chapter 31
When we got to the bar, it was 5:02.
A little, a little too late.
It’s not that I’m late because I played too many games, but I started right on time, but I got caught by that guy’s unintentional checkup.
I don’t know why you check so often these days. Did the DCPD even put honey on Asian Town?
It was already the fourth checkpoint in the last few days.
Every time I do this, I get caught in the detection net because of this air purifier mask, and every time the same patrol officer checks my face and identity, I send it out.
The same patrolman I encountered on the Kabuki Building monorail platform on my first day of work.
I didn’t want to see you again, and I thought it would be true… It’s funny, now that we see each other often, I feel like I’m just a ticket inspector rather than a scary patrol officer.
An exceptionally picky ticket inspector.
He was so knowledgeable that he knew that he was already me just by seeing the mask on, but he steadfastly checked his identity again every time.
According to the regulations, those who cover their faces must be unconditionally checked or something.
Thanks to you, I said that I should make it a habit to take off the mask for a while when entering the platform, so I pretended not to and laughed.
This kind of joke seemed to suit my taste.
After sharing a few words of greetings with the DCPD patrol officer, who was now friendly enough to throw jokes without hesitation, it was too late to come right away.
In fact, the opening time is 6 o’clock, so it wasn’t too late.
It’s implicitly an hour before arrival, but it doesn’t mean that you have to be at work by 5 o’clock.
But as soon as I opened the door with a rattling sound and entered the bar, I couldn’t help but wince at the cold gaze I felt.
If you look up, under the soft burgundy light, a woman in a suit vest is looking at you with her chin clenched.
It was Sei, the chief bartender of Dragon’s Rare.
In front of those transparent gray eyes, I unknowingly harden like a mouse in front of a cat.
Even though being two minutes late can happen at any time if something happens on the way to work, I came up with arrogant excuses in my head.
That’s how I rolled my head tight and barely pulled out the words.
“… Can’t you see Tony today?”
Even if I think about it, it sounds like an asshole, but nothing comes to mind other than this.
The person who was always waiting for me there was Tony.
As if he didn’t know I was there, he leaned down on the table and said, ‘Oh, I’m here.’ used to say
I got used to Tony’s indolent gaze, who ignored everything, but on the contrary, I couldn’t get used to standing in front of the cold Sei in everything.
“Tony is in the boss room now.”
Saying my question, Sei tucked into the hallway.
aah-
At the right time, a terrible scream, presumed to be Tony’s, followed by a lively laughter, presumed to belong to Dragon President.
“… What did Tony do wrong? Are you two even wrestling over there?”
I can’t even imagine what kind of story there must be for such a desperate scream to come out.
When asked with a bit of perplexity, Sei calmly licked her red lips.
“No, Duel.”
… Dual?
The Duel I know?
When asked again to confirm, he nodded.
“yes. Augmented reality playing cards. The two of you are drenched these days. Guess they’re trying to figure out who’s more fortunate. It looks like the captain is winning now.”
It’s really exciting every day and it’s a new job.
I heard that augmented reality trading card games are popular among enthusiasts, and there are duelists who build cyber decks and use them to fight brilliantly in real life, but that must have been my colleague and my boss.
No, rather than that, why the hell is that screaming sound when you’re doing a Duel?
Even if it’s not a card game, it’s a life-or-death duel, but I don’t think it’s that much.
For a moment, I was stunned and unable to speak, Sei kindly added an ambiguous explanation.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 minutes. You said you’ll have to decide who’s the best duelist today. I urge you not to disturb me.”
What the hell would a card game take 30 minutes to do?
Is it a multi-win system? Anyone who sees it would know that it was a real competition.
He shook his head and opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Then today… Sei must be teaching me. Because Tony went to a duel with the boss.”
nod.
His head twisted as if he was asking for something, and his hair flowed down in a dazzling light over the suit.
As Sei’s gaze ran past me up and down, he swallowed his saliva and said.
“Then I’ll come wearing a uniform.”
What did he say… okay.
It’s time to mix drinks and change your life.
It’s time to learn how to do that.
* * *
Going to work an hour before the bar opens. It wasn’t just because we had to prepare for the opening.
