The expert of Anomalies

"Taste it." Sagen Takei pushed the plate of cake closer to Amao Shingu, "You've never tried my cake."

March in late spring, plus the last few days of heavy rain, today the sky is clear, but the atmosphere is gloomy like the gloomy faces of the homeless. In the store, it's really hard to feel the change of seasons, no matter how warm it is outside because the temperature is kept at the right thanks to the air conditioner.

"Oh, I don't really like sweets." Amao Shingu said honestly but still used a spoon to take a small sip, delicate ice cream, ice, and durian mixed with the smell of cow's milk made his eyes shine. Amao Shingu let go of the spoon, "Thank you for the treat."

The storefront is a warm yellow instead of a light green fresh, the store is called Wood Statue. But most of the revenue comes from the pastry business. People say this is Wood Carving Bakery, but no one knows that the shop was originally set up just to make the wood carving.

The kitchen of the store is not large, rudimentary, and divided into five main areas, the main course, the sweet breakfast salad, the bread, and the soup, the iron, and the cleaning area, and Sagen Takei, the owner of this store took a while to separate the positions of the chefs clearly. For example, the person in charge of making coffee can also make a delicious cream cake.

Sagen Takei sat down across from him, hands resting on his chin, looking at him with complicated eyes. Suddenly, he said, "I'm closing the store tomorrow."

Amao Shingu has a point of surprise: "Is business difficult?"

Sagen Takei did not attempt to hide his loss. "You're right, I can't deliver next month's rent." After saying that, he stared at Amao Shingu, he desperately wanted to find someone to lament. "Besides you, I don't have any guests here on weekends. From the beginning of last year until now, I really can't stand it anymore."

Amao Shingu suddenly felt that Sagen Takei was bitter and not easy. Sagen Takei was still babbling, Amao Shingu didn't bother him, just quietly accompaniment. Amao Shingu showed patience and gentleness, making Sagen Takei calm down, he shyly smiled and said, "I talk too much. It's embarrassing."

"No problem." Amao Shingu replied with a smile, "Do you have any plans for the future?"

“Go home with the pack.” Sagen Takei cheerfully said, “My family helps me find a job. Research sweets instead of continuing to do woodcarving.”

Amao Shingu nodded, letting out a long sigh. “After this, I don't know where to find such beautiful wooden statues anymore. Anyway, good luck to you."

"Yes, but rest assured, your wooden statue will be delivered on time."

“I know. You are a trusty man."

“Also, I will give you a 30% discount, as a service for the end customer.”

The music at the company is very gentle and melodious, the work is not heavy, every time he carries his bag to leave work, he finds it very difficult to understand when some people are still scratching their heads with documents. 

Therefore, when Amao Shingu is out of work, often stops by Sagen Takei's woodcarving shop. The store is not big, but because there is one side of the window close to the ground, the space is bright, taking advantage of the visual sense to make the whole space expand a lot. From the outside looking in, the situation is not bad. The floor is astronomical marble, with the same pure white wall, the wall surface contrasts with typical Western-style food photography.

Amao Shingu's boss is a very old-fashioned person, and he hates people calling him conservative, he often preaches in conferences, the purpose is to bring life and work together, and very specific timelines. He was a very boring, old man in Amao Shingu's mind. He hated old things, and now he hates them even more, so a uniquely decorated shop with rarely-bought products attracted Amao Shingu's attention. It is also possible that people's tendency is to find a special place in an unfamiliar city to make memories in their hearts about that city.

In the store suddenly came out a girl, wearing a white shirt, lowering her head to display decorations, but unlike in Western restaurants, the waitress wanted to dress up formally, this girl also wears an apron over her shirt, with a pair of loose, long pants. Small leather shoes, looks clean and neat. This store piqued his interest.

The waitress pulled out a blackboard, with brightly colored texts: Buy two identical cakes and receive a tiny wooden sculpture for free.

The first thing that attracted Amao Shingu's attention was not the girl's appearance, but her dress, wearing a white shirt, wearing a black apron, not wearing a chef's hat, and wearing chef shoes, Amao Shingu couldn't help but speculate that she was in the position of a restaurant, a chef and an accountant?

The girl and another cashier talked when the girl looked up at him. And then the girl quickly lowered her head, frowning slightly.

In the store, the employee is always in a state of shortage, each person can't wait to be two users. Especially on weekends, they all have to fly up. It's not wrong to think that there are not enough employees, there are only five chefs in the shop, and there are times when people have to work in both fields, including the waiter. Therefore, her wearing the clothes of the half-piercing style, is the means of playing the character.

"New employee?" Amao Shingu asked. "Is the store really about to close?"

Sagen Takei just smiled, he didn't answer Amao Shingu's question, but asked another, "My talk is enough, have you had something to talk about lately? I see your look not very well."

Amao Shingu was silent. The two of them are just high school friends, their current relationship is closer than when they were in high school, but in short, it's not to the point of having to share everything in their lives. The situation he encountered was very unbelievable, his feelings about it were also very vague, and he didn't know whether to share or not.

Amao Shingu looked at Sagen Takei again. He needs a confidant. Above all, someone who can understand him. He feels like Sagen Takei can do it.