The goodwill parties didn’t cost much because they didn’t need entertainment, but money still had to be spent on food, dresses for the ladies, and decoration, which added up. Mitsuha wondered why you couldn’t just wear the same dress again, but the etiquette was that you had a new dress tailored every time. The only ones who didn’t were the less affluent barons’ families.
Tailors and seamstresses must be laughing all the way to the bank. And that’s exactly why I’m building a dressmaking industry in Yamano County.
Anyway, I’m done here! All that’s left is to make the rest of the payments!
It was the day after Beatrice’s debut. Mitsuha jumped to Yamano base number four: the gallery café Gold Coin. More specifically, she jumped inside the small storage booth attached to the back of the café that she’d built specifically for jumping purposes. She snuck out of the booth, circled around the building, and entered the café through the front door.
It was almost closing time. The sound of the door chime drew the attention of Rudina, Sylua, and a handful of customers, but they all turned away when they saw Mitsuha’s harmless demeanor. The kitchen was closed for the day. Rudina was cleaning the tables with Sylua. Mitsuha gave them a little wave as she walked across the seating area and headed for the stairs.
The customers probably thought she was Rudina’s or Sylua’s younger sister, given the time she arrived. That would’ve been the most obvious guess if you didn’t know the young café workers were former orphans without family, but that wasn’t the kind of thing a chef or waitress normally revealed to a customer.
Oh wait, it’s pretty clear from my appearance that I’m not related to them. Still, I could be a half-sister or stepsister.
Mitsuha had informed her two employees beforehand that she wanted to hold a meeting after closing. She was going to prepare dinner herself, so they knew not to make anything.
She passed by the employees’ bedrooms on the second floor and entered the storage room where the spare tableware and cooking utensils were kept, as well as some food with longer shelf lives. There was also a desk and a laptop that connected to the internet. This was where Mitsuha sent her email orders to Colette’s Sculptures.
The wares and food stock were pushed against the wall, making a clearing in the middle of the room. A table and three chairs were set. Mitsuha secretly jumped in during the day while the girls were working and removed some of the stock─hopefully, they wouldn’t notice anything was missing─cleared some space, set the furniture, and tidied up.
I’ll have to put everything back before they notice anything’s missing. They never go upstairs during business hours. They always replenish the stock in this room after closing time too, so they definitely didn’t come in today. They’re both insanely serious about their job.
All right…
“Double jump!”
It’s time to start preparing!
It was eight o’clock at night, closing time for Gold Coin’s evening service. The girls would actually close the store a little later, as they couldn’t kick out the customers who were still eating. They had to clean up afterwards as well.
Fortunately, while the world was full of rude customers who refused to go home after a restaurant closed, most of this café’s diners were reasonable people who never stayed more than ten minutes past eight. The regulars understood that staying late placed Rudina and Sylua in greater danger, and they clued the other customers in.
Mitsuha was grateful for that. While the girls lived at the café and didn’t have to face the dangers of walking home in the dark, nighttime was still unsafe. The later they closed the café, the greater chance they had of being targeted by thieves. Clean-up started when the last customer left, which meant they’d be alone in the building.
Every night after Rudina and Sylua finished cleaning, they closed the shutters, turned off the lights on the first floor, and activated a number of vicious security traps. There was no way in hell a burglar could pass through all the traps on the first floor and the staircase in the darkness and reach the girls on the second floor.
There was a police station nearby─which was why Mitsuha chose this location in the first place─but that didn’t remove all danger. There was a possibility that the café may have been guarded by government officers, but it wasn’t like Mitsuha specifically requested for additional security. There may not have been any at all. It’d be idiotic to count on that assumption. At least they were blessed with kind regular customers.
It might be a good idea to start doing things like customer appreciation days, coupons, and point cards. Inviting customers to café anniversary parties or anything exclusive like that would be a bad idea, though. Showing favoritism to some customers over others is suicide for a business.
Customers who get special treatment tend to get cocky and start acting like they own the place. They might even start letting themselves in behind the counter as if they were staff and try to help out or order around other customers. That obviously isn’t fun for anyone else.
Giving preference to certain customers seems like an especially bad idea when the employees are two young girls. I don’t want anyone getting any ideas or doing something inappropriate to them.
Yeah… There are certain lines you just can’t let customers cross.
Mitsuha had instructed Rudina and Sylua to come upstairs once they were done cleaning. The café was closed tomorrow, so they didn’t have to do any prepping. It wouldn’t be much longer before they came up.
Knock, knock.
It was Rudina and Sylua.
“Come in!”
The door creaked as Rudina turned the doorknob and stepped into the room. Sylua followed behind her.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
“Ahh!” Rudina yelped and froze at the sound of Mitsuha’s party poppers. Sylua instinctively reached under her skirt but the second she saw it was just her boss, she slowly pulled her hand back out. Nothing was in her palm.
Wait. Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait! What did she just…?! Yeah, she did… She reached into her skirt…to pull something out.
Right hand under the skirt…
That’s the same place I keep my Walther PPS. And did she just position herself so Rudina comes right between us…?
Mitsuha shivered.
“U-Umm, w-w-well, i-it’s your b-b-b-birthday, Sylua! I-I thought it’d be nice to celebrate…” Being their employer, Mitsuha had access to the girls’ personal information, including their birthdays.
Technically, their real birthdays were unknown. It was apparently common for orphans to choose either the day they entered the orphanage or the day they were adopted as their birthdays. Their actual ages were usually unknown too, but a small child’s age could be guessed with reasonable accuracy, so they were at most off by a year from the age they believed they were.
✦ ✦ ✦
Anyway, as far as Gold Coin was concerned, today was Sylua’s eighteenth birthday.
…Huh? Sylua’s not moving…
“…Birthday?” Sylua stared, dumbfounded.
It was rare to see her so flustered. In fact, this expression was a first for Mitsuha.
What’s going on? Don’t tell me she’s never heard of birthdays. She’s already had seventeen of them. Well, eighteen now…
“Birthday…” Sylua repeated.
Her eyes fell on the table. It was set with an assortment of food, a cake, and one-liter juice cartons. Mitsuha decided to splurge on the two-dollar cartons instead of the dollar drinks she usually got.
Uh, is she okay?
After another long silence, Rudina took Sylua by the hand and led her to one of the seats at the table. She sat down and stared blankly as if her soul had left her body.
That’s concerning. What the heck is happening…
“So you’re saying you’ve never had a birthday party before?” probed Mitsuha. “Or been invited to one? And you always thought that birthday parties were something you’d never see in your lifetime? Pretty much a dream as far-fetched as receiving an invitation to a royal ball?”
Sylua, who still seemed a bit out of it, nodded.
“What about you, Rudina?”
“I have… At the orphanage. They’d host a small party for all the kids who share the same birth month. They also sang for us and gave us little gifts like handmade dolls and things… Oh, and one extra dish for dinner.”
Yeah, birthdays do seem like something an orphanage wouldn’t want to miss entirely. It’s one of the few constants the kids have to look forward to. I’m definitely going to give them proper celebrations here at Gold Coin.
People in this country are considered adults at fifteen, but I guess that doesn’t matter.
Mitsuha brought presents too. She wanted Sylua to enjoy the day.
…As soon as the birthday girl pulls herself together.
Sylua’s turning eighteen, but I’m the oldest here at nineteen. Anyone would think that I’m the youngest, though.
Why would people think that, you ask? Shut up! You know very well why!