"Imamura Kouhei... munch! Please look after me from now on!"
"Hello everyone!" x2
"Please take care of us~"
Inside the Dolphin shop, the new and old batches of employees met for the first time. Kotegawa Sayaka leaned unhappily against the doorframe, raising a hand to introduce the newcomers: "This is Maki. She will introduce the specific workflow to you."
"Yes! Hello, I'm Maki. I'm specifically responsible for the training and orientation of newcomers!"
Having just started university, Kujo Maki was a local girl. Living by the sea year-round gave her skin a very natural wheat color, slightly darker than Manager Sayaka's.
As for working at Dolphin, it was purely because she loved diving and was scouted. Since her grades weren't great, she intended to make this her future career. However...
"Though I've heard rumors, you guys really eat with gusto."
Listening to the constant noise of chewing in her ear, she added two lines of troubled complaints after her lively self-introduction, "Have you already completely adapted to living in a diving shop?"
"For some reason, I now have a mysterious sense of intimacy with diving shops. That much is true!"
"After all, we're always sleeping in the shop, so getting used to it is only natural! Chomp!"
With mouths full of fried rice, Kitahara Iori and Imamura Kouhei had expressions of complete normalcy. Even Chisa and Aina held their lunch boxes, turning their bulging cheeks to the side.
After all, isn't eating in the shop perfectly normal? Though this shop didn't look like it was designed for residential use...
"Ahaha~ is that so?"
"Basically, it counts as an employee benefit. After all, the shop opens so early that if we didn't eat here, we wouldn't make it in time, right?"
"Urgh!"
Her heart was stabbed hard by Iori. Recalling the rice ball she had hastily stuffed into her mouth at home, Kujo Maki's eyes instantly became resentful—Exactly! Where is there time to cook for yourself when work starts at six!
Heating food at a 24/7 convenience store means lining up with salarymen. Compared to that, these guys look surprisingly amateur, but their treatment is unexpectedly great!
"Ah, if Miss Maki hasn't eaten, I have a leftover bento here."
"Is it okay?"
Her eyes sparkled instantly. Totally failing to notice the hidden blade in Miyazawa Yuu's smile, Kujo Maki, as a bright and cheerful girl, never hid her desires, especially among colleagues!
"I want it!"
"Cough cough!"
A light cough served as a reminder. Maki hadn't noticed, but as the senior lead, the dark-skinned girl keenly caught the death stare coming from beneath the Manager's sunglasses!
Her not-so-bright little brain whirled a few times. She looked at her senior and then at the Manager. Kujo Maki suppressed the joy at the corners of her mouth, took the bento, hid it behind her back, and immediately switched to work mode.
"In any case, this is a new shop about to have its grand opening. You've all heard that, right?"
"Yes."
"We heard!"
"So! We need to do a rehearsal before the opening. Therefore, we need you to play the role of 'Difficult Customers'!"
Dragging over a small blackboard, Kujo Maki patted the to-do list on it. Kotegawa Sayaka explained simultaneously: "This is to test the staff's ability to improvise."
"I see. A very meticulous plan. Then I'll play the staff member..."
With his arms crossed, looking at the densely packed completed items on the blackboard, Miyazawa Yuu held up a finger to make a suggestion, but the second half of his sentence was cut off midway.
"You go play the customer. Chisa and Nanaka will play the staff with us. That's how we'll distribute it!"
"Um, but troublesome customers aren't easy for us to play. We've been staff for so long, and all the customers we've met were very friendly!"
Was his intent noticed? Miyazawa Yuu shook his head regretfully. He had originally wanted to show off his exquisite hospitality skills; he hadn't expected the counterattack to come so quickly.
"Don't worry about that! I heard it from the other Manager Kotegawa at Grand Blue! All of you are missing a screw in your heads!"
"..."
Maintaining a smile, Miyazawa Yuu froze on the spot, then stiffly turned his head to confirm with Kujo Maki: "Uncle Toshio? Hahaha! He must have been overworked and made a typo~"
"No! Actually, we even got photos from Uncle Toshio in advance!"
Handing over a photo of Miyazawa Yuu naked and drinking with Iori and Kouhei, Kujo Maki clenched her fist and affirmed: "Just perform like this. It 100% counts as being an abnormal person!"
"...Haha, look, this head and body don't match. It's definitely Photoshopped..."
"Uncle Toshio also said you change sizes whenever and wherever. We even prepared to set up a stage in the shop to have you perform for customers 24 hours a day to attract business!"
