It’s been a minute, hasn’t it?
Maybe I should apply for a part-time job, since I have the chance?
The choice is left up to the player. Choosing not to essentially skips a little side plot, which is nice if you’re on your third or fourth replay and kind of done with that segment - there’s no bearing on the rest of the plot, except for a little decision very early on in it. Since this is our first time, though, why not?
I think I saw a flier at the station hiring highschool students over the summer… It was the cafe, right?
Well, it’s cozy-looking enough, anyway.
“Oh, my!”
A distinguished, grey-blue bird greets us.
“If you could come back at noo—”
“Oh! Sorry! I was here to ask about the job.”
The proprietor of the cafe is an extremely elegant parakeet. A true gentlebird, without a doubt. This must be what people mean when they refer to a “mature attractiveness!”
Please, try not to fall for everyone you meet, protagonist.
All the students at school are young and hyper, and the most dignified birds there are the teachers!
“Oh, is that right? Forgive me.”
“I am called Urushihara Kenzaburou. I am the owner of Torimi Cafe.”
“I’m Thielle Tera.”
“Welcome, miss Tera. I hadn’t expected a human…”
“Um, are you going to interview me…?”
“I do not see any need to test such a wonderful young lady’s desire to work here. And I believe you will be much more capable than I at moving the boxes of coffee and tea about.”
I mean, we have some significant advantages in that department. Like… arms.
“I’ll be glad to!”
After all, I am a 840-vitality girl!
In case you were wondering, yes, that is our current Vitality stat.
“I shall be relying on you for this summer, then, miss Tera. It is perhaps a little sudden, but could you start tomorrow?”
“Of course!”
“I am glad. I shall be waiting for you here in my cage. Tomorrow, then, miss Tera.”
I wish getting jobs were that easy.
“Good morning, sir!”
“Let me start by showing you where everything is. I’m sure you’ll be able to remember everything soon, so please ask if you can’t find something.”
He shows me around the cafe, explaining everything inside. The shop is small and he keeps everything very tidy, so I’ll be able to remember it all.
“Well, then. What do you think?”
“It’s very nice! I almost want to move in!”
“Come, now, it’s far too plain for a young lady such as yourself!”
Is he hitting on us? (We can’t romance him either. Sorry?)
“Actually, compared to my hou—”
Before the protagonist can detail her spartan living conditions, someone familiar bursts into the cafe.
“Excuse me…!”
Oh, hey Ryouta.
“Ryouta!?”
“Tera? Wh-what are you doing here?”
“A friend of yours, miss Tera?”
“Oh, yes. This is Ryouta. You came for the job too, Ryouta?”
“Yeah, I saw that it starts at noon, so I thought I could fit it in after my other job… But if you’ve already got the position then that’s that.”
Ryouta is a hard worker. Possibly too hard of a worker.
“Umm… mister Urushihara, could you use two people…?”
“Hmm… Sadly, my cage is too small to have that much work to do.”
Here you can choose to give up the job to Ryouta, or carry on as you did, in fact, get in first and get hired already. For now, we’re putting aside our longstanding friendship in the interests of actually showing off this side story.
“Umm… I’m sorry, Ryouta, but I really want to do this.”
“Don’t worry about it, Tera. I’ve got a couple more places to check.”
“Perhaps some other time. I will be here, if you are looking for something later on.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, sir. Have fun, Tera!”
Ryouta is really too kind. Maybe in some other timeline we’ll let him have the job. He deserves it.
Almost opening time. I’m kind of nervous, but I’m not about to mess up after taking the job from Ryouta! I wonder who the first customer of my life will be…
A budgerigar steps in the door. The first customer of my life… A young man who doesn’t quite suit the atmosphere of the cafe. I was hoping for somebirdie who’d raise a few more flags! Maybe a white peacock.
Is that… sarcasm?
“Welcome! Would you like a bath? Or a meal? Or maybe you’d like mister Urushihara?”
“I’ll take Kenzaburou… Hey, wait just a minute, now!”
