I'm heading out, Hifumi-chan.
I won't be back to the office today,
so could you show her around, please?
O-Okay...
W-Well...
Please follow me.
Okay.
What sort of restaurant should we pick?
Today, at 6:30 PM We'll be having a welcome party
Meow
A welcome party for the newbies, huh?
Welcome, farewell, and year-end parties...
Planning these events is a huge responsibility,
and they say the results will affect your reputation.
If we do a bad job...
We'll be considered completely out of touch from now on.
But we can't do too good a job, either.
Huh? Why is that?
Because we'll get stuck being the event planners forever.
We've got our work cut out for us.
French food Italian Pizza
Korean BBQ! Shabu shabu! Steak! Seafood! Hot pot! Horse meat!
Okonomiyaki A Hamburg steak place Monja Sushi
It can't be too good... This is difficult.
So nothing to complain about, but not too memorable, either?
But wouldn't that just make us forgettable employees?
Wouldn't it be better to be an out-of-touch employee than a forgettable one?
Y-Yeah, that wouldn't be a sweet gig.
What are we, comedians?
So what if we're stuck event planning a few times a year?
Why don't we just pick a good place that'll make everyone happy?
Plus, if we pull this off well,
we'll look more competent in general.
We have nothing to lose by trying our best.
Wh-What?
It's just, you've sure been positive lately, Yun.
Yeah!
What's that supposed to mean?!
Aoba-chan, where would you prefer?
Huh? Well, I think a Hamb—
Oh, no.
This is a company welcome party. I need to pick a restaurant for adults.
Adults... Adults...
Alcohol?
Anywhere that serves great alcohol!
Um, both you and Mochizuki-san are underage.
Huh? Mozuku?
There you are, Mozuku.
Oh, Hazuki-san.
I hear you three are in charge of planning the welcome party.
How goes the restaurant selection?
Actually, we're having a difficult time deciding.
Do you know of any good places?
A maid café!
Huh?
I'm telling you, I want a maid café.
Yeah, she's definitely a lost cause.
B-But I've never been to a maid café before, and don't know what it's like.
Same here.
Then there's only one thing to do.
U-Um, Hazuki-san... What is this?
Wh-Why do you have these at work?
It's so airy down there...
Yes, excellent! Just as I thought, you're adorable!
Now then, let's act it out so you can experience it.
I'll be the customer. You three read the lines on this paper.
Huh? Wait, uh...
Hurry up and open the door.
We're starting from there?!
Clack.
Stare.
Uh, um...
W-Welcome home, Miss. W-We missed you, meow!
So sorry. I've been so busy with work.
What would you recommend today?
Really? Y-You can't even choose for yourself... stupid?
Oh, fine. I'll choose for you!
Please do.
Here you go. Lemon tea.
Oh, one second, meow.
Become delicious. Become delicious!
Okay, here you go.
That's not right.
Huh?
You're missing something.
Huh? Do I really have to say that?
Yup.
O-Okay...
Moe... moe... kyun!
What a difficult job!
So... do I not have a character type to play?
It just said to stand here with my tray.
Shinoda-kun, you're cute enough just standing there quietly.
Use that asset!
Huh?
Grr...
And finally, this is the cafeteria... Huh?!
Oh? Perfect timing.
Why don't you two lovely ladies join us?
I'm going to head back...
Didn't that give you chills?
So that's Hifumi-senpai's "I want nothing to do with this" face.
Oh, w-we were just—
So you're the newbie, Mochizuki-kun.
Yup. You're a cutie!
Th-This is for our work, you see!
Y-Yeah!
Work. Just work!
Work...
Oh, I know. Since you're here, why don't you join in?
I'm sure you'll look great!
I-It's okay! We have it covered.
No need to join in if it's too much for you.
Too much?
No.
I can do it.
What?!
Welcome home, Miss.
Good.! Very good!
Yes, just like that!
Yes! Perfect!
Wh-While we're at it, put on these cat ears, too.
Then pose cutely like a cat and end your sentences with "meow"!
Like this... meow?
Yes... Perfect!
I know. Next, do a double "moe moe kyun" with Suzukaze-kun!
Guess who?
Oh? Who could that cute little voice be?
Is it Toyama-kun? Sakura-kun?
It's me.
Are you quite satisfied, Miss?
Ow, ow, ow! My neck!
Can't breathe—
Man, now I'm tired.
And we learned nothing useful in the end.
What was the point of all this, anyway?
That's what we'd like to know.
And so you came crying to me.
Just pick a place and be done with it. Yeesh.
