“Ignore my text, will you?” he accuses, but he doesn’t sound mad. Then I figure it out.

“…Excuse me… Wait, Tsukasa?”

“Ha-ha, ‘excuse me’? Do I detect a note of contrition?”

I don’t know how to respond to that, so for the moment, I quietly extricate myself from his arm.

“…You got lost?”

Takagi—a big, good-natured guy—shouts, not bothering to hide his astonishment.

“How the heck did you manage to get lost on the way to school?”

“Um…” I falter. The three of us are sitting in a corner of the wide rooftop. It’s supposed to be lunchtime right now, but there aren’t many people around. Maybe they’re avoiding the summer sun.

“Oh, um, ’scuse me—”

“ ‘ ’Scuse me’?”

Takagi and Tsukasa eye each other dubiously. Oops, that’s right: I’m Taki Tachibana now.

“Uh, I mean, um… Oh. Pardon me…?”

“Hunh?”

“Sorry……”

“Say what?”

“……Whatever?”

Uh-huh, they nod, still looking bewildered. I see, so he’s the “whatever” type. Got it!

“I was just enjoyin’ myself a little. Tokyo’s kinda like a festival. Real lively.”

“…What’s with the accent?” asks Takagi.

“Huh?!” I have an accent? I turn red.

“Taki, where’s your lunch?” Tsukasa prods.

“Huh?!!” I didn’t bring one!

As I hunt through my school bag, sweating bullets, they laugh. “Do you have a fever or something?”

“Tsukasa, you got anything?”

“Egg sandwich. Let’s stick that croquette of yours in here.”

Here. The two of them hand me the improvised egg-croquette sandwich. Their kindness touches my heart.

“Thank you…”

They both grin at me wordlessly. To think boys could be so stylish and kind…! No, Mitsuha, don’t do it! Don’t fall for both of them at once! —Well, no, I’m not falling for anybody, but Tokyo is fantastic, anyway!

“So listen, after class today, wanna go to that café again?” Takagi asks, and without thinking, I stare at him as he takes a bite of rice.

“Yeah, good idea,” Tsukasa replies. Taking a swig of water out of a plastic bottle, his throat works smoothly. Huh? What? Where did he say we were going?

“What about you, Taki? You’re coming, right?”

“Huh?!”

“To the café.”

“C-c-caféeeee?!”

The furrows between their eyebrows deepen, but I ignore it. My mood is soaring, and I can’t repress my excitement. This is it! Who’s laughing now, bus stop café?!

Two tiny dogs dressed in pop idol–style outfits are sitting on a wicker chair, watching me with eyes like candy drops and wagging their tails so hard they seem liable to come off. There’s an incredible amount of space between each table, and fully half the customers are foreign. A third are wearing sunglasses, three-fifths are wearing hats, and not one is wearing a suit. There’s no telling what any of them do for a living.

What is this place? Adults go to cafés with their little dogs on weekdays, in broad daylight?!

“I like the timberwork on the ceiling.”

“Yeah. They put serious effort into that.”

Tsukasa and Takagi don’t seem the least bit intimidated by this supremely trendy space. They’re smiling and discussing their impressions of the interior. Apparently, these boys are touring different cafés because they’re interested in architecture. What kind of hobby is that?! Aren’t high school guys into magazines like MU?!