Chapter 172: Keeping the Good Stuff In-House
After picking up Eriri, Utaha truly didn't act as a third wheel and directly said goodbye and went home.
Watching Utaha leave, Kaede asked curiously, "Eriri, did you say something? I feel like Senpai has changed a bit from before; she's not even thinking about gathering material anymore."
"You can't blame me for this, Kaede-kun."
Eriri said, shaking her twin tails, "I just casually mentioned some things about our relationship while chatting with her. Who knew her tolerance had decreased so much."
No, it should be that the cooldown for eating dog food hadn't passed yet, so she hadn't recovered.
But it wasn't a big problem. Once Utaha's cooldown period was over, she would definitely come back to collect material.
There was still some time, so Kaede simply took Eriri to stroll around the nearby mall for a while. They only went to the restaurant when it was dinner time.
The restaurant Eriri saw was a newly opened Thai restaurant. Although Kaede didn't eat Thai food very often, the taste at this place was quite good.
After they had eaten their fill, it was already seven in the evening.
They had been out shopping for quite a while last night, and then lazy all afternoon today. Eriri didn't want to keep playing around like this, so she pulled Kaede and said, "Kaede-kun, it's time to go back! I haven't even drawn much manga today!"
"Alright, let's go back then."
Taking the train, the two began their journey home.
On the way back, they passed a convenience store, and Eriri immediately stopped, pulling Kaede's hand and saying, "Kaede-kun! Let's buy some cold drinks!"
"Cold drinks?"
Kaede heard this and said with a smile, "Your period is not far off, are you still thinking of eating them?"
"Oh, it's still a week away!"
Shaking Kaede's arm, Eriri, uncharacteristically, pouted, "Just this once!"
"Emm~~ Alright then, but when you want to eat them, I must supervise, okay?"
"No problem!"
To be able to eat what she wanted, what was this small matter?
After agreeing to the conditions, Eriri excitedly pulled Kaede into the convenience store.
"Welcome!"
As soon as they entered, they heard a familiar voice.
Kaede looked over and saw Takasu Yasuko, with her golden hair and smiling face, wearing a convenience store uniform.
"Yasuko-san?" x2
Neither Kaede nor Eriri expected to see Takasu Ryuji's mother, Takasu Yasuko, here.
The two walked to the cash register, and Kaede asked curiously, "Yasuko-san, are you working at the convenience store now?"
"Oh, right!" Takasu Yasuko said with a smile. "Because of Ryuji's part-time job before, I thought a lot. Due to work, I really lacked communication with Ryuji. During the day, he went to school, and when he came back at night, I had to go to work. This really couldn't go on. So, after thinking it over, I quit my bar job and found this convenience store job. Plus, I primarily work the day shift, occasionally taking a night shift."
This was indeed a good change. With Takasu Ryuji's part-time job, the family's financial situation would definitely improve little by little.
After a brief chat, the two went to pick out cold drinks.
While Eriri was choosing, Kaede thought for a moment and told Eriri what Editor Nakajima had discussed with him at the Bunko that afternoon.
Eriri listened and nodded with a smile: "Front desk? Isn't that great? Let's tell Aunt Yasuko about it later!"
"Hmm... will it seem like I'm meddling?"
"Of course not!"
Eriri said, "As the saying goes, 'don't let good fortune flow to outsiders.' The publishing house is already considering it, aren't they? And Aunt Yasuko's looks are perfectly fine for a Bunko front desk. So, you should mention it. Compared to working at a convenience store, a front desk job at a publishing house is definitely better! This is just good timing; otherwise, we wouldn't have such a good job opportunity for Aunt Yasuko, would we?"
Kaede listened and nodded: "Alright, then I'll go tell Aunt Yasuko."
After choosing their cold drinks, they went to the front desk, where Takasu Yasuko skillfully helped them bag their items.
After paying, Kaede said, "Aunt Yasuko, there's something I think is quite good, so I wanted to tell you about it."
"Oh? What is it?"
Takasu Yasuko had her usual beaming smile.
"It's like this, Aunt Yasuko, you know I'm a light novel author. Today I went to the Bunko, and my editor told me that one of the publishing house's front desk staff resigned recently, so there's a vacant position for a two-person front desk, and they're hiring. So, Aunt Yasuko, you could consider it. If you're interested, tell me, and go give it a try."
"Eh? A publishing house front desk?"
Takasu Yasuko hadn't expected it to be such a thing and showed a troubled expression: "But I haven't been at this job for long, and I don't know if I can do a front desk job well."
Takasu Yasuko was quite tempted by the opportunity but didn't have much confidence in herself.
Kaede said with a smile: "It's okay, the difficulty of this job isn't high, and there will be training after you're hired. As long as Aunt Yasuko is willing to try, that's all that matters."
Takasu Yasuko listened and nodded gratefully: "Mm, I understand, thank you, Kaede-kun. Then... then I'll try?"
With a better job to improve her family's conditions, Takasu Yasuko ultimately decided not to let go of this opportunity. Although Takasu Ryuji was also working hard, as a mother, she still couldn't put all these responsibilities on her son's shoulders; she had to work even harder.
Seeing Takasu Yasuko agree, Kaede said with a smile: "Alright, then I'll go outside now and call my editor to tell him about this."
Outside the convenience store, Kaede directly called Editor Nakajima, while Eriri unwrapped a cold drink nearby, eating it while waiting.
Things went smoothly. Hearing there was a suitable candidate, with both personality and appearance passing muster, and trusting Kaede, Editor Nakajima unhesitatingly agreed for Takasu Yasuko to interview within the next two days.
After setting the time for the day after tomorrow, giving Takasu Yasuko time to prepare tomorrow, Kaede hung up the phone and went into the store to tell Takasu Yasuko about it.
Although the front desk salary wasn't particularly high, it was much better than the convenience store, and it was a genuinely stable nine-to-five job, quite suitable for Takasu Yasuko's current situation.
Moreover, it was through Kaede's connections, so as long as Takasu Yasuko didn't mess up, she was basically guaranteed to be hired.
Given the profits Kaede generated for the publishing house, this small matter probably didn't even count as a favor.
After understanding everything, Takasu Yasuko said gratefully: "Thank you, Kaede-kun. I'll definitely treat you to a meal if I get the job."
"Alright, but just have that Takasu guy cook. I haven't officially tasted his cooking yet."
Bidding farewell to Takasu Yasuko, the two returned to the apartment.
While Eriri put the cold drinks in the fridge, Kaede quickly hid the necklace he had bought, making sure Eriri wouldn't find it prematurely.