Sudden Mission!

"Ugh... this is so embarrassing."

I checked the bag in my hand. I'd only meant to pick up snacks I'd never tried, plus a few I'd been dying to taste, and before I knew it the thing was stuffed to bursting.

"Did I really buy this much?"

As if some kind of bug had taken hold of me, I drifted down the street lost in thought.

That was when it happened.

"Aah!"

I walked straight into the person ahead of me.

"Just who do you think you're— huh?"

"I-I'm sorry..."

"No. Wait!"

I took off running again. I didn't get far before the person I'd bumped into caught me.

"I-I'm sorry... I'll apologize, so please forgive me."

Better to say sorry and wrap it up fast than get tangled up with some weirdo. That was thirty years of hard-earned know-how talking.

There was one fact I had overlooked, though.

"No, that's fine. Anyone can miss what's in front of them. Haha."

A scary-looking man in sunglasses let out a hearty laugh. Then he slipped a hand inside his jacket.

What? Is he pulling out something weird?

Unease prickled through me, and I got ready to run at any second. I had no idea how far my stamina would actually take me, but I was prepared to throw even these precious snacks if I had to.

"I'm actually this sort of per—"

"I-I'm sorry!"

I snatched up the heavy bag, hurled it at the man in sunglasses with everything I had, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bolted.

I'd caught a glimpse, though. What he'd taken out was something small and square. Today's news flashed through my mind unbidden.

I'd been rushing out for a part-time interview, so I hadn't finished the article and never confirmed what the weapon even was. Still, anything small and solid could become a weapon in a heartbeat.

Running isn't a bad call right now.

"Wait a second!"

The man in sunglasses stretched out a hand to grab me. No... I absolutely could not let him catch me. Even if my stamina gave out and I collapsed in the middle of the street, I had to run.

Home was about a hundred meters away. Not a long distance, but at my speed it would take a full minute. Add in punching in the passcode and locking the door, and I was looking at two minutes at the very least.

Please... just hold on, stamina...!

Luck, or a blessing—either way, once I ran, the man didn't come after me.

Still, you never knew. I thought about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠calling the police the moment I got inside... and then I didn't.

No. If I file a report, Mom and Dad will worry... I've already made them miss several days of work because of me. I can't cause any more trouble than I already have.

I set down the phone I'd picked up and ordered a self-defense item online, just in case.

Even after nearly getting grabbed by a criminal, time went by in a blink.

I was still on break, and whether that was why or because I simply didn't have any friends, not a single person got in touch. I'd been told I didn't have to go to the academy for a while, so I sank into game practice instead.

I'd heard that being a VTuber required at least a decent level of game skill, so I looked at the two biggest titles out there.

Battle Survival.

Legend of Legends.

I went with Legend of Legends. I had some skill left over from the old days, and I figured I might as well warm up after all this time—and that was when my phone chimed.

A message from an unknown number. Hoping, maybe, that my idol application had gone through, I opened it.

The rest was stuffed with boilerplate, and none of it registered. The only sentence that landed in my eyes was a single one.

I'd been hired.

Why...?

"Is this a bug?"

"You can come out once you've changed into this."

"Thank you."

In my hands was the store uniform: black, with the restaurant's logo stitched across the back and the chest. I'd been told I had to wear pants on the floor, so I'd come in jeans on purpose. I hadn't expected them to issue uniform pants too.

"The size is... M? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠How big is an M even supposed to be?"

It had only been about two weeks since I'd become a woman. I was still rusty with the whole vocabulary of being female. People said I needed to buy a pile of cosmetics, too... but old habits from my years as a man died hard. Today, once again, I'd come out with nothing but a light layer of sunscreen.

"Huh... it's small?"

Held up over my clothes it had looked like a perfect match, so I put it on right away. The uniform was smaller than I'd expected. It pinched across the chest, and I couldn't even move my arms properly.

"Um... this is too small?"

"That can't be... I ordered one that would fit your build perfectly... one moment."

The owner ducked into storage and came back with a new uniform. I tried it on again. Better than the last one, sure, but it still pulled a little across the chest. Were they just made this way?

"How's this one?"

"It's... fine, I guess, but it tugs a little when I raise my arms?"

"I-is that so? Then... put this one on."

He pulled out yet another uniform. At last the tightness was gone, and I could move.

"This is good."

"Mm... then put these pants on and tuck the shirt in."

"Like... this?"

"Wow... I knew it. My eye is never wrong."

The owner couldn't stop marveling as he looked me over in the uniform. Black slacks, the shirt tucked in, an apron tied at the waist, and a ponytail pulled neatly behind my head. I wouldn't have looked out of place as a magazine model, and he kept nodding as if to confirm it. He'd had an unusual feeling from our first meeting.

This was already a famous franchise restaurant, so he didn't have to worry about customers drying up. But if you had a pretty part-timer—or one with the right presence—that location's sales jumped far ahead of the others. A few mistakes were fine. As long as I didn't cause any disasters, he wanted to raise me for life. No—enough that he'd even be willing to hand the place over to me.

