Chapter 346: The Reason
Sitting down at the bar, Eriri smiled and greeted the three, "Hehe, what a coincidence, we met you again."
Then she looked at Kawasaki Saki behind the bar: "Could you please get us two more mixed fruit juices."
Although she didn't know why these two were here, since they were customers, Kawasaki Saki still nodded and began to mix drinks for them.
Soon, the drinks were ready.
"Thank you."
Taking a sip, Eriri asked, "Are you all classmates from the same school? It looks like you have some troubles, but no matter what it is, it's better to discuss it calmly."
Kawasaki Saki, hearing this, confirmed that these two guests were not familiar with anyone, having likely only met once. So she said to Eriri, "It's nothing, just a private matter."
Although he really didn't want to get involved, since Eriri had pulled him along, Kaede had no choice but to try and end it quickly.
So, he, who had been silent until now, spoke, "These classmates of yours have been looking for you all afternoon. It seems they really want to help you. To be honest, although I don't fully know the details of the situation, I can somewhat guess from their actions. You must have caused your family to worry because of your part-time job, right?"
Upon hearing this, Hachiman Hikigaya looked at Kaede in surprise.
"Don't look at me like that. It's just that a friend of mine ran into a similar situation."
Kaede shrugged and continued speaking slowly, "It's not really a big deal for high schoolers to work part-time, but rushing here just to earn money, even with the manager covering for you, isn't a good solution. I can tell you're annoyed by them coming to look for you, so why don't you just tell them everything? If they can come up with a good solution, that's great. If not, just ask them to leave and stop bothering you. Ultimately, you are responsible for whatever you choose to do; others can't interfere too much."
The moment Kaede said this, Yui Yuigahama, who was already concerned about Kawasaki Saki, immediately objected, "But, Saki's younger brother..."
"You said yourself it's her younger brother; that means it's her family matter. She's seventeen years old; she definitely understands the importance of family. If she wants to talk about it, she will. If she doesn't want to, then she has her own reasons."
As she listened, Yukino, who had originally intended to refute him, remained silent. She started to realize that while this boy seemed to be speaking up for Kawasaki Saki on the surface, he was actually pointing out Kawasaki Saki's own mistakes? For example, the way she handles things with her family.
No one present was stupid; everyone understood the meaning behind Kaede's words (except for Yui Yuigahama).
Seeing that Kawasaki Saki remained silent, Kaede smiled and looked at her, saying, "Aren't you going to say something? I am a customer, after all, right? Bartenders in bars usually have the job of chatting with customers too, you know. If you do your job well, I wouldn't mind leaving a tip."
"You don't need to try and tempt me with tips."
Putting down the glass and cloth in her hands, Kawasaki Saki sighed and said resignedly, "It's just about money. I need tuition for cram school and university. But it's too difficult for my family to bear the cost of tuition for two children, so I have to work part-time. It's that simple. Are you satisfied now?"
University... Now everyone understood. To get into a good university, many high schoolers do start enrolling in various outside cram schools starting in their second year. Furthermore, the tuition fees for prestigious universities are high; they are all significant expenses.
Kawasaki Saki still had a younger brother at home, and it seemed their family's financial situation wasn't enough to guarantee the tuition for both siblings, which is why Kawasaki Saki felt compelled to work part-time.
Yui Yuigahama finally understood the whole story and said with concern, "Although I understand your intentions, Saki, you shouldn't make your younger brother worry! It would be best to talk to him about these things, right? He will definitely understand you."
Yukino also spoke up at this point, "Cram school and university tuition are indeed significant expenses. I know your grades have always been good; have you never considered competing for a scholarship? The annual scholarship amounts at Sobu High are quite substantial. When you get to university, excellent grades can also earn you considerable scholarships to alleviate tuition pressure. Relying solely on working late shifts, you might exhaust yourself, and your grades could continuously decline."
"Scholarship..."
Kawasaki Saki clearly hadn't thought of this perspective. She glanced at Yukino and said, "If you didn't speak in such roundabout riddles, what you say would actually be somewhat useful."
"Is that so? The feeling is mutual."
These two seemed to be at odds with each other.
Picking up a glass and starting to wipe it again, Kawasaki Saki said, "You don't need to get involved in this matter. After my shift ends today, I will go home tomorrow and talk to my younger brother. That guy, honestly, he just causes me trouble..."
Although there was some grumbling in her words, it was clear that Kawasaki Saki was not angry.
Seeing that the matter was resolved, Eriri showed a happy smile and lightly bumped Kaede's shoulder.
Kaede responded with a roll of his eyes.
He absolutely hated verbal sparring; he found it extremely troublesome, especially when dealing with people who liked to speak in riddles—the trouble level doubled.
Fortunately, Kawasaki Saki today was relatively easy to communicate with, plus he had the "customer buff" going for him. If he had to trade barbs with the Great Teacher and Yukino next to him, Kaede would definitely turn around and leave.
Hachiman Hikigaya took out his phone, sent a message to his younger sister to notify her, and then said to Yukino and Yui Yuigahama, "The matter is settled. Shouldn't we head back now?"
"Eh? So fast?"
Yui Yuigahama said somewhat dejectedly, "This place is really nice. It's a shame we have to leave after only just arriving..."
"Yuigahama... the prices here are really expensive."
The corner of Hachiman Hikigaya's dead fish eyes twitched; he felt extreme heartache for his wallet. A single glass of plain iced water here cost several hundred yen!
Yui Yuigahama clearly couldn't refute Hachiman Hikigaya's complaint: "Ugh..."
Fortunately, there was still a rich lady present. Since the matter was smoothly resolved, Yukino was in no hurry to leave. She said to Kawasaki Saki, "Mix three more drinks for us, non-alcoholic."
Of course, money must be earned. Kawasaki Saki nodded immediately, picked up the bottles of juice nearby, and began mixing.
"Yay! Thank you, Yukino!"
After giving Yukino a light hug, Yui Yuigahama started chatting with Eriri.
She had long wanted to gossip about the love story between Eriri and Kaede, but they had official business earlier. Now that the matter was over, she finally had free time!