We were open until late at night. The people of this world truly lived by the mantra ‘early to bed and early to rise’, so after about nine, there weren’t many places other than bars with the lights on. There was a dazzling array of bewitching lights along the high street and in the pleasure quarter, where you could see scantily clad therianthrope women, but I didn’t really have the courage to go there.

There were a lot of people that came here out of curiosity when they saw an establishment open so late ‘other than a pub’; drunkards, adventurers returning from the labyrinth, and many other types of people. Today, a customer who was strange even considering that was sitting in my café.

“It smells good,” said Faluba as he took a long inhale from the steam rising from the cup.

Even the huge mug that I had to hold in two hands looked like a normal coffee cup when he held it. His mouth wasn’t suited to drinking from a cup shaped vessel so I had worried at first, but it was a needless concern because, well… he drank the hot coffee in a single mouthful.

He was probably tasting the coffee as it pa.s.sed down his throat because he always left his face pointed towards the ceiling and stopped moving. Even sitting down, he was far bigger than me and his presence filled the area. Maybe it was the divide between his race and humanity that couldn’t be put into words, everything from the way he held himself was different.

After all, this person was a Drake. His face and such were that of a dragon, and there were two huge wings on his back.

As I prepared more coffee, I thought deeply, considering things and wondering if this counted as a strange situation.

After all, Drakes were one of the Four Emperor Races, regarded as special amongst the myriad of races; from what I’d heard.

They were amazingly strong, yet overwhelmingly few in number; from what I’d heard.

They lived on summits of volcanoes, in remote areas and other places uninhabited by people; from what I’d heard.

In fairy tales, heroes would seek out Drakes for grand adventures and receive legendary weapons; from what I’d heard.

In other words, they were an amazingly rare race; putting everything I’d heard together.

I looked across the counter to the pitch-black body casting a large shadow. Faluba was looking down again and holding his mug towards me as he gazed down with wise, gentle eyes.

“Yuu, seconds if you would, and a stronger brew this time. I want the bitterness.”

He constantly drank coffee in front of me, and he was even a regular now, but this person that heroes would frantically seek out in stories was regularly drinking coffee in a town café. It would certainly spare the heroes the effort, but what would that mean for the stories?

The hero found the Drake lounging in a café and acquired the legendary item.

It’s a pathetic fantasy, but I thought that it could well be real, as I realised another sad truth.

I was sure that this was what becoming an adult was. They might be changes that were too small to call progressions or regressions, but I certainly couldn’t return to the world I had drawn when I was a child; I had lost something in exchange for that ‘growth’.

Those were my thoughts as I watched the coffee bubble and brew; I thought of how p.u.b.erty was meaningless, of how things were, on the mutability of the word and other things. It was surely a path of thoughts that everyone followed at least once in their life.

“How have you been recently?” He asked.

“I’ve been going along,” I replied as I filled his mug. I heard what sounded like a thunderclap from his throat as the slash that formed his mouth twisted, displaying the sharp fangs that could easily rip through my arm. This wasn’t a threat or anything, this was him laughing.

“I see, you’ve been going along. Good.”

He moved his arm, which had a dull l.u.s.tre like an iron plate, and used his pointed claws to daintily lift his mug and drink his coffee – in a single gulp, of course.

I poured out another mug. He soon lifted it again, this time to his face to enjoy the scent. This was the a.s.surance that cool adults could often have; they weren’t ignoring the time, nor were they being rushed. Time around those people seemed to be peaceful, and just from Faluba being here the time in the café seemed to slow and calm down.

“I cannot visit during the afternoon so I do not know, but how has the café been doing?” He asked as he suddenly looked around the café.

“That’s been going too.”

“I see, going. So there are still those that do not know of this taste and scent, a pity.”

He shook his long head. He was someone that liked extremely strong coffee.

Everyone had one or two things they called their favourites, and for Faluba, that was coffee. He had walked in the one day, and when he tried it, he placed a gem the size of my fist on the counter and asked for the ingredients and recipe. Actually, now that I think about it, he had looked like a human then.

