Chapter 5 – My Petty New Rule

The morning after yesterday’s mess.

I dragged my heavy legs to school and when I got to the classroom, I began reflecting on the things that happened yesterday.

Pansy and I… well, we kinda got into a fight…?

…AAAAAAAAAAHHHH! WHAT DO I DO, WHAT DO I DO? CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!

SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE FUCK WAS I THINKING?!

Yeah, sure I didn’t want her to find out about all that, but even so, doing that to her was wrong!

Seriously, I’m such a scum, trash, garbage—! I don’t have any right to even breathe!

Pansy’s mad, isn’t she? She’s gonna lash out at me, isn’t she?

I should try to make up with her… but how? Seriously, how?

L-look, I feel bad, I really do! 

But this isn’t something that can be resolved by just apologizing!

A-anyway, Sun-chan and Himawari aren’t here right now. This is the only chance I’d get to come up with something as a proper apology—

“Did’ya watch the TV yesterday~? Takki’s so cool, wasn’t he~?”

“I did~ He was~!”

Ah, that drama? Mom watched it last night too.

Emi-chan was so cute~ Seriously, she made me feel that my sins had been cleansed—wait, no!

I didn’t even watch that drama last night, I was too busy suffering in my bed! Also, now’s not the time for this! It’s time to concentrate and think!

Definitely not the time to join in the Charisma Bunch’s conversation in my head!

Also, I was supposed to be brooding here, the mood didn’t match¹I fanfic’d this. The raw was ‘大体、こっちはまだ六月なんだから、ちょっとおかしいでしょうが！’ which literally meant something along the lines of ‘It’s still June in here, it’s a little weird (the last half of the sentence is supposed to be contextual, so really, it’s impossible to TL it 1:1)’. I might be wrong, but I feel like he’s referencing the heavy rain period in Japan in June before it transitions to summer. So, my thought process here is, Joro’s supposed to be depressed (rainy) and the gyarus are fangirling (summer), so it’s just a way of him saying the mood between them doesn’t match, so he shouldn’t join their conversation in his head. I probably butchered my explanation, but I think you get what I meant, right?!

“Ah… I didn’t watch it. My bad.”

“Huh? I-I see.”

Nice job, Girl A-san! After hearing that you—their leader—didn’t watch the drama, the other girls went quiet! Good, keep the atmosphere heavy, please!

“Well, I was browsing books at the convenience store all day yesterday²They sell books and magazines at the convenience store there, yes.. I got home pretty late.”

I see. Tell me which convenience store you usually went to. 

That way I could avoid them.

“Eh? You weren’t home until that late?! Won’t your parents worry?!”

“No biggie. Hate them anyway. Barely even talk with them.”

“But, when we came to your place the other day, your mom was really nice…”

“Ah, Mom’s okay. Dad however, is the worst! You know, he always comes home really late. Do you know why? Because he’s afraid to meet me. It’s so obvious too, it’s painful to look at him. Seriously, he’s so pathetic. Hate him.”

“I get you, girl~! Seriously, I’d feel the same if I were you~”

“You get me? Well, listen to this. He’s also gross, smelly, and really, really annoying. And more importantly… it’s obvious that he doesn’t care about me at all…”

Girl A-san, no need to go that far. Honestly, I feel bad for him now.

“That aside, the hell are you looking at me for, Joro?”

Urk—! Fuck, I was too engrossed in their conversation that I forgot to think about how to make up with Pansy…

“A-ah! D-don’t mind me, sorry!”

“Disgusting. Pathetic. Smelly. Gross. Annoying.”

Somehow I felt twice the hostility from those words compared to when she directed them at her dad.

I fucked up. In a lot of ways. That I could tell.

“Ah, good morning, Joro! Let’s have fun together again!”

Great timing, Himawari! I was about to get attacked by the pack of hyenas! You saved me!

Still, I failed to come up with something…

No, it’s too early to give up! I’ll come up with something during class, for sure!

*   *   *

—Lunchtime.

Of course. Of fucking course!

Now that we passed the ‘*   *   *’ mark, it’s obviously lunchtime already, and I’m in the library!

And as you should’ve already guessed, I didn’t come up with anything. Nothing!

At one point, I thought I should just give up and not come here, but I can’t just run away!

I mean, think about it. What will happen if I, someone who always comes here every lunchtime, suddenly stops coming?

