This story returns to mid-September, focusing on Josette as she is caught up in preparations for the school festival.
The timeline shifts back slightly to when Kent and Josette were selected for the school festival executive committee. While diligently working on committee activities, their class also decided on an exhibit, and they were swamped with preparations.
“Welcome home. Josette.”
“Yes, I’m home.”
Josette entered Becky’s shop to help after finishing her school festival executive committee work and returning from school. Their cohabitation had already spanned a considerable number of days, and without her realizing it, Becky had started greeting her as if she were returning home. Josette didn’t mind, so she replied, “I’m home.”
“How is the shop doing?”
“Yes, we had a lot of customers today at lunch. But the really busy time is yet to come.”
“That’s right. Well then, I’ll help out too.”
Saying this, Josette put on an apron over her uniform and began helping at the shop. It was still before dinner, so customers were sparse, but as dinner time approached, the shop would become very crowded. This was because the quality of ingredients Josette procured had improved, leading to better taste, which gradually brought customers back, and now many visitors came through word-of-mouth.
“May I take your order?”
“Yes, certainly.”
“Thank you for waiting. Here is your order.”
During the hours when the two of them managed the shop, Becky was generally in charge of cooking, and Josette handled customer service. No matter how crowded and busy the shop became, Josette’s elegant customer service was highly praised by customers.
“Josette, you’re working hard again today. Could I have my usual drink, please?”
“Certainly. I’ll bring it right away.”
“Josette, you look beautiful today too. Could I have my usual, please?”
“Your usual set, right? Please wait a moment.”
Josette remembered everything that her regular customers usually ordered. The regular customers seemed pleased with this, and they started ordering by simply saying “my usual” without specifying the item. It had reached a point where customers considered being able to order like this as a sign of being a regular at this shop.
“You’ve worked hard today. How are the calculations coming along?”
“Um… here, and then…”
“There’s a calculation mistake here.”
“Huh?”
After enduring the busy peak hours and successfully reaching closing time, Becky was diligently calculating sales in the tidied-up shop. Josette watched from the side, pointing out where she had made a mistake.
“It used to be easier to calculate…”
“That’s unavoidable compared to before. We have more customers and handle more items, so it’s natural for the calculations to become more difficult.”
“That’s true…”
Before, there were so few customers that calculations were hardly necessary, and the sales calculation work was relatively easy. However, as the shop’s reputation improved, the number of customers increased, and now they were even making a slight profit.
“Is this correct?”
“Yes, it’s correct. Good job.”
After silently working on the sales calculations, Becky had Josette confirm them to ensure there were no mistakes, and their work for the day was finished. Then, after locking up the shop, Josette and Becky returned to the Duke’s family residence.
“Josette, what is this?”
Upon returning home, Josette and Becky quickly finished their meals and baths and were in bed for the night. Josette then took out an unfamiliar piece of paper and began to read it. Becky, curious, asked her about it.
“This is called sheet music.”
“Sheet music?”
“Yes. This paper shows how to sing a certain song.”
“A certain song?”
The paper in Josette’s hand was sheet music. Becky couldn’t read sheet music, so it looked like nothing more than a sheet filled with complicated symbols. However, she became interested after hearing Josette’s explanation.
“Yes, do you remember Rachel, who visited the shop before?”
“I remember. Or rather, I’d like to say I do, but the people she was with were more distinctive, so I don’t quite remember their faces…”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. This is a song that Rachel suggested I sing at the school festival.”
“Are you going to sing it alone?”
“Yes. If I’m going to sing it, it will be by myself.”
“In that case, I’m definitely going to see it.”
“Oh, my. I haven’t even decided if I’ll perform yet, so you’ve put me in a difficult position.”
Josette replied with a wry smile to Becky’s surprisingly enthusiastic response.
“I want to know what kind of song it is.”
“It’s a bit embarrassing, but that person also said it’s her favorite song, so there’s no harm in practicing it. I don’t know if I’ll sing well, but please give me your feedback.”
“Understood!”
Becky moved a little away from Josette and assumed a posture to listen to her sing. Confirming this, Josette began to sing while looking at the sheet music.
“♪～”
“How was it?”
After Josette finished singing, she asked Becky for her thoughts.
“Ugh, ugh…”
“I’m sorry. Did I offend your ears?”
Becky, holding back tears, was unable to speak. Josette, thinking her singing was not good enough to make someone cry, apologized to Becky.
“N-no, that’s not it. I’ve never heard such a beautiful singing voice before, so much so that I was moved to tears.”
“Is that so? If you are that pleased, then I am happy too.”
Encouraged by this, Josette began practicing singing before bed every night from that day until the day before the school festival. Josette’s performance at the school festival, which would later be recounted in stories, began here.
Several days passed, and Josette was busy with her studies, her school festival executive committee duties, and helping out at Becky’s shop. It was a weekend. The school was closed, and Josette had been helping at Becky’s shop since morning.
“Still, carrying heavy buckets of water to and from here every morning is hard work. I’m impressed that Becky does it without any complaints.”
“I’m used to it because I do it every morning. Josette, I’m sorry for making you carry heavy things.”
“I’m helping voluntarily, so you don’t need to worry about it. However, the shop is getting busier, and we could really use at least one more employee. Preferably someone with strength.”
After this water carrying, they would go shopping for ingredients, prepare for opening, and then operate the shop. Basically, Becky managed alone until Josette arrived to help in the evening. Considering the future, Josette thought they needed at least one more employee who could do heavy labor.
“Mom will be back soon, so I think we can manage as things are.”
“No, I can’t let Becky’s mother, who is recovering from illness, do such heavy work. Also, the shop is on track now, and my help will end soon.”
Becky’s mother’s recovery was progressing well, and she would be discharged from the hospital and return home soon. At that point, their cohabitation at the Duke’s family residence would also end. Furthermore, the shop’s management had stabilized, so the day Josette’s help would conclude was also approaching.
“That’s right… We can’t stay like this forever, can we…”
Becky looked sad, realizing once again that the current life was nearing its end.
“You shouldn’t look so sad. Once the water carrying is done, we’ll go shopping next.”
“Ah, yes!”
Prompted by Josette, Becky focused on carrying the remaining water.
After the water-carrying task was finished, Josette and Becky went shopping for ingredients for the shop. However, they encountered a long line of people, and Josette, curious, stopped.
“Becky, what is that line?”
“That? That’s the line to wait for the sanctuary’s soup kitchen. That building there is called the sanctuary, and it’s said to have originally been a facility for worshiping gods. However, there are no longer any gods to worship, so I’m not sure if it can be called a sanctuary anymore. They irregularly provide soup kitchens for the people in our town. It’s very helpful for us who can’t eat sufficiently.”
“I see. May we also partake in that?”
“Eh?”
Becky was surprised by Josette’s words. She couldn’t understand why someone from the Duke’s family, who presumably had no food shortages, would want to eat from a soup kitchen intended for the poor.
“So many people are lining up to eat it, it must be delicious.”
“Technically, anyone can have it for free, but… are you really going to line up?”
“Yes, of course.”
Unable to stop Josette, who was fully intent on lining up, they had no choice but to interrupt their shopping and join the line for the soup kitchen.
