Volume 3 - CH 1.04

Part 4

“Look, Yuuna-chan! It’s Moffle!”

A family brought their daughter to Moffle-san, who waved at her with his paws. The girl hesitated for a bit before mustering the courage to approach him, holding the hem of her skirt tightly. The girl eventually laughed when Moffle-san patted her head, brightening even her parents’ expressions.

It looked like the current Moffle-san on stage wasn’t the evil bully, but the Moffle whom I hug every night in bed. He must have used magic.

Of course, I couldn’t afford to just stand around and do nothing. I’d been failing at my job as an assistant, after all.

I was staring blankly when the family wanted a photo with Moffle and, before I knew it, they had already moved on to take pictures with other mascots.

Moffle-san glared daggers at me. How scary…

After playing around with the guests, Moffle-san stretched his paw over to me, presumably asking me to hand over the juggling balls. However, I did not realize what he meant at the time, so I just clapped it with my right hand.

Again, Moffle-san glared daggers at me. How scary…

Shortly after, an elderly guest came and asked for directions to an attraction called “Aquario.” Not knowing where that was, I looked around in panic. In the end, the guest took out a pamphlet and, after using the map printed on it, walked elsewhere.

Once again, Moffle-san’s glares were sharp enough to stab me several times. Really scary…

Before I knew it, an hour had passed. I can’t help but feel like I forgot something important though… Oh right! Moffle-san instructed me to take him backstage for a break every 30 minutes!

Moffle-san walked off the stage by himself, probably too tired to even wait for my cue. I walked silently behind him.

“You useless fool!!”

Moffle-san shouted at me the moment we returned backstage.

“You’re supposed to be my assistant, yet you’ve done nothing, fumo! I’m guessing you don’t even want to do this job, huh? You think you’ll still get your wages!?”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Not this again! Since the start of the day, you’ve been saying nothing but ‘erm’ and ‘sorry,’ fumo. Do you even know any Japanese? Or are you actually Ukrainian? At any rate, I might as well do everything myself, fumo!”

“S-Sorr—“

“Don’t apologize to me anymore!”

“F-Fueeeee…”

Not knowing what to say, tears began to well up in my eyes. Despite knowing that it wasn’t good to cry in the workplace, I couldn’t help it. I’m a girl, after all.

I’ve had countless experiences similar to this. I, being the klutz I am, always end up betraying someone’s expectations. They’d get really angry and frustrated and, after saying some comforting words, they’d turn away and distance themselves from me. Moffle-san would probably be the same.

After all, I’m good for nothing.

“F-Fuee…Sorr…Erm…”

Seeing that I’d been reduced to a sobbing mess, Moffle-san sighed. An awkward silence ensued.

Most likely, the next few things he’d say would be ‘Whatever. You can go now,’ since that would be the easiest way to dismiss me. I wished he’d say that quickly, so I can just go home and bury myself under my blanket, returning to my usual useless self.

However, Moffle-san said this instead:

“You’d better step up your game the next time, fumo. Is there anything you want to clarify?”

*

Moffle-san did not allow me to escape. He dragged me back onstage and made me interact with the guests again.

Of course, there was no way I could improve in such a short timespan. My performance was terrible as ever.

The guests sighed, clicked their tongues in displeasure, and even shouted at me. Every time that happened I’d panic and Moffle-san, along with the other cast members, would cover for me. How they helped was a mystery though, because I was too traumatized to tell.

Throughout this ordeal, I’d break down and begin to tear up. Moffle-san would take me backstage and asked if there were things I didn’t understand. At first, I wasn’t able to ask him anything. But after returning for the 3rd and 4th time, I mustered the courage to ask.

“Erm…what do I say when the guests want to take a picture?”

In response, Moffle-san did not flare up nor scream, but answered calmly.

“Mofu. Say something like ‘Hello there, would you like to take a picture with Moffle?’ Try saying that to me.”

“O-Okay…erm…”

I took a deep breath.

“H-Hello there, would you like to take a picture with Moffle-san?”

“Not ‘Moffle-san,’ but ‘Moffle.’ One more time.”