The photo was tightly crushed in the center of his palm. Veins popped on Miyazawa Yuu's forehead. That feeling of his "underwear" being pierced through was back!
Uncle Toshio really is mischievous; he didn't leave him even a shred of room to establish a persona. Is this the mutual appreciation between husband and wife—cyber-blocking disasters for each other?
"Heh~ you little brat!"
Feeling vindicated, Kotegawa Sayaka had been uncomfortable for a long time. Seeing this little brat suffer a setback, her mood instantly turned joyful, and she raised an eyebrow, revealing an undisguised, wicked smile.
Thinking about it now, her husband's "nice guy" personality is actually quite good. Once Dolphin gets on the right track, she should head home for a visit. She actually missed him a little—what was up with that...
"Hiss... did Auntie Sayaka just break the ice?"
"Super scary!"
On the other side, being thoroughly spooked, Yoshiwara Aina and the remaining three from the PAB club collectively shrank into the corner, looking at Kotegawa Sayaka with terrified, bewildered eyes.
You have to realize, this was a true "Ice Queen" colder than even Chisa, whose expression didn't change even when mother and daughter met. To think she would show such an evil expression!
Only one night had passed. Just what kind of heinous thing did Yuu do to make the pleasure of revenge so intense!
"To be honest, I've never seen her show that kind of 'vengeance achieved' expression!"
Speaking of shock, Chisa was the one among the four who found it hardest to accept. As the second daughter, she had the absolute final say on the level of her mother's "iceberg" nature.
"Iori! Use your invincible scum-logic to analyze this. Just what heinous thing did Yuu do? Should we call the police!"
"Wait! Calm down!"
Holding a hand up in front of the panicked Chisa, Kitahara Iori's gaze turned sharp as he covered half his face. His CPU's operation had reached maximum power!
Suddenly, in an instant, a flash of inspiration struck. He widened his eyes, having analyzed some useful information.
"Ugh, don't you guys think Yuu is being a bit too enthusiastic toward Maki? It's as if..."
His finger pointed at Yuu, who was helplessly accepting reality but whose eyes were clashing with Auntie Sayaka's. He said solemnly: "It's just like how he is with us. This guy... he couldn't be trying to 'possess' Dolphin too, right? Just like he did with Grand Blue!"
"What!?" x4
...
"Can't be helped. Let's go, Iori, Kouhei. We're being treated completely like weirdos!"
On the other side, having been backstabbed by Uncle Toshio, Miyazawa Yuu was forced to temporarily give up his "Patriarch" persona. He returned to his normal form and called the others who were assigned as customers to head out.
Outside the Dolphin shop doors, looking at the other three who were hanging their heads in silence, he tilted his head in confusion and asked: "What's wrong? It's fine, just walk in normally. After all, we're the 'troublesome guests'..."
"Yuu..."
Hiding her eyes under her bangs, Yoshiwara Aina slowly walked up to the "poor child," cupping his cheeks with both hands as she looked up with teary, pitying eyes.
"I know it's hard to take that Auntie won't accept you, but this isn't Izu. 'Possessing' things will only make everyone unhappy!"
"Huh? What are you talking about..."
"No need to explain! We already know. you suffered a lot at Auntie Sayaka's house, right!"
Iori and Kouhei were even starting to sob. With veins popping on her maternal arms, Yoshiwara Aina tried hard to pull Yuu's head into her embrace for comfort, but with little success.
"Chotto matte! Have you guys misunderstood something!"
Having no desire to experience the texture of fake breasts, Miyazawa Yuu straightened his body wordlessly. Aina's small arms and legs could not budge his muscles even an inch.
He reached out and lightly flicked her forehead. Taking advantage of Aina letting go in pain, he explained in a low voice: "I wasn't bullied. Although it was a sofa, Mother-in-law was quite thoughtful and prepared beer!"
"Then you're..."
"Hmm... it's complicated to explain. Basically, I hope to invade Mother-in-law's daily routine so I can gain her recognition through my actions. Understand?"
"It's hard to understand—romance and stuff!"
Propping up his chin, Imamura Kouhei didn't even have a girlfriend, so naturally, he couldn't fathom why Yuu's way of sucking up to his mother-in-law was so counter-intuitive. However...
"If there's anything you need help with, just tell us. We might be clumsy with words, but we can manage saying a few good things!"
"You guys..."
Although the worry was for nothing, looking at the "scum" who were sticking their thumbs up and willing to help, Miyazawa Yuu still nodded in appreciation: "Yeah, I get it!"