Ace

The time period from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon on a Saturday morning was always a battle for the employees of the Divine Taste confectionery store.

There was normally an abundance of customers on the weekend, not to mention the fact that Store Manager Rika Amami always stocked new products each Saturday. Some older sweets on the verge of expiring would be temporarily discounted as well, so the store would always be packed with customers, unless some uncontrollable factors like bad weather intervened.

This Saturday morning was bright and sunny, and the air was crisp and cool. It was perfect weather for going out, so as expected, the store became a hellish battleground.

"Table 6’s customer has been waiting for too long!"

"Are the sweets for table 8 not ready yet!?"

"Table 1 needs more napkins—hurry up and bring some more!"

"Table 10’s customer has finished eating and left—go clean up the dishes!"

"Table 5’s customer has knocked over a cup of juice—hurry up and wipe down the table!"

…

Hoshi Amami kept hearing incessant commands at a dizzying pace through his store’s headset.

The store appeared orderly on the surface, and as customers queued up in a patient manner to be served, the servers were responsible for taking orders, bringing sweets to the tables, wiping tables down, and cleaning up the dishes. Meanwhile, the cashiers would politely smile and greet the customers warmly…

But only the store employees knew from the rapid-fire pace of commands given in their headsets that everyone’s workload was at the limit!

Not only were the bakers preparing confectioneries nonstop, the servers were busy dealing with a whirlwind of tasks without the customers noticing. It was at the extent where, if anything happened, the entire store would be plunged into chaos.

Hoshi knew that as a newcomer it wasn’t necessary for him to do an excellent job on the first day; as long as he didn’t increase the burden on the other employees, it would be acceptable.

But even that was difficult!

He had never imagined that a server would have to pay attention to so many small details and situations, as he had zero work experience before.

For example, taking orders when dealing with customers of varying personalities required different attitudes, or else he risked unintentionally offending the customer. Also, some customers were hesitant and took too much time deciding what to order, while others spoke so fast that it was difficult for him to write down the order…

In summation, Hoshi felt like he was on thin ice as none of his seniors had any time to teach him.

Just what should he do? How should he do it?

When his aunt Rika Amami noticed his confusion, she only said one sentence to him.

"Pay attention to Harano-kun—just follow his lead."

"Harano-senpai…" Hoshi remembered this sentence and searched for his figure.

Seigo Harano had an overwhelming presence within the battlefield of the store.

"Here are the orders for tables 3 and 15."

"Here are the dishes I cleaned up from tables 10 and 12."

"Table 7’s customer has enough store points with us to exchange for a complimentary item. Please prepare it at the front register."

"Here are the desserts for tables 8 and 9."

Every sentence he uttered in the store headset sounded reliable and steady and helped to counter the anxious atmosphere. He was just like an ace veteran soldier who remained stoic in the face of enemy gunfire.

In the store, he was indisputably the fastest working and most efficient server. He always managed to swiftly note down the customers’ orders, instantly clean up their leftover plates, and deliver the most desserts to the tables.

While doing all this, he didn’t show a trace of fatigue, and a gentle smile was ever-present on his face.

All the customers saw only his calm, collected side, and just this alone drove many girls to become his enthusiastic fans.

As for the other store employees, there was one part that they universally admired: his reliability!

As long as it was Harano doing it, they definitely didn’t need to worry. He always accomplished his task to a higher standard than anyone else!

Suddenly, someone started crying inside the store.

It was a little girl at table 2; she had abruptly started crying for some unknown reason. Her young mother tried her best to calm her, but her attempts were met with failure.

The crying echoed throughout the entire store and attracted everyone’s attention.

This was a disaster!

Even though Hoshi Amami had never experienced such a situation before, he understood that this was truly terrible for the store.

The entire store’s atmosphere was disrupted by her crying, and the customers found it difficult to savor their desserts. Although her crying had nothing to do with the store, that was just human nature.

If it wasn’t taken care of, the store’s hard-earned popularity would plummet rapidly!

But even the girl’s mother wasn’t able to hush her crying, so what could they possibly do!?

"A little girl is crying!"

"Harano-kun!"

"Leave it to me."

There were only three sentences mentioned about this incident in the headset.

Hoshi witnessed Harano-senpai finish handing out the desserts he carried with the tray in his hand before he headed over to table 2.

"S… sorry, she’s…"

The young woman with a fair complexion that was the mother didn’t seem like she had much experience dealing with crying children. She seemed helpless for ideas, and when she saw Harano walking over, she realized that she’d inconvenienced the store, so she had an awkward expression.

Seiji smiled gently at the young woman.

"Your daughter is really cute—what’s her name?"

"Haruna…" Upon seeing such a handsome server smile gently at her, the young woman became slightly flustered, and her face flushed red.

"Haruna… that’s a good name."

Seiji kneeled in front of the table and faced the crying girl.

"Haruna-chan, look at me!"

Seiji extended his hands and did some strange movements to attract her attention.

"I’m gonna cast a magic spell now! But if there’s the sound of crying, the magic spirits won’t come… So, Haruna-chan, would you mind not crying for the time being?"

His gentle demeanor combined with the interesting topic and warm smile caused the crying girl to open her eyes wide and slowly stop crying.

"Alright! Haruna-chan is awesome—the magic spirits will come now that you’ve stopped crying! Take a good look…"

Seiji smiled as he quickly performed some sleight of hand.

A brilliantly decorated chocolate figure of an anime character appeared in his hand!

"Wow-" The girl was astounded at the anime chocolate that seemed like it had appeared out of thin air.

"See, this is a present for you from the magic spirits because Haruna-chan is such a good girl!"

Seiji handed the anime chocolate over to the little girl.

The little girl’s eyes sparkled brightly with excitement as she took the chocolate figure with her tiny hands and inspected it with awe.

"Haruna-chan, remember that you shouldn’t cry! Since the magic spirits dislike the sound of crying, if you always cry, they’ll stay far away from you," Seiji spoke in a soft tone, "but if Haruna-chan smiles frequently, they’ll come visit you more often—your mother can confirm this as well…"

Seiji indicated with his eyes to the young woman that she should agree with him as he said this.

"Oh… oh, yeah, that’s right, Haruna…" The young woman, who had gotten a little too absorbed in watching Seiji, finally returned to her senses and agreed with him as she gently talked to her daughter while looking at Seiji with an expression full of gratitude.

The girl had completely stopped her crying now, and there was a joyous atmosphere between mother and daughter again; it seemed that the store had emerged victorious from their battle.

"Wonderful!"

"As expected of Harano!"

"Too cool! He’s so handsome that even I feel like I’m falling in love, damn it!"

"Tanaka-senpai… could I ask you to stay a little farther away from me in the future?"

Their communication channel was all abuzz.

After Hoshi Amami had witnessed and listened to this incident, he respected Seigo Harano more than anyone else he had ever respected.

The beautiful boy’s heart was filled with excitement as he observed the smiling Seiji continue working.

"Senpai is amazing…"

He was literally perfect!

Hoshi Amami’s heart was filled with adulation.