Chen did not let Chisato Nishikigi get the upper hand as she wished, but he was no longer in the mood to play games.
Putting away the game, Chen and Chisato Nishikigi went downstairs together to help out.
At this time, the shop was still very quiet, with only two or three customers, none of whom came for the beauty of the place; they were casually sipping coffee, working on their laptops, and occasionally glancing at passersby outside the shop, looking relaxed.
The coffee shop had a special calming atmosphere, and for them, such a place was definitely more suitable for work.
Chen made a glass of juice and sat behind the counter, while Chisato Nishikigi began cleaning the tables.
Soon after, Tohru came out of the kitchen. Without any hesitation, she directly pounced into Chen's arms.
"Lord Chen."
"What's wrong?" Chen put the juice aside and held her.
"Nothing... just a bit lacking in inspiration."
"Lacking in inspiration?" Chen looked at her in confusion.
"Mm, I can't think of any new dishes," Tohru replied regretfully, looking up with a pout.
"Is that all?" Chen shook his head and chuckled, rubbing her head, "If you can't think of anything, don't think about it for now. We're a coffee shop; we don't need that many dishes."
"But I want to make them for Lord Chen to eat."
"...Talking so sweetly won't get you a reward, you know."
"Huh?" Tohru tilted her head, not understanding what he meant.
"Don't worry about it," Chen said with a smile, poking her delicate nose.
"Oh," Tohru didn't mind, holding Chen tightly, letting him feel her development.
The air conditioning was on in the shop, so holding Tohru wasn't hot. Chen ignored the gaze of one of the customers.
However, a few minutes later, after Chisato Nishikigi finished wiping the tables, she saw Chen holding Tohru and also came over.
"Chen ge, I want a hug too!"
"No, there's no more room!" Before Chen could say anything, Tohru helped him refuse.
"Eh~ You've been hugging him for so long, let me hug him for a bit~"
"I've only been hugging him for a few minutes, okay?!"
"Then how about one person gets half?"
"No!"
"Tohru, your possessiveness is too strong, isn't it? Can't you share a little? Be careful, Chen ge might not like you anymore."
"He won't! Besides, I was here first."
"First come, first served, huh? I get it."
As Chisato Nishikigi spoke, she came behind Chen, then draped herself over his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
She looked down triumphantly at Tohru, who was in Chen's arms: "Since you want to occupy Chen ge's front, I'll just occupy his back."
"That's fine," Tohru replied indifferently.
"You two..." Chen was held from both front and back, completely unable to move.
"There are still people in the shop."
"It's fine, they're busy," Chisato Nishikigi said.
"Really?" Chen looked at the customers and saw one of them quickly retract his gaze, though Chen still noticed his envious look.
The other two were indeed engrossed in their work, staring intently at their laptops.
"Forget it, as long as you two are happy," Chen gave up.
"Hehe~ Lord Chen~"
"Chen ge is so good."
The two hugged him even tighter.
"..." Chen shook his head helplessly.
He felt it wasn't that he was good, but that they were good, after all, with the squeezing from front and back, he should be the one feeling comfortable.
However, being too comfortable wasn't a good thing. Just as more customers arrived, Chen heartlessly pushed the two away.
Chisato Nishikigi reluctantly went to make coffee for the customers, while Tohru, not needing to go to the kitchen, continued to stay by Chen's side.
Chen wasn't sure when that person would arrive, so he went upstairs first and brought down a few manga to pass the time.
Kanna was still sleeping; children's sleep time was long, hopefully, she wouldn't be too energetic at night.
After Chisato Nishikigi finished making coffee for the customers, she and Tohru held Chen's arms, one on each side, and watched manga with him.
He didn't even need to turn the pages himself; Tohru and Chisato Nishikigi would take turns helping him.
On a quiet afternoon, with such a harmonious scene, one customer, observing this, had the idea of writing a novel.
In the afternoon, when Utaha Kasumigaoka returned from school, she showed no reaction to their scene, calmly went upstairs to do her homework.
