"Ha..."
Layfon felt puzzled at Sharnid's cheerful mood as he searched through the menu.
"You really are a hard worker, aren't you? Even if you didn't do that everyday you would be just as strong." As Sharnid looked at his menu, he started talking about their platoon training.
"It's not that I want to do the training seriously, it's that instead of wasting my efforts thinking about it, I might as well train instead."
"I can understand that kind of thinking. Well...when you compare the inter-platoon matches to the actual inter-city battle, it still seems like a kind of game."
"Did senpai participate in the last inter-city battle?"
"I guess you could say that. But at the time, I hadn't gotten into a platoon yet, so I was just a normal member of the infantry. But because of that I could just relax and do all the support work from behind the front lines.
"Next time will be the real thing, and if we don't win, there will be no future for Zuellni. Seeing the other platoons training seriously, and even organizing all these inter-platoon matches, I really am moved."
"It's more like you're trying your luck, senpai."
"If you're too serious about everything then you won't be able to experience the joys that this world has to offer. A normal Military Artist would never leave victory for luck to decide. I guess I'm the only one who can do such a thing without worries."
Layfon pretended he didn't hear anything at all and closed the menu.
"Oh! Have you finished choosing what you want? Then...Hey!"
Sharnid motioned to a nearby waitress.
"So what did we really come here for?"
"You'll find out in a sec."
Ignoring the silently smiling Sharnid who wouldn't answer any of his questions, Layfon shifted his gaze into the scenery outside the window.
It wasn't too long before somebody came over.
"What would you like?"
Her air was totally different from the girls who had welcomed Layfon at the door...it seemed like she was angry?
"Ah..."
"......................."
As Layfon turned his head around, he found a very familiar person standing before him.
Outside of training, her long hair was usually worn over flowing her shoulders but right now it was tied in a high ponytail with a bright red ribbon. On that delicate face you could say that her features were all very well proportioned. Her long eyelashes were quivering; needless to say, she was very angry.
"Felli...Senpai?"
"What would you like?"
Before he was cut off, his voice was barely audible from the shock, the tone of his words revealing much of his underlying thoughts.
It was Felli, without a doubt.
Speaking of which, there couldn't possibly be another beauty such as this in Zuellni anyway. Also a Military Artist of the 17th platoon, this senpai was older than Layfon by a year, and she was also the sister of the president of the Student Council. A psychokinesist prodigy. To think that Felli, who was expressionless no matter where she went, that Felli who seemed like she was unhappy, a synonym for indifference, was wearing such a cute, pink costume working in this store, was hard to believe.
But she was standing before him regardless.
And even her name card clipped to her chest read: "Felli Loss"
"What are you doing here...?"
"Have you decided what you would like?" The second time she asked that question she cut him off yet again in deathly cold manner.
Sharnid, who was shaking all over, could take it no longer and finally burst out laughing.
Even with this, Felli continued to fume as she kept her cheeks drawn.
"Have you decided what you would like?"
What on earth is happening...Am I having a nightmare?
In reality, her biggest failure was to be found out by Sharnid-senpai while she was looking for a job. That thought wouldn't leave Felli's head as she angrily picked up the curved plates in the kitchen.
Girls wearing the same cute uniforms as Felli as if their looks were their only redeeming quality bustled all around her. Girls with larger chests specifically wore clothing which emphasized that point and the rest of them chose to wear chest pads to wear such clothing as well. Someone else also suggested that Felli do the same, but the offer was immediately rejected.
Thinking back, she could only blame herself for not thinking that this kind of thing would happen. Felli continued to hide in that corner cursing Sharnid with a furious look in her eyes.
"Are you looking for a job?"
After she had finished eating during her lunch break and was enjoying a cup of tea as she read through an info-magazine, Sharnid came over and asked that question.
"Ahh..."
Noticing Sharnid peeking at her careers magazine over her shoulder Felli nervously closed it. But in doing so, she revealed the cover of the magazine instead, and she ended up not hiding anything at all. Even if she put the magazine into her bag the moment she noticed someone else reading it, there was no way she could have deceived the vision of a Military Artist.
It was even more impossible when you considered the fact that Sharnid was a sniper in the team, and his vision was several times better than a normal Military Artists in the first place.
"Do you have a problem?"
"Ah, no, no...But to see Felli-chan looking for a job is not something you see every day. What's wrong? I thought your parents were sending you money for living expenses, unless for some reason this month they're experiencing some sort of financial crisis?"
"That's..."
...impossible. As she thought this, Felli decided to keep her cool and play along. She had already received the money from her parents, and although she wasn't too sure of its exact value, she knew it was far beyond what a normal student got. And that money was perfectly managed by her brother so that there would be no unnecessary waste. So getting a job had nothing to do with earning more money.
