"Are you okay?" You sweat-dropped when she saw Eli walking in with a shoulder sling for her broken arm and shoulder. The blonde had a terrible day when she headed back that time. And while this will prevent her from working for a while, this will allow her to see Nozomi often.

Apparently, she was grounded for being reckless and like a child, Eli would pout at the thought that she only did what she thought was right and what she thought she could do at that time. She knew no better.

But, that made her realize just how much she needed to learn how to fight properly or else she wouldn't not only get her bones broken. Looking back, she was lucky that Yuri arrived on time. If she didn't…

Eli didn't want to think about it. Whatever happened, happened. It was what it was.

Hearing no answer, You got worried and asked, "Do you want an iced latte?"

"Oh! Sure!" Eli snapped back to reality and that gave You the assurance she needed, causing her to smile brightly with a nod before she went to work.

"Good morning!" Chika said as she entered and flinched upon seeing Eli, "W-Whoa, what happened to you!?"

"Umi." Eli replied.

'Ack, why did Yuri-san teach her pressure points and safe-to-break bones?' Chika thought as she sweat-dropped, "Th-That looks brutal."

"No worries, Maki said it should heal in a couple of weeks with no complications."

"Still scary to think that Umi-chan learned how to properly avoid sensitive bones from Yuri-san." Chika frowned and felt a chill run down her spine.

"Hiiii!" Jesidril's voice sounded the place with a strong pat on Eli's back, specifically on her shoulder and it felt like she was struck by lightning, causing her to jolt and yelp in pain as she instantly turned to face the shop owner.

"J-Jesi!" Eli whined.

"Oh, a broken arm? Sorry, sorry about that!" Jesidril laughed; it was obvious that she was being sarcastic.

"Are you making fun of me?" Tears began to form from each corner of Eli's eyes.

"Aw come on, don't be dramatic. But damn, I should have come with you guys just to see your arm broken by Umi."

"Aw come on!"

Chika chuckled nervously and You had already finished brewing the latte, placing it on the counter, "Here's your iced latte!" You said.

"Ah, thank you!" Eli replied.

A moment later, Dia and Ruby entered the café.

"Good morning, everyone!" Ruby chirped and Dia frowned upon seeing Eli.

"What happened to you?" Dia asked.

"Umi." Chika and You said at the same time, causing Dia and Ruby to blink to realization.

"Ah."

"How come everyone is so calm about this?!" Eli said.

"I mean, if it is Umi then you'll be fine." Chika said.

"Especially if you had it patched up by Doctor Maki." Jesidril added.

Moments later, Nozomi had walked into the shop and was surprised to see Eli bandaged up. Blinking, she asked, "Oh my, what happened?"

"Umi." Everyone except Jesidril and Eli said all at once.

"Oh."

IIIII

As Jesidril watched the empty café, she realized how much there was to clean; there were broken chairs and tables, shattered glasses and she even had to sleep around here just to make sure no trespassers would come in and steal anything. Synverta may be a dream place but, like any other places, it wasn't totally safe.

If she was in her journalist days, she wouldn't give a damn about this place at all. But, this was the second home of her employees – her friends – and the beginning of her own peace. Those days of vengeance were no more than a distant memory meant to be buried forever.

Realizing now, she also realized that this place… became a way for people to meet and that was how she learned that there was so much more than just having coffees or lattes. She shifted her attention towards You, who was carefully picking up shards of glasses from the floor while gently telling Chika to not worry about helping out.

Then she peered towards Dia and Ruby who were helping each other carry tables to one side for deeper cleaning and from those subtle movements, Jesidril saw those things again when she hired them.

She could see those broken pieces of them.

Each of them.

Then, there's Nozomi and Eli, who were at the counter while cleaning the long table; Nozomi, a woman who was so wise yet so afraid to take risks and Eli, an Alter who had sought for the missing puzzle pieces of her soul.

Jesidril had listened to their stories a long time ago so she knew. But, they never knew hers and she didn't plan to. Simply because, it wasn't worth knowing. And within this path of life, she was totally alone.

And that was okay.

And since she had experienced such solitude, she didn't want anyone else to be in the same place as her. That's why that billboard existed in the first place. To allow people to start it all with a note because there were things that voices couldn't say.

She didn't want anyone else – whose words didn't reach someone – to regret anything.

