Holding his umbrella, Kitahara returned home, put down his school bag, and began fulfilling today's push-up assignment.
"Phew..."
Finishing three thousand push-ups in one breath, Kitahara exhaled softly, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom to shower.
Just as he stepped out from the shower, the doorbell happened to ring.
"Did a delivery arrive?"
Drying his hair with a towel while walking toward the entrance, Kitahara looked out through the peephole and was instantly struck speechless.
The person standing outside was no delivery courier, but rather the blue-haired girl he had taken in last night.
He had assumed she was merely joking this morning; who would have thought she would actually come over?
She was truly latching onto him!
"..."
Kitahara maintained complete silence, having zero intention of opening the door.
Thump, thump, thump.
Ryo reached out directly and banged on the door.
"Open up, Kitahara; I already heard your footsteps."
"..."
Kitahara pretended to hear nothing.
Taking her in for one night was one thing, but sheltering her day after day was out of the question, wasn't it?
Once he opened this door now, his peaceful life would surely vanish forever.
"Kitahara, hurry up and open the door," Ryo lowered her voice. "Your neighbor is coming out."
Kitahara peeked through the peephole; sure enough, the aunt next door stepped out from the adjacent apartment, looking on with curious bystander eyes.
"Open up," Ryo's voice drifted in through the door once more, her tone eerie and faintly resentful. "We've already slept together, so surely Kitahara wouldn't act irresponsibly, right?"
Slept together my foot!
You clearly slept in the guest room last night, alright?! Don't intentionally spout bizarre nonsense to mislead people!
For the sake of preserving his innocent reputation, Kitahara had no choice but to fling open the door and pull Ryo inside in a single swift motion.
Bang.
The door slammed shut immediately.
Extending his right arm, Kitahara pinned Ryo against the back of the door in an aggressive kabedon, staring down expressionlessly:
"You..."
"I'm here to repay your kindness!"
Ryo spoke up first, interrupting his momentum before he could cast his spell.
"Repay my kindness?"
Kitahara raised an eyebrow and glared over.
"My mother taught me since childhood that one must repay kindness with gratitude," Ryo tilted her delicate face upward, showing not the slightest panic even while pinned in a kabedon. "As the saying goes, a drop of water received in need should be repaid with a gushing spring..."
"Tsk, that sounds so familiar."
Kitahara felt the phrase was bizarrely ringing a bell; pondering carefully for a moment, he recalled it almost immediately.
Not long ago, Anon-san had uttered the exact same words, so no wonder it sounded so familiar.
Ryo continued with righteous confidence:
"For the kindness of providing shelter, naturally one must offer oneself in marriage."
"Thanks, but no thanks," Kitahara issued a decisive three-fold refusal. "Just return the borrowed money to me and that will do."
"Money borrowed by my own capability has never once been repaid," Ryo lifted her dainty chin. "I choose to pay off the debt with my body."
Kitahara's lips twitched slightly, deliberately putting on a fierce expression:
"Paying off debt with your body, is it? I'll take that seriously."
Tremble!
Feel fear!
Being trapped in a kabedon by an unfamiliar, shirtless boy, you ought to be shivering in absolute terror by now!
Unfortunately, far from being afraid, Ryo actually pushed out her chest and reached her right hand out toward Kitahara:
"Well then, thanks for the feast."
Kitahara: "..."
What on earth is 'thanks for the feast' supposed to mean?!
Could you have been frightened into spouting utter gibberish?!
Their gazes locked.
Ryo's eyes were limpid and luminous without the faintest sign of wavering or dodging, the corners of her lips curling upward slightly, seemingly relishing pure amusement...
All in all, not a shred of fear could be detected in her demeanor.
Kitahara quickly admitted defeat.
To lay hands on an unfamiliar girl over a measly two thousand yen was something Kitahara naturally could never bring himself to do.
"Ryo-senpai, you probably ran away from home just to throw a tantrum and draw your parents' attention," Kitahara stepped back half a pace helplessly to evade Ryo's advance, offering a serious analysis. "However, doing this is truly very dangerous. You should still go home and communicate properly with your parents instead of acting out of spite."
"My, so Kitahara thinks like that..."
Ryo clasped her hands behind her back, smiling as she looked over:
"Unfortunately, your guess is incorrect."
"Huh?"
"What if I say..." Ryo exhaled breath fragrant as orchids, whispering into his ear, "I did all of this simply because I like Kitahara?"
Kitahara: "..."
Slipping into slippers, Ryo walked nonchalantly into the living room, opened the refrigerator, and pulled out an ice cream bar to munch on:
"I originally wanted to repay your kindness with my body, but since Kitahara doesn't know how to cherish the offer, let us switch to a different method... Kitahara works a part-time job, right?"
"That's right."
Kitahara nodded gently.
After restarting his life, his bank balance of over a billion yen had completely vanished into thin air, forcing him to work part-time to earn money all over again.
