Chapter 111
Thursday, March 31st.
It rained heavily. Very heavily.
Swaaaaa—
The sound of the downpour was deafening, as if a hole had been punched in the sky. The alley floor turned into a murky wave, sloshing about halfway up the threshold.
Standing inside the building, looking like a drowned rat, I vigorously shook out my umbrella.
This is truly insane.
How am I this drenched when I used an umbrella and wore a raincoat underneath it?
I just got to work, but my body already feels heavy.
My shoes were full of water, making me feel absolutely filthy.
Trickle...
When I took off my shoe, turned it upside down, and shook it, a stream of water and a weird clump of aquatic plants fell out.
It seemed an Aquarium had opened inside my rain boots without me knowing.
Shaking my head, I opened the glass door.
[Irasshaimase──!!!]
And I Flinched at the sudden, deafening sound coming from above my head.
What the Hell. Did I walk into the wrong place?
This is definitely our shop.
As I looked around with a bewildered gaze, someone lifted their head from the front tables over by the bar.
"Oh, you're here?"
It was Tony, the Assistant Bartender of Dragon's Lair, greeting me in his usual slumped posture and weak voice.
He was like this every time it rained, but today, befitting the heavy downpour, his symptoms seemed more severe; he looked ready to become one with the table.
To think that this Tony is a Former Net Diver. A top 0.01 percent special elite.
Before, when I saw him lying face down like that... well. If I didn't think much of it then.
Now, after hearing about his past, he looked like a crouching, hidden dragon.
Just what profound thoughts was he harboring behind those languid, unfocused eyes...!
"Ah, I don't want to work. I want to go home. I'm dying to clock out."
"..."
"What are you doing? Not coming in."
As expected, people's thoughts are all pretty much the same.
I had been standing there blankly, but at Tony's words, I finally snapped out of it and stepped inside the bar.
I was careful not to drip rainwater on the floor/Ground, but fortunately, a Moisture-absorbing Mat was already laid out on the floor/Ground.
Stomping my feet on the mat and Shaking off my raincoat, I asked.
"So, what was that sound earlier? This isn't a sushi or sake joint, so what's with the Irasshaimase?"
"Tell me about it. I said the same thing and opposed it, but what power do I have."
At Tony's words, I immediately figured out the truth. Then again, there was only one person who would attach such a bizarre device to the Bar Main Entrance.
It was obviously the Dragon President's doing.
It seemed he couldn't hold back his damn curiosity while commissioning the repairs and had some weird modification done to the entrance.
The result seemed to be that booming Irasshaimase sound popping out when the door opened, replacing the existing doorbell.
Come to think of it, it did sound similar to the Dragon President's modulated voice. Did he actually record it himself?
His passion is truly something else.
"Come to think of it, I heard we did some Remodeling too..."
As I said that and looked around, a few changes did catch my eye.
First, the length of the front tables had noticeably increased. It felt like it was 1.5 times longer than before.
I'd have to go behind the Front Bar to see the detailed changes, but the components on and inside the tables seemed to have changed a bit too.
The arrangement inside the Back Bar Display, which held various synthetic liquors and ingredients used for Cocktail Mixing, had also become much more diverse than before.
And...
A Karaoke Machine had been installed on one side of the shop. It was in the area where the arcade game machines were clustered.
"Please select your song!"
It blinked in five different colors as it displayed that message.
The Microphone Holder was slightly twisted, as if other people had already used it a few times.
...Who used it?
It didn't seem likely that Tony, in his low-pressure mood, would have grabbed the mic and sung his heart out.
Sey didn't seem like the type to have a hobby in that area either, so was it the Dragon President after all?
But can he even sing with that Modulated Mechanical Voice?
I don't know.
Setting all that aside, my real concern was that some drunk Customer might grab that thing and start Loud Singing/Noise.
It was a new facility that needed to be watched closely in many ways. If anyone showed signs of committing Eardrum Terrorism, I'd have to stop them immediately.
Besides that, there were Rhythm Game Machines newly installed among the arcade game machines, along with an Analog Sensibility Synthesizer and Turntable connected to the bar.
"Has the boss Taken an interest in music lately or something?"
Is he trying to debut as DJ Dragon or something?
"Who knows. He'll probably just lose interest after a short while, like always. He'll probably only use it to play virtual idol songs. The way I see it, it's just going to gather dust."
Leaving Tony's indifferent voice behind, I looked around to see if anything else had changed.
It didn't seem like it would end here.
Weren't the new Karaoke Machine and Synthesizer just the Dragon President buying toys because he couldn't overcome his desire to collect things, as usual?
If it stopped at that level, it couldn't be called Remodeling.
Thinking there must definitely be more changes, I scanned the place with hawk-like eyes, but nothing in particular caught my Attention.
