"Good work, everyone!"
As 5:00 PM approached, the flow of customers both on the street and inside the store dropped significantly, signaling that the busiest part of the day was finally over. The other two clerks clocked out one after another, leaving him and Kayo to continue minding the shop.
He and the other two clerks were all temporary workers, but he was a full-time temp, while the other two were students working part-time, usually for only three to six hours a day.
After the peak period, there were only a few scattered customers, and things entered a more relaxed phase. He finally had time to temporarily pull his thoughts away from reality and continue pondering the previous question about drawing manga.
He wasn't averse to the idea of drawing manga itself; in fact, he had once shared that dream. His only concern was the immense workload of weekly serialization and the resulting physical and mental fatigue and illness.
However, with the powerful combination of his cheat ability and the Original Owner's drawing talent, his only concern was mostly dispelled.
Furthermore, his current goal was to achieve financial freedom, and drawing manga could also accomplish that. Adding the fact that becoming a manga artist was the Original Owner's dying wish, after considering everything, he felt the final choice was already obvious.
He would draw.
But once the decision was finally made, the next question immediately followed.
What should he draw?
"I'm back. Mochizuki-kun, go have your dinner."
Kayo walked in from outside and smiled at him.
Since someone always had to be watching the store, meal breaks were taken in turns.
"Ah, okay."
He happened to be a bit hungry as well, so he paused his thinking, took off his work apron, and went out to find food.
He quickly filled his stomach at a random noodle shop. With half of his hour-long break still remaining, he didn't return to the bookstore immediately but sat down to rest on a nearby street bench.
Sitting down, he rubbed his slightly aching calves and lamented,
"This truly is an evil capitalist society!"
Their bookstore didn't have a single stool, and there was an explicit rule that employees weren't allowed to sit during work hours. Standing there for several hours straight was like being a damn ghost.
And this wasn't an isolated case; it was the norm for most shops.
His current condition was alright because the Original Owner had already worked there for a while, and his body had adapted quite a bit; the pain wasn't as intense as it had been at the start.
In the Original Owner's memories, during the first few weeks of work, his legs, feet, and even his waist had ached so much it felt like he was dying.
After rubbing them for a while and feeling the ache subside slightly, he gave a long stretch to loosen his tired body, then leaned lazily against the bench, letting his mind go blank for a moment to quietly enjoy this brief moment of rest.
It was dusk, but unfortunately, the sunset couldn't be seen in Akihabara with its forest of skyscrapers; one could only see the clouds dyed red by the afterglow and the sunlight piercing through the gaps between the tall buildings.
Pedestrians on the street had also thinned out, making it feel a bit lonely.
But in a little while, when night fell and the streetlights of Akihabara and the various neon signs on the commercial buildings lit up, it would be a completely new landscape.
"Speaking of which..."
At that moment, Akira seemed to suddenly think of something. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a palm-sized sketchbook and a mechanical pencil. This was the sketchbook the Original Owner usually carried for gathering materials.
This action didn't have any particular purpose; he simply wanted to try sketching.
When he was a child, he had watched a Hong Kong drama called My Date with a Vampire. In one episode, the male lead came to Tokyo for work, and a scene where he sat on a Tokyo street with a small notebook drawing left a deep impression on him.
Now, he had the ability to recreate that scene a bit.
He didn't need to make drafts or use auxiliary lines, nor did he need to repeatedly look up to compare with the real scene. The streetscape before him was already deeply engraved in his mind; all he had to do was summarize the complex reality in his head into concise lines.
Then, he set pen to paper.
He took a deep breath, and the tip of the pencil began to dance across the paper. He drew line after line without hesitation, and the outline of the streetscape, identical to what was before him, gradually emerged on the paper, becoming clearer and clearer.
The entire drawing process was done in one go, without a hint of hesitation or stagnation, just like a precise and efficient printer.
Come to think of it, his current drawing style seemed like that of Kim Jung Gi, a famous Korean artist. They could both complete a composition in their heads without relying on drafts and then accurately express the images from their minds.
He had seen videos recording Kim Jung Gi's drawing process, and he had to admit it was truly incredible.
And now, he didn't seem to be any worse.
Akira looked at his sketch. It was a highly summarized streetscape composed purely of lines and shadows, refined from a vast amount of complex real-world elements, yet it still looked no different from the actual street scene.
It's drawn so well.
Even though the drawing was his own work, he was still a bit amazed by it.
If nothing else, with this level of drawing skill alone, he could never be short of money in this life, right?
That being said, it seemed it was time to go back to work.
