Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

That's how it is for now; we can only wait and see.

As she entered the convenience store, she heard two familiar voices.

Welcome!

However, the two shop assistants at the front desk relaxed when they saw that it was Eri Aragaki.

Hideaki Yamazaki said with a smile, "Aragaki, you've finally come to relieve us."

Nobuyuki Goto nodded in agreement and said, "I was worried you might be late again."

These are her colleagues Hideaki Yamazaki and Nobuyuki Goto, who are also students at Tokyo Metropolitan University. After all, most of the people who work at convenience stores are university students, middle school students, or adults who haven't found jobs yet.

Eri Aragaki checked the time; it was just about time for her shift to start, so she gave them a thumbs up.

This is one of her strange habits. Since she doesn't know how to reply to others, is a little too lazy to reply, and doesn't want to really ignore others, she just replies with a thumbs-up gesture.

Then she continued, "Sorry to keep you waiting, you can go home now."

Then she prepared to go to the changing room at the back of the store to change into her work uniform for work.

"Um, Aragaki, are you free after get off work?"

At that moment, Nobuyuki Goto suddenly said, "We're having a cocktail party after get off work, would you like to come?"

His expression was open and honest, but his eyes held a burning passion for Eri Aragaki.

That's normal, though. It's not that Eri Aragaki is bragging, but she really is quite beautiful in this life, beautiful enough to debut as a model.

His height is also due to being born into a wealthy family, where he received excellent nutrition from a young age. At 1.72 meters tall, he is definitely not considered very tall.

But in this life, Eri Aragaki is a girl, and this is Japan. According to statistics, in 2007, the average height of Japanese men was only about 167cm, and that of women was about 152cm.

Eri Aragaki's height is exceptionally tall for a typical Japanese woman.

However, this also makes many short Japanese men feel inferior.

However, Nobuyuki Goto was very confident because he was indeed quite tall, standing at 1.8 meters.

Eri Aragaki raised an eyebrow but refused outright, saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, I've been a bit too tired lately. I want to go home and rest after get off work. You guys go ahead, I won't go."

Goto Nobuyuki was about to say something when, at that moment, another petite figure ran in.

She is a petite and pretty girl.

She bowed to Hideaki Yamazaki and Nobuyuki Goto, then bowed to Eri Aragaki, and said, "Ah, I'm sorry I'm a little late."

"It's okay, Ayane, I just arrived too..."

Eri Aragaki said with a smile, "Alright, let's get ready for work."

Goto Nobuyuki, however, persisted and asked, "Aragaki, this is our university reunion, it's all students from our school, don't you really want to go?"

"I'm sorry, Goto, I'm really tired after work."

Eri Aragaki yawned and said with a laugh, "Go ahead, have fun."

Nobuyuki Goto had no choice but to give up.

However, at this moment, Hideaki Yamazaki looked at another girl present, Ayane Takeda, and asked, "Ayane-chan, would you like to come to our party after get off work?"

"Huh? Me?"

Takeda Ayane was stunned, then blinked and asked curiously, "But didn't Goto-senpai say it was a gathering of Tokyo Metropolitan University? Can I attend too?"

Unlike Eri Aragaki, Hideaki Yamazaki, and Nobuyuki Goto, she is not a student at Tokyo Metropolitan University, but a freshman at Tokyo Denki University this year.

"of course can."

Hideaki Yamazaki quickly waved his hand and said, "Ayane-chan, even though you're not from our school, we're all the same age. It'll be so much fun drinking and chatting together."

Nobuyuki Goto chimed in, "Yeah, Ayane. Our party is at that izakaya right next to the station, only a five-minute walk away, it's really convenient."

Ayane Takeda hesitated for a moment, glancing at Eri Aragaki, then at Nobuyuki Goto and Hideaki Yamazaki.

Nobuyuki Goto continued, "Besides, Ayane, you work so hard, it's only right that you relax a bit."

Hideaki Yamazaki said with a smile, "Yes, we'll also be inviting a few other friends, all of whom are very easy to get along with."

Ayane Takeda said softly, "Um, I'm actually not very good at drinking."

Nobuyuki Goto waved his hand and said, "It's okay, you can come even if you don't drink. Let's eat something and chat."

Ayane Takeda then looked at Eri Aragaki, seemingly wanting to ask for her opinion.

Eri Aragaki was about to go to the changing room when she saw Ayane Takeda's gaze and stopped in her tracks.

She turned to look at Nobuyuki Goto and Hideaki Yamazaki and said, "Goto, Yamazaki, Ayane shouldn't go tonight."

Goto Shinichi was taken aback and asked, "Why?"

“Ayane’s family lives in Adachi Ward, which is quite far from here.”

Eri Aragaki said calmly, "The party ends late at night, it's not safe for her to go home alone."