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. My mother says to pick the very best one, and you are it.
French food Monja Hamburg steak place
A Hamburg steak place? Sounds good to me.
What?! You can't decide like that!
But it's what my mother says.
Did you want Hamburg steaks that badly, Aoba?
But is there even a Hamburg steak place nearby?
What about the place you two took me before?
It did have a proper restaurant atmosphere.
You're still wearing that?!
What? You don't have to go to school while you're interning?
Yes. At our vocational school, internships can count for class credit.
Luck you. I have to work while going to school.
You must be quite busy.
But it's okay! I've totally gotten used to coming to work.
It was last summer when you first came, wasn't it, Sakura-san?
Last summer?
I worked here part-time as a debugger.
So that's why you seem at home here, even though you're a trainee like us.
Then I should call you "Senpai."
Huh? S-Senpai?
Aw, you're making me blush.
Don't get a big head. You're also new as a programmer, Sakura-san.
So you don't need to worry about that, Narumi-san.
Then as fellow new programmers,
let's both do our best to get hired full-time in three months.
Sure thing!
Though it's getting my contract renewed, in my case.
Oh, and no need to be so polite. You can call me by my given name.
In that case, people usually call me Naru.
Narucchi it is! Nice to meet you.
You, too, Nenecchi.
I hear the food here's great!
Looks like things are going well over there.
Have you been here before?
Nope!
D-Do you have a nickname people often call you, Mochizuki-san?
Naru always calls me Momo.
"Momo" for Mochizuki Momiji, huh? Then we'll call you Momo-chan.
Feel free to loosen up and call us by our given names, too.
Um, then...
She's looking at something?
Aoba-san, Yun-san, Hajime-san,
and Leader Hifumi.
L-Leader?
You're not wrong, but that's the first I've heard that used.
Leader... Leader...
Oh, while we're on the subject, Hifumi-senpai...
You call Yagami-san and Toyama-san by their given names with "-chan,"
despite their seniority.
Oh, I used to ask her to be my conversation practice partner,
so I made her call me that.
Yeah... And it stuck.
Then what about Toyama-san?
Once I started using "Ko-chan",
one day, Rin-chan told me to refer to her that way, too.
Oh, really? I wonder why.
I-I think she just didn't want to be left out.
Huh? What do you mean?
A complicated feeling, indeed.
Are you all right? The cast auditions are just beginning.
Yes. Someone must be talking about me.
That's right! You rarely get a chance to meet so many cute girls!
Ooh, she's cute, too.
Just don't choose by appearance.
Here are your orders.
You ordered extra pasta?
You must eat quite a bit.
Yes.
So lucky... And yet you have like the perfect body.
Whenever I eat, it immediately shows.
Wh-What?
But you're not fat, and I think you're cute.
Huh?
Well aren't you such a sweet, honest girl, Momo-chan!
Here, have some of this!
That didn't take much.
Thank you for coming!
Do you live at your parents' place, Narucchi?
No, I room with Momo.
I'm really not good with stuff like this.
Iijima Yun-san, Shinoda Hajime-san, Takimoto Hifumi-san,
Ahagon Umiko-san, Sakura Nene-san, Suzukaze Ao...
You wrote down all our names?
I-Is there a problem with that? I don't want to mess anyone's up again.
I'm not good with remembering them.
No, it's fine.
I think it's admirable to try and remember so many names at once.
Suzukaze Aoba...
Lunch time!
Where should we go, Aoba-chan?
I was thinking about buying a premade lunch.
I'll probably do that, too.
So, Momo-chan, I suppose as usual...
The size of your rice balls never fails to amaze me.
I was so surprised when I first saw one, but I'm starting to get used to it.
Good on you for bringing your own lunch every day, Momo-chan.
Why don't you come to the cafeteria to eat with us?
No thank you. I feel more relaxed here.
Unless...
Unless?
Is there something you can only discuss with me at the cafeteria?
No, nothing like that...
You can't seem to break the ice with Momiji?
Yes. It's like we're on different wavelengths.
Like her guard's up around me.
It must be love!
I'm trying to have a serious conversation!
But if she were in love with me...
at least it'd be a straightforward choice of accepting or turning her down.
Munch Munch Munch
It's oddly amusing, the levity with which you just said that.
What do you think of Momiji, Aoba?
Me?
She's responsible and nice, but she seems a bit standoffish.
Sounds just like Yagami when she first started.
Gah! Hazuki-san.
Really?
So Momo-chan will someday go around in panties?!
Is that the only thing you associate with me, Aoba?!