Everyone will be able to guess that something happened. Then what?

Of course, our reliable hero and the heroines will come forward and do their best to help me and Pansy reconcile.

That will be too much for me. We already established that I hate to be in that position!

Besides… even though we’re fighting, I still have to fulfill my promise to Pansy. Also… if I really were to stop coming to the library, it might bury all hopes about us reconciling…

“Joro, you don’t need to worry too much about what happened yesterday.”

“S-she’s right! I-it was surprising, but it really wasn’t something to worry about too much! W-well, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to be better, i-it’s just, you don’t need to beat yourself over it too much, okay…?”

After we were done eating lunch and Pansy had distributed the tea and sweets for everyone, Tsubaki and Cosmos immediately showered me with words of encouragement.

I’ve been trying to act like usual, but it seemed they were still worried about me.

“Thank you, Tsubaki, Prez, but I’m already fine now.”

I said that, but their words just plunged me deeper into this vicious cycle of me being happy over them worrying about me and cheering me up, and feeling miserable over the fact that they had to feel that way about me in the first place.

Caught up in that, I became unable to accept their kindness and instead twisted their intentions to one of pity, plunging me even deeper into my negative emotions.

In the end, it only made me feel more and more miserable about myself.

My head turned into a mess and at one point, their words entered one ear and left another.

The silver lining in this situation was with me being glib enough to pretend that nothing was happening, and the fact that Pansy’s sulky mood had been going on for a while now made them not question why we hadn’t talked at all since we got here.

“Joro, Joro! Will you be working this Friday too?”

While I was trying to act normal, hiding what I was truly feeling inside like that, Himawari came over to my seat with a smile. Seriously, she could just ask from her seat. Why the hell did she come all the way here?

“Yeah. My day off’s the Saturday.”

“Really?! Then, you’ll help me practice, right?!”

I want to know how did she even come to that conclusion. Genuinely.

Then again, the Himawari Theorem’s one of the world’s greatest mysteries. Comprehending it completely would be an impossible endeavor.

“Nope. There’s no way I can keep up with you. I’ll die.”

“C’mon! You’ll be fine! I trust you!”

“But I don’t.”

Even if I can keep up with her, I already have something planned for that day.

By Friday, I should have enough money.

After getting paid by Tsubaki, I planned to go and buy the book the next day.

…Hm? Are you guys wondering why I planned to go on Saturday when the deadline’s Friday?

Well, you see… getting the book on Friday will be difficult.

My original plan was to go to that bookstore on Friday before its closing time—9 pm—and buy the book.

But because of yesterday’s mess, I have to work until 10 pm on Friday so that I’ll have enough to buy the book in the first place.

In other words, I won’t make it in time. So I have no choice but to go on Saturday.

Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. I mean, they were the one who set off the deadline on Friday, there’s no way they’ll sell the book on that same day.

If I were to rush there first thing in the morning and buy the book, I should be able to make it. This way, I’ll be buying the book before anyone else can buy it. I hate to say this about myself, but I think it’s a pretty clever way of doing it.

“C’mon! I wanna practice together with you, Joro! Pleaseee!”

Ugh, this spoiled little girl never gives up, huh?

Can’t be helped. I’ll try to hint to her that I have something to do on Saturday.

“Since you insist, fine, I’ll do it with you. But, are you sure? I was planning to go and buy that on that day, you know?”

“Ah! Really?!”

Yep. I planned to buy her birthday present on the same day too.

After doing this and that, I got enough money for it too.

“Thank you, Joro! Love you!”

“Mm, look forward to it, okay? I’ll pick out something that you like.”

“Yay! Will do~!”

Phew… that should keep her in a good mood despite the rejection.

“Ehehe, now I can’t wait to see! Can’t wait, can’t wait!”

Somehow, when I see Himawari’s bright smile, my mood brightens up too.

I doubt that she did all this to cheer me up, but that’s probably why it made me feel this way.

It’s times like these that makes me glad that she’s my childhood friend.

“By the way, Joro, have you finished reading that tattered book?”

It’s times like these that makes me want to stop being childhood friends with her! Seriously, this girl!

“A-ahh… n-not yet…”

“Oh, I know why! There were parts that you can’t read, and you haven’t bought a new one yet, so now you feel bad because you can’t continue! Hehe, you’re such a dummy, Joro~!”

