Novice Maid Kanagi Summary (Ch 11 - 15)

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Chapter 11
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Time skips forward to the following day. Karin stammers that the day of the test has finally arrived. Kanagi asks her why she's nervous about this.

>Karin: 'C, 'Cause... with this, they'll decide whether or not you'll be able to continue as a maid-san.
>Kanagi: Hm, now that you mention it, I'm starting to get nervous myself.
>Karin: Ehh!? Wh, What should we do!? I, Is it my fault!?
>Kanagi: Fufuu, I'm joking.
>Karin: Y, You teased me... that's mean...
>Kanagi: I'm sorry. But all I have to do is do things like I always do, and I'll be able to protect my salary... that's all.

The manager appears and says that that's a good attitude to have. She needs to be a good maid during and after the test, so making what she's learned part of her routine is a good idea.

>Karin: It's the mana...Onee-sama!
>Maanger: Good day to you, Master. Now then, Nagitan, are you ready?
>Kanagi: Yeah.
>Manager: In that case, it's time for me to present the test!
>Kanagi: .....
>Manager: The test will consist of you...satisfying the next returning Master.
>Karin: Huh? That's pretty normal.
>Manager: That's right, it's something normal. But, that's exactly why it's important. By the way, about how I'm going to score you...

The manager(Onee-sama) goes on to explain that the first thing he's going to watch out for is Kanagi's customer service skills. She has to be able to guide them to their seat, take their order and see to their needs.
Second, he wants to see Kanagi care for the customers. He needs to be able to see that with every action she takes, she's thinking of them. Karin comments that it seems like something that Kanagi wouldn't be good at. Kanagi replies that she can't deny that, but she's gotten better than before.
Last, but certainly not least, he wants to see the customers leave with smiles on their faces.

Kanagi tells him that she understands and that she'll pass the test.

>Claaa~~~ng claaaa~ng

The next customer is here. Kanagi heads off to greet them. Karin cheers her on from the side.


>Konomi: H, Huh...? This place...isn't a regular cafe...?

>Konomi: W, What should I do...? A maid cafe, of all places...
>Kanagi: Yo, Master. I see you've returned.
>Konomi: -----!? Y, You're...!
>Kanagi: I'm your maid, Nagitan. Nice to meet you.
>Konomi: N, Nagitan?
>Kanagi: Allow me to guide you to your seat.
>Konomi: U, Uh... Y, You see, I...
>Kanagi: Mu, what's wrong?
>Konomi: Hyaaah!? I, It's nothing!
>Kanagi: ...You don't need to be so nervous. I won't eat you or anything.
>Konomi: E, EAT ME!?
>Kanagi: I won't.
>Konomi: R, R, R, R, Right...
>Kanagi: Here's your seat. If you need anything, please call for me.

From a distance, Karin observes that there's something wrong. Likewise, the manager doesn't look too happy. He asks Kanagi if he could have a word with her.

>Kanagi: What is it?
>Manager: ...Do you think you can keep going like this?
>Kanagi: Mu?
>Manager: That master isn't used to places like this. It might be a bit too difficult to look after her for this test.
>Kanagi: .............No matter what kind of master they may be, there wouldn't be any point if I can't satisfy them. Isn't that right?
>Manager: You're right.
>Kanagi: Besides, I don't want to abandon something I've already started. Please allow me to continue.
>Manager: .........Okay, if you say so, let's keep going.

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Chapter 12
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Kanagi returns to Konomi's table to take her order. She's still nervous and stammering about as much, if not more, than Seika. This confuses Kanagi.

>Kanagi: (I thought she was calling for me because our eyes met, but I guess I was wrong.) If you haven't decided yet, I'll come back later. Take your time to choose.

Konomi insists that she can't keep holding Kanagi back like this. So she manages to ask for a drink. Kanagi explains that there are a lot of drinks on the drink menu and lists them off. Juice, coffee, black and herbal tea...
She opens the menu up to the page with all the drinks. Konomi's impressed by the number of them.

>Kanagi: Do you know a lot about them?
>Konomi: Yes! I love flowers and herbal teas and stuff like that! Do you have any you'd recommend?
>Kanagi: Hm, a recommendation, huh... The Maid-san's Special Selection Herbal Tea is pretty popular. I don't know a lot about teas myself, but people say good things about it.
>Konomi: Oh, you're talking about the original blend, right? I'll have that!
>Kanagi: Understood.

