Kuroto didn't sleep at all that night.
Not because of the wound on his arm.
The three claw marks left by the shadow devil had been treated professionally by Reze, and now they only throbbed with a dull ache.
No.
What kept him awake was the expression on her face before she closed the door.
That cautious tenderness.
That struggling attempt to believe something.
And the words she said before he left.
"I'll bring dorayaki tomorrow."
Early Morning
At six o'clock in the morning, Kuroto stood in front of a convenience store dessert shelf.
Three types of dorayaki sat neatly in front of him.
Red bean.
Chestnut.
Matcha.
He stared at them for a long time.
Then bought all three.
After thinking for a moment, he also grabbed a bottle of strawberry milk from the refrigerator.
Reze always drank black coffee at work.
But over sixteen days of observation, Kuroto had discovered the truth.
She had a sweet tooth.
As he walked out of the store, Kuroto instinctively glanced toward the street corner.
No police.
But that didn't mean there was no surveillance.
Makima's methods went far beyond human monitoring.
Crows.
Rats.
Even stray animals could serve as her eyes.
The ability of the Control Devil allowed her to dominate beings she considered inferior.
In a game, it would be considered a completely unfair cheat ability.
Kuroto lowered the brim of his hat.
He deliberately walked two extra blocks before heading to the café.
When Kuroto pushed open the glass door of the café, Reze was already behind the counter.
She wore her familiar light-blue apron while pouring coffee beans into the grinder.
When she heard the door open, she looked up.
Their eyes met for a moment.
Then she lowered her head and continued working.
As if nothing had happened last night.
As if she hadn't revealed her identity.
As if she hadn't cried.
But Kuroto noticed one detail.
Her hand paused for the briefest moment while pouring the beans.
During that fraction of a second—
Her gaze moved to his arm.
Checking the gauze.
Confirming he was fine.
Only then did she relax.
"Morning."
Kuroto placed the convenience store bag on the counter.
"Dorayaki."
"Three flavors."
"I didn't know which one you liked, so I bought them all."
Reze glanced at the bag.
"Are you feeding livestock? Three?"
"You eat one, I eat one, and we save one for later."
"Perfectly reasonable."
"Who agreed to that plan with you?"
She complained—
But her hand had already reached into the bag.
She searched through it and pulled out the red bean one.
Then she noticed the strawberry milk.
Her movement stopped.
"…Is this for me too?"
"Don't you like sweet things?"
Reze looked up at him.
Her expression complicated.
"When did I ever say I like sweets?"
"You didn't."
"But every time you drink black coffee, you frown."
"And then secretly add two packets of sugar."
"…."
Reze stayed silent for three seconds.
Then she opened the strawberry milk and took a sip.
She didn't say thank you.
But the tips of her ears turned faintly red.
Kuroto pretended not to notice.
The café remained quiet.
Rainy season in Tokyo made people reluctant to leave their homes.
Occasionally a customer came in.
Reze handled the coffee machine.
Kuroto delivered trays and managed payments.
Everything appeared identical to the past sixteen days.
But the atmosphere was different.
The Reze from before always wore a perfectly trained smile.
Now—
She barely smiled at all.
Yet somehow she felt far more genuine.
When Kuroto accidentally bumped his injured arm against the counter, she immediately reached out to block the edge.
When he tried wiping tables with that arm, she stopped him.
After the last customer left, she split the red bean dorayaki in half and pushed one piece toward him.
"Eat."
"Isn't that yours?"
"It's too sweet."
"I can't finish it."
Yet earlier she had drunk strawberry milk without complaint.
Kuroto took the piece.
The filling was sweet.
But not as sweet as the gesture.
11 AM
The café was empty again.
Reze leaned against the counter with her arms crossed.
"About last night."
Kuroto's heart tightened.
But his expression remained calm.
"Yeah?"
"I thought about what you said."
"All night."
"What conclusion did you reach?"
Reze stared at him for several seconds.
"You said you knew about my mission."
"You said Makima was watching me."
"You said I would die."
She paused.
"But you won't explain how you know."
"I really can't explain it yet."
"Then answer another question."
Her tone shifted.
Sharper.
The tone of an interrogator.
"If you know so much…"
"What do you want from me?"
A direct question.
Very Reze-like.
Soviet intelligence training discouraged wasting time on vague conversations.
Kuroto thought for a moment.
Then answered honestly.
"I want you to live."
"You already said that."
"I'm asking about the price."
"There is no price."
Reze frowned.
"Nothing is free."
"Nothing in this world is free."
Her tone was calm.
But Kuroto knew it was a belief carved into her since childhood.
In the Soviet training system—
Her life belonged to the state.
Every meal was an investment.
Every breath was calculated.
No one had ever cared for her without conditions.
So she couldn't believe in it.
"If I had to name a price…"
Kuroto shrugged.
"Then you can bring me good food sometimes."
Reze froze.
"…Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
Silence.
Her fingers tapped lightly on the counter.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Then repeating.
Like Morse code.
Finally she exhaled.
"I won't change my mission."
Kuroto's heart sank.
"Not yet."
She added quickly.
"I need more information."
"To decide."
Then she looked outside at the gray sky.
"But…"
"If what you said about Makima is true…"
"And if what you said about my fate is true…"
"I need time."
Kuroto nodded.
"You have time."
He lied.
The system had given him three days.
Now only two remained.
But he didn't want her decision to come from pressure.
Someone who had been controlled her entire life didn't need more pressure.
"Tomorrow."
Reze spoke again.
"Hmm?"
"Tomorrow is my day off."
"Take me somewhere."
Kuroto blinked.
"Where?"
Reze looked down.
She folded the dorayaki wrapper carefully into a small square.
"That flower you mentioned."
"Where can I see it?"
Kuroto paused.
She remembered.
That rainy day beneath the umbrella—
She had mentioned wanting to see flowers.
He thought it was casual.
But she remembered.
"There's a hydrangea field in Yoyogi Park."
"It's in bloom right now."
"What time?"
"You choose."
"Eight in the morning."
"Later than that will be crowded."
That answer revealed her instincts.
Choosing the least crowded time was standard spy behavior.
Kuroto didn't care.
"Eight o'clock."
Reze placed the folded wrapper on the counter and turned toward the kitchen.
After two steps, she stopped.
"Kuroto."
"Yeah?"
"…Strawberry milk tastes good."
Then she walked away without looking back.
Kuroto stood there smiling helplessly.
Was that her way of expressing affection?
If so—
His heart rate was reaching dangerous levels.
His phone vibrated.
Kuroto checked it.
Not Makima.
The system.
[Fate Deviation Value: 22%]
[Target "Reze" has actively deviated from her original behavior]
[Event detected: "Yoyogi Park" did not exist in the original timeline]
[A new branch of destiny has formed]
[Warning: Destiny correction power will increase dramatically within 48 hours]
[Host combat capability: ordinary human]
[Recommendation: increase fate deviation as much as possible before correction occurs]
Forty-eight hours.
One day less than the previous estimate.
Because Reze herself had begun to deviate from destiny.
The closer she moved toward him—
The harder fate would try to drag her back to the original path.
Kuroto clenched his phone.
Tomorrow.
He had to take her to see those flowers.
No matter how destiny tried to correct itself.