The delinquents, who had been single-handedly laid out by Uesugi Kazuki, were clearly in no position to argue with his assessment.
These multicolored-haired punks were now just clutching their arms or chests, groaning on the ground.
"A bunch of weaklings."
After leaving his evaluation of their combat prowess,
Uesugi Kazuki stepped over the unfortunate souls, intending to continue his search for a part-time job.
But after only a few steps, Uesugi Kazuki walked back, to the delinquents' horror.
However, Uesugi Kazuki didn't return to finish them off; instead, he picked up the two ten-thousand yen bills that had been slapped to the ground.
After tucking them back into his wallet, he turned and left the alley.
Upon arriving at the convenience store, Uesugi Kazuki realized his bad luck was continuing. His bicycle, which he hadn't managed to ride away last night, was now just a cut bike lock.
After silently adding "the stolen bicycle" to the list of grudges against Tokushima Masako, on top of the "ambush," Uesugi Kazuki turned to head to the nearest restaurant to see if they were still hiring servers.
Soon, he arrived at the fast-food restaurant and discovered that not only was the kitchen still hiring, but Aya was also working there.
However, unlike Uesugi Kazuki, who was applying for kitchen work, Aya was a front desk staff member.
Although they sat very close at school and were now working at the same fast-food restaurant, Uesugi Kazuki and Aya maintained a silent understanding, acting as if they didn't know each other.
Since fast-food kitchen work was inherently busy, Uesugi Kazuki didn't pay attention to Aya's movements.
Instead, he fully immersed himself in his work, because Uesugi Kazuki discovered,
While he couldn't get achievements at school, he definitely could at his part-time job.
[Life Achievement Triggered: First Time Frying Fries]
[A civilization without fries is meaningless.]
[Reward: Fast Food Preparation +1]
[Agility +1]
After frying the first basket of fries and seeing this prompt appear,
Uesugi Kazuki began his part-time life with extremely strong personal initiative.
What's this? A burger patty? Grill it!
[Life Achievement Triggered: First Time Grilling a Patty]
[Fire and meat, primitive and delicious.]
[Reward: Fast Food Preparation +1]
[Perception +1]
What's this? Fried chicken nuggets? Fry them!
[Life Achievement Triggered: First Time Frying Chicken Nuggets]
[Plenty of oil! You must use plenty of oil, enough to attract the American military, to fry chicken that attracts Black people!]
[Reward: Fast Food Preparation +1]
[Perception +1]
After discovering that the fast-food kitchen was a great place to earn achievements, Uesugi Kazuki's enthusiasm and speed were so remarkable,
They even startled the restaurant's shift manager.
The uncle with the rounded abs observed Uesugi Kazuki for a while.
Then, he called Uesugi Kazuki into the manager's office and earnestly told him,
"Uesugi-kun, I appreciate your 'dedication to life' (lit. 'hanging your life on it') attitude, but you're here for a part-time job, you're a temporary worker, so please try to slack off as much as possible when you can. Otherwise, you'll put too much pressure on the full-time staff, and if you keep frying like this, we genuinely won't have enough fries left in stock."
After being asked by the manager to "slack off" on his first day of work,
Uesugi Kazuki, who now walked with a noticeable swagger due to his massive increase in Agility, had no choice but to engage in "active slacking."
"Active slacking," presumably, meant completing tasks at high speed whenever there was work.
Then, he'd put on a dazed expression, pretending to be slacking off.
While not violating the manager's requests, he furiously racked up achievements.
However, during his "slacking" breaks, Uesugi Kazuki noticed something very interesting.
Although Aya maintained a deathly serious expression throughout her work, as if all customers owed her eight million yen,
Which was essentially the opposite of the fast-food restaurant's required "smile service,"
It seemed many customers actually bought into her act. Even with her sour face, they would buy whatever Aya suggested.
This unexpected situation made Uesugi Kazuki marvel at the diversity of human beings.
When their shifts ended, neither Uesugi Kazuki nor Aya had any desire to chat.
They still pretended not to know each other and silently left the restaurant where they worked.
But soon, an awkward situation arose. After walking a short distance, Uesugi Kazuki and Aya both realized, Why is this person walking the same way as me?
In a brief exchange of glances, Aya's eyes conveyed the question to Uesugi Kazuki: [Why are you following me?]
Uesugi Kazuki responded with a clear, mirror-like gaze, [My house is in this direction,] then turned and walked into a nearby convenience store.
With his actions, he conveyed the message: You're fair-skinned, so you go first. My wallet's thick, I'm going to buy some stuff.
After Browse the convenience store, Uesugi Kazuki discovered that, besides some "study materials" with artwork almost at collector's quality, this convenience store actually sold umbrellas with samurai sword hilts for handles.
Neither the former nor the latter was something a high school boy could refuse.
So, Uesugi Kazuki first grabbed a pile of books, then picked out an umbrella that felt great both to hold and to swing, and walked to the cashier to pay.
The young man at the cash register, seeing Uesugi Kazuki's selected items, gave him a look of admiration, recognizing a kindred spirit.
Then, as Uesugi Kazuki paid, he thoughtfully wrapped the "study materials" in a practice book's packaging paper before handing them to Uesugi Kazuki.
Their gazes met, and both confirmed that the other was a deep, hidden gentleman.
Although they didn't know each other's names yet, both believed this man was worth befriending.
The friendship between men was just that simple, unadorned, and boring.
Carrying his reference books and umbrella, Uesugi Kazuki's steps quickened.
After all, his brief glance at the "study materials" in the convenience store had only given him a tantalizing glimpse, making him itch to get home quickly and "comprehend the Great Dao."
However, just like yesterday, as he walked through an alley,
Uesugi Kazuki heard sounds of an argument coming from within.
Normally, Uesugi Kazuki wouldn't bother with such things.
But Uesugi Kazuki, who had gained a lot of Perception, heard what sounded like Aya's voice in the alley.
So, Uesugi Kazuki stopped.
Although there was a slight misunderstanding between them, he had indeed seen something "nice" this morning.
And he had copied Aya's homework. If Aya was in trouble, he still had to help a classmate, for the sake of that homework.
---
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