How the hell did she keep on setting off those landmines when she didn’t even have a clue on what she was saying?!

“N-no? T-that’s not it… a-at all…”

“Don’t worry, Joro! I’ll do my best! Himawari-chan’s power will get you through anything~!!”

That so? Well, can you shut up then? I don’t need you to do anything, just shut up.

Seriously. Just. Shut up.

“Ah, right, Himawari! I’ll cheer you up like crazy on your upcoming game, so look forward to that too, ‘kay?”

“Really, Sun-chan?! Yay, yay!”

Ah… what a reliable friend he is. He couldn’t have any better timing than that. W-wait, could it be? Did he figure out somehow that Pansy and I are fighting…? Oh, shit.

*   *   *

As we left the library, on our way to the classroom, Sun-chan put his hand on my shoulder.

“Joro, can you go to the toilet with me for a sec?”

…That startled me. Did he really figure it out?

“S-sure…”

“Alright! Go ahead without us, Himawari, Tsubaki!”

“Ye~s! Don’t be late, okay, you two?”

“Mm. Got it.”

Following Sun-chan’s words, the two went back to the classroom ahead of us.

After that, we went to the toilet together. Though, instead of feeling like we’re going together, I feel like I’m being dragged away by him.

“Oh, what a nice coincidence! There’s no one here!”

I hoped that there’d be at least one person here, but with all the doors to the stalls being kindly left open like that, that hope was crushed until there was nothing left.

“U-um, nice…?”

“Alright…”

With light steps, Sun-chan approached the sink instead of any of the stalls. Then, with a light hop, he sat on it. In other words, he didn’t come here to use the toilet in the first place.

“Damn, it’s so cold here!”

Up until that point, I was all tense, but that broke that tension completely.

The way he slapped his but to dry the wet part of his pants somehow was especially funny.

“Obviously. It’s a sink.”

“Ahahaha! Yeah, you’re right. Anyway, Joro…”

He was smiling at me, but my heart was pounding.

…Yep, no mistaking it. He noticed something’s going on between me and Pansy. 

What do I do now? He’s gonna offer to help us make up, isn’t he?

“I won’t do anything, you know?”

“…Huh?”

“Sorry, but I got my hands full with club activities already. That’s my priority for now—well, that’s always been the case, isn’t it? Hahaha! Anyway, just do your best, okay?”

“A-ah… o-okay…”

For a moment there, disappointment clouded my heart, and negative emotions started to build up again. I made a resolution to not rely on others, but whenever I felt that others were about to lend their hand like this, I’d always have the urge to just take it without thinking. This was a bad habit of mine—one that made me feel so pathetic.

“But, I’ll still give you a piece of advice!”

“Advice?”

“Do you remember last year’s regionals’ final? The one our baseball team participated in?”

Huh?! A singularity occurred?! At this timing?! …No, of course not.

“Yeah, kinda… Don’t count on me to remember everything, though…”

“Do you remember my first batting?”

Sun-chan’s first batting…? Ah, when they were in the second innings?

“Of course! The one where you hit a homerun on the first pitch? Even though the pitch was a ball, right?”

During the final match of last year’s regionals, our baseball team only managed to score a point against the opposing team.

The one who scored that sole point was Sun-chan, who was the fourth batter at the time. We ended up losing, but that was a moment that made all of us stand up in excitement.

“Hehehe, glad that you remember that! But, back then… I couldn’t think of anything but to hit the ball as hard as I could on the first pitch, so I did.”

“H-huh? R-really?”

“Yeah! You see, I was really nervous back then. I tried to calm myself down a little, but I can’t, so I just swung the bat as hard as I could, you know? Luckily, it hit, and we got a homerun out of it!”

Even Sun-chan gets nervous sometimes, huh…? Well, understandable.

“That’s why, Joro. If you just swing the bat, it might just become a homerun. But, if you don’t and let go just because it’s not in the strike zone, you’ll miss that chance entirely.”

“Uhm…”

“That’s why I always give it my all! You should too! If there’s something important that you have to strive for and protect, then shame or reputation be damned! Go for it! Who cares if there’s a chance that you’ll fail! You won’t know what will happen unless you try! Got it?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Well, that’s all! Let’s go back to class! If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late!”

Sun-chan patted me in the back, wearing his usual warm smile, and left the toilet. I followed behind him and headed toward the classroom.

