Translation: Yamaking
“I, I’m exhausted…”
I had no idea that the whole day of work that ate up a full day of my weekend would be this tiring…
‘With this, I feel like I’ve taken a step further into adulthood, hehehe…’, is what I was thinking as I started up LA.
Ako: Rusian—!
Rusian: Oh, so you’re home too?
Ako had just logged in as well.
I was worried about what I would do if Ako skipped out on her part-time job, but it seems that she was able to properly carry through with it.
When I went to the usual shop we hung out at, Ako, who had been waiting, came jumping towards me.
Ako: I did my best you knooow! I really did my best you knooooow!
Rusian: Yeah, you really worked hard didn’t you? I’m worn out as well.
I gently patted Ako, who was still clinging on to me.
It was simply an in-game gesture, but since I did this everyday, I could pretty much imagine how it felt like. I suppose I’m getting quite influenced by Ako.
Rusian: So how did work go on your end? You didn’t get bullied did you?
Ako: There was barely anyone else there so I was fine with that part but…
Just listening to that part, I figured it should’ve been the ideal situation for Ako, but for some reason she had a really sullen look on her face as she said,
Ako: The job requirements were just so very horrible…
Rusian: Was it that bad? Just what did they make you do?
Ako: You see it was… the job of putting the dandelion on top of sashimi…
Rusian: …Ha?
The dandelion on top of sashimi… was it?
Ako: What I’m saying is you see, I was made to put those artificial flowers on top of sashimi.
Rusian: So that’s an actual thing huh…
And actually, that’s not dandelion but chrysanthemum right?
But anyway, I thought that kind of job was only an urban legend.
Isn’t it better for machines to do those things? Why would you have a person do it?
…No, I see. Rather than having someone go out of their way to make a machine that places artificial flowers on top of sashimi and then them having to purchase it, I suppose just hiring people to do it is more economical.
Rusian: B, but then what part of that is hard though? Isn’t that easy?
Ako: It was horrible! There’s no way it wouldn’t be right!
The gesture of Ako furiously hitting the table conveyed that she was frantic about this or something.
Ako: You had to focus ONLY on putting the dandelions on top of the sashimi as they slid along the conveyor belt.
Ako: At first I thought it would be fine since I could just do it without really thinking about it, but when I lost focus, I started forgetting to put it on them and got scolded for it… In the end, I placed it on them one by one as I kept count of how many there were you know?
Ako: One sashimi, two sashimi, three sashimi, is how I counted as I kept putting those dandelions on top of them, going on and on and on… And little by little, the sashimi packages began looking like Sleeper-sensei…
Ako: It was because of that that I felt that maybe I was controlling myself on the other side of the computer screen…
Ako: So while I was in the middle of placing those dandelions, I thought of checking my inventory to see how many more of the dandelions I had left…
Ako: And I also tried opening the quest window to see if my quest was progressing by placing these things on them…
Ako: And as a final resort, I even tried opening the options window so that I could logout but it just wouldn’t appear! I thought to myself ‘This is truly a death game!’ as I went pale from fear!
TL note: SAO reference.
Rusian: I understand! I understand now just how horrible it was so calm down!
My chat log was flooded with that amazingly turbulent display of continuous chat.
Come to think of it, has Ako ever been this frantic that she typed up a storm in the past?
So it was that horrible huh, that job of placing artificial flowers on sashimi.
Rusian: But you know, I think net game players should be used to doing simple tasks over and over again.
Ako: I guess there’s definitely a huge difference between turning yourself into a human BOT in-game and turning your own body into a BOT right…
Y, yeah you’re right. It’s unexpectedly much more different.
Ako: I’m glad it was only for a day. If it went on for a few more days, my whole being would have turned into a machine…
Rusian: A part-time job sure is a scary thing, isn’t it?
Even though it’s called a part-time job, you just can’t make light of how difficult it actually is.
Suddenly, with a ‘whoosh’ sound effect, another character has logged in.
TL note: More RO sound effects, I can’t really word it better but seeing someone log in your screen produces a sound effect.
Apricot: I have returned. Now then, it’s time to check out the market prices.
Rusian: Welcome back.
Ako: Welcome back Master—
And here’s returnee #2, Master. At the moment, it seems that checking the market prices is the thing she does upon logging in.
Rusian: So how was it? Was work rough?
