"Hello, everyone~!"
As soon as they entered the shop, they saw three people waiting for them—two women and one man.
Judging by their neat hair and tanned skin, it was clear these were capable workers!
All three had short hair and bronzed skin.
One blonde-haired girl waved excitedly at them, her gaze locking onto Shiro with a curious look.
(′｀;)?
This puzzled Shiro. It was the first time someone had looked at him like that at a first meeting.
Even if she was shocked by his charm, this wasn't the right expression, was it?
Before he could dwell on it, Aunt Kotegawa said, "Maki will explain the job details to you."
Maki was the lively blonde girl. She pulled back her surprise and introduced herself, "Hi everyone, I'm Maki! I'll be training the newcomers~"
"Nice to meet you!" ×5
The five of them bowed slightly in greeting.
"Mm-hmm!" Maki nodded enthusiastically—this was her first time training new recruits!
She then pulled out a blackboard with some tasks written on it.
"Simulated Customer Greeting Drill – Incomplete"
"Our shop is a new one about to open. You all heard that, right?"
"Yeah."
"Heard it."
They all nodded. That's why they came—they were short on staff.
"We need to do a full dress rehearsal before opening!"
"Ohh!" Shiro finally understood. No wonder there weren't any customers today—it was a rehearsal.
Makes sense, just in case something goes wrong on opening day.
"So we're mainly greeting customers, huh?"
Shiro sighed a little. It was a waste of his handsome face not to be customer-facing, but… hey, this was his mother-in-law's place after all~
"No, you're doing odd jobs. That customer greeting part was just a bonus."
Aunt Kotegawa crushed Shiro's dream in one blow. Greeting customers? Keep dreaming!
Odd jobs…
Shiro's face twitched. That didn't match his whole vibe at all!
"Um… dear mother-in-law, I'm actually really good at welcoming customers, you know."
He flashed a perfect eight-tooth smile—handsome and sunny!
"Mother-in-law?!"
The three staff members stared at Shiro and the manager in shock, full of gossip energy.
Not only was the manager's daughter here, but also her son-in-law?!
Spicy!
Maki kept glancing between Shiro and Chisa.
Actually… they do make a cute couple~
In her mind, she was already outlining a tens-of-thousands-of-words romance novel.
"No, no, it's not like that!" Chisa frantically waved her hands, unsure how to even begin explaining.
How could she say that Shiro called her mom "mother-in-law" because of her older sister?
But even her sister wasn't really involved with him!
"Sigh…"
Aunt Kotegawa sighed, then karate-chopped Shiro on the head.
"Stop smiling like that. This isn't a host club. And I'm not your mother-in-law. Not until Nanaka tells me so herself."
"I think I look pretty good though…" Shiro muttered, rubbing his sore head. He was a gold-tier host!
"This is a dive shop. I care more about your diving skills than your looks. Do you have an advanced diving license?"
"..."
At that, Shiro quietly shuffled back into the group. "Let's… just talk about the odd job stuff."
(;￣Д￣）
Iori and the others gave Shiro a collective look of disdain.
Classic Shiro.
"Ahahahaha!"
Maki burst out laughing at the scene, and even the two calm employees beside her couldn't help but smile.
Looks like life at the shop was going to be fun~
"So… what was that 'bonus' part again?"
Shiro, hiding between Iori and Kohei, shamelessly asked again—no embarrassment at all, as if the last few minutes had never happened.
Naturally, the boss wouldn't bother answering this kind of question. As the trainer, Maki tactfully stepped in.
"You'll be helping with a little skit as difficult customers~"
"Huh?!" ×5
All five of them exchanged confused glances.
Were they… good at acting?
Wouldn't just two people acting it out be enough?
"I heard from Manager Kotegawa that you all have OWD certificates, right~?"
Everyone nodded. But what did scuba licenses have to do with acting?
Were difficult customer roles only open to certified divers now?!