But...
"No, you're exactly right. My brother went overboard and bought too many books. "
In short, she was trying to push all the blame onto her brother.
"Oh? That Student Council President-sama? There shouldn't be any problems with the city's budget right?"
As Sharnid said this, he had a look of indifference on his face but he as stroking his chin as if thinking intensely about something.
"In other words, you want to get some money as quickly as possible?"
"As long as it isn't anything shady."
"It's legal! It's legal! It's definitely legal! All you're doing is delivering the completed dishes to the customers."
It wasn't that she trusted that smiling Sharnid.
It's only that she accepted the offer, considering the circumstances that she was in.
That was how she had gotten into a situation like this.
"You bastard, I'll remember this!"
Sharnid hadn't actually lied to her. All she really did was ask what people wanted to eat, and then serve those dishes to the customers. But she never thought that she would be brought to a shop where you had to wear costumes like this.
"Ok, new girl. Are you used to the job now?"
"I'm memorizing the menu right now."
Hearing someone shouting, Felli turned around. And it was something like...
"Really~~? Felli-Chan really is a brilliant child. You could probably remember it immediately, right~~?"
To think she was being hired by a man like this.
This man was wearing a cute pink uniform and is talking in a feminine voice, happily waving at all the waitresses.
"Everyone, do your best to show off your cute points, ok? What's our mission?"
"To make cuteness reign supreme!"
"That's right!"
Seeing the shop owner happily nodding at the waitresses' replies, Felli's head felt like it hurt even more.
"And it's all thanks to Sharnid, too."
His nightmare got ev
en worse. As he thought this, Layfon pretended to not notice the man in the strange uniform and continued to eat.
"You guys are the best, right?"
"Yeah. Ever since I started the store, we've been making uniforms like this, so we always pick girls who could bring out that feeling on the chest part of the uniform So that's why I'm considering making a new type of uniform which can bring out Felli-chan's loli aspect."
"Layfon, this here is my classmate from my first year here, and right now he's going into the clothing industry."
"I'm James~~ Please take care of me, and please use a light too and call me James~~"
"Haaa... Nice to meet you."
"I decided that opening a normal clothing store would be too boring, so I opened this instead. However, it actually turned out to be a huge success."
"A couple of normal stores also use this sort of uniform as the basis for their designs."
"Those guys are a bit miserable, aren't they?"
"Yeah, there isn't a single girl in the world who would understand the cuteness of those uniforms."
Listening to words that seemed logical and incomprehensible at the same time, Layfon decided to not make any judgments and remain as a listener for the entirety of the conversation.
"So in order for us to maintain our customers who live in that area, we have to do much better and we're working very hard to improve. We have many more competitors than before. It's because there are fewer and fewer kids willing to work here, and some are even taken away to work at other places......It's thanks to Sharnid that we have pulled through this tough time."
"So what you guys were talking about for that whole time, it was all about Felli-Senpai wasn't it?" Layfon started to understand a little of what they were really talking about.
But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't imagine Felli coming to work at a place like this by herself.
"Yeah, we were. She was looking for a job, so I introduced her here."
"Haa..."
Sharnid obviously didn't make it very clear to Felli as to the nature of her job before she arrived...Layfon began to feel sorry for Felli.
But still, it seemed strange that Felli, who had never had a job, suddenly needed one. "Anyway, it's all thanks to her that it seems that we've gotten the upper hand over our competitors. I heard that many people are secretly her fans. This time the store with the highest sales is ours."
"What are you guy's talking about?"
"Eh? Ah, recently there have been many shops which have opened up nearby which are very similar to ours. Everyone is competing for customers, causing income for each store to drop quite a bit."
"Seriously. It's because the things we sell in our store originally couldn't be found anywhere else, and since we've become well known, immediately many other people tried to enter the market. If they wanted to copy us, it would have been fine if they opened up somewhere different, but they had to cramp up here with us. All they are doing is causing trouble for other people."
"Well...the thing is, not many people like this sort of stuff in the first place, so if you think about it from an business standpoint opening here is actually not a bad choice. Regardless of what happens though, if this continues on, at this rate everyone is going to go broke."
"If the competition gets too fierce it won't be good for the economy either."
"That's why the economic scientists stepped out and tried reconciliation, and made this decision. Next week, there will be a turnover competition, and the shop with the most turnovers will be accepted by the Economic Sciences department."
"We are putting the honor of the store on the line here, so no matter what we must come first. But at the rate we are going now, it's not enough to overcome our opponents. Because the other stores used us as a blueprint of sorts and have worked out some sort of marketing strategies, they don't have anything that is key to their victory. Our strategy of changing uniforms every month has allowed us to pull away from them a little, so next week we have decided to change our uniforms every day in order to attract more customers. But what we can't have a shortage of in battle is man-power."
