'Ho,ho,ho,ho,the real Rinne is right in front of you ......'.

　Fortunately, Saku-chan rebooted immediately, and took out a notepad while behaving slightly suspiciously.

'Now, please sign!

'Yeah, sure. But you're going to miss me with that notepad, aren't you?

　With that, Rin took out a small piece of colored paper from her bag, drew a quick signature and handed it to Saku.
　In Rin-chan's words, it's the way of a celebrity, and she always has several miniature papers with her.
　Even if Rin-chan's disguise is good, there are still times when people see through it, such as when she says her name.
　One of the charms of Rin-chan was that she was able to provide such detailed fanservice in such situations.

'Whoa ......, thank you very much!

'Please don't tell anyone about this, okay?

　She tucked a piece of paper with the words 'To Sakura' written on it into her pocket and shouted loudly, 'Oh! She shouted loudly.

'I'm sorry, I'm at work right now.

'Oh, yeah. That's right.

　I'm glad you noticed.

'We're almost finished, so if you two don't mind, I'd like to talk to you for a little while longer. ......'

　Saku-chan asks with an apologetic expression.
　I was fine with that, so I decided to ask Rin.

'I'm good. What about you, Rin?

'You're Nana's friend, aren't you?　Since you're here, I'd like to hear about Nana at work.'

'Yeah, I'm embarrassed about that. Well, okay, then, Saku-chan, can we meet at the cafe on the second floor at four o'clock?

'I'll be fine!　Thank you very much!

　Saku-chan bowed deeply and went back to her work.
　As I watched him at work, he seemed to be mainly dealing with customers.
　It hadn't been long since he quit his previous job, and I guess he hadn't learned how to make pastries yet.

　Thus, we and Saku-chan parted for a while and then met up.


☆☆


'Ugh, I'm so tired ......'.

　A little before four o'clock.
　After playing the role of Rin's dress-up doll at the boutique, I was lying down on a table at the cafe.
　Lin-chan was going to the bathroom to fix her makeup.

'Nana-sama, thank you for waiting.

'Ah, Toka-chan.

　I had melted into the table, but when Toka-chan arrived, I undid my mollification and sat down.
　Toka-chan is very tall, so she attracts a lot of attention.
　Perhaps he's used to it, but he doesn't seem to mind at all.



'Where's Sister Lin?

'She's going to change her clothes.'

'Oh, is that so? Then you can have Nana all to yourself for a little while.'

　With a giggle, Toka-chan sat down in front of me.
　In consideration of Toka and Saku, the table was set for four.
　The table was made a little more spacious, so even the taller Toka-chan seemed to be able to sit comfortably.

'Nana-sama...... no, Nana, hey. I feel it when I talk to you like this. Compared to those days, ...... you've changed a lot.'

'I guess so. It's been more than six years.

'Hmm, that part hasn't changed. But if you ask anyone who knew Nanae back then, they'll all say the same thing.

'I don't think so...'

　Toka-chan's tone was calm, and she didn't seem to have any deep meaning in what she said.
　However, her words gave me a slight headache.


　To tell the truth, I don't remember much since the day my parents died, especially during the next year or so.
　I do remember that I negotiated with my aunt to start living alone, and that for a while I was able to make ends meet by working in the dirt.
　I don't know if it was the loss of someone I cared about, or if I was just struggling to survive.
　I barely kept in touch with Rin, and I think I was living as if I were dead.
　I also think there was another person, but I can't remember who it was. .......


'Oh, you're here too, Light.

I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

'Don't say things you don't mean. ...... Nana, what's wrong?

'...... What?　Oh, no, it's nothing.'

　I seemed to be in a bit of a daze, and before I knew it, Rin had returned.
　She sits down next to me, takes the menu from the side of the table and spreads it out.

'Cappuccino is good here,' she said.

'I'll have a milk tea.'

'Light, you still can't drink coffee?　You're such a child.

'I can't have bitter. I can't have something I can't have.

　Tohka turned her face away from Rin's smirking face.
　Watching them play with each other made me smile, and before I knew it, my headache had subsided.

'Sorry, I'm late!

'You're right on time, don't worry about it.



'Yes, sir. Excuse me, next door.

'Yes, please.

　Saku-chan entered the café in a hurried but not rushed manner, bowed to Toka-chan, and sat down next to her.

'Oh, my name is Sakira Sato. I've taken advantage of your kindness today. ......'

'I'm Takashou Touki. I was invited by my sister, so there's no need to be so modest.

'No, but you're dealing with an older person. ......'

'Oh, you're embarrassed, Saku-chan.'

'Ugh. ......No, yes, I'm a guy too. ......'