The maid-senpai joins Karin and the manager. She says she's still concerned about how uneasy and awkward Konomi is, but she thinks Kanagi's done a good job with the basics of service and caring for customers part.
Karin and the manager agree. He adds that she's a smart girl so she's got the basics down pat. And he also compliments her for picking out something that the master seems to like.

>Karin: Does that mean that she's passed the first and second requirements!?
>Manager: ...If she keep this up~
>Karin: Hooray! She's gotten one step closer to passing! Nagitan, do your best!

However, the manager still seems concerned about something.


>Kanagi: Thanks for waiting, Master. Here's your Maid-san's Special Selection Herbal Tea
>Konomi: I, I, I, I'm sorry!
>Kanagi: Mu, what's wrong?

Konomi starts stammering that she was too friendly/acted overfamiliar with Kanagi earlier. Kanagi says she doesn't mind, and would actually prefer if they acted more like close friends like that. Konomi then insists that there's no way she could do that.


From the side, Karin comments on how she's acting funny again, despite Kanagi doing her best.

>Maid-senpai: ...Onee-sama.
>Manager: ......


Kanagi tries to alleviate the situation by suggesting that they play a game together.

>Konomi: A, A game...
>Kanagi: Are you interested?
>Konomi: U, Um...
>Kanagi: So you're not.
>Konomi: I, It's not like that...
>Kanagi: Hm, then if you're interested... how about we arm wrestle?
>Konomi: ...Arm wrestle...!? ...M, My arm'll break in half...!
>Kanagi: Break...?

>GULP GULP GULP GULP

>Konomi: I'm sorry! Please excuse me!

And she bolts for the exit. Kanagi tells her to wait, but she's obviously not listening.

>Karin: Ehh!? Sh, She's leaving!?

The maid-senpai tells the manager that they need to go back her up. The manager agrees and the two head off to intercept Konomi.

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Chapter 13
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Shortly after Konomi left...

>Manager: .........
>Kanagi: .........
>Manager: I'm sure you already know this, but...
>Kanagi: Yeah.
>Maid-senpai: Please wait a second. It's true, you can't say that what just happened was good. But up until today, she's grown.
>Karin: T, That's right! You said that she's got the basics of customer service and caring for them down!
>Maid-senpai: Besides, that Master wasn't the kind of person who likes maid cafes either...
>Karin: Please! I want you to give her one more chance!
>Manager: .......
>Kanagi: No, a promise is a promise. Besides, it doesn't matter who it is. I wasn't able to meet the master's needs. That's reality.
>Karin: But, but, you worked so hard up until today!
>Maid-senpai: She's right. It'd be such a waste.
>Kanagi: ...Both of you, thanks for helping me up until today. I'm sorry I wasn't able to meet your expectations.
>Karin: Nagitan...
>Kanagi: I'll go back to the kitchen.
>Manager: ...You're right. Right now, that'd be for the best.
>Karin: Nagitan... ...Are you really okay with this?
>Kanagi: ......Yeah.
>Karin: No...you're not okay...you're not okay with this...


Kanagi goes home alone and sighs.

>Kanagi: (It hurts...that my salary went down. But...what is this? There's something that's bothering me...even more than that.) No, it's already over. There's no point in me even thinking about it...

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Chapter 14
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Back at work, Kanagi hands 3 Fuwamoko Sweet Parfaits to Maid-senpai, and lets her know that she'll have more drinks ready by the time she comes back. The maid thanks and compliments her on her work before heading off.
Kanagi sadly watches on.

>Maid-senpai: Good work today. It was pretty busy here again today, wasn't it?
>Kanagi: ...Yeah.
>Maid-senpai: The girls in the kitchen were saying, "we're soooo~ glad Nagitan came back".
>Kanagi: ...Is that true?
>Maid-senpai: Yeah, they said it totally makes a difference.
>Kanagi: I'm just doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I haven't done anything special.
>Maid-senpai: Oh, you haven't noticed it yourself? It's not easy to prepare things that need to be done by the time they need to be.


Another worker calls for help from the senpai since the total on the register is off. She tells them she'll head over.

>Kanagi: ......... (They're glad I came back, huh... They never told me that when I was working as a maid... What's different? Both times I was being myself. ...No, it's already over. And yet, as far as I'm concerned...) ...I just don't know when to quit. Even though it's too late to understand where I went wrong...
>Manager: Ara, ara... You seem to be lost in concern~
>Kanagi: Mana...Onee-sama.
>Manager: If you're worried about what you're lacking, then think about it. Until you're satisfied, okay?
>Kanagi: .......