"So you decided to hire Felli-Senpai."
"That's exactly right."
It seemed like he understood but then looked like he didn't, showing an expression which was difficult to describe.
"Then...does Senpai know about this?"
"Of course she knows, I have already given her the pay for next week."
"Ah...I see."
A week eh...If it was spent doing a job you didn't like, the week would probably pass by very slowly.
And it was a job which was in complete contrast with her image.
(It should be OK, right?)
She would definitely make a mistake somewhere down the line.
"What would you like?"
"Uhh...A hamburger meal please."
"What drink would you like?"
"Uhh, red iced tea please."
"Would you like me to bring it up together, or do you want to wait until you've finished eating for me to bring it over."
"Together please."
"Ok, it'll be ready in a moment."
Faintly, a feeling of cold indifference rose up over that cute atmosphere which the pink uniform created, making the customers flinch. Felli looked as if she didn't see them at all, and left the table. After she left the table, the customers let out a sigh, released from that tension.
As Felli gave the orders to the kitchen, the store owner said "Felli-chan~ you have to keep smiling, smiling."
"Smiling...is it?"
"Yes, you have to show our customers your most beautiful expression."
"To smile."
"Yes. It doesn't have to be heartfelt, ok? But forcefully smiling isn't ok either. It's ok to act like you're happy, and if you think you can do it you should welcome the customers as they enter and feel their smiles. Have a look at how the other girls do it."
He looked at the busy waitresses in the other stores.
Felli looked over at the girls who were standing there, all of them with bright, clear smiles on their faces.
At the same time, she noticed all the males in there had a lusty look on all their faces.
"..............." Perhaps he followed Felli's line of sight, as the store owner immediately followed up with a couple of lines.
"You don't need to be too conscious of how the customers are looking at you. If you can't go to the door and welcome the customers, then please try and display the cutest aspect of yourself."
That's hard too.
"We aren't trying to greet the customers with an overbearing air. If I had to describe it, then it would be a frank expression. Let them feel that they are being welcomed like friends in a relaxed manner."
"Frank..."
"Can't do it?"
The store owner was also starting to feel a little insecure.
"I've never tried smiling before."
"That's strange, your brother is a professional when it comes to smiling. His fake smile really is brilliant."
"It confuses people into not knowing what to think."
"Even if you are thinking about something else, it's ok. If you smile, you leave a very good impression upon other people. Knowing that, your brother is always showing a smiling expression."
"Haa..."
"Then practice your smile please. You can have a look at those girls, and say something like 'welcome'"
"...Welcome."
"Noo~~ooo! You weren't smiling. Try again."
"Welcome."
"Your eyes don't have a very welcoming feel to them."
"Welcome."
"You're too stiff."
"Welcome."
"No! No! This won't do!"
"Welcome."
"Try again."
"I think you can do it."
...Just like this, they continued to do this for a length of time.
About an hour had passed.
"...Have a bit of a rest."
The store owner showed his weakness first.
"Oh, you really are quite stubborn."
"That wasn't my original intention."
"It seems she really hasn't ever smiled before."
Felli decided that she would put on an innocent look, but there was practically no way for her to communicate that.
It was always like that. Felli had trouble with expressing her feeling to anyone other than her family members.
"She pretty much failed."
So that's all they could say.
The store owner wiped the sweat off his forehead, and thought it over a little before continuing.
"Ok, seeing as it's come to this, then we just have to prepare our store to match your expression instead."
"Haa..."
"Just show us your unique expression. That cool loli feeling. Next week we'll prepare a special uniform just for you. Aaaah~~ It's been a while since I've felt this excited."
"No, that's..."
"I've already decided. I will not change my decisions. We will change our uniforms daily – Uwaahh! It's going to be difficult. Uwaahh!"
The store owner pranced away with impossibly tiny footsteps, and Felli couldn't stop him.
It wasn't because she was worried about what he was thinking that she couldn't properly communicate with him. She didn't really care what he thought of her.
How other people perceived her, wasn't a problem for Felli at all.
Right now the issue was...
To tell the truth, she wanted to resign.
She didn't need any money at all.
And she didn't think that this job was very interesting either.
And it wasn't like she had no option other than to do the job.
Indeed, she really wanted to throw the week's worth of pay she was given in advance right in the store owner's face and just leg it out of there.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
No, this was serious.
"AAAHHH! Genius! I'm a genius! A prodigy! Kami-Sama has gifted me with my superior abilities. Perhaps you'd better just call me Kami-Sama? Once again, I have gathered the conviction that I had lost by my side."
If she could run away from that shop owner who was constantly making these weird noises, Felli would definitely do that.
"That's..."
Mixing Note Page 2