Sōta Takanashi, a 16-year-old high school student, balances part-time work at Wagnaria with studies, recruited after Popura Taneshima noted his fixation on petite aesthetics—a preference shaped by four mischievous older sisters whose antics bred his disdain for maturity. Childhood enforced feminization via hand-me-downs from absent mother Shizuka resurfaced in his "Kotori" persona: a pink-wigged facade adopted to aid coworker Mahiru Inami in circumventing her father’s smothering vigilance through calculated charm. Privately pragmatic, Sōta manages household chaos and restaurant duties with dry efficiency, bluntly critiquing Inami’s violent androphobia or Yamada’s indolence while covertly supporting their growth. His aikido expertise deflects Inami’s reflexive punches, initially framed as therapeutic training for her fear of men—a pretext crumbling when jealousy and familial prodding expose romantic feelings he reluctantly acknowledges. Though positioning himself as Wagnaria’s sole rational employee, his quirks mirror the staff’s eccentricity: comparing Popura to fragile insects, fixating on sister Nazuna’s height. At home, he paradoxically parents his older siblings, managing finances and chores despite their combative reliance. His arc culminates in embracing vulnerability, navigating Inami’s father’s interference to forge a tentative romance rooted in sparring sessions and hard-won trust. Key relationships pivot on contradictions: idolizing Popura’s doll-like stature while clashing over her immaturity, and transforming Inami from exasperating project to irreplaceable confidante. Familial scars resurface during Shizuka’s sporadic visits, forcing confrontations about fractured bonds. Through these trials, Sōta evolves from emotionally guarded caretaker to someone embracing accountability in both love and fractured kinship.