“Kita-chan, don’t you think Keiko-chan has been acting weird since she came back from Todai?” Diamond rested her chin on her hand, watching the girl who sat at the desk.
Even though there were no test papers in front of her, she was still moving her fingers in the air as if holding a pen and writing.
“Do you think she met some weirdo during the exam?” “Probably not.
It’s likely just exam aftereffects.” Kita-chan looked at the blank-faced Keiko, speaking with confidence.
“After studying that hard, it’s completely normal to have some side effects, right?
Don’t believe me?
Try studying like that yourself.” “Keiko-chan—” “To-?
Did the Todai acceptance letter arrive?!” The moment she heard the word “To,” Keiko jumped.
She whipped her head around to look at Diamond, startling both of her friends.
“Let me see!
Did I fail?
No…
failing is normal too…” “Keiko-chan, you only took the test yesterday.
It’s not going to be that fast…” Kita-chan sighed.
“Take it easy, it’s okay.” “…Oh…
right.” Keiko nodded blankly.
“No rush, no rush.” “I have a feeling that Keiko-chan will still get into Todai, though probably not in the way she expects.” Diamond stepped forward, trying to shake the soul of Keiko back into her body, while Kita-chan sighed.
“But this isn’t working.
Why don’t we do something to change the mood first?” “You have a point, Kita-chan…” Diamond looked at Keiko, who showed no signs of snapping out of it anytime soon.
But thinking about it, she didn’t know what hobbies Keiko had besides studying.
So she whispered into the dazed Keiko’s ear.
“Keiko-chan, do you have any hobbies?” “Over-knee socks, Zettai Ryouiki, armed schoolgirls.” “?” “Ah?
Weren’t you asking about the tags I searched for?” Keiko snapped out of it.
When asked about her hobbies, the first thing that came to her mind was the tags she used for her illustrations on Pixiv.
After all, if you wanted people to see your art, you had to optimize your tags.
Some people were so good at it they were called Tag Masters.
“Hobbies…
Hobbies, right…
Anime or games, I guess.” “Oh…
that scared me.
Tags?
What on earth do you normally look at, Keiko-chan…” Diamond patted her chest.
“Well, everyone our age likes games and anime, so that’s normal.” “Just ignore what I said earlier, I was just talking nonsense…” Keiko didn’t know how to explain her Pixiv tag strategies to normal people.
She could only change the subject.
In this world, many works were different from her old world, but some legendary classics were still the same.
For example, both worlds had Ultraman and Kamen Rider.
She had researched it and found that most masterpieces from her old world had equivalents here, like ‘Evangelion’ and ‘The Isolation of Haruhi Suzumiya’.
Though the original Keiko’s life had been extremely simple—just going between school and her dorm, sleeping, and training.
She was so disconnected from hobbies she didn’t seem like a modern kid.
‘…Wait…
Now that I think about it, this girl didn’t even play with her phone.’ She thought in disbelief.
Because she had been so focused on studying for the Todai exam, she had completely forgotten about the existence of phones.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket—it was a rather old-fashioned flip phone.
“Your hobbies are quite similar to Kita-chan’s…” Diamond was probably the only one here who knew nothing about anime.
She knew a bit about games since her family owned several consoles, and she had played famous games like ‘Sonic’.
But for anime, her main reference was classics like ‘Precure’.
“To celebrate you finishing the exam, Keiko-chan, why don’t you come over to my house?” “…Eh, Dia-chan’s house…
doesn’t she only have Se—” “Hmm?” “I think Sonic is great too!” Kita-chan quickly changed her words.
“I don’t know anything about Sony or Nintendo!” “Go to the Satono residence?
Yeah…
that sounds fine.
There’s no point in just waiting around, I might as well relax.” Keiko had no objection.
In fact, she really needed something to distract her right now, or the anxiety would eat her alive.
But before they could leave, Keiko noticed a bunch of unread messages on her phone.
She opened them, and cold sweat instantly broke out.
—Why haven’t you come to work?
—Again today?
You’ll get your pay docked if you don’t take leave.
—Keiko-chan?
