—– ● The Tsundere OL Proposes a Toast ● ○ ●

​“Number One?”

​“Yep! Right now, Yuusee and Yuusuke are in a pretty heated battle for it.”

​It was a Friday at the end of the month.

​As usual, I had arrived at my part-time job, the boy’s bar “Festa,” and was changing in the locker room when my seniors brought up the topic.

​A boy’s salary fluctuates based on their hourly wage plus their sales commission.

​Actually, the price of the drinks the boys themselves drink isn’t included in the customer’s bill. The business model relies on customers buying drinks for the boys.

​Having customers buy expensive alcohol contributes to the shop’s sales. That’s a boy’s role… which is why I, who can’t drink, am technically useless when it comes to sales.

​The boy with the highest sales for the month becomes the shop’s “Number One.”

​Being Number One doesn’t necessarily mean your salary goes up by a set amount, but everyone’s sales are posted in the back, and regular customers keep track.

​It’s a bit of industry jargon.

​“I don’t really care about being Number One.”

​“You say that, but you’re at least a little conscious of it, right?”

​Yuusee-san, who had arrived late, said with a wry smile.

​Yuusee-san wasn’t what you’d call a perfect beauty, but he was a great talker and very popular.

​“Masato, once you can drink, you should give it a shot!”

​“No way, I couldn’t.”

​Even if I were old enough to drink, I didn’t think I could handle customers like Yuusee-san did.

​My stories weren’t that interesting… If I wanted to earn more, I supposed I’d have to study that sort of thing too.

​For now, I was doing fine with the bar and my tutoring job, but that might not last forever…

​“Alright, let’s start the meeting~”

​“Okay~”

​While I was thinking about all that, it seemed it was time to open.

​My seniors seemed worried about their numbers, but I decided not to worry about it and just focus on my work.

​“Good evening, Seira-san. You came again.”

​“Yeah… I mean, I told you I was coming, didn’t I?”

​Today, Seira-san had come to the shop again. In fact, she hadn’t missed a single Friday since we met.

​“Actually, Seira-san! What kind of thing did you leave at my house?!”

​“Oh? I just left it there for ‘someday’… You noticed it?”

​“Please stop, it’s bad for my heart…!”

​Her smile had that specific composure unique to adult women. I really wanted to give her a piece of my mind, but Seira-san looked so lovely when she laughed that I lost the will to be angry.

​I took her suit jacket and showed her to her seat. When I dropped a few ice cubes into her glass, they settled with a pleasant clink.

​After a few minutes of our usual small talk, Seira-san looked around the room.

​“It’s quite lively today, isn’t it?”

​It was true. For a while now, I’d been hearing shouts of “Drink ordered!” or “Champagne ordered!” from around the shop.

​“Ah… it’s probably because it’s the end of the month.”

​“Does that have something to do with it?”

​“Sales are managed by the month, so everyone probably wants to boost their numbers before the deadline.”

​Every month around this time, everyone seemed to get fixated on the numbers.

​Well, it had nothing to do with me…

​“Hmm… everyone’s so diligent. I’ve never worked thinking ‘this is for the company’ before…”

​“Ah, but I think it’s the same thing? It’s more like everyone’s working hard to increase their own pay… and maybe some want to be Number One?”

​“Number One?”

​Seira-san reacted to the term and locked eyes with me.

​“It’s like, the person with the highest sales for the month becomes the Number One, I think.”

​“I see… and what about you, Masato?”

​“Eh? Me? I have nothing to do with that. If anything, I’m at the very bottom. I only work once a week, after all.”

​It was only natural. I worked once a week, couldn’t drink, and Seira-san was almost my only customer. There was no way I could compete with the guys who handled dozens of customers.

​My seniors understood my situation, and they never brought up sales around me out of consideration. They were all such good people.

​“At the very bottom?”

​Seira-san’s movements stopped.

​Something seemed to have caught her attention, and she looked down, brooding.

​Was it the sales talk?

​“I’m the only one who works once a week, and I can’t drink, so it’s only natural, right…?”

​“…This is unacceptable.”

​“Huh?”

​Her voice was low, squeezed out from her throat. A strange pressure radiated from Seira-san, making me instinctively lean back.