Apricot: It was quite a worthwhile experience.
Looking at what Master had just typed in chat, I couldn’t think of her state as anything but normal.
Apricot: Shredded daikon strips that come with sashimi— to sum it up, my job was putting on garnish. I would single-mindedly place the strips of daikon on the sashimi tray as they passed by.
Ako: It’s the process that comes before mine right!
It seems they’ve been working their best in the same production line.
So I guess they resorted to manpower for that too.
Rusian: Rather, is that really something you would call worthwhile?
Apricot: It may sound simple, but that’s simply not how it is you know?
Apricot: The weight of garnish to be applied is supposed to be 2 grams per serving, but I deviated from it at first, having placed 1.5 gram and 2.5 gram in servings.
Apricot: And as I continued repeating this act of placing them on the tray multiple times, my skill gradually improved and I was able to measure 2 grams worth just by eyeing it.
Apricot: And since I was actually able to witness my skill level gradually increase in real life, it’s only natural to find it fun to do, no?
Rusian: I, I see.
So you’re now able to measure exactly 2 grams with just your fingertips huh?
Of course, I find that amazing, but I feel torn about this considering this is such a useless skill for everyday life.
Getting your Garnish Measuring Skill at level 10… is just useless right?
TL note: Max skill level in Ragnarok Online is 10, meaning Master has maxed this skill out.
Ako: You were working somewhere that was like this too, right Rusian? How was it?
Rusian: So you’re asking about that… You really went and asked about that didn’t you…
So you really asked about what I did at my job, didn’t you Ako…
Apricot: Was it that hard on you?
Rusian: Hard? Not at all… The job description was simple after all.
The thing that I had to do for my job, was that.
Rusian: It was plastic bottle surveillance.
For a moment, the chat fell silent.
And after a while, Master timidly asked,
Apricot: Are plastic bottles something that run wild if you leave them be?
Ako: Something like the ‘Plastic Bottles’ Counterattack’, maybe…
TL note: A reference to Mobile Suit Gundam Char’s Counterattack.
Just what kind of side quest do you think this is?
It was really just me looking over the plastic bottles as they passed through in front of me.
Rusian: The plastic bottles just move along over a conveyor belt, but they fall over sometimes so I have to fix them up before they get fed into the next machine. That’s about it.
From the moment they explained the details of the job to me up until break time, I really didn’t have to do anything but watch.
It was a job simple enough even for me that I was happy about that.
It’s not that it’s a job that can’t be done by machines, but rather it’s a job that follows up on mistakes that could happen with said machine. Once you started work on it, you could see just how profound it was.
Ako: Doesn’t that sound easy then? You just had to look at them right?
Rusian: If you only look at it from the job description, sure.
Though it was about three times the volume and three times faster than what Ako is imagining right now.
TL note: Another reference to Gundam, with Char’s signature red suit being three times faster.
Well, if it’s only looking at it then I suppose it would look simple to an outsider.
Apricot: Rather, does it actually even fall over given that the work before it is being doing by a machine?
Rusian: They fall over quite often. One of them fell over between the 350th and 680th bottle.
Ako: Y, you counted them all?
She trembled at the figure I just said in chat.
Rusian: I had nothing else to do but that. During the early stages, I could see some bottles that looked somewhat tilted, so I made bets inside my head whether they would fall or not.
Apricot: If it looked like they would fall over, wouldn’t it have been better for you to fix them up then?
Rusian: You just don’t get it Master. If I did that, then the next person after me watching over them too would have nothing to do you know?
Apricot: …It seems that you’ve had your fair share of troubles as well Rusian.
That’s right, it was really troublesome.
When the images of the plastic bottles moving along the conveyor belt flickered in my head, for some reason, I couldn’t stop my tears from falling.
Apricot: Thus, I have concluded never to do this again. I’m really glad that it was simply a one day job.
Ako: I know right— It just makes you never want to get a part-time job ever again right—?
Rusian: Right!
Behind the smiling faces of their characters, I feel like I could see them with lifeless eyes tapping away at the keyboard. As disappointing as it may be, we’ll have to drop out of working part-time.
Ako: I do not wish to work sire! I shan’t ever go to work!
