Vol. 1 Chapter 2.4 – I Tried Working Part-Time for a Gal JK

“This is Gotokuji-kun, who will be starting work from today.”

It was a holiday morning. The employees had been gathered thirty minutes before the store opened, all listening to the manager with puzzled expressions.

They wouldn’t normally hold a meeting just because a new part-timer was joining.

But the manager looked unusually serious—standing at full attention with a stiff posture.

The high schooler next to him, the new hire, was so tense it was as if he were the superior.

“I’m Gotokuji. I look forward to working with you.”

The new part-timer had an air of arrogance. He didn’t even bow his head.

“Everyone, please take good care of him! And absolutely no screw-ups!”

The manager practically screamed in desperation as he pleaded.

In this strange atmosphere, the day’s work began. The store opened.

“Wait… what are you doing here? You of all people?”

Niko, who had just arrived, spoke to Issei.

“I leave myself in your guiding hands, Niko.”

“Don’t just casually say that… Wait! I’m asking why you followed me to my workplace! And stop dropping the honorific!”

“I decided to work here too, so I could spend more time with you.”

“So you’re not even pretending it’s a coincidence.”

“I’m a high school student too. There’s nothing strange about me having a part-time job.”

“If you’re going to make up a reason, at least do it first.”

“This is my first time working, so please take care of me.”

As they were talking—

“Aaaah! Fujino-kuuun! You know Gotokuji-kun!?”

“Manager, you’re being creepy.”

“Then! Fujino-kuuun! I’m leaving Gotokuji-kun’s training to yoooou!”

“Eh!? Ah! Manager!”

The manager practically fled the scene in a hurry.

Even though she wasn’t the part-time leader, that kind of responsibility had just been dumped on her… and she was at a loss.

Still, Niko pulled herself together and decided to teach Issei.

Even though she had slapped him twice before, she believed she could separate public and private matters.

“Okay then… Let’s start with front-of-house duties.”

Or so she thought—but Issei was no longer there.

He had already wandered out into the hall and started guiding a customer to a seat.

“H-Hey! Don’t just act on your own! If you mess something up, I’ll be the one who gets in trouble!”

“If you observe the others, it’s easy to grasp. When a customer arrives, seat them, bring them water, take the order, deliver the food, clear the dishes, and ring them up at the register, yes?”

“It’s not just『customer』customer¹—you’re supposed to say 『Okyaku-sama』Okyaku-sama². That part’s really important.”

“Hmm. Understood.”

“And don’t say taking orders is easy. Do you even know how to use the handy?”

“Hmm…”

Issei opened the cover of the handy terminal used for taking orders and after pressing a few buttons—pi, pi, pi—

“I understand now.”

“『Understand』 you say…”

Seriously? Niko thought. It had taken her about three whole days to memorize everything when she first started.

“And as for the table numbers…”

“There was a chart posted, wasn’t there? I took one look and memorized it.”

“『One look』you say…”

Niko was dumbfounded. Issei was always like this—it didn’t feel like a lie, but if it were true, there’d be nothing left for her to teach him.

“A customer is arriving. Alright, I shall go.”

“Eh!? Ah! Wait!”

He immediately went off on his own to take the order.

Watching from behind a corner… he smoothly handled the task with no problems—and returned with the kind of skill that even seasoned workers might envy.

Niko, who had just been appointed his trainer, was completely thrown off.

“Issei. You—there’s no way this is your first part-time job, right?”

“What reason would I have to lie?”

“But you’re doing everything just fine without even being taught.”

“Table Four, please.”

A dish came out from the kitchen.

“Table Four, got it.”

“Ah! Wait—!”

Once again, Issei acted on his own.

There wasn’t even time to stop him.

“You did it again, perfectly!”

As Issei returned, Niko said to him,

“What are you acting impressed about? You’re just taking orders and delivering the food, right?”

“That’s true.”

Still, how was he suddenly able to do it so perfectly? That’s just unfair.

“Because I’m a genius. Once I see something, I understand it.”

Issei jerked his chin toward the other part-timers.

They were all taking orders, delivering food and interacting with customers. A complete display of front-of-house work was right there for anyone to see.

But still…

If just watching made you capable, nobody would ever struggle with this.

If he truly had no experience and wasn’t just messing with her… that was seriously impressive.

“But still… this is my first time trying it, and labor is surprisingly fun. —By the way, Niko, shouldn’t you be working too?”

“Huh?”

Niko blinked, confused.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t been doing anything for a while. Since Issei didn’t need training, she should probably get back to her own work—

And so, Niko finally started working.

But… she couldn’t stop watching Issei, who was working in the same hall. Even though she figured he’d be fine, she hadn’t taught him anything, so she couldn’t help but worry if he was really okay…

As she kept working like that, distracted and glancing at Issei—

“That’s incorrect.”

“Huh?”

She was carrying dessert to a customer when she was told that.

