Ch.1 Nanashi Mumei
Mumei's sigh could be heard from the opposite side of the table.
"Anything troubling you?"
"Yes. Everything."
A calm silence followed, interrupted by the occasional clink of glasses in the empty bar.
"You will eventually get it. I believe in you." An old bartender spoke with an annoying smile.
"How would you know?"
"Well I figured, if I of all people got out, you should be able to too!"
Well, you're gifted. But Mumei kept it to herself.
"Rest up! You won't be getting breaks like now later."
As the old man walked away from sight, Mumei stared into her empty glass.
Mumei didn't know what to do about her life. The future was unclear, and too many uncertainties blocked her foresight. She didn't know what she was thinking, and would often get frustrated.
"What am I doing with my life.." She mumbled.
"Got a problem, miss?"
"No old man. I'm just sick of myself."
"Well, that's a problem, a huge one at that!"
"Why would you care?" Mumei could feel herself getting rude with the old person, and worried he might be too offended. "I apologize, but nobody cares about me."
The old man grinned, somewhat less annoyingly. "Thanks for your honesty, but I care about you."
"Well, that's your job."
"I wouldn't say so. Everybody that comes in here and behaves well tends to have a good heart. And I care about them as I do right now"
"I'm not that nice."
Yes, especially after what I did to my best friend, I am not so good. I lied to her a lot. I don't know what my lies caused, but I bet it's no good.
"You look confused."
Mumei twitched sensitively and glared defensively.
But the bartender didn't look away, and only smiled annoyingly.
Just because you're old doesn't mean you get to get away with being condescending.
"I'm not."
"You know, I don't look down on you." The old man said as he wiped the glasses with care.
"Hahah. You should." Mumei talked sarcastically in order to annoy him.
"I really don't. After all, what's to look down on your pain? Just because I lived longer and felt greater pain doesn't make your pain any less painful. What did I ever do for you except give you a small drink?"
The old man handed Mumei a cocktail. "This is on the house."
Mumei stared at the old man. "You're respectable, I will give you that."
"Well, you're very kind."
"I only tell the truth."
After all the lies she spread in this world, the guilt she felt allowed her to change to be a little bit more honest.
"Thanks for the drink." Mumei paid her tab.
"I…did say it was on the house."
"It's a tip, then."
"Okay then, much gratitude."
Mumei left with a smile as her back faced the calm and collected bartender.
Ch.2 Ouro Kronii
"I hate people. This person and that. They're all annoying. What can I say? They're all trash."
The bartender smiled annoyingly.
"Well, it's people like you who will love others the most."
"Huh? What gives you that?" Kronii smirked.
"Well, you are a reasonable person, but you don't yet appreciate this. People who know the bad side of others the most are the ones who can overlook that terrible nature to come to love them."
"Heh. Nice wording, but I doubt that. What can I do to change them to be better? They don't seem to change."
"But miss, you don't need to do anything except be honest to yourself."
"What do you mean by that?"
"All you need to do is to not feel guilty about your own words. And if you're honest to yourself, how can you feel guilty?"
Kronii stared into the old bartender's eyes.
"Can I really be kind?"
"Of course. If you're not ashamed of your own kindness, there is nothing to be afraid of. And like I said, be honest to yourself. You don't even need to reveal your thoughts to others."
Kronii grinned.
"Thanks for the kind advice. Give me another one, this time your choice."
"As you wish."
And the bartender gave her a refreshing drink in an attempt to wash away her sorrows.
Ch.3 Koseki Bijou
"I'm not nice."
The bartender gave her a light one.
"Well, kindness is subjective, although it seems like a clear idea."
"Then how do I know what others would like?"
He put down the shaker.
"Just do what you think is kind."
"But…that's only my thought."
"And who says your thoughts don't matter? For your information, it does matter. Just do what you think is right. I bet your heart will become obvious once you put in the effort."
"What if it doesn't get across?"
"Then the fault also lies in others who didn't notice as much as you tried to. Besides, what choices do you have? Your thoughts are your only companion most of the time."
"...I'm sleepy."
"I will call the cabs for you."
"Thanks."
Ch.4 Mori Calliope
"A lot of people hate me."
"Well, all popular people have haters."
Mori Calliope pouted. "Well that's true. But it still hurts."
The bartender gave her a strong dose.
"That's why I don't try to be famous. Popular people have too many problems.
"Yeah. That's wise. But I can't live without my popularity anymore. It's my living. Also, I chose to be popular."
"Let me wash the dish."
The spill of the sink was calming, and Calliope forgot about her troubles for a very brief moment.
When the bartender returned, Calliope was waiting.
"So, any advice?"
The bartender spoke. "Well, honestly. I don't have much advice. After all, I never was that popular."
"For someone who wasn't, you sure seem to know my problem."
"Well, I can imagine."
"Then can you imagine an answer too? Come on, just entertain me."
The bartender put his knuckle on his chin.
"Hmm. Let me write something down."
He started to scribble some notes. He posed thoughtfully from time to time, and would scribble some more.
"Okay, I got a clearer idea."
"Oh, entertain me."
"You're stressed from exposure."
"Well that's a given."
"True. But I mean that your qualities are highlighted."
"Highlighted?"
"Yes. In the end of the day, popular people are no different from normal people. The only difference is publicity. Your good qualities were highlighted, but so were the bad ones as well. And you're worried. You don't want to show any bad qualities."
