“I will save you,” Kanie-san said. “But for today, just enjoy yourself. In two days, the real fight begins.”
“All right. Please... forgive me...” Latifah-sama was working hard to hold in her tears. Isuzu-san’s eyes were getting a little puffy, too. She was looking out the window, pretending not to notice, but it was totally obvious anyway.
The people in the cafe didn’t seem to know what to do about the impressive mood between the blind blonde and the handsome boy. But, hmm... as an ordinary person myself, I could imagine what they were feeling.
They probably found it extraordinary. I couldn’t hear the conversations around me, but the mood seemed to have changed to “I don’t know what’s going on, but there are clearly some big stakes there.” It wasn’t quite the same as when you see a couple fighting in a restaurant, though...
It was there for that Mikasa-san girl, and the guy in the kitchen area, who’d sneaked out to catch a glimpse. Everyone in the whole room was looking at those two. Their gazes weren’t scornful, either.
Isuzu-san and Latifah-sama didn’t seem to notice the change, but I did. We forced ourselves to look cheerful as we drank our tea. Then we paid the bill on the way out.
Mikasa-san, who was handling the register, handed Latifah-sama her change. “Thank you for coming,” she said in a businesslike tone.
But Latifah-sama suddenly took Mikasa-san’s hands and said, “No, it is I who must thank you.”
“Huh?” Mikasa-san was stunned.
“Kanie-sama devotes himself to my cause, day in and day out...” Latifah-sama went on. “I worry so about the trouble it must bring to those of class 2-4...”
“Ah...” Mikasa was caught off-guard by this earnest admission.
“Kanie-sama is a terribly faithful person,” Latifah-sama went on. “If he has caused you any trouble, it is surely my own fault, so do not blame Kanie-sama, I beg of you...”
“U-Um...”
“I beg of you. I will do whatever is required...”
“Um, please...” Mikasa begged back. “You don’t have to grovel...”
“Forgive me. I only insist that you not blame Kanie-sama.”
“C-Cut it out...”
“Forgive me,” Latifah-sama cried again. “I do not know what else I can do...”
“Hey, Kanie-kun?!” Mikasa said nervously. “Do something about this girl!” Latifah-sama remained on all fours, begging forgiveness of Mikasa-san, until Kanie-san realized what was happening and came running.
Oh, boy! That was a pretty awkward scene, but we managed to enjoy the rest of the culture festival, which was uneventful.
I didn’t go in the next day, and I was busy with school and work for a while after. That’s why I didn’t have many chances to talk to Kanie-san, Isuzu-san, or Latifah-sama, and didn’t get to hear what happened after that. Even during our Task Force ABC pitch meetings, where I saw Kanie-san or Isuzu-san, I didn’t have the courage to ask what happened after that day at the culture festival.
It was Shiina-chan who finally revealed it to me! She was my good friend, after all, so during a break in a lesson, I asked her for the low-down on how Kanie-san was doing. This is what Shiina-chan said: “Did... did that happen? I went to the culture festival the second day, and I peeked in on Kanie-senpai’s cafe...”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Things seemed pretty comfortable?” she guessed.
“Was Kanie-san there?”
“He was,” she confirmed. “He was just working like normal. Um... how to put it. The waitress who looked like the manager, Misasa-san?”
“Mikasa-san?” I corrected.
“Yes, her! Mikasa-san. She was really nice to Kanie-senpai!”
“What?”
“She was kind of acting like she was worried he’d push himself too hard...” Shiina-san went on.
“Hmm...”
“The others were the same way. They were all ‘take a break, Kanie’ and such.”
“Hmm, hmm, hmm...”
“Kanie-senpai himself seemed kind of flustered about it,” she finished.
“Oh-ho...” I said. What a surprising revelation! I’m not very smart, so I spent a lot of time thinking about it after I went to bed that night. Could it be... could it be?
After Latifah-sama’s rather humiliating (sorry) display, everyone in his class realized “Kanie-kun has some kind of circumstances because of this girl”? Of course, I can’t be sure! Even I can tell that Latifah-sama is an extremely glamorous girl who can handle herself very well despite her blindness... but at the same time, I have to admit... in a place like that, a person like her, doing something like that... it would probably have a lot of impact. In other words, it was a lot more effective than a normal person, like me, trying to make a groveling request. Well, I guess ‘effective’ isn’t the nicest word for it...
Anyway, even if they didn’t figure it out immediately, I wonder if everyone in class was processing it, like at the very least it was like, “Huh? What’s going on?” They say that a person’s mood can change overnight. And that night, maybe the people in the class shared info over LINE and such, and more nice stories about Kanie-san came out... it could happen, right? Of course, I don’t think Latifah-sama planned it that way at the time. I think she was just expressing how she really felt! Sincerity can move heaven and earth. Isn’t that a saying? I’m not actually sure! But if that’s how it went down...
Hmm, sorry! I think I’m just getting lost in a fantasy! But if I’m right, then I think Latifah-sama really has something special!
Sincerity can move heaven and earth. I think it really is possible. I think I saw something truly wondrous go down that day.
That’s one extra reason I’m glad I went to the culture festival! I want to use sincerity in my current job to move heaven and earth too!
Anyway, thanks for joining me today!
(The End)