"Sorry that I can't welcome you."
Amane was led by Kayano towards the snacks making area, the kitchen, learned where the utensils were, and heard various explanations. Itomaki showed up later, and apologized to Amane, looking sorry.
"I remember it was today...and was too relaxed because Souji-kun's with you. Once again, Amane-kun, welcome here. Thank goodness the uniform fits you well. It is exactly as Ayaka-san determined."
"Well, Ayaka got it right, but it's ridiculously right."
Kayano's little murmur had Amane nearly burst out a laugh, but he reined it it, and gently bowed towards Itomaki.
"I'll be in your care, starting today."
"Same for me...erm, you met the others, haven't you?"
"He just met Miyamoto-san once, and hasn't met Oohashi-san. He's brewing coffee at the counter, so I don't think they bumped into each other."
"Well then, just have a look around for now. No customer placed an order yet. Everyone will be working together in the future."
Itomaki smiled magnanimously, *Souji-kun, please swap out with Miyamoto-san and the others outside, *and indicated so to Kayano, before she drifted to the entrance to call for them.
Kayano gave Amane an encouraging pat in the back, and went out.
As Kayano went out, a male and a female entered. The male was called Miyamoto, the one who spoke with them. The girl was in her early twenties, with wavy, fluffy hair. Her distinguishing feature was that she was a fist taller than Chitose, and it was rare to see such a tall girl.
Considering what Kayano had just said, it seemed her name was Oohashi.
"Ah, the kid Kayano-chan just brought over. I heard we got an extra part-timer. Welcome, nice to meet you~"
The woman gave a hearty smile, and passed Amane by, circling him and observing so.
Miyamoto clearly looked bewildered, and sighed away. He grabbed the girl by the neck, and pulled her away from him.
Amane was stunned by the sudden approach, and Miyamoto showed a relaxed smile.
"Ah sorry about that. I'm Daichi Miyamoto, and this fellow here is Rino Oohashi. You can look for us if you got any trouble."
"Don't dismiss me as a fellow. Rino-chan's in a pinch here~Rino-chan's caught and troubled~"
"Then greet him properly before saying anything else."
Miyamoto reproached the displeased Oohashi, and let go of her reluctantly. She sorted out her crooked collar, turned towards Amane once again, and showed an amicable smile.
"Sorry to scare you like that. I'm Rino Oohashi. You can rely on me, kouhai-kun."
"Ermm, Miyamoto-san and Oohashi-san, right? I'm Amane Fujimiya."
"Homu homu, Fujimiya-chan, huh? Got it, got it."
"...She likes to add the chan-suffix. Don't mind too much, Fujimiya-kun."
"We-well, I'm fine with however you call me..."
Amane was not one to bear grudges over a single suffix, and though he did not mind, it just felt amiss to be called with a chan.
Miyamoto sighed, seemingly hinting that he too was suffering. He then turned towards Itomaki, who had been watching them silently.
"So what is Fujimiya-kun doing today?"
"First off, we'll teach him everything n the backend. He probably won't be able to do well if he doesn't understand how that works, even if he's just welcoming customers. Souji-kun will be teaching, and I'll let Fujimiya-kun learn all those."
"Sorry to trouble everyone."
"It's fine. Nobody actually gets down to work immediately after joining, let alone a first timer. Don't mind, we got enough people here."
"Owner, I'm a little skeptical if we really have enough people. The shop's not ridiculously big, but we really are getting a little busy, especially with our numbers...well, you are helping us out here, Fujimiya-kun."
Miyamoto gave a relieving smile, and patted Amane on the shoulder. Amane too smiled, and Itomaki watched on, looking relieved.
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