"And he said you're all a bit brain-dead too~"
´_>`
Veins popped on the foreheads of the Shiro Trio. So this was the setup, huh?!
Asking about the licenses was just to confirm whether Uncle Kotegawa was telling the truth.
That damn uncle!
"You guys came at the perfect time—this is great!"
Seeing Maki's genuinely delighted expression, the trio didn't know what to say anymore.
No need to be THAT happy…
Besides, this had to be some kind of misunderstanding!
"It's just that Uncle exaggerated a bit."
"Even if Kitahara and Shi are missing a few screws, I'm perfectly normal!"
"We're just average Izu University students!"
Faced with their weak excuses, Maki nodded knowingly—and pulled out what she believed to be definitive proof of their brain-cell deficiency!
"We actually received a photo sent by Manager Kotegawa beforehand."
[Three People Drinking Naked.jpg]
"From this angle, you three are undeniably just freaks of nature!"
At first, she was surprised because Shiro looked exactly like the person in the photo!
She even thought the photo had been heavily photoshopped.
Aren't handsome guys supposed to be all cool and aloof?
Why does this photo only give off... chills?
However—
After looking at the photo, Shiro showed a puzzled expression.
"What's abnormal about this photo?"
"We're just casually drinking."
"Same as always!"
"..."
The trio's reaction left the ever-cheerful Maki completely speechless.
"Manager, these three are even worse than I imagined."
"They really are something else…" Aunt Kotegawa sighed. After all these years, she still couldn't make sense of these two idiots' behavior.
If she didn't know them since they were kids, just based on that photo alone, she'd have good reason to question their sexual orientation.
"Well, whatever."
"We just have to pretend to be customers, right?"
"Then we just wander around the store for a bit and that's it?"
The three didn't dwell on it much. After all, this job was way easier than doing miscellaneous chores.
With that, they headed toward the exit with Aina and Chisa in tow.
However—
Just then, Aunt Kotegawa called out to Chisa.
"Chisa, you'll be a store clerk."
Chisa was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Okay…"
That made Shiro super jealous. Damn it, if only he'd gotten that advanced diving certificate earlier!
Outside the Dolphin shop—
Shiro and the other three pondered.
"So how exactly should we act?"
"This is hard!"
"I don't think we've ever actually dealt with a difficult customer in real life."
The three scratched their heads, genuinely unsure what a difficult customer was even like.
"What are you guys talking about?" Aina chimed in. "We're just pretending to be customers, right? No need to act. Just be yourselves."
The trio looked thoughtful. "Be ourselves, huh…"
Inside the shop, Aunt Kotegawa was giving her final pep talk!
As the employees gave a cheerful greeting, the shop doors opened.
The customers arrived!
The first "customer" was Shiro!
He was greeted by a brown-haired senior staff lady~
As the lead, of course she had to set a good example for the others~
"Good morning, beautiful lady."
Although it wasn't quite what she expected, the lead responded with a textbook sweet smile.
"Good morning to you too~ Did you sleep well last night?"
Normally, the greeting would end there and she would start leading the customer through the diving info.
But!
Now in his "normal mode," there was no way Shiro would let a beautiful, short-haired older woman slip by.
Short hair!!
As a certified short-hair fanatic, of course he wouldn't miss this chance.
He elegantly took the lead lady's hand, and like a noble, bowed to kiss the back of it.
"Not bad, but… I might sleep even better tonight. Your beauty will surely lead me into sweet dreams. Beautiful lady, may I have the honor of inviting you for a cup of coffee~?"
At that moment, Shiro exuded an irresistible charm, like a nobleman from a European ball.
The only thing missing was a tailored tuxedo.
"I…"
Even a veteran like the lead staff lady had never dealt with a customer like this!
Looking at Shiro's gentle smile and prince-like appearance, her once-calm heart began to race—
She could feel her heartbeat quickening, phenylethylamine was kicking in!