​“Masato being at the bottom… it’s unacceptable. Fine, it’s decided. I will take this as a personal challenge…”

​“No, I’m pretty sure it’s not!”

​She looked like she was about to sprint full speed in a completely wrong direction!

​I hurriedly stopped her as she reached for her wallet.

​“First of all, I can’t drink! No matter how expensive the bottle is, I can’t drink it!”

​“It’s fine… think of it as an investment for the future… Open it and drink it once you’re old enough.”

​“How long do you plan on letting a bottle of champagne sit?!”

​I’d heard that alcohol could last a long time if stored properly, but that wasn’t the point.

​“But it’s frustrating! Having my Masato be the bottom of the shop!”

​“You just casually said ‘my’ Masato, didn’t you?! I didn’t miss that!”

​“At least let me have that fantasy in this shop!”

​“You’re so desperate.”

​Seira-san’s face was flushed with alcohol as she argued.

​Apparently, she wasn’t going to back down on this.

​I managed to get her to lower the hand that was trying to order something expensive.

​“Alright, alright! I’ll go check with the manager!”

​“Make sure it’s something ruthlessly expensive. I’m the only one paying for you, after all.”

​This woman is far gone. Her eyes are completely glazed over.

​I went to the back to check, and I found Aika-san about to head out the back door with a cigarette.

​“Aika-san, sorry. A regular wants to order something expensive, but…”

​“Oh? That’s good. There’s a list over there, pick the most expensive one—”

​“No, no, no! But I still can’t drink!”

​“It’s fine. Just say you’ll drink it later or something.”

​“I-I guess, but…”

​No good. Aika-san is a business owner. Of course she wants the expensive stuff… But still…

​As I was agonizing, Aika-san let out a little chuckle.

​“Well, I knew you’d say that, Masato. It was just a joke. Here, take this.”

​She handed me a laminated menu.

​At the very top, it said: ‘Non-Alcoholic Champagne.’

​“…! Thank you!”

​“Well, keep it in moderation. And don’t let her get too close. Don’t forget that you’re ‘playing along’ with her.”

​“Yes!”

​So they had non-alcoholic champagne now, not just cocktails!

​I took the menu and went back to Seira-san’s seat.

​This was a reasonable price, and I could actually drink it! Seira-san would surely be satisfied.

​“I wonder if he really understands…”

​Aika-san’s mutter, muffled by her electronic cigarette, didn’t reach me, but her tone was exasperated yet gentle.

​“Seira-san, I can drink this non-alcoholic champagne!”

​I handed the menu to Seira-san, who was waiting at the table.

​There we go. This fulfills Seira-san’s desire to spend money, and I won’t feel guilty. Perfect.

​I smiled as I watched Seira-san seriously study the menu.

​“…Is there nothing more expensive than this?”

​“Eh?… No, I don’t think so. I don’t think there are many types of non-alcoholic champagne to begin with…”

​“…Cheap.”

​“Huh?”

​I thought I’d misheard her.

​“It’s too cheap…”

​Yeah, I definitely didn’t mishear that.

​“No, no, no! Seira-san, this is plenty expensive! Your sense of money is broken!”

​The non-alcoholic champagne at the top of the menu was quite pricey. For a university student like me, it was an astronomical sum.

​“Masato won’t become Number One at this rate…”

​“Seira-san, that’s impossible anyway, so please give up…”

​The guys fighting for Number One worked way more shifts and spent far more time with customers. It was fundamentally impossible to catch up.

​“Fine, I’ll take this for now. And everything from here to here as well.”

​“…I have no idea what you mean by ‘for now’…”

​She pointed to the champagne and five different cocktails.

​Altogether, it was a massive amount of money.

​I looked up and met her large, dark violet eyes.

​“I’ll give up on Number One. It can’t be helped. But I still hate the idea of Masato being at the bottom.”

​“I-I appreciate the sentiment, but…!”

​She was acting like a total mess of an adult, and yet she looked so serious that I didn’t know how to react…

​Lately, Seira-san had started being very direct with her feelings, and it always threw me off.

​“Anyway, just bring me everything from here to here. Masato, we’re drinking together!”

​“I can’t drink all of that…!”

