Chapter 48 The Family Restaurant Waitress
On the first day of Golden Week, Kaede stayed home peacefully. After having a big dinner out with his parents that evening, the second day of Golden Week finally arrived—the day they had scheduled the study session.
Yawning, Kaede finished breakfast and prepared to leave.
Since he was a little early, Kaede wasn't in a hurry. He rode his bicycle leisurely to the spot where he had arranged to meet Takasu Ryuji and Kitamura Yusaku.
When he arrived, the two of them were already there.
There was a perfect spot to park bicycles, so Kaede secured his bike and told the two, "It's not far now. Let's go over together. The others have already arrived."
The three walked together toward the family restaurant. Takasu Ryuji was still a bit nervous as he asked, "Asakura, is it really okay for us to have a study session with your club members like this?"
"Don't worry."
Kaede waved his hand and said, "That Uchimaki guy won't care at all, and I had Eriri ask Usami, who suggested the study session, and she's fine with it too. So, Takasu, stop worrying. Just relax and study with everyone. Besides, this isn't a mixer, why are you so nervous?"
"..."
Takasu Ryuji sighed and said, "I can't help it. This is the first time I've ever had a study session with other people. How could I not be nervous?"
"Hmm... I guess that's true."
Kitamura Yusaku, however, wasn't worried about any of that. Instead, he noticed something else, putting his arm around Kaede's shoulder and saying with a smile, "Asakura, did you just call Sawamura by her given name? It seems your relationship is progressing quickly."
Takasu Ryuji also reacted, asking curiously, "Indeed, Asakura, how did you manage it?"
"You guys... are really gossipy."
Sighing, Kaede said, "It's just having common topics, didn't I say it before? Communicating with girls isn't that difficult. If you find the right angle, it's easy to build a good relationship. To take it a step further, you need to look at how you interact in daily life. Every girl has a different personality and different preferences, and you need to think carefully about these aspects and not act blindly."
Listening to Kaede, the two of them were stunned.
Takasu Ryuji took a deep breath and said, "Asakura, you know quite a lot. Honestly, how many girls have you deceived?"
"There's no need for that."
Glaring at Takasu Ryuji, Kaede said, "It's just that when I was chatting with my dad, he told me some of his experiences from when he pursued my mom. And these are actually just very common experiences; there are many such articles online. It's just that when applying them to different people, you need to make some appropriate adjustments."
Takasu Ryuji scratched his head, finally saying, "No matter what, you're still amazing."
"Actually, it's not that complicated; it's all about being bold and meticulous."
As they chatted, the three of them arrived at the family restaurant, so they had to stop their conversation and walk inside.
Eriri had sent Kaede a message earlier, and the table was located further inside the restaurant, so they found it directly after entering.
However, upon arriving at the table, they noticed that the three people who had already arrived were seated in a somewhat peculiar arrangement.
Uchimaki Subaru and Usami were seated against the wall, and Eriri was next to Usami. Of the three seats on the girls' side, only one was left. On the opposite side, next to Uchimaki Subaru, there were two empty seats.
After greeting and introducing themselves, Kaede unhesitatingly chose to sit next to Eriri, then had Takasu Ryuji and Kitamura Yusaku sit opposite him, with Takasu Ryuji directly across from him.
This way, no matter how the six of them discussed or sought advice from each other, it would generally be fine.
After sitting down, Kaede looked at Eriri and asked, "Have you ordered anything?"
"Not yet, I was planning to wait until you guys arrived to order drinks," Eriri said with a smile. "After coming in, I spoke with the waitress, and it's fine to stay here all day. Students often come here to study, so it's not a problem."
Saying that, Eriri also pressed the service bell, waiting for the waitress to come over.
Soon, a lively female voice came over.
"Hi hi~~ What would you like to order, everyone? Oh, Kitamura-san, you're here too?"
"Kushieda-san? You're working here?"
Kitamura Yusaku looked at Kushieda Minori, who appeared before them in a waitress uniform, and asked in shock, "Aren't you working at a fast-food restaurant?"
"Both don't conflict," Kushieda Minori said with a smile. "I work at the fast-food restaurant on Sundays, and here it's Saturday afternoon to evening. Today, an employee called in sick, so the manager asked me to help out, plus there's holiday overtime pay, so of course I came!"
Listening to Kushieda Minori, Usami Mizuki exclaimed, "That's amazing, but isn't it tiring to work so many jobs?"
"It's fine, I have a lot of energy, and earning money is very important! Alright, alright, hurry up and order. Even though the manager knows you're my classmates, I'm still on duty right now."
Everyone immediately ordered some snacks like fries, planning to order their main meals at noon.
The regular drinks at this family restaurant were self-serve, so everyone went to the drink machine and chose their preferred beverages.
Kaede, however, poured himself a cup of iced coffee, took a big sip after sitting down, and then opened his math workbook to start doing exercises. Although Golden Week was a long holiday, there was still a lot of homework.
Eriri also saw the coffee in Kaede's cup and quietly asked, "Did you stay up late last night?"
Nodding, Kaede replied while quickly writing his homework, "I was writing something last night and accidentally spent a little too much time."
"...Volume six?"
"No," Kaede said with a smile. "I actually finished writing volume six a long time ago. I finished it a week after submitting the manuscript for volume five. What I wrote yesterday was actually some ideas I had accumulated previously, which I expanded upon these past few days."
"A new work? Are you that efficient?"
"Emmm~~~ I guess it wouldn't count as a new work, after all, it's not certain it'll even be released," Kaede smiled at Eriri, clearly unwilling to say more.
"Tch, stingy. I wouldn't tell anyone."
Eriri pouted, looked at Kaede, then turned her head to start on her own homework.
Hmm, English homework, a subject she found exceptionally difficult.
Their previous conversation was very close and their voices were very low, so no one else heard it. However, Takasu Ryuji and Kitamura Yusaku, who were opposite them, felt a strange sense of being fed dog food when they saw it.
They somewhat regretted agreeing to come.