Despair on Display

~ C h a p t e r I - P a r t I I ~

Upon entering the cafe, Rei, Tadashi, and Nari were greeted with the cheerful nature of Hestia as she waved and invited them in to sit down.

"There you guys are! You all must be tired, please, take a seat!"
Rei cautiously went to the end of the table and sat down next to Charlotte, while Nari took a seat near the middle of the table next to Kanon.
Tadashi didn't sit down. Instead, he offered to help Hestia with the plates.

A shaky Kichiro came over to Rei and Charlotte with a plate in his hand. He quickly set it down in front of Rei and then immediately left, in fear of judgement.

Rei looked at her plate: potatoes, beef, mushrooms, and carrots. Her face scrunched up. Using her utensils, she pushed the carrots off to the side.

"Haha, if you would have gotten here earlier, you would have been able to tell them that you didn't want carrots."
Rei glanced at Charlotte from the corner of her eye.
"I was the first one here- overheard Hestia talking about gathering everyone for dinner, y'know? So I rushed here as fast as I could- and I was here first, ha!"

Rei narrowed her eyes.
"You seem to eavesdrop a whole lot." She commented.
"Well, it's not like I choose to do so. I guess I just have really good hearing and I pick up on stuff like that." Charlotte shrugged.
Rei nodded in response and started eating her food. She wondered if Charlotte, with her good hearing, had a good taste in music. She took another bite of her food.
Perhaps Rei would ask her. However, just as she was going to ask, Charlotte spoke up again.
"Say, if you're not gonna eat the carrots, can I have 'em?"
Rei pushed her plate over to Charlotte, inviting her to take her carrots.
"Thank you!" Charlotte quickly scooped the carrots onto her own, almost empty plate, and pushed Rei's plate back to her.
"Y'know, I always thought that I was actually pretty bad at hearing- but then everyone says I hear everything." She bit into a carrot absentmindedly.
Rei blinked. Was she talking to her still?

"Though no one ever called it eavesdropping. You're the first person to say that."
Rei set down her utensils.
"Ah, I... I see, apologies for saying it that way, then?"
"Nah you're good- you actually gave me a lot of ideas! I think I could definitely be of use around here!" She laughed.
Rei didn't answer. Charlotte did make a good point, however. If anything does happen, Rei could probably trust Charlotte to hear it.

"Hey hey! Can I get everybody's attention, please?"
Rei looked up, snapping out of her thoughts to see Hestia standing near the entrance to the cafe.
"Seeing as you are all here, I would like to make this a tradition! We should all meet here tomorrow morning- I'll cook up something for you- yes, you can help cook, Tadashi- and we can keep each other updated. How does that sound?"

Murmurs of agreement rose from the crowd. Rei found herself nodding as well.

"Great! We can discuss our plans for escaping tomorrow, when we are all rested!"

Kichiro raised his hand and timidly spoke.
"But... but isn't m-murder the only way to-"
Hestia cut off Kichiro by pulling him into a one armed hug, which caused his hat to fall off.

"Oh, don't you dare go thinking like that! Surely we will find a way out! I know that with all of us together, we will find out a solution, alright? But let's worry about that tomorrow, 'kay? Besides, I-"

A bell sounded in the room, and an announcement echoed throughout the room.

"Grrrrrrreetings, participants! It looks like time is up for today! It is now 10 pm, meaning the Ultimate Gallery of Modern Illusions is now closed! If I were you, I would get out of the cafe as soon as you caaan!! Or else your time will run out and death will await you! Ehehehahahaha!!! Sweet dreams, see you all tomorrow!!!"