"True. And what should I do about that?"
"I say do what's convenient. Even show some bad sides from time to time. It's better than exploding all at once."
"...is that the only way?"
"I sure think it is. What do you think?"
More Calliope sipped on her drink. It somehow tasted bitter.
The bartender smiled. "Look, popularity enlarges your quality, the good ones, and the bad ones. If you want to be popular, you better be prepared for your audience to look out for even your little flaws. Sure, they will even blame you and hate you more than necessary. But that's what popularity does. Deep inside you know you're no different from a normal person. You know that you don't have special opinions, and that's what makes you great. You're relatable."
Mori Calliope smiled. "That's great words. Thanks Bartender."
"Much obliged. Thank you for listening to me."
"No, thanks for saying it."
The bartender gave her a cold one, and Calliope happily paid for her bills.
Ch. 5 Gigguk/ Garnt
"I can't think of any content."
"You mean, like a writer's block?" The bartender muttered while cracking an ice into shape.
"Exactly like a writer's block."
"Well, can't help you on that boss. You're a better content creator than I am."
"Well, I heard this place gives advice."
"Well, I try to."
Garnt leaned on his elbow. "Just come up with something. I will pay you extra."
The old bartender laughed. "I know that you don't want to depend on me for any ideas. How about I give you some ideas about procrastination? For free, of course. Advice is service."
"Sure, go ahead."
The bartender wipped out a note, and started to take notes.
"I didn't say anything. What are you writing?"
"I'm writing to clear my mind. Give me a sec."
"Can I look at it?"
"Sure, after I am finished with it."
The bartender clicked his pen in a gesture that told he was finished.
"Well?"
"We sure do say 'Well' a lot."
"Hahah we sure do. Now tell me."
"You feel slow on your progress."
Garnt nodded. "That's exactly how I feel."
"There's a deadline, but you seem to not meet it. Even worse, the deadline is not absolute since you're a content creator with freedom. Oh, and let's add this too. You think your ideas are all the same. Wait, no. Let's not go too off tangent."
"I say that's a meaningful tangent."
"I say we must focus on the deadline and the slow part. Here, I got some ideas. First, I read this in a book somewhere. It says "Treat your deadline sacred." The author never stops you to push it back if it cannot be met, but I add my advice here. You never know when you're too late. My dad would say often, "Your latest moment is the fastest." Though it's debatable, I can't deny that I sometimes mistake "I'm too late when it wasn't so.""
"Okay. Okay. That still doesn't give me ideas."
"How about you treat the deadline you couldn't achieve as just another meaningful tangent? Treat it as a lesson learned for later. Your failure teaches you your limit, and thus tells you the nature of this world. When you know your limit, it doesn't necessarily stop you. It doesn't only tell you your best was lacking. It tells you that you have been doing it wrong, and it inspires you to analyze yourself. At least, I think you should."
"Yes…You got good points. But I am still stuck. I don't know if I will meet the deadline I really must keep to keep myself alive. I am not THAT free."
"Oh. That's easier to advise."
"Yea..wait what? No way. Tell me."
"Just have faith in yourself."
"Ah nah. Not this religious shit."
"Not so religious, if I do say so myself. Though I am religious myself. But I digress."
The bartender pushed the drink towards Garnt.
"It's the 'that's that." spirit."
"That's that spirit? What's that?"
"It's to accept the situation as the way it is."
"Okay. And? How does this relate? Isn't that just being complacent?"
"If you fail to meet your goal, that's that. If you meet your goal, that's that. And when failure and success doesn't decide your goal, you begin to assume it's going to happen anyway. This is where faith comes in. If you will succeed, you will go through the only path that leads to success. And what is that?"
"...me getting an idea for content. Wait. This is some metaphysical stuff. Are you saying, that if I just assume it will happen, then I will achieve it? It's as if I'm willing it to exist! That's bs!"
"Oh no. It's not that bs. But I do agree, if it follows your words, it is indeed bs. But, if you don't achieve it, that only means your confidence was wrong. Look. I'm all grown up myself, but even I couldn't promise any absolute future. But we adults have to. That's what adults do to comfort our children. We have to take responsibility for our words, even if we're unsure ourselves. And if you fail, it surely won't kill you."
"How would you know?"
"Failure doesn't kill, or I would be already dead."
"Okay, you got a point. Okay. What should I do again?"
"Have faith in yourself."
"Right...Can you say everything you just said again?"
"...no. Sometimes you just gotta learn by yourself. I had no teacher on the matter myself. Treat it as a challenge. Kudos to your efforts!"
"Hah..That's why I don't trust bartenders."
Garnt chuckled, and made a toast with him for his success.
Ch. 6 Nanashi Mumei
"I'm afraid of not knowing. I mean, they could be thinking of anything."
The old bartender posed thoughtfully. "I get that. The world is a big place. There can be anything."
"Yeah."
"But, people are surprisingly predictable."
"What do you mean?"
"People and the world people live in are different topics. The world is a mysterious place, but people react in limited ways. Anger, Sad, Happy, Outraged, Excited, they're pretty limited."
"I…don't think I can predict even people."
"It doesn't take forever to have a grasp of it. You just need to feel you need to invest the time."
Mumei sipped on a cold one. "I'm thirsty. Tonight I'm gonna get drunk!"
"Please don't. It's hard to handle your aftermath."
"You can't stop me!"