Ch.238Epilogue. The Festival (4)

That day ended with us having fun like that.

I forcibly pulled Izumi and Kaoru away from their work and told them to go around for at least two hours, while the three of us helped organize the customers waiting in line.

Kagami seemed satisfied enough with spending time walking around with me that she didn’t linger around anymore. Of course, that didn’t mean she was ready to go home either.

She was probably wandering around here and there, looking at various things. Without any jokes mixed in, she was literally a girl at heart.

In my previous life, I didn’t particularly enjoy working.

I had aspired to it, worked hard to get the job, and felt somewhat proud, but truthfully, too many unpleasant things happened for me to completely enjoy it.

And I went through other things on top of that.

In this world… well.

To be honest, I didn’t entirely enjoy it here either. Frankly, I started working not because I liked it, but because I was looking for a job that would pay me regularly without asking questions about my situation.

Thinking about it now, it seems like it was an incredibly dangerous move. Usually, those kinds of jobs are literally “dangerous,” and if I had entered such a place without properly understanding what abilities I had at the time, it could have escalated into an irreversible situation.

It was truly, literally “good luck.”

Now, I’m enjoying it. Working with people I consider friends made me feel somewhat at ease. Plus, the workload wasn’t that intense either.

They let me rest when I needed to, helped manage my mental state whenever I looked a bit tired, and adjusted my working days as my situation improved.

So, in this world, I hadn’t yet had much reason to think badly about “work.” Maybe my thoughts would change if I ended up joining some black company after graduating from university, but not yet.

Naturally, I could somewhat relate to the feeling of “working for fun” at the school festival.

How could work with friends not be enjoyable?

Even while organizing the customers in line, I didn’t feel particularly tired.

“Kotone.”

“Ah.”

While lining up customers along the corridor, I ran into someone I knew.

“Boss.”

“Yes. I’m here.”

“I’m here too~”

When I greeted them happily, the boss and Miki waved back.

“I came to check how much your coffee brewing skills have improved.”

Aren’t you always checking that at our workplace?

Truthfully, I can’t really tell if coffee is well-brewed just by tasting it. Since I’m not the type to seriously enjoy coffee, it can’t be helped.

It’s already difficult to distinguish coffee beans, so how could I tell just by taste if it’s been brewed properly? Unless it’s a complete failure, of course.

I smiled at the boss and Miki, then said,

“Yuka, can I ask you to cover for me for a bit? I have something to prepare.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Yuka, who had been watching me talk with the boss and Miki, seemed to understand why I asked and immediately nodded in response.

“Koko, I’ll be back.”

“Huh?”

When I patted Koko’s shoulder as I passed by, she tilted her head in confusion.

I quickly walked into the club room.

It was still packed with customers, and the three people working inside looked a bit busy.

“Hey, Yuu.”

“Yeah.”

Yuu, who was lowering a coffee cup with an extremely ambiguous expression that could either mean he was annoyed or fine, turned sharply toward me when I called out, as if he’d found an excuse.

Slightly startled by his intensity, I calmly said to Yuu,

“I have some guests I’d like to serve, so could you switch places with me for a bit?”

“Sure.”

And Yuu immediately thrust the tray toward me.

That’s, a bit too quick, isn’t it?

It seems Yuu’s heart was leaning a bit more toward “work is annoying.”

I received the tray with a bitter smile and continued working while waiting for the boss and Miki.

Until the morning, we had set a time limit of 30 minutes per table, but due to the number of visitors, it seems they changed it to half that time, 15 minutes. Customers were rotating much faster than in the morning.

Still, it didn’t feel like it took that long for the boss to enter.

“Welcome, miss.”

“Yes.”

As I took her coat, the boss naturally responded and came in.

Even though she usually wears a maid uniform herself.

“Sorry~”

Miki seemed apologetic about giving her coat to me, a fellow employee.

After hanging the boss and Miki’s coats on the rack, I guided them to an empty table.

“We only have one type of coffee, is that okay?”

“…I see.”

The boss probably expected this much, but she seemed a bit taken aback by my boldness.

