Chapter 107
[On the day you first came to the bar and had your interview, I had a brief chat with Tony.]
A story from the past was brought up out of nowhere.
I was unimpressed, wondering why he was suddenly bringing up some random old story, but his next words were Unexpected.
[It was about you. We talked about whether you'd be able to adapt to the bar, whether you'd be able to handle all sorts of customers and incidents...]
Wait, the two of them had a conversation like that?
So what was the conclusion?
On the day I first met Tony and the Dragon President, what final assessment did those two make of me?
What was my first impression on them?
I was curious. Anyone would be.
[Look at how your eyes changed. You must be curious, huh?]
"Yes. Tell me."
[Whoa, I'd be in big trouble if I didn't tell you. And you say you were intimidated despite acting like this, so how could I not be dumbfounded?]
The Dragon President grumbled.
[Maa (Well), it wasn't anything special. Just... you didn't seem like a bad kid, but you were Asian, a Chef, and looked so mild-mannered that we were a bit worried. Even more so because it seemed like you hadn't undergone any Body Modification and didn't know how to fight at all.]
"Hmm."
[Tony said that. He wondered if the customers would look down on you.]
It was a reasonable concern.
There were actually quite a few times when I was looked down upon.
The Fallen Angel incident with the Troublemaker Detective, and the conflict with the Man Hunter could all be attributed to that.
because I looked weak and clueless, like a newbie to anyone's eyes.
[Do you know what I answered back then?]
"What did you Answer?"
[I said we probably didn't need to worry about that. Judging by how you spoke, you seemed to have guts. What did you say back then? You told me...]
The Dragon President scratched the horn of his helmet, as if he couldn't quite remember.
Unfortunately, I remembered it very well. It was a dark history that made my face flush red just from it being mentioned.
“Sasha, you”re the one who had better be prepared.'
“Be prepared to have a massive bonus ripped from you by me.”
“You should worry in advance about a month from now.”
“In a month, my trial period will end, and by then, you”ll be absolutely itching to hire me as a Full-time Employee because I'll be so good at my job.'
"Kieeeeeek!"
[Bikkurishita (Surprised!)! Why are you suddenly screaming like that? You startled me.]
"There's a good reason for it... The kind of reason where I can't bear it without screaming..."
[Did you catch a disease or something? Or muscle pain? Didn't you say you were all healed?]
I answered weakly to the Dragon President's seemingly genuine concern.
"No, it's a Psychosomatic Illness... You don't need to worry about it. More importantly, what I said back then was complete nonsense I spouted because I was drunk."
It really was nonsense.
If only I hadn't eagerly accepted and drunk that Dusk Iced Tea that day because it tasted good and gotten drunk,
If I had known even a little bit about how incredible the Dragon President and the Bartenders were, I wouldn't have carelessly spouted such arrogant nonsense.
When I explained that, the Dragon President let out a snort, 'Hmm...' I felt this every time, but a snort modulated by a Mechanical Voice was truly bizarre.
[That's quite funny. I Concluded that I could hire you precisely because of that thing you claim was nonsense. Thanks to that, I was able to have confidence in you.]
"...You have a very peculiar eye for people."
[And that eye was right. It hit the mark.]
I was speechless.
While I kept my mouth shut, the Dragon President continued speaking, looking straight up.
[That day, Tony and I said between ourselves that guts were all that mattered. That Alone was enough to do a good job. That's what we said.]
"..."
[Well, of course, just guts Alone wouldn't be enough. You need some brains, and above all, your own will and effort. That's how it is. But among those, the most important thing really seems to be guts.]
The nerve to Calmly deal with any accident that might occur right in front of you.
The courage to Calmly serve or Kick out any Customer who comes in, no matter what they do, thinking I'm just doing my job and considering the Customer just my Customer.
Everything else could be cultivated, but those guts had to be innate. Or forged through long experience.
[All we needed were guts. If they just had that, I could somehow provide the rest of the abilities even if I had to put them through Hell training. No matter what accident happened, I could cover it all. The problem was people born with that kind of nerve were really hard to find.]
That was why we couldn't find new employees even though we were short-staffed.
Even when we tried recruiting a few times, everyone ended up dropping out before long, so we gave up.
[I wondered if my standards had gotten too high because the two Bartenders I already had were so outstanding... but what could I do when they didn't meet my expectations?