By evening, dinner time, the shop became a bit livelier, with more customers. Tohru went to the kitchen to busy herself, and Chen helped Chisato Nishikigi attend to the customers.
Soon after, Utaha Kasumigaoka also came down to help after finishing her homework.
Seeing Utaha Kasumigaoka helping out in her uniform, Chen felt he should get a custom work uniform for her.
She might not help often, but the formality was still necessary.
Moreover, her uniform was easily recognizable, and if someone took photos and shared them online, it wouldn't be good if people from her school found out and came to cause trouble.
There were always people with strange ideas, who, under the guise of being patrons, would imagine she was serving them.
Utaha Kasumigaoka only helped occasionally; she wasn't working, and they shouldn't be fantasizing about her serving them.
Although such things were unavoidable, at least it could prevent trouble from being caused. Otherwise, if everyone came, there would be insufficient staff, and Utaha Kasumigaoka would definitely have to help.
Chen didn't want to see their smug expressions.
With fewer people, at least Utaha Kasumigaoka wouldn't need to help.
They were busy until nearly seven o'clock when the last customer left, and Chen and the others began to eat dinner.
Kanna also woke up and came downstairs at this time.
Everyone gathered in the kitchen, but Utaha Kasumigaoka and Kanna just sat idly at the dining table; Chen and the others were doing the cooking.
While washing vegetables, Chen couldn't help but ask Chisato Nishikigi, "Chisato, didn't DA say they'd have someone for you to take care of? Why haven't they arrived yet?"
"I don't know either; they clearly said they'd come today... Maybe they got lost."
"Take care of someone?" Utaha Kasumigaoka, who was brainstorming her novel, heard their conversation and interjected curiously.
"It's just that someone from the place Chisato used to stay is coming over," Chen explained simply.
"Is that so? A boy or a girl?"
"It must be a girl," Chisato Nishikigi replied with a smile.
"A girl..." Utaha Kasumigaoka frowned.
"What's wrong?" Chisato Nishikigi looked at her strangely.
"No..." Utaha Kasumigaoka shook her head, looking meaningfully at Chen.
"Hey! Why are you looking at me? Just say what's on your mind!" Chen said irritably.
"Hmph~ You know it in your heart."
"Please, am I that kind of person?"
"Who knows..." Utaha Kasumigaoka pouted, then asked Chisato Nishikigi, "Is that girl pretty? How old is she?"
"I don't know if she's pretty, but she should be younger than me," Chisato Nishikigi replied uncertainly.
"Another young girl, huh?" Utaha Kasumigaoka's words carried a hidden meaning.
"I told you to just say what's on your mind!" Chen stared at her helplessly.
"I have nothing to say; anyway, it's not for me to worry about. Don't you agree, Tohru?"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Tohru didn't even understand what was happening.
"Nothing, you'll know in a bit."
"Ah?" Tohru tilted her head, looking at Chen in confusion.
"Don't mind her, she's just..."
Tap-tap-tap~
Ding-a-ling~
"Excuse me, is anyone here?"
Just then, the knocking on the door outside interrupted Chen, and as the bell hanging by the door jingled, someone directly entered the shop.
It was a female voice, sounding very young.
Chen and Chisato Nishikigi looked at each other.
"Is it... her?"
"Probably. Chen ge, you go check first; I'll finish washing the vegetables."
"Alright." Chen got up and walked outside.
Utaha Kasumigaoka glanced, then also got up and followed.
"Chen~ Chen, wait for me." Kanna also jumped off her chair and followed behind.
Chen didn't wait for them, arriving in the shop first. By the door, a girl with shoulder-length black hair, wearing a dark blue and gray high school-like uniform, stood with a calm expression.
The girl was very pretty; although her expression was a bit cold, her youthful face was very delicate. If there wasn't a bandage on her face, she would probably look very good.
[Divine Fragment Host Target Discovered!]
[Target Character - Takina Inoue.]
[Mission: Gain her trust and let her experience the other beauties of the world, then the Divine Fragment can be collected.]