TL note: This is a reference to a famous panel from Rurouni Kenshin where he runs away from Kaoru after being asked by the former to help out with something. He then yells this phrase out while firmly gripping his reverse edge blade. What they’re saying about this joke in Japan is that it’s a line used by NEETs who have vowed never to work. Even against his arch-enemy, Shishio Makoto, whose belief is that labor is duty (‘you do what you can because you must’ sort of thing), he never faltered. I really wanted to go with how it was translated before but I’m not entirely sure what chapter this is so I just made do by making it somewhat archaic.
Rusian: I know I shouldn’t really be the one saying this given that I’m dropping out of working part-time with you but… let’s have a proper job someday, alright?
Ako: No way—! If I do anymore than this then the stress is going to shorten my lifespan at huach speed!
Rusian: You’re mixing up a bunch of words there.
TL note: As you known by now, Ako tends to mimic Buront and that Kamen Rider when she gets fired up. This is another example of Burontism which is a bit different from the first iteration (The original line was ‘The stress was shortening my lifespan at mach speed’). This also came from Buront but from a Monster Hunter Freedom thread where he then repeated the same sentence but changed up on the mach part, using a character voice from MHF instead (the voice goes Hohha! as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGNsvgC-SMA) and ends up becoming the Monster Hunter version of this joke.
Now, now. Even if it doesn’t work out today, you can always do your best tomorrow.
Even if there was a monster you couldn’t defeat today, if you raise your levels and try again tomorrow then you might be able to win.
Though there are still some enemies that you definitely do not want to go up against.
Rusian: Come to think of it, where’s Schwein?
Ako: Schew-chan also started working part-time somewhere right? But isn’t it about time she got home already?
‘Before I eat dinner and before I take shower, I have to login first!’, is the type of player that she is after all. Even if it was indicating that she was AFK for some reason, there’s no doubt she will be back soon after that. We have to take this fact into consideration.
Apricot: You guys… Do you not remember the reason why we have been working so hard?
Rusian: …Aah, it was broken right.
That’s right, I remember now.
Her PC is broken after all, so no matter how late it gets or how long we wait, she wouldn’t come.
Ako: It just felt really normal to see Schew-chan here everyday that I kind of forgot.
Rusian: It’s normal for her to be here after all.
Apricot: He was the kind of guy to head out to the grinding spot first and yell out ‘You losers are late!’ when we’d arrive.
Rusian: She may have a bad mouth, but she goes ahead of us, clearing up the path and securing a spot for us right?
Ako: And when I’m feeling a bit tired, Schew-chan was the one that always says ‘How about we take a break?’ in my place.
For a short while, we were lost in our memories of her.
And we couldn’t help but type out our thoughts as it is.
Rusian: …I guess it’s just lonely without her after all.
Ako: It makes you wish she were here right?
Apricot: Ah, that’s right.
Ako: …But working is a pain right?
Apricot: Well that’s true as well.
Rusian: What should we do?
This was an extremely troubling matter.
I wonder what kind of job she’s working at right now?
I felt somewhat vexed at the thought of not easily being able to just ask her that.
“It’s a job at a net cafe.”
It was after class on a Monday. When I asked her, ‘What kind of job did you get?’, Segawa answered me back without even taking her eyes off of the PC in clubroom— War Machine, that is.
“I got interviewed last Saturday and was already working on Sunday. I guess you could say it really fits my area of expertise. It’s really an easy place to work at.”
Hoho, an internet cafe huh?
And since she would be working in a place like this, there’s no reason for people finding out she’s a closet otaku if she ever talks about computers. This may actually be a good thing.
“I see, this is really Schwein’s specialty.”
“But it’s really tough you know? There’s a PC in front of me and yet I can’t play LA. Even though there are people playing LA in front of me, I’m only the one who can’t. And even when I get home, my PC is broken anyway… It just feels like I’m about to go crazy.”
I took a peek at Segawa while we were talking but she still didn’t take her eyes off the screen the whole time. I was a bit worried that she might already be in the process of going crazy, but I guess she’s still okay right?
“I’m off today so I have to farm as much as I can! It’s been a while since I’ve gone after a boss that my plan is in shambles… There! Alright, Cecil MVP!”
“Oh, what’s the loot?”
“Let’s see… it’s… a one-handed sword! If this turns out to be a Moonlight then I’ll be able to finish up that quota in one go! Let me just go identify it!”
