It Seems Like a Girl I Don’t Know Is Doing Housework at My Place. But She’s Cute, So I’m Watching Her.

“A no-contact order, huh…”

“I was surprised to learn such a thing even existed.”

It was the next workday after the day Kondo-san had called me.

While working through my assigned tasks, I took a moment to update the manager about the stalker situation.

Even though the manager was somewhat involved and had likely heard something from Kondo-san already, I figured it was good to provide my own report, just in case. Plus, I thought my perspective might be useful.

The result? This awkward atmosphere we’re in now. The manager seemed to share the same concerns as me.

“Do you think it’ll work?”

“…If the person’s normal, they’d probably follow a police order.”

“Normal people wouldn’t get a police order in the first place, though.”

“……”

His silence said it all. He didn’t expect much from this, and honestly, neither did I.

I mean, yeah, that’s the thing. Normal people wouldn’t engage in stalking in the first place. And we’ve been pretty cautious—enough that even the stalker should hesitate.

Kondo-san’s mother accompanies her to and from the station on school days, and I’ve been aligning my shifts to make sure I can walk her home after work.

Despite all these precautions, the stalker hasn’t stopped. He hasn’t even shown any sign of backing off, which means he’s pretty fixated.

So, will a police order really scare off someone like that? Probably not.

“Man… It’s just frustrating, you know? Instead of issuing orders, the police should just arrest the guy already.”

“Couldn’t agree more.”

“Ugh, I hate this. As you get older, you start seeing things in such a cynical light. I should learn from Kondo-san, who seemed so happy about the situation.”

“I did tell her to stay cautious, though.”

“Still, she was probably just relieved that something had finally been done… though it’s also a sign of how much stress she’s been under.”

“Seriously, criminals are the worst…”

“Totally.”

We both sighed. This whole situation is such a pain. Honestly, I wish the guy would just fall down the stairs and die. No one would miss him, and he’d solve his own problem.

“Well, for now, the best we can do is stay alert and cautious. Sorry to keep depending on you, but we’ll continue counting on you, Mizuki-kun.”

“Don’t worry, I’m with you until this is resolved.”

“Thanks. Now, let’s get back to work.”

“Got it.”

With the conclusion that we should maintain the status quo, our little report session came to an end. We both left the office and returned to the hall.

“Ah, Manager, Mizuki-kun! You’re finally back! Could you help over here for a bit?”

“Huh? Whoa, it got busy all of a sudden.”

“Seriously? I was hoping to get to those orders… Oh well, can’t be helped. I’ll handle the register and customer service, so Mizuki-kun, can you take the orders?”

“But I’m supposed to be in the kitchen today.”

“We’ve got enough staff in the kitchen! Please, just help out here, okay?”

“Fine, fine.”

I had a feeling the kitchen would turn into a battlefield soon, but for now, we couldn’t handle the workload if I didn’t take the orders. Reluctantly, I followed the manager’s instructions.

Ah, the downside of being an all-rounder at this job—whenever things get crazy, I get pulled into the chaos. Meanwhile, the kitchen staff, who just lost one of their own, was grumbling under their breath. But hey, we’re all suffering here, so tough it out, guys.

“Wait, Mizuki-san? Weren’t you supposed to be in the kitchen today?”

“Got pulled out by the manager. By the way, Kondo-san, could you bring water to tables 4 and 7?”

“Oh, right away! Good call, Manager! With you here, we’ll survive this rush!”

I gave Kondo-san a few instructions as we passed by each other and chuckled at her determined back.

Lately, Kondo-san had been a bit down, but today she seemed unusually fired up. Maybe she was finally able to relax a bit since the police had taken action, or perhaps she was too busy to worry. Definitely the latter, I thought.

People tend to focus better when they’re preoccupied with something, especially if it’s work they can’t avoid. In Kondo-san’s case, it seemed to be working in her favor.

“She really does come to life when she’s working, doesn’t she…”

You’d think she’d be more negative about her job, especially considering the whole stalker situation. But instead, she’s throwing herself into it with a surprising amount of energy.

For someone like her, who’s dealing with a stalker, you’d expect some aversion to customer service jobs, but she’s handling it incredibly well. It’s actually impressive how much she enjoys interacting with people.

“Mizuki-san! Table 2 needs a Neapolitan and a hot sandwich! Also, hurry back to the kitchen!”

“Got it! As for getting back, you’ll have to talk to the manager.”

“Manager!! The kitchen is swamped too!!”

Sure, but the one who’s really struggling here is me, running back and forth between the kitchen and the hall. Not that I’ll mention it—it would just add fuel to the fire.

I quickly returned to serve the orders before things got even more chaotic. Let the kitchen staff take their complaints to the manager.

“Sorry for the wait. Here’s the Neapolitan and the hot sandwich. Neapolitan for you… yes, and the hot sandwich… there you go. That’s all for now, right? Here’s your check.”

No additional orders. Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the bell rang again. Today’s really busy…

“Eek!!”

Wait… what? A scream?