28 January.
Fleurs De Lapin is a very popular cafe, no, bakery shop in the neighborhood.
Megumi often helped the shop since she was quite free and she also got pocket money from this shop. Even though she could help Haru for free, he wouldn't let her work for free in his shop.
That was why if Megumi decided to do a part-time job on Fleurs De Lapin then she would be paid by the corresponding wage which was about 3000 yen per hour.
It is a very good salary for a part-time job since some of the shops or businesses in Tokyo often abuse their employees with very little wages and long working hours.
This salary even exceeds some shops and it might even be a bit too much.
But Haru didn't care too much about that since for him this cafe only gave him pocket money.
Megumi was working during her holiday while waiting for the announcement of her high school acceptance. She also thought to use that money to buy a lot of things later during her trip together with Haru, Sora, and Utaha to London and the US.
Megumi didn't realize that the corner of her mouth raised anticipating their trip later.
"Megumi, can you help me restock the bread?" Yuri asked.
"Yes."
Megumi was about to go to the kitchen, but suddenly she saw a black luxurious car stopped in front of the cafe. She looked at the car for a while before decided to continue to go to the kitchen since she often saw rich people who came to this place to buy bread.
---
Erina was inside the car looking at the bakery shop in front of her.
"Fleur De Lapin..."
Erina frowned and folded her arms. "Why does my grandfather want me to work here for a week?" Before coming here, she had done her research and knew that this shop only opened in the morning before it was sold out. She could see a lot of people walking inside and went out of the shop with a smile while bringing back their bread.
The bakery shop has always had a very delicious bread smell, the same as a coffee shop that always has a coffee smell.
Opening the door, Erina was being greeted by that smell that increased her appetite so suddenly. She knew that this shop wasn't as simple as it seemed from the outside. Entering the shop, she was confident that she would be able to succeed in her test and make this shop better.
"Welcome!"
Yuri who was wearing a uniform of the shop greeted warmly, but she was surprised when she saw Erina since this girl was very beautiful. She suddenly sighed in relief when Haru wasn't here since she was afraid of him being tempted by this girl.
Erina nodded and said, "Excuse me, can I meet the owner of this bakery shop?" She had to admit the service of this shop was very good, especially when she saw the beautiful girl in front of her. It increased her image regarding this shop.
"Boss? Why?" Yuri was confused and asked, "And who are you?"
Erina's tone was calm since it wasn't surprising for some people to not know about her. She was famous in the culinary world, but it didn't mean she was as famous as a popular actress, actor, or singer. "My name is Nakiri Erina and I've been tasked to work in this place for a week. Your boss should have been informed before by the staff of Tootsuki Academy."
But Erina was quite annoyed since the boss of this place was so irresponsible to not tell his or her staff about her. She didn't know whether the boss of this place was a male or female, but it didn't matter since she would make this shop better.
Yuri wasn't sure what to do since she had never heard Haru tell her that there would be someone from Tootsuki Academy who would work at this shop.
"Yuri, I'll handle this."
Suddenly Megumi appeared startled by both Yuri and Erina.
"Has Haru told you something?" Yuri asked.
"Yes, I visited him yesterday and he has told me that someone from Tootsuki is going to work here."
Megumi knew about that matter, but she didn't expect for it to be Erina. When she remembered Haru's haggard appearance yesterday she didn't think he was lying. 'So that grandfather is really trying to match them up....'
Looking at Erina, Megumi had to admit that this girl was beautiful, but of course, she wouldn't admit defeat that easily.
Erina caressed her chest since she was startled when Megumi suddenly appeared. She looked at Megumi then Yuri wondering why there were a lot of beautiful girls in this shop, but then she suddenly remembered the name which came out from Yuri's mouth.
'Haru?'
Erina started to get annoyed by this name since this guy had never contacted her after that. She didn't want to contact him since she didn't want him to think that she liked him. 'Hmph! If you don't contact me, then I won't contact you!' Her mood suddenly became bad when she thought about him.
"Then, I'll let you handle the rest, Megumi."
Megumi nodded and looked at Erina. "Nakiri-san, right? Do you want to start working right away or familiarize yourself with the environment first?"
"I'll observe the situation first, is it alright with you?" Erina asked.
"It's alright. You can follow me to the kitchen."
Megumi guided her to the kitchen while telling her about the shop.
Even though Erina's mood wasn't good, she was a professional. She couldn't mix her job with her feelings.
However, Erina was surprised when she found out that the bread of this shop was being made by a machine.
"Machine?"