“Ahh… delicious. I’ve not felt the same when I have been unable to drink it recently,” Faluba said in pleasure as he drained the steaming mug as if it was filled with cool water, the wings on his back quivering.

I think he might be kind of addicted. This is bad, what’ll happen if he starts getting withdrawal? It’s not going to be a prohibition on alcohol, it’ll be a prohibition on coffee. I’ll have to sell my coffee underground then.

“Oh,” he continued as I grew just ever so slightly restless, “I forgot, I came to pay you today.”

He stretched out a finger into the empty air and lazily drew a circle with it as he spoke. Once his finger reached his starting point and completed the circle a black void hung in the air. He then reached unflinchingly into it and started to rummage around.

I had seen that several times, but I still wasn’t used to it. I mean, it was magic. For someone like me, brought up in a world of scientific rigour, it was a wondrous sight.

When he removed his arm from the hole in the air, there was a large, grey-coloured bag gripped in his hand. It bulged like a housewife’s bag on the way back from shopping.

“I obtained some gosfang meat yesterday, it was well-timed so I brought it with me. It is rather rare around here, correct?”

“I don’t know about it being ‘rare’, I’ve never seen or heard of it though.”

“That is precisely the definition of being rare, boy,” he said as he put the bag onto the counter with a thud. I nodded in agreement.

Opening the bag made me wonder if it really was the fruit of a shopping trip when I saw the variety of things within. That’s probably the gosfang meat, I thought to myself when I saw the strange-hued meat which looked like beef, but dyed blue. Besides that there were nuts which seemed more like biscuits from their quadrilateral shape, crimson medicinal plants, various spices that weren’t available here, and lots of other things.

“My apologies as always, these are so valuable.”

None of the things in this bag were easily attainable in this town.

“Hardly, these are of no major worth to me, I can find plenty by searching around the village. This coffee is of far more value to me, it is wonderful,” he insisted as he gazed longingly at the next cup of coffee as it brewed. Because he drank so much in each cup, it took a good deal of time to make another cup for him. His restless waiting made him seem somehow childish and I chuckled, just a bit.

I decided I should put the meat in the fridge as quickly as I could and looked down at the bag, ready to lift it. As I did, I noticed something sparkling in the bag and tilted my head in puzzlement. I reached into the bag and removed the meat, which was wrapped in something like bamboo leaves.

The thing reflecting the light was a large, hidden chunk of ore, bigger than my fist. Through breaks in the concrete-grey ma.s.s there was a blazing red colour, s.h.i.+ning like the sun. I picked it up, dumbfounded.

“Faluba, what is this?” I had asked before realising.

He moved, albeit just his eyes, from where he was observing the syphon to look at me.

“Ah, that? I found it a while ago. I don’t really know what it is, but Feenu told me to bring it. It’s a simple rock to us, but it should have some worth to humans, correct? Use it as you wish. Incidentally, is it done yet? Hurry with my next cup.”

He’d said it so calmly that I started thinking that way too. Ah, I see, I’ll take it then.

“Wait, it’s definitely expensive, I’ll return it.”

I didn’t have a good sense as to how gems were valued here, but I certainly didn’t think it’d be along the lines of a child’s pocket money. Even if it hadn’t have been such a big rock, I had a feeling it would be rather valuable.

However, he looked down at me in question.

“It doesn’t have value to you?”

“No, no, that’s not the problem.”

“Then what in the world is the issue.”

“It’s worth too much, for something like payment in a tiny café like this.”

“It doesn’t have value to you?”

“That’s not it, you should use it for something more worthwhile.”

“What is the issue?”

“Argh, I can’t get through to him,” I despaired to myself as I put both hands on the counter and leaned forwards. I had never thought that differing senses of value would be so much trouble. I wracked my mind for how to explain this when Faluba, who seemed to have been doing the same, opened his mouth.

“I do not really understand, I do not wish to deal in money. Coffee is wonderful, you could even call it my reason to live. These cups are why when my wife puts me to work I can keep going.”

