As Mars and the owner closes the door of the restaurant. They walked for a while before speaking to each other
Mars said
"I couldn't believe that Ilaya was living like that, even though it's only 3 days. For her to randomly search for… mirage? And without stop"
The owner nodded
"That's right, for her to search the whole city is pointless, but maybe it's also her belief that if she keeps searching, she'll be able to find her memories. Her search became her driving force to keep herself forward and to keep herself from truly becoming lost"
The old man then thought
'It's just that, if she keeps searching without even knowing what she's looking for. Even if she finishes searching the whole of Japan, then she'll go to other countries to search. And if she still can't find what she wants to find, then she'll go to another place again. Searching and searching until she collapses. Then, her yearning will turn into obsession along the way and will be slowly consumed by despair without her knowing it'
Mars then speaks
"No wonder she cried so much, she's must be feeling terribly lonely with her suffering alone, she's so pitiful"
Mars then thought of something
"Hey! You old man, how can you refuse her request that noon. She probably gathered all her courage to request help form you! And you refuse her, she must've… sigh I'm just joking. I know that you wouldn't let just anyone to sleep at your place"
"Haha, you know me. She's strong, it will take a lot from the world to bring her down"
Mars agreed to that, if she's in the shoes of Ilaya, she wouldn't know what to do. There's also something
'It seems that is not connected to those trouble makers, but there's something about her that's strange and mysterious'
She remembered the feeling at that time when she had a talk with Ilaya and shivered
'No, don't think about it. All that matters is that she truly needs help and deserves to be helped. That's all'
The duo then walked and vanished in the distance
…
Ilaya is currently watching the outside through the glass window. She felt relieved for some reason and her chest feels so light. She kept thinking about what happened a while ago. She feels happy that she had someone that she can share her feelings and not be alone anymore
Ilaya then got up from the chair at goes into the kitchen to drink water. She then decided to look around the place as she didn't have the time to explore due being busy to attend to many people.
She looked at the storage room and inspects the many ingredients and condiments. She then open a freezer and saw many kinds of meat. Ilaya then returned to the hallway and saw the tables and chairs not far from her. Due to the lights being closed, she suddenly feel that the place is creepy at night as it was a contrast compared to the lively atmosphere in the morning
She then thought
'Could the ghost be real?'
I don't really believe in the supernatural, well, in the past at least. But with so many strange things that are happening to me. I'm starting to doubt my common sense as the impossible thing keeps happening.
She shakes her head and banished the thought
I need to sleep now, I'll decide tomorrow if I'm going to search again. The work starts at 1:00 pm anyway so I'll have a half day free to do anything I want
Ilaya then returned to the staff room, went into a corner and put her backpack on the floor to use as her pillow. Then she picks her jacket from the table to use it as a makeshift cover. She then laid down and immediately fell into deep sleep with the edge of her mouth curled up
…
The morning came and Ilaya woke up. She looked at her watch and saw that it's 6am now. She got up and picked her jacket and backpack on the floor and put it on the table. She then started to think whether to buy her breakfast or to cook her meal here
'Do I still need to buy my breakfast or start to cook here? The owner said that I can cook my food if I'm hungry, but it feels like I'm taking advantage of them if I eat here for my breakfast'
I'm already eating here for lunch and dinner. If I also eat here for my breakfast, then I'll feel like an extremely shameless person. I don't want to take advantage of their kindness
"Eating outside it is"
As Ilaya decided, she then washed her face at the at the sink then returned to the staff room to take her jacket and walk out of the place to look for a convenience store. As she walked, she saw many people having an expression of fear, concern and worries
She then thought
'What was going on?'
The atmosphere of the whole place seemed so heavy compared to her last walk outside. She then continued to walk as she also saw that the people that she came across had the same expression as the people that she saw earlier. She couldn't stand her curiosity anymore and talked to the man ahead of her
"Hey, excuse me. I saw many people that looked worried so I want to ask what's going on?
The man then looked at her and said
"Didn't you hear the news? There's a serial killer here in the city that kills young women. I heard that the killer had four victims now, so the whole city is on edge. The news already spreads on the internet so why aren't you still unaware?"
Ilaya sheepishly smile at the man but already cursing inside her head
'Damn phone! I really need a phone now!'
I really feel like a country bumpkin if I didn't phone in the city! And I don't have any source of information!
Ilaya dodge the question and speaks to the man
"Is that so? So that's why. Thank you for answering my question"
With that she bowed a little and started to walk again when the man said to her
"You have to be careful too. You're a young woman so you'll be targeted by the killer if you come across that bastard"
With that, the man walked away. She couldn't help but think about what he said
'So there's a killer on the loose huh?"
As she thought of that, she remembered the time when she felt a killing intent the other day
I remembered at that time that I thought that the source of that killing intent was a member of the gangs that thought of me as a member of the Yakuza, but it's strange. If the person who wants me dead is a member of the gangs, then why aren't they taking action to kill me when they have so many chances? Not that I wanted them to kill me of course
She stopped walking as she analyzed the events
"Is it possible that the 'malice person' that I thought as a member of the gangs is not actually them, but the serial killer?"
She remembered when she felt the killing intent and the time where she even curiously looked for the place where the serial killer hid in the park, and even slept in there!
Ilaya felt her hair stand on end