*   *   *

After school. Together with Tsubaki, I went to the shop and busied myself at work.

Including today, there are only three days left. Three days until I can finally buy that book.

After that, I’ll try to somehow make up with Pansy…

“Welcome! Ah, if it isn’t Mayama-san! Please forgive us for the incident the other day.”

“Mm.”

Ugg. I was wiping up the table when the person I wanted to see the least came in.

Well, looking at this, I’m lucky in a way.

Because Kanemoto-san just happened to be near the entrance—which means, I don’t need to deal with the old man.

“Please come this way.”

He hasn’t noticed me yet, so I can just hide in the back for the time being.

There aren’t any customers I need to tend to, and it isn’t rush hour yet.

I’ll ask someone else to cover the front while I’m hiding, and stay there until the old man leaves.

After coming up with that plan, I quickly went to the back. I’ll still occasionally peek out to watch what’s going on, though.

“What would you like to order?”

“Right. Dashimaki tamago, then—no, wait a minute. This comes first.”

The old man fidgeted for a bit before pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket.

I pride myself on having good eyesight, but even I can’t see what’s written on that paper from all the way here.

“Hm…? Ah, the cleaning fee for the incident the other day!”

Thanks for the exposition, Kanemoto-san. So that’s the bill we’ll have to pay for my mistake.

“Yes, it is. Hurry up and pay up. I’ll order something after I get the money.”

“Understood! Please wait a moment!”

Kanemoto-san’s voice echoed, then he came over to the back with a smile on his face.

After that, he went straight to the kitchen.

“Tsubaki-chan, Mayama-san gave me the receipt for the cleaning fee!”

“He did? How much?”

“2,800 yen!”

Ugh, that’s a lot more than I expected. I probably should ask them to deduct my pay for it.

That means I’ll have to continue working even after I buy the book. I’ll ask them to deduct my pay then.

“Mm, got it. Please put the money in an envelope and give it to me.”

“Will do!”

Kanemoto-san went to the office room holding a brown envelope with ‘Cleaning Fee’ written on it. 

Good. Now, if Tsubaki just hands the envelope over to that old man, this matter will be over.

Then, I can rest a little—

‘If you don’t and let go just because it’s not in the strike zone, you’ll miss that chance entirely.’

Suddenly, the words that Sun-chan told me during lunch came to my mind.

The strike zone—in other words, my comfort zone. If I keep acting within that zone, I won’t grow, I won’t realize that I’m actually able to do a lot more than I think.

What Sun-chan was trying to tell me was… it’s okay to just try and swing the bat. To challenge myself to do things that I haven’t tried yet.

In that case…

“Tsubaki?”

“Yes?”

“Um… that money for Mayama-san… can you let me give it to him instead?”

“Huh?”

Tsubaki opened her eyes wide, probably surprised by my words.

Honestly, I hate that old man. If I can help it, I don’t want to even interact with him.

But, this whole mess was my fault. I can’t just hide behind Kanemoto-san and the others’ backs.

I’m the one who spilled the beer on the old man’s clothes and soiled his mood, so I’ll be the one who’ll give him the money.

Instead of running away and taking the easy way out, I’ll stand my ground and stand up to him.

“…Can I?”

“But Joro…”

“Don’t worry, Tsubaki-chan. Just let him.”

Tsubaki seemed reluctant to accept my idea, but Kanemoto-san—who’d gotten the money from the office room—appeared behind me and patted me on the shoulder.

“It was his mistake in the first place. So it’s only right that he’s the one who should go.”

“Don’t you think that’s too… ruthless on me, Kanemoto-san?”

“Not really. You made me bow down when it wasn’t even my fault. It’s only right.”

“Sorry, let me correct my words. That’s the appropriate amount of ruthlessness.”

“Glad you think so too. Here’s the money.”

Contrary to his words, Kanemoto-san looked at me with a kind smile and handed me the brown envelope.

For some reason, this made me incredibly happy.

“If you two decide so, fine. You can give the money to Mayama-san yourself, Joro. Good luck.”

“Leave it to me!”

Now that I got Tsubaki’s permission and encouragement, it’s time to go!

I should be fine as long as I treat this as a warm-up to my eventual talk with Pansy. Compared to her, that old man’s nothing!