Thinking of this, he sighed helplessly, but just then he suddenly noticed a stranger's figure had appeared beside him at some point.
He turned to look, and the moment he saw her clearly, he was slightly stunned.
It was a beautiful girl.
She was wearing a white linen shirt and gray jeans, very simple and clean. Her thick, smooth long hair flowed down to her shoulders like a waterfall, framing her fair face into a small and delicate shape. However, the slight pursing of her lips gave off a cold, "do not disturb" vibe.
Additionally, the guitar on her back and the suitcase-sized speaker she was dragging with her right hand were also very eye-catching.
It's her.
The Original Owner's memories quickly surfaced in his mind, though they weren't particularly deep.
The girl before him had likely arrived in Akihabara after the Original Owner had already been working at the bookstore for a while; she was a street singer who specifically came here to perform.
However, since the Original Owner wasn't interested in music and was obsessed with drawing manga, he had only seen her from a distance a few times on his way home from work. He had never approached to listen to her sing, let alone had any interaction with her.
The only thing that left a relatively deep impression on the Original Owner was that among all the street singers in Akihabara, as long as this girl was present, she always had the most listeners gathered around her. She seemed quite popular.
So...
"May I help you with something?"
"...It's nothing."
Hearing his question, she shook her head and said,
"I was just passing by, and... you draw very well."
"Ah, thank you."
Akira realized that she had likely been passing by by chance, noticed him drawing, and paused for a moment to watch.
He felt a bit strange because in his previous life, he was just an ordinary person. Most of the time, he was like the girl before him, the one watching others.
Being watched and praised by someone because of a talent he displayed was a first for him.
Their conversation ended there. The girl gave him a slight nod of acknowledgment and prepared to leave.
But then he thought about it and spoke up to stop her.
"Please wait a moment."
"?"
The girl stopped and looked back, her expression somewhat puzzled.
He stood up from the bench, tore the sketch of the streetscape from his notebook, and handed it to her, saying,
"If you don't mind, please take this."
"Eh? Is it okay?"
The girl's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this, her expression one of surprise.
"Of course, it's not anything precious."
This sketch was essentially a whim, a small tribute, and the drawing itself didn't have much meaning; it would probably just gather dust if it stayed with him. In that case, it was better to give it to someone who appreciated it.
"Then, I'll take it."
The girl temporarily set the speaker box aside and very formally took the drawing with both hands. She couldn't help but gaze at the streetscape in the drawing for a moment before carefully putting it into her inner coat pocket.
Seeing that the girl seemed to really like the drawing, he felt he had indeed made the right choice.
With this drawing in her hands, it would probably be well cherished.
"Well then."
This time, it was he who nodded to the girl and turned to leave.
After all this, his break was almost over, and it was time to go back to work.
"..."
The girl stood where she was, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes as she watched his retreating back. After a moment, she also turned and left.
As the sun completely set, the dim streetlights and brilliant neon signs of Akihabara lit up one after another, as if entering a completely different world. The number of pedestrians on the street increased once again.
From 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM was Akihabara's second peak flow period. Although the volume was far less than in the afternoon, most of them were office workers who had just finished work, and their spending power was not lacking at all.
This time period was when Akihabara's izakayas, maid cafes, game centers, convenience stores, and other shops were busiest. At the same time, many street singers began to appear, giving Akihabara a different kind of atmosphere from the daytime.
Their bookstore could also share in a bit of the excitement, but not much.
So at 8:00 PM, the bookstore closed on time. Next came the trivial tasks of unboxing and restocking, inventory and accounting, cleaning and locking up, and so on. Since they no longer had to receive customers, the work didn't have to be as strict as during the day; they could relax a bit.
"Mochizuki-kun, thanks for your hard work today. Get home safely."
Kayo waved goodbye with a smile, but as the store manager, she still had some work to finish and had to stay in the store for a while longer.
"I understand."
Akira nodded. Looking at Kayo, who still had to keep busy, he also said,
"You've worked hard too, Store Manager."
"Thank you."
Kayo said with a beaming smile,
"But I'm actually okay. After all, the assistant manager will be coming to take over my shift soon, and I'll be able to have three days off in a row."
"..."
Alright, pretend he didn't say anything.
Walking toward the subway station, although many shops on the street had already closed, the maid cafes and izakayas were in the middle of booming business. There were also many office workers on the road chatting and laughing with their companions, creating a different kind of liveliness against the backdrop of the brilliant neon signs.
Just then, Akira suddenly noticed many passersby gathering by the roadside, and from the center of the crowd came music he was very familiar with—