​I ordered the champagne and the specified cocktails and had them brought over.

​“Come on, let’s toast.”

​“Y-Yeah, toast…”

​The glasses met with a pleasant clink.

​I tilted my glass, and the citrusy acidity washed down my throat.

​Considering there were four more cocktails left, I’d have to drink quite a bit… I finished about half and put the glass back on the table.

​Watching me, Seira-san was beaming; I could feel her good mood radiating from her.

​…I realized that Seira-san’s presence had become so large in my mind that I found myself thinking, ‘Well, as long as she’s happy.’

​“Haa! That was fun! I’m looking forward to drinking with you for real once you’re old enough!”

​“Go easy on me when that time comes…”

​I took Seira-san’s arm as she put on her jacket and led her to the register.

​By that point, I was too scared to even look at the total. Is this really okay…?

​Seira-san handed her slip to the senior at the register.

​Just when I thought the payment was over, Seira-san said something incredible.

​“Excuse me, did this increase Masato’s sales a little bit?”

​“Eh? Oh! You’re actually worried about that? Man, Masato, you’re lucky to have such a great customer.”

​“Y-Yeah, ahaha…”

​My senior laughed lightheartedly as he punched the numbers into the register.

​Seira-san looked embarrassed at being called a ‘great customer.’ What was even happening…?

​My senior handed her the receipt.

​“Thanks to you, Milady, Masato’s sales definitely went up! Though he’s still a rookie, so he’ll need to find more new ‘Miladies’ to serve!”

​At the mention of ‘new Miladies,’ Seira-san’s embarrassed fidgeting stopped.

​Uh oh. I have a really bad feeling about this…

​“In that case, I’ll put in an order for the most expensive bottle of champagne right now. I’ll pay by card.”

​“Seira-san! Thank you so much for coming today! We look forward to seeing you again!!”

​In a panic, I shoved Seira-san—who was trying to pull out her credit card with glazed eyes—out of the shop.

​

​“Phew… Seriously, if I don’t stop her, she just loses all restraint…”

​After seeing Seira-san off.

​I returned to the staff room for a moment, and found Aika-san doing paperwork on her PC.

​“Good work today.”

​“Yeah, good work, Masato. Was it the usual lady?”

​“The very same.”

​Aika-san had been quite wary of Seira-san before, so I wondered if I should keep the conversation short.

​“She’s really changed, hasn’t she?”

​Aika-san spoke without looking away from her monitor. It took me a few seconds to process her words.

​“Y-Yeah! She’s become softer, I guess…”

​“Fufu. Why do you look so happy about it?”

​“Eh? Wait, you’re right. I wonder why…”

​“That dangerous edge she had before is gone. Now it feels like she’s genuinely enjoying her time here. I can tell. I’ve been in this industry a long time.”

​It had been less than a year since I met Aika-san. I was indebted to her, and she was a truly good person, so I liked her a lot, but I didn’t know much about her past.

​I looked at the clock on the wall.

​It was about an hour until my shift ended. Since I didn’t have any more customers scheduled, I decided to ask something that had been on my mind.

​“Aika-san, why are you so kind to me?”

​“Hmm?”

​I’d only recently started thinking about it. Right after I was transported here, I was a nobody with no connections. She could have done anything with me.

​In a world where men were valuable just for existing, she could have done much worse things to make money. Letting me work at a bar once a week… no matter how I looked at it, Aika-san wasn’t gaining much.

​If the person who found me hadn’t been Aika-san… the thought still chilled me to the bone.

​“Well…”

​Aika-san looked away from the monitor and gazed at the ceiling.

​“You looked like a boy I used to be close with… and…”

​She stole a glance at me.

​“It’s a secret.”

​She gave me a soft smile and turned back to the computer.

​“What?! That sounded like the most important part…”

​“Yeah, yeah. Once you’re earning a million a month, I’ll tell you.”

​“Isn’t that a bit harsh…?”

​I was curious, but it didn’t seem like she was going to answer no matter how much I pressed.

​Well, I’d ask her again some other time. I figured I’d be with Aika-san for a long time to come.

​…I would never forget my gratitude to her.

​I headed back to the floor to help out, vowing to find a way to repay her.