*   *   *

“Here’s the money we owed you for your cleaning fee. Once again, please forgive me for all the troubles I caused!”

“…Huh, it’s you…”

I handed the brown envelope to the old man who looked bewildered when he saw me.

But, probably because he thought the money’s more important than me, he took the envelope without making any fuss.

“Whatever. I’ll accept the money.”

“I’m truly, truly sorry for everything!”

He ignored my apology. After checking the amount of money in the envelope, he took them out and placed it inside his wallet.

Then, he crumpled the envelope and tossed it on the table.

This old fuck… Tsubaki prepared that envelope for you—

No, I’m here to make amends. If I were to snap at him right now, there’d be no point.

“So, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Huh?”

M-me? What are you even trying to say here?

“Oh, c’mon! Don’t tell me that’s all? Might as well get the other guy to come instead of you then. There’s no point!”

The old man mocked me with a smirk.

His expression made it clear that he’s just doing this for kicks. He knows that I have nothing else to say to him.

“W-well, I was the one who caused you trouble, so I thought I should apologize directly and give you the money, Sir…”

“What an idiot. You thought that if you come out, apologize and give the money to me, that’ll be the end of it, didn’t you?”

“T-that’s…”

“That’s the thing you should do in the first place, you dumb fuck.”

The old man’s words hit me harder than I expected.

I got his clothes dirty, so I apologized and gave him the money for the clean-up.

As he said, those are the things that I should do. The bare minimum, not more, not less.

“Stop acting as if you’re doing this out of your own sincerity. You’re doing it for the shop. Even the money’s the shop’s. I want you to show me your sincerity, you brat.”

At that moment, Pansy’s face flashed through my mind. Immediately, my chest tightened.

The old man and her had nothing in common; they were two different people.

But what I was trying to do to her was similar to what I was trying to do to him.

I got the old man’s clothes dirty, so I apologized and gave him the money for the clean-up.

I ruined Pansy’s book, so I planned to buy a new one and apologize.

What I did was different—even the price I had to pay was different, but what I was trying to do to deal with both problems were the same.

If I can’t even make this old man forgive me this way, then I doubt Pansy will forgive me either.

Maybe… just like him, she wanted me to do something else for her.

That was close. If I did this all to her and further strain our relationship…

My mind was quickly enveloped with fear from that possibility to the point that it went blank.

“Seriously… you really piss me off, you know that?”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Just like him, I’m also pissed off by myself.

“After doing something like that to someone else, you still have the face to continue working like nothing happened. Honestly, you amazed me. Well, I guess that’s how it is. I mean, it’s not like you’re working with any goals in mind.”

No matter what I did, I kept failing at it. Not only that, I even caused troubles to others—no, wait.

After being told all this, is it really the time to sit back and mope like a fool?

Of course not…! If I keep my mouth shut, nothing will change…!

“…Y-you’re right. I don’t have any goals in life, I’m just working and following the flow.”

“Huh?”

Well, I do have a goal, but it’s insignificant.

But, thinking about it a little more, there’s a bigger reason behind that insignificant goal.

Remember what Sun-chan said once again.

‘That’s why I always give it my all! You should too! If there’s something important that you have to strive for and protect, then shame or reputation be damned! Go for it! Who cares if there’s a chance that you’ll fail! You won’t know what will happen unless you try! Got it?’

Right… that’s right…! There’s a bigger reason behind that insignificant goal—something that I strive for!

Honestly, it’s embarrassing to say it out loud, but…

Shame be damned! I’ll swing the bat, even if I get a strikeout!

“B-but from now on, it’ll be different!”

“What are you on about? Different what?”

“I ask you to look at me now, not me from before!”

“Huh? The hell are you even saying?”

The old man furrowed his brows, not understanding what I was trying to say.

Honestly, I don’t know if he’ll understand even if I say what’s in my mind right now.

But, that’s that. The point is I have to say something now!

All this time, I’ve been putting myself down, but now isn’t the time to do that!

Sure, I’m a mob! I’m worth nothing, that’s for sure!

But even a mob like me has something I can’t give up on! A principle that I will follow no matter what!

No matter how many times I fail, no matter how many times I embarrass myself in the end…!

“From now on, I’ll do my best.”

To do something that I’ve decided to do. That’s my motto—my principle!

“I probably can’t give you an answer that satisfies you, Mayama-san. As you’ve said, I thought that as long as I give you the money for the cleaning fee and apologize, that’d be the end of it.”

