Haha Ranks go brrr!

Shin held the phone's receptor as he leaned onto the counter.

"Hiiii!" he heard the voice from the other side. "This is Becky- Oh, it's just you. It'll be 5000 Yen with the request fee included. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course."

"Very well. I'll head over right away then."

True to her word, Kawakami was at the cafe after only 5 minutes. The teen opened the door to the cafe and led her to his room.

The maid looked around the room with slight worry and some... acceptance? Shin didn't really have time to observe her more before she said.

"So, this is... your room? It's so... dusty. But never mind that, what did you want me to do?"

Shin leaned back into the sofa as he rubbed his chin. He was considering whether to give her an actual task or just a freebie. He threw a look at Kawakami, and saw the woman was already rubbing her arm anxiously.

Suddenly, an idea came to his mind, and Shin pushed himself off the sofa. He started walking around Kawakami, while still keeping his eyes on her. The woman didn't say anything, and just let Shin look at her.

Shin stopped in a position where Kawakami and the empty table were in a straight line. And then, he took a step forward. And another one. And another one.

And accordingly, Kawakami stepped backwards. Until she had nowhere to go as she hit the table. She'd have tried to go sideways, but Shin clamped his hands on the table, effectively trapping the maid.

"W-Wait! At least, let me change out of this outfit! It's the only maid outfit I have, and I can't afford to get another one." she said, her cheeks burning red while holding up her hands as a sign of surrender.

"Hm? I only want to talk." said Shin.

"Huh?"

"What were you thinking I would do? That I'd take you right here on this table, perhaps? And don't worry, I wouldn't just rip your uniform like that. I can at least hold myself till we get to the bed."

"But you were the one who pushed me this far..." muttered Kawakami.

"Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to see your blushing face."

"...Why?"

"It was a bit of an experiment. Now I can say for certain that flustered older women are much cuter than ones my age. Or perhaps that is just because of my own preferences... But anyways, I digress. I wanted to ask you why were you doing this? Why do you need money? And to be desperate enough so as to do this kind of job..."

"Well, I... I... Can we please not talk in this position?" asked Kawakami, partly annoyed and partly still flustered.

"Tch."

Nevertheless, Shin did move away, and let Kawakami rest on the sofa.

"I- *Yawn* God, I'm exhausted. I can't work overtime in weekends, so I have to rush to my part-time job after class ends. Even on my days off, I'm still busy doing school stuff. There's no time to rest..."

"So, what're doing this all for?"

"Well... Uh... It's for my little brother! He's very sick so I need money to pay for his medical expenses..." said the woman, looking away from Shin.

Suddenly, as she was talking, her phone started ringing.

"...Hello. Yes, I made the transfer..." she said, trying to speak quieter so that Shin wouldn't hear her, but it was useless anyways as he already knew this stuff from the game.

"...Not enough? But it was the same amount as last week! I- No... Yes, I understand... Okay, goodbye..." she closed the call, looking dejected.

"Oh... Uh... It was-"

"Say no more." said Shin, holding up one hand, as the other one reached into his wallet and picked up a 10,000 Yen bill.

He placed it in Kawakami's hand and closed her fist over it.

"You look like you're desperate for money. I'm not hurting for cash, so I can give it out just like that."

Kawakami looked at him weirdly, but he noted she didn't exactly refuse the money.

"If you have so much money, why are you staying in a place like this?" she asked.

"I like the vibe. Plus, Sojiro makes some curry to die for, so that's that."

The maid looked at the money bill in his hands again.

"I'm not sure if I can accept this..."

"Just think of it as a tip. You can leave now, if you want."

"But I didn't even-"

"Ahhh! I can't hear you over my obscene richness!" said Shin, covering his ears with two more bills.

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Confidants:

0. Igor (The Fool) - Rank 2

I. Morgana (The Magician) - Rank 3

1. Takuto Maruki (The Councillor) - Rank 1

II. Makoto Niijima (The Priestess) - Rank 2

IV. Yusuke Kitagawa (The Emperor) - Rank 3

Odd man - Rank 1

V. Sojiro Sakura (The Hierophant) - Rank 3

VI. Ann Takamaki (The Lovers) - Rank 7

VII. Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) - Rank 6

IX. Futaba Sakura (The Hermit) - Rank 3

XIII. Tae Takemi (The Death) - Rank 5

XIV. Sadayo Kawakami (The Temperance) - Rank 3

XVIII. Saki Yoshiko (The Moon) - Rank 2

XIX. Sho Minazuki (The Sun) - Rank 2

Toranosuke Yoshida - Rank 1

XX. Sae Niijima (The Judgement) - Rank 1

Shiho Suzui (The Hope) - Rank 8