Even if you're a corrupted magical girl, you still have to try to redeem yourself.

But the other party must be the store manager who interviewed me.

"Oh, I see. Please have a seat."

After a long pause, the store manager finally spoke softly and politely.

Yuuki Yuen pulled out a bar stool in front of the bar and nervously sat down in what she thought was the most polite and natural way.

However, the shop manager did not sit down with Yuki Yuki. Instead, he turned around, took a can of coffee beans from the shelf behind the bar, scooped a spoonful into the grinder, and poured it into the grinder.

The shop manager didn't speak first, so Yuki Yuki naturally didn't rush to speak either. She just rested her hands on the counter and watched the shop manager start grinding the coffee.

Even though it might spoil the mood, Yuuki En once used a hand-cranked meat grinder to grind onions, which works on the same principle as a coffee grinder.

Although Yuki Yuki made the same movements as the shop manager when grinding beans while operating the meat grinder, it was far less pleasing to the eye than when the shop manager operated it.

As the shop manager turned the handle of the coffee grinder, the slight hissing sound of the coffee beans tumbling and rubbing between the grinder rims and the soft cracking sound of the coffee beans being ground created a unique rhythm.

At first, the sound was soft, like fine raindrops falling on leaves, or like the sound of wind chimes when Yuuki Yukino opened the door.

Gradually, the sound of rain seemed to grow louder, eventually becoming a continuous chorus, but it didn't annoy people. Instead, it felt as pleasant as snuggling in bed and watching the raindrops dripping from the eaves.

The sound stopped, and amidst the soft rustling, the shopkeeper poured coffee powder, carrying a faint coffee aroma, into the siphon pot.

With a click, a delicate lighter ignited the alcohol lamp beneath the siphon pot, heating the clear liquid inside.

Just like the meat grinder that Yuuki suddenly thought of, Yuuki understood every step the shopkeeper took, and could even explain its principle accurately.

However, if Yuuki Yuki were to operate it herself, she could only produce an experiment with minimal error, rather than a richly extracted cup of coffee.

"Pleasing to the eye" is the second time Yuki En has used this phrase to describe the store manager's actions.

Whether it's the water bubbling evenly in the lower pot, the color gradually becoming richer as it's drawn into the upper pot, or the liquid slowly flowing back after extraction, it's all pleasing to the eye.

Okay, this is the third time already.

Yuuki Yuen didn't understand why the shop manager was doing all this in front of her. Maybe he was demonstrating how to make coffee, maybe he was testing her patience, or maybe he was simply preparing for the interview.

Or has the interview already started? Who knows?

Aside from the gradually intensifying aroma of coffee, all that remained was the ticking of the old-fashioned wall clock, which seemed out of step with the times.

Finally, the extracted coffee was poured into a coffee cup by the shop manager, and placed on a plate along with sugar, milk, and a spoon, before being pushed towards Yuuki Yukino.

"Thank you." Yuuki Yuuki glanced at the steaming coffee in front of her.

"You're welcome, let's just chat casually."

The shop manager poured the remaining half of the pot into another coffee cup, held the cup directly to his lips, and before his lips touched the rim, he raised his eyelids to look in Yuuki Yuki's direction.

"Why don't you try it first?"

Yuki Yukina also picked up her coffee cup and carefully took a sip.

"what about the taste?"

Is this part of the interview?

Describe the taste of the coffee yourself: what are the aromas of this coffee bean, what are the secrets to roasting it, and what are its shortcomings?

But Yuuki Yui knew nothing about coffee.

Yuki Yuki took another sip, the sour and bitter taste spreading from the tip of her tongue to the back, accompanied by the rich aroma of the coffee itself, somewhat like the smell of aged wood after it has been burned, but it's hard to describe in detail.

"It tastes great."

"Is that all you have to say?" The shopkeeper chuckled, seemingly never expecting Yuuki Yukino to give such an answer.

"Yes, I don't know much about coffee, but it really is delicious," Yuuki Yuen admitted frankly.

Instead of pretending to know what you don't in front of experts, it's better to humbly learn.

Yuuki Eri now has the time and patience to learn humbly, and starting to change from here is a good opportunity.

"If you don't understand coffee, why do you want to work here?" the manager continued. "Have you worked elsewhere before?"

"No," Yuuki Yui replied truthfully.

Amidst the back-and-forth casual conversation, this not-quite-formal interview had already begun.

"Are you in the third grade?" the store manager asked.

“That’s right, third year.” Yuuki Yui nodded.

"Preparing for further education? Or finding a job?"

"It must be for further education, right?"

"How were your grades?"

"Generally speaking, he should be considered at the middle level in the whole school."

Do you have a preferred school?

"No."

"If you're preparing for further education, why not spend more time studying instead of deciding to work? Are you facing financial difficulties? Or is there something you want?"

“Neither.” Yuuki Yui shook her head. “I want to find something to do.”

