The Daily Life of Tokyo’s Phantom Thief [91]

Though Seika nearly spat out her drink upon hearing Rinto’s condition, Rinto himself was genuinely grateful to Yamada Ryo.

He had only contacted Ryo earlier this afternoon—practically their first exchange after trading contacts.

And then he’d boldly asked her to teach him an instrument, right out of the blue.

Yet Ryo had only asked if he had his own bass.

When she heard he didn’t, she immediately demanded he come work at STARRY, even generously offering a free bass if he called her “sensei.” Really, an incredibly generous deal.

“…What kind of weird play is this?”

After embarrassedly wiping the table clean, even the respectable 29-year-old Seika-onee finally gave Rinto her approval.

After all, she seemed pretty close with Ryo herself, and her younger sister Nijika had praised Rinto nonstop. With all that, this cool big sister was willing to give him a chance.

While they waited for Ryo, Seika explained the job:

“You said you’ve worked plenty of service jobs, right? The process should be pretty much the same as what you know.”

“Until you get familiar with the equipment setup, just stick to miscellaneous tasks. Cleaning, garbage disposal, restocking supplies. We don’t sell food here, so your job is mostly managing a few drink machines. You’re pretty tall and strong, aren’t you? Heavy lifting and chores like that are now entirely your responsibility.”

Rinto immediately saluted, following the flow: “Understood. I can even carry Seika-nee on my back while working; leave it to me.”

“Hmph~” Seika smirked lightly.

According to Seika’s explanation, the work at this live house really was quite straightforward.

Arranging the bands’ setups and performances was handled by specialists, definitely not something left to a part-timer like Rinto.

Besides basic preparation, his only other job was making drinks according to customer orders—much like working at a café.

Interestingly, the drink tickets here were guitar picks, a pretty novel idea… though each drink cost 500 yen.

At this, Rinto raised his hand:

“Seika-nee, I think charging 500 yen per drink is practically daylight robbery. If customers are willing to pay that much, couldn’t we also sell some cakes or sweets? It’d definitely rake in the cash.”

Seika rested a hand on her hip. “That’d be doable at larger live houses, like RiNG or the legendary SPACE—they even have fancy cafés attached.”

“But those are giant places that hold hundreds or even thousands of people. Tiny fry like us can’t even dream of it. We don’t have the energy or the resources to expand that far.”

Ah… Rinto could only give up for now.

Still, Seika hadn’t outright refused—she’d only said they lacked the energy.

So expanding the business was still possible, something to keep in mind for the future.

It was only now that Rinto learned: on a business-license level, live houses were technically considered food and beverage establishments.

If they only offered cultural performances, obtaining approval became troublesome.

But if the performances were just an extra service on top of a café, licensing was much simpler.

These were truly complicated adult-world rules; Rinto felt he’d grown a bit wiser.

Soon after, the bands and customers gradually arrived, and the dim basement quickly grew crowded.

Seika immediately put Rinto behind the counter to handle customers, observing his capabilities.

As a seasoned part-timer who’d served countless customers, Rinto stood there looking like a textbook refreshing ikemen. Anyone unaware might assume he was a band member filling in as part-time staff.

Though it was only his first shift, he memorized every type of drink machine and their operation instantly. His welcoming attitude and swift responses were practically overkill—impossible to fault.

“Oho~ He does seem like a good boy.”

A woman with silky, long black hair leaned toward Seika, her voice alluringly soft.

She looked every bit the Yamato Nadeshiko on the surface—sleek black princess-cut hair framing a gentle face. You could easily mistake her for some noble daughter straight from Kyoto.

But on closer inspection, earrings lined her ears beneath that black hair, and she sported lip and tongue piercings too.

This perfectly matched the stereotype of a punk beauty, exuding a dangerously tempting aura that could leave innocent boys trembling.

She was the audio engineer at STARRY, affectionately called “PA-nee,” the live house’s most enigmatic figure.

Earlier, when Rinto had greeted her with such refreshing politeness, he’d instantly gained this onee-san’s favor.

Right now, quite a few female customers had noticed this handsome new part-timer, eagerly asking to take photos together.

PA-nee smiled till her eyes narrowed at this scene.

“Where did Nijika and Ryo even meet a fine boy like him? He looks simply delicious~. Plus, I heard he’s the same age as Nijika, just 17—doesn’t that make him even more appealing?”

Seika shot her a wary glance. “You better not go casually bullying an innocent young boy—you’re gonna twist his tastes weird.”

The female boss propped up her cheek with a tired expression, glaring at this witch.

They were old acquaintances, after all—she knew exactly how wicked this woman was beneath her pretty surface.

With her super-beauty exterior, classical Yamato Nadeshiko looks, and punk styling, she deliberately cultivated a dangerous aura of “I’m actually quite flirty and playful, you know~?”

Lured by these pitcher-plant-like pheromones, each year several—or even dozens—of self-proclaimed hot guys would pursue her… only to be mercilessly shredded by her venomous tongue until they never dared set foot in STARRY again.

