Dream Star

It didn"t take them long to arrive at the shop Izumi mentioned. Unlike the majority of the grand shops in this area, this one was quite small, and the area was silent. Except for a few customers, an old couple, and a wife and her child leaving the shop. Lila notices the happy expressions on their faces.

"How bright," Lila murmurs. Everyone has their own source of light; you don"t have to be an idol to be one. Maybe it"s because she spends so much time searching for it, that everyone"s individual light is so much brighter when she does see it.

The shop from the outside looked like one of those old western homes from the 1950s. Rather than a home, it gave off that friendly cottage vibe. Dark chocolate-colored roof and that same color decking from the second floor, surrounded by greenery on the edges. A sign in the center.

"Hold on a minute," a voice exclaimed. Lila looked at the source and found her best friend there.

"Kasumi?"

"Kasumi-san."

Indeed, it was none other than honey brown color hair best friend. Like when she met with Akari earlier, she seemed to be panting and out of breath.

"Don"t just leave me out! I want to become your source of strength too."

Kasumi...

"Your late, aren"t you? This is the last place," Izumi pointed out.

"I had problems searching where you went without drawing attention."

"Of course you would, didn"t you think to change your outfit?"

Amid their bickering, Lila laughed, "You two are weird, you don"t have to fight. I"m glad you also came Kasumi. I was just thinking that something was missing," and that something missing was the presence of her best friend. Someone who has always been with her, just as much as she treasures Haruka, she treasures Iwa Kasumi.

The second they entered the store, Lila knew that it wasn"t a high-cla.s.s store at all. The wall made of oak and so was the ground, the tables too. They covered the surroundings with flowers of all kinds, with the tables and chairs in the center. It was like walking into a garden.

Somehow, this place seems so very familiar to her. It"s like she"s been here before. But if she"s been to such a place, surely she would remember. What"s with this feeling? Her chest is starting to hurt.

In a displaced case, there were several different cakes of various colors. Izumi immediately ran up to the counter. "Jii-San!!!" He said, embracing an older man with grey hair. Who wore a White polo s.h.i.+rt, a brown waistcoat and grey trousers.

"Ah, Izumi. It"s good to see you again. You"ve grown so big now. And you brought some friends—" The old man named, Jii trailed off and stared at her with wide eyes, "Could you be —"

"Jii-san, could you get these three the regular? I"ll just have a coffee," Izumi interjected.

Izumi leads them to a table, and she turned to glance back at the older man. What was he going to say there? How odd.

Her thoughts broke as a plate of cake was placed in front of her. It looked like an ordinary plane brown pound cake, but as she took a bite. She could taste the delicious creamy white filling inside. Not only that, all the love and care that was put inside it as well. "Well?" Izumi said.

"Delicious! It"s delicious," Lila exclaimed. She had so many other words, but this was all she could come up with now.

"The strawberry sauce is piping hot and fresh, it"s perfect for a chilly day," Akari commented.

"And this cream, I"ve had nothing like this before," Kasumi said.

Izumi sighed, "I see only Lady Lila can"t give proper feedback."

Gah, but she can"t make any comments now. She doesn"t want to destroy this pleasant and homely atmosphere. Instead, Lila turned to Kasumi and hugged her best friend. "Wah, Kasumi he"s a bully. Help me."

"There, there," Kasumi patted her back.

"For such a hidden gem of a cafe to be out here and not in the north, seems quite unusual. And this place, it"s decorated not just nicely. But with an artistic sense. Not a normal sense too. Something special. Just now that man reacted to Lilsan, could it be the cafe Sumire-san designed?" Akari pointed out

Eh, her mothers -

---
20XX

"Look, Lilchan, I won!" her Mother was all smiles, and Lila peered over her Mother"s shoulders. Her eyes lit up when she saw the words on the paper. Ah.

"Your amazing Mother! They"ll use your design?"

"Yup, I want to make a pretty cafe for you to go and hang out whenever you"re tired. Won"t you like such a place?"

"Yes, very !"

---
Present

She turned to Izumi, and he nodded. "Lady Sumire designed this place. We were often traveling from place to place and wouldn"t stay there long, afraid to get found out. But during the time the baby was about to be born, we took shelter here. I knew she wouldn"t be able to last long in her condition, and in the worst-case scenario. She ought to be close to her home, so I brought her here. She only mentioned it to me briefly, so I wasn"t sure I had the right place. But that day, the old man was cleaning at the front and had seen us," Izumi paused.