“‘Make the sword into a Battle Knife’ Beam!”
“‘Turn the sword into an Ogre Claw’ Beam!”
“Stop that you two! This is definitely a Moonlight you hear! With this, I’ll be taking the l— ast place! It was a Battle Knife after all! Nooooooooooooo! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!”
TL note: Cecil is a reference to the MVP Sniper Cecil in Ragnarok Online. Moonlight is probably a reference to the Moonlight Dagger, Battle Knife to a Combat Knife, and Ogre Claw to a Grimtooth. Though quite ironically, a Combat Knife is actually the most valuable thing out of these three in Ragnarok Online.
“Serves you right! …I mean, oh I see. So you’re hard at work in your part-time job as well huh?”
I know she has to do it in order to buy a new PC, but it’s still really unfortunate.
Even when I login at night, Schwein isn’t there. I thought about this too yesterday, but I guess it’s really depressing.
“I don’t really want to work either you know, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. The contest for the guild house may have gotten a bit tougher for me right now… but there are far more important things than that.”
Segawa said that as it looked like she came to a clear decision about something in her mind. As she did, it felt like she was also sharing in this same feeling of melancholy, at least, that’s what I thought.
“But… it’s pretty amazing isn’t it. Even though it’s not a one-day job, you still passed that interview no problem and got to working the next day right away.”
“Isn’t that normal?”
Segawa said that statement like it was a normal thing, but it’s still a pretty shocking thing for me.
“If you ask me, that situation is definitely impossible for a guy like me. If I had the same looks as a nice looking girl like you then I would be hired on the spot.”
“But you would only be given the job if you’re an ikemen. If it bothers you that much, then how about you get reborn as a much cooler guy?”
“Damn it, shaddup.”
Even I would want to be reborn as an ikemen if I could ya know.
Though Segawa talked back like that at me, when I went to take a look at her, I could see the side of her face reddening a bit. Since this girl’s really embarrassed about it, I let that one slide.
Now then, I think it’s about time I go and farm up gold and win this, so I went back to my seat.
“This thieving cat… this thieving cat…”
“Hey now Ako, what are you doing?”
Ako furiously swung her arm around, doing some really suspicious movement.
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Translation: Yamaking
“I, I’m exhausted…”
I had no idea that the whole day of work that ate up a full day of my weekend would be this tiring…
‘With this, I feel like I’ve taken a step further into adulthood, hehehe…’, is what I was thinking as I started up LA.
Ako: Rusian—!
Rusian: Oh, so you’re home too?
Ako had just logged in as well.
I was worried about what I would do if Ako skipped out on her part-time job, but it seems that she was able to properly carry through with it.
When I went to the usual shop we hung out at, Ako, who had been waiting, came jumping towards me.
Ako: I did my best you knooow! I really did my best you knooooow!
Rusian: Yeah, you really worked hard didn’t you? I’m worn out as well.
I gently patted Ako, who was still clinging on to me.
It was simply an in-game gesture, but since I did this everyday, I could pretty much imagine how it felt like. I suppose I’m getting quite influenced by Ako.
Rusian: So how did work go on your end? You didn’t get bullied did you?
Ako: There was barely anyone else there so I was fine with that part but…
Just listening to that part, I figured it should’ve been the ideal situation for Ako, but for some reason she had a really sullen look on her face as she said,
Ako: The job requirements were just so very horrible…
Rusian: Was it that bad? Just what did they make you do?
Ako: You see it was… the job of putting the dandelion on top of sashimi…
Rusian: …Ha?
The dandelion on top of sashimi… was it?
Ako: What I’m saying is you see, I was made to put those artificial flowers on top of sashimi.
Rusian: So that’s an actual thing huh…
And actually, that’s not dandelion but chrysanthemum right?
But anyway, I thought that kind of job was only an urban legend.
Isn’t it better for machines to do those things? Why would you have a person do it?
…No, I see. Rather than having someone go out of their way to make a machine that places artificial flowers on top of sashimi and then them having to purchase it, I suppose just hiring people to do it is more economical.
Rusian: B, but then what part of that is hard though? Isn’t that easy?
Ako: It was horrible! There’s no way it wouldn’t be right!
The gesture of Ako furiously hitting the table conveyed that she was frantic about this or something.
Ako: You had to focus ONLY on putting the dandelions on top of the sashimi as they slid along the conveyor belt.
