The Garden of Words

Sunday

Early in the morning, Celty could not wait to drag Kyosuke Hojo to the home of her subordinate named Koji Shidou, unlocking the apartment that concealed Celty’s head directly with a spare key.

"How is it gone?!" Celty typed, then used her dark mist to lift every object in the room in disbelief.

It wasn't here, nor was it there. It was nowhere to be found, and even all the belongings of that tenant were gone.

"Strange, he was still here yesterday," Koji Shidou scratched his head.

"It seems he has already left. Do you have his identity information?"

Kyosuke Hojo asked. Renting an apartment requires registering one's identity information, which was likely why Celty had always lived at Shinra's place despite working hard and having plenty of money.

"Yes, it's a person named Seiji Yagiri, a junior high school student. He should be the young master of Yagiri Pharmaceuticals."

"Then everything adds up. Celty, calm down, the clues haven't completely vanished."

Kyosuke Hojo looked at the dejected Celty. He could understand the feeling of having hope suddenly ignited only to be crushed again.

"Kyosuke, what should I do?"

Celty typed, looking helpless and pitiful at the moment.

"Koji Shidou, do you have any vacant apartments in your building?" Kyosuke Hojo asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Help me rent one using my information, right now."

...

In a newly rented apartment, this was the place Kyosuke Hojo had rented for Celty.

"As long as Yagiri Pharmaceuticals is still in Ikebukuro, Seiji Yagiri won't leave. Just live here with peace of mind, and I'll have my subordinates help you look for clues together."

Actually, if possible, Kyosuke Hojo would have preferred to rent a place for Celty near his own residence, as that would be beneficial for drawing him and Celty closer. However, considering that Celty had lived in Ikebukuro for so many years, suddenly leaving this place might leave her at a loss, and staying here offered more opportunities to find her head.

"This is the closest I've ever been to it." Celty's mood remained very low.

Just one step away! I'm so foolish. I was so caught up in Kyosuke's gentleness that I forgot about my head. I'm such a fool.

"I'm sorry, Celty. If I had accompanied you last night..." Kyosuke Hojo thought of this as well.

"That's not true. If it weren't for Kyosuke, I wouldn't even have found a clue to my head, and I would still be deceived by Shinra."

Although still dejected, Celty immediately typed out a rebuttal.

"Celty is really so gentle." Kyosuke Hojo smiled as he watched Celty snap out of her dejection and begin to comfort him instead.

"I'm just speaking the truth!"

"While we still have time, let's try to figure out how to make you speak."

As he spoke, Kyosuke Hojo pulled a small megaphone he had casually bought at a shop along the way out of his pocket.

"Can you simulate this thing? Including the internal structure?"

Instead of having Celty study starting directly from vibration, Kyosuke Hojo chose the method humans are best at: imitation. Even if I don't know the principle and lack advanced technology, I can still hammer out an exact replica piece by piece.

"I can do it." After finishing typing, Celty used the dark mist surging from her body to instantly materialize an identical megaphone.

Kyosuke Hojo took apart the megaphone in his hand and pointed to the diaphragm, saying, "A speaker works by using changes in electrical current to drive the diaphragm to move back and forth, thereby producing sound. It then produces different sounds through continuous changes in current.

I remember you use dark mist to sense the surrounding environment. Now, I'll use the megaphone to play the fifty Japanese syllabary sounds. Pay close attention to how the diaphragm of the megaphone in my hand changes, and remember the changes corresponding to each sound."

"Okay, I'll remember it!"

Proving that the ultimate destination of theology is science, Celty easily learned how to vocalize. Once proficient, she no longer even needed to deliberately simulate a megaphone to make sounds.

"I'm so happy! I can't remember how long it's been since I last spoke!" Celty spoke happily, having adjusted her voice to her own based on remaining memories.

Just as I thought, it's quite a mature, elegant woman's voice. Kyosuke Hojo thought to himself as he listened to Celty's words.

Celty, now able to speak aloud, was exceptionally excited, as if she had endless things to say. At one moment she talked about her experiences as a Dullahan in Northern Europe in her memories, and at the next she began recounting stories of being a courier in Ikebukuro. If time permitted, Kyosuke Hojo would have been willing to stay here and talk with her for three days and three nights, but right now...

