I woke up that morning with a sense of purpose I hadn't felt since becoming human.
Not excitement, exactly. More like... anticipation. The feeling of a predator that had just spotted prey.
[System: You're in a good mood. That's suspicious.]
Just wait, I thought, getting dressed. Just wait and see.
The contract sat folded in my pocket, and I touched it occasionally like a talisman. My secret weapon. My way out of this hell.
Well, not completely out. But at least I'd get some satisfaction.
I reported to the kitchen as usual. Agatha was already there, looking over inventory with that calculating expression she always wore.
"Morning, Hitomi," she said without looking up. "Dishes first, then the storage room needs organizing. After that—"
"Understood," I said pleasantly.
She glanced at me, surprised. I was never this agreeable in the morning.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Never better!" I grabbed a rag and headed to the dish basin.
Behind me, I heard Agatha mutter something about "finally learning her place."
Oh, Agatha, I thought, scrubbing a plate with more enthusiasm than necessary. You have no idea.
I worked normally through the morning. Dishes, floors, tables—all the usual degrading tasks. But unlike previous days, I wasn't just going through the motions mindlessly.
I was observing.
The sun rose at about 6:30 AM. I'd noted that when I'd woken up.
I glanced out the kitchen window. The sun was climbing steadily toward its peak. I estimated it was around 10 AM now.
Good. Plenty of time.
I kept working, but my mind was racing through calculations. Sunset in this season would be around... 5:30 PM? Maybe 6:00 if I was being generous.
The contract said "dawn to dusk."
Not "business hours." Not "until closing." Not "until Agatha says you can leave."
Dawn. To. Dusk.
I smiled into the dishwater.
[System: Why do I feel like something terrible is about to happen?]
Terrible for Agatha, you mean.
[System: ...Oh no.]
Lunch came and went. I ate quickly, noting the sun's position. 1:00 PM, approximately.
The afternoon shift started. More customers filtered in—the early dinner crowd, people grabbing food between errands. Nothing like the evening rush, but busy enough that I was running back and forth between tables.
"Hitomi! Table five needs water!"
"Table three wants their bill!"
"Did table seven order the soup or the stew?!"
I handled it all with unusual cheerfulness. Even when a customer got snippy about his order taking too long, I just smiled and apologized.
Agatha noticed.
"You're in a good mood today," she said, suspicious.
"Just happy to be working!" I lied cheerfully.
Her eyes narrowed, but she couldn't exactly complain about me being pleasant.
I checked the sun again. 3:00 PM. The light was starting to slant differently, taking on that golden quality that meant afternoon was transitioning to evening.
Soon.
By 5:00 PM, the dinner rush was starting to build.
Adventurers were filtering in, fresh from the guild. The kitchen was heating up, literally and figuratively, as the cook shouted orders and servers scrambled to keep up.
"Hitomi! Four ales to table two!"
"Table six needs the special, extra bread!"
"Where's table nine's order?!"
I moved efficiently, carrying trays, dodging other servers, keeping an eye on the chaos.
And on the windows.
The sun was getting low now. The light coming through the tavern windows was distinctly orange.
5:15 PM.
5:20 PM.
I was carrying a tray of dirty dishes back to the kitchen when I saw it.
The sun touched the horizon.
I stopped mid-step.
Set the tray down on the nearest table.
And removed my apron.
"Hitomi?" One of the other servers—a girl named Lisa—stared at me. "What are you doing?"
"My shift is over," I said simply.
"What? But it's the dinner rush! We're slammed!"
"Dawn to dusk," I said, folding the apron neatly. "My contracted hours are dawn to dusk. The sun has set. Therefore, I'm done."
Lisa's mouth fell open. "You can't be serious."
"Completely serious."
"But—but there are tables waiting! Orders to deliver! Dishes to—"
"Not my problem." I smiled sweetly. "My work day has ended."
I turned and walked toward the back room where I'd been sleeping—a tiny storage space with a bedroll, but it technically counted as my "room" per the contract.
"HITOMI!"
Agatha's voice cut through the tavern noise like a knife.
I stopped but didn't turn around. "Yes?"
"Get back to work. Now."
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
Heavy footsteps. Agatha appeared in front of me, her face red. "What do you mean, you can't?"
"My shift has ended."
"Your shift ends when I SAY it ends!"
"Actually," I pulled out the contract, unfolding it slowly for maximum effect, "my shift ends at dusk." I pointed to the relevant section. "Right here. 'Mandatory work hours from dawn to dusk.' Dawn was 6:30 this morning. Dusk was—" I glanced at the window where the last sliver of sun was disappearing. "—approximately four minutes ago."
Agatha snatched the contract from my hands and read it.
I watched her expression change.
Confusion. Then comprehension. Then rage.
"This—this is a technicality!"
"It's the contract," I said mildly. "That you wrote. And that I signed."
