The sound of Rena’s spirit breaking could be heard all the way here.

 

It was to the extent that Rena, who had been busiest cooking multiple dishes at once, dropped everything and rushed out.

 

Then she shouted at Iria.

 

“Wh-wh-what are you doing to the customer!”

 

“Service?”

 

“How is that service in any way! Get your foot off right now!”

 

Iria, who had been pressing her foot on the customer’s face, tilted her head as if wondering what the problem was.

 

Then she pointed at the smiling customer’s face and said,

 

“Look. He likes it.”

 

“……”

 

Does he really like it?

 

Rena looked back and forth between Iria and the customer with a dubious expression for a while.

 

The customer gave a thumbs up with his face still pressed under her foot.

 

It meant he was very satisfied.

 

“A-are you okay…?”

 

“This is the best store in my life.”

 

“Ah…… I see……”

 

Rena looked at him with a disgusted expression for a moment, then gave up thinking about it.

 

The surrounding customers didn’t seem uncomfortable either. Rena thought that maybe she was the one with closed-minded thinking.

 

‘Is this trendy these days? Something like that?’

 

Anyway, it was fortunate that he liked it.

 

Although very concerned, she didn’t know where to start objecting, so she eventually stopped.

 

For now, she decided to leave it and observe.

 

***

 

Iria’s eccentric behavior continued after that.

 

She did things incomprehensible to ordinary people, like spraying ketchup on customers’ heads or threatening them with knives.

 

Of course, it wasn’t intentional. She was trying to follow the manual Rena taught her, but the results weren’t as she thought.

 

Among the customers was talk about the pretty employee with an expressionless, cold gaze doing crazy things.

 

Iria went around various parts of the restaurant, greeting customers in order. This time, she raised a ketchup bottle in front of a customer who ordered omurice.

 

Drawing with ketchup. It was an item in the manual she learned from Rena.

 

“……”

 

Of course, Iria had never successfully done it properly, not even once.

 

It was already difficult for Iria to spray ketchup with proper force control, let alone draw a picture.

 

This time, she’ll succeed. It should be about time to make something proper.

 

Thinking this, Iria pressed the ketchup bottle. It was just before the same disaster unfolded as before.

 

-Pop!!

 

Ketchup burst out of the narrow opening, splattering everywhere and leaving red stains on the customer’s and Iria’s clothes.

 

Ketchup stained her silver hair and skin so pale it looked white. It looked like blood because it was the same red color, but this time it was ketchup.

 

Iria stopped in place momentarily, not moving her body for a while.

 

“……”

 

“……”

 

There was a brief exchange of glances between the two.

 

Iria was thinking about how to handle this situation, and the customer couldn’t open his mouth, overwhelmed by her presence.

 

For some reason, there was a slight sense of pressure from her covered in red stains. The gap between her cute face and the red stains created a sense of dissonance.

 

This dissonance also led to a slight fear. Somehow, that appearance seemed to suit her very well.

 

With the knife she used to cut fruit still in her hand, she looked almost like a murderer.

 

“Why are you trembling?”

 

Of course, his emotions and thoughts were clearly visible to Iria.

 

If nothing else, the feeling of fear directed at her was more familiar than anything.

 

Originally, monsters were creatures developed to detect human fear. It would be strange not to notice when someone is so obviously afraid.

 

‘I shouldn’t scare the customer.’

 

She thought he needed to be soothed.

 

Iria leaned her upper body slightly and made eye contact with the customer.

 

In the hand that had put away the knife, she was holding a handkerchief.

 

“You’ve become so dirty.”

 

She slowly wiped the customer’s dirtied face with the handkerchief. Her face was very close.

 

“Ugh…… You’re too close……”

 

The customer, with a completely reddened face, tried to cover it with both hands.

 

However, Iria quickly grabbed his hands so he couldn’t. Her expression did not change as she grabbed his wrists and brought her face close.

 

Only her unreadable, expressionless face stood out. The customer whose hands were grabbed swallowed hard.

 

It didn’t take long for his fear of Iria to change into something else—an unknown feeling that he didn’t even understand.

 

With her face so close, Iria’s sweet breath slightly touched him. His heart was beating wildly.

 

“Don’t cover your face. It’s not clean yet.”

 

A soft voice rang in his ear. Whispering at such a close distance, her voice felt sweeter than anything.

 

Regardless, Iria paid no mind and wiped the ketchup off the customer’s face with the handkerchief.

 

Then, when she had wiped off all the ketchup, she released his hands.

 

This wasn’t in the manual, but she did it because it seemed like he would like this kind of thing. After all, she had to make up for the mistake she had made.

 

Iria also seemed a bit embarrassed, clearing her throat with an “Ahem” before speaking. After all, bursting the ketchup wasn’t intentional.