“I ordered the pudding parfait, not the chocolate parfait.”

“What? Wha—?”

Niko panicked.

The ticket wasn’t wrong. That meant… she had messed up the order herself—

“My apologies. Here is the pudding parfait.”

From the side, Issei appeared smoothly, placing the correct item down as if nothing had happened.

“Niko. Over here.”

Issei took her by the arm and led her into the back.

“Niko. Take that chocolate parfait to Table Twelve. That way, everything evens out.”

“Huh? Wha? Wait—”

Niko did as she was told and brought the chocolate parfait to the table.

When she returned, Issei was there waiting for her.

“I realized you’d mixed up the order, so I swapped it with the one I took.”

Thanks to Issei’s quick thinking, the order mistake was erased completely.

It had been Niko’s error—no doubt about it. And he had completely covered for her. Flawlessly.

It was frustrating how perfect it was.

Issei had only started today. She was supposed to be the senior.

Ugh, seriously. What the hell.

Maybe it was because her head was so full of thoughts like that—

Niko tripped over absolutely nothing.

“Ah—!?”

The food—an entire tray full—flew into the air—

BASHAN!

“Whoa.”

Issei appeared from the side, holding an empty tray at the ready.

All the food that had soared through the air landed perfectly onto his tray, unscathed.

The hamburger steak landed neatly on the sizzling iron plate, the pasta touched down perfectly on the dish, and even the coffee—not a single drop spilled—was back inside the cup.

“Wha…!?”

Niko collapsed to the floor.

She was so stunned she couldn’t even speak.

The other customers, who had also been silently frozen in place, slowly began to clap.

Pachi pachi pachi…

“Watch your step, Niko.”

“Ah… thank you…”

Niko wasn’t the kind of person who couldn’t at least say thank you when someone helped her.

And she didn’t hate Issei enough to swat away his outstretched hand, either.

Niko took Issei’s hand and stood up.

His hand was different from a girl’s—strong and firm…

It was definitely a boy’s hand, she thought.

“Here’s your pasta set and hamburger lunch. Thank you for waiting.”

The food was safely delivered to the table—by Issei’s hands.

“Haah… What the heck is even going on with me…”

Back in the staff room, Niko muttered to herself.

Her face felt hot.

She had just thought again—that Issei was kind of cool.

“Seriously. The register system in this shop is absurdly inefficient.”

“What now?”

Issei, having also worked at the register, was complaining about something.

“The way they handle receiving payment and giving back change.”

“What about it?”

“Counting bills and coins by hand is utterly foolish. It leads to change errors, and more importantly, it’s a waste of time. Even while they’re at the register, part-timers are costing labor expenses.”

“You always say weird stuff, Issei.”

“No, I’m being completely logical. They should definitely introduce an automatic change machine.”

“Automatic? Ohh, like those in supermarkets? Where the change just comes out?”

“Exactly. If implemented across all branches… hmm. The initial cost could be recovered within a few fiscal periods.”

Issei mumbled on like that.

He wasn’t just some part-timer—he sounded like an actual business owner. Even the manager never talked about stuff like this. Unless he was some hotshot from the head office…

As Niko was about to laugh—

That’s when it happened.

“Hey, you bastard! You think this is funny!?”

A loud voice from a rough-looking man echoed across the store.

All the customers turned their attention to that table.

One of the junior female part-timers had been cornered by an obviously aggressive man.

“I deeply apologize,Okyaku-sama. Has something happened?”

Niko had stepped out into the hall.

Normally, this kind of thing should be handled by the manager… but their manager was utterly useless. He just peeked out from behind a pillar and waved at her with a 【Do your best signal.】

Standing in front of the girl, Niko shielded her and signaled with her eyes and hands

—Go.

She was taking over the complaint.

“I’m very sorry to have caused you any discomfort.”

“Oh, you’re the one apologizing for her, huh!?”

“Um, if I could just ask what exactly the issue was—”

“Shut up! I’m asking if you’re gonna apologize or not, dammit!”

It was completely unreasonable. He hadn’t even said what the problem was.

And he wasn’t drunk either—he was just incoherent.

“Um, but at least let us understand the situation first—”

“Don’t screw with me!”

The man shoved Niko.

“Kyaa!”

Niko fell to the floor.

“O-Okyaku-sama, please calm down…”

“Get on your knees! Apologize on your damn knees!”

“T-That’s…”

Niko was left speechless. In this line of work, you naturally get used to dealing with rude customers and complainers.

But this level of irrationality—this was a first even for her.

“Are you gonna get on your knees or not!? Do it, dammit!!”

“Niko. There’s no need to treat someone like this as an Okyaku-sama.”

It was Issei.

He stood there with his arms crossed, and it felt like an aura of anger was rising from his body.

“W-Wait! Let me handle it!”

“No. Leave this to me.”

Saying that to Niko, Issei stepped toward the man.

“You there. Get the hell out.”

