One day—
At a certain café…
“I’m thinking of getting a part-time job so I can buy a birthday present for Yuzuru-san.”
Arisa said this to Ayaka, Chiharu, and Tenka.
The four of them were in the middle of their usual after-school girls’ hangout.
Her sudden declaration made all three of them widen their eyes.
“Hey, that’s nice. What are you thinking of doing?”
“Well… I haven’t actually decided yet…”
Arisa replied, looking a little embarrassed.
She simply didn’t have the decisiveness or initiative to pick a workplace immediately after deciding she wanted a job.
“Hmm… I’m not entirely sure, but is the present too expensive to cover with your allowance? Or is it more like—you want to pay for it with money you’ve earned yourself?”
“…The latter, I suppose.”
Allowance systems vary from household to household, as do the amounts.
In Arisa’s case, money was given per purpose.
In other words, whenever she wanted to spend money, she had to explain what for and how much, and then receive it each time.
“If I were saving up my allowance, then buying a birthday present with money from my parents would make sense. But… asking them for money specifically to buy Yuzuru-san a present just feels… off somehow… like it wouldn’t really be a present from me… you know?”
Buying a present with money from one’s parents isn’t strange for a high school student.
Some students work part-time, of course, but many don’t—or can’t due to school rules.
So there’s nothing wrong with it per se…
But asking directly, “Give me money so I can buy a present,” felt a bit too on-the-nose, and that discomfort lingered.
That was how Arisa felt.
“Well, a present is about the sentiment… so what matters is that you’re satisfied with it. I think it’s fine… but what are our school’s rules on part-time jobs again? Though someone’s fiancé seems to be working quite a lot…”
Tenka said this as she sipped her iced coffee.
Their school was, technically, a private university-prep academy.
It was the kind of place attended by students from fairly well-off families.
So there were basically no students who needed to work part-time out of financial necessity, nor was it expected.
“Ah, that. I looked it up before too. Apparently, if you get permission, you can work as long as it doesn’t interfere with your studies. Pretty lax, right?”
“Oh really? Well, our school rules are pretty loose and sloppy anyway, so I figured it’d be something like that.”
Ayaka and Chiharu shrugged.
Their school’s rules were famously relaxed—generous if you were being dilligent, sloppy if you weren’t.
“Everyone’s skirts are short, too…”
At Tenka’s mutter, Arisa nodded.
“Right… If freedom is the selling point, you’d think having longer skirts wouldn’t be strange either. But everyone keeps them short. Though… I’m not really one to talk…”
Arisa glanced down at her own skirt.
She was used to it, so she didn’t usually think about it—but after a break, she sometimes caught herself thinking, Isn’t this a bit short?
“If you think that, Arisa-san, why not make it longer? It’s rather improper.”
“Oh? If you feel that way… perhaps you should lengthen yours as well, Tenka-san? …Though I have no intention of changing mine. I don’t want to stand out.”
It wasn’t like Arisa particularly liked having a short skirt.
She didn’t dislike it either… but she only wore it that way because everyone else did.
“Once you get used to it, longer skirts start to look kind of… unfashionable, don’t they?”
“Yeah, like—wow, you’re way too serious vibes.”
Ayaka and Chiharu nodded in agreement.
Even if the rules were technically free—or perhaps because they were—there was still a sense that you had to match the atmosphere around you.
In that regard, all four of them were thoroughly “Japanese”.
“Wait… aren’t we getting off track? Weren’t we talking about Arisa-chan’s part-time job? Um… so you want ideas for what kind of job suits you?”
“Exactly. I wanted to hear some opinions for reference.”
Arisa nodded at Ayaka’s question.
Of course, if a job didn’t suit her, she could just quit—but for now, it was just something to chat about.
“How about customer service? I’ve heard part-time service jobs hire based on looks.”
At Tenka’s suggestion, Arisa gave an awkward smile.
“Mm… I’m not really fond of talking to people I don’t know…”
“Arisa-chan’s got that introvert element, after all.”
“Though her hair totally gives off party-girl vibes.”
“Sorry for being gloomy, alright? And this is my natural hair.”
Arisa shot a glare at Ayaka and Chiharu as they said whatever they pleased.
