It was three o’clock in the afternoon.
Following the small commotion where she had been knocked down earlier, a subtle sensation lingered in Shiratori’s heart.
What kind of feeling was it, exactly?
Shiratori could guarantee it was by no means the foolish stirrings of a maiden’s heart, nor was it the setup for some dating game scenario—she simply wanted to gain a deeper understanding of human emotions.
“Completely incomprehensible…”
Sitting at an outdoor table of a cafe, Shiratori pulled out a book titled The Interpretation of Dreams from the mountain of books stacked beside her.
It was one she had just purchased; perhaps because she bought so many at once, the bookstore owner had even thrown in a pair of bookmarks for free.
Opening the title page, Shiratori stared at the text while her mind began analyzing the meaning behind each sentence.
At the same time, she attempted to use her Angel system to decipher the book, but her Angel quickly relayed a message: Unable to interpret.
Beside the stack of books sat a cup of coffee mixed with salt and stimulants.
She used this as a substitute for regular coffee to maintain a state of high alertness, ensuring her thoughts could process without interruption.
This posture hardly looked like someone enjoying a coffee; had she not been in a crowded outdoor setting, she would have looked just like a spy deciphering intelligence.
After spending an untold amount of time thinking and analyzing, she failed to obtain a single piece of valuable information.
“…”
She didn’t make a sound, nor did her expression change in the slightest, yet her hand had tightened into a clenched fist.
Perhaps unsure of what to do next, Shiratori brought the coffee to her lips and swallowed it down bit by bit, her fingers tapping a rhythm against the book.
After expending so much effort only to gain zero harvest, Shiratori felt a wave of disappointment.
Wait, perhaps it wasn’t completely without gain.
At the very least, this cup of coffee tasted quite good, and the pudding was wonderful too.
However, those weren’t the main point.
Pudding and coffee could be eaten anytime, but if she didn’t grasp emotions soon, a sense of panic would creep in—a panic born from a lack of understanding.
Even so, Shiratori let no visible trace of expression show on her face.
Perhaps she shouldn’t be so anxious.
Heading to the shop next door to try some whipped cream ice cream might also be a fine idea.
When one focused too obsessively on a single thing, they often ended up ignoring everything else.
The free life she had once longed for so intensely had now become a reality.
Even if it was only for this brief stretch of time from earlier until now—and even if she wouldn’t have it again until she learned to master her spacequakes—Shiratori treasured this current moment immensely.
Therefore, wasting all her time purely on eating was unwise.
Perhaps she could check out an arcade or something similar instead?
Yet she quickly swept that idea aside.
According to her knowledge, most games here were tied to causal developments of emotion.
For someone like her—with zero emotional intelligence and zero emotional logic—going to play those games was undeniably asking for trouble.
In truth, she wasn’t devoid of feelings; she simply doubted and mistrusted her own emotions.
After all, one set was born of cold steel, while the other belonged to flesh and blood.
Comparing the two was nothing short of foolish.
Could a human and a machine truly be the same?
It was precisely because of the stark contrast between the two that Shiratori completely distrusted her own emotions, even if she was now, in a conceptual sense, a human.
Having finished her stream of thought, Shiratori mindlessly toyed with the empty cup in her hand, her mind completely blank.
Perhaps instead of deliberately trying to dissect them, slowly experiencing feelings in daily life would bring answers even faster.
“Here is your parfait sundae.”
The clerk served her a glass packed with a rich variety of fruits.
She had ordered this alongside her coffee earlier, but because the preparation process was a bit more involved, it was only brought out now.
Even though they were just ordinary—and perhaps even slightly sub-par—fruits, they decorated the ice cream so exquisitely that it looked almost like a work of art.
Weren’t humans just like this as well?
It was precisely emotions that embellished life so brilliantly.
Suddenly realizing this, Shiratori swiftly engraved this fleeting thought into her mind.
If it was only to this extent, even she could understand it.
“Looks like the Goddess of Luck is smiling on me after all.”
Scooping up a piece of strawberry with her spoon, Shiratori glanced past the stack of books beside her, her mood naturally brightening.
Suddenly, however, the tall tower of books tumbled straight toward her.
“?”
Thump—!
Fortunately, Shiratori wasn’t hurt, but the collapsing stack knocked over the ice cream on the table.
The white ice cream and whipped cream instantly splattered all over Shiratori’s clothes.
Glancing down at her clothes now polluted with white, and then looking toward the distance at a delinquent boy who was giggling and running away after a successful prank, Shiratori expressionlessly pulled out a napkin from the side and began wiping herself off.
“V-Valued customer, are you alright?!”
A staff member rushing over seemed terrified by the scene, quickly bowing in apology before pulling a handkerchief out of their pocket to help wipe Shiratori down.
“…”
She remained silent.
Shiratori believed she hadn’t suffered any emotional volatility, yet this quiet composure made the employee panic even more, assuming it was the calm before Shiratori’s explosion.
Flustered, the clerk quickly called the store manager over.
In truth, she simply didn’t know how best to express her feelings in this situation—or more accurately, she didn’t know what to say.
She had absolutely no intention of getting angry or taking her frustration out on the staff.
“Dear customer, we are truly so sorry for subjecting you to such an unpleasant experience!
We will compensate you for the cost of your clothing, and your bill for today will be completely on the house!
We hope you…”
“It’s fine, it’s just a bit of a hassle to wipe clean.
Why are you so panicked?”
Shaking her head to indicate she didn’t need compensation, Shiratori asked while wiping her clothes.
She was somewhat curious as to why they were acting so terrified.
“Um…
seeing you stay silent the whole time, I thought you were extremely furious…”
“Why?
It wasn’t your fault.”
She couldn’t understand.
She had originally thought silence was the best resolution; after all, it conveyed no negative emotions and uttered no words of blame.
Why did the other party still “misunderstand” that she was enraged?
“Eh?
Well…
when a customer doesn’t say anything, people naturally assume they’re so angry they can’t even speak…”
“Or that you’re so mad you don’t even want to move…”
The two answers only left Shiratori even more bewildered.
The tiny spark of confidence she had just ignited regarding her understanding of emotions was ruthlessly extinguished.
Yet to the shop staff, Shiratori’s questions were what truly left them baffled—especially her refusal to take the free meal.
“Why would silence make you think that?
I believe I perfectly maintained the same expression I had before the accident.
Furthermore, why must an apology come with a free meal?
If you wish to express regret, an apology should be more than enough.”
“…”
The staff seemed unable to process Shiratori’s point for a moment—or more accurately, they were stumped by the sheer simplicity of the question.
Did these self-evident matters really look so thought-provoking in the eyes of this young girl?
However, their silence made her realize her questions were somewhat improper.
Leaving her payment behind and declining the manager’s attempt to keep her, she walked out of the cafe, sinking once again into a cyclic loop of emotional deliberation.
What was going on, exactly?
Things that others took for granted only became more complex and multifaceted when explained.
After all, few people were willing to actively ponder them, as it had all subtly become a set of implicit rules over time.
Shiratori was aware of this much.
If anything, her emotional knowledge was completely inverse to that of normal people—the more obscure a concept was, the better she understood it.
Gazing up at the clear sky above, the vivid blue was framed by a few scattered clouds, which parted as if to clear a path for the sunlight.
Could it be that something was about to happen next?
She didn’t take it to heart; after all, such things were far too pseudo-scientific.
Weather was just weather, and clouds were just clouds—they couldn’t possibly possess thoughts of their own.
Just as Shiratori turned the corner today, a familiar scene unfolded once again.
Thump—!