Delivery Girl Roruko No. 2, Episode 3: 'I Have No Money!'

Episode 3: 'I Have No Money!'

Past noon. It was a calm day, unusually so, with no wind.
Roruko packed the food into her delivery bag, kicked the stand, and hopped onto her bike.

'Alright, time to make the drop. I've got plenty of time, this one's gonna be a breeze.'

She checked the delivery information on her phone.
That was when an unfamiliar phrase caught her eye on the screen.

'...Payment method?'

Feeling a bit curious, she tapped on the item.
What appeared was the text '1,240 yen'.

'Wait... this is cash!?'

Her heart skipped a beat.
Roruko hurriedly returned to the home screen and tapped the 'Settings' button in the bottom left.

Right in the middle of the screen that opened, the toggle for 'Accept cash payments' was firmly switched on.

'...Seriously? I don't remember turning that on...'

She traced back her memories.
—Come to think of it, someone had said, 'It turns on automatically once you pass 50 deliveries.'

'Oh no... wait, what happens if I turn it off?'

While panicking, Roruko switched the toggle to off.
But the display didn't change. The text 'Payment method' and '1,240 yen' was still clearly there for the current order.

'...So it turns out turning it off now doesn't change anything after all...'

She checked her wallet.
There was only one 1,000 yen bill, a few 10 yen coins, and a few 1 yen coins... no 500 yen coins...

'...And I did a bit of impulse buying yesterday... I'm completely out of small change...'

'...If they hand me a 2,000 yen bill... I'd need 760 yen in change... no, that's definitely not happening...'

Anxiety began to slowly creep in.

—A few dozen minutes later, at the destination apartment building.

Her fingertips trembled slightly as she pressed the intercom.

Uber delivery!

The door opens. A young female customer comes out.

Oh, thanks! ...Um, it was cash, right?

She holds out 2,000 yen.
The displayed amount is 1,240 yen.

Roruko opens her wallet and her face twitches.

I'm sorry... I don't really have much change...

Oh, that's fine! Just keep it as a tip!

—A tip? ...Oh, is that what this is? ...That's a relief...

At that moment, all the strength left her body at once.
Relief, embarrassment, shame, and a mix of indescribable emotions all came rushing in at once.

Oh, thank you so much...!

She had no choice but to smile.

The door closes.
The sound seems unusually loud.

After standing there for a while, Roruko let out a small sigh.

...That was seriously embarrassing...

She can feel her hair sticking to her forehead and her neck getting damp.
Even though she hadn't been running at all, she felt like she had broken out in a strange sweat.

—A park bench.

Having finished her delivery, Roruko was nibbling on a convenience store rice ball, feeling somewhat depressed.
The sky was starting to turn a bit orange, and nearby, pigeons were pecking at the sand.

Beside her, before she knew it, that silent delivery person was sitting there.

(Ah, No. 2. Wait, why are you sitting next to me?)

Still the same expressionless face while fiddling with a smartphone.
But, somehow... she felt like she was getting used to seeing them.

After a brief pause, Roruko spoke up quietly.

“...I just had a cash order come in.”
“It’s my first time today... I didn't realize it until after I finished the pickup, and on top of that, I didn't have enough change...”

As she said it, she started to find it a little funny.
If nothing else, she might as well turn it into a story.

He lifted his head just a little and replied with a single sentence.

“Everyone feels like that at first.”

“...Is it really that common?”

There was no reply.
But Roruko didn't push for a response or tease him any further.

He quietly re-wrapped the seaweed on his rice ball, while
staring at the app screen with a look that seemed to say, 'Is the next order here yet?'

That silence felt a little kind.

Being 'broke' isn't just about what's in your wallet.
I still lack experience, composure, and the ability to handle things.

But well, I can just fill those gaps little by little, right?
I did my best today, didn't I? ...Number 2.

Afterword: Memories of my first cash order

This episode where Roruko panics over a cash order was actually based on my own experience andwritten by an AI.

My first cash order was even worse than Roruko's; I didn't remember turning it on in the settings, it just appeared on its own, and I onlyrealized it at the drop-off pointwhen I saw the words 'payment method'.
The panic I felt back then... I really understand how Roruko feels.

By the way, back then, I had zero motivation to work.
My savings were running out (not that it's much different now),
and I started Uber in a state of 'I seriously need to work or I can't pay rent.'
(Even as I said that, I still made sure to replace my bicycle chain with a brand new one.)

But Roruko isn't like that.
Even while failing, she's trying to move forward.
That's exactly why I wanted a reason for her to be short on cash—so I had theAI write the episodein episode 2.5 about her 'splurging on merch of her favorite characters.'
Buying merch of the series you love is just unavoidable, right? Yeah.

By the way, when I started Uber (about 4 years ago), the system was set up so that cash orders were forcibly enabled once you hit 50 deliveries.
I didn't know that and accepted one, and without any 5-yen coins, I handed over 10 yen and was basically in a 'please forgive me' state.
There was no kind person like Roruko's customer who told me to just keep it as a tip.

Maybe because I'm working in Tokyo now, I feel like cash orders themselves have decreased,
but even so, I feel like about 70-80% of customers tell me, 'Keep the change.'
When that happens, I feel a little bit rewarded.

So, with that experience as a base, I hope this 3rd episode, which theAI worked hard to write,
is a story that makes you laugh a little at your 'first failure'.

*This work is fiction.

The characters, organizations, locations, and events appearing in this work are fictional and unrelated to any real-life counterparts. Additionally, while some depictions are inspired by the posts and activities of real X (formerly Twitter) users, they have no connection to any specific individual or organization, and the content is based on fiction.