Volume 3 - CH 6

A restaurant located about ten minutes by train from Yuzuru’s home.

In the waiting room, a boy in a waiter’s uniform and a man with a mild-mannered appearance were facing each other.

“So, Yuzuru-kun. What are you going to do about your shift this term? Same as before?”

“Well… if you can, it would be great if you could increase it.”

Yuzuru said to a man with a rather neutral atmosphere – the manager of his part-time job.

There are three different jobs that Yuzuru has.

One is as a tutor for the children of his father’s acquaintance’s household.

The other is to help his father’s friend’s lawyer (chores).

And finally, he works at this restaurant.

Of these, tutoring is the most profitable, at 2,000 yen per hour.　

The lawyer’s chores pay 1,500 yen an hour.

However, these two jobs are only available once a week, and the shifts cannot be changed at will.

Therefore, the biggest earner is a part-time job as a waiter at the restaurant.

The hourly wage, by the way, is about one thousand fifty (1050) yen.

“Would that be all right?”

“It would be helpful if you do that, but will you be able to study? If Yuzuru-kun’s grades drop, I’ll get scolded by your parents.”

Naturally.

The manager of this restaurant is also an acquaintance of Yuzuru’s parents.

Although… this was not a relationship with his father or “Takasegawa”, but with Yuzuru’s mother.

“I’ll try not to cause any trouble for you, Hiromi-san.”

Hiromi Hasegawa.

That was his name.

He is a very kind person and Yuzuru is very much indebted to him.

It’s not surprising that the parents would entrust Yuzuru to him.

…As for Yuzuru, he wanted to find a job for himself, but they wouldn’t let him.

There are bad people in this world, so it’s only natural.

In addition, … There’s a dirty adult reason that if Yuzuru were to do ‘something’, it would be easier to cover it up if you knew them.

Of course, Yuzuru didn’t want to do anything of the sort.

“Well, I guess If it’s Yuzuru-kun, you can handle it. It would be a great help to the store… By the way, may I ask why? If you don’t want to tell, that’s fine.”

“I’m trying to save up some money for White Day.”

When Yuzuru replied that, Hiromi’s eyes widened as if to say, “he~e~”.

Then he smirked.

“What? If you are supposed to be receiving something, does that mean there is a girlfriend? And you said you had plans for Christmas as well. So you’re doing what you gotta do, huh, Yuzuru-kun?”

“Well… She’s not really my girlfriend. She’s the one I like.”

Arisa was not his girlfriend.

But she will surely give him Valentine’s Day chocolates… Or so Yuzuru was expecting.

If she didn’t, he would be seriously depressed.

Anyway, if it is certain that you will receive chocolates for Valentine’s Day, you should prepare a gift for White Day while you still can.

If the Christmas present was a jab, this time he intends to knock Arisa out with a real straight shot.

And for that, he needs a good amount of money.

“Heh. …… So, if you become lovers, will you introduce her to me?”

“Yes. Of course, I will, when that time comes”

It’s only natural to introduce your future wife to the people who have treated you well.

“By the way, is she pretty?　Who does she look like?”

“Let’s see…”

Yuzuru mentioned the name of a famous foreign actress.

Hiromi then tilted his head.

“You mean she’s from overseas?”

“She’s mixed-race. Well, she was born and raised in Japan.”

Yuzuru told him information about Arisa as he was asked. But of course, he didn’t tell him anything about her personal life.

He said she was beautiful, a good cook, smart, athletic, and a wonderful woman.

Hiromi nodded his head in agreement.

“Yuzuru-kun, you’re crazy about her, aren’t you?”

“That’s right”

“You don’t even deny it.”

“It’s true after all.”

It’s a fact that Yuzuru is crazy about Arisa, and it’s not something to be ashamed of.

Of course, there’s also the feeling of being a little embarrassed if people tease him.

It’s not cool to be embarrassed, so he just stands proud.

“I see…”

Hiromi nodded as if he was convinced of something.

“All right. I’ll add as many shifts as I can.”

“Thank you very much.”

Hiromi then left the waiting room and scratched his head, looking a little troubled.

“… What am I going to do to explain this to our girls?”

Such a sinful man…

He mumbled quietly and sighed.

A few days later, it was Saturday.

Basically, Saturday is “Arisa’s day”, and Yuzuru stays free.

As he was cleaning his room with a lot of energy since Arisa was coming…

Yuzuru’s cell phone rang.

It was from Arisa.

“Yes, hello. What’s up, Arisa?”

[“I’m sorry… I can’t come to your house today, Yuzuru-san.”]

Her voice sounded somewhat different from the usual Arisa.

It was a little muffled.

“… Are you not feeling well?”

Come to think of it, Yuzuru recalled that she hadn’t looked so good yesterday.

Maybe it was a cold.

[“Yes, …. Geho~! I caught a cold.”]

It seems to be a cold, after all.

However, it’s not good to have a cold at this time.

This is because …

“If I recall correctly, now you’re on your own right? I heard that your sister is staying at a friend’s house, and your mother is traveling with a friend”

And of course, Naoki Amagi was at work.

Haruto Amagi was back at college.

Normally, she might say that it is rather comforting to have no one around… But it must be hard to be alone when she is sick.

[“Geho, geho… It’s okay. I’ll be fine if I sleep a little.”]

That dialogue was very stubborn.

However… It actually made Yuzuru worry.

It was as if she was straining herself to keep Yuzuru from worrying about her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

[“… I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.”]

There was a slight pause before she replied.　

It seems that she was bluffing after all.

Yuzuru felt as if Arisa was asking for help.

(I’d like to respect Arisa’s wishes, but when it comes to illness…)

Even if it was just a mild cold, it could suddenly get worse.

It could be the flu.

This is not the time to be talking about respecting Arisa’s will.

Besides…

(Although she says she’s fine, I feel like she desires help… )

It has been half a year since they first met.

He has come to be able to guess how Arisa feels to some extent.

“Then, I’m coming to visit you now.”

[“Eh? No, but…”]

“Didn’t you take care of me the last time I was injured?”

It was when Yuzuru fell from a tree and sprained his ankle.

When he thinks about it now, that’s what brought him closer to Arisa.

“Let me help you this time.”

As Yuzuru said this…

After a moment of silence, he heard a slightly damp voice.

[“I’ll be in your care”]

“Leave it to me”

New dere degree: 10 → 15%