Her eyes widened, "Ah this story," Lila thought. It"s the first time for her hearing Izumi talk this much. But, Lila understood. He"s trying to tell jet something.

"He said he was in a cheerful mood, because a "Pretty girl like a little princess gave him some flowers, and told him to keep on trying. "It turned out the shop was having issues then, and he was about to give in when he met that girl."

"Eight years ago?" Lila repeated.

"Yeah."

Then that was her. She was taking one of her usual walks by herself and then ventured out much further than usual when she stumbled upon this place.

"I don"t know what kind of person you were then, and even now I can"t see what"s so special about you. But, I admire your resolve. If at times you get stuck, I"ll a.s.sist in any way I can - and provide you an opportunity. But it"s up to you whether you make use of that chance."

So that"s why Izumi didn"t allow the older man and her to talk just now. It"s not as though he was trying to hide it. But because Izumi wanted her to make her mind up.

To test her resolve and see if she is dedicated to see this through. How cruel of Izumi. However, it"s harsh and brutal methods - that end up making a person grow stronger.

"Your right about me, I"m not the most enthusiastic person, and it"s difficult for me to be cheerful in front of others. However, I"ve always held the belief, after watching my mother for so long. I want to be like her someday, someone who can make people happy. The concept of happiness has always been something vague and frightening for me. Ever since that time, I"ve become unable to distinguish certain feelings and emotions. As a result, many people have called me cold.

Whenever I feel joy, I become so scared and lose control. But if you run away because you"re afraid, your dream will never come true. As long as you don"t give up and do your best, you"ll realize your dream for sure. I may not have a proper dream right now, but I have a goal. I will open this path up, I"ll become one of the lights on this path."

She won"t give up. This road of stars, she will make everyone see the light of the path her Mother once illuminated so brightly. "Didn"t you hear her old man? What do you think?" Izumi said.

Eh? Was he listening? Didn"t he go to the back? "She pa.s.ses the test; she"s exactly like her Mother. No, I can see something special in her."

Izumi sighed, "Special, huh? Even though she"s a clumsy person, who tripped on her own belongings this morning?"

"Oh my."

"Izumi !" Lila said livid. Why is he always like this?

"There"s not a lot of time left. Were going to help the older man as much as possible. Your stamina hasn"t left you completely has it, Princess?"

Lila shook her head, "No! I"m re-energized now. I have so much power that I feel like I can do anything. ."

"Hmm. You have spirit; I"ll give you that. "

"Let us get started right away," Kasumi spoke up.

"With Kasumi-san here, I believe we will be able to cover up Lilsan"s clumsy mistakes."

Lila"s cheeks puffed into a pout at Akari"s comment, "Ehhh? But I"ve practiced. I"m perfect now," besides Haruka seems to like it when she cooks.

…
Just as they were exiting the shop, Lila felt a familiar malice. However, even then, Lila didn"t want to think too deeply about it. Lila looked at the box of cake in her hands and smiled. Haruka will be happy, right? He seems to like sweets that she makes, this time she made it in a professional bakery too.

"Get down," Kasumi suddenly exclaimed.

But it was already too late, a sea of arrows headed in their direction. No, the arrows seemed to miss the others and head towards her.

….
- Lila"s Apartment - 11:00PM

Who would have thought that they would get attacked on the way back? A deep sigh escaped her lips, what a troublesome job looking after Rihan-san is. All these years, such cases occur every single time. The entire night Izumi was on guard like usual, but her? She needs to remain more vigilant, how dare she dropped her guard down just because they safely escorted him back? Lila winced in pain as she moved, "They just had to get her arm," Lila thought. She ought to apply medication to it quickly. However, first thing is first. Lila stepped into the dim hallway and walked down. Need to check on Haruka.

"Haruka? I"m bac--," Lila"s sentence fell short when somebody lifted her off the ground. Even in the darkness, Lila could see. There stood a furious-looking Haruka. Her sweat fell, "So much for tricking him," Lila thought. She knew he would never allow her to go out so late at night. So, Lila had no choice but to resort to drastic methods. She bought some high-quality alcohol and made him drunk. While Haruka could usually hold his liquor well, she bought very high-quality alcohol.

Haruka said nothing as he carried her away, into the living room. When she saw the lights open, Lila knew that he must have woken up and waited for her. Surprisingly, he didn"t chase after her. But then again, Haruka is very drunk. He placed her down on the couch, and with a solemn expression, spoke up.

"You still don"t trust me, huh?"