Bethel froze at the sound. He should have stepped into the Café, but what lay before him now was a strangely arranged room.
There were nine seats around the round table in the center, and all of them were occupied.
At a glance, however, it was clear that the nine seats had not been arranged by dividing the circle into nine equal arcs. Some people were so far apart that they could not reach anyone else with either hand, while others were pressed tightly against their neighbors.
Outside the central round table stood another ring-shaped table concentric with it. Twenty-two chairs were arranged along the outside of the ring, this time dividing it into twenty-two equal sections.
Only a little under half of those twenty-two chairs were occupied at the moment.
What is this...?
Symmetry and asymmetry... the Black Emperor?
Twenty-two... the twenty-two Paths of the Gods?
Fragmented, shallow thoughts flickered through Bethel's mind. As his gaze gathered information, he looked toward the person who had spoken and was surprised to find an acquaintance he had met not long ago.
"Mr. Sega?"
The Café owner? Then...
Bethel's gaze shifted, and sure enough, he spotted another familiar face at the round table.
"Mr. Rejedo!"
Rejedo smiled and nodded at him.
"I was planning to notify you, but I didn't expect you to come on your own. Come, take a seat."
"Huh?"
Take a seat? Where? What am I sitting down for?
Bethel was only confused for a second before he started walking. I'll find a seat first and ask questions later.
He headed toward the seats behind Rejedo.
Though he did not know what the arrangement of these chairs represented, it was still better to sit near someone he knew more well.
"You went the wrong way. Come here and choose