Chapter 10: Part Time Summer Break  

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Summer break was busier than I thought.

I spent most of my time on working part time. Working in the warehouse is all about physical labor.

I was able to meet my goal of earning money.

The cake store that Mom is working at is going to be renovated in November. It’s not going to take that long, but she’ll get a break of about 2 weeks.

Dad’s also going on leave, so they’re planning a trip.

They wanted to take me along as well, but I don’t get that long of a break in my university.

So I turned them down and told them to enjoy their trip themselves.

Dad and mom are going to France and Germany. They’ve been wanting to go for a long time.

They were supposed to go on their honeymoon, but a lot happened and they couldn’t make it in the end.

It seems that they they decided to take this chance since it was the first time they were able to take such a long break of 2 weeks.

There are some sweets that Mom always yearned for in Paris.

Those sweets, which are only given to customers of a certain hotel have mesmerized not only Parisiennes, but also people from all over the world.

It’s a five-star hotel that costs 30,000 yen per night.

Of course, Mom gave up right away, and Dad doesn’t know she wants to go.

But it’s a rare opportunity, and I wanted to let Mom try them.

I thought, I can use summer break to earn enough money for that hotel stay!

She would probably reconsider, but I’m the one paying for the hotel reservation.

And so I worked hard at my part time job, but I was shocked when I looked into the hotel.

Dad and Mom are staying in Paris on Sunday, so the reservation fees are higher.

On top of that, the rooms were almost fully booked, and the remaining rooms were available starting from 50,000 yen.

I wanted to earn about 60,000 yen, but the prices suddenly jumped to 100,000 yen.

It’s 50,000 yen per stay, and comes up to 100,000 for two adults. The price is shocking.

But this was like their honeymoon trip.

So I set my mind to earn that amount of money through part time jobs.

And then.

「Gateau Chocolat」

A blank message from Mizuhara with that as the subject header.

「It’s a blind date with a guy from Waseda University today!」

A stylish message from Chii-chan.

「We hid some unwashed karate robes in the clubroom, so Kinoshita-san asked if something was rotting. The club members have been crawling around like bugs. It’s annoying, so please help, Noda.」

An idiotic message from Arioka-senpai.

I couldn’t ignore any of these, so I arranged to meet each of them.

「Doesn’t it look like it’s falling apart?」

Mizuhara complains while eating the Gateau Chocolat I made as he asked.

「You know, you have to let it cool down before removing it from the oven. Of course it would fall apart if you removed it while it was still hot!」

Since eating a set of freshly baked cookies one time, Mizuhara has been pretty hung up on the “freshly baked” part.

I told him right away that it doesn’t apply to everything, but he assumed that even cakes should be eaten hot.

「Oh. Tell me first then.」

「You went for it on your own while I was making the whipped cream!」

「It’s your fault for not looking. Also, what did you put in the whipped cream?」

「Eh? Wine. I mixed some wine with whipped cream to decorate the Gateau Chocolat. Though it’s half gone now!」

He clings to the Gateau Chocolat and doesn’t let go.

I haven’t even had a bite yet.

When I ask for my share, he cuts a thin slice and gives it to me. It’s so thin it falls apart.

It’s so thin I can see through it.

It’s so thin you could say he’s skillful in a way.

「………………Hey you…」

「What’s next… Maybe some tarts. I wanna eat the egg tarts you made last time.」

「H-huh? That’s fine, but I don’t know when the next time will be. I’m working part time jobs.」

「……Aren’t you working a little too much for summer break? …Now that I think about it, that’s not a shirt. Is that a camisole? And those culottes. You bought them. ……Ah, that’s why you needed the money.」

「They’re not that fancy. It’s true I spent some money on new clothes though.」

I tagged along with Chii-chan and bought a lot of clothes. I thought shopping was going to be a hassle, but it was actually pretty fun.

They had pretty good deals too.

I don’t know what Chii-chan told her, but Mom turned my washed out clothes into cleaning cloths.

Now that I look at it, I can’t tell them apart from the actual washing cloths in the kitchen. My shirts must have been horrible.

「I wanna earn money for the hotel fees.」

「Hotel fees? You going somewhere?」

Mizuhara gives me money to buy some famous pastries from overseas, but I stop him.

「Not me. Dad and Mom. They’re going on a long awaited trip to France and Germany in November. Mom has always longed for a certain type of sweets which is only given to customers of a certain five-star hotel. It’s 50,000 yen per stay. Mom simply gave up and never talked about it, but I don’t want her to give up like that. But the hotel fees.」

「100,000 yen, huh. Wanna borrow from me? I’ll take snacks as interest.」

「No thanks. I’ll earn it through part time jobs, somehow.」

Apparently Mizuhara earns money through stocks. He gives me the money just like that.

Our worldviews are so different, I want to hit him sometimes.

I do hit him sometimes.

「You know, you’re more pious than you look.」

「What do you mean by that. Of course I love my parents. Also it’s the sweets Mom has always wanted. It’s a rare opportunity.」

「…………………Hmm……」

I make some coffee and add some whipped cream on top. I don’t pair up Viennese coffee with cake, but this is an exception.

Mizuhara’s guarding the Gateau Chocolat with his arms.

It feels like his defence has increased recently.

I’ve been failing once every three times I try to steal a snack.

「Are you going somewhere soon?」

「You can tell huh. My cousin Chii-chan is taking me to a blind date.」

「Oh. I think it’s a complete waste of time, but you may need it.」

「What are you saying?」

「That’s probably why you bought those clothes. That’s a good opportunity. I’ve always sympathized your shirts as I heard them beg, please let me go, I can’t take any more.」

「Stop personifying them.」

「Blind dates, huh. Alright, I’ll give you some advice. Take out your phone.」

「Hm? What?」

As I take out my phone, Mizuhara does the same with his phone.

「Lately there’s been outrageous guys who go on blind dates even though they’re attached or married. I’ll teach you how to tell them apart from the decent guys. Use the word prediction function on your phone.」

It’s a function that displays a set of predictions or phrases when I enter certain words.

It seems that the words and phrases that are displayed are based on those that are commonly used, as well as those I’ve used before.

「If you see a guy you may be interested in, try typing 『I』 on the messenger homepage. There’s a chance the guy has a girlfriend if the top predictions are 『I love you』, 『I wanna see you』, or 『I luv you』. The guy may be an otaku if 『Idol』 is among the top. If it shows up as 『I lover』, or 『I’m married』, look for someone else right away.」

「I think it’s a little unnatural to just type in 『I』. Most likely the guy will get confused and nothing will happen.」

「Just try it when you get the chance.」

「Yeah, I will. ………What results will show if you type in 『I』?」

I get curious for some reason, and Mizuhara types it in.

「I got 『ILO』 (International Labor Organization) and 『IMF』 (International Monetary Fund). What about you?」

「Whoa! Sure feels like a detective there. Let’s see, for me…」

I type in 『I』 on my messenger homepage.

「『Iron crowbar』 and 『It ended in a draw』.」

「Ah. Maybe you shouldn’t let anyone see your word predictions. You may end up in a real fight if they pry too much.」

「Shut up.」

I kick Mizuhara and the chair he’s sitting on while putting the dishes into the dishwasher.

I don’t have a dishwasher at home, but it’s so convenient.

「See you later then.」

「Yeah.」

I leave Mizuhara’s place and try to contact Chii-chan when I see 8 messages.

They’re all from the karate club members.

「Where did you put our Bibles?」

They probably mean their porn books.

I simply reply that they’re in the student center, and then I get a flood of messages.

What an annoying bunch.