Chapter 216

[I'm glad you enjoyed it. It really is a masterpiece.]

[It is. Do you happen to have any other training genre recommendations?]

So this was why Renka had brought up Ms. Asagao's Household Circumstances earlier.

If I happened to mention that book, it would confirm that MK was me.

Last time, and now this too... our Renka was really bad at covering her tracks.

[How explicit do you want it?]

[As long as it's not scat or anything like that, I don't mind.]

[I'll take a look.]

[Thank you. By the way, what does MK stand for?]

[It doesn't mean anything special.]

[Are those your initials? If so, could you at least tell me your last name?]

Already showing her true colors.

Patience was essential when using the carrot and stick to get the desired results... She was being way too hasty.

[Are you crazy?]

[Crazy? That's too harsh. ಠ‸ಠ Are you normally this rude?]

[Who was being rude first? Is asking for someone's last name online a normal question?]

[I can ask, can't I?]

[No, you can't.]

[Yes, I can.]

[Did you message me just to play word games?]

[I'm sorry. I just wanted to get closer to you.]

Unlike in real life, Renka was actually quite charming on the internet.

It was a quirky sort of cuteness rather than the standard type, but I thought it suited her well.

It was also a bit childish.

[Are you a woman?]

[Yes.]

[Let's get along then.]

[It's ridiculous how your attitude changed the second I mentioned my gender. Are you a WCB?]

[What's a WCB?]

[A Woman-Crazed Bastard.]

[Did you just curse at me?]

[I was just explaining what the acronym meant. By the way, how old are you?]

[None of your business.]

[Fuck you.]

At this point, wasn't Renka cursing at me like this because she was absolutely sure MK was me?

She had thrown all those questions at me just to solidify that certainty.

[You've got charm. It's cute.]

[Your attitude really flipped once I said I was a girl. So pathetic.]

[It's just fun humoring a guy pretending to be a girl.]

[I'm not a guy.]

[Let's just say you aren't. Just post your review.]

[Okay. Make sure you think of some other manga to recommend.]

I ignored Renka's final message, closed the app, and buried my face in my pillow.

I couldn't wait for tomorrow.

It was nice seeing Renka slowly open up to me in her own unique way.

Which was exactly why I wanted to bully her relentlessly.

When I arrived at work the next day, Renka was standing blankly in the middle of the quiet cafe.

Did she want to look at her Cell Phone, but was too self-conscious since it was only her second day?

It was cute how she stared absently at the street through the transparent glass doors of the entrance.

"Morning."

When I greeted her from behind, Renka's shoulders gave a start before she turned around.

"Morning. Could you at least make some noise when you walk up?"

"Starting already, are we? I made plenty of noise."

"Whatever. Just go change your clothes."

Seeing Renka grumble like that put me in a good mood right from the start of the day.

I clocked in, changed into my uniform, and was silently going about my tasks when Renka slid over and spoke up.

"Hey."

"What is it?"

"About thirty minutes ago, a customer asked if the guy who worked yesterday was around. It felt like she was subtly fishing for information..."

"Really? Did she happen to look like an office worker?"

"I don't know about that, but she looked busy. She took an iced coffee to go."

It must have been the woman whose coupon I stamped an extra time yesterday.

"So, what did you tell her?"

"I said you were clocking in an hour later... Hey, wipe that smug look off your face."

"When did I look smug? Are you delusional?"

"Never mind then."

Earlier with the footsteps, and now this too... Was she playing around with me?

Was she acting like this because cursing at MK yesterday had put her in a good mood?

Whatever the reason, this sort of reaction from Renka was incredibly welcome.

It was proof that she was growing more comfortable around me.

"President."

"What? What is it?"

"Your pants look nice today."

"...What are you talking about... They're just plain jeans."

"I'm saying the jeans look nice."

"Shut up."

Our Renka always got grumbly like this whenever I complimented her.

Even though she actually liked it.

"Understood. So, what should we do now? Cleaning?"

"Already did it."

"Did you make the coffee cubes for the caramel honey lattes?"

"Yeah. They're freezing in the freezer."

"Do we have enough strawberry preserve?"

"I got some from the Boss this morning and transferred it into the jars."

"You really did do everything. How admirable. Want me to pat your head as a reward?"

"Just try it. You're dead."

"Why are you so violent?"

"You're the one making me violent."

"Can I touch your chin then?"

Did she find my teasing annoying?

Wearing a coy expression, Renka turned away without answering.

I couldn't have even dreamed of having conversations like this with her in the past... We'd made a lot of progress.

Smiling in satisfaction, I continued to bicker with Renka as she tried to avoid me, just like usual, when—

Slide—!

The entrance door opened smoothly, and I offered a bright greeting.

"Welcome."

"Welcome to Cafe 24."