Yes! A perfect delayed reaction!
That’s really rude. Don’t pick on your customers like that.
“Oh, hello, Rabu. This is Rabu, miss Tera. A regular customer.”
“I’m something of an important figure here. See this card? 206 stamps.”
Amazing. Is he a cafe-addict?
“Hey, what was with that when I came in?”
“I’ve wanted to provoke that reaction out of someone with a Kansai accent since I was a little girl! Thank you, mister Rabu! Thanks to you, my dream has come true and I can die happy!”
I’m a little shaky on my Japanese Cultural Backgrounding here but as I understand, the Kansai accent is (very) roughly translatable as equivalent in some ways to a southern US accent, though not strictly equivalent in tone. I’m not much of a TVTropes fan but the page on Kansai accent and associated stereotypes is, if nothing else, more informative than I can be. Regardless, it’s kind of a throwaway gag in this instance, though it might provide a little insight into what Rabu’s overall character is supposed to be like.
“Y’all lost me on the roadside, there. Well, that’s how it is. Tera, right? That seat there is my private property. Y’all remember that, now.”
“A new encounter in the little birdcage… today is a good day. I shall make some coffee to celebrate. Please, sit down, both of you.”
And so the three of us enjoyed an early afternoon pot of coffee. Wait, aren’t I supposed to be working?
You tell me.
On my own, of course! Riding the stormy waves of life alone is what we humans are all about.
The protagonist has some… interesting preconceptions and ideals.
“Hey, human.”
We’re accosted by a very rough-looking customer…
Real rough.
“Wha…”
Suddenly, I’m surrounded by a bunch of unkempt pigeons.
“You go to St. Pigeonation’s, don’t you.”
I swear on my life that is the character name the dialog displays. A few more similar mean birds approach.
“I bet a rich little girl like you gets a lot of pocket money from daddy, huh?”
“Rich little girl going to a fancy school, thinks she’s so great.”
“Gh…!”
Darn it, I… I can’t tell them apart! I can pick Ryouta out of a crowd about eighty percent of the time, but rock doves I’ve just met all look the same!
That’s racist. Though in this case, possibly understandable, considering these ones are all copy-pasted.
“Do you have some business with me? If not, go away!”
“Hey, that’s not nice. Show us some cash, first.”
“Cash.”
They buff up their chests, threateningly.
“Dumb punks! Picking on girls in the park is a good way to get ostracized for life.”
“What?”
“What!?”
“You little—”
They’re angry now. My hunter-gatherer instincts can feel a fight coming.
I mean, I don’t think you did a stellar job of defusing the situation, either.
Three pigeons on my own… Can I win this…?
The situation looks grim, and everything fades to black, when suddenly…
Slam! THUD!
”!?”
The work of a moment. A dim figure flits out of the shadows, and an instant later two of the doves are on the ground. And the grand victor is—
She may drive slow, but she kicks ass fast.
“That was close, Tera. Are you sure you should be out this late?”
“What the f—! Who are you!?”
“Me? Well…”
“I’m the takoyaki lady!”
The dove collapses before the might of Azami’s magnificent kick.
What a one-liner.
“S-sorry, Azami! I let my guard down!”
“Easy for a kid to do. Life lesson! Always be prepared! Speak softly, and drive a Sherman tank!”
Laugh hard, it’s a long way to the bank. Sorry, I’ll leave the gratuitous references to the game itself.
She’s so cool! I think I’m in love…!
Seriously, it’s a crime that there’s no real Azami route. But, I guess the name of the game isn’t Hatoful Girlfriend, after all.
“Umm, Azami? I’m working at a cafe near here over the summer. Could I treat you to something sometime, as thanks?”
“Is that part of your credo, kid? Good by me.”
Azami takes the proffered flier, mounts her trusty scooter, and putts off into the darkness. A heroic entrance, and a cool exit! I hope I can be like her when I grow up!
Me too. On that note, I think we’ll leave it there for now. I’ll try and round out the summer in the next day or two, hopefully. Until next time, everybirdie!