In a World Where Chastity is Reversed, I Ended Up Working as a Hot Spring Attendant

Chapter 185: Breakfast Scene (Hisui’s Perspective)

I’m being watched quite a bit……

During breakfast, I could feel someone’s eyes on me. I straightened myself up inside. If I’m being watched, I can’t afford to look sloppy or behave rudely.

Leaving edible parts is rude too.

I’m a boy, so I have a bit of pride and manners.

A boy must always assume there are seven enemies outside, ready to jump him at any time—that’s the kind of tense, battlefield mindset I live with.

If you’re completely off guard, you’ll probably attract weird hate.

Now then, can I eat the head of this thing?

The grilled fish in front of me is probably some kind of trout—maybe yamame, iwana, or rainbow trout?

If it were an ayu, I’d recognize it right away, but once it’s salted and grilled, it’s hard to tell the difference.

The color fades, and the salt coating makes it look all white.

Looks like it’s been gutted, so it should be mostly edible.

If it’s iwana, I think the head is harder than the others and might be tough to bite.

Wait, could I eat the whole head on all freshwater trout?

As I was thinking that, I saw Hachikuma bite into the head without hesitation.

Ah, edible. I was convinced and copied her, starting from the head too.

By the way—though it’s unrelated—I also prefer to start from the head when eating taiyaki, since the scales and fins get in the way. Just saying that in my sleep.

It’s a classic kind of joke that includes a setup for someone to respond, so don’t take it the wrong way.

“Do you want a refill?”

“Then yes, please.”

As I continued eating while thinking about all that nonsense, my rice bowl emptied, and Tsubame offered a refill. Today, she was sitting at the rice pot seat.

I handed her the bowl gently, feeling a little sorry.

I’m kind of like a freeloader here, so for the third bowl, I hand it over quietly.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

She gave me a pretty full serving.

It might look like I’m overeating, but the bowl isn’t that big, so I think it’s probably just right.

For some reason, people seem happy when I get seconds.

Besides, the calories I’ll lose getting squeezed out at night are probably a lot.

“Now that you mention it, there’s never anything left, huh?”

Misago, who was sitting at the same table, said with admiration.

But her own plate was completely empty too, so it’s not something she should be impressed by. Actually, everyone at this table had clean plates. They’d eaten the fish from head to tail, including the bones. That’s just how it should be.

“I don’t leave edible parts. It’s a principle of mine.”

I said it with a bit of pride.

It might sound stingy, but I think showing respect to the cook is important.

I don’t know about those Chinese manners where you’re supposed to leave food on purpose. That’s nonsense.

“That’s a good thing.”

Misago nodded firmly.

Somehow, she gave off a kind of supportive boyfriend—or rather, girlfriend—vibe from behind.

“Thank you for the meal.”

In the end, I finished everything and put my hands together. Another clean plate today.

By the way, when eating the head and bones, the trick is to start from the head while there’s still meat. If someone tells you afterward that the head is edible too, it just makes you sad.

“Thanks for the meal.”

For some reason, Misago proudly replied back.

“By the way, our head chef wants to say hello…”

As she said that, Misago turned around and waved someone over. Everyone’s gaze around us suddenly softened.

~Postscript

The “rice pot seat” is the spot closest to the rice pot built into the table. It’s usually taken by someone who feels like taking care of others.

Because it means interacting with Hisui, it’s secretly a high-demand, competitive spot.

—

Chapter 186.1: Cute Aoba-san (Hisui’s Perspective)

The girl who was behind us responded to the hand gesture, and with a determined look, I saw her put strength into her eyes.

After removing her apron and triangle scarf, the girl nearby took them from her.

Somehow, everyone being close made their teamwork really smooth at times like this.

“She may not look it, but she’s classified more like an older sister, so she’s older than me,” Misago muttered an explanation. Even from a distance, she looked pretty small, but maybe she’s one of those legal lolis or something. Well, individual height differences don’t mean much anyway.

That included myself too. Everyone is different, and everyone is good.

“Um, as introduced, I’m Aoba. Thank you always for eating so neatly,” said the cute girl in a chef’s coat, bowing her head vigorously while standing.

“No, no, it’s us who should be thanking you for the delicious meals every day,” I replied honestly.

If just eating everything without leftovers gets me thanked, I am more than willing to keep eating as much as I can.

Hearing my response, Aoba-san trembled emotionally. There’s no need to be so dramatic…

After a little while, she pulled herself together and faced me again.

“Could I borrow your hand? I’d like to check your nutrition status.”

“Sure, go ahead?”

The topic shift was a little strange, but it would be uncool to point it out, so I just replied naturally.

At the same time, Misago smiled wryly and stood up from the seat next to me, waving her hand with a “take your time” sort of vibe.

So, Aoba-san sat in the now vacant seat. I turned to her and offered my hand.

How was she going to check it?

She timidly touched my hand, with a serious expression, so I stayed quiet and watched her.

Though she was small in height and had small breasts, the plain chef’s coat didn’t hide her body shape, so I could see that she had a properly slim waist and a nicely rounded butt.

Or rather, her serious face is really cute, isn’t it?

Really, everyone around here is a lineup of beauties.

She also had a serious and keen expression that made me think she was a proper working adult.

After finishing with my hand, she changed posture a little and placed her hand near my neck this time.

The distance between us was close. Our eyes somehow didn’t meet.

Because we were so close, my eyes naturally wandered to her modest breasts.