Volume 2 Chapter 18 Things You Didn’t Know About Risa-San
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The woman with a scary vibe──Banzushima-san has started coming to my part-time job for lunch since that day.
And she shows up on the days I work, which are Monday, Thursday, and Friday during café hours, or right after the bar opens on Saturdays.
Even though I’m a student and don’t have a fixed schedule, I start to wonder if she knows my shifts because I see her so often. It’s a bit creepy, but since she’s a customer, I can’t treat her badly.
Plus, she doesn’t come during the busy lunch rush; she arrives around 2 PM when things are calmer, and I can serve her more easily.
Whether it’s at the café or the bar, she always sits at the counter, so it ends up being just the 3 of us──me, the owner, and her──talking more and more.
”Owner, you seem to enjoy chatting with that regular customer who started coming recently.”
At the beginning of November, in the calm town scenery that hasn’t yet turned into a Christmas wonderland, I prepare for the bar opening at 5 PM in a closed shop with no customers.
”Well, she’s an important regular. I mean, she’s beautiful. Even if her personality has some issues, it’s still fun to talk to her. It’s not like she’s a stalker or anything. Shuu, you’re worrying too much.”
No, it’s not “worrying too much.” I can see the signs clearly. If I mess up the initial response, things could get really complicated later on, and he doesn’t seem to understand that.
”I hope so. But if you’re not careful and get too involved, you might get hurt someday, you know?”
”Huh? You think I’m the one who will get hurt?”
”I mean, it’s you, owner.”
Since we’re the same type of person, I can predict what she might do next and understand her thought patterns. So, I know how to avoid getting too deep into conversations.
As our conversations increase, I realize that if she can’t get to me, her next target will be someone else… If it’s someone around me, it could be either Risa-san or the owner.
With Risa-san, as long as she doesn’t try to get involved, I’ll be fine.
Even if we become close, if that woman is more intense than me, the more she wants to connect, the more Risa-san will drift away since she won’t be able to contact me as often as she’d like.
On the other hand, with the owner, if she comes to the shop, I have to serve her. It’s hard to be clear about my feelings if there are other customers around.
Unless someone else shows up as the next target, this situation will drag on, and it won’t get resolved easily.
”Hey, don’t say scary things like that.”
”Is that so? There are all kinds of customers in the world.”
”Well, that’s true.”
The owner took the pot of stew off the heat that he had been preparing for tomorrow.
”As a general way to protect the shop, it’s important to keep a record of customers, and if there’s any damage, we should film the scene so we know the date and time. We should also record the person’s address, full name in kanji, and contact information. If it seems like there might be more trouble, we should give a verbal warning, and if that doesn’t work, send a written warning by certified mail. At the same time, we should keep a record of our consultation with the police along with a lawyer.”
As I finished setting up the candles for the tables and was putting away the lunch mats, the owner looked at me in surprise.
”You’re really knowledgeable about this stuff.”
”It’s just things I’ve heard. You can use it as a reference. My relative does this kind of work. They’re working overseas now, so it’s hard to get in touch if there’s trouble.”
”Wow… But it’s a shame. You should go to school and become a lawyer who specializes in trouble.”
”That’s not the right job for me. People in that field need to be really strong and have a tough mindset, along with beliefs and passion. Otherwise, they can’t keep going.”
I just want to live a peaceful life without being troubled by depression. I haven’t found something I want to dedicate my life to, so it wouldn’t make sense to go to school.
I think it’s better to work and earn money than to pay for studies I’m not interested in.
When I finished my part-time job and got home, Risa-san was already in the room, and I heard her say, “Welcome back.”
(Ah, right. It’s Saturday today.)
I’ve started to recognize the days of the week based on Risa-san’s routine.
”Risa-san, you haven’t had dinner yet, right? I’ll get it ready after I take a shower.”
It’s an easy meal since I’ve already prepped it; I just need to take it out of the fridge and cook it.
”Hey, Shuu… about Banzushima-san… um…”
(Here we go again.)
She’s looking at me like she wants to follow me into the kitchen as I change into my comfy clothes. I’ve been hearing about that girl for months now. I wish Risa-san would find something else to be interested in. I’d be fine with any other topic.
Even if it’s about some boring hobby magazine, I’d listen.
”…Did you become friends, Shuu?”
”Huh? Friends? No, we didn’t. Why?”
”I feel like the way you talk about her has changed lately.”
”Oh, she’s been coming to my part-time job a lot recently. Now she’s a regular.”
I put the frozen spinach and leftover rice in the microwave to heat them up.
Then, I took the pork and sliced onions that had been marinated in soy sauce, sugar, and ginger out of the ziplock bag and moved them to the frying pan.
”Um… I didn’t mean that. I was wondering if you guys take pictures together or something.”
”…Pictures?”
”Yeah. Like when you’re working…”
”Wait a second. Risa-san, are you saying that girl has pictures of me from my part-time job?”
”Huh? …Yeah. Since she became friends with you, she said she’d send me pictures of you that I usually can’t see because you’re busy.”
I don’t remember being photographed while working. If someone pointed a camera at me, I’d definitely notice, whether it’s a smartphone or a digital camera.
(Was I secretly photographed?)
”I don’t remember becoming friends or giving anyone permission to take my picture. So, did she tell you that, Risa-san?”
”…I’m sorry! She said that, so I just…”
”You exchanged contact info, huh…”
I messed up. I tried to stay home when the housekeeper was there, but I didn’t want to seem weird by sticking too close to Risa inside the house, so I held back.
Not knowing what they were talking about was my mistake.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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