(100 Power Stone Bonus) Chapter 19 “Um, Boss…” Aoyama Nanami felt a bit flustered about how to broach the subject.
“Just say it, it’s fine!” “Are you facing some other trouble that requires my help to sort out?” “Or maybe, do you need to request a wage advance?
None of that is an issue for me,” Fūju said, slightly puzzled.
“No, it’s not that at all!” “It’s about Shizuka-san…” Aoyama Nanami said with a trace of hesitation.
“What’s going on with Shizuka?” Fūju asked curiously upon hearing the name brought up by Aoyama Nanami.
The name Shizuka that Aoyama Nanami referred to certainly didn’t mean the character Minamoto Shizuka from Doraemon, but rather pointed to the character Sakaki Shizuka from Shirobako.
Sakaki Shizuka was the other waitress who worked at Fūju’s Shōchiku restaurant, having started working at roughly the same time as Aoyama Nanami.
Just like Aoyama Nanami, Sakaki Shizuka also harbired a dream of becoming a famous voice actress.
Sakaki Shizuka’s fate was a tiny bit luckier than Aoyama Nanami’s because she had already signed a contract with a voice acting agency, meaning she had officially made her debut.
However, because her name wasn’t well-known yet and she lacked many opportunities to voice characters, Sakaki Shizuka’s living conditions weren’t much different from what Aoyama Nanami experienced.
Since she wasn’t getting voice acting jobs and therefore had no source of income from that field, Sakaki Shizuka was also forced to seek part-time work, such as being a waitress at restaurants or izakayas.
After that, Sakaki Shizuka saw the job advertisement uploaded by Fūju on the internet, came for an interview at Shōchiku, and was ultimately chosen by Fūju to become a part of the restaurant.
“Could it be that the izakaya where Shizuka works went out of business or went bankrupt yet again?” Fūju took the initiative to ask when he saw Aoyama Nanami struggling to speak.
When Sakaki Shizuka originally came for her interview at Shōchiku, the reason was that the izakaya where she previously worked had gone bankrupt, forcing her to find a new job, which brought her to Fūju’s place.
Fūju still remembered that during a casual chat with Sakaki Shizuka back then, he learned that her job before that one, which was also at an izakaya, had ended in the shop closing down, forcing her to switch jobs.
Upon hearing that story back then, Fūju had briefly felt a bad premonition in his heart regarding whether his own Shōchiku restaurant would meet the exact same bankrupt end.
However, reality proved that his worries were unfounded.
Shōchiku not only managed to survive, but its business expanded day by day with a steadily growing customer base.
Later on, after Fūju used his laptop’s capabilities to run a check on the internet, he finally discovered the truth.
The situation wasn’t caused by Sakaki Shizuka carrying some sort of curse that brought bankruptcy to her workplaces, but rather because Sakaki Shizuka’s luck was simply terrible, causing her to coincidentally pick several izakayas that were already experiencing a severe business decline.
Those izakayas lacked any unique appeal, their locations were mediocre, and they were starved for customers, so it was only natural that they eventually faced bankruptcy.
“Yes!” “The izakaya where Shizuka-san worked really did go bankrupt again!” Aoyama Nanami nodded softly, confirming it with a sheepish look.
Perhaps because she felt awkward sharing someone else’s misfortune, Aoyama Nanami’s face turned slightly red as she spoke, feeling thoroughly sorry for the terrible luck plaguing her coworker.
Fūju didn’t quite know what kind of reaction to give to this situation anymore.
Sakaki Shizuka’s ability to select workplaces was consistently disastrous.
He could only silently wish the best for Sakaki Shizuka’s luck in his heart for a moment.
Then, he suddenly realized something rather strange.
He remembered that when he decided to close Shōchiku before, he had expressly told Sakaki Shizuka to consult with him first before choosing a new izakaya job, so he could help perform a background check.
However, Sakaki Shizuka apparently hadn’t done that.
That was most likely not because Sakaki Shizuka doubted Fūju’s capabilities, but rather because she didn’t want to bring extra burdens or unnecessary trouble to Fūju.
Fūju could immediately understand that line of thought.
“Let’s do this: once your shift ends later, send a message to Shizuka.
I’ll also send her a message tonight.” “It just so happens that the day after tomorrow is Saturday.
If both of you have free time on Friday night, you can head over to the restaurant ahead of time to help me clean the place up.
On Saturday, we can immediately start operating the shop,” Fūju said.
“Alright!” “I’ll send Shizuka-san a message right after this!” “Shizuka-san will definitely be thrilled when she hears this news.” “When I chatted with Shizuka-san earlier, she even brought up the wonderful times we had when we worked at Shōchiku!” Aoyama Nanami said, her face instantly filling with joy.
The relationship between her and Sakaki Shizuka could be described as incredibly close.
Aside from having very similar natures and personalities, they also shared the exact same dream and nearly identical living situations.
Now, being able to provide a lifeline for Sakaki Shizuka, she naturally felt immensely happy.
“Great, then let’s settle it like that!” “As for the exact timing, you two can discuss it amongst yourselves.
Just go over there to clean the place whenever you have free time.” “Here is the key to the restaurant, I’m handing it over to you now.” “And here is some money to buy cleaning supplies.
The old equipment inside the shop has most likely broken down or rotted away, so it’s best to just throw it out.” “You can use the remaining cash to treat yourselves to a nice meal as a reward for your hard work.
If the money isn’t enough, you can ask me for a reimbursement later, no need to be shy,” Fūju said.
After finishing his sentence, he pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket and unhooked one of the keys from the bunch.
That specific key was the main door key to the Shōchiku restaurant.
He handed the Shōchiku key straight over to Aoyama Nanami, demonstrating a remarkably high level of trust from Fūju toward the girl.
Next, he pulled out his wallet and took out a ten-thousand-yen bill to hand to Aoyama Nanami.
“No need, Boss!” “We can cover the cost of buying cleaning supplies ourselves.” “The Boss’s decision to let us come back to work is already enough to make us incredibly grateful, so we shouldn’t make you spend extra money!” Aoyama Nanami quickly said, declining the offer.
She already felt immensely grateful for the help Fūju provided, so she didn’t want to take further advantage of Fūju’s kindness.
Even though that amount of money might not mean much to Fūju, the situation was completely different for her.
This was a matter of life principles, and she was an individual who held onto her principles very tightly.
She was certain that Sakaki Shizuka would show the exact same attitude if she were standing in her position right now.
“Listen to what I say and take this money!” “I need to head home right away, so I don’t have time to stand here arguing with you,” Fūju said, directly pressing the key along with the ten-thousand-yen note into Aoyama Nanami’s palm.
Following that, he immediately turned his body around and walked away from the supermarket toward his house without looking back.
He knew that Aoyama Nanami would definitely keep refusing, and this decisive action was the only way to ensure Aoyama Nanami wouldn’t have the chance to give it back.
Aoyama Nanami stared down at the ten-thousand-yen bill and the key sitting in her hand, then looked up at Fūju’s retreating figure.
For a moment, a wave of powerful emotion welled up in her heart, making her almost burst into tears the very next second.
However, that emotional rush was ultimately suppressed by Aoyama Nanami quietly.
She carefully tucked the money and key into her pocket, then wiped the damp corners of her eyes using her sleeve.
The kindness Fūju showed to the two of them would always be remembered deeply in her heart, and the only thing she could do to repay that kindness was to work even harder in the future.
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