The Chairman Waits at the Café
Minna-san, everyone, please show your support for our idol, Hwe-chan!!
After the lecture ended.
Rai and Sinedes left the school building and were walking down the street side by side.
Well—"side by side" was perhaps a generous description.
Sinedes walked ahead at a steady, unchanging pace, and Rai trailed along behind her.
Not a single thing about Sinedes's bearing was out of place. Her long crimson hair swayed quietly with every step, and her black suit was immaculate, without a hint of a wrinkle.
She showed no sign of being aware of her surroundings at all.
For Rai, simply following behind her was somehow nerve-wracking.
("...This is really awkward.")
It had been like this from the moment they first met in the professor's office.
Sinedes Zugarite.
The strongest S-rank Awakener in the present world—a world where no Akra Minus existed.
And the chief research director of the special weapons R&D division of Argentium, the world's largest organization for the development and production of special Awakener armaments.
Search her name on the internet and every kind of story came pouring out.
Cold. Emotionless. Never wasted a word. When it came to anything work-related, she showed no mercy to anyone, regardless of who they were.
One article even went so far as to describe her as "closer to a machine than a human—more precise, at least."
Of course, Rai had no intention of believing everything floating around the internet...
But based on everything he'd experienced firsthand, it all seemed remarkably credible.
"...Ms. Sinedes."
Rai carefully opened his mouth.
Sinedes, walking ahead, answered without stopping.
"Speak."
"The reason the professor called me to the office earlier... was that because of you, Ms. Sinedes?"
"That is correct."
"I thought as much."
A brief silence.
Rai tried again.
"So, where exactly are we going right now?"
"A café."
"...A café?"
"Yes."
"Why a café..."
"You will understand when we arrive."
"Ah... yes."
Conversation terminated.
Rai's expression stiffened slightly.
"...She really is a tough customer."
Still, he refused to give up and tried once more.
"Ahaha... Ms. Sinedes, do you by any chance know the other S-ranks..."
"What answer are you hoping for?"
"...No. Never mind."
Silence, again.
Rai sighed inwardly.
("The internet's reviews weren't wrong about a single thing.")
After they had walked for a while, Sinedes came to a stop in front of a certain building.
It was a small but considerably upscale-looking café. Warm light spilled through the large glass windows, and a few tables and chairs were arranged outside.
Sinedes gazed at the café, then spoke to Rai.
"We are here."
"Here...?"
"Someone is waiting inside."
Rai looked at the café, then turned back to Sinedes.
"Hold on a second."
"Yes."
"...Who, exactly?"
"The Chairman of Argentium is waiting for you."
"......."
Rai's eyes went wide.
"I'm sorry?"
Sinedes's face was utterly unbothered.
"The Chairman."
"No, wait, just a moment."
Rai waved his hands frantically.
"I thought I was here to talk with you, Ms. Sinedes?"
"You were not."
"Then you should have told me from the start!"
"I determined there was no need to inform you."
"That's even scarier?!"
Without a flicker of expression, Sinedes turned her gaze toward the café door.
"If you go inside, the Chairman will receive you."
"Wait—"
"Then I will take my leave."
"Excuse me?"
Sinedes turned around.
"Ms. Sinedes?"
"My role ends here."
"No, hold on! You want me to go in alone?"
"Yes."
"Hey, wait—!"
But Sinedes truly did simply begin walking away.
Rai stared blankly at her retreating back.
"......"
A moment later.
"And she's really gone."
Rai's face went stiff.
The Chairman of Argentium. The highest-ranking figure leading the world's largest organization for the development and production of Awakener armaments.
He couldn't believe that someone like that was personally waiting for him, in a café, of all places.
("Why on earth?")
He knew they were aware he'd written a paper. But was that really the kind of thing that would make the head of a world-spanning organization summon him in person?
All sorts of thoughts began churning through Rai's head.
("Could there be some problem with my paper? I didn't include a single thing that could be taken as an attack on anyone...")
Rai took a deep breath, several times over.
Then, with trembling hands, he opened the café door.
Ding-a-ling.
A small bell chimed.
"......"
The interior of the café was strangely quiet.
It wasn't that there were few customers.
There were none at all.
Tables and chairs were neatly arranged across the spacious interior. The warm lighting cast a soft glow over the café, but not a single human voice could be heard.
Rai cautiously scanned the room.
And then—he saw a man sitting by the window.
The man had black hair and wore a black suit. The eyes behind his black-framed glasses were half-lidded, and his face carried a somewhat weary smile. In one hand, he held a coffee cup.
At a glance, he looked like nothing more than a young man enjoying his coffee alone in a quiet café.
But entirely different information surfaced in Rai's mind.