"Dawn to dusk means business hours!"
"Does it? Because 'business hours' and 'dawn to dusk' are two different things. If you meant business hours, you should have specified business hours." I tilted my head. "But you didn't. You said dawn to dusk. Which is a specific, measurable time period based on the position of the sun."
The kitchen had gone quiet. Other workers were peeking out, watching the confrontation.
Agatha's jaw was clenched so tight I could hear her teeth grinding. "You think you're clever."
"I think I'm following the contract. Exactly as written."
"You're trying to get out of work!"
"I'm not getting out of work. I worked from dawn—6:30 AM—until dusk—5:24 PM. That's nearly eleven hours. I fulfilled my contractual obligations." I smiled. "I'm just not working extra hours for free anymore."
"The dinner rush—"
"—happens after dusk. Which means after my contracted work hours. If you want me to work during the dinner rush, we'll need to renegotiate my contract to reflect actual business hours rather than solar positioning."
[System: Holy shit, she's actually doing it.]
[System: I'm genuinely impressed.]
Agatha stared at me. I stared back, keeping my expression pleasant and professional.
The silence stretched.
"Fine," Agatha finally said, her voice dangerously quiet. "FINE. Your shift is 'over.' But tomorrow morning, you'd better be in that kitchen at dawn. The EXACT moment the sun rises."
"Of course," I said agreeably. "That's what the contract says."
She thrust the contract back at me and stormed off, shouting at the other workers to pick up the slack.
I folded the contract carefully and tucked it back into my pocket.
Then I walked to my tiny storage room, closed the door, and allowed myself a moment of pure, triumphant satisfaction.
I'd done it.
I'd actually done it.
Sure, I'd have to wake up at actual dawn tomorrow, which was going to be miserable. And Agatha was definitely going to try to find a way to counter this. And I was still in massive debt.
But for right now, in this moment, I'd won.
I'd found a loophole in her exploitative contract and driven her absolutely crazy with it.
And it felt amazing.
[System: Congratulations! Achievement Unlocked - "Malicious Compliance Master"]
[System: +10 Karma for technically following the rules while being infuriating!]
[System: Current Karma: -10000000000000000000000013]
Wait, I got karma for this?
[System: The universe appreciates a good loophole! Also, you're forcing Agatha to be more fair in her contracts, which is technically a good deed. Inadvertently. But still counts!]
I lay down on my bedroll, staring at the ceiling.
Ten karma wasn't much. It was a drop in an ocean of negativity.
But it was something.
And more importantly, I'd proven something to myself.
I might be weak. I might be trapped. I might have the worst luck in existence and a debt that would take over a year to pay off.
But I wasn't helpless.
I had my brain. And that was something Agatha couldn't take away.
This is just the beginning, I thought, already planning my next move. She wants to exploit me? Fine. I'll exploit every single loophole in that contract until she begs me to leave.
From the main room, I could hear Agatha shouting orders and the chaos of an understaffed dinner rush.
I smiled.
Sweet, sweet chaos.
The next morning came way too early.
[System: Good morning! Sunrise in 5 minutes!]
I groaned and rolled over. "Kill me."
[System: Can't do that! You have dishes to wash!]
I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen. The sky was just barely starting to lighten—that pre-dawn grayness where you couldn't quite see colors yet.
Agatha was already there, of course. She looked like she hadn't slept. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she was drinking something that smelled like very strong coffee.
"Morning," I said, perhaps a bit too cheerfully.
She glared at me over her mug.
"I'm here at dawn," I continued. "As contracted."
"Get to work," she growled.
I got to work.
But I was also watching. Planning. The contract had more than just the dawn-to-dusk clause. There were other sections I hadn't fully explored yet.
One day off per week assuming good behavior.
Employee is responsible for any damages to property.
Employee may not leave premises during work hours without permission.
Each one was a potential loophole waiting to be exploited.
I just had to be clever about it.
[System: I can see you scheming.]
Good. I'm not even trying to hide it.
[System: Agatha is going to rewrite that contract, you know.]
Let her try. I'll find loopholes in the new one too.
[System: This is either going to end very well or very badly.]
Probably badly, I admitted. But at least it'll be entertaining.
I scrubbed a plate, watching the sun fully rise through the window.
Dawn to dusk.
Eleven hours today, assuming sunset stayed consistent.
That meant I had eleven hours to work, yes.
But also eleven hours to observe. To plan. To find every tiny crack in Agatha's system of exploitation.
And then?
Then I'd wedge those cracks wide open.
Agatha thought she could trap me in debt and work me to death.
She'd forgotten one crucial detail.
I was Truck-kun. The legendary isekai delivery service. I'd outsmarted hundreds of humans in my time.
What was one tavern owner compared to that?
I smiled into the dishwater.
Game on, Agatha.
Game on.