tsukishima-kun's crepes are good, we'll come often~"

The Boss Lady chuckled, and Tsukishima rolled his eyes: "Can I take your order?"

Kushida Kikyo jumped forward first, her face all cute: "Me first, me first! Um... I'll take a tiramisu and a crepe! And two cups of black tea~"

Tsukishima: "Alright, that'll be 3200 points. Please wait a moment."

Kushida pulled out her phone and paid: "I'll be sure to savor Tsukishima-kun's crepe~"

Well, you'll have to wait a bit—gotta finish taking orders first.

She didn't cause any trouble, bought her stuff, and fluttered off like a moth.

Not long after, Karuizawa Kei and her clique showed up.

Karuizawa Kei stood there with one hand on her hip like a compass, "Hey hey hey, we're here too! Didn't think you'd actually come work here, Tsukishima, lol~"

Also the classic gal catchphrase: "Hey hey hey" + the content + "lol~"

Before Tsukishima could even speak, Karuizawa Kei piped up again: "Hey hey hey, Tsukishima, we're all Class D classmates here, you've gotta give us a friend discount, right?"

Tsukishima still smiled cheerfully: "Sorry, small business, the Boss Lady's watching, no friend discount."

Karuizawa Kei clicked her tongue: "Tch, cheapskate! It's just a crepe!"

With that, she ordered a crepe, flicked her hair, and walked off.

Tsukishima wiped the sweat off his forehead, looked at the classmates still waiting in line, and sighed.

This was only the beginning...