Though, since she was well aware of her own introversion, she didn’t deny it.
“Actually, why not just ask Yuzurun to introduce you to his workplace?”
“That might be the safest option… but if possible, I’d like to surprise him.”
Arisa answered Ayaka.
She liked the idea of secretly working and then surprising Yuzuru.
“I’m good at cooking, so I was thinking maybe a kitchen job… what do you think?”
At her suggestion, the three responded at once.
“I think you could totally do it… but aren’t most kitchen part-time jobs basically just heating things in a microwave?”
“Being good at it isn’t a bad thing, but whether it really makes use of your strengths… If I were the manager, I’d definitely put you on the floor. You’d boost customer numbers.”
“If Arisa-san served me, I’d become a regular for sure. Hehehehe.”
“…I would absolutely hate serving someone like you, Chiharu-san.”
Arisa gave Chiharu a flat, unimpressed look at her creepy laugh.
But ignoring Arisa’s intentions, the three began enthusiastically discussing what kind of shop they should have her work in.
“How about an izakaya? I mean, your hair’s got that party vibe.” Izakaya is a type of Japanese bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. It’s a casual place where people often go after work to relax and socialize.
“She’s an introvert though. She might crack under pressure… Maybe a café?”
“If it’s a café, it has to be a maid café! Let’s go with that! I’ll come all the time—and take you home too!”
Meanwhile, Arisa briefly drifted into a fantasy—Wearing a maid outfit in front of Yuzuru-san might not be so bad…—before hurriedly tightening her expression.
“Please move away from customer service!”
The three pouted at her firm objection.
But then Ayaka suddenly came up with another idea.
“How about becoming a cooking YouTuber? You’re good at it!”
That was no longer a part-time job.
Still, Chiharu and Tenka eagerly jumped in.
“That’s a great idea. It uses your skills… and more importantly, you’re pretty, so you’d definitely get views!”
“If you’re doing that, wear a maid outfit! You’ll go viral for sure!!”
“If you’re going that far, why not wear one of those ‘virgin-killer’ outfits? I’d subscribe!”
“That’s easily a million views right there.”
“I’d spam super chats! Let’s debut! I’ll prepare the outfit! Hehehehe.”
Meanwhile, Arisa tilted her head.
“…A ‘virgin-killer’ outfit? What’s that?”
“This sweater.”
Ayaka showed her phone screen.
A few moments later, Arisa’s face turned bright red.
“W-What?! T-That exists? B-But… wouldn’t this show everything from the side…?”
Her eyes darted around in shock.
And as she imagined herself wearing it… her face grew even redder.
“Is it a no, Arisa-san?”
“Of course it’s a no! More importantly… if I made money dressed like that… Yuzuru-san wouldn’t be happy about it!!”
At her entirely reasonable point, the three nodded.
“True… that’s basically NTR at that point.” NTR is a trope in Japanese media where a character’s romantic partner is taken away by someone else, often in a sexual context.
“Yuzuru-kun’s brain would be completely broken…”
“Really? If I were in Yuzuru-san’s position, I’d be thrilled—”
“He wouldn’t. Yuzuru-san is not that kind of pervert.”
Arisa firmly shut down Chiharu’s comment.
But Chiharu suddenly clapped her hands.
“I just had a thought. If you’re going to wear a ‘virgin-killer’ outfit anyway—”
“I’m not wearing it!”
Arisa tried to cut her off, but Chiharu kept going.
“If you’re going to wear it, instead of going through all the trouble of earning money, wouldn’t Yuzuru-san be happier if you just used it to ‘kill his virginity’ directly?”
“‘Kill his virginity’ with a ‘virgin-killer’ outfit.”
At first, Arisa didn’t understand what that meant and tilted her head—
But then it hit her.
And her face flushed red in an instant.
“W-Wh-Wh-What are you saying?! Th-That’s so indecent!!”
Arisa shouted—then suddenly froze and looked around the café.
Realising she’d drawn attention, she shrank into herself.
Then she glared at the three of them.
“Asking you for advice was a mistake. …I’ll just talk to Yuzuru-san like a normal person!”
After that, the three had quite the time trying to cheer up Arisa after she sulked.
