Transmigrated into a World of Reversed Roles
Chapter 14

"Yay! First perfectly clean plate, done!"

"Why is this more exhausting than I expected?"

Dropping my head onto the table, all my energy was gone.

After giving examples, rambling repeatedly—for maybe an hour—Hina finally managed to wash a plate properly.

Why was it that hard for her to wash dishes?

I told her to use just a little, but she kept mismeasuring and always ended up using too much soap.

When she finally got the right amount of soap, the water she used was too much and the soap got diluted.

I prepared a container with the right amount of water so she wouldn't overuse it again. But when I checked the plate, it had a strong smell of soap.

Turned out, she hadn’t rinsed the plate after washing.

When I asked her why, she answered like this:

"Wouldn't the soap disappear if I rinse it? That means the plate would still smell, right?"

All I could do was massage my temples. This isn’t a matter of being a beginner anymore—she’s just on another level of hopeless, isn’t she?

"Or maybe this is actually my fault? Maybe I’m just not good at teaching?"

"Compared to my teachers at school, the way you teach is way easier to understand, Ren!"

Hina suddenly said to me. Looks like some of my thoughts accidentally came out.

"If it was easy to understand, then why did it take you over an hour to wash a single plate?"

"But at least, all the dirty dishes are clean now!"

"Yeah. Because I washed most of them."

"Hehe~"

It felt like I was the one assigned to dishwashing duty today, more than Hina.

And I felt bad toward my other coworkers.

While they were busy serving customers, I looked like someone slacking off under the pretense of teaching a newbie.

Even though the manager said I didn’t need to worry about work yet, there’s no way I could just sit still while everyone else was busy.

I stood up.

"You should be okay now, right? Look, there are more dirty dishes over there. I want to help out front for a bit."

"Aye, aye! Good luck working, Boss!"

"Don’t call me Boss."

Is it that easy to get the title boss now?

I finally changed out of my school uniform after wearing it since I got here.

Since my school uniform is white, I was lucky not to get any stains on it while washing dishes.

Coming out of the changing room in a maid outfit, I ran into the manager. She seemed to have just come back.

"Welcome back, Manager."

"Yeah. Good job with Hina. I saw she can wash dishes now."

"Well... She still gets distracted sometimes, but at least she’s not slacking off."

Manager shrugged at my words.

"Don’t blame Hina for that. Blame your own butt for being too tempting."

"You guys are just perverts."

Somehow, I’m starting to understand the feelings of working women in my old world who were harassed by their bosses.

Maybe they didn’t care if it happened once or twice. But if it’s constant? It’s exhausting.

Seriously, what’s so attractive about my butt? These people are wild.

After complaining a bit in my monologue, I got to work—greeting customers, taking orders, and so on.

Before I knew it, my shift was over and the sky had grown dark.

The male coworker who walked with me to the station yesterday came up to me.

"Ren, are you heading home? Want me to walk with you to the station again?"

"Thanks, but I think my stalker’s gone today. So, no need."

To be more accurate, my stalker is now working here. What’s there to worry about?

"I see. Still, be careful on your way home. If anything happens, you can call me."

"Of course."

With that, I started walking toward the station. Since our ways home were different, I did feel a bit bad for him yesterday.

Even though he had a lot of college assignments to do, he still walked me home.

But I didn’t really have much of a choice yesterday. The manager was busy, and the others were still working.

"Besides, I didn’t know what they were planning after stalking me."

Worst case, I’d get beaten up. Best case, I’d be rap—

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Hina’s voice called out to me from behind. Just as I was thinking of her, and she appears?

I’d already walked quite far from the restaurant. The surroundings were quiet.

Was she finally going to reveal her true self?

If I screamed, maybe one or two people would come, but there’s a chance I’d be silenced immediately.

Maybe the best option is to call the police first. They probably can’t come fast, but at least I’d leave a trail to be tracked.

Seriously, why do I have to brainstorm escape plans for one girl? Maybe I should take self-defense or karate lessons to protect myself.

I turned around, ready.

But once she was in front of me, I realized I might’ve just been overthinking.

"Huff... Huff... Finally, caught up to you..."

I saw Hina panting. Her work clothes had already been changed to her gray school uniform.

After catching her breath, she pulled something out of her bag and handed it to me.

It was a can of coffee.

"This might not be much, but please take it!"

"...Why?"

"As a thank you for helping me today!"

"..."

I fell silent for a moment—too surprised by what just happened.

But in the end, my hand moved and accepted the coffee from her.

Then I replied.

"...Don’t worry about it."

Honestly, I like canned coffee like this. Sometimes I buy one in the morning before heading to school.

So I know that this coffee should be warm. But when I held it now, it felt cold.

Looks like she bought it even before I talked with my coworker earlier.

Hina’s face lit up seeing me accept her gift. Scratching her head with a sheepish laugh, she said:

"Hehe. Also, I’m sorry if I caused you a lot of trouble earlier. I know I’m kind of dumb—since I had a hard time just washing dishes. So, Ren... if it’s okay, can I ask for your help from now on?"

Before I realized it, a smile formed on my lips.

I answered.

"Don’t worry. Even if you are dumb enough to need a full hour to wash a single plate, I’ll still help you."

"Ugh, why does it feel like you just insulted me?"

"Because I am."

"Meanie!"

Looking like she was about to cry, Hina glared at me in disbelief.

Wiping away nonexistent tears, she then said again:

"Well then, I’ll get going, Ren. My Sister asked me to pick her up from work. See you tomorrow!"

"Be careful on your way."

With that, Hina waved and ran off in the opposite direction.

After watching her disappear into the distance, I looked at the can of coffee in my hand.

"Well, I guess she’s not all that bad."

I continued my walk toward the station. Opening the coffee can, I took a sip.

... Looks like I won’t be able to sleep tonight.