I wonder if drake females are strong… no, that’s not what we’re talking about here. I thought to myself before he continued.

“You should give recompense for things which have value with other things that have value, correct? That stone has no value to us, however, Feenu said that it had value to humans, so I brought it. You will not accept it though, does it not have value then?”

I couldn’t quite decide how to answer with his gaze boring into me. He wasn’t wrong. I made a humming noise as I thought it over.

“It does have value,” I started, “if anything it has too much value. You’re exactly right that you should give recompense for things with value with things that also have value, I don’t have any way to give recompense for this. The stone is exceedingly valuable, so I don’t know quite whether to say that I can’t accept it, or that I’m too humbled by it.”

“Hmm, I see.”

He nodded, before falling into silence.

I looked somewhat regretfully at the stone on the counter. However, my opinion was that cheerily taking something like that would certainly come back to bother you in the future. You couldn’t call something more than you deserved worthwhile. Everything would be much easier if there weren’t those differences in wealth, t.i.tle, and position.

“Then why not call it an investment in the future?”

“An investment in the future?” I parroted.

“I put great stock in the phrase, it is one my father used,” he said with a nod, before looking skyward as if remembering a long distant memory. “Long ago, when I was young, five people visited our village. Back then, our languages were split by the divine, and the races fought amongst each other. Those people said that they were travelling to stop the fighting, and to do so they wished to borrow the sacred treasures that had been pa.s.sed down through the history of our village. My father, the village chief, refused them once, but one of the humans spoke with him, in a tongue I did not comprehend.”

I was a little lost at the sudden reminiscence, but despite that, I used the wooden spatula to agitate the coffee grounds. Even in the middle of a tale, this was still my job.

“My father said that it was the true tongue, taken by the divine, the ‘Language of the G.o.ds’, and that people who understood such were undoubtedly working for the divine, but let us leave that aside. As a result of their discussion, my father saw their potential and bestowed our highly valued sacred treasures upon them. As he did, he called it an investment in the future. Now, our tongues are united once again, and the races as wholes do not clash. That investment was returned.”

The only reply I could give to such a grand tale was an exhausted sigh. That seemed like it was right out of legend, but it’s true. And how long must Faluba have lived? When was that tale even from?

Observing that response, Faluba must have decided that he hadn’t managed to convey what he wanted to and continued with a thunderous sound that was him clearing his throat.

“In other words, I have great expectations for the future of this café, and have no hesitation whatsoever to invest in that future for the possibility of delicious coffee, so you should not falter any further, and take it.”

I tried to open my mouth and protest, but gave up on any reb.u.t.tals at the look in his eyes, a look which said that no matter what I tried it would be meaningless. Drakes seemed to be an extremely prideful race, so it might be that they couldn’t take back what they had offered. How old fas.h.i.+oned are you?

I sighed once and then accepted it, I knew that it was more than I had earnt, but I also knew that trying to refuse it would go nowhere.

He witnessed my conflict and made a noise of satisfaction as he nodded.

“Incidentally, Yuu, could you prepare my next cup soon? I don’t think I can bear to wait much longer,” he asked, his wings aflutter.

I would pour the freshly brewed coffee, Faluba would drink it, order more, then sit there fidgeting as the next batch brewed within the syphon. Thus, I brewed cup after cup, as usual.

It hurt slightly to see the coffee I had put the time into brewing vanis.h.i.+ng in an instant, but I kept going undaunted, until the pattern broke, countless cups later. He suddenly looked towards the door, and before I could follow suit, darkness enveloped his body. It was a bizarre scene, like innumerable black belts had wrapped around him from the earth. In the next moment, a well-built man was sitting in his place. Though he had an astounding physique, the figure was undoubtedly a human, with short black hair and a finely chiselled face. This was how I had first met Faluba.

While I was still gaping at the rapid transformation, the bell rang to signify a customer.

“Are you still open?” Asked Albell. The tall belle walked in with her silver hair swaying behind her. Her cool-coloured clothes portrayed a casual impression overall, so she seemed gentler than usual.