Focusing her attention towards the two, all she could see was a step for them. She watched how the both of them enjoyed each other's company even though Nozomi wouldn't admit it. Eli seemed to be trying her hardest to entertain her on the other hand.

She also noticed Eli's red reaction when their hands bumped each other and out of instinct, looked at each other in the faces before Eli would immediately look away while Nozomi would giggle in delight.

Then, the sound of the door bells caught everyone's attention and they saw a light-skinned, little girl dressed in a collared, white shirt, topped with red jumper shorts. She had blonde hair tied in pigtails and had big, red eyes.

"Sorry, kid, the shop's closed." Jesidril said.

The girl ignored and when she saw Eli, her face brightened and rushed towards her, "Papa!"

Eli flinched back, "Pa…?!"

Silence.

"Did she just…?" Chika paused.

"PAPA?!" Everyone except Jesidril and Nozomi exclaimed. The two were surprised nonetheless.

"Wait, hold on there, isn't that a little bit too early to expose Eli?" Jesidril asked.

Nozomi raised an eyebrow towards Eli, "I didn't know you have a daughter."

"S-She's not mine!" Eli replied.

"She has your hair! You said.

"But, do I look like I have red eyes to you!?"

"Well, maybe she got it from her mom?" Chika chimed in.

"I have lived my life free from doing that!" Eli defended herself.

"Lady Belle!" A woman in a maid outfit rushed in and was quick enough to kneel by the child's side before she looked up at Eli and Nozomi, "Dear, I'm so sorry, she tends to run off on her own."

"The kid seems to be looking for her dad." Jesidril told the woman while eyeing on the girl.

The woman briefly grew silent but that was more than enough for Jesidril to tell.

"Lady Belle is so attached to her father that she would tend to look for her. She can be a little stubborn." The woman chuckled and gently patted Belle's head as she checked on her before looking at Jesidril.

"We were supposed to look for Ms. Nozomi Tojo for a request."

"That will be me." Nozomi spoke up and the woman looked at her.

"Ah, splendid." The woman then stood up and took out a white envelope, handing it over to the purple-haired with her two hands, "The details are all in there."

Nozomi blinked and gently took the envelope; the woman then bowed politely.

"We'll be taking our leave now." Then the woman turned towards Belle with her sweetest smile, "Come, Lady Belle."

"Okay, Basan." Belle chirped and waved at Eli before she and the maid walked out of the café, "Bye, Papa! See you at home!"

Everyone gave themselves a moment to watch them leave until they were out of sight before Nozomi opened the envelope and took out a letter from it. She began reading its contents.

You hummed as she placed her hands on her hips, "That lady called the father 'her', so, an Alter?"

"Evidence is a bit strong, Eli-chan." Chika told the blonde, who flinched away.

"I told you, she's not mine! And the lady called her Lady Belle! That means they're wealthy!" Eli retorted.

"What does it say?" Jesidril asked Nozomi who frowned after reading the letter.

"I'm afraid this needs to be said aloud." Nozomi told everyone who quieted down to listen; Nozomi then began to read the letter to them:

"To Nozomi,

"The Livendough family would like to extend its greetings to you. I, Arabelle Livendough, the mother of Belle Livendough, have heard of your expertise to mend and alter one's fate with the help of your sincere and observant words and so I'm reaching out through this letter to borrow that gift.

"By the time you're reading this letter, I have already left this world and have given our most trusted friend – Basan – the responsibility to care for Belle's well being. It was agonizing to me to leave my family without allowing my daughter to further experience the love of a mother.

"Before my death, I had received word of my husband's, deeming it difficult for both me and Basan to tell Belle. Realizing this, we thought that it would devastate her once she learned that both of her parents had left her behind and so, from that day, a secret was formed. However, as days passed, suspicions from Belle were becoming more evident and I realized that it would be a heavier burden for Basan to cover the painful truth with a sweet lie.

"A year after my death, I tasked Basan to deliver this letter to you to ask for your assistance to tell Belle the truth. It doesn't matter how small the progress will be. Please, allow my daughter to be set free from the lie we told.

"Sincerely yours, Arabelle Livendough."

Reading that letter caused a great silence in between each staff member, with Jesidril narrowing her eyes a moment later with sympathetic glimmers in her eyes:

"That kid…"

A/N: Heeyyy everyone! Here's another chapter! I'm sooo sorry I couldn't really reply to comments All I could say is thank you sooo much for reading this! More chapters to come!