 

Moreover, she couldn’t even wipe off the stains on his clothes.

 

“Service?”

 

She didn’t pay for the dry cleaning, but it was still service.

 

Probably.

 

***

 

Although many incidents occurred while Iria served customers, surprisingly, no one expressed dissatisfaction.

 

Rather, it was generally well-received. Although her behavior wasn’t normal, Iria basically read what the customer wanted and acted on it.

 

Even those who initially questioned it gradually realized that there was no malice in her actions.

 

It was a service from an S-class beauty in the area that appropriately matched the customers’ preferences. It was hard to find anyone who disliked it.

 

Maybe that’s why,

 

After successfully satisfying the initially attracted customers, the 1st year Class A’s booth gained fame.

 

To a suspicious degree.

 

At this rate, the number of customers was comparable to or even greater than Class B’s.

 

As they were busy serving customers like that, lunchtime came before they knew it. It was time for Class A’s booth to pause operations and take a break.

 

“Phew, let’s rest for a bit…… Iria, good job.”

 

Rena sat in a chair, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

 

She had single-handedly made meals for all the customers who flocked in, matching Iria’s popularity.

 

Right now, Rena looked literally drained of all energy.

 

She was breathing heavily while leaning her body against the chair’s backrest for a while.

 

Iria fanned Rena and asked,

 

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

 

“Ah, thanks. A little better.”

 

She didn’t look very okay. Her whole body was slumped.

 

The fact that Rena, who was usually so energetic, was sprawled out like this gave some idea of how harsh the kitchen environment must have been.

 

But because she was naturally positive, she revived quickly, even after being completely exhausted.

 

“Oh right! You didn’t do anything weird to the customers, did you?!”

 

“……”

 

Iria didn’t think she did anything particularly weird.

 

Iria nodded. She had just followed the manual Rena set. She did what the customers wanted and performed the basic customer service menus.

 

The basic customer service menu included things like drawing pictures with ketchup or feeding cake to customers.

 

Of course, Iria was clumsy with the items on the basic service menu, so she mostly served by listening to what the customers wanted.

 

After all, Iria could tell what they desired.

 

Anyway, she reported to Rena what had happened so far. Roughly what kind of customers she served and how she responded.

 

Hearing this, Rena sighed as if somewhat relieved.

 

Occasionally, reports reached her ears, but even those eventually came back resolved well.

 

She didn’t know what method Iria used, but,

 

Maybe she was just forgiven for anything because of her pretty appearance.

 

For whatever reason, it was clear that Iria was an extraordinary person. Honestly, she didn’t expect her to raise the sales of a half-failed store to this extent.

 

“Ah, by the way, Iria.”

 

After taking a deep breath, Rena called out to the girl sitting next to her as if something curious had suddenly occurred to her.

 

She was a girl whose appearance didn’t feel familiar no matter how many times she saw it. Her silver hair gave off a somewhat mysterious atmosphere, and her red eyes seemed like they shouldn’t be looked at carelessly.

 

Iria tilted her head as if asking why she was calling. Even that small action was not ordinary for her.

 

Simply put, a unique atmosphere couldn’t be expressed in other words. Rena often used the expression “very Iria-like” to describe it.

 

To Iria, who was exuding her characteristic atmosphere as usual today, too, Rena asked.

 

It was such an out-of-the-blue question that this time, Iria was surprised.

 

“Um… Why did you spray ketchup on the customer’s head?”

 

“……?”

 

“No, I just heard something like that. I was curious, so I asked.”

 

The current booth was filled with relief after dealing with a large number of customers, but the question just now shattered that.

 

It had been quite pleasant until then.

 

She didn’t mind too much. Iria briefly recalled what had happened earlier.

 

“I think it was a mistake while trying to draw a picture.”

 

“Then what about threatening customers with a knife?”

 

“I tried cutting apples like I did at first, but everyone seemed scared.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Very Iria-like.

 

It was good to see her working hard as a store employee, but after all, she thought Iria suited being most like herself.

 

Rena became a little more interested in Iria. It was a feeling she had always had, but it meant she wanted to know more than before.

 

So she asked casually,

 

“By the way, I heard that fireworks will bloom on the academy’s night on the last day of the festival.”

 

“……”

 

“Let’s go watch together after we finish this job.”

 

Hearing this, Iria pondered for a moment.

 

Today, too, her deliberation wasn’t long. She’s generally rational because she doesn’t understand most human emotions.

 

“Okay.”

 

She agreed because there was no particular reason to refuse.

 

Iria too had just swallowed another fragment and forcibly dragged out past memories.

 

She didn’t feel entirely stable right now. Since she was aware of it herself, it wasn’t a matter to be taken lightly.

 

She thought going out to refresh her complicated mind wouldn’t be bad.

 

It was that kind of day.