At most, there were slight changes to the lighting and Interior Design patterns, and the Anime Posters on the walls had been upgraded to the latest ones.
I looked around for a few more seconds before finally giving up.
I have no idea. The Dragon President will probably Tell me later when I see him.
When I turned my head, Tony was staring at me with a sullen look that seemed to say, “What are you doing standing there blankly.”
Realizing I had kept him waiting, I quickly went to the Warehouse, placed my raincoat and umbrella in the Drying Machine, washed my hands, and came back.
Rat-a-tat-tat—
Then, as if a rainstorm was blowing, I heard the sound of rain fiercely battering the glass windows that had become clean after the Remodeling.
The rain mist Outside the window was so thick that almost nothing was visible.
The window was so messy with rainwater that it looked like a flowing water slide.
This is truly unprecedented.
Dusk City is originally a place where it rains a lot, but this is the first time I've seen it this severe.
"Wow, it was like this on my way here too, but the rain Outside is really no joke."
"Yeah. It was like that when I came too. It seems Crazy today. I definitely didn't hear it was going to rain this heavily."
"Tell me about it. This isn't just raining; it's at the level of a flood or a typhoon. Why didn't we hear about it?"
"Anyway, you can't trust a word those bastards at the Atmospheric Agency say. They aren't even predicting natural rainfall, yet they make a Hell of a lot of errors."
Tony grumbled and flicked his hand toward me.
It meant he was going to start the Bartending Lesson, so I should come inside the table.
Lately, I had been studying cocktails in advance, and the way I learned was by making them on my own while Tony evaluated them.
After I walked around and went inside, Tony, who had stepped Outside, grinned and let out an exclamation of 'Oh...'
He was pointing at my black Nanosuit Uniform, specifically the reddish Full-time Employee Name Tag of Dragon's Lair stuck firmly on its chest.
"Oh... Manager and Trainee Bartender Aaron."
"Yeah, well."
"Oh... Full-time Employee."
"Haha."
When I smiled Calmly and nodded, he added a modifier, seemingly entirely dissatisfied with that level of reaction.
"Oh... Shortest-Period Full-time Employee."
"Shortest-Period?"
"Yeah. It took me about a month. Sey didn't even have a non-Regular period to begin with."
"Then isn't that the shortest?"
"Well, usually you don't describe something that doesn't exist at all as being short."
Is that so? I nodded, feeling oddly persuaded.
"Then let's just go with it being the shortest period."
Still not satisfied with my plain reaction, Tony added more words to it.
"As expected of the Shortest-Period Full-time Employee. You look cool standing at the bar, too. I think the Bartender Position suits you better than it does me. It's a calling, a calling. You'll take off that Trainee Tag in no time."
"...Why on earth are you acting like this?"
When I looked appalled, Tony finally giggled and clarified that it was a joke.
"The boss said that the way you get embarrassed when praised is quite a sight to see."
The Dragon President again!
When I glared fiercely in the direction of the boss room, Tony shrugged in front of me.
"But it's not as big a deal as I thought. Did I Praise you too weakly?"
"What on earth are you planning to do if you make it any stronger than that?"
"Well. The greatest Genius in history who even blasphemes the gods? A Bartender whom God made to be a Bartender, but who soon became a god himself? —Something like that?"
Crazy. What even is that.
Why does he mention God so often.
"...One thing's for sure, if you said that Outside, you'd be in big trouble. A Religious Organization would foam at the mouth."
And Setting everything else aside, isn't that level of Praise just blatant bullying?
It's practically straight-up bullying.
When I made a horrified expression, Tony looked satisfied, saying that my face was finally worth seeing.
"Anyway, congratulations on becoming a Full-time Employee. That's what I meant."
Then he patted my shoulder and congratulated me. I responded with thanks to his sincere voice, and a heartwarming scene continued for a while.
After warming up our mouths lightly like that...
"We've talked enough, so shall we slowly get started?"
Tony's slouching body stood up straight.
His eyes sharpened, and his fingernails tapped the table.
I also naturally straightened my posture and grew tense, bringing my hands toward the Cocktail Mixing Tools inside the Front Bar.
It was time to begin training.
Even if it was a Simulated Order and not a real one, I could never let my Guard down.
Not only were the ingredients used for practice real ingredients, but since I had finally gotten my Conversion to Full-time Employee, shouldn't I show a good Performance?
"Would you like to order?"
When I, having entered Real Combat Mode, asked politely, Tony seemed to ponder for a moment before subtly raising the corners of his mouth.
"Then let's see the Cocktail Skills of a Full-time Employee..."
Just what order would he place?
Since he said he would “see the skills of a Full-time Employee,” he definitely wouldn't ask for a simple and easy cocktail.
In that moment of intense focus, Tony opened his mouth.
"The 12-Minute Cocktail. Can you do it?"
I let out a low groan.
...The 12-Minute Cocktail.