“Yes, we are, come on in,” I said with a nod.

She walked further in with a relieved expression. She was wearing casual clothes, but still had a sword at her waist. I suppose adventurers can’t leave their weapons behind.

As she stepped closer to the counter, her eyes met Faluba’s and the air seemed to freeze.

“Excuse me,” she said as she sat in a chair one away from him, her expression and tone significantly more curt than earlier, as if she were wary of Faluba. Faluba himself spared her a glance before unconcernedly drinking his coffee.

“Would you like a coffee?” I asked with a cheerier voice than usual, making her relax again as she looked at me.

“Please, if I could.”

Faluba’s eyebrow rose, seemingly at the word ‘coffee’.

“You drink coffee too?” He asked, observing her from the corner of his eye, but not directly facing her.

“Coffee is my blood,” she replied in kind.

Faluba snorted at her joking, more of negligent noise than an enjoyable chuckle in response to a joke.

“…Is there something amusing you?”

“Not at all, I simply thought that it sounded like putting on airs, saying it is your blood is rather grandiose.”

I’m almost certain I saw a vein pulsing in her temple.

“Not to boast, but I doubt there’s a human that drinks as much coffee as me. Isn’t that right, Barkeep?”

I could do nothing but nod clumsily at the look she gave me. What’s happening? Why are things so tense between them? This should be the first time they’ve even met.

“It is precisely because humans judge things based off such trifling logic that their knowledge is so restricted. You’ve given me a good laugh. How about it, Barkeep, is there anyone that drinks coffee more than I?”

I shook my head at his calm look. You drink coffee out of an extrlarge mug, if anything the amount you drink is just bizarre.

I kept my mouth shut, refusing to say any of that aloud. Seeming to realise this in some way, Albell made a fist on the counter and her brow furrowed.

“I come here at least twice a week, and whenever else I find the time, but this is the first time I’ve seen you, so how often are you here?”

Faluba’s nose wrinkled this time.

“…Let’s see, I suppose every ten days.”

“Oh, I see. That must be difficult, if I couldn’t drink coffee for ten days I wouldn’t be able to bear it,” Albell said slowly, tilting her head back like she was proudly showing off a new toy.

What kind of compet.i.tion is this?

Lacking the confidence to interject, I silently prepared her coffee, pouring it into a cup from the flask and placing it before her, whereupon she grasped the cup and moved it to her lips in a movement I can only call elegant.

“Delicious, this is the flavour.”

“Hmph, so you just drink immediately without savouring the scent. How unrefined.”

“I enjoy the flavour as it leaves through my nose from my mouth. I’m not a demon, and I don’t wish to become the kind of person that can be sated by the faint traces of scent in the air.”

“Oh… you know what you’re talking about.”

“The same to you.”

The two of them were sat, coffee in one hand, glaring at each other. They both wore smiles, but their eyes were fierce.

There were people that just would not get along, like with the phrase ‘like cats and dogs’, some people would get angry at each other with no real reason, but I hadn’t thought I’d witness such a thing right in front of me.

In the one corner, we had a person over two metres tall, with a stern countenance; Faluba, who was actually a drake. And in the other corner, we had a slender, model-like woman; the aloof beauty, Albell.

And the two of them were fighting like little children. I felt like sighing more than just wearing a resigned smile.

“Yuu, could I get another?” Asked Faluba after draining his cup.

“Me too,” added Albell, doing the same despite the cup only just being brewed.

Then their gazes met, invisible sparks flying between them. I didn’t know quite whether to say anything or just keep silent, but decided that interrupting my customers’ conversation would be strange, so I said nothing.

I filled the flask right to its limit and prepared to brew as much coffee as I could, having had a premonition that these two would be drinking many more cups still.

“This café certainly is pleasant, it’s always so calm… well, it’s a little different today,” said Albell earnestly, making the air tingle.

“I couldn’t agree more,” answered Faluba, folding his arms.

“Coming here during the night and talking with the Barkeep as I drink wonderful coffee is so wonderful I can’t really put it into words… well, it’s a little different today.”