Ako: At first I thought it would be fine since I could just do it without really thinking about it, but when I lost focus, I started forgetting to put it on them and got scolded for it… In the end, I placed it on them one by one as I kept count of how many there were you know?
Ako: One sashimi, two sashimi, three sashimi, is how I counted as I kept putting those dandelions on top of them, going on and on and on… And little by little, the sashimi packages began looking like Sleeper-sensei…
Ako: It was because of that that I felt that maybe I was controlling myself on the other side of the computer screen…
Ako: So while I was in the middle of placing those dandelions, I thought of checking my inventory to see how many more of the dandelions I had left…
Ako: And I also tried opening the quest window to see if my quest was progressing by placing these things on them…
Ako: And as a final resort, I even tried opening the options window so that I could logout but it just wouldn’t appear! I thought to myself ‘This is truly a death game!’ as I went pale from fear!
TL note: SAO reference.
Rusian: I understand! I understand now just how horrible it was so calm down!
My chat log was flooded with that amazingly turbulent display of continuous chat.
Come to think of it, has Ako ever been this frantic that she typed up a storm in the past?
So it was that horrible huh, that job of placing artificial flowers on sashimi.
Rusian: But you know, I think net game players should be used to doing simple tasks over and over again.
Ako: I guess there’s definitely a huge difference between turning yourself into a human BOT in-game and turning your own body into a BOT right…
Y, yeah you’re right. It’s unexpectedly much more different.
Ako: I’m glad it was only for a day. If it went on for a few more days, my whole being would have turned into a machine…
Rusian: A part-time job sure is a scary thing, isn’t it?
Even though it’s called a part-time job, you just can’t make light of how difficult it actually is.
Suddenly, with a ‘whoosh’ sound effect, another character has logged in.
TL note: More RO sound effects, I can’t really word it better but seeing someone log in your screen produces a sound effect.
Apricot: I have returned. Now then, it’s time to check out the market prices.
Rusian: Welcome back.
Ako: Welcome back Master—
And here’s returnee #2, Master. At the moment, it seems that checking the market prices is the thing she does upon logging in.
Rusian: So how was it? Was work rough?
Apricot: It was quite a worthwhile experience.
Looking at what Master had just typed in chat, I couldn’t think of her state as anything but normal.
Apricot: Shredded daikon strips that come with sashimi— to sum it up, my job was putting on garnish. I would single-mindedly place the strips of daikon on the sashimi tray as they passed by.
Ako: It’s the process that comes before mine right!
It seems they’ve been working their best in the same production line.
So I guess they resorted to manpower for that too.
Rusian: Rather, is that really something you would call worthwhile?
Apricot: It may sound simple, but that’s simply not how it is you know?
Apricot: The weight of garnish to be applied is supposed to be 2 grams per serving, but I deviated from it at first, having placed 1.5 gram and 2.5 gram in servings.
Apricot: And as I continued repeating this act of placing them on the tray multiple times, my skill gradually improved and I was able to measure 2 grams worth just by eyeing it.
Apricot: And since I was actually able to witness my skill level gradually increase in real life, it’s only natural to find it fun to do, no?
Rusian: I, I see.
So you’re now able to measure exactly 2 grams with just your fingertips huh?
Of course, I find that amazing, but I feel torn about this considering this is such a useless skill for everyday life.
Getting your Garnish Measuring Skill at level 10… is just useless right?
TL note: Max skill level in Ragnarok Online is 10, meaning Master has maxed this skill out.
Ako: You were working somewhere that was like this too, right Rusian? How was it?
Rusian: So you’re asking about that… You really went and asked about that didn’t you…
So you really asked about what I did at my job, didn’t you Ako…
Apricot: Was it that hard on you?
Rusian: Hard? Not at all… The job description was simple after all.
The thing that I had to do for my job, was that.
Rusian: It was plastic bottle surveillance.
For a moment, the chat fell silent.
And after a while, Master timidly asked,
Apricot: Are plastic bottles something that run wild if you leave them be?
Ako: Something like the ‘Plastic Bottles’ Counterattack’, maybe…
TL note: A reference to Mobile Suit Gundam Char’s Counterattack.
Just what kind of side quest do you think this is?
It was really just me looking over the plastic bottles as they passed through in front of me.
