"Mr. Hyakuzawa, as much as I wish to help you and your impotency, I have to reserve my blessing for my other appointments today, so please visit me in my apartment once you have another free time," I told Mr. Hyakuzawa.

"Yes, I'll do that," Mr. Hyakuzawa answered in a low voice. 

The poor guy was broken on the inside from Yumi's painful revelation. I'd be like that too if a man told me that my body was not sexy enough to get him up.

"You may go home now. As for Yumi, sorry but you have to stay here to assist me with the matter tonight."

"Yes, I'll be taking my leave now."

"I'm honored! I'll do my best!"

With Mr. Hyakuzawa leaving the building, I told Yumi the plan to change the outer concrete building into a coffee shop and that we already had someone to visit this afternoon to discuss the deal.

"His name is Mr. Seizou Arima, an experienced barista in his mid sixties who has retired due to his deteriorating health condition over the years," Uncle Junta explained.

"He told me to visit him at 1 p.m. at his house today, so we have to leave soon for this meeting."

"Alright, let's give him a visit, then. Oh, and Yumi, I hope you're ready for a sudden study session and take it seriously," I told Yumi.

"I'll try my best!"

Oh my, I have never seen such enthusiasm from her when she was in class, what a refreshing experience for my heart.

~•~

"Mr. Minamoto! How do you do! Come on in, I lived alone here so you and the girls don't have to hold back!"

Mr. Arima invited us as we arrived in his humble abode. He might not be the rich type of a man, but he certainly had his savings going.

"Oh, where's my manners at! My name is Seizou Arima, an ex-coffee brewer," he introduced himself with a cordial bow.

"Good afternoon, I'm sorry to bother your retirement but, my name is Yayoi Minamoto, Junta Minamoto's nephew," I introduced myself.

"Glad to make your acquaintance, my name is Yumi Ishikawa, Yayoi's classmate," Yumi also introduced herself.

"Excuse us for disturbing your peaceful day, Mr. Arima," Uncle Junta told him with a slight bow.

"It's not a big deal! You once helped me with my investment plan. Naturally, I have to pay you as long as they're within my capability. By the way, do you girls drink coffee?" Mr. Arima asked as he walked behind his kitchen that looked like a bar.

"I can drink black," I responded.

"I do… but I prefer something sweeter," Yumi answered.

"Come here then, I'll show you how I make my coffee as a demo," he told us as he waved his hand, telling us to come over.

"I'd like to first introduce you to many types of coffee beans. What are the two main species of coffee, and the difference between the two?" Mr. Arima asked with high enthusiasm.

"Ah, I know. They're arabica and robusta, right? The only difference that I know is that arabica beans have a more oval shape where robusta is more rounded," Yumi answered confidently.

"You're right! The other difference is robusta has a much stronger caffeine taste while arabica has a lot more varieties in acidity," Mr. Arima confirmed.

"Look at you! Aren't you a knowledgeable one!" I praised Yumi with a pat on her head.

"Uhm… my boyfriend loves his coffee so naturally I've learned how to brew one to his liking," she shyly admitted.

"Right! I just remembered that you do have a boyfriend! Isn't he that delinquent who often gets into trouble with the teacher? Masaki Uehara from class C, right?" 

That meant this girl also had been cheating on her partner for more or less a year now. I guess birds of a feather did flock together.

"Alright, girls! Please focus on our short introduction for a second!" Mr. Arima said with a few claps to gather our attention.

"Let's move on to the basics of brewing first, shall we? I have a few brewing tools here with varieties of shapes and concepts to work with."

~•~

The lessons we received from Mr. Arima were very fun and easy to follow. Despite his age nearing seventy, he would sometimes crack some jokes about his own experiences as a barista in the past to break some tension in his lecture.

"Let me tell you girls straight, both of you clearly have the talent to become a barista," Mr. Arima said as he put my double shot espresso and Yumi's iced caramel macchiato on the bar table.

"Thank you very much."

"Thanks…"

"I'm not even being kind here, I knew a talent when I saw one. I'm convinced that your coffee shop will last for a long time!" 

"We're honored," I responded as I sipped my double espresso.

Mr. Arima laughed wholeheartedly from our responses. 

"Well, that's all I can teach you for today. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow so we have to end our lessons here," Mr. Arima said with a bitter smile.

"Ahh, I've heard from Uncle Junta that you suffer from leukemia, is that true?" I curiously asked.

"Unfortunately, yes, it hasn't reached its most dangerous state, however, my body does feel weaker than how it used to be and I've been losing quite a lot of weight over the years," he told us.

"But I've been receiving treatments since my diagnosis so I'm expecting to survive this malignant disease in a year or two," Mr. Arima added with confidence.

This was a good chance to give him a little gift that I've prepared for this occasion. 

"Mr. Arima, as my thanks for teaching us your way of coffee making, what about a little massage to ease your tense muscles before your appointment?" I offered as I walked behind him.

"Oh? Are you sure about this?" Mr. Arima asked. And somehow, I could sense a slight amount of lust coming out of him, a very positive sign.

"Of course! You can leave it to me!" I told him as I flexed my dainty biceps.

And again, I sensed a glimpse of lust seething out of Mr. Arima. Right, this guy if I'm not mistaken was single for his whole life.

"Then please, I'd like to try your massage."

"Very well, doing it while you're lying on bed would be the easiest so, I think we should do it in your room if you don't mind, what do you think?" I told him.

"Hm? Wait a second. I should be the one who asked that question," Mr. Arima told me with unsureness.

"I know that I'm just a frail, middle aged man, but I'm still a man, you know?" Mr. Arima tried to explain his reasoning.

"Mr. Arima, you don't have to be on guard around kids, I'm sure Yayoi knows what she's doing," Uncle Junta told him.

"If Mr. Minamoto said so. But are you really sure about leaving your niece alone with a man she just met?"

"Oh, but I've known you for quite a long time now so you have my permission," Uncle Junta insisted.

Hearing Uncle Junta's words, Mr. Arima let out a loud sigh as he stood from his seat.

"Well, if you insist that much. Follow me Yayoi, my room is on the further side of this hall."

"Fufu, I'll do my best!"