Chapter 25

[Author Note: Did a little research on webnovel contracts. Honestly, I don't like the idea that you guys will be forced to pay to read.

Although it would help my current financial situation, this is just a hobby that I enjoy doing because I get to communicate with you guys.

I don't think I will be accepting it.

It does say it would help me get more readers which is slightly tempting but there's no point if people are going to be left out of the journey being restricted behind a paywall.

Someone did say I could use patreon which I might head for. Thank you all once again and enjoy the chapter!]

I open the doors out of the break room and go out into the new job.

I deeply inhale. For now, I'll just be cleaning tables from customers that have left and sweeping the floor.

Seeing a few customers leaving, I head towards their table and begin picking up their leftover items.

That's amusing. I do remember people being flamed over not getting rid of their disposables and leaving it to the workers. Is it common instead in this world to leave it to the workers?

Since the world was pretty advanced, the waiters didn't use paper and pen anymore and just used custom restaurant tablets. It also helped to communicate faster and more efficiently between all the workers.

I haven't received one yet and that's because the newly updated batches are barely coming in and I don't really need one.

I grab the tip and hand it to the guy that was assigned to this table.

At least giving tips is common here.

It's also a sit-down and order type of cafe, instead of the one where you ask for your order like Starbucks and then just sit down and leave.

What we did the other day was go to the take out to specify that we were all 'couples' to get the 25% discount. We just decided to get our orders there.

I laugh out loud remembering the fun time we had.

Slightly weird that I was a customer and now an employee here.

I wipe the table with a cloth and leave it ready for the next customers.

Heading back towards the employee zone, I receive a few waves from people that recognize me.

I politely smile at them.

I mutter to myself, "Okay, the majority of the tasks were already finished by the guys that were here earlier. I just need to be a waiter, clean tables, occasionally sweep the floor, and play the piano."

Seeing that all current tables still had customers in them, I mentally check clean tables for now.

"Hey, Charlie."

I turn towards my co-worker.

"You've got an assigned table, it's #12 and it's the one over in that corner."

I nod at him and begin walking towards table #12 with a paper and pen. Damn, I think I'm going to need a tablet.

I walk over and it's a group of noisy girls.

"Good afternoon, I'll be your waiter today. May I take your orders?"

They stared at me and they began tapping each other frantically.

The three of them suddenly talked after a little awkward silence,

"Yes!"

"Yea, we've got our orders."

"Nope, please stay as we think of our orders."

They began talking again.

"Yeah, we haven't thought of our orders yet please wait here."

"Yup."

Some of them stayed quiet while the rest began telling me to stay for a little while.

I mentally palm my face. Just say your damn orders women. I've got other things to attend to.

I politely smile at them and they just stare at me once again.

"Ummm, I'd like an iced caramel cappuccino and your—COUGH, number please." She began lightly coughing and they all started laughing.

I once again smile and laugh lightly. "An iced caramel for this pretty lady, then. May I take your orders?" I write down her order. Complimenting has been pretty effective for switching subjects. No way I am going to give her my number.

The girl blushed red and the girls began frantically calling out their orders. Some regretting that they weren't the first ones to order.

Complimenting also made them make their orders so much quicker. Ah, should I just do this every time now?

I write down their orders, "Thank you. The orders will be here in around ten minutes. Would you like anything else?"

They all seemed satisfied and I left.

My co-workers gave me a high five and congratulated me on my first table. Aren't all of these people wholesome?

As time passed, the tables began filling up and soon we were rushing around swiftly throughout the entire cafe.

I carried sweet chocolate croissants on one hand and two icecreams on the other.

"Here, are your orders. Please enjoy."

It seemed most of my assigned tables were mostly satisfied and happy with me. Better tips, and better satisfaction and happiness for both sides.

I got a new assigned table.

"Good afternoon, I will be your waiter for the day. May I take your orders?"

They gave me their order with a smile. It seems being respectful at any given time will be beneficial.

"A double ice cream sundae for the beautiful couple, then. Your order will arrive soon in ten minutes, thank you."

…

Soon, all the tables were filled and had their orders already taken. However, people still were trickling in through the doors.

Most went to the quick takeout and some left after hearing it was full.

Michael comes up to me, "Hey Charlie, you're doing a great job right now."

"Thank you."

He smiles at me.

"Since all of the tables are filled now, it should be the perfect moment to show off your skills."

I nod getting his intentions and walk towards the upright piano. I sit on the stool and pull up the lid.

Last night I prepared the songs I was going to play. I decided I would start with a loud song that would impact the people in the cafe. My choice for that was Sincerely - Violet Evergarden.