"My close friend's family runs a live house, and they are currently hiring," Ryo extended the tip of her pink tongue, lightly licking the ice cream. "I happen to work there too. Why doesn't Kitahara come along with me?"
"I refuse..."
"Five thousand yen per hour, paid daily."
"Please, introduce me without fail."
"..."
Half an hour later.
Shimokitazawa.
STARRY Live House.
"Nijika, Tenchou," Ryo raised her right hand, her smile beaming with amusement. "I've brought the person."
Following behind Ryo, Kitahara stepped into the live house; taking in the sight of fully equipped performance gear, it indeed appeared to be a proper, legitimate venue.
There were no customers inside the live house yet, only three staff members: a squint-eyed female sound engineer with long, straight black hair; a petite, lovely blonde girl with a side ponytail; and a blonde, waist-length-haired live house manager whose face was draped in pure apathy.
Whether it was his imagination or not, Kitahara could not shake the feeling that the blonde manager and the side-ponytail girl were looking at him with exceedingly complicated gazes.
"I am Kitahara. Nice to meet you; please treat me well."
Kitahara took the initiative to introduce himself first.
Hearing those words, the expression on the blonde side-ponytail girl's face turned noticeably more complex; biting her lower lip gently with pearly-white teeth, she muttered internally:
Kitahara-kun really did forget about everyone...
Their last encounter had been nothing more than a fleeting glance outside the café doorway; since then, they hadn't crossed paths once.
When Ryo proposed at school this morning that they invite Kitahara to work here, Nijika was naturally overjoyed; upon returning home after school, she relayed Ryo's plan to her older sister, while Seika listened in absolute silence.
For someone possessing a tsundere disposition raised to the fourth power like Seika, failing to voice an outright rejection was effectively equivalent to agreement.
There was simply no other choice.
Neither Nijika nor Seika could bring themselves to be as shameless as Ryo and throw themselves at his doorstep for free.
Yet because they did not attend the same school and held zero overlapping routines in everyday life, if they didn't proactively engineer points of contact, they wouldn't even find an opportune moment to take the stage once Kitahara had been completely devoured by others.
"You're Kitahara, right?"
Seika folded her arms across her chest, her gaze fixing on Kitahara with mixed emotions as she strove to maintain an aloof tone:
"Working hours are from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Your primary duty is serving as floor staff; when beverage suppliers deliver shipments, you will also be responsible for hauling crates. In terms of compensation, it is five thousand yen per hour. Do you see any issue with this?"
"Those are the only duties?" Kitahara hesitated slightly. "Isn't the hourly wage a bit too high?"
Of course it was high.
For anyone else, an hourly wage of two thousand yen was the absolute upper limit; five thousand yen was completely out of the question.
However, since the applicant standing here was Kitahara, the hourly wage naturally ceased to matter.
"In addition to that, you will have an 'invisible' duty," Seika had naturally planned out how to justify it beforehand. "When patrons attend concerts, they virtually all drink; whenever someone gets drunk and causes a scene, you will be responsible for maintaining order. Any issues with that?"
"No problem."
Kitahara agreed in a single breath.
No wonder the hourly wage was this generous—it turned out he would be moonlighting as an enforcer as well; seen that way, five thousand yen per hour was hardly an exaggeration.
"Since you agree, let's sign the contract."
Seika opened a drawer and retrieved an agreement.
Once Kitahara finished signing the paperwork, Seika turned her head toward Nijika beside her, speaking softly:
"Nijika, take him to change into the work uniform."
"...Leave it to me."
Nijika agreed softly, her clear eyes turning toward Kitahara:
"Kitahara-san, please follow me; the staff breakroom is behind the storage room."
"Much obliged."
Kitahara expressed polite gratitude and followed behind her.
Propping her chin with her right hand, Seika stealthily watched Kitahara's departing figure, only pulling her gaze back with lingering reluctance once he was entirely out of sight.
Staaare—
A squint-eyed woman with long, straight black hair appeared before the counter before anyone noticed, beaming over at her with an all knowing grin.
"Why do you make zero noise when walking?"
Seika jumped in fright, jerking her upper body backward violently.
"Seika-chan's expression just now was so adorable," PA-san leaned across the counter, speaking with narrowed eyes and a grin. "Just like meeting a long-parted lover all over again."
Seika's delicate face instantly flushed crimson as she shouted in flustered embarrassment:
"Stop talking nonsense! That brat is just a high school student, alright?!"
"When you like someone, you have to be brave; even if he's a high schooler, it doesn't matter, you know."
"Urusai! As if I would ever lay a hand on a high school student!"
"..."
Ever since life restarted, she no longer held any ties with that lecherous brat; she would absolutely never let him enjoy a sisters donburi bowl again!
From now on, she would deliberately keep her distance and avoid all unnecessary interaction!
Precisely!
That was the plan!
Yet even with those thoughts, the moment the reality of completely cutting ties with Kitahara entered her mind, Seika's heart flared with a sour, stinging ache that felt utterly agonizing.
