“There is no way you can do that yet. And stop calling yourself moi.”

“Moi shall serve it.”

“Stop it. Now!”

While still holding the wobbling and rattling tray precariously, little Miki blew her cheeks out and looked up at giant Nagare.

Nagare’s thin almond eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth dropped into a frown as he looked down at Miki.

It felt like a standoff between the two, as if whoever spoke next would lose.

Kazu, who had appeared without anyone noticing, walked out from behind Nagare and knelt down in front of Miki.

“Moi.”

As Kazu looked her straight in her eyes at her level, Miki’s big eyes gradually transformed from angry to teary. In that moment Miki seemed to realize she had lost.

Kazu smiled warmly at her.

“Your time will come,” she said as she quietly took the tray.

Miki looked up at Nagare, teary-eyed. “Uh-huh,” he simply said, and gently held out his hand. His face looked far less stern now.

“As you wish,” said Miki as she took hold of the hand stretched out to her and drew to his side. The defiant expression she had worn until just moments ago had dissipated. When Miki got annoyed and upset like this, she could quickly switch her mood, rather than letting it drag on. Observing her transformation, Nagare thought how like her mother she was, with a melancholic smile.

Based on how Kazu treated Miki, Gohtaro deduced, This waitress is not the girl’s mother. He could also sympathize with how Nagare was struggling to handle a girl of this age—having had, after all, his own experience of raising his daughter Haruka as a single father.

“Let’s go through the rules,” Kazu said softly next to Gohtaro, who was still sitting in the right seat.

The café was silent as always. Gohtaro had heard the rules from Shuichi some twenty-two years ago, but he could barely remember them now.

What he did remember was: that you go back in time, that reality won’t change, no matter what you do, and that there was a ghost sitting on the chair. He was unclear on any other details. That Kazu was going to explain them to him was therefore welcome news.

“The first rule is that even though you can return to the past, you can only meet people who have visited this café.”

This rule didn’t surprise him. It had been Shuichi who had invited him to the café. There was no doubt that he had been there.

As Gohtaro’s face showed no sign of worry, Kazu briskly continued. She told him that when he went back he would not be able to change reality, no matter how hard he tried; that the only way to return to the past was by sitting where he sat; that he could not get up from the seat because if he did, he would be forcibly brought back to the present.