　I was just teasing her, but she froze.
　Hmm. Come to think of it, there weren't many girls close to my age at my part-time job.
　Rin and Toka are both beautiful, and Rin seems to be a fan.
　I guess I can't blame her for being nervous in this situation.

'Anyway, let's order. Nana can have the same one as me. 'Sakura, it's hard to say with ......, is there anything you want to eat?

'Sa......, I've got dinner, so I'll just have a drink ...... coffee.'

'Don't be shy, okay?　I'm rich.'

　That's right, you're rich beyond belief.
　I'm sure Saku is full of nerves, but the products in this cafe are usually expensive. A cup of coffee costs 1000 yen or so.
　He is just a high school student, he rarely comes to such expensive restaurants, and I think it is inevitable that he is reserved.
　He probably feels uncomfortable asking the person he admires to buy him a drink.
　So I decided to give him a helping hand.

'Saku-chan, I'll take this part, so you can order whatever you like.

'Nanaka-senpai ......, then I'll have the same one as you two .......'

　Perhaps because it was a suggestion from me, who was familiar with her, Saku-chan asked in a reserved manner.



'Nanaka-senpai was the backbone of the company I worked for before.

　We were chatting as we sipped the drinks that had arrived, when Rin's voice prompted me to ask Saku about our previous place of work.

'It was my first job, so I didn't realize it, but it was a so-called black company. They were short-staffed, there were no breaks, and there was no overtime work. ...... I was a high school student, so I didn't work there, but it seemed that a lot of college students did. I've heard that's the way it is in all restaurants.

I've seen it on the internet sometimes, but it's actually a real thing, isn't it?

　Tooka-chan, a young lady in a box, seemed to have no experience with this kind of dark side of part-time work, and listened with great interest.
　The university she attends is full of rich kids, so she probably doesn't hear about such things around her.

'It seems to be quite common. And, well, I'm sure you two know more about it, but Nanaka-senpai is dangerous, isn't she?



'Yes.'

'I guess so.'

'Hmm?'

'I think I ran most of the ...... halls by myself, for how many people? It's called the wind that runs around the hall.

　What? I've never heard of that.

' Well, now that I think about it, the biggest problem was that we were able to run the hall that way. We pushed off the burden of the fundamental shortage to our seniors and put it off. In the end, we had to reduce the number of stores due to scandals at the top, and the store went out of business.

　Yeah. The restaurant we worked at was a chain teppanyaki restaurant, but there was a scandal about food hygiene management, and that's why it went out of business.

It seems that there were many complaints from customers. It was the result of a labor shortage. Nanaka wasn't always around, and then everyone had too many tasks to do, and customer service was sparse. We had sales, but in the end we were destroyed.

'Ah, the place where Nana worked was affiliated with that company, wasn't it?

'It was recently in the news, wasn't it? There were some deaths. ......'

'Oh, I didn't know that. I didn't know that.

'Why is it that the people concerned are the least aware of this ......'

　No, because I didn't have a TV in my house, and I don't go on the Internet. .......

'What surprised me the most was that none of us knew Nanaka's contact information. There must have been other people who were close to her, but they said they didn't know. If you think about it, I've never seen you playing with your cell phone.

'I've only ever seen him playing with his phone when we exchanged contact information.

'That's the kind of girl she is. She's stoic or indifferent.

'Actually, I just met her again after many years.

　He started to feel a little doubtful, but he covered it up by drinking a cappuccino.
　It's delicious. Cappuccino is delicious.

'Well, I guess I'm glad it went under. I'm making a lot more money than before, and Nanaka seems to be doing well.

Yes, you're right. As for me, I'm relieved that this part-timer has finally been caught. This girl, no matter how many times I ask her out, she always refuses, saying she wants to work part-time, part-time, part-time.''

'It was the same with the last time. She was always on time to leave work. It was only after I had done all the work for everyone else, so no one complained.

'...... How long did you work a day, Nana-sama?



　Toka-chan overheard their lively conversation and asked me curiously.
　Let's see, with two full-time jobs and a day job in between, .......

'I think it's about 17 to 20 hours.

'Huh.'

'Huh.'

'You're really stupid. ...... And it's seven weeks.'

'Why are you still alive?

'It's true.

'That's not what I meant.

　I had plenty of energy and nothing to do but work.
　No, it's not that I didn't have anything to do because I turned down Rin-chan's invitation, but it's just a matter of timing.

'But you're right. I'm a little relieved to know that Nana has been accepted properly.

　Really, from the bottom of my heart.
　The sight of Rin saying that with relief left a deep impression on me.


　After that, Saku and Rin had a great time talking about games, and Rin pointed out that I hadn't told her that I knew the person of her dreams.

　Finally, we exchanged our contact information and left the cafe.