“Thank you for today, Kent. I was so nervous, thinking you might refuse me again.”
“Likewise, I’m sorry for turning you down last time due to prior commitments.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. We were able to walk home together like this, so I guess it all worked out.”
Kent and the female student sitting next to him were walking home together. Just like the other female students, she was holding her bag to her chest, guarding it so others couldn’t see. Although she didn’t know it, an overpowering, pungent odor occasionally reached his nose. It wasn’t just her; it was almost all of their classmates, except for Josette, who emitted this smell.
“It was certainly hot today, wasn’t it? How do you handle the heat, Kent?”
“I’m not very good with it, to be honest. Summer without air conditioning can be tough.”
“What’s air conditioning?”
(I messed up. I spoke too casually, but she’s an outsider.)
Kent had been talking with this female student frequently lately, and he had let his guard down.
“Uh, it’s something that helps relieve the summer heat.”
“Oh, I see. Is that so?”
She had asked out of politeness, not out of genuine interest, and he was glad she just brushed it off.
(That was close. I need to be more careful from now on.)
“Are you free after this, Kent?”
“Sorry, I have a part-time job after this.”
“Oh, I see. A part-time job, huh? That sounds nice. I’m looking for a part-time job too, but it’s hard to find one as a student. It’s great if your family runs a business and you can work there, but if you come from an ordinary family, it’s difficult to find a convenient place to work. I don’t say it out loud, but I think it’s tough for my parents to support me and my younger siblings on their earnings, so I want to help out a little financially.”
She spoke with a distant look, as if remembering her family.
“That sounds tough. How many siblings do you have?”
“Including me, there are five. Two younger brothers and two younger sisters.”
“Wow, really? If you’re looking for a part-time job, maybe you could ask at the place I work?”
At Kent’s suggestion, her face lit up.
“Really? By the way, where do you work part-time?”
“It’s a bakery. But it can get busy, so you’d need to be prepared for it. I think it would be good to try working for just one day to see if you can handle it.”
“Can I start today?”
“I can’t say for sure without asking, but I think it’ll probably be okay.”
“Thank you. I’ll take you up on that, then.”
She bowed happily. Kent, knowing they were short-staffed today, gratefully accepted her offer.
“Alright, this is the bakery where I work.”
“Huh? This is Marie’s Bakery?”
“That’s right. Come on in.”
He usually went home first and entered through the back, but today he went directly through the front entrance.
” *Clang clang* ”
The bell on the door rang as Kent and the female student entered the store.
“Welcome! Oh, Kent. It’s unusual for you to come in this way. Welcome back.”
“I’m home, Marie. Caro is off today for personal reasons, and Rachel said she’d be late.”
“Rach… Ah, you brought a friend. Welcome. Kent, I understand about the two of them.”
Marie, who normally called Rachel by her name, was about to ask when she noticed the person accompanying Kent and corrected herself.
“She’s looking for a part-time job. Marie, could you at least have her work today, and then decide if you want to hire her?”
“You don’t need to do that for a friend of Kent’s… Understood. Then please have her work today. Um, what’s your name…?”
“Patty. Nice to meet you.”
“Then I’ll leave the rest to Kent. Please take care of her.”
“Yes, then… Patty? This way, please.”
This was the first time Kent had heard the female student’s name. He couldn’t say he didn’t know her name after seeing her face-to-face next to him for at least two months, so he acted as if nothing had happened.
Kent led Patty to the kitchen in the back. There, Emily, who was working inside, stopped and said,
“Welcome home, Master.”
“I’m home, Emily.”
“M-Master?”
Patty exclaimed in surprise. A woman in a maid uniform, who appeared older than him, had called Kent “Master.” It was no wonder she was surprised.
“Let me introduce you. This is Emily, and we have a master-servant relationship, so don’t worry about how she addresses me. And this is Patty. She’ll be working here for today, so please take care of her.”
“I’m Patty. Nice to meet you, Emily.”
“Yes, likewise, Patty.”
Kent’s mindset shifted from friend mode to workplace senior.
“Alright, let’s get started right away… but first, the job today is customer service, so cleanliness is important. Please take a shower first. Emily, could you help her?”
“Understood, Master.”
Kent whispered to Emily,
“You know what to do, right?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Then, Patty, please come this way.”
“Y-yes!”
Emily led Patty upstairs. The upper floor had shower rooms available for residents and employees. After a while, Emily came back down and reported to Kent.
“Um, the size is from the top…”
“Got it. Please wait a moment.”
After getting Patty’s bust size, height, and hip size from Emily, Kent ordered a bra, panties, and a T-shirt from the terminal and handed them to Emily.
“Please take these.”
“Understood.”
Emily took Patty’s underwear and T-shirt and went back upstairs. Meanwhile, Kent worked on tasks in the kitchen and on the floor, waiting for them to come down.
“Excuse me, Master. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Kent, sorry to keep you waiting. My body feels so refreshed. My hair is also really smooth and smells good. Oh, and isn’t this the underwear that’s been the talk of the school lately? Can I borrow it?”
Patty said, having changed into a T-shirt. She was still wearing her school uniform skirt on the bottom, which was a bit of Kent’s personal preference.
“These are Patty’s size, so no one else can use them. I’m giving them to you. Please accept them as part of your wages.”
“Thank you. This alone seems quite expensive…”
Patty said, showing a mix of happiness and apprehension.
“Alright, with preparations done, let’s get to work. Um, this shop is divided into a space for selling bread and a space for serving food and drinks. Patty, you’ll be in charge of the food and drink service area. When a customer is seated, bring them water and this wet towel.”