“The hell you say!? I’m a paying customer!”

“No, you’re not. Because I’ve just decided not to take a single yen from you. Since no money will be exchanged, you are no longer a customer. And if you’re not a customer, you don’t have the right to complain. If you don’t want me calling the police for obstruction of business or unlawful entry, then get up and walk yourself out. Now.”

“Wha… Wha… What did you just say!?”

The man was furious.

Oh no, this is going to turn violent—That’s what Niko feared at that moment—

But then, Issei leaned in close to the man’s ear.

And then—he whispered a single word.

In that instant, the man’s beet-red face turned pale in a flash.

Like all his earlier bravado had been a lie, the man’s expression turned fearful and he hastily left the store.

Niko watched him go, completely dumbfounded.

The other customers in the store looked just as stunned.

“What… did you do?”

“Hmm. I’d call it persuasion. Since he accepted it through words, it qualifies as persuasion, wouldn’t you say?”

“If you say so…”

“Nanako. Good job gathering the intel.”

“Did you just say something?”

Issei had suddenly spoken and Niko asked him again, unsure.

“No. It’s nothing. Just talking to myself.”

“But still… you kind of drove him off. He might post something nasty about the shop on social media later.”

“No problem.”

“Of course it’s a problem! There are shops that got flamed and shut down from stuff like that!”

“Even if it came to that, the most we’d see is a dip in stock prices. Nothing to worry about.”

“Are you the owner or something!?”

“I’m the CEO, actually.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!!”

Smack! Niko gave Issei a good whack on the back.

A bit of a『reward』added on top—for handling things so coolly.

◇

“Oh. You’re done for the day too.”

As she stepped out of the back room changing area, Niko bumped into Issei, now in his casual clothes.

“I’ll walk you partway.”

“…I guess that’s fine.”

She tried to come up with a reason to say no, but found nothing convincing. So she reluctantly nodded.

The two of them walked side by side down the street.

The sunset was fading and darkness began to settle in as they walked shoulder to shoulder.

Niko was pushing her bicycle. Come to think of it, how had Issei gotten to the shop? It’s not like he walked all the way. If he came by train, the station was in the opposite direction. Actually, where even was Issei’s house again? And why was she suddenly so curious about something like that?

They were supposed to be just classmates.

And yet, she wanted to know more—so much more—about Issei.

Ever since he helped her with that nightmare customer… she hadn’t been able to stop seeing him as kind of cool.

He’d handled every task effortlessly.

During peak hours, he’d even stepped into the kitchen and helped out over there too. It felt like he’d been doing the work of ten people. Seriously.

“H-Hey…”

“What is it?”

“T-Today… you really worked super hard, huh.”

“Yeah. I’ve discovered that labor is quite pleasant.”

“Um… so, like… if we keep walking, we’re gonna end up at my place.”

“I see.”

“Do y-you wanna come in? M-My little sister’s home though!”

Why she had to emphasize that her little sister was there—Niko had no idea herself.

“No, I’ll pass. —More importantly, I wanted to hear your thoughts on today.”

“Thoughts? About what?”

“Your thoughts on me. —So? Have I gone up in your estimation?”

“O-Of course…”

There was no『up』or『down』anymore… To be honest, he looked superhuman today.

Issei always said he was a『genius』, like some kind of catchphrase… and for the first time, she was starting to think he might actually be right.

“I see. So I’ve impressed you.”

Issei smiled.

Ah. That smile. I… like it. —That’s what Niko thought.

“By the way, Niko, there’s one favor I’d like to ask.”

“Huh? Why so serious all of a sudden? You’re not gonna ask me to let you call me without honorifics or something?”

“No. It’s not that.”

“Well, whatever! Go on, ask! I’ll say yes to anything!”

Niko blurted that out without thinking.

At that moment, she felt like she could agree to anything he said.

“Then—show me your panties.”

There was a long pause.

“…Hah?”

Niko furrowed her brows with a deep vertical crease, her face contorting into something fierce.

She glared at Issei with a look one might give filth—or a bug.

A face full of absolute disgust, she stared him down.

Of all the things… seriously? That’s what he asks?

“You said you’d listen to anything I asked.”

“No I didn’t. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No, you definitely said it. Just now, Niko, you told me to ask for anything.”

“Don’t drop the honorific.”

“Judging by the surrounding context, it was clearly an unconditional statement of agreement to any request—”

“—Like hell it was, you idiot.”

“But still—”

“Walk home alone, dumbass.”

Niko placed her foot on the pedal of her bike.

“Hey. I said I’d walk you, didn’t I, Niko?”

“Like hell I’d let you.”

Kicking off with all her strength, Niko pedaled away and left Issei behind.

She thought about slapping him—but held back.

She’d already slapped him twice. And he seemed to kind of enjoy it. So there would be no third time.

No more『rewards』for him.

Stupid. Stu~upid. Issei, you total idiot. Go die already.