Vol 4 Chapter 10 – The Aroma of Beans, a Picture of Fresh Blood (【Revolver Maid】 Arc)

At a certain café

A lonely woman sits at the counter.
She slumps her shoulders and sips her coffee.
The aroma of beans drifts through the air.
At that moment, she hears a man’s voice.

“‘Himena-san,’ you look tired today as well.”

The white-haired, slicked-back man offers her kind words.
The woman called Himena lets out a wry smile.

“‘Master’… Am I really that obvious?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Haha, I see.”

Himena removes her hair tie, letting her tied blonde hair fall free.
Her long hair flows smoothly.

“You haven’t been here lately, have you? Is that why?”
“Well… I’ve been swamped with work…”
“I see. You are a hard worker, Himena-san.”
“I work grudgingly, though. If possible, I’d rather live without working.”

Master nods deeply at her words.

“Of course, I agree.”
“So, Master is the same. Surprising.”
“Certainly, I run my own shop, but if money flowed like water, I could open whenever I pleased.”
“That would be a problem. It’s the only place that soothes my heart.”

Himena sets her mug down, interlaces her hands, and stretches her body fully.
Her figure reminds Master of someone.
Master speaks:

“Himena-san, do you remember the matter regarding that regular customer we discussed previously?”
“Hm? Ah… now that I think about it, I did hear that story. What’s brought this on?”
Master wears a wistful expression.
“That person hasn’t been here for about a month and a half… Being busy, they only dropped by a few times a week.”
“I see. Hasn’t this café become unnecessary already?”
“I suppose so… That is a little sad, isn’t it?”
Seeing Master with his slumped shoulders, Himena sighs.
“So, you really favor that customer, huh?”
“I don’t wish to favor customers, but you and that person are special.”
“Heh… It seems you mentioned my name just for effect; perhaps I’m mistaken?”
“I’m speaking honestly.”

Himena finishes the coffee in her mug and wears a satisfied expression.
“Well, the fact that I’m still here—and that I can keep working at this absurd job—is thanks to this café and you, Master, and that person will return someday too.”

Himena stands up and hands Master some cash.
Master holds a 500-yen coin in his hand.

“Thank you for your concern. I’ll wait patiently.”
“When that person comes back, tell me the story again. …—Although I, too, don’t know when I’ll return next.”
Himena laughs self-deprecatingly.
But before long, her expression softens into something natural.

“Of course. I’ll always be here waiting.”

After hearing Master’s words, Himena waves her hand lightly and leaves the café.
Inside, only Master remains, and a lonely atmosphere fills the space.

“Well then, shall we close up?”
Master stretches and steps outside the café.
Outside is dark, and the street is lit by streetlights.
He puts up a “CLOSE” sign outside and goes back inside, clearing away the coffee mug left on the counter.

“So, in the end, they didn’t show up today either…”
After tidying up, he takes a breath.
Aside from himself, no one remains in the café.
The wooden clock—an antique that also serves a practical purpose—points to 9 PM.

“We’ll always be waiting for you, Sakata-san.”
Those words will never reach him.

——————————————————

After leaving the café and walking for about ten minutes, Himena’s cellphone rings.
When she checks her phone, she frowns.

“Hello, what’s wrong?”
No one answers.
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
Still, there is no response.
Just as she is about to hang up, a voice comes through:

“———‘Hime-chan, it’s me.’”

A voice from behind.
Himena slowly and awkwardly turns toward the source of the voice, as if her neck had stiffened.
Standing before her is a woman in a black suit with a white lab coat.
Seeing this, Himena exhales slightly and speaks:

“If you’re right here, you don’t need to call.”
“But I have to confirm you’re really here, don’t I?”
“…Well, nothing would change now.”
Himena mutters inaudibly to the woman before her.

“So, coming to see me all of a sudden without any notice means you have some business, right?”
“Correct. You always see through everything, Hime-chan. Here, take this.”

The woman in the lab coat forms a circle with her finger and shows Himena her phone screen.
On the screen, a photo of a woman in a maid outfit stained with fresh blood is displayed.
At the feet of the woman in the photo, numerous chunks of flesh are scattered—human body parts: arms, legs, even a head and torso.
That photo would make any ordinary person nauseous in an instant.
It was that extreme.

“Who is this…?”
But Himena remains completely unfazed.
If anything, she appears to be laughing.
Just like a demon.
That remains hidden from everyone.

“It looks like it could be my new toy, so I just had to show you.”
“You have terrible taste, too.”
“Haha! As if that’s not obvious by now.”
“I suppose so.”

The woman in the lab coat is in high spirits.
Seeing her like that, Himena starts walking away as if exasperated.

“Hey, where are you headed?”
“‘The usual place.’ We have a strategy meeting later, don’t we? … Have you forgotten?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten.”
“Well, it seems you’ve forgotten… Fine, let’s go.”
“Tch… Alright.”

Himena straightens her back and walks with the look of a warrior heading into battle.
She takes out her cellphone and calls someone.

“Hello, it’s me. I’m heading over with ‘Fifth’.”
Her tone is flat—it is as if she were an emotionless robot.
After ending the call, Himena quickens her pace.

“Hey, Hime-chan, don’t call me ‘Fifth’; call me ‘Kyoka’.”
“I refuse. This is work too.”
“You’re so cold. As expected of our leader.”
“……”

Himena stops reacting to that remark and hurries toward her destination.
Yet her steps are far from light.