Chapter 36: A Rare Day Off

August 1, 2025, Friday.

Five days have passed since Cola started her part-time job.
Even excluding last week’s four hours, she’s already clocked 16 hours this week.
Since Saturdays are especially busy, Manager Hoshimi Nayuki gave Cola and the others a day off to rest at home, with work resuming tomorrow.

It’s a perfect day to sleep in until evening, but at just past 8 a.m., Cola’s eyes flutter open—her alarm hasn’t even gone off.
Lying on soft tatami, she tilts her head slightly, gazing at the clear blue sky outside the window.
Her new life has barely begun, but she’s already starting to settle in.

“A bed would be nice, though. I’m still more used to sleeping on one…”
Cola mumbles, rolling over and grabbing her phone from the tea table.
“Ugh… crap, didn’t charge it last night. Only 30% left…”

Despite the worry, the air-conditioned room makes the sunlight streaming in feel cozy, leaving her too lazy to grab the charger from the desk.
With a mindset of “I’ll get up when it hits 20%,” Cola starts her daily routine, flicking through social apps like a checklist.
Tieba, Weibo, Zhihu, WeChat, QQ, LINE…

She checks Japan’s natural disaster alerts last. Yesterday mentioned a one-meter tsunami hitting the coast, but it’s irrelevant to Maebashi—far from the sea, it stays sunny as if nothing happened, even if a tsunami and typhoon hit together.

In QQ, she sees chaos from last night. Too tired to text, she sent a voice message, sparking a frenzy among her gaming buddies. Some guessed it was her girlfriend, others asked where she got a voice changer, and one joked she’d been to Thailand. But one guy, ever the analyst, listed evidence proving their long-time gaming bro is actually a girl.
Cola scrolls through the chat, too drained to retort.

“Qingguo’s full of slander cases daily, and these idiots are out here chasing T0 builds…”
She rolls her eyes, closes QQ, and checks LINE. Liuli sent a message at 5 a.m.—clearly pulling another gaming all-nighter.

“Gotta go to the hospital for a checkup tomorrow, but I haven’t slept. What do I do…”

“You up yet?”
Cola replies, not expecting an answer, but Liuli sends a pink-haired girl clutching her head emoji.

“Haha, dead tired?”

“Dying…”

“It’s just a quick checkup.”

“But I’m visiting my grandparents’ place after….”

“Back late tonight?”

“Yeah… so sleepy.”

“Nap on the way.”

Liuli doesn’t reply—probably passed out.

There’s also a message from Saeko, sent ten minutes ago:
“Phone’s dead, what do I do??”

“Charge it!”

“I’m out…”

“You didn’t charge it last night?”

“Yeah…”

“No choice, rent a power bank at a convenience store.”

“Ugh, my money…”

“Where are you?”

“Akihabara.”

“Doing what?”

“Maid café gig!”

“You’ve got a ton of side hustles.”

“It’s temp, but pays well, hehe…”

“So broke, huh?”

“Money solves all problems! Rich folks wouldn’t get it!”

“I kinda get it now…”
Cola smacks her lips, remembering how she used to complain about her mom only covering living expenses with a bit of pocket money. Now, footing her own bills, those days feel luxurious…

Her phone’s at 19%. She drags herself up, muttering, “Apple’s battery life sucks. Barely used it these past few days.”
Plugging it in, she turns off the AC and steps out.
“Not even that hot outside.”

Clouds drift across the sky, softening the sun’s glare, and a cool breeze blows through the window.
After a quick wash, Cola grabs a slice of toast from the fridge, squirts on some ketchup, folds it, and perches on the living room windowsill.
This is her daily breakfast.
Thanks to her new body’s small appetite, one slice leaves her half-full. A glass of water stretches it further—if she stays home and doesn’t move much, she can skip lunch and eat in the afternoon, saving dinner.

“A rare day off… Maybe hit the secondhand store across the street. So close, yet I haven’t been since moving here. Let’s see… a cheap bed would be nice. Anything else? Oh, there’s no dining table in the living room. A table might be pricey at a secondhand shop, though. Maybe check online—heard some used furniture’s free…”

Muttering, she hops off the sill, grabs her keys from the shoe cabinet, slips on sandals, and heads out.
Seeing the world through a window is one thing, but stepping outside feels entirely different.
She takes a deep breath of morning air—not fresh, but less stuffy than indoors.
Fluffy white clouds look like cotton, almost touchable.
The serene scene makes her stand on tiptoe, imagining her old height.
“Hm… back then, I probably had to duck through doors. This height’s kinda convenient in Japan…”

No real plan, just browsing the secondhand store. Buying something? Eh, doesn’t matter.
She strolls leisurely downstairs, crosses the street, and reaches the shop.
The first floor’s a supermarket; upstairs is BOOKOFF. The name suggests used books, but it’s got everything—books, figures, furniture, appliances, electronics, a full-on mall.

Cola’s been to secondhand shops before, but none this big.
Stepping off the elevator, she spots used instruments at the entrance—good ones in glass cases, worn ones on the walls.
Some are rusty, others look brand-new.
Alone but buzzing with excitement, Cola presses against a glass case.
“Whoa, isn’t this Yui’s guitar from K-On?! Looks so new—only 100,000 yen! Damn, why don’t I play guitar?!”

The instrument section alone dazzles her—guitars, basses, keyboards, even drum sets. For beginners, these are solid picks, she thinks.
Beyond that is the used book and anime section.
Manga for 100 yen, in great condition.
And, of course, a curtained-off 18+ section, pulling at her curiosity. She edges closer.

“Uh, sorry, no minors allowed,” a staff member sorting shelves says, offering an apologetic smile.

“How do you know I’m a minor?”
Cola snaps back, defiant.

“Oh, sorry. Do you have a student ID or something proving you’re an adult?”

“…N-No…”
Her bravado crumbles.

“Sorry, you don’t look of age…”

“Tch, wasn’t interested anyway…!”
She huffs, storming off—mostly to hide her embarrassment.
As a guy, she’d have been an adult, waltzing in no problem.

“Damn, can’t restock my stash. Stuck rereading the same ones…?”
Cola sighs, dejected.
Online’s an option, but physical books hit different, and her current body’s years from legal age—not until senior year of high school…
Grumbling about being a girl, she wanders into the used electronics section.

For retro tech fans, this place is paradise. Tons of stuff from a decade or two ago, even a box of DDR2 RAM sticks.
In a DDR5-dominated world, who knows where these are still used.
“Whoa, so many old laptops. Man, these designs are classic.”

Not a retro tech nerd, Cola still pauses to gawk.
Each laptop has a spec tag, listing issues—the more problems, the cheaper.
“This chunky thing’s gotta be 20 years old, right? So big…”
Cola stands on tiptoe, eyeing a top-shelf item.
“Huh? 500 yen, dirt cheap…! But it doesn’t turn on. No way I can fix it…”

“Need help?”
A cool, familiar voice cuts in.

“Nah, just looking…”
Cola waves it off, turning to see the girl and freezing.
“Eh… Class Prez…?”

“Quantum-san.”
She nods lightly.
“Saw your hair and wondered if it was you.”

“You here… shopping?”

“I work here.”

“Oh, got it…”

“I’m in charge of this section. Want anything? I can grab it.”

Facing the girl half a head taller, Cola shakes her head fiercely.
“No need! I can reach everything!”

“…No need to push yourself.”

Her sudden pride makes her eyes widen.
“I’m not pushing myself!”