Three years later, in Asterisk’s redeveloped district…
✦ ✦ ✦
Kyouko Yatsuzaki was making her way down the main street, overcome with raw emotion as she took in the brand-new cityscape.
“Things really do change, huh?”
The place that had once been known as the redevelopment area, littered with abandoned buildings, a den of criminals and thugs, had been completely transformed. Now it was filled with orderly structures and populated by friendly tourists and students. It was difficult to imagine the bloodthirsty and violent city of old.
Kyouko, with her unique background as a former student at Le Wolfe and a teacher at Seidoukan, had been wild herself during her school days. Her Ladies Team had been infamous in the redevelopment area back then.
“Sure, sentimentality aside, it’s clearly a change for the better…”
It did make her feel a touch lonely, but she was an educator now. She should be happy that the city’s security was improving.
The redevelopment area was originally the precinct devastated in the Jade Twilight Incident, and while various interests had established themselves there in the aftermath, students from Le Wolfe and dropouts from the various other schools wound up turning it into their stronghold. Eventually, a street called the Rotlicht came into being, lined with illegal shops that gangsters used as a source of funds. Before long, they had established special relationships with the upper echelons of the city, and by then, nobody could touch them.
The reason for this area’s transformation was, of all things, the Golden Noontide incident three years ago. The city council, under pressure to dispel the dark shadow cast by the terrorist attacks, took advantage of the restoration efforts targeting the heavily damaged port facilities and public transport system to announce the revitalization of the redevelopment area as the centerpiece of a new project. To an outside observer, this might have sounded like a pipe dream, but it ended up being the first step in the city’s renewal.
Of course, the illegal organizations that had established themselves in the redevelopment area weren’t happy with this proposal and had been prepared to fight it until the bitter end. They had probably assumed their authority was absolute. After all, though there had been many efforts to rejuvenate the area in the past, none had come to fruition.
This time, however, the situation was different. Le Wolfe, the entity that benefited most from the area’s lawlessness, was in favor of the project. It all began with a public comment from the school’s acting student council president, Korona Kashimaru, filling in for the missing Dirk Eberwein:
“Huh? Well, wouldn’t it be a good thing to get rid of dangerous places? I think it’s a great idea, redeveloping it.”
Her head must have been in the clouds. Without the slightest hesitation, she had let her true feelings show, without any consideration for her responsibilities or position.
In fact, Korona was largely a figurehead in her capacity as student council president, and she had no real political ability to speak of. Because of that, she was also completely in the dark about Solnage’s real intentions. No one expected her to do anything, nor did they think her capable of it. The right to appoint the student council president belonged to the school’s number one, but with Orphelia in the hospital at the time, there had been a power vacuum, so to speak. Besides, why would anyone care about a mere figurehead who was about to be replaced? And so she had been able to speak her mind without anyone to hold her back.
The Rikka city council, having received the go-ahead from the person who should have been their biggest opponent, proceeded to employ Stjarnagarm’s full force to seize control of the redevelopment area. And that was the end of that criminal’s paradise.
The leader of the criminal group that put up the greatest resistance, Rodolfo Zoppo of the Omo Nero, was captured by Haruka Amagiri after a fierce battle, a topic that occupied the news headlines for quite some time.
“…So this is it.”
Kyouko stopped in front of a small café on the corner of the main street. The walls facing outside were made of glass, giving an impression of openness, with a metal door of chic and striking design.
“Welcome! Huh…?! Ms. Yatsuzaki…?!”
After opening the door, Kyouko was greeted by a large, bearded man standing behind the counter who quickly broke into an undisguised grimace.
“Wow, some greeting, Lester MacPhail. And after I came all this way to celebrate your opening.”
“Oh… No, I didn’t mean… Er, thank you.”
“Hmm. That beard doesn’t suit you,” she said, taking a seat in front of him.
There wasn’t much seating inside, and each chair was surrounded by plenty of empty space, so while the building wasn’t particularly large, it still felt roomy. The tables and furnishings were a perfect match for the overall atmosphere—so much so that even Kyouko, who knew nothing about restaurants, was impressed.
“I wouldn’t have expected a guy like you to have such good taste.”
“…She picked it all out.”
“I thought as much.” Kyouko chuckled, leaning against the counter and resting her chin on her hands.
“Come to think of it… Er, the Urzaiz sisters, wasn’t it? Don’t they have a store around here, too?”
“Yep. Apparently they’ve got a pretty good reputation, too. Not that I’d know,” Lester snorted, unamused.
Given their shared past, it must be difficult for him to offer honest praise.
She had heard the sisters ran a cozy restaurant offering cuisine from their home country, famous enough that even Kyouko, who had never shown much interest in such places, had heard about it. People were saying it had a homey ambience, with cheap and tasty food.