>Kanagi: If you're worried about what you're lacking, then think about it until you're satisfied, huh...
........ (Does he mean that I should face them head on, instead of running away...? From what's bothering me... What's bothering me inside is...)

She remembers Konomi.

>>Konomi: I'm sorry! Please excuse me!

Kanagi realizes that's not the kind of face a Master/customer should make, and that she should've been trying to prevent that from happening, rather than worry about maintaining her salary. The test aside, she needed to do her job as a maid. She concludes that that's what was bugging her.

>Kanagi: But... what should I have done?

She remembers what the manager told her, that she needs to satisfy the customer "coming home" to the cafe. Kanagi doesn't know what she should have done. And furthermore, what has she done right so far? Or was she just unable to do something at that moment? She can't think of anything.

Kanagi decides she'll just have to ask the girl (Konomi) herself. Based on the uniform, she thinks the girl goes to...

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Chapter 15
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>Konomi: Thank you very much! Please come again. Fufu, I'm glad she liked them.
>Kanagi: So you were the daughter of a florist.
>Konomi: Welcome! I'm not their daughter, I'm just working here part... ---!? Nagitan-san!? ...No, I mean! Izumi Kanagi-san! Why are you here!?
>Kanagi: Mu, so you knew who I am.

While mostly stammering, Konomi explains that any magical girl who's been one for over a year would know who Kanagi is. She comments that the Artist said the same thing when they first met. Konomi obviously doesn't know who she's talking about, so Kanagi explains that the Artist is a magical girl who she got to know through her job, and she calls her that since she draws manga.

>Konomi: .......
>Kanagi: What's wrong?
>Konomi: Um...I was just thinking...you actually talk... I thought you were a more silent and scary person...
>Kanagi: Scary? I might not look like it, but I'm trying to be a kind onee-san.
>Konomi: Kind... onee-san.
>Kanagi: But, if I knew that you were a magical girl, it would've been a lot easier to find you...
>Konomi: ---!? Y, You were looking for me? W, Why?

Kanagi explains that she was wondering about Konomi's behavior at the cafe, and also she wanted Konomi to tell her what she's still missing. She explains that she's still inexperienced, so she doesn't even know what she's lacking.
She asks for Konomi's help. Konomi agrees to tell her, though she's not sure if it'll help.


>Konomi: First, I...have to apologize.
>Kanagi: ...Mu, why's that?
>Konomi: Um...Nagitan-san...no wait, I'm sorry... it left such a strong impression that I can't get it out of my head...
>Kanagi: You can call me Nagitan. I'm fond of it myself.
>Konomi: Ehh! ...Um...Then...Nagitan-san?
>Kanagi: Yeah.

She goes on to tell Kanagi that she's heard a lot of rumors about her, so she thought that Kanagi was a scarier person. She also thought that Kanagi would get mad if she acted too familiar around her.

>Kanagi: ...A lot happened between the East and the West, after all.

Konomi agrees, though she admits that it's not good to base your opinions on a person based on hearsay. She didn't know that Kanagi's actually a nice person, so she apologizes. Kanagi doesn't mind. She's glad that Konomi eventually saw past the rumors. Konomi adds that Kanagi's also considerate. She admits that she didn't realize that it was a maid cafe when she went in, so she became nervous. But now in hindsight, she realizes how much Kanagi tried to look after her. Kanagi wasn't aware that she did this though.

Konomi reminds her of the time she seemed interested in herbal teas, and how Kanagi suggested ones to her upon noticing that. She also brings up how Kanagi tried to make Konomi feel less nervous by suggesting games and stuff like that. That being said, she won't be going back since she's not into those kinds of stores, but thanks to Kanagi's efforts, it didn't leave her with a bad memory.

>Kanagi: .......I just did that because it was my job. I didn't give it that much thought.
>Konomi: Oh, really? Even so, I was happy. You might not've intended it, Nagitan-san, but I felt that you were trying to get close to my heart.
>Kanagi: (Get close to her heart... In other words, think about what the other person wants, and meet their needs. That's what the mana...Onee-sama was said. Meaning...whether or not I can get close to the Masters...)

She realizes that she should've kept that in mind, but instead she lacked that.

>Konomi: It's true that you're a bit different, Nagitan-san, but I think you're suited for customer service.
>Kanagi: ...Really?

Konomi nods and says that Kanagi's a natural at customer service, so she tells her to keep it up. At first, Kanagi goes silent, but she smiles and thanks Konomi for her advice.