Huh, my stomach hurts a bit… did I eat something that had gone off yesterday?

I tried to keep my attention on the coffee as it bubbled away, but I couldn’t avoid looking at the sight in front of me. The two of them were looking at each other, smiling broadly. By the way, when I say ‘broadly’ here, I mean it in the same way a predator grins at its food.

I poured the coffees while paying as little mind as I could and presented them. Faluba started by smelling it, and Albell with a mouthful.

“The scent reaches all the way to my stomach, wonderful.”

“That flavour as it leaves through my nose is simply the best.”

Then they looked at each other and smiled. The smiles themselves were wonderful, but their eyes were completely flat. This is weird, they both love coffee, I’d have thought they’d hit it off.

“Um, why are you two competing?” I asked, finally unable to bear it.

“This isn’t a compet.i.tion. If I had to put a phrase to it, this would be playing with a young child.”

“It’s not a compet.i.tion. If I had to say, it’s like I’m humouring a selfish kid.”

Said Faluba and Albell respectively, nearly simultaneously. I ma.s.saged my temples with my fingertips, these two were giving me a headache.

Even while this was going on, they kept taking great draughts of coffee and ordering more, clearly focused on each other.

As the coffee flowed like water, they kept up with statements like: “No human loves coffee as much as I,” or “No one enjoys coffee as much as me.”

I really wished they’d stop it, because of the constant refills, I was constantly preparing the drinks: grinding the beans, boiling the water, wiping out the flask, and more.

A drip-brewer would be far better here, brewing using a syphon was a lot of effort. On top of that, I only had the one, so it took even longer. A single cup had a lot of thought go into it with the brewing time, the water temperature, and so on. Then the coffee was simply vanis.h.i.+ng while hardly being tasted.

After I didn’t know how many cups, I was finally tired of it and felt justified in my anger. Would these two become more friendly if I did so though? Of course not. While I was thinking of some way to settle it, the doorbell rang, and Linaria entered.

Her eyes went wide at the huge man and the beauty at the counter, and she went to move to a table while waving in greeting.

She’d come at the perfect time, her arrival had given me a good idea, and I beckoned her over.

She shook her head, d.a.m.n, she’s too canny…

When I kept it up, eventually pressing my hands together and begging, she finally came over.

Relieved, I turned to the two who were now, with no exaggeration, glaring openly at each other.

“Albell, Faluba, won’t you stop this squabbling?” I asked.

“We’re not,”

“Squabbling,” they said.

Why do they agree now of all times, I thought to myself, but resisted actually voicing it.

“If you absolutely must decide who’s better, why not have a tasting compet.i.tion?” I challenged, folding my arms.

“A tasting?”

“I will brew two different types of coffee, you’ll drink both and tell me which uses the better beans.”

“I see,” nodded Faluba, “it’s a test as to whether we can distinguish the flavour.”

“It’s easy to understand, right?”

“Right, I’m happy with that. Well, I do have my doubts that this giant over here won’t be able to taste the difference.”

“There is no one quite as talkative as someone lacking confidence.”

Come on, you two, why do you have to immediately start arguing.

While this was going on, Linaria was standing idly by the counter, glaring at me.

“I wish you wouldn’t get me involved,” she said.

“Sorry, sorry, will you give me a quick hand?”

“With what. I can’t do anything with this kind of person,” she spoke with an unhappy expression, glancing sideways at the two.

“Don’t make that face, they’re not bad at all, they’re good people, they’re just kind of… you know.”

She heaved a deep sigh as her shoulders dropped, her sunset-red hair flowing off her shoulders from where it was tied up behind her head.

“I’ll help a little, but not with anything weird.”

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.”

A good friend was great to have. I had her sit in a seat until she was needed and set about my preparations.

Now then, I need to concentrate for that.

Well, I thought that, but I was really only doing what I always did, my job, that is, brewing delicious coffee. I didn’t do anything special and poured the first brew into the cups. Three cups, that is, then placed them in front of the three people.

