Entering the café through the six-foot-high wooden door, he still had to pass through a small corridor. Straight ahead was the door to the toilet, in the center of the wall to the right was the entrance to the café. As he stepped into the café itself, he saw a woman sitting at one of the counter chairs. She instantly called out, “Kazu...customer!”

Sitting beside her was a boy who looked about elementary school age. At the far table sat a woman in a white short-sleeved dress. With a pale complexion and a complete lack of interest in the world around her, she was quietly reading a book.

“The waitress just got back from shopping, so why don’t you take a seat. She’ll be out soon.”

Obviously caring little for formalities with strangers, she spoke to Gohtaro casually, as if he was a familiar face. She appeared to be a regular at the café. Rather than replying, he just gave a little nod of thanks. He felt the woman was looking at him with an expression that seemed to say, You can ask me anything you like about this café. But he chose to pretend he hadn’t noticed and sat down at the table closest to the entrance. He looked around. There were very large antique wall clocks that stretched from floor to ceiling. A gently rotating fan hung from where two natural wooden beams intersected. The earthen plaster walls were a subdued tan color, much like kinako, roasted soya flour, with a hazy patina of age—this place looked very old—spread across every surface. The windowless basement, lit only by shaded lamps hanging from the ceiling, was quite dim. The entire lighting was noticeably tainted with a sepia hue.

“Hello, welcome!”

The woman who had spoken to him on the stairs appeared from the back room and placed a glass of water in front of him.

Her name was Kazu Tokita. Her midlength hair was tied back, and over her white shirt with black bow tie she wore a black waistcoat and a sommelier’s apron. Kazu was Funiculi Funicula’s waitress. Her face was pretty with thin almond eyes, but there was nothing striking about it that might leave an impression. If you were to close your eyes upon meeting her and try to remember what you saw, nothing would come to mind. She was one of those people who found it easy to blend in with the crowd. This year she would be twenty-nine.

“Ah...um... Is this the place...that er...?”

Gohtaro was completely lost as to how to broach the subject of returning to the past. Kazu calmly looked at him fluster. She turned toward the kitchen and asked, “When do you want to return to?”

The sound of coffee gurgling in the siphon came from the kitchen.

That waitress must be a mind reader...