"Boss? Are we starting the training now?"

"Slurp. I zoned out without even realizing it. Another part-timer is supposed to come in, so wait here a bit."

"Yes."

Told to wait, I didn't care for mobile games, and I'd already read the famous web novels of this era. With nothing else to do, I walked the floor and mapped the traffic.

The most important thing in hall service was not colliding with people. One slip—one bump into a guest—and you had a disaster on your hands. Worse still if you were carrying something hot.

Two people in the kitchen, and three on the floor including me and the new hire.

It's going to be chaos when we get a rush.

I stepped into the kitchen and asked what sold the most. It was a buffet, so in theory there shouldn't have been a single bestseller—but here at IN BACK, dishes that weren't even on the buffet could be ordered from the tablets mounted on the tables.

"Mm... the bestseller's gotta be the signature. We're already doing prep for the afternoon rush."

I spent a good while looking around, and by the time I finished touring the kitchen, I was being trained alongside my fellow new hire.

"You both memorized it, right? Then this is the real thing! Try serving!"

In my hands was the restaurant's signature dish, the Hottoi Steak.

Friday evening. The floor was already packed. The noise was so loud you couldn't hear the person standing next to you, and children were even running around inside the restaurant. I could not collide with those kids.

It would have been nice if the owner had asked their parents to stop them from running. I glanced back, and he was clenching a fist in a fighting pose.

"So we're supposed to figure it out ourselves, huh."

How much did he even want from a part-timer? Still, he was the one paying, and I was the one who worked for what I was paid. I moved while tracking the kids' paths against my own.

"Here's your Hottoi Steak."

"Thank— wow..."

"Excuse me. There are hot dishes and a lot of guests moving around inside the restaurant, so it could be dangerous for the children. I'd appreciate it if you could keep them from running."

"Ah... yes, we-we'll have a firm word with them."

"Thank you."

I bowed and went back to the owner.

"Incredible! That was great! You said it was your first part-time job, and I never expected you to handle it like that! See... my eye is never wrong. But..."

The owner turned an uneasy look on the other part-timer.

"What did you just say to me! Are you calling our kid a badly raised little brat?!"

"N-no... that's not... inside the restaurant there are hot dishes..."

"Shut up! Get the owner out here!"

"Aigoo..."

The owner pressed a hand to his forehead, sighed as if he'd known this would happen, and started to step in—and that was when it happened.

Ding!

I just blinked at the mission that had appeared in front of my eyes.

What is this...

"I'll be right back."

I grabbed the owner's arm on reflex.

"Jiwoo?"

"Boss... let me handle this."

"You? You think you can? The way they are right now, I'm not even sure it'd die down if I went over there."

"I'll borrow this for a second."

I peeled the manager's name tag off the owner's chest and stuck it on mine.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry. Is there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠some kind of problem?"

"A problem? Right now.... huh? Ah, no... ahem. You're the owner here?"

"Not the owner... I'm the manager. The owner had urgent business today and couldn't come in."

"What's a manager supposed to do about it."

"Even so, the owner entrusted this to me, so please feel free to tell me."

The customer faltered, then still managed to spit out why they'd gotten angry.

All because someone had told them to discipline their kids. It was so absurd I wanted to throw salt on them.

"I'm sorry. Using an unfitting word like 'discipline' was our mistake. Today's their first day, so they're still a little clumsy. As an apology, I'll offer you a coupon."

"Ah... no need to make a fuss over something like this. Ahem. That's fine, you can go."

"Please enjoy the rest of your meal."

I bowed, then led the other part-timer out with me.

"Amazing. Well done! As expected... heheheh..."

"We handed out a coupon, though... is that all right?"

"A coupon? Nah, it's fine. That's getting off cheap with trash customers like that. Search online for two seconds and those coupons are everywhere. Don't worry about it!"

The owner told us to go catch our breath in the break room.

"Um... thank you."

She was thanking me. Had I even done anything? That was when she spoke again.

"For... for helping me just now... I'm Lee Boram. I don't know how long I'll last here, but... p-please be kind to me."

Lee Boram offered a handshake with hands that wouldn't stop trembling. Slightly slumped shoulders, flickering eyes, and a voice with no confidence in it—the three of them together made you feel smothered just looking at her.

I'd almost rather go back to that too-small uniform.

Whether she'd dyed it or not, her hair was brown, and she'd tied it in a ponytail the same as mine—only hers was short, so the tiny tail was a cute little accent. With confidence this low, though...

"It's all right. It's your first time, isn't it?"

"It's... not my first time."

"Huh?"

"I-I mean... I've done Korean BBQ places too... and regular restaurants, and other buffets besides this one, and fast food, and beer halls..."

She listed her part-time history until the number topped thirty.

She looked about my age... and she's older than me? And if she's worked a beer hall... she's an adult?!

So the ultimate baby face really does exist in this world...

Still. I'd earned the points, so I supposed that was what counted.