In front of me stood a nostalgic building. With walls painted a signature red, and a large letter ‘A’ standing tall above the entrance, this place really did feel different than the surrounding establishments.

Entering it felt strange, as if I shouldn’t be here in the first place, but a large part of me didn’t care about that at all and just wanted to see an old friend and benefactor once again. I sat down and nervously (yet patiently) awaited for Arthur to once again pop out of the back carrying all sorts of assortments like he always did, but that didn’t happen.

People were getting rung up, made orders, chatted and conversed about all sorts of topics around me. The new workers were being a bit clumsy as was to be expected, and the overall vibe of an Arthur’s was still the same as ever, but no matter how long I waited, I didn’t see any semblance of Arthur making an entrance.

“Good day, sir!” A youthful voice caught the interest of my ears, “What will you be having today?”

“Ah, yes. Let’s see…” I said to the beautiful young waitress who awaited my order, “I’ll just take a Latte.”

“Will do!” She gave me a wink before swiftly going in the back.

...What was that?!? Could such a cutie really be working here?! Also, I DEFINITELY noticed that wink? Was she just being cutesy like that to appeal to me as a customer, or… something more? Gahh, what kind of face am I making? I hope she didn’t notice me crack that hideous smile for a moment after seeing the wink.

“Here you are sir, one Latte fresh from the tap!” She joked with a Teehee!

But wait, milk doesn’t come from a tap… I thought as I eyed her bosom for a moment. Man, she’s amazing from head to toe, am I really so easy as to fall in love with a woman at first sight? UHH, HELL YEAH I AM!

“Well, if that’s all then…” She started walking away from the table.

“O-Oh, wait!” I called out to her, “W-Would you mind having a seat with me for a bit?”

“Oh, I would,” She said with a sigh, “But I’ve got a lot on my plate right now! Heh, no pun intended!”

God, even the way she laughs at her own jokes is adorable… and also a bit familiar…

“O-Oh, I see.” I said with a dejected tone before remembering something important, “But could I at least ask you to call Arthur down? I’m an old acquaintance of his.”

She immediately wiped the happy smile away from her face, and the other workers who overheard me also stopped dead in their tracks just to watch the situation unfold. Was it something I said?

“Mr. Arthur… passed away a couple of months back.” She said seriously.

I immediately lost all strength in my body and almost threw up from the shock. Arthur… is dead? This can’t be! What? Oh Gods… say it ain’t so…! Fuck!

“WHAT!?” I finally snapped back to my senses and got up from my chair, “Y-You’re lying! He’s not dead!”

“Sir, please calm down…” She said with a teary eyed look, “He was simply getting too old. That’s just how life is…”

Although she said this to reassure me that her words were true, I knew from the start that she’s lying. First of all, his shoes were still on the porch of the side entrance. Second, I’d definitely hear of this from Anna’s letters. In the end, this brings me to the conclusion that these workers are keeping something from me, and I gotta find out what!

I decided to use Analyze on this waitress girl to find out her true thoughts. I always feel bad doing something like this to another human, but if it’ll help me get to the bottom of this, then I don’t mind it one bit. Upon activating my ability, my pupils glimmering brown the entire time, I stared her down without breaking eye contact.

“You’re not getting us this time, filthy ITA scum.” She thought whilst glaring back at me, “We don’t owe you guys squat!”

Whoa, looks like they’ve aroused the attention of the ITA while Grim and I were off in Great Hiana, but how does she know I’m an ITA recruit? Did anything about my appearance give it away? This girl is way too sharp…

“But still…” She though whilst looking away from me, “Even though Grampa told me to lie about his death to shoo away these guys, I still feel uneasy about it…”

So Arthur’s alive?! THANK THE GODS! Hey, hold on, did she just say ‘Grampa’? Wait! Does that mean…?!

“ANNA!?” I jumped up from my chair as I yelled out her name in sheer surprise.

“Whuh?!” She stammered back a bit, “H-How d-do you know my name? Who are you!?”

“Who do you think, dummy?” I fixed up my posture in front of her whilst remaining cheeky.

“…” She oogled me up, down and all around before blushing a bit. She then shakily said, with a voice filled with uncertainty, “…Edward?”

Cute… But I’m not just saying that for no reason! Looking at her right now, she’s completely changed up her appearance in these past few years we’ve been apart. She’s a lot less… hydrodynamic, sure, but her childish nature still shines through. Apart from that, her hair’s also grown out quite a bit (all the way to her tummy, to be precise). No wonder the aura around her felt so familiar!

After we both finally recognized each other, she finally agreed to sitting down with me and help clear up all these misunderstandings, while also using the time to catch up a bit.

“But wow!” She commented, “You’ve really changed! I barely noticed it was you, and that’s solely thanks to that cheeky attitude of yours!”

“Speak for yourself!” I replied back almost instantly, “Look at you! You’ve really matured into a fine beauty!”

“Oh ho?” She gave me a smug smirk, “Did my sudden glow up make you fall for me?”

I can’t tell her the truth, since it’d definitely make things awkward between us. I’ll just laugh it off and switch topics quickly.

“…” I sat there in silence, “Yeah, kinda.”

“O-Oh…” She sat back down in her chair, before making this confused, blank face at me (all the while blushing, mind you), “I-I see…”

“N-Never mind that! You said Arthur’s actually alive?” I quickly changed the topic to avoid making any mistakes in my words.

“Oh? Did I say that out loud?” She got worried.

Crap! I made a mistake in my words! Gahh, I got so caught up in changing topics that I forgot I actually read her mind to find that out!

“I-I’m pretty sure you did, yeah.” I decided to double down, “Plus I knew from all the letters you sent me.”

