Chapter 38

"Ho, ho, ho, it's really Rinne in front of me..."

Fortunately, Saku quickly rebooted and, with somewhat suspicious movements, took out a notebook.

"Please, sign it!"

"Sure, I can do that. But, isn't it a bit lonely with just a notebook?"

With that, Rinne took out a mini color paper from her bag, quickly drew a signature, and handed it to Saku.

If Rinne were to say it, it's a habit of celebrities, and she always carries a few mini color papers.

Even if her disguise is good, there are times when she is recognized, like now.

Being able to provide such small fan services in such situations is one of Rinne's charms.

"Whoa... Ah, thank you so much!"

"Can you keep this a secret?"

Saku, who carefully put the color paper, inscribed with "To Saku," into her pocket, exclaimed, "Ah!"

"I'm sorry, I'm working right now."

"Oh, yeah, that's right."

I was grateful that she noticed.

"It's almost over, so if you two don't mind, I'd like to talk a bit more..."

Saku asked with a somewhat apologetic expression.

Since I was fine with it, I decided to ask Rinne.

"I'm okay. What about you, Rinne?"

"She's Nana's friend, right? Since we're here, I'd like to hear about Nana's work and such."

"Ah, that's embarrassing. Well, okay, then Saku, how about meeting at the second-floor café at 4?"

"That's fine! Thank you!"

Saku bowed deeply and returned to her work.

Watching her work for a bit, it seemed she was mainly handling customer service.

Since she had only recently quit her previous part-time job, she probably hadn't started making pastries yet.

Thus, we parted ways with Saku and agreed to meet up later.

☆

"Ugh, I'm tired..."

It was just before 4.

After playing dress-up with Rinne at the boutique, I was slumped over the café table.

Rinne had gone to the restroom to touch up her makeup.

"Nana-sama, I kept you waiting."

"A, Toka-chan."

I, who had been melting into the table, sat up straight to greet Toka-chan as she arrived.

Toka-chan, who is incredibly tall, was drawing all the attention around her.

She seemed used to it, though.

"Where's Rinne-sama?"

"She's touching up her makeup."

"Oh, I see. Then, I can have Nana-sama all to myself for a little while."

With a giggle, Toka-chan sat across from me.

Considering Toka-chan and Saku, I had reserved a four-person table.

The table was spacious enough for the tall Toka-chan to sit comfortably.

"Nana-sama... No, Nana-nee. Talking to you like this, I feel that you've changed a lot compared to back then."

"Is that so? It's been over six years, so I guess it's natural."

"Hehe, that's the same old you. But if you ask someone who knew Nana-nee back then, they'd all say the same thing, I think."

"I don't think so."

Toka-chan's tone was gentle, and it didn't seem like she was saying it with any deep meaning.

However, her words made me feel a slight headache.

Actually, since the day my parents died, especially for about a year after, my memories are not very clear.

I remember negotiating with my aunt to live alone and working odd jobs for a while.

The sense of loss from losing important people, or perhaps just struggling to survive.

I barely managed to keep in touch with Rinne, and I felt like I was living like a zombie.

And, I think there was one more person, but I can't remember who it was...

"Oh, Touka is here too."

"Rinne-nee. Che, the time I get to have Nana-nee all to myself is too short."

"Absolutely, don't say things you don't mean. ...Nana, is something wrong?"

"Ah? No, nothing."

I must have been spacing out, as Rinne had returned without me noticing.

Rinne sat next to me and opened the menu on the table.

"The cappuccino here is good."

"I'll have milk tea."

"Touka, you still can't drink coffee? You're such a kid."

"I don't like bitter things. Things I don't like are just bad."

In response to Rinne's teasing, Toka turned her face away.

Watching them playfully bicker was heartwarming, and my headache had subsided without me noticing.

"I'm sorry, I'm late!"

"It's right on time, don't worry."

"Okay. Ah, excuse me for sitting next to you."

"Sure, go ahead."

Saku, who entered the café in a hurry but not in a flustered manner, bowed to Toka and sat down next to her.

"Ah, I'm Sato Saku. I'm taking advantage of your kindness today..."

"I'm Taka Touka. I was also invited by Nana-nee, so you don't need to be so formal."

"No, but, you're older..."