Hideaki Yamazaki immediately said, "We can take her home."

"You guys drink too, how are you going to deliver the drinks?"

Eri Aragaki shook her head and said, "Taking a taxi from Adachi Ward to here isn't cheap, and Ayane doesn't earn much money from her part-time job to begin with."

Upon hearing this, Ayane Takeda's eyes lit up, and she whispered, "Aragaki-senpai is right, my home is indeed quite far away."

Nobuyuki Goto tried to persuade him further, saying, "How about Ayane stays with us for the night? I have a spare room in my dorm."

Eri Aragaki frowned and said, "Goto, it's not appropriate for you to talk like that."

Goto Nobuyuki realized he had misspoke and quickly explained, "That's not what I meant. I just said I could sleep on the living room sofa."

Eri Aragaki said, "Alright, you guys go have fun. Ayane can stay here and help me tidy up the shop."

Ayane Takeda nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I'll listen to Aragaki-senpai."

Hideaki Yamazaki was somewhat disappointed, but he didn't say anything more.

Goto Nobuyuki chuckled awkwardly and said, "Alright, alright, we'll be going now. Thanks for your hard work, Aragaki."

Eri Aragaki gave a thumbs up and said, "Yeah, have fun."

Nobuyuki Goto and Hideaki Yamazaki packed their things, changed their clothes, and left the convenience store.

As Ayane Takeda watched their retreating figures, she breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Eri Aragaki, "Aragaki-senpai, thank you for getting me out of that predicament."

Eri Aragaki waved her hand and said, "It's okay, let's go, let's go change our clothes and get ready for work."

Ayane Takeda nodded happily and said, "Okay."

Chapter Five: Time Travel, But Still Need to Find a Job

Soon, after changing their clothes, Eri Aragaki and Ayane Takeda began their night shift at the convenience store.

The main task during this period is to replenish the missing goods on the shelves, and to put discount labels on bento boxes that are about to expire or vegetables that are not fresh before putting them on the shelves.

This is also why the night shift at convenience stores is relatively busy.

Bento boxes that are about to expire or vegetables that are not very fresh are put back on the shelves with discount tags. The price is definitely much cheaper than the original price. In fact, many people who are on a tight budget will specifically look for this time period to buy these bento boxes that are about to expire and vegetables that are not very fresh.

In fact, Eri Aragaki has done the same thing.

There was no other way; the pressure was just too much.

However, she definitely makes sure her younger sister Erina eats fresh vegetables and ingredients every day, as her sister is still growing.

She's the one who eats this kind of near-expiry bento box with less-than-fresh ingredients.

I really don't have any savings left.

Putting aside the debt issue, even daily expenses left Eri Aragaki quite strapped for cash.

The savings her parents left behind were used to pay for her university tuition and Erina's tuition, but then their house was auctioned off, so they are now living in a rented place.

That's how big cities are; every inch of land is precious. Even the relatively run-down rental room outside the 23rd ward that Eri Aragaki rents, which is less than 10 square meters in size, costs 4 yen a month.

Even though Eri Aragaki applied for a scholarship with a monthly allowance of 30,000 yen, her monthly expenses still slowly depleted her savings of over 800,000 yen.

Given the current situation, she'll eventually run out of money, so since she can't find any new sources of income, she has no choice but to cut back on spending.

However, after doing a lot of research recently, she found a way.

Having memories of her past life, she was certain that she could succeed.

In reality, Eri Aragaki and Ayane Takeda also completed their work quite skillfully in the time that followed.

When restocking, Ayane Takeda couldn't reach the high shelves; even on tiptoe, she was still a bit short.

When Eri Aragaki saw it, she walked over and easily placed the goods on the upper shelf.

"Ayane Takeda whispered, "Aragaki-senpai is so tall."

Her eyes held a clear look of envy and a hint of admiration.

Eri Aragaki said with a smile, "It's not that tall, is it?"

She was absolutely telling the truth, after all, she was 1.8 meters tall in her previous life, but now she's 10 centimeters shorter after transmigrating.

But she felt a little strange at this moment, because... Ayane Takeda was too close, and she felt a little uncomfortable.

After all, he was a man in his previous life, so he still felt strange emotions when he was in close contact with beautiful girls.

However, she didn't show it and turned around to continue moving the next box of goods.

The store was busy until about an hour before closing time, when the number of customers began to dwindle.

Takeda Ayane breathed a sigh of relief, took a sip of water, sat down on a chair behind the convenience store checkout counter to rest, and said, "Finally, it's time to get off work."

Eri Aragaki was carrying those heavy goods.

For example, a Asahi beer crate weighs about ten kilograms.

Suntory's oolong tea beverage case is also quite heavy.

In addition, there are Coca-Cola glass bottled beverage cases, which are also quite heavy to move.