Folding her arms across her chest, Ryo drawled deliberately:
"Tenchou, your current line of thought is exceedingly perilous."
"Hah?"
Seika looked over in bafflement.
"Once Kitahara recovers his memories and discovers Tenchou wanted to sever ties with him, how do you think Kitahara will react?" Ryo lowered her voice. "In all likelihood, he'll lock Tenchou inside the onsen village and thoroughly fill you up to the brim."
Seika's face burned scorching hot; the instant she imagined the rough handling she might face in the future, her heart could not help but race in secret, though her tongue remained stubbornly defiant:
"As long as I stand firm enough, that lecherous brat won't dare touch me!"
"Can Tenchou truly bring herself to turn Kitahara down?" Ryo called her bluff without mercy. "The way you looked at him just now was practically dripping with sticky affection."
"I did not! I never did! Don't make things up!"
"..."
Simultaneously.
Staff Breakroom.
"Kitahara-san, please wear this uniform."
Nijika produced the uniform she had prepared long in advance, handing it over to Kitahara.
"Thank you."
Kitahara gave polite thanks.
"Then I'll step out first; Kitahara-san, please change..."
Nijika lowered her eyelashes despondently, turning to leave the changing room.
In the past, whenever they were alone together, Kitahara would inevitably get touchy-feely; being treated with this much polite courtesy right now felt profoundly miserable.
Then there was their daughter, Hana—although Kitahara had assured her that he sealed Hana inside the onsen village and that she would return once the village remanifested from the temporal vortex, she inevitably still worried...
Kitahara didn't let his mind wander so far; ensuring the door was firmly locked, he promptly began swapping into the uniform.
Having finished changing.
Pushing open the door, Kitahara was surprised to discover that the blonde side-ponytail girl was still waiting outside:
"Ijichi-senpai?"
Nijika lifted her eyes, explaining softly:
"Since Kitahara-san just arrived to work here and isn't familiar with many things, I'll show you around."
"I'd appreciate that."
Kitahara naturally voiced polite thanks.
"Also, just calling me Nijika-senpai will do," Nijika said gently. "We'll be working together from now on, so there's no need to stand on ceremony."
He used to call her Nijika-chan; reverting to 'Ijichi-senpai' was something she truly disliked hearing.
Kitahara readily obliged: "Nijika-senpai."
"Let's get going..." A faint smile finally surfaced on Nijika's small face; just as she was about to turn and lead the way, her eyes widened suddenly. "Wait a moment."
"Mmh?"
Kitahara paused in confusion.
"Your collar isn't folded neatly..."
As Nijika spoke, she rose up onto the tips of her toes, extending both hands to adjust Kitahara's collar with utmost natural ease.
An orchid-and-musk scent drifted into his nostrils, leaving Kitahara with a delicate flutter in his chest.
Standing on tiptoes to straighten a guy's collar on our very first meeting—isn't Nijika lacking a sense of personal space just a bit too much?!
"Ah, I'm sorry..."
Nijika snapped back to her senses almost immediately; blushing crimson, she frantically waved her hands and stepped backward:
"At home I'm always looking after my sister, so I just acted out of habit without thinking—please don't take it to heart."
The explanation sounded sensible on the surface, but Kitahara still harbored faint suspicions.
Men and women maintained boundaries; even if she possessed a caretaking personality, she shouldn't be acting this intimately with a stranger she had just met, should she?
"Let's get moving," Nijika turned around swiftly. "I'll familiarize Kitahara-san with the work environment and introduce you to the other staff."
"..."
A moment later.
Upon seeing the remaining two employees, Kitahara was struck completely dumbfounded.
"Kitahara-san, good evening!"
The red-haired girl beamed with a radiant smile, her voice bursting with cheerful energy; it was none other than Kita, the coin-retrieving girl he had met this morning.
"...Good evening."
Kitahara shifted his gaze toward the final employee.
Standing next to Kita was a timid, shrinking pink-haired girl clad in staff uniform; though her head was hung low, Kitahara recognized her at a single glance—it was undoubtedly Gotoh-san, whom he had run into at the train station this morning.
Most of his co-workers were people he had already bumped into today—was Tokyo really this small?!
"Something feels off..."
Kitahara's gaze hardened, sensing that something was deeply amiss.
As the proverb goes, without coincidences there would be no story, and coincidences certainly occurred in life; but when coincidences piled up in such excessive numbers, it was impossible not to take notice.
"Guests have arrived," Nijika chimed in quickly to steer the conversation away. "Kitahara-san, let's get to work."
"...Alright."
Kitahara put aside his doubts and swiftly locked into work mode.
Drawing an hourly wage of five thousand yen, working diligently was only natural!
Before long, 9:30 PM arrived.
Work concluded.
Changing back into his personal clothes, Kitahara collected today's pay from the manager, Seika, then stepped out of the live house and headed toward the train station.
Before he had walked very far, Kitahara discovered a tiny tail trailing right behind him...