Naru dozes off in his office chair.

Moments later he wakes up to the noise outside his door... and the smell of coffee.

Annoyed, he rises up from his chair.

Just how many times do I have to tell them!

Naru expects to find the Irregulars there, and readies himself to yell out his catchphrase while he opens the door.

"This isn't a ca-!"

He stops mid-word and stares at the sight in front of him. In the main room, the bookcases have vanished. His couch is gone. The interior of the main room has changed completely. It's full of chairs and tables. All occupied by young and trendy people. They stare at him. Some girls squeal at his presence.

There is a line of people where the smell of coffee beans originated from. Mai appears, and serves tea and cappuccino to two complete strangers in a corner of the room.

After recovering from his shock, he goes up to her.

"Mai, what's the meaning of this?"

Mai blinks.

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't a café."

She frowns. "But… weren't you the one who told us to refurbish the office into an actual café?"

His face goes blank.

"What?"

"Well, you were running out of money... you told us, right?"

"Told you what?"

Mai sighs.

"Look. A patron ran out on you! You know, the important one! What's his name again?"

Naru's jaw drops just slightly.

No, not Mr Pratt!

"Anyway," she continues, "It's running quite well, for your information… Yasuhara-san told us he wants to expand our business."

Naru moves his gaze to what seems to be the cashier. There, Yasuhara slyly pushes his glasses up his nose as he takes the money from a customer.

"He even plans on taking over the Dolphin café downstairs," she says, with an uncaring shrug.

"...Where's Lin?"

"Oh, Lin-san enjoys baking cakes and muffins. ...You can find him in the old reference room. He says he never wants to return to what he used to do before."

Naru doesn't respond. He stands there, stiffly and not knowing what to do.

Mai sighs again.

"Are you done bothering me? It's my turn to brew coffee."

She leaves his side and goes up to Taka who is working behind the counter, serving hot drinks like a pro.

Naru moves his gaze away from them and wanders to the exit through the crowd.

"This isn't a café. This isn't a café..." He says, repeating it to himself like a mantra.

Naru stumbles out of the office – the café, and takes one look at the golden letters on the door's glass pane:

Shibuya Phenomenal Roast


He jerks awake in his chair at that very moment.

The scent of coffee lingers in his nose. Boisterous talk outside the door fills his ears. The loud voices clearly belong to Takigawa and Ayako.

Naru lets out a deep sigh.

...It's just a nightmare.

He rises up from his chair and proceeds toward the door.

He needs a strong cup of tea.