“Right…” She tensed up a bit, “To tell you the truth, though, whilst the fact that Gramps is alive still holds true, it’s not by much.”

“What do you mean?” I now started worrying as well, “Is he alright? Where is he?”

“His condition is stable… for now, at least.” She explained, “He’s down with some unknown disease, and it’s making him pretty frail. He’s at Harper’s right now, she said she’s gonna monitor his condition just in case something happens, but he should be sent back home in a couple of days.”

“So this is why you’re here instead of in Cardina like you mentioned in the letters?” I asked.

“Well, yes and no.” She then further elaborated, “In truth, I was never in Cardina to begin with, nor was I planning on going there just yet. You see, ever since you guys got your passports from the ITA, Gramps and I have been considered your assistants in attaining them, and thus they’re now constantly nagging us about giving them a share of our earnings.”

“What?!?” I raised my voice in what sounded like a mix between anger and astonishment, “Those bastards will pay! I’m so sorry for having you go through all this trouble, you should’ve told us!”

“Eh, don’t worry about it.” She waved her hand at me, “It’s thanks to you guys that Arthur’s is thriving so much, so you shouldn’t feel responsible. Also, it’s not too difficult to shoo them away, since they only send in their recruits to scope out the scene on a semiregular basis. I just lied about going to Cardina to send them on a wild goose chase after me and hopefully waste as much of their time and energy.”

“Wow, you’re diabolical.” I commented, “I like it!”

“Oh, thank you very much!” She gave a satisfied grin, “I knew you’d understand my plan! Not everyone here did… But never mind that, you mentioned in your letters you were gonna visit your home, but to think you’d stop by here of all places!”

“Of course I would!” I added, “Oh, but Grim’s not with me. He’s still chasing our dream to visit every country in the world one day. I just felt a bit homesick and wanted to drop by and visit my parents for a bit before continuing where I left off.”

“I see,” She replied, “But wait, doesn’t that mean he’s all alone over there?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.” I got ready to tell her the big news, “Since he’s gotten a girlfriend and daughter!”

“…” She gave me a confused look before bursting out from laughter, “Phahahah! A girlfriend he said! And a daughter to boot! Wow, you’re a riot, I tell ya’!”

“You don’t believe me?” I asked her once again.

“Oh come on! Enough with that joke!” She kept laughing, “As if someone as free-spirited and carefree could ever settle down with a girl.”

“You’ll just have to wait and see then.” I gave her a shrug as I said that, “But you know, he’s apparently all the way in Sibirus on a very important mission right now, according to my sources.”

“Sibirus?” She sat there in utter awe, “I hope he brought a coat or something, I guess.”

“That’s what I said too!”

“Hehe, we always think the same things.” She replied, “Which reminds me, how long were you planning on staying here in Springwood?”

“Oh, I was just planning to visit Arthur and then head back home.” I answered, “But now that I know you’re here, I might just stick around a bit more.”

“Mmm…” She bundled up in her chair, “Hehe…”

“What’s got you all flustered?” I wanted to tease her a bit more.

“N-Nothing!” She jumped out of her seat with a defiant tone, “L-Let’s just go visit Gramps!”

“Right!” I jumped out of my seat as well, “Let me just pay, then we’ll head off immediately.”

“Oh, come on!” She sighed before turning back to face me, “This ones on the house, consider it a welcome home gift just for you.”

Gahh! Stop being cute!

As such, Anna went in the back to change out of her work clothes. I waited patiently, yet eagerly. I wonder what she’s gonna wear? A beautiful dress? Cute overalls? Oh, I can’t wait to see! This waiting is gonna drive me insane!

The doors then clicked open, and a familiar figure emerged. Her silhouette from the sunset only served to accentuate the excitement I was feeling in that moment as I waited for her to step out. But surprisingly, what she was wearing was actually…

“Casual clothes?” I gave a slightly disappointed look.

“Yeah!” She replied with a chipper tone, “Doesn’t it feel nostalgic? We all used to wear such casual clothes back when we were still traveling through Trivis Numerica, so I thought you’d like it.”

Well, I certainly appreciate the sentiment, but isn’t this a bit… out of style? Hold on… Did she just say she thought I’d like it? Does this mean… She picked an outfit purely for me? IN THAT CASE…!

“It’s amazing!” I jumped for joy as I showered her with compliments, “The oversized shirt really accentuates your youth, and those shorts make you look really cute!”

“S-Stop smothering me with compliments!” She felt uncomfortable for a bit, “It makes me feel weird! I’ll just change into something more fitting.”

Oh no! We’re losing her! Gotta up the ante STAT!

“No wait! I-Instead, how about you just compliment my attire.” I reasoned, “That way we’d be even.”

“Ooh! I like that idea!” She grinned with a heinous smile, “Well then, let’s see…”

She yet again probed me with her eyes from head to toe. It felt extremely uncomfortable, and I immediately regretted saying what I said. Is this how girls feel when they get oogled by guys on the street? Note to self: NEVER STEAL GLANCES AT GIRLS!

“You’re really tall.” She finally spoke out, “And your jaw’s gotten a bit more defined. You’re way too handsome for your age. Your hair’s getting a bit curly at the tips, I wonder how you’d look like with completely curly hair? Oh, and while I miss your light green eyes, I could get used to looking at your Brown Iros.”

“…” I couldn’t think of anything to say, instead just blushing and taking the barrage of compliments, “T-Thank you.”

“Heh!” She made a smug little face, “See? Not so easy getting praised!”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she didn’t mention a single thing about my attire. I was wearing a white shirt with a black vest over it. I guess this is fine too…

As such, we finally walked out of the Arthur’s establishment, albeit a bit flustered though. Even still, we went around the corner, making the same twists and turns as before, and then finally making it to Harper’s clinic to go see Arthur.