The unpleasant feeling of dust stuck to her mouth. Some had even gotten inside. When she reflexively coughed, the movement hurt the side of her face, which felt like it was being grated off, and she screamed. She covered her aching cheek with her right hand, realizing she was lying on the ground.
“…Huh?”
Where was the gun she’d had in her right hand? No, more importantly, how was she alive? What had happened?
Kana lifted her head a little. Her cap had fallen off, and her hair was loose. Some sort of dust or fine sand started falling off it.
What was going on? Had she misfired and injured her head, but not badly enough to die?
She got her phone out and checked her head in the camera. She wasn’t injured, but she looked awful, with dirt all over her tear-streaked face and hair sticking out in all directions, raining down more of that dust when she moved…
“What is this? Red sand…? Rubber…?”
The red powder smelled like an eraser.
Nothing was making sense, but two things were certain—Kana was alive and she didn’t have the Glock 42 anymore. Had it exploded? Or had it gotten knocked away from her by the blast? There must have been an explosion of some sort because Kana felt like she’d been hit with a baseball bat.
She had nothing left. Her tears had run dry, and she didn’t even have the strength to feel sorry for herself. That emptiness was familiar to people who’d attempted suicide. She vaguely remembered reading that Ryunosuke Akutagawa talked about that too.
She felt like a miserable lump of flesh that had no reason to continue existing.
Her mind was completely blank as she raised her hand, holding her phone through some muscle memory. She felt something stuck to the back. It was a piece of paper…with a message written on it. “Free voucher for a coffee combo! Come on in anytime to Café LycoReco!”
It was written by hand, like a school event ticket, painstakingly written as neatly as possible by a student.
At the mention of Café LycoReco, Kana weakly stood up, clutching the paper in her hand. Like a person dying of thirst in the desert, she turned away from the station and dragged herself toward her oasis, LycoReco.
The café looked so stylish that nobody would pass it by without stopping for a better look. It should have been closed at that late hour, but the lights inside were still on, and the OPEN sign was still hanging on the door. Why didn’t they close at the usual time? Kana pushed the door open, hoping for salvation in one form or another.
Ding-a-ling!
“Welcome, Kana!”
Only Chisato was inside, dressed in a red school uniform. She pulled out a chair at the counter and motioned for Kana to sit.
“Um… I got this…”
Kana showed Chisato the voucher, which had gotten severely crumpled from being squeezed tight in her hand. Chisato smiled and took it.
“Just a moment!”
It was very late, and Kana had arrived in a pitiful state, but Chisato didn’t question anything. She was serving Kana as usual.
The aroma of coffee brewing in a siphon spread through the air. It was a warming, aromatic, deeply comforting smell.
“According to Teach, delicious coffee has magic powers. It’s the power to make people happy… And this may be just me, but drinking coffee at night always feels extra special. It must have even more magic in it than daytime coffee. You feel a little bit guilty about having it so late, but it calms you and gets you totally relaxed… Oh wait, both of those mean the same thing, I guess.”
Was that comforting feel, that scent gently wrapping around Kana’s crushed spirit a touch of magic, then?
When the coffee was ready, Chisato handed it to Kana directly instead of serving it over the counter.
“Try just one sip at first. It’s not as good as when Teach makes it, but maybe this also has some magic in it. Well, you tell me!”
Kana did as Chisato said and took a sip of the coffee. She didn’t normally drink it black, but…it tasted good. The warmth she felt inside after drinking it wasn’t merely a change in temperature. Tension began to drain from her body.
“It tastes really good…,” she quietly said in surprise.
Chisato smiled.
“Great! Now, Kana, remember what was on the voucher? It wasn’t just for coffee. It was for a coffee combo! You can order one more thing totally free of charge… So, what would you like?”
Kana looked at Chisato, at her face, which was strangely childlike and grown-up at the same time. She was so pretty, so cute, and…so kind, you wanted her to spoil you.
“Can I…ask for anything I like?”
Chisato nodded.
“Yup, anything! Tell me, Kana. What will it be?”
Kana had thought she had no more tears, but when Chisato asked her that, her eyes overflowed again.
“Can you…help me…?” she asked in a shaking voice.
Chisato’s eyes flashed as she smiled.
“Sure!” she said chirpily and hugged Kana—a gentle, heartfelt hug that held her close. “You’ve been through hell and back, haven’t you?”
“How did you…?”
Chisato couldn’t have known anything about Kana. She’d never told her about herself… So why did Chisato say that? She made it sound as if Kana was an open book to her.
“You’ve put up with more than you should’ve had to, Kana.”
Kana put her arms around Chisato and hugged her back, seeking comfort.
“Yes…”
“It’s okay now, though. Leave everything to me.”
“Thank you!”
Kana couldn’t stop sobbing, her tears flowing freely. She couldn’t speak anymore. Chisato held her in her arms, stroking her hair, seemingly not minding that Kana’s tears were soaking her uniform. That already made Kana happy.