All set, thought Chisato. Takina was on track to hook up with Mr. Doi. Or maybe Mr. Doi was on track to hook up with Takina. Either way, the result would be the same.
“What is it, Chisato? You’re looking pleased with yourself!”
Chisato inwardly scolded herself for staring with a smug grin. She laughed the question off and went to the staff room with Takina to get changed. She was feeling buoyant.
The job she and Takina were working on throughout last night proved harder than expected. Chisato had been planning to finish it quickly and see a movie with Takina, but when they were done, she was so tired she thought she might have to cancel that… Fortunately, she got to nap in Mizuki’s car on the way to the café and felt much better. She had the energy to last until evening. The fact that her plan to help Takina hook up with Mr. Doi was going exceedingly well energized her even more.
When she removed the Lycoris uniform, Chisato felt the remnants of tension from the nighttime action leave her. A mental switch had been flicked, and she couldn’t stop grinning.
“I’ll refill the ammo first.”
How typical of Takina to always prioritize Lycoris work.
They’d done a lot of shooting last night. The satchels where they kept their guns and ammunition felt lighter than they should have.
A Lycoris should always be ready for dispatch. While it was okay not to clean their work equipment after returning from a mission, ammunition should constantly be restocked… That was the theory, but Chisato would sometimes put that off until later. She didn’t want to feel like she was constantly on duty, and besides, she was confident that as long as she had at least one full magazine, she’d manage in an emergency.
As Takina disappeared into the basement, which housed the firing range and the arsenal, Mizuki came in. Kurumi came out of the wardrobe from which she’d been remotely supporting the Lycoris.
“What’s this smug face for?”
“Huh? Me, smug? I’m just happy about…stuff!”
Mizuki and Kurumi grunted appreciatively, immediately picking up on what Chisato was happy about.
“Takina and Mr. Doi are a thing, then?”
“Yup! The romance flag has been triggered! It’s in the bag, girls.”
“Okay. I don’t really know anything about romance. What happens next?”
Chisato stopped, half-naked. She crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side, thinking. She also didn’t know what was supposed to happen next.
In dating sims, once you raised your friendship level past a certain point with another character, they’d ask you out and confess their love.
Finding nothing better to say, Chisato told the others about this game mechanic.
“Then you may have a problem,” Kurumi said, cocking her head. “No matter how friendly you get with someone, if they don’t see you as a potential partner, you end up in the friend zone, no?”
“Younger men are easier. You just need to get them horny. But Mr. Doi isn’t young anymore. He’s not so simple. At his age, men are more discerning,” Mizuki added.
This worried Chisato. She’d triggered all the flags to unlock this love route, but it wasn’t enough? Were her efforts for nothing?!
“Hold on, Mizuki. Let’s look at it from another angle. So, the objective is to make Mr. Doi see Takina as someone datable, and once that’s cleared, we’re good?”
“Possibly?”
“Okay! Leave it to me!”
Chisato hurriedly finished changing into her kimono apron and went to the café floor. Everyone’s eyes were drawn to her, but she didn’t care. A beautiful girl was always bound to attract attention. At that moment, she was focused on looking for Mr. Doi. Where was he? Ah, there. He was just leaving. She saw him open the door and walk out. She couldn’t lose him!
Chisato ran out of the café, calling Mr. Doi’s name.
“What is the matter, Chisato? Oh, did I forget something?”
“No, you didn’t, but… I need to tell you something.”
Chisato took a deep breath, and then she started explaining. She told him why she and Takina had been asking him to accompany them to all sorts of places lately—it was because Takina had feelings for him…
Maybe she was crossing the line, but the whole plan would be for nothing if she didn’t. So, it had to be done. She’d already put so much work into it, after all, and more importantly, it was worth it if it made Takina happy. She deserved happiness, and their relationship would be a fresh start for the depressed Mr. Doi. It would be a win-win. Chisato loved that phrase.
What could be better than an outcome that made everyone happy at no cost? Her friend’s happiness would radiate to everyone around her. It would be so wonderful. And all it would take was one last push from Chisato!
“Now you know, Mr. Doi… Takina is so in love with you… It would be amazing if you’d consider getting together with her!”
Oh, wait… She didn’t need to tell Mr. Doi that Takina was in love with him. She only had to make him think of her as a potential girlfriend… Oh well! What was the harm?
Chisato realized that she’d handled it with the finesse of a bull in a china shop, but she didn’t like to dwell on things that had gone a little wrong—it was a waste of time. You couldn’t change the past, no matter how much you regretted it. “Don’t worry, and move on” was her motto.
“This… This is very unexpected for me… Life can be stranger than fiction… Are you sure Takina…thinks about me this way?”
“Yes, totally! Trust me on that! Wait… You haven’t noticed?”
When Mr. Doi opened his mouth to confirm that he’d had no idea, something occurred to him, and he fell silent, thinking back to Takina’s attitude toward him now that he’d been given this new context.
She did always come to take his order, even though it seemed like a given he’d only ask for a black coffee as usual. And when they were out together, Takina tried to cheer him up through both words and actions.
Mr. Doi shared his thoughts with Chisato, who palmed her fist triumphantly.
“Yes! This is exactly how a girl in love behaves! A shy girl, desperately trying to convey how much you mean to her! So you did notice! This is great. I can feel love in the air!”
Takina’s love had a high chance of success. No, it was already being reciprocated. Chisato could feel it. She’d played the part of Cupid to perfection.
She could already picture the wedding, with Lycoris members singing “Ladybug Samba”… She’d get that arranged, too—there was nothing Chisato couldn’t do!