May 21 was Hinami's birthday, her fifteenth. Many people had been invited, and as a convoy pulled to a stop, several familiar figures stepped out.
"Re... His coffee tastes that awful, and he still opened a café..." Touka craned her neck to look at the storefront, which was far grander than Anteiku, and couldn't help snarking.
"I heard he hired someone to help. Touka, come help carry these." Koma got out of the car, opened the trunk, and called to her.
"Oh, sure!" Touka hurried over.
"Why did I have to come too? I barely know the kid..." Nishiki Nishio looked utterly listless.
"It's not every day Louis invites all of us. We should make the most of it..." Manager Yoshimura emerged from behind them, looking at the café before him with quiet satisfaction.
"A café this big... Does that mean he isn't planning to come back?" Irimi Kyouko stared at it for a while. "Honestly, he promised he would..."
Yomo and Sakuragi Aoi were there too, and even their newest member, Roma, had come along.
Re was much livelier than usual.
"It's been a while, everyone." Banjo Kazuichi came out early to greet them. "Mr. Louis will be here soon... Please come inside..."
"Making his guests wait for him... Who does he think he is..." Touka couldn't help complaining. She looked forward to seeing him again, but she was afraid too. Was he still the person she remembered? After so long apart, what she feared most was finding that he had become a stranger.
"Don't worry... He hadn't changed much the last time he came back to the café." Seeming to notice Touka's concerns, Koma quickly reassured her, giving her a thumbs-up. "He's a little taller, and a lot more mature and handsome!"
"Huh? When did he go back?"