It didn't take long for the aroma of black tea to begin permeating the entire shop.
Even without a personal tasting yet, Asakura could already feel that the black tea brewed by Gokou Ruri and the one brewed by Kawaragi Momoka were completely different things.
"The probability that it only smells alright is...?" Kawaragi Momoka asked with a serious face.
"Tan 90°..." Asakura replied.
"What does that mean?" It seemed the store manager lady's academic performance in science was not particularly ideal.
"It means it's non-existent..." Asakura said.
"Clearly we are using the same tea leaves..." Kawaragi Momoka muttered softly, "Why is the difference so large?"
Well said, actually I am also very curious why you brew it so badly, Asakura thought to himself.
Gokou Ruri brought two cups of tea to the table, "Although I could have brought them over together after the coffee was brewed, I feel that the temperature of the black tea is also part of what affects its flavor, so drinking it when the temperature is perfect is the best".
Kawaragi Momoka looked shocked: "Black Tea Deity!"
Asakura looked surprised: "Artisan spirit!"
Gokou Ruri's face darkened: "I haven't quite reached that level".
Under the girl's piercing gaze, Asakura picked up the teacup and took a light sip, the rich tea fragrance instantly filling his entire mouth.
Unlike the 'boiled water' brewed by Kawaragi Momoka... oh wait, it's that kind of pure bitter and astringent tea, Gokou Ruri's black tea was the taste of normal black tea. The sweet flavor unique to fermented tea began spreading from the base of the tongue, making it completely unnecessary to wait for any so-called aftertaste.
"It's delicious. Although I don't understand black tea, I think it's quite good..." Asakura said directly. He really didn't have much research in this area, but even so, he could tell with one sip how excellent this girl's cup of tea was.
Gokou Ruri showed a cute expression that was both reserved and yet elegant with a hint of little pride.
"I feel like the coffee doesn't even need testing..." Kawaragi Momoka sighed as she set down her teacup.
"Black tea and coffee are probably still different. As the store manager, you shouldn't be so defeatist..." Asakura looked askance at her and said.
"I just feel like I'm being publicly executed, and it's twice over!" Kawaragi Momoka said crossly, "By the way, can't we just buy a coffee machine? The kind that is self-service like in convenience stores?"
"Although Rabbit House isn't a coffee shop in the traditional sense, the desserts themselves have a subtle connection with it, plus the premium on the desserts is quite high, so I still want to provide something high-class sounding like handmade coffee".
Asakura spread his hands and said: "But the reality is always that things don't go as smoothly as planned, right, Miss Manager".
After all, the handmade coffee brewed with coffee beans in Rabbit House seemed to have an even worse reputation among customers than the instant coffee or espresso from convenience stores.
"I'm really sorry for brewing coffee that's so hard to drink..." Kawaragi Momoka grumbled.
Just as Asakura said, Rabbit House was not equipped with those self-service coffee machines for instant or concentrated coffee, but the equipment for brewing coffee was quite complete and professional.
Gokou Ruri seemed to have never used these things before; she spent more time fumbling with the tools than she did brewing the black tea earlier, but even so, the final product still made Asakura and Kawaragi Momoka feel surprised—in a positive way.
"Had you never used a coffee pot to brew coffee before?" Asakura put down the coffee cup and asked the girl.
"I've seen it in anime, but I didn't think it would be that complex..." Gokou Ruri nodded and said: "It's much simpler than some masterpiece game quests".
It looked like she was treating brewing coffee as a game mission to complete.
Considering the girl's levels in both housework and gaming were quite high, it wasn't surprising the final result was so outstanding.
"How exactly was the latte art on this done?" Kawaragi Momoka was still looking in shock at the lifelike cat latte art on the coffee.
In fact, if she continued to gaze at the surface of the coffee while drinking, she could see that little cat desperately stepping its short legs to escape from her lips.
"So the final result is that you agree to let Ruri work in our shop?" Asakura asked Kawaragi Momoka for her opinion.
"This kind of thing is decided by you, the Boss-kun, right?"
"The one working with Ruri is you, so I still think I need to follow your opinion".
"My opinion is of course no problem! It's better to say that not having to brew tea and coffee for customers anymore makes me feel liberated. It's truly great!"
"Is that so? Then you're happy too early..." Asakura said with a smile, "Since Ruri can only come to work on weekends and holidays, the drinks on weekdays still need to be handled by you".
"A dessert shop where the drinks are only safe two days a week, what kind of situation is that?"
"I'll call it individuality, regularity, and urban legend".
"Setting aside the first two, is that last one really a positive adjective?!"
"Probably in a while, the toxic dessert shop girl will become a new trend among young people who like urban legends, just like Hachishakusama and Kuchisake-onna".
"I don't want that kind of thing!" Kawaragi Momoka covered her face, "To be honest, every time a customer takes a sip of a drink after eating the rabbit dango, I don't want to see that expression of unbelievable shock ever again. It's better to say I feel like what I'm earning isn't a salary at all, but a mental damage fee..."
"Don't be silly, even if we really had to pay a mental damage fee, it should be you paying the customers..." Asakura comforted her.
"Ruri... ah, is it okay if I just call you that?" Kawaragi Momoka turned her gaze to the girl she was about to work with.
"You can call me Gokou Ruri..." Gokou Ruri said calmly.
"Hahaha, this child's joke is really fun, what kind of title is that?" Kawaragi Momoka looked at Asakura with a laugh, only to find the other party's face was calm.
So she couldn't laugh anymore: "She's joking, right?"
Asakura said in a very professional tone: "Rabbit House is a shop that highly respects the individuality of employees, and it is a store with inclusiveness and positive meaning".
"What's with that way of speaking that sounds like it's for dealing with some 'dei' inspection?"
"Don't worry..." Asakura said, "At least she isn't lgbt, so your chastity is very safe".
"No one would worry about that kind of thing!"
"Wait a while for Kita to come to work, can you see her face and say that again?"
"Sh-should I not need to worry?"
Now it seemed even Kawaragi Momoka wasn't sure.
After all, Kita Ikuyo's enthusiasm toward her, this guitar teacher, was indeed a bit too much—so much so that it had already slightly exceeded the boundary between a fan and an idol.
"Who is this person named Kita Ikuyo who sounds like a cold joke?" Gokou Ruri asked Asakura.
"Your colleague, but that girl's main time is usually after school, so the chance of you bumping into each other isn't high..." Asakura explained to her, thinking the girl might be a bit shy.
"Oh?" The black-haired girl's eyebrows raised slightly, her wine-red eyes looking toward the door with deep meaning, "Is it that child?"
Asakura turned his head and saw Kita Ikuyo carrying her school bag, happily running into the shop, while shouting toward him and Kawaragi Momoka.
"Kita is here!"
Is there really no problem with his self-deprecating nature?