("...That person is?")
The world's largest organization for the development and production of Awakener armaments.
Argentium.
Its Chairman—Edrik Pearl Darksnow.
A man who almost never showed himself in public. A mysterious figure whose precise age was unknown even to the world.
And yet...
("...He looks way younger than I expected?")
He looked, at most, in his early thirties.
As Rai approached hesitantly, Edrik looked up. The corner of his mouth curved upward slightly.
"I've been waiting."
A low, unhurried voice.
Rai tensed for an instant.
"It's an honor to meet you."
Rai bowed his head lightly.
"I'm Rai."
"I know."
Edrik smiled brightly.
"Have a seat."
Rai carefully pulled out a chair and sat down across from him.
Edrik studied Rai for a moment, then spoke.
"I ordered a coffee for you in advance, as well."
"Ah, you really didn't have to."
"No need to be shy."
"...Thank you."
Rai bowed his head once more.
Shortly after, an employee brought the coffee and set it down in front of Rai. A gentle aroma rose from the cup.
Edrik smiled as though savoring that very scent.
"My favorite aroma in the world."
He raised his cup slightly.
"I'm certain you'll love it."
"Will I, now...?"
Rai lifted his cup.
"Well then, thank you for the coffee."
One sip.
"......"
Rai's expression froze.
Because it was incredibly bitter.
Not merely bitter. It was a bizarre bitterness, so intense it felt as though it pierced through his entire body starting from the tip of his tongue.
Rai's eyebrows twisted. His lips trembled faintly.
("What... is this...?")
At that reaction, Edrik suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!!"
Rai's eyes went wide.
"...I'm sorry?"
"Just as I expected!"
Edrik clutched his stomach, laughing.
"That's exactly the reaction I was hoping for!!"
"......"
Rai set the cup down with a bewildered look.
"You knew it tasted awful?"
"Of course."
"Then why did you give it to me..."
"Because I drink it for that taste."
Edrik answered with perfect calm.
"......"
Rai stared at him blankly.
("He's a weirdo.")
It was clear from the very first meeting.
This person... was a serious eccentric.
But setting that aside, Rai quickly straightened his posture. No matter how young he looked, this man was the Chairman of Argentium. The head of one of the most colossal organizations on the planet.
He didn't even know why he'd been summoned.
Edrik looked at Rai and spoke.
"There's no need to be so tense."
"I'm sorry?"
"That paper you wrote."
The playfulness faded somewhat from Edrik's expression.
"I read it closely."
Rai's eyes widened slightly.
"My paper... personally, sir...?"
"That's right."
Edrik took a sip of his coffee.
"It was fascinating."
"...Thank you."
"No."
He shook his head.
"A simple thank-you doesn't begin to cover it."
Edrik looked Rai squarely in the eyes.
"You are not the kind of talent that comes out of that little school of yours."
"......"
Rai was a bit flustered.
"Th-that's too kind of you."
"Too kind?"
Edrik chuckled.
"If that's what you think, then all the more a shame."
Rai made an awkward face.
It wasn't as though he'd never been praised before. But the person praising him right now was no ordinary professor.
He was the Chairman who led the world's largest weapons development and production organization.
Being called talented by a man like that—it was impossible not to feel the weight of it.
Reading Rai's expression, Edrik said,
"And don't be too intimidated just because I'm the Chairman."
"...I'll do my best."
"I asked you here today because I'd like to talk about your future path."
He smiled at his ease.
"So relax, and let's speak comfortably."
"Yes."
Rai nodded slightly.
But inwardly, he thought otherwise.
("Easy for him to say...")
Rai looked at Edrik across the table.
He looked young. His manner of speaking was leisurely. He'd even just cackled hysterically over a cup of bizarre coffee.
And yet, somehow, the tension wouldn't leave Rai's shoulders.
A peculiar gravity in every single word. An atmosphere that never pressured him, yet naturally drew his gaze in and held it there.
Only then did Rai truly understand.
("Still... a Chairman really is a Chairman.")
Edrik was silent for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"Well then. Shall we begin?"
"Yes."
"Rai."
"Yes."
"What do you think a Gate is?"
"......"
Rai faltered.
It was such a fundamental question. He hadn't expected to be asked something like this—him, a student of gate studies.
While Rai deliberated, Edrik added leisurely,
"Don't overthink it."
"......"
"You're welcome to answer with the Gates as the world defines them."
Click.
He set his coffee cup down.
"Or."
Smile.
That signature smile spread across Edrik's lips once more.
"You're equally welcome to tell me what you think a Gate is."
Rai's gaze slowly sank to his coffee cup.
And for a long while, he couldn't say a word.