Kent demonstrated to a customer who had just entered.
Patty followed suit, observing Kent’s actions.
“Welcome. Here is cold water and a wet towel. Please let us know if you’d like to order anything.”
Saying this, Kent returned to the kitchen. Patty followed him.
“The dining area here serves customers who buy bread from next door, as well as those who order from our own menu, so you might get both types of customers or just one. For the first time, please handle both situations. Here’s the menu, there are this many items. Once you receive an order, write it down on the order sheet and give it to Emily. Don’t forget to write the table number as well.”
Kent showed Patty the menu and order sheet and explained.
“Excuse me. Can I order?”
“Yes. Coming right over.”
Kent went to the customer who had called for a waiter. Patty followed him.
“…and… and… please.”
“I’ll repeat that. …and… and… Is that correct? Thank you for your order. We’ll prepare it shortly, so please wait a moment.”
Kent took the order and quickly wrote it down on the order sheet. He took it to the kitchen and handed it to Emily.
“Okay, order for table 3 is in.”
“Understood, Master.”
“Here is the order for table 3.”
Emily quickly prepared the items and placed them on the counter with the order sheet.
Kent picked it up and brought it to the customer.
“Here are your items: …and… and…. Is this everything you ordered?”
“Yes, thank you. Please bring this slip when you pay. Please enjoy your meal.”
Kent arranged the ordered items, placed the order sheet on the table, and returned to the kitchen. He then taught her how to clean up and set tables.
“Alright, Patty, I’ll leave the rest to you. If you have any questions, ask Emily.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
Floor work can be tough, but it’s the least difficult job in this shop. If you can’t do this, you’re considered useless in this shop. Kent started his own work, cheering them on from the side.
As expected, adding just one newcomer wasn’t enough to fill the void left by Caro and Rachel. Kent was working alone in the kitchen, baking bread. Marie, finding the store understaffed, went to assist there.
“I’m home. Huh? A new person?”
Rachel seemed to have returned. She quickly got ready and went to help in the workshop.
“I’m home, Older brother. You look busy, so I came to help in the workshop.”
“Welcome back. Then, please take over here.”
“Okay.”
Once she was shown her spot, Rachel got to work with practiced skill. Thanks to her, Kent’s burden was significantly lightened. After a while, it seemed things had settled down on the store floor, and Marie returned from the workshop.
“Sorry to keep you, Rachel, thank you. You can leave this here now, please help out on the store floor.”
“Okay.”
Marie and Rachel swapped places and resumed their tasks.
Then, they finished baking the last bread of the day, and the workshop began its cleanup.
“Kent, I’ll take care of this from here, could you go check on Patty?”
“Yes, I’ll ask you to take over here, then.”
Kent moved to the store floor to check on Patty. He then asked Catherine, who was in charge of the register and had a view of the entire floor, how things were going.
“Catherine, how was the dining space?”
“Ah, Older brother. Um, she made a few order mistakes, but I think she did well.”
“Is that so? Then that’s good.”
Now all they had to do was sell the remaining bread, and the day’s business would be over. The dining space was still full of people having their dinner there. Rachel and Patty were busy serving customers. Gradually, the number of customers decreased, and when the bread was sold out, it was closing time.
After closing, Marie began calculating the store’s sales. Catherine and Rachel had already returned to Kent’s house to prepare dinner. Patty, exhausted from her unfamiliar work, sat on a chair in the dining area.
“Good work. How was the job?”
“It was tough, being unfamiliar with it. The menu items, based on their names, were hard to imagine, and I didn’t know what they were. When customers asked, I couldn’t answer and had to rely on Emily each time.”
“True, most of them aren’t commonly heard of. If you’re officially hired, you’ll have to taste everything and memorize them.”
“Really? I was curious seeing customers eat them. I’d heard rumors, but this is an amazing shop. Even though it’s hot outside, it’s comfortable inside, and I’ve never seen equipment like this before. Even after dark, it’s this bright in here.”
“Sorry to keep you. Patty, thank you for today. How was it? Do you think you can manage?”
Marie came over after finishing her calculations and asked.
“I couldn’t learn everything in just one day, but if you’ll hire me, I’d like to try my best.”
“Is that so? Then I suppose you’re hired. Since you’re a student, how about working from after school until closing for now?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Understood. Then, starting tomorrow… Oh, right, you have Saturdays and Sundays off. Let’s start the day after tomorrow.”
“Yes, likewise. Thank you.”
“Then, here’s your pay for today. Can you go home by yourself?”
After discussing her future employment, Marie asked with concern.
“Thank you. Yes, I can.”
“Then, be careful on your way home.”
“Yes, excuse me.”
Patty received a paper bag containing her day’s wages from Marie.
“See you then, Patty.”
“Thank you for today, Kent. Goodbye.”
Kent watched her go as Patty left the store and headed home.
“I’m home, Mother.”
“Welcome home, Patty. You’re home late today.”
“Yeah, I decided to start a part-time job. Here’s today’s pay. It’s not much, but please use it to help with expenses.”
Patty returned home and reported her decision to work part-time to her mother. She handed the bag of money she received from Marie’s Bakery to her mother without checking the contents first. Since Patty had also received underwear and clothes, she assumed the bag contained only a small amount, barely enough to be grateful for receiving wages.
“Patty! What kind of work did you do?”
Her mother yelled at her after checking the contents of the bag.
Then, Patty’s mother arranged the money from the bag on the table.
“Huh? What is this money?”
Patty herself was shocked.
On the table were five silver coins (5000 G), which was about 50 times the market price for a typical student part-time job.