Albell and Faluba both drank more cautiously than before, sampling the scent and inspecting it closely, truly tasting it.

Of course, Linaria had a reluctant look on her face and I couldn’t help but laugh at the open distaste visible there.

“Why is there a cup for me?” She asked.

“This is my request, I want you to taste them as well.”

She shook her head.

“You know, I won’t be able to tell how good or bad a coffee is.”

“You just need to say what you think. Besides, there’s only a mouthful in the cup.”

I looked steadily at her until she finally nodded with a sigh.

Thank goodness, now I can move on to the second.

While the three were drinking, I set about the second brew, more carefully than usual, then handed it to the three of them. Faluba and Albell drank from each cup in turn, nodding to themselves.

“What do you think?” I asked Faluba when I judged it to be a good opportunity.

“The first cup was easy to drink, the bitterness was moderated and I could feel the acidity. The second had a strong bitterness to it, and the scent of the beans was more distinct… I am certain that the second cup used the better beans.”

I nodded in understanding before turning to Albell.

“What do you think?”

“I think the second cup was too bitter, and that bitterness interferes with the flavour going through my nose. Compared to that, the first cup had a more moderated bitterness and a pleasant scent. I think the first cup.”

At her declaration, their gazes clashed. Like I’d thought, their two opinions were in direct opposition. They both turned to look at me at the same time and opened their mouths.

“But, Yuu, that second cup is what I usually drink.”

“Barkeep, isn’t this first cup the coffee I usually drink?”

The two of them then looked at each other again, which made it seem like you could actually say that they had quite a good compatibility. Not answering those questions, I turned to Linaria.

“And Linaria, what do you think?”

The other two looked steadily at her. Rather than questioning her sudden inclusion, they were looking at her with great interest to see what her opinion was. I was happy to be saved the need to explain, but I wondered why they couldn’t get along if they were both that adaptable.

Linaria hesitated for a moment under our looks, but eventually just said:

“Aren’t they the same?”

Instantly, Albell and Faluba’s mouths dropped open, their expressions showing just how amateurish they thought Linaria was at not being able to tell the difference between the two clearly different tastes. And so, I looked at her with a smile.

“Correct.”

The other two faces were a sight to behold, and I wished I could take a picture. They fit the word ‘aghast’ to a tee, and even looked a little lost.

“What, no. They tasted so different… Actually, if they’re the same beans then that’s not a taste test is it?”

I smiled brightly at Albell after her question.

“It’s a common trap. I wanted you to see through that though, after all, there’s someone who got it right here,” I said, gesturing to Linaria, making Albell grit her teeth.

“I was fooled, to think they were the same beans,” Faluba mused, folding his arms, “but tell me, Yuu, why did they taste so different? I can think of no other reason than them being separate beans. I cannot believe that the coffee I usually drink and the first cup could start out the same.”

I nodded at his question, “The beans were definitely the same.

“But the flavours were different,” Albell was looking at me intently as well.

I put my hands on my hips as I revealed one of the little trade secrets of a barista.

“It’s because I changed the temperature of the water.”

“The temperature of the water?” Asked Linaria on their behalf as they stared in puzzlement. I happily explained at the well timed interjection.

“Coffee is a very delicate thing. Despite using the same beans, changing the temperature of the water can alter the taste and scent.”

“What…” Faluba practically groaned.

“So that giant and I usually drink the same beans? Yet despite that, we enjoy different tastes?” Albell asked hoa.r.s.ely with a cold bead of sweat running down her cheek.

“Exactly, you prefer a more acidic taste to the bitterness or strength, so I use cooler water to brew yours. Faluba is the opposite, he prefers a strong taste and bitterness, so I use hotter water.

“You change it depending on the customer?” Asked Linaria in shock, so I straightened in pride.

“Of course.”

They were my regulars, so I knew their tastes. Faluba and Albell were both staring in mute amazement, and I had a feeling they were finally coming to realise the true depths of the world of coffee.