"Train yourself?" the store manager asked again.

"No, it's just that I felt I should do something."

"Do you think giving this kind of reason during an interview will be satisfactory?" The translucent brown liquid in the coffee cup in the manager's hand swayed as she suddenly stopped.

“You said it was just a casual chat, so I gave you my honest answer.” Yuuki picked up her coffee cup again: “Always trying to please the other person and give them a satisfactory answer is exhausting.”

“A false answer cannot represent my true thoughts. Even if I get this job by guessing your thoughts and giving what you think is the best answer, can I really do it well?”

"I can't guarantee too many things. False promises will only disappoint others. The only thing I can guarantee is that every word I say now comes from my heart."

"Also, if I get this job, I will do my best to do it well."

"Pfft." The shopkeeper's expression became even more amused: "These words don't seem to be directed at me, do they?"

"It was for myself." Yuuki Yui realized that she seemed to have taken this opportunity to say too many irrelevant things.

But she was still telling the truth.

"Okay, I hope you won't disappoint me by doing your best," the manager said, setting down the steaming coffee.

"The interview was just a formality. As long as I could see with my own eyes that the applicant wasn't a delinquent or a hot girl, it would be fine. But after hearing what you said, I'm starting to have some doubts about whether I should keep you."

"Thank you." Yuuki Yuki wanted to say, "But you still let me stay," but that would be too inappropriate.

"You're welcome. My surname is Minato. You can call me Manager or Miss Minato. Please take care of me in the future."

"My name is Yuuki Yukino, nice to meet you."

Upon hearing the name Yuuki Yukino, the shopkeeper's eyes flickered.

"go back."

Chapter Four: I Inexplicably Got the Job!

"Huh? Xiaoyuan didn't pass the interview at that coffee shop! How could this happen! Xiaoyuan is clearly the best!"

Upon hearing the devastating news, Inuyama Baki gaped in disbelief, her donut falling out of her mouth and being caught perfectly in her hand.

"I don't know why either!" Yuuki Yui said innocently.

"What did she ask?" Baqi pressed, seemingly determined to find a reason for Yuuki Yuuki's failed interview.

"The shop manager first made me a cup of coffee, and then asked me how I was feeling..." Yuuki Yuen weakly described the situation at the shop.

"So what was Xiaoyuan's answer?" Baqi continued to press.

“I said it tastes great,” Yuuki Yuuki replied.

That's it?

Baqi confirmed that she hadn't misheard.

She received a very affirmative answer from Yuuki Enishi.

"It's gone."

"Sigh!" Baqi sighed loudly, "Even if Xiaoyuan can't taste anything, she'll still have to pretend to say something, right?"

"But if you make comments in front of experts without proper authorization, wouldn't it backfire if you were wrong?"

After hearing Yuki Yuki's explanation, Baqi's expression softened slightly, but she still looked disappointed in him.

"Okay, is that all?"

"She also asked about my current situation and why I was working," Yuuki Yuen replied.

“Then Xiaoyuan…” Ba Qi didn’t seem to have much hope.

Since we already know the outcome, we can only listen to the process.

The only thing Baqi can do now is to learn from this failure and prevent Yuuki Yuuki's next interview from being like this.

“I told her that I wanted to find something to do, not to make money or to improve myself, and also that even though I don’t know much about coffee, I would work hard and do my best, that’s all.”

"Find something to do?" Inuyama Tomoe's forehead twitched. "Is that what Yui told her?"

“Yes, what’s wrong?” Yuuki Yui nodded.

"What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong! Ah! How can Xiaoyuan be such a fool when it comes to this kind of thing!"

Baqi cupped Yuuki Yukino's face in her hands, brought her head very close, and stared intently at Yuuki Yukino.

Although the atmosphere was a bit off, Yuuki Yukino's first reaction was to give Baqi an encouraging kiss, but the next second Baqi showed Yuuki Yukino that she was overthinking it.

Those two hands dug into Yuuki Yukino's hair, roughly grabbing and kneading it, messing up the neatly combed hair she had prepared for the interview, and the fringe hanging crookedly in front of her forehead, obscuring her eyes.

Only when Baqi had had her fill of scratching did she remove her hand from Yuuki Yukino's head, letting out an even louder sigh than before.

Baqi's sudden movement startled Yuuki Yukino. With an innocent look in her eyes, Yuuki Yukino smoothed her hair with her hand while looking at Baqi, who seemed inexplicably unhappy, with even greater confusion.

"What...what happened?"

"You still ask!" Ba Qi snapped, then slapped her forehead. "Sigh, how come Xiao Yuan doesn't understand anything!"

“Saying you just want to find something to do means you have no goals, no future plans, and no motivation at all,” Baqi said, poking Yuuki Yukino’s chest with her index finger again and again.

"And there's more! And more!" Baqi poked even harder: