CHAPTER 673: CHAPTER 416: THE START OF FORCED LABOR_2

She circled Uesugi Sakura, then nodded with satisfaction:

"You look even prettier in person than in the photo."

"Pretty?"

"Yeah, pretty," the Cat-Eared Maid said with a smile, "Can’t a guy be described as pretty?"

"...It’s up to you."

"Haha," the Cat-Eared Maid looked at Uesugi Sakura, for some reason suddenly covered her mouth and laughed, waved at him, and said, "Go on, there aren’t any customers in the shop right now, the owner should be free."

"Thank you."

Uesugi Sakura arrived at the coffee shop’s lower level, climbed the stairs, turned the corner, and pushed open the door on the second floor.

"Welcome!"

The decor was simple, more like a quaint little coffee shop rather than a maid café for otakus.

The furnishings and tables and chairs mostly used wooden materials, complemented with simple fresh flowers and plants around.

The fragrance of flowers, along with good lighting, created a very leisurely atmosphere.

Uesugi Sakura glanced around, indeed there were no customers inside, only two maids taking care of the store’s cleaning, and a short-haired woman in a suit wiping glasses at the bar counter. She looked up at him as he entered.

One of the maids noticed a customer entering and immediately put down her work to greet them.

"Shizhi, no need."

The Cat-Eared Maid named Matsumura Shizuka turned around to look at the short-haired woman coming out from behind the bar, instinctively clasped her hands, and said in confusion: "Ah? Manager..."

"He’s here for a job interview."

The short-haired female manager walked up to Uesugi Sakura and extended her hand, and Uesugi Sakura extended his hand in return.

"Hello."

"Hello."

The other person’s voice was clear, and she wore white gloves. Coupled with her suit, Uesugi Sakura felt she was more like a female butler.

"Uesugi Sakura, right?"

"That’s me."

"Alright then."

The manager didn’t scrutinize him but directly led him to a seat inside the store.

"First, let me introduce myself. I’m the manager here, my name is Yanagi Shiiru, and I’ve already looked at your basic information, please give a self-introduction."

"Okay," Uesugi Sakura calmly replied, "My name is Uesugi Sakura, a freshman at Tokyo University."

"Tokyo University? Have you ever worked in distributing flyers?"

"No."

Yanagi Shiiru didn’t say anything and took him to the bar counter, then brought out some coffee tools and a can of coffee beans from the kitchen.

"Here you go, give it a try."

Uesugi Sakura thought the manager was going to teach him about distributing flyers, "Isn’t there training?"

"Training what?"

"Distributing flyers."

"No need for that, I saw in your e-resume that you... seem to have experience as a barista?"

Yanagi Shiiru neatly placed the coffee tools on the table inside the bar.

"Yes, I have."

"We’re short a barista, our previous barista was hit by a car on their way to work this morning and hospitalized."

Uesugi Sakura was left speechless... That’s really unlucky for the barista.

"...but I came here to apply for the flyer distribution job."

"That position can be filled anytime, but affordable baristas are rare. I saw your resume mentioned experience in the UK as a barista, so I thought I’d ask you to try it out."

"..."

This store owner wasn’t being polite in the least... very straightforward.

Seeing Uesugi Sakura motionless, Yanagi Shiiru continued:

"You’re applying for a part-time job because you lack money, right?"

"Right."

"A barista’s salary is much higher than distributing flyers."

Uesugi Sakura: "But I don’t have much time, I applied for the flyer job because it offers flexible hours."

"We don’t need you for many hours, just the afternoons will do. There are days off, two days per week, but the schedule’s not fixed, it can be adjusted," Yanagi Shiiru thought for a while, "Hourly wage, I’ll set it at 1200 yen for you."

Hourly wage of 1200 yen.

Start work at 1 PM, work until 7 PM, totaling six hours.

yen for a day’s work.

In Tokyo, it’s not considered very low.

But compared to a barista’s monthly salary which is at least several hundred thousand yen, this is still far too little.

It makes sense that this manager sees him as a cheap barista.

"So, how about it? I’ve given you the offer, think it over," Yanagi Shiiru said calmly, with no hint of impatience, waiting patiently for his reply.

Uesugi Sakura carefully considered it.

Even though this wasn’t his initial goal here, being a barista clearly pays significantly more than distributing flyers.

Even as a cheap barista.

Most importantly, he doesn’t have to work all day, offering flexible hours.

"Alright." Uesugi Sakura agreed.

Yanagi Shiiru stepped aside, looking at the coffee-making tools on the bar counter: "Just make a simple café au lait. I still need to see your skill level."

"Alright."

Uesugi Sakura washed his hands, put on a work apron, and after preparing everything, glanced at the coffee beans in the transparent jar.

He opened the lid and leaned in to sniff.

The coffee beans had been roasted in a roasting machine, the aroma suggesting... it was quite recent.

The aroma was rich and full-bodied, with a slight sweetness and bitterness; one could guess it was the usual slow-roasting method.

This method allows the coffee flavor profile to become more balanced, as the slow heat produces a large amount of "melanoidin," offering a distinct flavor unique to Japanese-style coffee roasting.

With these prerequisites in mind, Uesugi Sakura deftly manipulated the various tools on the table, added water, filtered, and steamed.

And used a relatively low water temperature to brew the coffee.