Rusian: The plastic bottles just move along over a conveyor belt, but they fall over sometimes so I have to fix them up before they get fed into the next machine. That’s about it.
From the moment they explained the details of the job to me up until break time, I really didn’t have to do anything but watch.
It was a job simple enough even for me that I was happy about that.
It’s not that it’s a job that can’t be done by machines, but rather it’s a job that follows up on mistakes that could happen with said machine. Once you started work on it, you could see just how profound it was.
Ako: Doesn’t that sound easy then? You just had to look at them right?
Rusian: If you only look at it from the job description, sure.
Though it was about three times the volume and three times faster than what Ako is imagining right now.
TL note: Another reference to Gundam, with Char’s signature red suit being three times faster.
Well, if it’s only looking at it then I suppose it would look simple to an outsider.
Apricot: Rather, does it actually even fall over given that the work before it is being doing by a machine?
Rusian: They fall over quite often. One of them fell over between the 350th and 680th bottle.
Ako: Y, you counted them all?
She trembled at the figure I just said in chat.
Rusian: I had nothing else to do but that. During the early stages, I could see some bottles that looked somewhat tilted, so I made bets inside my head whether they would fall or not.
Apricot: If it looked like they would fall over, wouldn’t it have been better for you to fix them up then?
Rusian: You just don’t get it Master. If I did that, then the next person after me watching over them too would have nothing to do you know?
Apricot: …It seems that you’ve had your fair share of troubles as well Rusian.
That’s right, it was really troublesome.
When the images of the plastic bottles moving along the conveyor belt flickered in my head, for some reason, I couldn’t stop my tears from falling.
Apricot: Thus, I have concluded never to do this again. I’m really glad that it was simply a one day job.
Ako: I know right— It just makes you never want to get a part-time job ever again right—?
Rusian: Right!
Behind the smiling faces of their characters, I feel like I could see them with lifeless eyes tapping away at the keyboard. As disappointing as it may be, we’ll have to drop out of working part-time.
Ako: I do not wish to work sire! I shan’t ever go to work!
TL note: This is a reference to a famous panel from Rurouni Kenshin where he runs away from Kaoru after being asked by the former to help out with something. He then yells this phrase out while firmly gripping his reverse edge blade. What they’re saying about this joke in Japan is that it’s a line used by NEETs who have vowed never to work. Even against his arch-enemy, Shishio Makoto, whose belief is that labor is duty (‘you do what you can because you must’ sort of thing), he never faltered. I really wanted to go with how it was translated before but I’m not entirely sure what chapter this is so I just made do by making it somewhat archaic.
Rusian: I know I shouldn’t really be the one saying this given that I’m dropping out of working part-time with you but… let’s have a proper job someday, alright?
Ako: No way—! If I do anymore than this then the stress is going to shorten my lifespan at huach speed!
Rusian: You’re mixing up a bunch of words there.
TL note: As you known by now, Ako tends to mimic Buront and that Kamen Rider when she gets fired up. This is another example of Burontism which is a bit different from the first iteration (The original line was ‘The stress was shortening my lifespan at mach speed’). This also came from Buront but from a Monster Hunter Freedom thread where he then repeated the same sentence but changed up on the mach part, using a character voice from MHF instead (the voice goes Hohha! as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGNsvgC-SMA) and ends up becoming the Monster Hunter version of this joke.
Now, now. Even if it doesn’t work out today, you can always do your best tomorrow.
Even if there was a monster you couldn’t defeat today, if you raise your levels and try again tomorrow then you might be able to win.
Though there are still some enemies that you definitely do not want to go up against.
Rusian: Come to think of it, where’s Schwein?
Ako: Schew-chan also started working part-time somewhere right? But isn’t it about time she got home already?
‘Before I eat dinner and before I take shower, I have to login first!’, is the type of player that she is after all. Even if it was indicating that she was AFK for some reason, there’s no doubt she will be back soon after that. We have to take this fact into consideration.
Apricot: You guys… Do you not remember the reason why we have been working so hard?
Rusian: …Aah, it was broken right.
That’s right, I remember now.
Her PC is broken after all, so no matter how late it gets or how long we wait, she wouldn’t come.
Ako: It just felt really normal to see Schew-chan here everyday that I kind of forgot.
Rusian: It’s normal for her to be here after all.
