"It's true."
The girl was slightly surprised, and then she introduced herself with a smile: "Hello, my name is Nakiri Alice. I am a chef, and I currently work in the cafeteria."
It was a coincidence. Nakiri Alice had forgotten to bring something and came back to look for it. Unexpectedly, she happened to meet Yuuki Asuna.
"Are you a chef in the cafeteria?"
Yuuki Asuna couldn't help but look surprised when she heard this. She was just about to go to the cafeteria, and she didn't expect to meet one of the chefs as soon as she left her room.
And the chef who made such delicious dishes was actually a girl of her own age!
"Yes, how about you?"
Nakiri Alice smiled and nodded. She was about to ask about Yuuki Asuna's situation, but then she slapped her forehead, came to her senses, and said:
"Oh, right, you just arrived today, so you haven't been assigned work yet. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here at this time."
"Yes, I don't have a job yet."
"So, are you going out now to find work?"
"Uh... No, I'm mostly just hungry and wanted to find something to eat."
"Well, that's a coincidence. They are currently having a rest period in the cafeteria; otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
"Ah? Then what should I do?"
Yuuki Asuna was a little dumbfounded. She didn't expect the cafeteria to be on break.
So, where would she find something to eat?
"This is easy to handle, just wait for me."
Nakiri Alice asked Yuuki Asuna to wait where she was. She turned around, went to the door diagonally opposite, and raised her hand to knock.
"Inui-senpai, are you there?"
"Coming."
Inui Hinako, who was taking a break today, opened the door with snacks in one hand and food still in her mouth. She asked vaguely:
"What's wrong, Alice? Can I help you?"
Nakiri Alice took advantage of her confusion and made a sneak attack, snatching the snacks from her hand and saying with a smile:
"Okay, I've got it."
Then, without waiting for Inui Hinako to react, she closed the door.
"Well, I'll treat you to this. Although it won't fill your stomach, it should be enough to last until the cafeteria opens."
"Is this really okay?"
Yuuki Asuna looked at the snacks handed over by Nakiri Alice with a blank expression, and then looked at the door to Inui Hinako's room.
Nakiri Alice waved her hand: "It's okay, Inui-senpai is used to it. If you don't believe it, just watch. She's usually too lazy to pursue it."
But then she was slapped in the face by the speed of reality.
After reacting, Inui Hinako rushed out of the door and angrily approached Nakiri Alice to protest.
"What are you doing? Those were obviously my snacks!"
Immediately, she looked at Yuuki Asuna with a friendly expression.
"Ah, there's a face I've never seen before. How cute!"
"What's your name? My name is Inui Hinako."
"Are you hungry? Come, have this."
With that, Inui Hinako snatched the snacks back from Nakiri Alice's hand and stuffed them into Yuuki Asuna's hands.
"Thank you, thank you. My name is Asuna, Yuuki Asuna."
The overwhelming enthusiasm from Inui Hinako made Yuuki Asuna feel confused and a little uncomfortable.
"It's Asuna-chan!"
"Chan?!"
Yuuki Asuna was also shocked by how quickly Inui Hinako grew attached.
"Asuna-chan is so cute. Do you live in this room? We are very close neighbors. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me. Since Asuna is so cute, I will definitely help."
With that said, Inui Hinako started to lean in close.
Yuuki Asuna was so startled that she hurriedly hid next to Nakiri Alice.
Nakiri Alice also complained speechlessly: "Hey, Inui-senpai, you're scaring her."
"Ah? Why is this happening? I am so sad."
Inui Hinako immediately pretended to be heart-broken and started to fake cry.
Her completely careless acting skills made both Asuna and Alice feel bewildered.
"You guys are being very noisy. Can you please be quiet or go somewhere else to chat instead of making noise in the corridor?"
At this time, the door opposite Asuna also opened, and Mizuhara Fuyumi leaned out with a speechless face.
It looked like she had just woken up; her hair was still a little messy, and she had not changed out of her pajamas.
"Ah? I am terribly sorry."
Seeing this, Yuuki Asuna quickly apologized for fear of offending her neighbor.
"Ah, Fuyumi, you're awake! Come and meet the newcomer, Asuna-chan. How do you feel? Very cute, right?"
Inui Hinako and Nakiri Alice didn't seem to mind.
Inui Hinako even pulled Asuna closer, making her nervous again, especially when she saw Mizuhara Fuyumi's sharp and scrutinizing eyes.
