On the way to his shift at the coffee shop, Natsume Chikei happened to run into Fujiwara Aoi, who also worked there.
But the moment he got a clear look at her, he froze in place like he’d been nailed to the ground.
Fujiwara Aoi still looked like the same energetic, lively girl as always.
She had shoulder-length hair, a fresh light-green short-sleeve T-shirt on top, a sports watch on her wrist, and clean athletic shorts below that showed off her healthy wheat-toned legs.
On her feet were a pair of lightweight white sneakers.
[Sports Watch]
[Quality: White]
[Effect: Increases training/exercise effects by 15%]
[Description: The girl’s day-and-night training is all for the ideal in her heart!]
[Synthesis Condition: Requires at least three pieces of equipment of the same type!]
Natsume Chikei was stunned.
He never expected Fujiwara Aoi to be wearing a special piece of equipment.
He hadn’t noticed it before.
Wait—she was wearing this sports watch for the first time today.
That explained it.
But the effect on this equipment was ridiculously strong!
It directly increased training results by 15%?
Everyone knew that a person’s training gains had an upper limit.
Once you reached a certain level, just maintaining your progress was already good.
Actually improving further was even harder.
Yet with this equipment, no matter what kind of physical training you did, your efficiency would increase by 15%!
Even national-level athletes found it extremely difficult to improve their performance by even 1%.
It took countless days and nights of hard training to cross that threshold.
If a normal athlete wore this sports watch and trained consistently for a long time, they could probably break Olympic records with ease.
Of course, these special pieces of equipment seemed to only be visible to Natsume Chikei, and only he could use their special effects.
He thought about how Ruri’s father had passed away so suddenly—partly because he rarely exercised and then the bankruptcy hit him all at once, causing his body to collapse.
So he really should start paying more attention to his own physical condition.
The effect on this watch was so good that if he wore it while training, he could recover from his current sub-healthy state and reach the physical peak of someone his age much faster.
The second he saw the sports watch’s effect, he was genuinely tempted.
Natsume Chikei focused slightly and checked the panel in his mind.
Inside the panel, the Boy’s Sorrowful Diary he had obtained yesterday was already stored there.
Among the special equipment he knew about, this Sports Watch was already the third one.
If he could get this watch and combine it with the special bracelet his sister had, he would finally obtain 1 attribute point!
At that thought, his eyes filled with desire as he looked at the sports watch.
Fujiwara Aoi’s expression turned a little shy.
She had clearly noticed that Chikei’s gaze had been fixed on her wrist for a while.
He had never stared at her hands like this before.
What was going on today?
“Chikei-kun, why do you keep looking?” Fujiwara Aoi asked awkwardly.
Chikei snapped back to his senses.
He reacted quickly and smoothly lied, “I just noticed you weren’t wearing this sports watch before.
It looks really nice.
I was thinking of buying one for my sister too.”
“Oh, so that’s it!” Fujiwara Aoi said happily.
“Next time bring your sister over.
I’ll take you both shopping.
I have a membership card, so these sports watches are discounted!”
“That would be great.” Chikei laughed it off.
Then he had an idea and casually asked, “How much is that watch, roughly?”
Fujiwara Aoi blinked.
“Around 60,000 yen.”
Chikei’s heart sank.
One sports watch cost as much as a whole month’s rent for his apartment!
Did Fujiwara Aoi’s family have quite a bit of money?
He had been planning to buy her an equivalent sports watch later and then find an excuse to keep this one… but now it was clear he would have to wait until he had more money.
Right now he only had about 40,000 yen in his wallet.
Next month’s rent alone was 60,000 yen.
Adding food, clothes, and daily expenses, there was no way he could afford such an expensive watch.
Even though he really wanted to do it, he would have to wait until he was financially comfortable.
“So… when are you planning to buy one?” Fujiwara Aoi asked curiously, her eyes sparkling.
“I’ll wait until it’s close to my sister’s birthday.
It’s still early…” Chikei made up an excuse.
“Mm-hm, it’s a promise then!” Fujiwara Aoi gave him an energetic smile.
A moment later.
The two of them entered the coffee shop and changed into their work uniforms.
Fujiwara Aoi looked around the shop.
Only the manager, herself, and Chikei were there.
She felt a little happy.
“Looks like it’s just the three of us this morning.
I didn’t expect we’d get the same early shift today.”
“What a coincidence.”
Chikei hadn’t expected it either.
“Actually, it’s not a coincidence,” Manager Yamamoto Koji coughed twice to get their attention, then explained:
“It’s because you two are starting school again tomorrow.
I gave you the early shift today so you can go home earlier tonight and get a good night’s sleep.”
“How about it?
Your manager is pretty considerate, right?”
Natsume Chikei suddenly understood and gave a thumbs-up.
“Manager, you’re so thoughtful.
Really thoughtful!”
Fujiwara Aoi also raised her thumb and smiled.
“So that’s why.
Manager, you’re such a good person!”
When Yamamoto Koji heard the words “such a good person,” it seemed to trigger some unpleasant memory.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Alright, enough of that.
It’s almost opening time.
Go get ready to open the shop!”
Before long, they had finished all the pre-opening preparations.
When the shutter door at the entrance was raised, Natsume Chikei noticed there were already people waiting outside.
He smiled and greeted them.
“Welcome.”
The group of girls who had been chattering noisily at the door froze the moment they saw Chikei’s smile.
Then, one by one, they went from loud and casual to quiet and shy.
One of the bolder girls even stepped forward and tried to strike up a conversation.
“Um… what time does the morning shift end here?”
“Hm?
Are you thinking of applying for a part-time job?” Chikei asked, confused.
“Uh… cough, my little sister at home was thinking about it.
Could you tell me?”
“Around five in the afternoon.”
“There are people lining up behind me, and talking here might affect your work… How about I add your LINE instead?
Later I can have my sister chat with you about the job… What do you think?”
“My phone’s in the staff locker.
The manager’s right here—how about I have him add you instead?”
Yamamoto Koji heard this and excitedly walked over.
“What?
Someone wants to apply for a part-time job?
We’re very welcome!
I’ll add you on LINE right now!”
The girl started sweating and laughed awkwardly.
“I just remembered my sister is nearby.
I’ll call her over later to talk to you, Manager…”
“Alright…” Yamamoto Koji walked back dejectedly.
He secretly took out a small mirror, looked at himself, then looked at Chikei still being hit on by the other girls, and felt deeply depressed.
Fujiwara Aoi watched the scene of Chikei getting approached.
She pressed her lips together, clearly unhappy, and directly said to him:
“Chikei-kun, the manager wants you to go to the back and bring out some coffee beans.”
Yamamoto Koji froze.
When did I say that?