All this time, I’ve always stayed in my comfort zone, curling up, trying to avoid hurting myself as much as possible.

But it won’t be the case anymore! It’s because I’ve been doing that, because I kept trying to look for the easy way out that I got myself in this situation!

That’s why, instead of changing the situation now, I have to change myself instead!

The game’s not over yet, it’s only just begun!

“From now on, I’ll look for the answer that’ll satisfy you! I’ll do my best at my job! Not just to get paid, but to help out the shop for real…! For you, for the other customers who come to the shop! I will work hard! With all my heart and soul!”

Maybe because I looked at him straight in the eyes as I said that, the old man’s body flinched.

“W-working with all your heart and soul is something you have to do in the first place! B-besides, d-do you really think you can do that, huh?! You don’t even have any—”

“I might not have any goals, but there are things I want to protect.”

Before he could finish his words, I cut him off.

It’s something that I didn’t realize until I found myself in this situation, but I do have something.

Thanks to Pansy, I was able to realize it.

That day when Tsubaki first transferred to our school. After school. The words that Pansy said to me.

Jeez, she was right after all. From the start, without me realizing it, I’ve been acting for the sake of that.

The ‘precious bond’ between my friends and everyone—the thing that I want to protect.

“I… have friends at school. Unlike me, they all have dreams that they’re trying to achieve, and they give it their all to achieve them—they’re all amazing like that, to the point that it made me jealous of them. But that’s why… I want to help them. I want to protect them! That’s as important to me as my own goals, if not more!”

“A-as if someone like you could do that!”

There’s no need to pretend anymore. Everyone in the library group is important to me.

Even though I’m like this, even though there’s nothing I can give them in return, they stick by my side. Always.

And that’s why. Instead of feeling bad because of it…

“Yes. There’s not much I can do, that’s for sure. Hell, they might not even need me to help them. But, if I can help them no matter how small, I’ll do my best to help them. I’ll give my everything no matter how small if I have to. If my friends deserve to soar high in the sky, I’ll become their stepping stone. I’ll support them, I’ll stay by their side, I’ll protect them… that’s my goal, that’s the thing that I’m striving for right now!”

“Ngh! Stepping stone my ass! What are you gonna do if all your efforts end up in vain? What if, like the brats you are, you got into a fight and—”

“We’ll make up. Fighting with someone I care about and leaving our relationship strained after is something I don’t want to happen no matter what! For that I’ll throw away my pride and tell them my feelings, no matter how difficult it might be on me, and make up with them! No matter how many times I fail, I’ll never give up until the very end!”

I… think I just said something quite embarrassing in front of everyone. The other customers and part-timers are here too, you dumb—no, calm down. It’s okay, there’s no need to panic.

The others’ opinions aren’t important, only Mayama-san’s is. At least, I hope my words got the message across…

“Hmph! You’re only saying that because it sounds good to say that! The world doesn’t work that way! It’s way harsher and it will crush you without even feeling bad about you! Do you get it?! The world doesn’t work that way! You know what? Whatever! I’m sick of you. I’ll go home for today!”

Ugh… I tried to give him an honest, sincere answer, but that seemed to only add more fuel to the fire.

But that’s okay. I said what needed to be said. Results be damned.

Still… his response’s making me feel a little frustrated…

Even after all that, he just got angry and—huh? Wait…

I just noticed it, but… he stopped glaring at me.

“B-besides, this place’s dashimaki tamago’s terrible! My daughter made a way better one than this place! I’ll be leaving, you brat!”

What’s the shop’s food have anything to do with this? Huh? Could it be? He said that because he had nothing else to complain about me?

Nah, no way. I mean, he looked really mad…

He might just never come here again.

I kinda want him to see me putting my all into my work, but I guess that won’t happen, huh?

Well, it’s fine. With or without him watching, since I’ve said I’ll do my best at work, I’ll do my best.

Alright, let’s get back to—

“Whup!”

Huh? What’s going on? Suddenly, Kanemoto-san appeared behind me and bowed his head.

For some reason, he made me bow my head too.

“Please forgive us for making such a scene, Dear Customers! Kisaragi-kun, you apologize too!”

“A-ah! P-please forgive us!”

R-right! I made all that commotion, so before anything else, I should apologize!