Mizuhara Fuyumi looked at Asuna for a moment and then nodded: "Wait a moment."
After saying that, she returned to her room.
After the sound of activity inside, in less than a minute, Mizuhara Fuyumi walked out, neatly dressed and washed.
She came to Yuuki Asuna and stretched out her hand: "Hello, my name is Mizuhara Fuyumi. I am their colleague."
"Hello, my name is Yuuki Asuna. I am new here; please take good care of me in the future."
Yuuki Asuna was relieved to see the neighbor was polite, and she shook Mizuhara Fuyumi's hand with some restraint. In this somewhat noisy manner, Yuuki Asuna got to know her enthusiastic neighbors.
She also learned from the three of them that another neighbor who lived next door, currently at work, was Kikuchi Sonoka. She learned that the four of them were from the same world and were all chefs. Nakiri Alice and the others also learned about Yuuki Asuna's situation.
They unanimously expressed sympathy for Yuuki Asuna's experience.
Then, the topic of Yuuki Asuna's treatment in the Dimensional City made the three of them fall silent.
Good grief!
Isn't this gap too large?!
Except for one month of free rent and basic living supplies, there was nothing else!
But there is no magic power in the Dimensional City for her; how could this work?
They don't use their special powers much at work, but that is because they have professional skills.
And what about Yuuki Asuna?
She doesn't know anything. She's a novice high school student with no skills or experience. She could do odd jobs outside, but in the Dimensional City, they couldn't think of any job Asuna could do immediately.
"Is that so?"
Yuuki Asuna learned about her situation in the Dimensional City from the three of them and panicked for a while.
She really hadn't expected this. She hadn't thought much about it before, mainly because she saw everyone else in the city living so well.
She had assumed it would be easy to make a living in the Dimensional City.
But she realized it was only easy because they were official members of the establishment.
As an ordinary resident outside the establishment, the treatment was completely different.
It might even be a problem for her livelihood, which made Yuuki Asuna start to worry.
"That's true, but you don't have to worry too much. Now that Takumi-kun has accepted you, he will find a way to deal with these problems."
Nakiri Alice told her to relax and trust Takumi.
"But to be on the safe side, it's better to ask quickly. Otherwise, the money you have now won't last very long; it will bottom out in a week at most."
Mizuhara Fuyumi also suggested.
"I see."
Yuuki Asuna humbly accepted her neighbor's suggestion.
"Otherwise, I'll go with Asuna-chan now. Anyway, I'm free today."
Inui Hinako also expressed her concern.
Yuuki Asuna hesitated for a moment and then agreed.
Then, Nakiri Alice took her things and went back to work, and Mizuhara Fuyumi returned to her room.
Inui Hinako took Yuuki Asuna to the City Lord's Mansion and found Riveria in the office on the fourth floor.
"Questions about her job?"
When Riveria heard this inquiry, she was a little confused for a moment.
First, because of Yuuki Asuna's situation, it was really difficult to find a suitable job.
Secondly, Yuuki Asuna had just arrived, and she hadn't had time to think about it yet.
"Okay, I'll take a look right away to see if there are any suitable openings."
But since they had come to ask, Riveria did not shirk and started to deal with it immediately.
Actually, she just asked Sophon directly.
Sophon has the information for the entire Dimensional City. With powerful computing power, she could soon match Yuuki Asuna's situation with various roles.
After some data analysis, they finally got a result regarding what kind of job Yuuki Asuna was suitable for.
But when Riveria saw Sophon's analysis results, she couldn't help but have a headache again.
According to the analysis, Yuuki Asuna's compatibility with all current jobs was not very high; the highest was only 60%.
It was a clerical job—doing miscellaneous tasks in this office—but the prerequisite for joining was to be able to speak Chinese.
Others with higher suitability included logistics warehouse managers, night shift guards at dam power stations, water plant intern water quality inspectors, experimental field breeders, breeding farm employees, and canteen kitchen employees.
These were all minor positions, basically acting as assistants.
With Yuuki Asuna's current abilities, she couldn't even enter the factory. Without magic, her production efficiency was too low, so she was only able to engage in jobs that were not too physically demanding but required some technical leaning without high professional quality.
According to the current wage situation in the Dimensional City, the wages from these jobs were not high.
Although basic living wouldn't be a problem, if she wanted to be as wealthy as the other girls, it was impossible.
