Ren woke up and rubbed his eyes.
"That girl is something else, huh?" Morgana muttered, looking at himself in the mirror. He was sleek and handsome today!
"Did you not sleep?" Ren asked. "Did you look at yourself in the mirror all night?"
"Of course not!"
"Then how is your coat still so pristine?" Ren asked.
"I couldn't mess up Lady Orihime's grooming!" Morgana righteously exclaimed.
Ren just shook his head.
"Another Lady, huh?"
---
CHAT LOG
---
[Skull]
RenRen~ did you remember that you have to sell that medal?
[Joker]
I have work today.
[Skull]
Wait, what?
---
CHAT LOG
---
[Lucia]
Any news?
[Joker]
Not yet. Thank you for your help. You saved us a lot of trouble.
[Lucia]
Keep us posted. Any of us.
---
"Kid, stop reading your phone and come over here," Sojiro called out.
"Sorry, Boss. I was just replying to friends about—"
"Relax, Ren. I'm just messing with you. Have some breakfast, and I'll tell you about what I'll be showing you today."
Sitting at the counter, Ren gave a smile.
"This is quickly becoming my favorite meal."
"Heh. I'm glad to hear it. A scientist I knew made it by doing a whole bunch of crazy calculations about different flavors and how to enhance them 'scientifically.'" Sojiro smiled.
"Seems like a clever person," Ren said.
"You would have liked her. Everyone always did."
There was a moment of silence before Ren said gently,
"I'm sorry for your loss."
It was surprisingly distressing for Ren to hear Sojiro's voice sound that way.
"Anyway, it's too early for you to make curry. You'll be starting with coffee. I need to teach you how to make a proper cup."
"I know how to brew—"
"No, you do not."
---
CHAT LOG
---
-[GIRLS CHATTTTTTTTTTTTT]-
---
[Panther]
Shiho!!!! I just remembered!
[Dove]
Huh? Is everything okay?!
[Panther]
Ren gave us ALL a gift at the arcade, and no one gave him anything after everything he's done to help!!!
.
.
Wait, does he even own anything?
[Dove]
Let's fix that.
.
.
.
But…. do we even know what he likes?
[Panther]
We kind of do?
Should we ask Orihime? She seems to know him.
[Dove]
I believe they have only met briefly.
[Panther]
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
.
Screw it. I'm asking her anyway. She's probably had a boyfriend, right? She's so pretty.
---
"Hmm…" Sojiro hummed as he drank the coffee Ren carefully brewed.
"Hmmmmm."
Ren was getting nervous.
"Not bad, but!" Sojiro said while raising a finger. "It's a little acidic. Kind of burnt. You bloomed the grounds for too long."
"Pretty good for only ever observing baristas, though," he added with a smile, taking a small sip.
---
CHAT LOG
---
[Panther]
She said she'd help!
[Dove]
Okay. I still want to ask her about Arisawa-san.
[Panther]
You're really getting into martial arts, huh?
[Lucia(ADMIN)] added [Navi]
[Navi]
Navi here, I am your guide to all things Ren!
[Lucia(ADMIN)] removed [Navi]
[Lucia(ADMIN)]
Sorry, she snuck onto my computer and sent that. Thank you for being kind to Ren. He needs it.
P.S. His favorite colors are red and black.
[Lucia(ADMIN)] left the chat!
[Lucia(ADMIN)] set the conversation to private.
[Panther]
...
[Dove]
This chat wasn't private before?! (;;;・_・)
---
"STOP SPYING ON TEENAGERS!" Naoto roared at Rise, who was pouting. Fuuka was in the process of changing the passwords on her computer and mumbling about social butterflies being incomprehensible.
"Pfffft." Rise blew a raspberry. "It's my job as Ren's big sister to help!"
"You aren't actually related to him, and what you're doing is extremely illegal, and you're in your twenties!"
---
In the underground mall.
"Hi!!" Orihime's voice chimed like a bell as she approached Ann and Shiho, who were reading their chat logs with horrified faces.
"Are you guys okay?"
"Yeah... We just found out our text chat wasn't set to private."
"So anyone on our chat app could read it if they wanted to…" Ann whimpered.
"Oh no!" Orihime panicked. "Is that okay?! Is there anything private that got leaked?"
"Oh wow," Shiho blinked. "You're such a sweetheart!"
Orihime blushed and replied with a mutter.
"I'm just worried for my friend."
The two smiled.
"We found out Ren's favorite colors are red and black," Ann revealed. "Do you have any ideas on what to get a boy?"
---
"What a long day," Ren whined as he leaned back in the booth.
"You did good for your first day," Sojiro said. "Seems you have experience in food service?"
"A little bit. I had a part-time job for a couple months before…"
"Ah."
RING
"Welcome to Leblanc. What can I help yo—" Ren began as he stood up and froze, noticing the three girls.
"Oh wow." Sojiro whistled and chuckled. "I'm going for a smoke, kid. Take a half-hour break."
---
In a dark room.
"Mwhehehehe, a real-life harem protagonist!!" the girl cheered, watching the interaction through her cameras in Leblanc... that she didn't tell Sojiro about because she needed to know if he really was womanizing!!
---