Chapter 7: "A Deal Over Coffee: Recruiting Azusa"
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The full moon hung high, surrounded by a sky full of dazzling stars.
From where he stood, Akira could just barely make out the glow of Tokyo Tower in the
distance.
He figured it was about time to hire another daytime employee.
That way, he'd have more time to enjoy the wonderful world of Conan.
And no, he wasn't just daydreaming.
After all, the system never specified that only items he personally sold could generate experience
points.
Take right now, for example—
Even though he was kilometers away from the CLOVER convenience store, the experience points on
his interface kept ticking upward.
"Excuse me."
"Would you like to try our newly launched Irish coffee at Poirot Café?"
A soft female voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
He looked up—
A woman with straight black hair and a baby face stood in front of the café, smiling warmly at him.
"Poirot Café?"
Akira's gaze shifted upward.
Before he even realized it, he had somehow wandered right to the building beneath the Mouri
Detective Agency. It instantly reminded him of the steamy night he spent with Mori Ran in the
convenience store's storage room just the night before.
"Sir,"
"Give it a try."
"Our café's coffee will definitely not disappoint you."
Akira recognized her immediately—
This sweet-looking woman in her twenties was none other than Azusa Enomoto, an employee at
Poirot Café and a minor but familiar character in the world of Detective Conan.
An idea suddenly formed in his mind as he looked at her sincere expression.
"Alright!"
"I'll take two cups of your new Irish coffee."
It was nighttime, and the café was completely empty aside from him. That was probably why Azusa
was standing outside promoting so eagerly.
"Of course… sir."
"Please take a seat, and I'll bring it right over."
Akira chose a seat by the window.
Before long—
Azusa returned with two steaming cups of freshly brewed Irish coffee.
"Miss Azusa,"
"This one's for you."
Azusa, who was just about to turn and leave, suddenly froze in place.
It wasn't just because no customer had ever treated her to a coffee before—
More importantly, Akira had casually called her by name.
"Sir… have we met before?"
Azusa carefully searched her memory, certain she had never seen this man before.
"Well, we know each other now, don't we?"
"Have a seat."
Azusa glanced at the coffee on the table and apologized, "I'm sorry, but I'm the only one working
right now. I need to keep an eye on the café."
"I noticed that."
"But as the only customer, don't you think you should be focusing on serving me?"
Azusa was momentarily stunned.
His reasoning was flawless.
Faced with such enthusiasm, she hesitated, then carefully sat across from him. The cup of coffee in
her hands, something she handled countless times a day, suddenly felt heavy.
"So, um…"
"How did you know my name?"
She was genuinely curious.
It wasn't normal for a complete stranger to know her name.
"I happened to pass by the café the other day and overheard someone calling you that."
Akira gave a flawless excuse.
Then, he took a sip of the coffee Azusa had personally made.
"Mm… not bad."
Azusa smiled softly, as if telling him she hadn't exaggerated a single word about its quality.
"Miss Azusa."
"Have you ever thought about switching jobs?"
This was the real reason Akira had come to Poirot Café.
"Switching jobs?"
Azusa furrowed her brows slightly, confusion spreading across her face.
"Yeah."
"Come work at my CLOVER convenience store."
Azusa immediately understood why he had bought her coffee.
"Sorry…"
"I don't really have any plans to change jobs at the moment."
She looked apologetic.
Even the coffee in her hands no longer felt comforting.
"I'll pay you 300,000 yen a month."
Akira had done his research.
A regular café employee like Azusa definitely didn't make more than 300,000 yen a month.
But—
She didn't seem particularly moved by the offer.
"300,000 yen."
"400,000 yen."
"450,000 yen."
"…?"
When Akira's offer reached 500,000 yen, Azusa could no longer sit still.
"Mr. Akira… I'll do it."
She never imagined she'd ever be worth this much.
Forget 500,000 yen—
Even at 300,000 yen, she would've agreed in a heartbeat. 500,000 yen? At that point, she didn't
even need to be treated like a person anymore.
"Miss Azusa."
"Then it's settled."
"Tomorrow morning at 8 AM, we'll meet at CLOVER Convenience Store, located at 5-chome, 9-
bango, Beika Town. Don't be late."
What's that saying? Money makes the world go round?
If he could throw money in Azusa's face and she still refused to take the job, that would've been the
real surprise.
"Mr. Akira."
"Why me?"
This was the question that had been bugging her the entire time.
500,000 yen—
He could hire two employees like her with that money, no?
"Because I was drawn to your sincere attitude when you were working outside just now."
"Is that a good enough reason for you?"
…..