Angel Café was where Yuu worked part-time before handing out flyers.
The store manager was a middle-aged man with a forked mustache and a gentle demeanor. Not only was the pay decent, but after learning about Yuu's family situation, he often let Yuu take home leftover cakes and sandwiches from the shop, making Yuu feel indebted to him.
If not for the shop's renovation that caused a temporary closure, he wouldn't have left this job to hand out flyers under the scorching sun.
As for why he wanted to quit working for such a kind manager…
First, Yuu feared part-time work would interfere with his system missions. Second, he wanted to do something more meaningful.
Third, he didn't want to trouble the manager anymore.
After all, the shop had enough staff, so it wouldn't matter if he wasn't there. It'd be better to visit often after quitting, praise the manager's delicious blended coffee, and slowly repay his kindness.
But he never expected that right after his system mission ended, something like this would happen…
"So? Why did all your coworkers leave?"
Sora sat on a chair, swinging her slender, pale legs, her light-colored eyes looking at Yuu with confusion.
Yuu placed the breakfast he'd prepared on the dining table, then sighed resignedly as he sat down.
"Probably various reasons… Houto-san had to transfer schools back to her hometown, Sakuranomiya-san was referred by a relative to another café. During the shop's renovation, Aoyama-san could only find part-time work at a convenience store to get by, and now it's unlikely she'd quit and come back."
"Oh, I see." Sora nodded, her expression emotionless.
Her brother often talked about shop happenings after work, so these names weren't unfamiliar to her. They were all beautiful, charming girls.
Besides the forty-something manager, Angel Café had Yuu as the only male employee, with the rest being beautiful young girls. In short, he was handsome, gentle, and dependable, like the standard start of a light novel protagonist—
Sora had complained about this before, constantly urging her brother to find another job so he wouldn't get snatched up by one of them.
But over the past year, Yuu always came and went from work on time, showing no signs of dating any girls on his days off. When talking about them, his expression was more often one of complaints and sighs, without a hint of longing or affection. This gradually put Sora at ease, and she no longer minded her brother constantly being around girls at work.
"So, what are you going to do? Go back to work?"
"It's the only option. The manager helped me a lot in the past; I can't just abandon him now that I have money." Yuu shrugged, picking up his chopsticks and stabbing a sunny-side-up egg.
"It's not a big deal. The manager's already posted job openings. I just need to help train the new staff, then I can leave. It won't take long."
"Start working when school begins?"
"Hm, there's still a few days left."
"Then, during that time, play games with me."
"Alright."
Sora pursed her lips with a faint smile, then started eating her breakfast.
As Yuu turned on the TV, he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, Sora, have you been playing recently?"
"The virtual game with the helmet?" Her eating paused. Sora furrowed her pretty brows, showing a horrified expression. "I don't play it anymore… It's too scary."
Yuu looked puzzled. "Scary? What's scary about a virtual game?"
Sora put down her chopsticks and launched into a long complaint: "At first, I was shocked when I played it. The realism is so high it feels like another world. Flowers, bread, soup—everything has a taste, and the weapons feel solid in your hands."
"I thought, if this is a second world, then climbing mountains and exploring seas in the game would be like breaking free from my hikikomori status, right? You wouldn't have to keep nagging in my ear about being an otaku little sister."
"Then I went out of town to level up, and because the wild boars were too realistic, I got rammed to death."
"…"
After she finished, the living room fell silent for a moment.
Yuu blinked. "That's it?"
Sora nodded expressionlessly. "That's it."
Yuu thought for a moment, then kindly added an explanation for her: "Because the wild boar looked so realistic, when it charged at you, you were so scared your legs went weak and you couldn't react, so you got rammed to death?"
"What?!" Sora instantly flushed, glaring at him with embarrassment and anger, her small hands pounding the table. "Stupid Yuu, don't exaggerate! I didn't say that!"
"Yeah, yeah, you didn't say that." Steadying his plate, Yuu was unfazed by her threatening antics and continued asking, "So, what's so scary about it?"
"It's… it's… it's lonely, the map's too big! The life professions aren't fully developed yet, so you can only get stronger by fighting and killing. The whole game is full of violent elements—that's what makes it so scary, okay?!"
Sora shouted loudly, baring her neat white teeth and growling softly, looking like she wanted to devour someone.
The gray tabby kitten in the corner, chewing its food, glanced over, confirming that humans can get angry too.
Yuu shoved the sunny-side-up egg into Sora's mouth, smiling reassuringly. "Of course it's okay. Can I use the helmet? Hearing your story, I want to feel that fear too."
"Awuw." Sora bit the egg, chewing while glaring at him unhappily. "Hmph, grab it from my room later! Record your first fight scene—I want to see how brave you are when a wild boar rams you!"
"Joking, I'm a pro at games!"
It's true. Sora had been relying on her brother for gaming lately, so she couldn't argue. She just puffed out her cheeks and sulked.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
After breakfast and washing the dishes, Sora was about to return to her room to rest when she suddenly called out to Yuu.
"Yuu, how's that high-paying job of yours going?"
"What about it?" Yuu was briefly startled, meeting her slightly serious eyes. Various thoughts flashed through his mind, then he said calmly:
"The boss ran off with his sister and the money, but the job's still there. I have to wait for a new boss to take over before I can earn again."
"You've already made a lot of money, so that money's not important."
Waving her hand as if the money was dirt, Sora met his gaze, her tone serious, her cold and flat voice like a meteor crashing into a small town, stirring a huge wave in Yuu's heart.
"Since you switched jobs, I've always felt something's different about you, but I can't pinpoint it. Waking up today, I feel like I forgot something important, something related to you, something tied to your change."
"I've thought hard, and my biggest suspicion is that shady job. Did something bad happen to you? Or did you meet someone you don't like?"
"Don't always keep it to yourself. I'm just at home doing nothing anyway, so listening to your complaints… well, it's no big deal."
She spoke with a hint of shy embarrassment, averting her gaze.
"…"
Yuu opened his mouth. After a long moment, he smiled with a heavy, emotional expression and said to her:
"Looks like you're very aware of your hikikomori nature, my otaku little sister."
"Now's the time to complain about that?!"
Sora erupted in anger again. She rammed her head into Yuu's stomach, and after realizing his abs were as hard and elastic as a mattress, unable to make him budge, she huffed in frustration and stormed upstairs.
Yuu watched her back, and her pale thighs visible as she climbed the stairs, then sank into thought.
"…Damn system, can you come out and explain what's going on?"