“Just sit down someplace,” Jun muttered to Ai before he headed to the back staff door. “Don’t cause any trouble.”

“When do I ever cause trouble?”

“Whenever you use magic indoors.”

“Good point.” Ai conjured his Doutendo DS in front of the cafe before following a couple inside.

After getting changed into his uniform, Jun stepped onto the dining floor. He spotted Ai in a booth, holding a menu.

“Um, I’m going to go bus that table!” Jun said to his coworker Shelly and Mr. Kent. He dashed over to Ai’s table with a spray bottle and cloth and commenced pretending to clean. “What are you doing?” he demanded in a low voice so none of the other customers would hear him.

Ai looked up. “Ordering food.”

“You’re supposed to be helping me. You said you needed to observe people, right? You’re just being a mooch outside instead of inside!”

“I am observing and learning about people. I can sense every piece of love that went into the pancakes with each bite.”

Jun froze. Wait, how was Ai going to order food? And how had he gotten a menu? He went back to the counter where Claus, the kitchen staff, was pulling an order receipt from the tack board.

“Hey, what do you see at that table by the sunflowers?”

Claus looked over. “A man enjoying his pancakes?”

“You can see him?!”

“Yes?” Claus raised his eyebrow. “It’s hard not to. He’s really scarfing them down.”

Jun strolled over to Ai. “You said you were invisible!”

“I never said that. You assumed. Going invisible takes magic. Besides, what's the point?”

“I'm not saying you should go invisible, just why did you let me look like a fool afraid of talking to himself?”

“It was funny.” Ai shoved a pancake into his mouth.

“Is there a bottom to your stomach?”

“Gods haf a high metabolishm,” Ai explained. “Except the God of Prosperity and Health. He can't eat anything.”

Jun snatched a napkin from the holder. “Wipe your face. You're a god, shouldn't you have more class?" Jun came to a realization that something was off. "Wait, I was over here only a minute ago; how did you get your food that fast?”

The soft bell of the café door rang and Jun looked over to greet the customer. 

“Welcome to Cafe―” he trailed off as he recognized the face in the doorway.

A blush spread across the man’s cheeks when he noticed Jun. “Oh, hi.”

“Hi,” Jun greeted back. “Pick any table you like. I'll be right over with a menu.”

Incidentally, the man sat in the booth next to Ai’s. Ai would be able to hear anything Jun said to the man and the man would be able to hear anything Jun said to Ai. Jun gave the man a menu.

“Thank you.”

“That reminds me. I think you accidentally handed me your personal manga the other day.”

His mouth opened in realization. “I was wondering where it went. I thought maybe I accidentally put it on a shelf.”

Jun nodded. “I’ve been holding it in case we met again. Though... I can't exactly hand it to you right now, though.”

“Um…” Smiling nervously, the man squinted his eyes until they turned to slits. “What time do you get off?”

Jun winced. 9 o’clock was too late for the man to come back just to pick up his manga.

“I don't mind if it's late.”

A silver rope slid down the backing of the booth beside the man, causing him to flinch.

Ai peeked his head over backwards, almost looking like a severed head. “No need to wait that late. Why don't you two meet tomorrow in the Square at 1 PM?”

The motives of Ai’s suggestion gave Jun secondhand embarrassment. Smiling, the man let out a cute small laugh that he muffled with the side of his fist. “I don't mind if you don't.”

Regardless of what Ai was up to, the man seemed like a good person who really wanted his manga back. And meeting up was better than him going out of his way to get it when Jun got off. “I haven't introduced myself. I'm Jun.”

“Remy.”

“Then, 1 PM by the fountain?”

Remy nodded. “Sure.”

Jun smiled. “Should I give you time to look at the menu?”

Remy shook his head. “One espresso, please. One Americano. And a strawberry parfait. But if possible, can you not make the last two yet? I'm actually meeting someone but they’re running about five minutes late.”

Jun nodded. “No problem.” Jun went to he counter to pass Claus the order. 

Shelly already there, talking to Claus. "Hey, can I have another pancake plate? Table five said theirs disappeared."

Claus tilted his head curiously and Shelly just shrugged. 

Mr. Kent was opening a fresh shipment of beans and the aroma filled the café. “Do you know him?” he asked Jun, gesturing with his eyes to the tables. Claus and Shelly were listening curiously too.

“Oh, we just met at a store the other day and he helped me find some books.”

“You seemed awfully close for just having met,” Shelly noted.

Jun titled his head and looked back at Remy’s table. He was talking with Ai over the backs of the booth benches.

“Oh, you mean that silver-haired idiot.” Jun didn't mean to call Ai an idiot in front of his boss and coworkers, but it was too late now. “He's… my uh… cousin.”

“Oh!” Mr. Kent seemed interested. “I didn't know you had a cousin. Is he visiting?”

“Yeah… He's not from around here…” Jun squinted. “And, uh, his bill, you can just give it to me.”

Shelly raised her eyebrow. Jun really didn't have the heart to make up lies for the more information they wanted.

“Can I take a bathroom break?” Jun asked.

“Sure,” Mr. Kent replied. “Can you take these empty boxes to the recycling when you're done?

Jun freshened up in the restroom, recycled the boxes, then returned back to the floor. Remy was no longer sitting alone. Across the booth was a man who was undoubtedly blood related. Probably a brother. Next to the relative was a little girl, likely no more than six, enjoying the parfait so much that she wanted to share it with her shirt. Luckily, her father had given her a napkin bib.

Between doing his tasks, Jun would glance at Remy. Remy seemed like a good man. Plus, he was adorable. But it was very possible that he wasn't romantically interested. Jun wasn't sure yet if he was either. But at the least, it wouldn't hurt to have a cute and kind acquaintance or friend.