Momo-chan cares about how she dresses, so I doubt that'll happen.
Way to take a jab at Yagami-san.
You never know. She might actually be a regular slob.
You should see the way I sprawl out at home.
Er, that's honestly pretty easy to imagine.
Huh? No way!
We've been together constantly at work for over a year.
Together constantly...
I... don't know anything about Momo-chan.
That has to change, no doubt about it!
So, um... Hajime-san! Yun-san!
Momo-chan...
Um, uh...
Is your rice ball good?
Yes.
You can't have any.
No... That wasn't my intention.
So you don't... go to the cafeteria... for lunch either...
You don't go often either, Hifumi-senpai.
Right. It's because Sojiro... Oh, he's my pet...
I like to eat breakfast with him...
But I get why the cafeteria might wear you out.
Interacting with others is difficult, isn't it?
Not really. I feel like I'm doing everything that's needed of me.
As for studying,
I've completed each day's assigned chapters on time.
Is there something that I'm not doing right?
No, not at all.
You have experience with 3D, so I think you'll be able to start work soon.
Probably even sooner than Aoba-chan did...
But I'm sort of more worried about you than I was about Aoba-chan...
Worried?
No! I'm sorry!
Um... Um... Um...
O-Oh yeah!
Do you want to see Sojiro?
Your pet?
Here.
Oh, a hedgehog.
He's cute.
Beware of heat exhaustion!
Make sure you're eating properly.
Meow
I'm back.
Oh, what are you looking at?
Hifumi-senpai was showing me her pet.
So this is the famous Sojiro-kun.
He's cute.
You're becoming more and more of a leader, Hifumi-chan.
Oh... No, not at all...
Was she trying to be considerate of me?
I'm home.
Welcome back.
I got back first, so I'm making dinner.
Thanks. What are we eating tonight?
Ta-da!
A full course of bean sprouts!
How's it going with the character team?
Normal. How about you?
I think things are going pretty well.
Umiko-san's a bit scary, but Nenecchi's a lot of fun.
Naru.
About tomorrow's lunch...
Lunch time!
Ta-da! Today, I made some rice balls!
No way! You, too, Aoba-chan?
What a coincidence! Same here.
Nice acting.
I made some sandwiches.
Momo-chan, do you have your usual...
I thought I'd also go buy some lunch today.
But you still have a rice ball.
If I buy enough food to make me full, I'll run out of money.
Do you live on your own, Momo-chan?
No, I live with Naru. We moved to Tokyo together.
Yeah, I totally get that. When you have to pay rent, your money just...
You've also got all the toys you buy to blame.
Y-You think so?
That never occurred to you?
Everyone, do your best!!
Yeah!!
Huh? Of course it did!
I want to hurry up, make a lot of money, and eat a lot of meat.
Be mindful of your weight.
So where are you from?
Hokkaido.
Really?
Our office trip last year was to Hokkaido. The seafood was so good!
It is, isn't it?
The seafood in Tokyo just isn't the same.
Plus, it's expensive.
Why don't we go buy some side dishes?
We need something to go with our rice balls, too.
Yeah.
Come on. Let's go!
Momo-chan!
Today, I'll introduce you to the master of Eagle Jump, Mozuku—
Huh?
Have you gotten used to coming to the office?
Yes.
I see. The morning rush is pretty rough, isn't it?
Um, Aoba-san.
Yes?
I'm the newbie here, so you don't have to talk to me so formally.
Oh, please excuse—I mean, sorry.
You're right. I'm just not used to it.
Momo... Is it okay if I call you Momiji-chan?
We have that connection with our names' meanings.
We're the same age, so you don't have to speak to me formally, either.
I have to. You've worked here over a year longer than I have.
You're pretty by-the-book, Momiji-chan.
Aoba-san, seeing as we're the same age,
are you not at all concerned about my skill level?
Or as a character designer, are you above it all?
Huh?
I was number one in my class, so I'm pretty good.
I should be.
Of course I'm concerned.
You are?
O-Oh really? I see.
And that's why...
I won't lose, either.
How can she say that while looking so positive?
I don't get it. Her desire not to lose is somehow different from mine.
Darn it. Being around Suzukaze Aoba throws me off.
What is this feeling?
If you don't hurry, we'll leave you behind.
Suzukaze Aoba... I won't lose, either.
Well, please do your best today, too...
Okay.
These variant designs... Did Aoba-san draw them?
Yeah, she did. Aren't they cute?
Eh? Huh?
You really are good... Suzukaze Aoba.