"Here's your usual order. And..."
Before long, the blonde girl brought a tray and placed a cup of black coffee and a plate of smoked chicken sandwich on the table in front of him.
Then she sat down across from him as naturally as could be. Her eyes lit up at the leftover red tea and cake on the tray, and she couldn't wait to pick up a spoon.
"This is my afternoon tea set! Ahh, it's been so long since I've had this~ The Manager's homemade cake."
Mmm~ Delicious!
Watching her casually scoop up a spoonful of cake, put it in her mouth, and chew with a happy expression while cupping her cheek, Yuu's hand holding the coffee cup froze in mid-air. His eyes gradually narrowed into a dangerous slit.
(Damn it, my fingers are itching.)
(I want to give her a hard forehead flick until it pops.)
Even though this was a belated backstory, when training new employees, Yuu would unconsciously enter a state called "possessed by a demon." They said his eyes would glow with inhuman red light, like a robot that had lost its mind—this was also why Gabriel called him "demon senior."
In this mode, he showed no mercy to pretty women. As long as it was to train new juniors, whether it was legal physical punishment, polite yet cold and cruel words, or a carrot-and-stick reward-and-punishment routine... he didn't hesitate to turn it into a whip in his hand, lashing them until they met his set standards.
Thinking back, Iroha had also gone through such a tough time...
Lost in memory, Yuu took a sip of coffee. The coldness in his eyes softened little by little, and his long memory unfolded.
Even though she seemed lazy, carefree, fond of acting cute, and unwilling to try, Iroha always hid an ambition to do her best at the things that were her responsibility—as if she didn't want to be looked down on by others.
On top of that, she understood social etiquette and had a smart, obedient personality. She could not only gracefully ask for guidance on things she didn't understand, but also skillfully use her greatest strength—her cuteness—to deal with customers and superiors comfortably.
So in the end, after Yuu resigned, she also successfully took the position of the shop's best employee.
(...Ah, I really taught her well.)
Yuu couldn't help but pat himself on the shoulder with a touching feeling: "You deserve it, Tenkuji-senpai."
"Did you hit your head somewhere?" Gabriel grumbled as she ate her cake.
Of course, there were also many new employees who ran away because of Yuu's training methods, or who accidentally fell in love with him during training and left sadly after their confessions were rejected...
But only this stubborn girl in front of him was an exception—staying at the shop but still not successfully trained by him.
Yuu set down his coffee cup and stared sharply at the blonde girl across from him.
"Did the Manager say you could take a break?"
"Can I skip work then?"
"If that's the case, eat quickly. The floor isn't finished mopping, the windows aren't cleaned, and even the dirty dishes have to be washed by the Manager. How can you have the heart to sit here and enjoy cake so casually?"
"Because the Manager told me to rest first~ Enjoy life while you can. People like you will go bald sooner or later." After finishing her cake, Gabriel sipped her red tea casually. Her narrowed eyes didn't even look at him. "Since you're a customer, don't point fingers at how this shop's employees take breaks. You really don't understand social etiquette."
Yuu frowned: "Is that so? Then you pay for this food yourself. Later I'll talk to the Manager about the employee training issue."
"Ah, ah~ Don't get so angry, siscon-senpai." Calmly, Gabriel exhaled a breath scented with red tea. Suddenly she grinned maliciously and said to him, "How about this? I'll grant you an angel's blessing once, and we'll call today's problem even. What do you say?"
"An angel's blessing?" Yuu was startled for a moment, then picked up his phone, pretending to call the police. "Are you a religious fraud? I wonder if I'd get money if I report you..."
"Tch, suit yourself if you don't believe me."
Rolling her eyes at him, Gabriel picked up the empty afternoon tea tray and walked toward the counter.
"—I'll forgive you this time. Don't do it again."
Hearing his voice from behind, the blonde girl paused for a moment, and seemed to let out a small laugh as she lowered her head.
"Hmph, an angel's blessing isn't something just anyone can get. You should appreciate it."
Yuu suddenly realized and clapped his hands with a laugh: "I get it. You're not a religious fraud—you're a chuunibyou."
Gabriel also burst out laughing: "Hahaha, you'd better go to hell soon, you damned siscon-senpai!"
The exchange between the rarely meeting senior and junior ended here. The blonde girl went back to her unmotivated work, while Yuu sat in the corner, sipping coffee and waiting for time to pass.
Until the sun set in the west, and the street outside the window was dyed golden by the twilight—like being soaked in orange juice—a girl with light brown hair walked in gracefully like a cat.
"Good afternoon, everyone~"
"Oh, Iroha-kun's here." The mustached Manager waved and smiled from behind the counter. "I've prepared four types of coffee beans for you today. Try a blend coffee."
"Eh~ I just want to learn how to brew regular black coffee. The other seniors don't drink anything else either. Besides, blend coffee is a more advanced technique, isn't it..."
Iroha whined and complained, but her steps didn't hesitate. She walked straight toward the staff break room.
Her gaze casually swept over the few customers, and as she hurried past a table, she happened to make eye contact with someone holding an empty coffee cup and smiling warmly.
"..."
"..."
As if paying respect to her, who had frozen in place with the coffee cup, Yuu raised his wrist and smiled: "Even though my coffee-making skills are better than the Manager's, why don't you learn from me? Or... did you want to surprise me?"
Iroha's small mouth opened stiffly. She stared at him without moving, like a stone statue. A red tint slowly crept up her beautiful neck, and quickly spread to her soft, white cheeks.
"You... I..."
Incomplete words escaped her throat. After a moment, she bit her lip in embarrassment and anger, and slammed her hand on the table: "Why is senpai here!"
"I just suddenly wanted to drink coffee." Yuu said calmly.
Like a little angry Shiba Inu, Iroha's face turned bright red. She glared at him angrily: "Don't lie! You yourself said your coffee is better—why are you drinking the Manager's coffee for no reason!"
"Umm, please spare a little thought for my feelings..."
The mustached Manager clutched his chest, almost crying—but neither of them paid him any mind.
"Fine, I was lying." Yuu nodded, setting down the empty coffee cup. "Because I found out through a certain way that you'd be secretly coming to learn coffee techniques from the Manager at this time, so I came early to wait for you."
"Hah?!"
Iroha's eyes widened in shock. Then she crossed her arms with a horrified look and spat out harsh words like a machine gun: "Eh? Why? Is senpai a stalker? To be honest, that's disgusting... Can't you get back on the right path and pursue Iroha-chan in a normal way? Senpai's boundaries really update my three outlooks (life principles)—sorry, I can't accept it!"
Completely unaffected, Yuu leaned lazily on his hand, smiling as he watched the little mess of hair on her head as she hunched over aggressively, and said softly:
"If that's the case, would you like to go to the fireworks festival with me—this disgusting person—tomorrow night?"
"Fireworks festival? With senpai?"
Iroha looked up instinctively. Her eyes sparkled, and she said without hesitation: "I want to! I definitely want to!"
"..."
"..."
When her eyes met Yuu's gentle, smiling gaze, the twilight of the entire city seemed to shift to little Iroha's face.