Are you okay?
—The boss says she’s going to hire someone else if you don’t show up!
—Keiko-chan!
Text me back!
—…
Three whole pages of unread messages sent Keiko, who had the mind of a proper member of society, into a state of panic.
‘Tojo Keiko!
You’re just a middle schooler!
You’re not even old enough to work!
What kind of boss hires child labor?!’ Even worse, she realized something terrifying—she was about to get fired.
“Um…
Diamond-san, Kitasan-san, I have some things I need to take care of—” Keiko immediately apologized and spun around to run.
“I have to sort this out first!
We can talk about going to your house later!” “Eh?!” Diamond tried to stop her, but Keiko’s rushing figure disappeared down the hallway like the wind.
She had never seen Keiko look so panicked.
She could only exchange a look with Kita-chan and let out a sigh.
— “I’m so sorry!” By scrolling through the old messages, she managed to find her workplace.
Fortunately, the original Keiko didn’t delete her texts, so she even found the hiring message which contained the address.
She ran as fast as she could, pushed the door open, and immediately bowed in apology.
“Ah…” Then Keiko looked up.
She saw a black-and-white portrait of herself hanging in the center of the room, with a few fruit plates placed in front of it.
Was she being memorialized?
Her sudden appearance caught the attention of a lady who had her hands clasped in prayer.
“Keiko-chan, you’re actually not dead?” “Why would I be dead…
Ten Point-san!” Keiko snapped back in annoyance.
“Don’t just kill me off like that!” “Well, you haven’t shown up for work in almost two weeks.
I thought you had finally starved to death somewhere.
I figured even if I couldn’t find your body, I should at least set up an altar for you…” The adult woman known as Ten Point was much older than Keiko.
She smiled and said, “I’m glad you’re okay.
If anything had happened to you, I wouldn’t have known how to explain it to the others.” The place Keiko worked was called the Ten Point Bar—a bar run by the retired Umamusume, Ten Point.
Although it was called a bar, it was actually a private, member-only club open to a select group of people.
Because of this, Keiko was able to work there, and the pay was actually quite good.
Even though Keiko was only a middle schooler…
which would lead to trouble if anyone found out.
But since the members of this club were all trustworthy people, it was never an issue.
Ten Point hadn’t planned to hire Keiko at first, but Keiko had insisted.
In reality, although Keiko did work, the job was mostly just Ten Point’s way of supporting the poor girl.
“Sorry…
something came up.” Keiko explained her goal of taking the Todai exam as briefly as possible.
“I spent the last two weeks doing nothing but studying, and couldn’t make it to work…
that’s why…” “It’s fine.
It doesn’t make much difference whether you’re here or not anyway.” Ten Point waved her hand.
“We have plenty of staff.” “…While that is true, hearing you say it still hurts a bit…” Keiko muttered to herself.
“Anyway, I’m really sorry about missing work.” “Did something special happen to you over these two weeks?
In the past, you probably would have just kneeled on the floor in silence…” Ten Point narrowed her eyes and asked.
“How should I put it…
you’ve become much more talkative, and you’re even talking back now.” “I guess…
I made some friends.” She explained.
“I realized I can’t survive in this world if I stay socially anxious forever…” “Well, to me, Keiko-chan is still Keiko-chan.
But it’s good that you’ve opened up, and you’re quite fun now.
Since you actually gathered the courage to try for Todai, I won’t punish you.
But considering your situation, is it really okay for you to keep working here?” Ten Point asked.
“If it gets too hard, remember to let me know early if you need to resign.” “When the time comes…” Keiko wiped her sweat.
Ten Point’s voice was gentle, but Keiko still found her a bit scary.
Although Keiko was the one in the wrong, the soul inside this body was different now.
For the current Keiko, this senior who had been close to the original owner now felt like a stranger she had to keep at a distance.
This couldn’t be helped.
After all, she wasn’t the original Keiko.
Even though she inherited the body and relationships, she couldn’t act exactly like her.
A change in personality could be explained away by “opening up,” but those who knew the original Keiko well would notice the subtle differences.