Covering her lips delicately with her oversized sleeves, PA-nee laughed softly, deceptively gentle:

“With underage boys, I’m always a bit more gentle, at least until they grow up. I’ll carefully train him to sweetly call me ‘Onee-san~?’ until he’s hopelessly conflicted over whether or not he has a chance, unsure if he should pursue me.”

“Then I’ll softly hint, ‘Onee-san prefers mature men who can drink with her,’ so he tries his best to grow up. And then, when he finally turns twenty and gathers the courage to confess… that’s when I reject him completely. Ah, that face would be utterly delicious, wouldn’t it~?”

“Are you some kind of demon?”

Seika was too exhausted to retort against this sadistic woman, who relished seeing overly confident men crumble before her.

But honestly, those fools who fell for looks alone, without even bothering to understand who she really was, deserved it.

Seeing Rinto handling work smoothly, Seika relaxed a bit:

“It’s almost time to start the show… By the way, where the hell is Nijika? And where did Ryo wander off slacking again?”

“—We’re back!”

Nijika and Yamada Ryo came running back into STARRY together.

The two were each carrying a bass case—seems like they’d gone home to fetch their instruments.

Once the bands started performing, professional staff like PA-nee took charge of everything.

Part-timers like Rinto then had some downtime, able to relax and enjoy the show from behind.

Yamada Ryo handed one of the two basses she’d brought to Rinto.

“This is the one I promised you. I went home just now to pick one suitable for you, but got caught up choosing and lost track of time. Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem at all.” Rinto was honestly flattered.

Though he’d lived with Momoka for three months, Rinto’s role had always been helping with setup for her street performances—speakers, mics, and such—but he’d never actually touched the instruments themselves.

He had absolutely no idea about bass quality, yet still clearly felt Ryo’s hidden care behind her seemingly aloof expression.

The bass had a caramel-coffee color, giving off a calm, vintage vibe that pleased Rinto immediately.

Ryo watched him cautiously pick it up, cradling it like some precious treasure, and smiled softly:

“My impression of you matches a P-Bass perfectly: steady, reliable, a solid foundation to support the whole performance—the true soul of a band. Plus, you’re tall and sturdy anyway, so something a little heavier suits you better.”

Rinto nodded seriously. “I completely accept that…but, um, Yamada-sensei, what exactly is a P-Bass?”

That question touched the old sage’s sensitive spot instantly!

Ryo’s eyes lit up, ready to launch into a passionate lecture—

“Alright, that’s enough~!” Nijika swiftly interrupted. “Rinto-kun, you need to be careful from now on. Once Ryo starts talking about technical stuff, she’ll show off endlessly. If she ever starts, cut her off immediately, okay?”

Watching from the side, Nijika thoughtfully covered Ryo’s mouth, causing Ryo to struggle dramatically like some targeted assassination victim.

Actually, Rinto was totally willing to listen if Ryo wanted to preach.

He just smiled and asked further:

“But seriously, is it really alright for me to just accept this bass? Even though I don’t know much, I can tell it must be pretty expensive.”

“…It’s fine.” Ryo pried off her old friend’s hand.

Though her face was always this cool and expressionless, the sparkle in her eyes clearly betrayed how interested she was in any given topic. She really was easy to read.

Right now, Ryo’s eyes were pure, even clearly reflecting Rinto’s face within:

“It makes me happy if more people fall in love with music and want to learn instruments. And anyway, I have plenty more in my collection. Whether guitar or bass, just ask. Don’t hold back.”

What a flex. Nijika sighed exaggeratedly beside them.

Thanks to Nijika’s explanation, Rinto finally learned Ryo’s parents actually ran a large private hospital—full-on bourgeois.

“But Rinto-kun, you absolutely can’t let your guard down around Ryo.”

Kind-hearted Nijika twirled the cowlick on her head and seriously warned him:

“Even though Ryo’s family is wealthy and gives her plenty of allowance, this irresponsible girl spends practically every yen on instruments! That’s why she works at my sister’s place. Otherwise, she’d literally starve.”

“She’s also a serial offender who never pays back borrowed money—lots of people at our school have already suffered! Rinto-kun, never lend her money, no matter how pitiful she acts, got it?”

Hey, isn’t that going a bit far? Ryo stared pitifully at Nijika.

The gap was oddly endearing. Rinto laughed and nodded:

“Thanks, Nijika. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“But seriously, Yamada-sensei’s already helped me so much and even promised to teach me long-term. Forget lending—I should pay tuition. Not just my part-time wages here; if sensei ever needs help, I’ll do whatever I can.”

Ohhhh (o>ωω<)”

Nijika, face purple from embarrassment, threw herself into her sister’s arms, whining. Seika, 29-year-old elder sister, immediately shot Rinto a fierce glare, suspecting he'd bullied her little sister.

…Rinto heavily facepalmed.

The first thing he needed to do upon getting home was properly scold Momoka—to absolutely forbid her from posting private tweets like that ever again.

—

This is a fan translation of 东京偷心贼的日常 by 七月雨季. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!