"At present, these are the only ones suitable for you. I have also listed the salary and benefits. Take a look and choose the one that suits you." Riveria didn't hesitate; she sorted the list and handed it to Yuuki Asuna.
After all, Yuuki Asuna was just an ordinary resident. It was good enough to live a normal life.
And it was impossible to create reform measures just for Yuuki Asuna.
That would be troublesome and not in line with the actual operating conditions of the Dimensional City.
After all, the demand hadn't appeared yet. Changing things randomly would be a fool's errand.
"So many?"
Yuuki Asuna and Inui Hinako were stunned for a moment when they saw the job list. They hadn't expected so many options, but Riveria had come up with quite a few.
But when they saw the descriptions, they were relieved.
Most of these were tasks that usually went unnoticed.
People enjoy the fruits of this labor daily without knowing it.
It's not that these jobs are unknown, but that information channels weren't widely available.
The salary package was not very good either.
After all, a low-paying job with low professional requirements is just a basic role; it wouldn't have high pay.
It's almost like others come to the factory for performance bonuses, while you come for a basic salary. They are not the same thing.
"Choose this and come to our unit so that everyone can take care of you."
When Inui Hinako saw the canteen kitchen staff at the end of the list, she suggested it excitedly.
"This..."
Yuuki Asuna was a little hesitant.
In fact, she had wanted to choose the clerical staff in the office.
First, because her family runs a company, she was somewhat familiar with the nature of the work.
Second, she had basic knowledge of Chinese.
You may not believe it, but Chinese is actually a relatively popular foreign language among the upper class in her world.
Firstly, they use Chinese characters, and secondly, their upper-class society prefers the culture of the Mainland.
The third reason is historical communication traditions.
This situation only started to decrease recently, but because of the large market, many financial groups still teach Chinese to their children.
Yuuki Asuna had been tutored; she had no problem with reading and writing, though she wasn't fluent in speaking yet.
So when she saw the civilian job, it was her first choice.
This job had the best pay and was the easiest for her to start.
But after hearing Inui Hinako's suggestion, she hesitated.
Mainly because she had gotten to know the cooks like Nakiri Alice.
Since they were from the same country in different worlds, it would be easier to get along.
But here in the office...
Riveria was an elf, and Sophon was a robot.
Other civil servants were Chinese girls or elf girls.
There was no one with her specific background, and it might be hard to fit in.
In the other jobs, from the boss to the colleagues, everyone was Chinese.
Only Nakiri Alice and the others provided some intimacy.
Moreover, she lived close to them.
If she joined them, she would have someone to look after her at work and off work.
Moreover, Yuuki Asuna was also very interested in this!
Ever since she was treated to a meal by Lumine-chan last time, she had been curious about how those delicious dishes were made.
If she joined the canteen as a cook, couldn't she learn those skills?
She could even eat more delicious food!
Someone was actually a hidden foodie, but her daily life was so repressed that it was never exposed. Even she was only just realizing it.
After comparing the choices, the desire for food overcame rationality.
Yuuki Asuna gritted her teeth and nodded: "Okay, that's it."
"That's great! Let's get along well from now on."
Inui Hinako was so excited that she hugged Asuna and rubbed her face against her.
Yuuki Asuna: "..."
What should I do if I suddenly feel regret?
But in the end, she didn't change her mind.
After reporting the decision to Riveria and finishing the formalities, she officially joined the canteen staff.
Of course, she was just a trainee apprentice.
Then, Yuuki Asuna took her employment documents and was led to the kitchen by Inui Hinako.
She told Nakiri Alice the good news and was introduced to Kikuchi Sonoka, receiving a warm welcome from both.
"You won't officially start work until tomorrow. Do you want to come and get familiar with things today?"
"Okay."
Faced with Nakiri Alice's suggestion, Yuuki Asuna readily agreed.
Then, under the guidance of Inui Hinako, she began to learn the work.
It mainly consisted of washing and cutting vegetables, handling the cashier, and trivial cleaning.
After all, as an intern, she couldn't touch the stove immediately.
"Asuna-chan is very talented. Her knife skills are good, and she mastered this so quickly."
Inui Hinako discovered Yuuki Asuna's talent in this area. With proper guidance, she mastered things rapidly. Her learning and hands-on abilities were excellent.
However, she was only learning knife skills for now and hadn't actually cooked yet. No one knew her true talent for cooking.
Would you like me to continue with Asuna's first day in the kitchen or focus on another part of the city's development?