Yesterday's excitement had finally come to an end, and they could finally return to their daily routine.
“Tian Gong-san!” Kizuna was clutching two flyers in her hand. They were for a new all-you-can-eat dessert buffet that had just opened in front of the station last night, covered in colorful text and cartoon illustrations of dancing puddings.
“Are you free after school today? The new dessert buffet in front of the station has a buy-one-get-one-free deal! There are over thirty kinds of pudding you can eat to your heart's content, plus a chocolate fountain and strawberry cake.”
“We can go together, and then stop by the new stationery shop on the way. I saw a really nice notebook in a magazine last time—”
She stopped mid-sentence, watching Qiluo Tian Gong stuff her last textbook into her schoolbag without pausing as she zipped it shut.
The flyer was a bit crumpled in her grip. Her intuition told her that Qiluo's next response would likely not be a “yes.”
“Not today,” Qiluo said, slinging her schoolbag over her shoulder and tilting her head to look at her. There was indeed an apologetic look on her face, but her refusal was quite clear.
“I have to go to work. I told the Store Owner a few days ago that I'd be back starting today. If I don't show up, he might tear up my shift schedule.”
“A part-time job?” Kizuna blinked. Clearly, this concept was outside the realm of her daily life.
After all, as the younger sister of a major star, she naturally had a hefty amount of pocket money, just like Yuki Kurokawa.
Besides, in her mind, Tian Gong-san was the type of person who rarely brought up her own private affairs.
Where she went, what she did, and who she was with were all fragments that had to be slowly pieced together through daily observation and subtle probing.
“Tian Gong-san, you have a part-time job? Where? A convenience store or a restaurant?” She folded the flyer and slipped it into her pocket. Since Tian Gong-san couldn't make it, the discount would have to wait for another time.
But more than the pudding, she was far more interested in this news now.
Tian Gong-san was actually working a part-time job, and she had never mentioned it.
“Can I come with you? I won't disrupt your work! I can pretend to be a customer, read a book in the store, and wait for you to finish your shift.”
Kizuna clasped her hands together, putting on a pleading expression.
“No,” Qiluo said, leaving no room for negotiation. “A convenience store isn't exactly a fun place. Sitting there doing nothing for hours is a waste of time. You're better off going home to read.”
“But—” Kizuna tried to argue, but Qiluo pressed a finger against her forehead and gently pushed her back.
“No buts. Didn't you say you wanted to visit the stationery shop? Go do that first. I'll take you to that dessert buffet some other day when I'm free. The pudding isn't going to sprout legs and run away, so what's the rush?”
“Then it's a promise!” She held out her pinky finger. “You have to go with me another day. No backing out.”
“Are you a child?” Qiluo looked at the pinky held out in front of her, but she still reached out her own hand, hooking her pinky with Kizuna's and shaking it twice.
“It's a promise. Whoever backs out is a puppy.”
Qiluo let go and turned to walk toward the classroom door.
After taking a few steps, she looked back. Kizuna was still standing in the same spot, her hand still in the pinky-promise gesture as she stared down at her finger.
Realizing Qiluo was watching, she quickly dropped her hand behind her back and stuck her tongue out at her.
What was so interesting about a part-time job anyway? Organizing the coin box next to the cash register, stacking coins into their slots one by one...
Kizuna probably thought working at a convenience store was like in an anime, with all sorts of interesting encounters or unexpected developments.
...
“Store Owner—”
Qiluo's hand stopped mid-air as she pushed open the glass door of the convenience store.
Someone was sitting behind the counter.
It wasn't Store Owner Murai, but a figure she knew all too well.
Misa Tachibana was wearing the same convenience store uniform as her, holding an open shift schedule in her hands.
“Tian Gong-san, right? Store Owner Murai mentioned you to me. I'm the new Store Owner starting today. You can just call me Tachibana.”
Store Owner Murai had mentioned that the new Store Owner would arrive next week, but Qiluo had never expected it to be Misa Tachibana.
She had to pretend this was their first time meeting.
“...Hello, Store Owner Tachibana.”
She let go of the automatic door, which slowly closed behind her, shutting out the hustle and bustle of the street outside.
Nishikawa poked half of his body out of the backroom, holding half a box of sports drinks in his arms, the cardboard box torn open messily.
“Tian Gong, you're here. This is our new Store Owner, Store Owner Tachibana. She's worked at other branches for many years and is even more experienced than Store Owner Murai.”
He set the drink box on the floor and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “I had to cover the shifts alone for several days last week. I'm so glad someone is finally here to help me today.”
“In that case, your shifts will resume starting today. It's the same as before: six to ten in the evening.” Misa Tachibana placed the shift schedule on the counter, her finger sliding horizontally across the grid until she found the date column next to Qiluo Tian Gong's name.
Misa Tachibana was still saying something, probably about shift policies or the new register system they had recently installed...
Qiluo nodded, uttering timely “mm-hmms,” but the words went in one ear and out the other before they could register as meaningful speech.
Her attention was entirely elsewhere.
Usually, when she transformed into Lightweaver, she never got a chance to examine Store Owner Tachibana's magic circuits in detail.
Now she could finally get a good look!
The circuits below her shoulders were completely dried up. As soon as her detection spell touched below that point, it cut off, like a dammed river leaving behind a cracked and dry riverbed.
As long as mana could be channeled back into them, the riverbed could be restored.
The problem lay with the contract mark on her left shoulder.
Before shattering, her former Contract Spirit had engraved the mark in reverse deep within her circuits, turning it into a dormant mana anchor.
This anchor rejected any external mana, so even Star-trail's mana couldn't get close.
To reactivate the circuits, they had to first awaken the anchor and make it recognize a matching mana spectrum.
In other words, she had to have Star-trail disguise its own mana to mimic her former Contract Spirit, tricking the anchor into thinking its partner had returned.
This required close-up observation.
She needed to capture the occasional subtle fluctuations escaping from her circuits while she was off guard.
For instance, when she was walking or bending down to organize the shelves, those careless movements would leave behind faint traces of mana, which would serve as precious samples for analyzing her circuit characteristics.
Although saying it like that made her feel a bit like a creep.
But there was no other way. Besides, how could a scholar's research be considered peeping?
“Tian Gong, are you listening?” Misa Tachibana's voice suddenly cut in. Her tone was calm, but her form of address had shifted from “Tian Gong-san” to just “Tian Gong.”
“...Yes, I am,” Qiluo snapped back to reality. “The refrigerator temperatures need to be checked twice a day and recorded on the sheet during shift handovers.”
“Yes, please. Remember to sign the shift schedule before you leave.” Having said that, Misa Tachibana wheeled her chair toward the office.
Rate on N.U.