Without prompting each other, we had welcomed the customer at the exact same time.

It felt like we shared some similarities, and I hoped Renka thought the same.

There were more customers coming into the cafe than yesterday.

It wasn't a massive difference like double the amount, but it was still noticeable.

Among them were quite a few returning customers from yesterday, including the office worker I had made my first drink for.

"You're back?"

Her face lit up, clearly pleased that I had recognized her.

She bowed politely and looked up at the menu, trailing off.

"Um..."

"Shall I get you a mocha latte?"

"Ah...! Yes...! You remembered...!"

"Of course I remember. Did you bring your coupon?"

"Yes, here... I'll give it to you with the cash."

Thinking her timid demeanor resembled Bread Girl, I took the coupon the customer held out.

There were three stamps on the coupon.

So this really was the customer Renka had mentioned asking for me.

She must have gotten a stamp when she ordered the iced coffee earlier.

"I've received 450 yen. Thank you for your order. I'll have it ready for you shortly."

"Thank you...!"

After stamping her coupon, I went to take out the ingredients to make the mocha latte.

But Renka, having overheard my conversation with the customer, had already prepared everything and was steaming the milk in front of the espresso machine.

"Are you making the mocha latte?"

"Yeah. You already took the order, so I have nothing else to do. By the way, are you happy?"

Renka asked as she glanced over at the customer who had sat down at an empty table.

I tilted my head and asked back.

"About what?"

"About getting attention. Anyone can tell she's interested in you."

"I don't think anything of it."

"Look at you acting so full of yourself... Ugh... I really hate it."

"Why do you keep coming up with these delusions and jumping to conclusions on your own? How is this acting full of myself?"

"You weren't? Then..."

"'Never mind'?"

"....."

"Your repertoire is always the same. I'll pull the espresso shots."

As soon as the customer received the mocha latte we'd made while lightly bickering and left, the cafe became incredibly quiet, almost like magic.

It was probably because lunchtime was approaching.

We'd likely get busy again in about thirty minutes.

After bringing out the dessert and drink ordered by the only remaining customer, I walked over to Renka, who was doing the dishes.

Watching over her shoulder as she washed the cups barehanded without any rubber gloves, I spoke up.

"Put on some gloves."

"There aren't even that many dishes. It's too much of a hassle to put them on."

"Wear them anyway. If you wash barehanded, you'll get eczema. You practice Kendo; you need to take meticulous care of your hands."

"...Got it. Stop nagging..."

Renka grumbled but still wiped her hands dry with a towel.

Observing each of Renka's pale, slender fingers, I picked up the rubber gloves and held them out to her.

"Your fingers are really pretty."

At the sudden compliment, Renka froze midway through wiping her hands.

Looking up at me with wide eyes, she asked in a flustered tone.

"What...?"

"I said they're pretty. Your fingers."

"W-Why are you suddenly spouting such nonsense...? It's ridiculous..."

"Doesn't someone who holds a shinai for a long time normally get calluses on their palms? I don't see any on you, President. Now that I think about it, I don't think Master has any either."

"Calluses...? I do have them."

"Where?"

"Here... from the middle finger to the pinky on my left hand..."

Renka held out her left palm to show me.

Lowering my head to stare intently at the spot Renka had mentioned, I spoke dubiously.

"I don't see them..."

"If you look closely... Hk...?"

Renka cut her sentence off with a sharp intake of breath.

It was because I had abruptly grabbed her hand and pulled it toward me.

Feigning ignorance to Renka's eyes widening twice their size in shock, I gently rubbed my fingers over the area she had pointed out.

"Ah, they are there."

The joints where her palm met her fingers were definitely firmer than the rest of her skin.

Though it was so subtle that you wouldn't notice without feeling it carefully.

"Hey...! Hey...!!"

Snapping out of her daze from the sudden physical contact, Renka called out to me urgently.

Finding it funny that she couldn't raise her voice because there was a customer present, I let go of her hand.

At that exact moment, she yanked her hand back against her body.

Crossing both arms over her chest as if she had just shown something indecent, she scolded me with a bright red face.

"W-Who said you could just grab it without warning...?"

Rather than teasing her further here, it was better to make it look like an absentminded habit.

I scratched the back of my head as I watched Renka huffing roughly through her nose.

"Sorry. It's a habit of mine..."

"You have a very... very bad habit then...? I'd appreciate it if you were more careful...?"

"I will."

"Do you do this to Chinami too...?"

I did things with Chinami that were on a whole different level of explicit.

Things that would make you dizzy if you heard about them, given how totally clueless you are about this sort of thing.

"I can't say I don't."

"And Chinami doesn't say anything about it?"

She actually loved it.

Just talking about Chinami made me want to see her.

I should video call her today.

"That's between Master and me."

"Ah, right... Just be careful from now on."