After staying like that for about five seconds, Kanemoto-san took his hand off my head and said,

“You can do it, Kisaragi-kun. I believe in you.”

With a warm, gentle voice, he patted me in the back.

“T-thank you very much!”

“Mm! That’s the spirit! From now on, do your best at work, okay?”

“Yes!”

Somehow, his voice touched the depths of my heart, making it tingle. In a good way, of course.

*   *   *

“Good work for today, Joro.”

“You too, Tsubaki.”

It’s now 10 pm, and our shift has ended. I gave Tsubaki a quick reply as I sipped my tea.

Phew… I’ll have to put all my effort at work from now on. Gotta walk the talk, after all.

“Everything’s resolved nicely. I’m sure your words got through to Mayama-san.”

“…Huh? A-ah, well… I-I’m not sure if they did, but yeah, at least everything’s resolved now.”

“No, they did. He made a little less fuss than usual.”

She’s right, he did, didn’t he? I didn’t really notice because he complained about some unrelated thing before he left.

Wait, does that mean she overheard everything that I said to the old man? Oh, no…

“Hehehe. You’ll do your best to protect everyone, huh? So cool~”

Argh, she heard it! She heard all that embarrassing shit that I said!

If I’d known this would happen, I’d do that during the rush hour—she’d be too busy to come out and listen!

No, actually, that’s a bad idea. Arguing with that old man in the middle of a packed shop… yeah I’d be more of a nuisance than anything.

“T-thank you…”

Man, I’m bad at receiving compliments directly like this.

Ugh… where’s that tea? My throat’s parched.

“No, really, you were cool back then, Joro. If you keep the same spirits up, you’ll make up with Pansy in no time, so don’t worry.”

“Gkk—! Cough cough!”

“Now you don’t look so cool anymore. Too bad~”

“Cough…! H-how did you…?”

“It was obvious, you know? You had this apologetic look whenever you looked at her.”

Dammit. Not only Sun-chan, but Tsubaki too…

Then, the other two—no, Cosmos might notice it too, but Himawari? No chance.

There’s no way that air-headed bitch noticed anything at all, she ain’t that sharp. Hell’d freeze over when she does.

“You know, I was thinking of helping you two make up, but I figured that I shouldn’t and let you two work it out yourselves instead. So, I held myself back.”

“I see… sorry for making you worry…”

After putting the cup on the table, I bowed my head in apology.

Now I have to really think about how to make up with Pansy. I’ll start working on it the moment I get her the book…

“No need to thank me. Still, I’m curious. Why don’t you just apologize and make up with her? That’ll solve everything, no?”

“Ugg… i-it probably would, but i-it isn’t the time yet!”

“You know, Joro? I think your opinion of her is a little too twisted. She’s a really sweet girl, you know? At least to me.”

To you, yeah. To me? That girl’s the most awful girl there is.

Sure, she might be irreplaceable to me, but I still hate her.

It’s like pickles on a burger, you know? You can’t just order a burger without pickles, but if you hate them, you hate them.

“She’s really annoying, you know? You just don’t know that yet. She sulks every five minutes, she doesn’t care about anyone but herself, and she always insults me whenever she can—!”

“I see. You really get along well with her, huh?”

Guess no matter what I say here, she’ll take it that way, huh? Japanese’s hard, man. I could say ‘A’ and people could interpret it as ‘B’.

Anyway, this can’t go on. At this rate, she’ll force me to go on Pansy’s route, and that’s something that should never happen no matter what! In that case, there’s only one action for me to take.

“…Alright, it’s time to go home.”

Run away.

I know! Earlier I said that I won’t run away anymore, I know that it sounds like I’m doubling back, but hear me out!

If it’s a thing that I really, really hate, I’ll run away from it. Anything else, I won’t. That’s it, that’s my new rule.

It’s that, you know? Being adaptable when the situation calls for it.

“Mm, good work for today. Let’s work hard again tomorrow, okay?”

Maybe she knew what I was thinking about, Tsubaki said that while giggling, with a face like that of a child who just pulled a prank on someone.

Anyway, it’s decided! I’ll work hard until Friday!

Then, I’ll buy the book and make up with Pansy!

Well, I know that it’s better to just make up with her now, but you see…

Pansy’s like the Demon King. 

To face the Demon King, you gotta make sure that you’re prepared for everything.