[Author Note: Haven't watched the anime yet but I've heard the anime is very beautiful. I listened to this OST in my recommendations and its piano version is one of my favorite piano songs to listen to. There are many beautiful covers and arrangements, I recommend you guys listen to them.]

I learned it right after listening to it for the first time even without watching the anime.

This one is extremely beautiful and I think it'll quiet down the cafeteria a little. After they quiet down I'll play another of Yiruma's pieces which is called River Flows in You.

Everyone and their mothers know or have heard of this piece and there's a reason why. Although it's very repetitive it's very beautiful and hits the heart.

I debated whether to play the original piece which is quite simple or play one of the advanced arrangements I learned.

The advanced arrangement includes the simple piece in it's beginning anyway and then devolves into a more profound song. I decided on this one.

By now, the cafe will probably be tired of the silence and just begin speaking loudly once again. I'll take a small break and continue waitering.

After that, I'll continue and play Joe Hisaishi's Summer. It's a relaxing song that gets you nostalgic and thinking about your childhood.

[Author Note: This one's also really good and for a while makes you feel as if you're 8 years old and running around the playground with your childhood friends.]

I wrote down my list the other day and I more or less visualized playing the songs to refresh my memory. I'm not sure I'll be able to perform all of these without mistakes but I think it'll be fine.

Playing songs in this cafe will give the listeners a good vibe and feel like they're young again. The high school students who are here instead will be enjoying their time and probably feel like they're in a movie.

Well, let's start with Sincerely from Violet Evergarden, then.

I begin playing some loud and flashy warm-ups to attract the attention of the whole cafe.

People begin quieting down and watch me.

Some even took out their phones as they recognized that I had played here before.

I play some bright tunes to get my fingers moving and abruptly end the sounds.

I lay down my fingers on the keys and close my eyes while playing the beginning sections. The beginning section was the chorus but watered down a little bit. It got people's attention pretty quickly.

[Author Note: Violet Evergarden - Sincerely. KyoAni, the studio that made many animes which includes Violet Evergarden and other famous works was hit by an arson attack that killed 36 people and injured 33 while destroying their materials. I give my condolences to KyoAni fans.]

The introducing section came in pretty quickly and it was a gentle and simple measure that sounded good to the ear. I play a few flowing sounds and the piece begins gaining more harmonic depth.

The bridge connecting to the chorus begins playing and I begin upping the volume.

Oh my god, I'm getting chills from this.

[Ding!]

Shoot, not now system.

[The skill Piano has been added to the host's arsenal!]

[Notification temporarily muted.]

My fingers felt a little more energized and I was able to visualize and hear what I was going to play as I played it.

I gained more dexterity and the sound sounded even fuller than before with more colors.

Chills started going down my back.

God damn, this one sounds nice.

I poured in emotion into this piece with hints of sorrow, bitterness, and also some slight love. The bright sonances pulled in the listeners and created a special atmosphere within the cafe.

People stopped to listen and even my co-workers momentarily stopped to enjoy the moment.

People stopped, and proved the saying, 'Music is the universal language of mankind.'

I descend into the finale after the three minutes of emotional playing and end it with a light note.

A few seconds later, there's roaring applause coming from everywhere.

I smile and look around at everyone.

"Wooo! Charlie!" What in the tarnation? Who?

I look back to where I heard my name being called out and there in the takeout section are my friends smiling and clapping for me.

Wow, I did not know they were there. I'm happy they're supporting me, though.

I let the applause ring for a few seconds after and began playing the keys in the piano once again.

I'll dedicate this one to my family and friends then.

[Author Note: and the readers!]

The familiar tones begin ringing out. No one but me recognizes the song being played.

Some people just turn off their phones. They have looks of satisfaction.

They don't need to record and can just enjoy the moment because other people are recording me right now. They know they can just search up the video another time.

The ones recording me are probably going to upload it to their social media and that'll be even more exposure for me.

Now in the section connecting the main part, I go out of the original notes and begin playing a few crazy techniques.

I spread my hands over the keys of the piano and begin inserting some forte into the main part.

People are enjoying the song right now which is great. I feel a sense of satisfaction rising from my heart at the people's reactions and begin playing with even more emotion.

[Author Note:

This chapter was pretty fun to write though it took me a little while because I wanted to replicate the same feelings I got from listening to the song.]

Thank you all for reading once again and we hit 50K views and more than 200 collections! Crazy to think about how these numbers are rising so fast! Let's celebrate with a few extra releases! :).

Edit: WE'RE ALREADY AT 278 COLLECTIONS WTF

Thank you all for commenting. It really makes my day brighter and a little less lonely from the quarantine. I'll restrain myself from the sloppy talk lol.

Enjoy the chapters! 2 / ?]