“Well, it was pretty funny seeing Irene Urzaiz serving customers like that,” Lester remarked.
Apparently, the two sisters worked at the restaurant together, the younger one in charge of the kitchen, and the infamous elder sister serving customers. Kyouko had to admit that it sounded like a curious sight.
“What’s that? You just said you didn’t know much about it, but you’ve been there?”
“E-er… Well, we’re friends, I guess, so I had to…!”
“You’re not exactly the kind of person I’d expect to see serving tables, either, ya know?”
“Ugh…!”
Lester must have sensed as much. He offered no response, and his huge shoulders shrank back dejectedly.
Kyouko flashed him a wry grin, her expression turning more serious. “I know it’s a bit late for this…but you don’t regret it, do you? You’re still perfectly qualified to enter the Festa. If you went on to university, you could have done a whole lot more.”
“No…I’ve done the best I can.”
“What are you saying? You were ranked fifth on the Named Cult.”
“That’s because…Julis…!”
Lester had been suppressing his emotions up to that point, and now he slammed his fist down on the counter in a fit of anger, causing the cups lined neatly along the edge to clatter loudly.
Lester had won against Julis in their last official ranked match while studying at Seidoukan. It was a huge commotion, of course, what with his defeating a grand slam winner, but he still wasn’t satisfied with the win.
“It’s not like Julis cut corners or anything, right? A win’s a win. You should be proud of yourself,” Kyouko said.
“…I know, but still…” Lester averted his gaze, his face glum.
“Oho…? It’s getting pretty lively in here, huh?”
At that moment, a listless-looking woman with long black hair emerged from the back of the restaurant—a bewitching beauty with sloping eyes and an air of fragility.
“Yo, Melissa.”
“Oh…? It’s you, Kyouko.”
This was Melissa Strauch—or technically, Melissa MacPhail, now that she had married Lester. A former member of Team Irrlicht, the only team in the history of Le Wolfe to win at the Gryps—and a close friend of Kyouko’s.
“Well, I thought I’d better drop by sooner or later. I mean, my buddy’s a mom now.”
Cradled in the woman’s arms, an adorable baby was sleeping peacefully.
“Oh, he looks just like his mom. He’s so cute, eh?”
“…He’s my kid, too, you know,” Lester murmured, but the dark cast to his face lightened as soon as Melissa handed him the child.
“The usual, Kyouko?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Melissa wrapped an apron around her waist and set about grinding some coffee beans.
Melissa used to run a café in the Rotlicht. Kyouko, a frequent customer in those days, could clearly remember the delicious taste of her coffee. Even here, Melissa was the manager, and Lester was merely an employee.
“So, back to what we were talking about…,” said Kyouko. “You got yours, too, right? Julis’s invitation?”
“Oh. Yeah.”
New to fatherhood, Lester still seemed a little nervous cradling the baby in his arms.
“Are you going?”
“You must be kidding. Between running a new shop and looking after this little guy, there’s no way I’m going to Lieseltania.”
“It doesn’t bother me,” Melissa interjected. “Quit worrying and go. We don’t have much work to do here anyway.”
“Ugh…”
Lester’s shoulders slumped again at the caustic comments coming from behind his back. Melissa certainly had a sharp tongue, though she unleashed it only on those she cared about. Not that Kyouko was going to tell Lester that.
“Here you go,” Melissa said.
A rich aroma wafted up from the cup of coffee handed to her, tickling Kyouko’s nose.
She sipped the beverage, with its subdued bitter flavor and strong acidity—the same taste that she had always relished.
“Yep, it’s delicious. You’d think a flavor this good would bring in more customers…,” Kyouko said, glancing around at the empty tables and chairs.
“We’re having a bad day today,” said Melissa. “It isn’t usually this quiet, you know.”
“That’s right,” Lester added. “Everyone’s probably at the stadium or watching one of the big screens set out on the corner of the next street over. Hold on, aren’t you supposed to be there, too, Teach?”
“Well, it’s not like I’m her homeroom teacher or anything. I did give her a few pointers back when she fought in the Gryps, though.”
At that moment, the door swung open, and a plump student entered the café.
“Brr, it’s cold out there… The usual, Lester… Oh! Ms. Yatsuzaki?!”
“Well, if it isn’t Randy Hooke.”
Lester’s former crony was apparently still hanging around.
“Why do my old students always scream when they see me?” Kyouko murmured.
“Doesn’t that just go to show what kind of teacher you are?” Melissa shot back, tongue sharp as always.
“Ugh…”
Lester and Randy both nodded, as if they couldn’t have said it better themselves.