“I’m ashamed of myself,” Albell said, “I was blinkered, I thought that there was only one type of coffee, the perfect drink for me, perfectly fitting my tastes.”

“Likewise, I thought the same. But, yes… it was tuned for me, as I think back on it, the first cups weren’t the same.”

“We were still inexperienced.”

“Indeed.”

I nodded several times as I watched them look at each other. Good, good, don’t fight over the coffee, accept it all and it will save the world.

They then looked at Linaria in sudden realisation.

“Then how did she get it right?” Albell demanded.

“Uh, um…”

Linaria couldn’t speak under her intense gaze and I let out a sigh, shaking my head in obvious disappointment.

“You can’t realise something so obvious?” I asked her.

“What?” Faluba asked in turn, frowning.

“As I experimented with the taste and brewing, I had her sample the results. You could call her… yes, a coffee master.”

Their faces were filled with surprise, their eyes open wide, and their mouths agape.

Linaria looked at me, her expression aghast at what I was saying.

However, the other two, having stepped into the abyss of coffee already, recovered surprisingly quickly, correcting their postures and bowing their heads to Linaria.

“Please,”

“Make us your apprentices.”

“Never.”

Friends.h.i.+p sure is beautiful, I thought, nodding deeply several times.

Once the trick was revealed it was obvious, and I’d used a similar tasting with Linaria before. She had completely ignored my expertise in changing the taste and said she didn’t really understand coffee. To think that would come in handy here though.

Before long, Albell and Faluba were shoulder to shoulder, earnestly discussing coffee as they left the café. Apparently, Albell had work tomorrow, and Faluba had to head off because if he wasn’t back in time, his wife would be scary.

Once they had gone, Linaria and I were the only two left and it was near closing time.

“There’s always strange people whenever I come here,” she commented while resting her cheek in her palm on the counter.

“Then that means you’re weird too.”

“I can stop coming,” she threatened with a smile. I raised my hands in surrender.

“Anyway, what’s happening today? You’re here pretty late,” I said. Linaria lived in the school dorms, and they had a curfew.

“I’m registered out today, so it’s fine.”

The conversation petered out for a while there, and silence reigned in the café.

I washed the used crockery, dried it, and put it away. While I did, Linaria fiddled restlessly with her café au lait, poking the cup and running her finger over the rim.

She let out a breath and lifted her head.

“Hey, are you free next week?”

“Next week? The café is open.”

“That’s not what I mean, umm.”

She paused there. It was rare for Linaria to do that, she usually said what was on her mind. She kept her right hand on her forehead as she searched for words before looking fiercely at me.

“I’m asking if you have plans for Holy Day!?”

Linaria’s energetic gaze pierced me, her cheeks were cherry-red and the question must have taken significant decisiveness and courage, I felt a little apologetic as I asked:

“Sorry, Holy Day?”

Her mouth dropped open at my question as she looked like she was seeing something unbelievable. I’d rather you didn’t look at me like some fantastical newly discovered creature.

“You don’t know? It’s Holy Day, Holy Day.”

“I don’t know which holy day, so probably not.”

“Saint Ermine’s birthday? The one they’re preparing for in town?”

Even so, I looked at her in question.

“They’re preparing?”

“They are! They’ve got those braids all over the place, far more food carts than usual and there’s a lot of people from out of town.”

Despite all the examples, none of them really meant anything to me.

“Sorry, I don’t really go out much.”

“…Ehhh.”

Please don’t look at me like something on the bottom of your shoe.

“You don’t go out? Of the café?”

“Not often, no.”

“What about the ingredients?”

“I usually get them delivered.”

“You don’t go shopping?”

“Only if there’s something I need.”

“Right…”

She was now looking at me pityingly, like she didn’t know how I lived. She curled her hand into a fist and knocked herself on the head, trying to change tracks, presumably.

“What about Saint Ermine? Do you know of them?”

“Yeah, I think they’re some famous person.”

“Well, literally the most famous person in the world.”

“Ahaha,” I tried to laugh it off, but to no avail.