It wasn't like I could Force them to stay when they couldn't endure it themselves. I just stayed still, thinking someone would come along if it was meant to be.]
I stayed still, and someone really did come along.
Aaron Nakamura.
[I'm so lucky. How did a guy like this just roll right into my lap? I feel like bowing to Gintoki Tower.]
Wrapping his arm around my shoulder again, the Dragon President playfully continued his story.
[I thought it would be Fine if they had no abilities as long as they had guts, but you have guts and abilities too. Kya—I wondered if I was enjoying some kind of Cheat Engine.]
"What abilities do I..."
[Enough with the modesty, alright? It's a bit much to Watch. You really love lowering yourself, just like a true Asian. No matter how I look at it, you're definitely a Nihonjin (Japanese).]
Modesty? Honestly, wasn't it a fact that my abilities were meager compared to the Bartenders or the Dragon President?
Just as I was about to retort, he brought up another topic.
[Do you know that Tony started his Cocktail Study again recently?]
"Huh?"
Wait, what more was there for him to study?
It was a fact I often forgot because of his always lethargic and sluggish appearance.
Even if not as much as Sey, Tony was also a proud Professional Bartender. Especially notable were his flashy Showmanship and Hand Technique, which went without saying.
[You don't know what you're talking about. Real Bartenders are supposed to study continuously without rest. That's how they can get used to new recipes and develop their own Signature Cocktail...]
I found myself nodding at the Dragon President's words.
Then again, cooking was the same. proper chefs never stopped studying.
When I worked at the restaurant, the Deputy Executive Chef, the Executive Sous Chef who acted as the practical Head Chef, was also a massive workaholic.
He developed new menus almost on a weekly basis, and because he never clocked out, he earned a lot of resentment from the chefs under him.
I didn't know whether to call it amazing that he didn't stop putting in effort even though he was already an incredible expert, or whether he was able to build such skill precisely because he was that kind of person in the first place...
[Even when I nagged him to not let go and study a bit, saying that even if it's Daijoubu (okay) now, what he would do if an unknown order came in, he'd say it would somehow work out since he had basic skills.
He was a guy who made excuses, saying he was Fine because he was more about pleasing the eyes with his dexterity rather than his Bartending Skill, and that if an order came in for a cocktail he really didn't know, he could just secretly peek at the recipe through his Neural Interface while making it. But when I look at him lately, he's been practicing newly released techniques hard.]
"Wow, that's amazing."
When I said that in genuine admiration, the Dragon President laughed.
[It's amazing if you think about it, but the reason is really funny. Hmm, he told me not to tell anyone about this.]
"What is it?"
[He said it's because of you.]
I blinked, wondering what kind of out-of-the-blue nonsense this was.
[Tony teaches you the Bartending Method, right? It seems he felt a Sense of Crisis seeing your learning speed. He said that at this rate, he'd be out of material in three months, and that he needed to study if he didn't want his knowledge to be overtaken.]
"Eh? No way."
There was no way Tony would do that. Far from feeling a Sense of Crisis, he was a rather strict Teacher who was stingy with Praise.
I had Taken bartending lessons from Tony several times so far, but I had never once felt such a vibe.
There were times when I found it fascinating that someone who seemed so relaxed about everything became so rigid in his attitude when teaching, but...
[Believe it or not. Anyway, it was really funny. The sight of that guy, who was always slacking off so leisurely, acting like his feet were on Fire while complaining, “I don”t know why this Punk is so smart. He memorizes a recipe in one minute, you know? And his dexterity, as expected of a former Chef...' was something else.]
The Dragon President giggled as he spoke.
[Mochiron (Of course), that's just your learning ability. How well you learn is a separate issue from how well you perform in practice.]
"Right."
[But you did well in practice too, didn't you?]
Yeah, I Admit it. At this point, I have no choice but to Admit it.
Honestly, I wasn't bad.
It would be hard to find a bar Manager like me anywhere.
Other things aside, if you look at guts as the standard of Judgment, it is even more so.
Where would you commonly find a Crazy person who, with nothing but a single chip in his head, sliced off the infamous Man Hunter's Arm and engaged in a sword fight with the Leader of the Psycho gang, Luddite?
[Yeah. It really was a Crazy thing to do.]
The Dragon President agreed.