Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume SS - Chapter 32

Short Story:

Norn’s Part Time Job

THAT DAY, I, RUDEUS GREYRAT, had acquired some information of great importance. It was information that should have been confidential and that I was not supposed to have. It was really only by coincidence that I did. 

It started with what Zanoba’s servant Ginger saw while doing her shopping. When I heard, I was shaken. Even as I was wondering how that could be, I also wanted to see it myself. I knew it was forbidden, but I could not suppress my curiosity.

That was how I ended up at a diner hidden away in a corner of Sharia. It did fairly good business. Maybe it was closer to a cafe. It might have been geared toward nobles, as the clientele skewed toward high-born types. With my noble-style outfit and sunglasses to hide my face, I must have stood out a mile. I should have brought someone like Sylphie… Maybe we could have our next date here.

Now, the thing about this place that I suppose I ought to mention was that the servers were all women wearing somewhat unique outfits. When I say unique, I don’t mean, say, tight leather with fishnet tights and bouncy bunny ears. These dresses had probably once been used by the ladies in waiting at a palace somewhere… In other words, the servers’ uniforms were classic maid outfits. The main item on the menu was apparently tea they imported from the Asura Kingdom, but that’s not important here.

The goods I had my eyes on took the form of a young woman weaving precariously between the tables. Her blonde hair, just like her mom’s, was tied back, and she had on the same uniform as the other staff.

It was my little sister Norn. 

What was Norn doing working at a place like this? Was she short on pocket money? Did she want to learn the ways of the world while she was still a student? Or perhaps, unbeknownst to me, she’d picked up some debt and had to work to pay it off…?

I had infiltrated this coffee shop to find some answers.

“Welcome. Please take a seat.”

“Huh, I haven’t seen you before. New hire?”

“A friend of mine is unwell, so I’m just filling in for a few days. I hope you’ll excuse any shortcomings in my service.”

So according to the intel I acquired independently, a friend of Norn’s from the University of Magic was sick, and she had ended up here to help out at short notice. Only Norn, student council president and relied on by all, would have done this for a reason like that. What a relief it wasn’t debt. This wasn’t so bad. 

It was time for me to excuse myself. Part of me wanted to watch Norn working, but she’d be mad if she caught me. With this sort of thing, it was best just to take a quick look accidentally on purpose, then leave.

I stood up, then—

“Wah!” There was a crash as something bumped into me, and I felt a warm sensation around my middle. Looking down, it was bright red.

“Wh-what the—?!” I shouted without thinking. But it wasn’t like blood was spurting out of me. I’d stood up right into the path of one of the servers and bang, she’d dumped her whole tray—drinks and food and all—onto my front.

“Oh! I-I’m so sorry!”

Still, I shouldn’t have yelled. The server seemed to misinterpret it as me being angry, because she got down on her knees to apologize.

“Y-your clothes, sir, they must have been very expensive…”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess?” 

Okay, the pretext for this outfit had been something that wouldn’t embarrass me among Asuran nobility. It had probably cost a fair bit. But when I spoke, the server’s face turned white.

“I…I beg your p-pardon sir! I should pay for your clothes, but my family is so poor, I couldn’t afford the finery of a noble such as yourself…”

“Oh, no. Don’t worry about it.”

“I can pay with my body, so please, please forgive this! I have two younger sisters. I have to feed them, so please, please, sir!”

Not a good listener, this girl… I thought. Then it happened. A figure loomed behind the waitress as she groveled on the ground. She put a hand on the waitress’ shoulder and ushered her behind her.

“Kierna, I’ll look after the customer. You go out back and get changed.”

“Norn? But…”

“Please leave it to me. I know him.” The waitress called Kierna returned to the back of the shop…and I was left face to face with Norn.

“All right, Big Brother,” she said. “What are you doing here?” Norn had her hands on her hips and was looking at me coldly. Apparently, my disguise wasn’t helping. I ran through a bunch of excuses in my mind, but…it didn’t look like I was getting out of this.

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I have two younger sisters. Both are growing girls, and I have to keep them fed.”

“I am aware.”

“I heard one of them had started a part-time job without telling her family. It made me worry.”

Norn sighed. “A friend came to me asking me to fill in for her, so I said I would. Satisfied?”

“Yep, that’s all your big brother needed to hear. Sorry to bother you at work. I’ll be off, then.”

“You don’t need to go,” Norn said. “Why not stay and enjoy yourself?”

So I took her up on it. I spent the whole day in that cafe watching Norn go about her job. She was a hard worker, and while I saw her messing up a fair bit, she didn’t get panicked or flustered or sulky like she used to. Instead, she calmly got on with the job.

Watching her, I could see how much she’d grown. I went home with a warm and fuzzy feeling.