"Ah, Saku is blushing."

"Ugh... No, I'm a guy, so..."

I was just teasing, but Saku became stiff.

Hmm. I remember he didn't have many girls his age at his part-time job.

Rinne and Toka are both beautiful, and Rinne seems to have fans.

It's understandable that he would be nervous in this situation.

"Let's order something. Nana, you can have the same as me. Sakura-kun... It's hard to call you that, Saku, is there anything you want to eat?"

"S... Since I have dinner later, I'll just have a drink... I'll have coffee."

"You don't need to be so reserved. I'm rich, you know."

That's right, Rinne is incredibly wealthy.

Saku must be very nervous, and the café's prices are quite high. A cup of coffee costs around 1000 yen.

Since he's a high school student, he probably doesn't come to such expensive places often, so it's understandable that he would be hesitant.

Especially when it's being paid for by someone he admires.

Thinking about this, I decided to help him out.

"Saku, I'll pay, so feel free to order what you like."

"Nana-nee... Then, I'll have the same as you two..."

Perhaps because it was a familiar offer from me, Saku hesitantly made the request.

"Nana-nee was the backbone of our previous part-time job."

While we were sipping our drinks and chatting, Rinne's comment led to Saku telling us about our previous workplace.

"I didn't realize it at first since it was my first part-time job, but it was a typical 'black' company. There weren't enough staff, no breaks, and a lot of overtime... I didn't have to do it since I was in high school, but the college students did a lot. I guess that's common in the food industry."

"I see that on the internet, but it's real."

Toka, who is a sheltered girl, seemed quite interested in hearing about the dark side of part-time jobs.

Her university is full of wealthy students, so she probably doesn't hear such stories from her peers.

"It's quite common. Anyway, as you two might know, Nana-nee was amazing."

"Right."

"Right."

"Oh?"

"By herself... I don't know how many, but she handled most of the front of the house. They called her the 'wind that ran through the front of the house.'"

What, I've never heard that before.

"But, thinking about it now, that was the biggest problem. It allowed the fundamental staffing issues to be pushed aside. Eventually, the company had to close stores due to a scandal, and the one we worked at was shut down."

Yes, we worked at a chain teppanyaki restaurant, which closed due to a food hygiene scandal.

"There were a lot of customer complaints too. It was the result of understaffing. Nana-nee wasn't always there, so everyone had too many tasks and the service was spotty. Despite the sales, the store eventually closed."

"Oh, so the place Nana worked at was part of that company."

"It was in the news recently. Someone died..."

"Really? I didn't know."

"Why is the person most involved the one who knows the least..."

Well, I didn't have a TV at home, and I didn't use the internet much...

"The most shocking thing was that no one knew Nana-nee's contact information. There were other people she was close to, but they didn't know. I never saw her use her phone much."

"I only exchanged contact information with her recently."

"She's that kind of person. Stoic or indifferent, I guess."

"Actually, I just met her again after a few years."

As the conversation started to get a bit awkward, I tried to cover it up by drinking my cappuccino.

Ah, it's delicious. The cappuccino is really good.

"But, I think it was for the best that it closed. I'm earning a lot more easily now, and Nana-nee seems to be doing well."

"Right. I'm relieved that this workaholic is finally settling down. She used to refuse every time I invited her to work."

"Last time too. She always stuck to her shift end time. She did everyone's work, so no one complained."

"...Nana-nee, how many hours did you work a day?"

Toka, who was listening to the two of them, asked out of curiosity.

Well, I worked two full-time part-time jobs and squeezed in a day job in between...

"About 17 to 20 hours, I guess."

"Whoa!"

"Whoa!"

"Really, that's crazy... And seven days a week."

"How are you still alive?"

"I'm serious."

"What can I say?"

I had plenty of energy and nothing else to do besides work.

No, it's not that I had nothing to do because I was turning down Rinne's invitations, but it was a matter of timing.

"But, you know, I'm relieved to hear that Nana was well-received."

Really, from the bottom of my heart.

Rinne's relieved expression left a strong impression on me.

After that, we had a fun time with Saku and Rinne talking about games, and I was teased for keeping my connection to my idol a secret.

In the end, we exchanged contact information and left the café to go our separate ways.

The next part will return to the game.