Apricot: He was the kind of guy to head out to the grinding spot first and yell out ‘You losers are late!’ when we’d arrive.
Rusian: She may have a bad mouth, but she goes ahead of us, clearing up the path and securing a spot for us right?
Ako: And when I’m feeling a bit tired, Schew-chan was the one that always says ‘How about we take a break?’ in my place.
For a short while, we were lost in our memories of her.
And we couldn’t help but type out our thoughts as it is.
Rusian: …I guess it’s just lonely without her after all.
Ako: It makes you wish she were here right?
Apricot: Ah, that’s right.
Ako: …But working is a pain right?
Apricot: Well that’s true as well.
Rusian: What should we do?
This was an extremely troubling matter.
I wonder what kind of job she’s working at right now?
I felt somewhat vexed at the thought of not easily being able to just ask her that.
“It’s a job at a net cafe.”
It was after class on a Monday. When I asked her, ‘What kind of job did you get?’, Segawa answered me back without even taking her eyes off of the PC in clubroom— War Machine, that is.
“I got interviewed last Saturday and was already working on Sunday. I guess you could say it really fits my area of expertise. It’s really an easy place to work at.”
Hoho, an internet cafe huh?
And since she would be working in a place like this, there’s no reason for people finding out she’s a closet otaku if she ever talks about computers. This may actually be a good thing.
“I see, this is really Schwein’s specialty.”
“But it’s really tough you know? There’s a PC in front of me and yet I can’t play LA. Even though there are people playing LA in front of me, I’m only the one who can’t. And even when I get home, my PC is broken anyway… It just feels like I’m about to go crazy.”
I took a peek at Segawa while we were talking but she still didn’t take her eyes off the screen the whole time. I was a bit worried that she might already be in the process of going crazy, but I guess she’s still okay right?
“I’m off today so I have to farm as much as I can! It’s been a while since I’ve gone after a boss that my plan is in shambles… There! Alright, Cecil MVP!”
“Oh, what’s the loot?”
“Let’s see… it’s… a one-handed sword! If this turns out to be a Moonlight then I’ll be able to finish up that quota in one go! Let me just go identify it!”
“‘Make the sword into a Battle Knife’ Beam!”
“‘Turn the sword into an Ogre Claw’ Beam!”
“Stop that you two! This is definitely a Moonlight you hear! With this, I’ll be taking the l— ast place! It was a Battle Knife after all! Nooooooooooooo! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!”
TL note: Cecil is a reference to the MVP Sniper Cecil in Ragnarok Online. Moonlight is probably a reference to the Moonlight Dagger, Battle Knife to a Combat Knife, and Ogre Claw to a Grimtooth. Though quite ironically, a Combat Knife is actually the most valuable thing out of these three in Ragnarok Online.
“Serves you right! …I mean, oh I see. So you’re hard at work in your part-time job as well huh?”
I know she has to do it in order to buy a new PC, but it’s still really unfortunate.
Even when I login at night, Schwein isn’t there. I thought about this too yesterday, but I guess it’s really depressing.
“I don’t really want to work either you know, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. The contest for the guild house may have gotten a bit tougher for me right now… but there are far more important things than that.”
Segawa said that as it looked like she came to a clear decision about something in her mind. As she did, it felt like she was also sharing in this same feeling of melancholy, at least, that’s what I thought.
“But… it’s pretty amazing isn’t it. Even though it’s not a one-day job, you still passed that interview no problem and got to working the next day right away.”
“Isn’t that normal?”
Segawa said that statement like it was a normal thing, but it’s still a pretty shocking thing for me.
“If you ask me, that situation is definitely impossible for a guy like me. If I had the same looks as a nice looking girl like you then I would be hired on the spot.”
“But you would only be given the job if you’re an ikemen. If it bothers you that much, then how about you get reborn as a much cooler guy?”
“Damn it, shaddup.”
Even I would want to be reborn as an ikemen if I could ya know.
Though Segawa talked back like that at me, when I went to take a look at her, I could see the side of her face reddening a bit. Since this girl’s really embarrassed about it, I let that one slide.
Now then, I think it’s about time I go and farm up gold and win this, so I went back to my seat.
“This thieving cat… this thieving cat…”
“Hey now Ako, what are you doing?”
Ako furiously swung her arm around, doing some really suspicious movement.
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