2.1 (1/2)

It became summer. I’d first met Mamizu just at the start of spring, but now the hot summer days that caused sweat to well up on the skin had well and truly begun. I was surprised at myself for thinking of the changing of the season in relation to Mamizu.

Normally, summer vacation would mean freedom. Despite that, I was a little busy during that time.

“I’ve always wanted to try working a part-time job at a maid café,” said Mamizu.

Well, it was true that I’d been running out of money recently, so I had been feeling a need to get a part-time job. I didn’t have any preferences as to what kind of work it was, so I suppose you could say that I was fine with anywhere.

That being said, there was no need for me to work at a maid café of all places.

I tried calling out of desperation rather than just giving it a try because I had nothing to lose, and I somehow managed to get an interview. I went to the café at the specified time during its opening hours, was shown into an office at the back and was immediately put through an interview.

The one who interviewed me was a man in about his mid-thirties who introduced himself as the owner. He was wearing a black s.h.i.+rt, white necktie, Chrome Hearts jewelry and there was a tattoo on his arm peeking out of his sleeve. No matter how I looked at it, his fas.h.i.+on sense couldn’t be called anything respectable.

“I was just looking for some male help in the kitchen, you see,” he said.

Apparently, my role was helping make the dishes that the maids served. I see, that work would be fine for a male to do, I thought, with a look of comprehension making its way onto my face for the first time. The owner stared at me as if he was looking at something strange.

“What, there’s no way you wanted to be a maid, right?” he said.

He was probably joking, but I couldn’t do anything except desperately force a smile.

He told me to start tomorrow. It wasn’t that far off Mamizu’s request of working at a maid café, and it would fulfil my objective of getting a part-time job. Well, this can probably be considered a success, I thought as I immediately agreed.

My part-time job had been sorted out, so I got the feeling that it was alright to spend a little money. I’d just remembered Mamizu saying, “I’ve always wanted to have a pet.”

Both of her parents had allergies, so she had never had a dog or a cat. There was also the fact that tests showed Mamizu herself was allergic as well.

“It doesn’t have to be a dog or a cat; I don’t want one that dies so quickly. I want one that lives long, that at least won’t die before me,” she’d said.

“Like a turtle?”

I’d suggested it as a joke, but she’d exclaimed, “That’s it!”

But where was I supposed to buy a turtle?

On the way back home from the maid café, I looked on the internet to find out that there was conveniently a nearby store at which I could buy a turtle. When I went to the pet corner of the hardware store, I did indeed find turtles being sold.

Turtles were cheap.

I’d lived my life up until now without ever knowing the market price of turtles, but even the most expensive ones were less than a thousand yen. If it’s this cheap, can’t I just buy it without even having to wait for my pay from the part-time job? I thought.

Cranes live for a thousand years, turtles live for ten thousand.

So the proverb goes, but I wonder how long turtles actually live. I’m sure they don’t actually live for ten thousand years. They could be considered monsters if that were the case.

I asked the store employee, and he said they live for up to thirty years. But when I asked him more questions, I found out that turtles need a water tank and various other things to take care of them, and these cost quite a bit of money. I told him that I’d be back and left for now.

“Welcome home, Master! I’m Riko-chan!”

This was the greeting given to me on the first day of my part-time job by a short-haired maid with bright hair. I felt really apologetic.

“Umm, I’m working here starting today. My name is Okada,” I said.

The maid’s face turned visibly red, right before my eyes. “Th-the service entrance is that way. This is the entry hall for the customers,” she said, seeming quite embarra.s.sed despite the fact that I was definitely in the wrong here. “I’m Hirabayas.h.i.+ Riko. I’m forever seventeen, but I’m actually seventeen, in my second year of high school. That’s a secret from the customers, though. Nice to meet you.”

I quickly thanked her and then headed for the service entrance.

I went inside and was told that the owner was absent. Without even having time to introduce myself, I was quickly told by a senior maid to get in the kitchen. Since I was in charge of food preparation, I didn’t have a uniform; I was just required to wear a white s.h.i.+rt and black trousers. I put on an ap.r.o.n in place of a uniform and entered the kitchen.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t a senior member in the kitchen.

I was told that the person in charge of cooking had a fight with the owner and quit months ago, and the maids had been taking turns to do the work.

“Hurry, help out,” the senior maid said.

In stark contrast to the relaxed atmosphere inside the store, the inside of the kitchen was h.e.l.lishly busy. There were maids navigating this deadly environment, never standing still, never stopping their hands from moving. I learned by watching them and helped them with their work.

I started working at noon, and it was ten o’clock at night when I finished. Exhausted, I was sitting in the office when the short-haired maid I met earlier when I arrived called out to me.

“Good work,” she said.

“Ah… Riko-chan-san.”

In that store, the maids referred to each other by their given names and added -chan. The customers referred to them like this as well, so the staff did the same. I was a little embarra.s.sed, but when in Rome, I had to do as the Romans did. I followed this practice without going against the flow, but since they were older than me, I used a double honorific by adding -san.

“Okada-kun, how was your first day at work?” Riko-chan-san asked.

“I made a cake for the first time in my life,” I said.

Since they were short-handed, I was made to do all kinds of things. It was my first time working a part-time job, but my honest impression was that I hadn’t thought that it would be this tiring.