Every day at this hour, I learn about alcohol and cocktails from the bartenders at Dragon’s Rare.
The ability to brew cocktails is also a type of professional skill, so it was a considerable privilege in itself to be passed on to experts one-on-one.
You get money from the head office, but it’s like getting a salary and learning skills and knowledge.
Just by teaching skills like this straight away, Dragon’s Rare was a top 1% job, comparable to anywhere else in Dusk City.
It was no exaggeration to say that Dragon’s boss boasted a lot with his mouth that he was generous with the welfare of his employees.
Just like when I was talking to Sei, when I talked to the bartenders, I used respectful words, and the bartenders used semi-pronounced words.
As a student in the position of learning, I can’t stop talking to the person teaching me… is an excuse,
It’s easy for me to speak up and I’m used to it.
However, we cannot continue to use respectful words awkwardly, and the sooner the relationship or title is sorted out, the better.
So, first of all, I took the position of a junior and a student and asked me to speak comfortably.
They were both older than me, so there was no sense of difference.
Even the bartenders seemed to be convinced by thinking about the relationship between teachers and disciples in the East, as well as a culture that values teaching.
Also, stereotypes are good to use.
By the way, the reason I learned how to make cocktails wasn’t that I asked him to teach me first.
When I asked Tony who was going to teach me first, he said it was an order from the Dragon president.
There was a special mission to teach them quickly and make them affordable. Thanks to that, every time he taught, he got a double bonus and smiled slyly saying it went well.
It’s like taking me to the bus stop every time I leave work, and at this point, I’m afraid that Dragon’s boss has a lot of expectations for me.
Why are you investing so much in me?
On the first day of work, with the aspirational ‘In a month’s time, you will be eager to accept me as a full-time employee.’ Was it a mistake to shout?
I felt a lot of pressure as I really believed that word and was planning to raise me as an ace employee and bartender at the store.
I had no intention of doing anything like a paycheck, and I was originally going to work hard, but… In this situation, I feel like I have to work a lot harder than I thought, with the determination to bury my bones.
It’s only been about 5 days since we met, and I don’t know what you believe in me and how I treat you so well.
I would have to live up to that expectation properly without betraying it.
Anyway, I think I need to build up my skills as soon as possible without taking it easy, so whenever I have time, I was studying alcoholic beverages through the bar manual.
What I am doing now is part of that learning.
He touches the tie of his uniform and cleans the glasses.
I sat down inside the front table where the bartenders were supposed to be.
When I was still looking around unfamiliar devices, bottles filled with liquids, and metal tools.
Sei opened her mouth as she sat on the seats in front of the table.
“I’ll start when I’m ready.”
A low, husky voice.
Even though I’m looking down from above, I feel a tremendous pressure from the gaze looking up at me.
Originally, Tony, the second-class bartender, had been guiding me on the spot, but today he has disappeared into the world of duels, so the teacher has changed.
And this teacher seems to be a very practical type.
It was a test from the start.
“Americano. you can do it?”
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My hands get sweaty at the question that came in.
Americano.
It is a completely different drink from the watered espresso coffee you might think of when you hear the name.
As far as I can remember, this was some sort of classic cocktail.
The kind that is bitter, high in alcohol, and tasteless. I can’t understand why I’m drinking.
However, when I personally worked, there was a secret demand for these cocktails.
There are also kinky cocktail lovers, like our dragon boss, obsessed with discovering the hidden flavor or scent of bitterness.
There are a lot of thugs, thugs, and machos in this town, so there are a lot of dirty goons who deliberately order classics rather than feminine and sweet cocktails to look like a man.
Anyway, the bottom line is that if you want to work in a bar, you also need to know a lot about classic cocktails.
That’s probably why Seido asked me if I could make an Americano.
Can you do it?
For the past few days, I’ve been going through the list of recipes I’ve memorized, almost cramming into my head.
Obviously I memorized the manual in order, so if it’s Americano, A.
at the top. I remember. It was clearly memorized.
Could.
I had never made it myself, but the brewing method was in my head. You just need to follow this.
As I nodded, Say calmly ordered.
“Two cups of Americano. Make it.”
Yeah, let’s do it as a squad.
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