"I'm sorry, Celty. My mother sent me a message this morning asking me to take care of something today."

Kyosuke Hojo checked the time; it was almost 5 o'clock.

"Ah, it's already this late. If you have things to do, go ahead. I should probably get to work too," Celty said belatedly.

"Then goodbye." Kyosuke Hojo stood at the doorway, smiling as he bade farewell to Celty.

"Goodbye." Looking at that smile, Celty almost spoke up to ask Kyosuke to stay.

Mounting the motorcycle that Koji Shidou had just had delivered for him, Kyosuke Hojo opened the message sent by his mother:

"Considering you never eat properly every day, I've found a place for you to eat. It's a restaurant in Tokyo opened by your aunt's family. Starting today, you must eat every dinner there! I'll have the manager report your attendance to me!"

Following that was a foreign-language restaurant name and an address.

Kyosuke Hojo entered the address into the navigation, and the helpful app automatically translated the restaurant's name for him: The Garden of Words.

Riding at high speed all the way to the restaurant located at the North Gate of Shinjuku Gyoen, Kyosuke Hojo parked his motorcycle and stood at the entrance to inspect the place.

It seemed to be an Italian restaurant. Because Tetsuya Kisaki had recently treated him to a grand feast at an Italian restaurant run by a subordinate, Kyosuke Hojo easily recognized the similarities between the two.

Another thing he observed was that the receptionist looked gorgeous. Was she actually a "celebrity"?

[Your Name - Miki Okudera (Supporting Character)]

Wait, why is she walking towards me?

It was currently the busiest time for the restaurant, and Miki Okudera had just rushed over from school, dizzy and flustered with work.

"Didn't they say a new waiter was coming today? Why hasn't he arrived yet?" Miki Okudera turned her head to look outside the restaurant, trying to spot the newcomer who had yet to appear.

Then she saw Kyosuke Hojo standing outside the restaurant entrance, looking around in bewilderment.

Must be this guy, right? Could it be that he's too shy to come in?

Thinking of this, Miki Okudera handed over her current work to a nearby colleague, pushed open the door, and walked straight toward Kyosuke Hojo.

"You're the one who's supposed to report for duty today, right?"

"Uh, yes."

Kyosuke Hojo replied. Is this the person his mother found to supervise his eating? If so, could he eat lunch here too?

She doesn't seem much older than me. Is she a student working a part-time job? The name tag on her chest reads "Okudera."

Looking at the plump, moving lips as she spoke, the full upper chest stretching her white shirt tautly, and the rounded curves outlined by her black hip-hugging skirt, Kyosuke Hojo knew he had already found something to look at while eating.

"Then why are you still standing outside?! Don't you know this is the restaurant's busiest time?"

Kyosuke Hojo was still immersed in her soft beauty, which hovered between that of a young girl and a mature woman, when the newcomer suddenly spoke in a somewhat stern tone, grabbed his arm, and pulled him directly into the restaurant.

The moment he was grabbed, a fragrance of cigars drifted into his nose.

A girl smoking cigars? Kyosuke Hojo took another strange sniff with his nose. Oh, it wasn't a physical scent after all. It was the unique "scent" belonging to each person that Kyosuke Hojo could perceive.

The mature woman in front of him exuded a fragrance of cigars with a slight woody fruit aroma, carrying a trace of sweet cloyingness, and upon closer inspection, a hint of bitterness.

This was the first time Kyosuke Hojo had smelled something similar on a woman. Of course, it was probably because she was the first older woman he had encountered—Celty being a special case.

"Tanaka, take him to the locker room to change into his uniform."

After pulling Kyosuke Hojo into the restaurant, Miki Okudera handed him over to another waiter.

"Okudera-senpai, is he the new waiter?" asked the person Miki Okudera had called out to, Tanaka.

"Yes. Honestly, he didn't even know to come in and help when he arrived, just standing at the door looking around. Hurry up and get him changed into his clothes so he can come help!" Miki Okudera finished speaking and immediately turned to greet a customer who had just walked into the restaurant.

"Kid, come with me." Tanaka motioned to Kyosuke Hojo.