After all, I wasn’t born and raised in this world, so there was a lot I didn’t know, even if it was completely general knowledge here.

“Well, whatever. Next week is the celebration of their birth, a festival essentially. It’s celebrated nationwide.”

“I see,” I said, nodding.

“And the academy has a festival too.”

“It sounds fun.”

Maybe it was like a school festival?

“The main things are a martial arts tournament and a sorcery exhibition though.”

I was wrong, it was closer to an athletics day.

“But in the evening, there’s a ball.”

“A ball game?”

“Probably not quite what you’re thinking,” she said coolly, ignoring my purposeful childishness.

“I know, where everyone dances?”

“Right, they dance, stand, eat, and chat.”

That sounded like a buffet party. It sounded fun at least, but you wouldn’t have thought so from her expression.

“Aren’t you looking forward to it?” I asked.

“I am, but all the guests are n.o.bles and important people.”

“n.o.bles? Why?”

“During the festival we can invite our friends and family, and most of the students are n.o.bles, or come from money.”

I could more or less understand her point and nodded softly.

I was sure it would be some big production, the likes of which you only saw in movies, and the n.o.bles probably ended up being the focus rather than the students.

“Will you wear a dress?” I asked out of curiosity, because it had nothing to do with me.

“…I suppose,” she said reluctantly.

A dress! What a sweet sound. In j.a.pan there probably would have been plenty of opportunities to see cute girls in dresses.

“Will you dance?”

“…Possibly.”

Dancing! What a strange sound. Would I have had chance to in j.a.pan? I’d never tried it, maybe a social dance would have worked.

I thought of dresses, dances and food as I gazed up at the ceiling. It was hard to imagine a place I’d never been, and something I’d never done.

“Say, if you’d like, why don’t you come too?” I heard.

I looked down to her to see her steadily looking at her cup.

“To the ball?”

“…Yeah.”

“I’m an outsider though?”

“I said earlier, on Holy Day, we can invite family and friends, that goes for the ball too, so I, uh, thought you might like to come with me.”

I nodded in understanding.

“It certainly does sound fun.”

It was a ball, at an academy that taught magic and fighting, at a gathering of n.o.bles, dancing, talking, eating.

I couldn’t imagine it. I knew there was no way I could get used to a place like that.

“I’ll pa.s.s this time,” I said, “thank you for inviting me though.”

I smiled, hoping that it came through.

She opened her mouth several times, but didn’t say anything, and dropped her eyes.

“…I see, yeah, got it.”

“It really does sound fun, but I can’t dance, and I don’t even have a dress,” I said, trying to lighten the mood as I forced a laugh, but they were nothing but excuses.

“No, it’s fine, sorry for springing it on you.”

She stood and smiled at me, a smile that wasn’t quite as strong as usual.

“Good night then,” she finally said as she left.

It would have been easy to stop her, but I couldn’t.

The bell rang and she left. I didn’t move for a while, I just stood there, looking at her cup.

Then I started closing up, changing the sign on the door to ‘Closed for the Day’ and locking the windows. I swept up the rubbish from the floor and wiped down the benches and counter with a damp cloth.

I cleaned the kitchen floor after that, and prepared the ingredients for tomorrow.

Now then, umm…

I suddenly felt like everything was just all too much and stopped my cleaning, took off my ap.r.o.n, and sat myself in a chair. As I sat, I felt my body grow heavy.

I felt bad for turning her down. Why did I do it? Wouldn’t a ball be fun?

n.o.bles, dresses, Holy Day. It all swirled around in my head.

n.o.bles, dresses, Holy Day, what’s with this world, is it real?

I couldn’t understand any of it. Where was this? Why was I here? Why couldn’t I go back? I missed my own family, my Grandpa, my Dad, my Mom. I couldn’t even properly remember their faces, and that saddened me.

I looked around the café.

It was mine, my café. It reminded me of my family, the only thing to do so.

Everything was okay here, I could be myself. But, outside?

This incomprehensible world was vast, that was what scared me.

My world was just this little café, that was all I could deal with.

Anything more was impossible.