Toru temporarily withdrew his gaze and looked at Shiina, who was wearing the café's staff uniform. Her tall, slender figure radiated that distinctive JK youthfulness.
"Has Amuro taken leave recently?"
"Manager Amuro took a few days off and asked me to cover for him. Huh? Didn't he mention this to you, Boss?"
Shiina panicked slightly.
If Amuro hadn't informed Toru, and this wasn't cleared with him, then she might've crossed a line.
"Haha, he told me. I was just asking. How many days has he been absent?"
"He hasn't shown up for four days."
Shiina grumbled inwardly, Boss, you don't even know how long your own employee has been gone. That makes me seriously question how long this coffee shop can survive.
No, don't! This café's location is good, and the pay is decent. It's helped a lot with her recent financial struggles. She really didn't want to lose this job.
"When Amuro comes back, tally the number of days he missed. I'll deduct it from his salary and add that portion to yours."
Shiina hesitated for a moment but didn't protest. Her personality was straightforward, and she thought Amuro skipping work without notice should lead to a deduction. So she didn't speak in his defense.
Looks like the Public Security Bureau is running into trouble.
Toru naturally knew why Amuro hadn't shown up. As a member of the Zero Division of the Japan Public Security Bureau, he was surely busy with that case.
Given how tense Amuro was, his own file was probably in that document too.
This world really is a patchwork mess. The CIA got hacked, and now so did Japan's Public Security Bureau. Toru found it all pretty entertaining.
"Oh, right, Boss. Soyo has been looking for you these past few days."
"Nagasaki Soyo? That brown-haired girl with the very voluptuous figure who doesn't look like a high school student?"
"Do you only remember her figure?"
"I can't help it. It's too attention-grabbing."
Hearing this, Shiina looked down at herself.
It wasn't completely flat, but it was... average. Compared to someone at Soyo's level, the gap was obvious.
"What does she want with me?"
"I don't know either."
Shiina paused, then said seriously, "...Boss, she's been acting a bit weird lately. You should be careful. She never used to speak in that cutesy tone before. I don't know what's gotten into her."
Her sixth sense was strong. She felt Soyo had too many hidden motives and didn't want their kind Boss to be deceived.
Especially not by someone with a figure like that.
"Were you two friends before?"
"We were in a band together, but that broke up a long time ago."
"But I heard you joined another band?"
"Even you've heard about that? It's mostly because of that pink-haired girl, Chihaya Anon. She dragged me in. Also... a friend I care about is in the band too, so I couldn't say no."
Shiina suddenly grew flustered and hesitant.
"Um, Boss, I won't neglect work. You don't have to worry about that. Practice is only after shifts."
"Shiina, your work ethic has always been solid. I trust you."
"Thank you very much for your trust!"
Shiina bowed, a smile spreading across her face. Everyone liked being trusted.
"Oh, and also... that classmate over there. She comes here almost every day and keeps asking about you. Do you know her?"
Following Shiina's gaze, Toru once again looked at the girl sitting by the window sipping tea. She appeared slender and frail.
He shook his head. "I've never seen her before either."
Shiina looked at him strangely.
Boss really is popular with girls.
Probably another girl who saw one of his videos online, found out about this café, and came to meet him?
There were quite a few middle and high school girls like that. Even some elementary school kids had come by.
But most gave up after a few days of not running into him.
Someone like this, who kept coming back, was rare.
Boss is handsome, top of his class at Tokyo University, and from a wealthy family. He also gives off a secure, reliable feeling. It's only natural girls like him.
Wait a second, Rikki, stop overthinking!
You're just a part-time worker. You look average and have a terrible personality. You can't compare to those other girls. A subordinate shouldn't be thinking about kissing her superior!
Just as Shiina was spiraling, the girl by the window elegantly set down her coffee cup and slowly stood up.
She picked up the trekking pole beside her and walked unhurriedly toward Toru, using the pole like a blind person navigating their way—almost as if it were her hands and feet.
"Greetings, Mr. Fujiwara."
The girl came to stand before Toru and offered a graceful curtsy, like a proper young lady.