“H-Hello there, would you like to take a picture with M-Moffle?”

“Don’t stutter, fumo. Once more.”

“Hello there, would you like to take a picture with…Moffle?”

Moffle-san looked at me intently, and nodded.

“I guess that’s fine. You got it?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Anything else you want to ask?”

*

I survived my first day.

I was brought back to Moffle’s Sweet House, completely exhausted. After cleaning the area, I changed back into my own clothes in the staff toilet. I was already crumbling mentally, but I still had to return the costume to Moffle-san. I really didn’t want to hand over something that was drenched in my own sweat, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

I folded the costume and walked towards the work space, but stopped when I overheard a conversation around the corner. It was Moffle-san talking to Kanie-senpai.

“So, how was she?”

“Terrible, fumo. She couldn’t even accede to our guests’ requests, and always ended up crying. Seriously… I should be the one in tears, fumo.”

They were talking about my performance just now. I stood still and controlled the shivering of my hands and feet.

“So she can’t handle frontline work, huh? If that’s the case, we can always give her a backstage role.”

“I’m not sure about that, fumo.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mofu. Seiya, you used to be an actor, right?”

“…What about it?”

I could hear Kanie-senpai’s tone becoming stiff.

“When you first started, how was it, fumo? You felt nervous, didn’t you?”

“W-Well yeah.”

“I know that you’ve got a lot of guts, fumo. And even then, you felt nervous during your first time. I think you can imagine what that timid girl went through just now, fumo.”

“Hmph.”

“Be it 3 guests or 300 guests, everyone gets the nerves on their first time, fumo. It really is scary, after all. So I won’t judge her ability based on her first time, fumo.”

Moffle-san gave an evasive answer. I could tell that Kanie-senpai felt that too.

“What’s up with that? Trying to cover your part-timer’s ass?”

“What makes you think—”

“Definitely sounds like it.”

“Mofu… Anyway, I was especially strict to her today. If she runs away, I guess that’s all there is to her. No point treating someone who’d run away nicely anyway.”

“You’re right. But don’t take it too far; this isn’t Sparta.”

“Roger, fumo.”

I could hear Kanie-senpai’s footsteps drowning into the distance, suggesting their conversation ended there. I stood stiff and rooted to the ground after eavesdropping in confusion. Who would’ve thought the two of them would be able to carry out a conversation like this when they’d been fighting and hurling insults at each other this morning? Could they be good friends after all?

And come to think of it, I never knew Kanie-senpai was an ex-actor! What’s up with that? He certainly didn’t look like one, considering how Sento-senpai was probably his only friend at school.

“Hey newbie, you heard our conversation, didn’t you?”

“…!?”

Moffle-san raised his voice. It seemed like he knew I was eavesdropping all along. Unable to think of an excuse in time, I obediently showed myself and apologized.

“E-Erm, I’m sorry…I just—“

“Sigh…whatever, fumo.”

Moffle-san waved his paws, seemingly uninterested in probing further.

“I was gonna talk to you about it anyway, so this saves me the trouble of explaining, fumo.”

Moffle-san grabbed the uniform from my hand and walked to his work space. Not knowing what to do, I followed.

“…I’m aware that today’s been a crazy day for you, fumo. Seiya mentioned to me that you’re a first year at high school, aren’t you? Perhaps you were thinking you could have fun juggling a part-time job despite not being accustomed to your new school life?”

“Eh…”

Another bullseye. Were the people in Amaburi all able to read the minds of others?

“H-How did you know?”

“I could tell just by observing you today, fumo. I guess you could say it’s a grownup’s thing.”

Moffle-san’s speech was rather mature, but it was hard to take it seriously when it came from a cute little mascot.

“…Anyway, just like I told Seiya, I was being exceptionally strict today, fumo.”

“D-Doesn’t that mean—“

“Of course, I’m gonna be even stricter tomorrow. Same goes for the day after, and the day after that. Don’t treat the entertainment industry lightly, fumo.”

“Ugh…”

“If you think you can’t take it, leave now, fumo. That will save some time for the both of us.”

“…”

“Understood? If so, you’re dismissed for the day, fumo.”