For reference, the maid uniforms we’re wearing are slightly different from ordinary ones. The sleeves are a bit wider, and the skirt is a bit narrower. If I had to describe it, the design is closer to a kimono. Of course, it’s not a traditional kimono, but one that’s been modified to be comfortable to wear and work in.

It’s a “literary cafe,” isn’t it? We decided to wear somewhat Japanese literature-inspired attire. Juniors will wear these clothes too. Of course, if the size doesn’t fit, they’ll have to buy new ones, but honestly, I don’t think there will be more students than now.

“Then, coffee and cookies.”

Since there was only one option for each menu, the only choices were to have it or not. If I had to be specific, we separately prepared milk and sugar.

I placed cups in front of the two and prepared to brew coffee.

Drip coffee is quite popular in Japan, and they say a uniquely Japanese method has developed.

Of course, I, who hadn’t been particularly interested until now, don’t really know what’s different. To be honest, isn’t it just different depending on the company that makes it?

Well, I don’t intend to say such things in front of people who really love coffee.

I carefully place the ground coffee so it doesn’t get too scattered, and slowly sprinkle water around it as if soaking it. I adjust it well so that the coffee beans get evenly wet and the coffee is extracted uniformly.

The boss was looking down at it quietly with her arms crossed.

It’s not really a test or anything. Even if I don’t do particularly well, the boss won’t blame me. In fact, there are often people who brew much more carelessly than I do at work.

“It’s ready, miss.”

I placed a cup in front of the boss and prepared Miki’s cup next.

The boss waited until Miki’s cup was ready, then slowly picked up her cup and sipped the coffee.

I watched that scene with a somewhat anxious expression.

I don’t know why I’m so nervous. Again, it’s not like I’m taking a test.

“…It’s good.”

After slowly tasting the coffee, the boss finally smiled and said so.

I let out a small sigh.

“It’s delicious~”

Miki said that while adding lots of sugar to her coffee. Well, some people can’t handle bitter things.

“You must have studied quite hard?”

“I’ve practiced a lot, miss.”

When I answered with a smile, the boss also chuckled while drinking her coffee.

“…It’s impressive. All of you. Did you prepare everything yourselves?”

To the boss who was looking around as she spoke, I slightly bowed and then turned around toward the bookshelf.

There was this year’s literary club anthology with a large [SAMPLE] mark on it.

Actually, the reason we initially set a rather long time of 30 minutes was because we had to introduce this to the customers. Even if there wasn’t a lot of text, it would be insufficient to read everything in detail within 30 minutes.

There are copies for sale, but people need to know the content before they’ll buy it.

“I see. It’s a literary cafe after all.”

The boss lightly smiled and then read the book.

When I gave a copy to Miki as well, she read it with sparkling eyes.

“You’re in the literary club too, right?”

“Yes~ I’m trying to read books diligently too~”

She might have been influenced by me… I can’t be sure since she didn’t say so herself.

But seeing her eyes sparkle as she examines the anthology, perhaps Miki will do something similar to our club in her second year.

I wonder if it’s possible to have club exchanges between schools?

…That might be dumping too much on Tsuneda. Let’s look into it slowly, little by little in the third year. It would be nice if it works out, and if not, it can’t be helped.

“I want to buy a copy of this~”

Miki said as she closed the book with a thud.

“Thank you, miss.”

I bowed respectfully, hoping that the book would be helpful to Miki.

*

And so, the first day of the festival ended.

“That was fun~”

Kagami said in the car on the way back.

“Really?”

“Yes, it was… my first festival after all.”

“…Come again next year.”

“Of course!”

Kagami answered with a smile.

“And universities have festivals too. They’re probably on a larger scale.”

“Wow!”

Koko, sitting in the back seat, shouted with her arms raised.

“That’s really something to look forward to.”

Kagami smiled even more brightly.

“And there’s tomorrow too, right?”

“Yes, tomorrow too.”

That’s right, we still have one more day.

Tomorrow, we decided to close the cafe a bit early and go around together. It wouldn’t feel awkward even with Kagami joining us.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Wow!”

In the small but warm car heading home, we chatted and laughed like that.