"Greetings."
Toru quickly sized her up.
She had fair skin and a petite frame. Her legs and feet didn't look particularly agile, and she gave off the vibe of a sickly beauty.
But the calm and confident look in her eyes, combined with the suppressed fire hidden deep within, told Toru this was actually a strong woman beneath the delicate appearance.
That said, the white thigh-high socks under her skirt, along with the slight fleshiness where the straps clung to her legs... were quite alluring.
"My name is Sakayanagi Arisu."
She introduced herself without hesitation.
"Sakayanagi, I heard from Shiina that you've been looking for me. Do you need something?"
"It's nothing urgent. I just wanted to see whether the real you is as remarkable as the rumors say."
Her voice was gentle, but her words were laced with ego and dominance.
"Hey, what's with that attitude, woman? Is that how you talk to our Boss?"
Shiina snapped.
She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her arms, and stepped out from behind the bar and glared fiercely at Sakayanagi Arisu.
Arisu instinctively took a step back, clearly not expecting Shiina to have such a strong presence.
She composed herself and replied, "Violence can't solve everything. Don't embarrass yourself acting like a gorilla."
"Huh?!"
Shiina's lips twitched. "...Stupid woman, I'll show you now that violence can't solve everything—but it sure can solve this."
As Shiina closed in, Arisu finally realized something.
This isn't school.
Even at Advanced Nurturing High School, school violence was prohibited in that survival-of-the-fittest environment.
Unless you could silence your victims completely and leave no evidence, getting caught meant instant expulsion.
That's why, despite her frail body, Arisu had never feared physical threats at school. Rules protected her.
But this wasn't school. There were no strict regulations here.
The clever girl quickly changed tactics and backed down. "I'm sorry. I was just nervous to meet Mr. Fujiwara, and I misspoke."
"I also apologize for what I said earlier. I saw you and Mr. Fujiwara were close, and I guess I got jealous."
Shiina's anger faded, replaced by bashful confusion. "Jealous...? So that's why you've been drinking coffee here for days?"
Arisu smiled gently. "That's part of it. But I do genuinely enjoy coffee. And the coffee here is quite good."
As expected, this girl Shiina is easy to manipulate. If she were a student, she'd make a great pawn.
Unfortunately, this was outside school. She'd have to adapt to these looser rules.
Toru said, "The Blue Mountain and Saint Helena coffees here aren't just names. They're imported straight from their countries of origin."
Arisu frowned slightly. "No wonder they taste so refined. The prices here are higher than average, but if the beans are genuinely imported, then you're running at a loss."
Toru simply smiled.
If something cost one dollar, and he got reimbursed a hundred, that'd be too shameless. But if it cost ten and he claimed a hundred? No guilt whatsoever.
If I don't inflate expenses and create a loss, how else do I get reimbursed by the CIA?
Speaking of which, Toru remembered that his last reimbursement had gone through. He'd netted several million USD. Combined with his earlier earnings from gray-market businesses, his assets had now surpassed the ten-million-dollar mark.
Turns out being a high-ranking agent overseas is way more lucrative. Inside America, it's hard to make real money. But out here? You can take as much as you want.
Since Toru wasn't offering more details, Arisu didn't press further. She wasn't interested in that anyway.
Leaning on her trekking pole, she took a step forward and lifted her chin slightly.
"Advanced Nurturing High School has changed some of its education policies. They've lost quite a bit of sponsorship, which is giving my father a headache."
"I don't care about his problems. What bothers me is that the school isn't as fun anymore. Still, some benefits came with the change—like no more closed campus, which is how I got to meet you, Mr. Fujiwara."
"And why exactly did you want to meet me?"
"There's too much information about you online. Everyone calls you a genius. I just wanted to see for myself—are you a real genius, or a fake one?"
"And how do you plan to figure that out?"
Toru felt another headache coming. This school really was a magnet for chuunibyou.
"How about we start with a game of international chess?"
"Sakayanagi-san, save those pretend games for back at your school."
Toru couldn't be bothered anymore.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)