Konrad did something he had never done in either of his lives.
He socialized.
For his kind of loners, this was terrifying. Overwhelming, loud, and not what he expected when he accepted that invitation for sure. But that was before the singing even started.
He already had second thoughts before entering the karaoke booth.
After? The third and fourth came in quick succession.
The kids' idea of singing was loud equals good.
They managed to shout through entire songs without getting a single note right. And if that wasn't embarrassing enough, they handed him the microphone next to do the same.
"What? I moved here, like, last week. I don't know any of these songs, haha. Gomen, gomen."
It had to be the worst fake laugh he had ever produced, but his excuse was solid. Not that this would hold his brand-new classmates back.
They knew enough hits to spend all day without repeating one twice.
Or a whole year? It sure felt like eternity.
But there was no backing out. He came to make friends and learn about the current state of this world before figuring out what he wanted to do. He couldn't offend them all by leaving early.
So he shut off his brain as much as he could, looking for a temporary escape.
Two he'd found were stepping out for drinks or visiting the toilet.
Each bought him five minutes of relative peace before he'd become suspicious.
But he couldn't last longer inside the booths, either.
The shock came after his third escapade, when he realised he was broke. Already?!
Kaede left him a hundred thousand yen, but not knowing its worth, he only took ten grand.
Once he pitched in with the booth rental—regretting it in ten minutes—and bought three soft drinks, it was all gone. They still had three hours left out of four.
It should have been illegal to let kids be in the place for that long, especially on a weekday.
But, well, there were no drugs of any kind or alcohol involved.
They might've helped Konrad survive this cacophony.
This wasn't his world anymore. In fact, it never was. Sure, all he saw was a little slice of this era from a Japanese schoolkid's perspective, but—to start over here?
What would he do and how? Also, how could he afford it?
Everything was too fast, too loud, and he felt the age of his soul more than ever.
All he could do was rest his forehead against the vending machine's cool glass plate and take a deep breath. He couldn't afford a fourth drink after all, but he wasn't ready to go back inside.
If he went to the toilet again, they would have started to worry about his health.
He was more concerned about his hearing, but it might have been too late for that.
So when Kaede showed up with a plate and a stack of laminated menus, he wanted to fall to his knees and apologise. He didn't know why—or how she got there—but he was that desperate.
What stopped him was a classmate appearing behind him right as he opened his mouth.
"Oh, Ryu-chan, did your shift start already?" she asked.
It was the pretty girl who invited him, not that he remembered her name.
He couldn't remember any of theirs, only how bad each of them sang.
And who the hell was Ryu-chan? Wait, did she say shift?
"Kaede, you work here?!" he yelled, straightening his back.
The other girl gasped, hand covering her mouth in the most exasperated fashion.
"You're already on a first-name basis like that?!"
Whatever that was.
"Halstadt-kun is from Germany, you know." Kaede rolled her eyes. "He has no idea how things work here. But isn't he cute?" She smirked, turning to him. "And yes, I do. Twice a week."
"Oh, right, I was thinking you two might already, you know—"
Her voice trailed off. They what? Dated? Got married in another world?
He had no idea what he had done wrong, but that girl sure liked to jump to conclusions. Not that she said them out loud. In fact, Konrad might have given her way too much credit there.
But yeah. Kaede working to pay his rent and give him money made a lot of sense.
Nobody else supported them, and money didn't grow on trees. It made this world turn.
"I didn't know kids could work, though," Konrad mumbled, running numbers in his head.
"Only part-time," the dragoness-in-disguise said. "Four-hour shifts max. And you don't get an adult's salary, either. But I work four different jobs, so it adds up."
"Four?!" he shouted.
Even the pretty girl raised an eyebrow.
"So you do know each other somehow?" she asked, having no clue.
Kaede ignored her altogether, counting on her fingers.
"Five two-hour shifts handing out leaflets after school. Two four-hour shifts here. Three in a nearby grocery store and two shifts at a library. That's the best one, actually. So quiet."
And how much of that went towards his rent and other stuff?!
As if Konrad didn't already feel bad. But he stopped himself before blurting anything else out in front of that outsider. The girl's eyes widened, too, giving Kaede an appreciative frown.
"I had no idea Ryu-san was such a hard worker," she said. "I'll make sure we tip you lots today."
"Arigatou Gosaimasu," Kaede bowed her head, and her entire torso with a smirk. "I do have a clueless little brother to support, after all."
If that wasn't a jab at him, then Konrad couldn't imagine what was.
"D-do you know of any jobs I could take, too?" his conscience asked. "L-like as a foreigner."
"Haha, Ryu-sama is so inspirational, Deso?" the girl laughed, nudging his side. "I can't even imagine spending that much time on something. But I'm lucky having doting parents, so—"
Inspirational wasn't the right word. It was pure gaslighting. But what did she know?
"I know of a job you could do, Halstadt-kun," Kaede said with a smirk. "And it's quite magical."
Oh, right. Here it went.
Her single glance at the other girl made her jump.
"I-I'll let you talk out the details, and head back first," she said, her voice unnatural. "I'll tell the others to prepare a big, juicy tip for you, too, Ryu-san. Ganbatte."
If Konrad didn't know better, he'd suspect a mind-altering spell, but no.
Kaede's hazel eyes had that effect on people even without magic.
He waited until the third wheel disappeared before crossing his arms.
"So who is Ryu?" he asked to start with something simple.
"Watashiwa Ryu Kaede desu," Kaede said, even adding a curtsy to her introduction. "Using people's first names—especially without adding 'san'—means you're super close."
"Oh." Konrad should have known this from his negotiations with old clients.
And running the word through his limited knowledge—
"Dragon? Your name is Maple Dragon?!" he asked, almost laughing. "Very original."
"As if you did better at a moment's notice," she pouted, adorable in her server uniform. "Now, go back to your friends and enjoy this new life that I worked my ass off for."
That was a punch in the gut.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Konrad said, being honest this time. "I need some time to figure things out."
"Well, time's money." She waved him off, bumping his hips as she passed by. "The longer you take, the more I have to work. But I can take it—Kasserlane won't."