Megumi nodded and could see Erina's surprise expression. "Our boss is very lazy and the only one who can make the bread is him in this shop. That's why he has created those machines so he can be lazy." She didn't mind badmouthing Haru in this situation.
Erina frowned and asked, "Isn't the taste going to be bad?" She felt a bit disappointed since for her the taste of the food which was made by machine was tasteless.
"Do you want to test our product?" Megumi asked.
Erina was hesitating for a while since her tongue was very sensitive, but in the end, she chose to try the bread of this shop. "Let me try it."
"Then, you can try this Japan #55."
Megumi took the fresh-baked bread from the oven and gave it to Erina.
"Japan #55?" Erina felt very strange about the product name. She looked at the bread curiously then frowned. "Isn't this normal "an-pan"?"
"An-pan" is a bread filled with 'anko', a sweet bean paste. Also known as 'Azuki'.
"Just try it." Megumi smiled and wanted to see the reaction of Erina after ate Japan #55.
Erina tore the bread in half then ate the bread along with the 'anko' inside.
*BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!*
Erina suddenly felt that she had become a satellite and overlooked the entirety of Japan. Her tone seemed quite surprised while looking at the bread. "S - So this is Japan....
The natural sweetness of the wheat and 'anko' blend gracefully. I even saw Japan in an instant."
Because of her "God of Tongue", she also could see the secret that could make this bread was different from normal "an-pan".
"The key to this deliciousness is in the bread! I can see that he's using special yeast and flour to create this bread.'
"That's right, what the owner of this shop wants to create is Japanese Bread, Japan."
Megumi naturally joked in front of Erina.
Erina was dumbfounded then looked at the bread which she held in her hand.
"Is the owner of this shop a bit of an idiot?"
"Don't call him idiot...." Megumi frowned and seemed quite displeased when someone mocked Haru.
"...."
"I'm sorry, but Japanese Bread? Japan? Why did he want to do that?" Erina asked and felt a bit curious. She was also quite surprised by Megumi's reaction after she said something bad to the owner of this bread shop making her quite curious. She was also curious about the shop owner because she could see that the owner was having fun creating this bread. She could see that someone who ate this bread could smile for an entire day.
For Erina, the cuisine is an art, and it is different from the bread which she has just eaten.
That is why Erina is a bit curious.
However, at the same time, she knew pretty well that the bread which she had just eaten wasn't something that usually could be produced by a machine. She felt that this machine was created by the owner to replicate the owner's bread. She sucked a deep breath and didn't expect to meet a master of bakery during her test.
'If this the taste using the machine, then what is the taste of the bread which is being made by the owner him or herself?'
Megumi nodded and thought that Erina was the same as what Haru had explained to her before.
Erina is Tsundere, but she is also very honest.
Megumi didn't know the details, but she knew that Erina's personality was quite troublesome.
'Well, there are a lot of troublesome people around me too.....'
But Megumi didn't hate that and explained the reason why Haru created Japan.
"There's English bread, German bread, and French bread, but Japan's bread, Japan, does not exist. In that case, there's no other choice but to create it."
Megumi smiled and looked at Erina's dumbfounded expression. "This is what the owner usually says to everyone."
"...."
"English bread, German bread, French bread, and Japan....."
Erina was speechless. "The owner of this place is very passionate about bread....." She thought for a while and asked, "Is he on his research on a new bread?"
Megumi shook her head and answered with a smile, "I think he's just joking about the introduction earlier, and the actual reason for him to create this shop is that he's bored."
"B - Bored?!"
Megumi nodded and said, "Let's not think too much and better to continue our observation first."
Erina had a displeased expression on her face. "I can't believe that this bread is being created because he's bored."
"You don't need to think too much, for him, the food is entertainment, if the person who eats his food is happy, that's enough." Megumi showed a rare smile toward Erina.
"...."
Erina was dumbstruck hearing that sentence. "I - Is that what the owner of this bakery said?" She was surprised since the food for the owner of this bakery was different from the food on her image.
If food is art for Erina, then for Haru it is entertainment.
Both of them are the same only Haru is focussed on the masses, and Erina only focuses on the elite.
"Yes."
Erina looked at Megumi and couldn't help but ask, "Can I ask about your relationship with the owner of this bakery?"
Megumi smiled sweetly and said, "I'm his girlfriend."
"..."
Erina was stunned, but she also understood why Megumi was quite displeased when she mocked the owner before. She blushed when she thought about their relationship wondering whether their relationship was the same as what she usually sees on shoujo manga.
'Boss and subordinate relationship? How shameless!'
But somehow Erina was curious about their story.
Without even realizing it, Erina didn't expect that Megumi had declared war against her.
The war is known as the Love War.