She had to distance herself from the old contacts, or her cover would be blown in a second.
If anyone found out she wasn’t the real Tojo Keiko, she had no idea what they would do to her.
Why was it so troublesome for her when other transmigrators had it so easy?
Keiko sighed silently.
Although Ten Point said she could quit whenever she wanted, Keiko still had some professional ethics.
She changed into her uniform and started her routine work.
Her workstation was in the kitchen—which made sense, since making a socially anxious girl work as a waitress would be pure torture.
The job was simple: making desserts and using an air fryer to cook fried chicken and other snacks.
Although it was far from her old job, she had lived alone for a long time and was used to doing household chores.
Combined with the original Keiko’s muscle memory, her own efficiency surprised even herself.
Whenever she needed something, her instincts would tell her exactly where to look.
‘It should be easy enough to get by—probably.’ “Super parfait ready—” She rang the order bell, and someone quickly took the dessert from the counter.
There was no need to talk to anyone; she could work in complete isolation.
This was indeed the perfect spot Ten Point had set up for her.
The original Keiko must have survived here because of this setup.
The working environment was great—a paradise for the socially anxious.
However, Keiko knew she wouldn’t stay here long.
For one thing, she wouldn’t have time.
Whether she went to Tracen or Todai, she would be too busy to work here.
For another, she was worried that spending too much time around Ten Point would expose her.
Although she felt guilty, she planned to resign after finishing her shift today.
Today’s shift was, in a way, just a final handover to settle things for the original Tojo Keiko.
As for what lay ahead, that was a matter for the future.
Keiko would do everything in her power to find happiness—that was her only goal for now.
Time passed quickly, and the club closed at around 11:00 PM.
As the girl came out of the kitchen and untied her apron, she saw Ten Point walking toward her with an envelope.
She had been wondering how to start the conversation, but Ten Point beat her to it, placing the envelope directly in her hand.
“Keiko-chan, this is your pay for your work.
I added a little extra—keep doing your best from now on.” Ten Point said with a smile.
“I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m glad you’re facing life head-on.
Not everyone has that kind of courage.
Being able to overcome your own weaknesses makes you a truly amazing person.” “…Ten Point-san, did you know I was going to resign?” “Well, I could just sense it from the air.
When you walked in today, you had this vibe like it was your last day.
I understand.
When you’re ready to start a new life, it’s best to cut ties with the past.
But we’re still good friends, okay~” Ten Point’s understanding surprised Keiko, but this was indeed the best outcome.
She had even thought about turning down the pay entirely.
After all, resigning so suddenly was a pretty terrible thing to do, and Ten Point had always treated the original Keiko well, helping her in many ways.
“Ahem.
Anyway…
since I’m technically firing you on my own terms, this is three months’ worth of severance pay.” The envelope Ten Point handed her felt heavy, as if filled with her expectations for the girl.
“You’re a good kid, a very talented one.
You worked hard here.
When you’re actually old enough to work, I’ll gladly hire you again.” “…Thank you.” Keiko held the envelope tight and thanked her from the bottom of her heart.
“Thank you so much…
Ten Point-san.” “Don’t thank me.
Since I’m the one firing you, of course I have to pay you three times the normal wage.” Ten Point spoke with mock seriousness, but her voice quickly softened again as she leaned down to hug the small girl.
“Keep working hard.
You’re always welcome to come back if you want.” “Yes…” The girl felt a lump in her throat.
She wasn’t the real Tojo Keiko and couldn’t tell anyone the truth, but she was deeply moved by this selfless kindness.
Even the original Keiko had been surrounded by people who genuinely wanted to help her…
“Good luck, good kid.” “I’ll be going now.” Keiko waved goodbye and disappeared into the night.
Ten Point stood in place for a long time, until Tosho Boy tapped her shoulder.
“If it hurts this much to let her go, you shouldn’t have fired her.” “Who says it hurts?!” “Are you crying?” “It’s just the rain.” “Sure, sure…” Tosho Boy sighed.
“Ten Point…
want to go grab a drink somewhere?” “Yeah.” “Alright, let’s go.”