She completely forgot she was on duty, her face shy as she replied, "I'd love to…"
WHACK!
A hand chop came down!
"No, you wouldn't."
Aunt Kotegawa's cold voice came from behind her, instantly popping the romantic bubble.
It turned from a rom-com into a horror scene in seconds.
"S-sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Snapping back to her senses, the lead's face turned bright red. She apologized profusely, unable to even look at Shiro, retreating behind the manager like a scolded child.
Aaahhh!!!
She actually flirted with someone who could be the manager's future son-in-law—in front of said manager!
Absolutely fatal!
Maki, who never missed a chance to enjoy chaos, was giggling madly on the side and gave her a thumbs-up.
Thankfully, Aunt Kotegawa was a reasonable person. She knew it wasn't the lead's fault. Anyone seeing Shiro for the first time could be stunned by his looks.
Especially with him going all out just now.
The fact she lasted that long was honestly impressive.
The real problem? This punk!
Whap~
Aunt Kotegawa smacked Shiro on the head with a heavy hand chop.
"So, what kind of customer were you pretending to be?"
"Pretending? I wasn't pretending. Cakey said to just act like normal."
Shiro rubbed his head dumbly. So what, you guys don't approach pretty ladies normally?
No initiative, no future.
No wonder you're all single.
"..."
Hearing that, Aunt Kotegawa rubbed her temples in frustration.
That was his normal behavior?
How was she supposed to feel safe leaving Nanaka with this guy? He was on the express train to scumbagville.
"Looks like I need to warn Nanaka to stay away from you."
Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
"Nooo! Mother-in-law! It was an accident, I swear!"
"There are no accidents. You've been exposed. Rehearsal continues!"
"..."
Iori and the others silently gave Shiro a thumbs-up.
Yup, that's our guy. Calling someone "mother-in-law" while hitting on her employee.
This guy is never getting Aunt Kotegawa's approval.
With the nuisance Shiro out of the way, Iori and Kohei kept things much more normal.
"Hello, long trip must've tired you out, right?"
"Hello, how are you enjoying the seaside scenery?"
Under the guidance of a male employee and Chisa, they successfully played the role of normal customers!
However—
If Shiro is already out here, how could Aina not step up?
Cakey Aina arrived and instantly raised the rehearsal difficulty another notch!
Smiling brightly, she approached.
"Good morning~"
"And good morning to you! Pfft…"
Forgive Maki for skipping the usual "How's your health?" line—she really couldn't hold it in!
Honestly, not bursting into laughter on the spot was her maximum self-control.
"Maki, don't forget the guest health greeting."
The now-composed lead staff reminded from the side.
"But…"
What should she say?
Maki looked at the Caked Face again, and an idea popped into her head.
Without even thinking it through, she said it aloud:
"Is your brain okay?!"
(???)
"…That's not how we greet customers."
The supervisor's mouth twitched. What kind of sadistic way of greeting was that?
After the segment ended, the supervisor pulled Maki aside.
"Maki, this won't do! I just messed up earlier too—we can't let a customer's appearance throw us off our game!"
"I'm sorry…"
Failing at the very first greeting phase made Maki noticeably deflated.
The main issue was her lack of experience—she had never seen anyone who did their makeup to look like a ghost before!
At this point, she thought maybe she was better off handling that handsome guy with squinty eyes instead.
After all, she wasn't someone who'd fall just for a pretty face!
(It totally wasn't because she wanted to experience gentlemanly etiquette or anything~ (づ︶ど))
On the side, Shiro and the others were curiously observing Aina.
"She really is just like normal. Looks like we were overly nervous earlier."
"You've got a point."
"Hahaha, though I'm not usually like this."
With makeup on, Aina looked like a completely different person—like she was wearing a mask.
She transformed from the girl-next-door into a full-blown delinquent girl.
One of those who doesn't give a damn about anyone else's life or death.