The owner and Michizugawa saw that Ilaya was clutching her head in a silent scream. The owner was confused for a moment before asking his friend
"Michizugawa. What do you mean that they will attack this time?"
Michizugawa chuckled and whispered to him
"Well, this young lady told me about it. I believe that it's a slip of the tongue due to being drunk, but you know how effective it is in obtaining information with the help of liquor. So, there's a high chance that what she said will come true"
Michizugawa looked at Ilaya and grinned
"Considering from what we heard from her story, the importance placed by 'Oni' on her is high, we can assume that she had obtained accurate information. The Yakuza are planning a massive attack this time. Maybe later at night"
The owner nodded and looked at Ilaya. He felt sorry for the Yakuza for having a member like Ilaya on them. The fact that she inadvertently revealed something so vital to their survival made them unlucky. But, he was also worried about her being in their company. He felt that she's in extremely dangerous situation
Suddenly, he realized that he had become like a protective parent. His mood plummeted as he remembered the past. As the owner was deep in thought, Ilaya finally reacted as she cautiously said
"Umm… can you not tell anyone about what I had said? My friend will participate in the action, so I'm worried about her safety if their plan got leaked out"
Michizugawa nodded and reassured her
"Of course. I will not tell just anyone about it so you can be at ease. That said, I need to alert the police forces, so we can immediately respond the moment the fighting got out of control"
Michizugawa became serious as he continued
"The lives of the innocent are more important than the lives of criminals. I hope you can understand that"
Ilaya was conflicted. The moment she heard him say criminals. She felt that the police officer in front of her was treating her as such. Even though she was only there as the situation forced her, she was still hurt by his words. There's also something else that bothered her
'Choose between the lives of the innocent and criminals. It seemed easy at first but…'
Ilaya closed her eyes
'If I choose to save the innocents. And condemned the criminals to their deaths. Will I be able to save a child's life in exchange for Nicole's life? To save a stranger than your friend'
She didn't dare to continue that thought and Ilaya only hoped that the operation would go as planned. To prevent her from making that difficult choice. As she banished that thought, she realized that there's really nothing more she could talk more about. She looked outside and the city is starting to darken
She looked at her phone to check the time and saw that it's close to 6pm
'Maybe I'll need to go now. But… I feel that because of what happened earlier, I'll be isolated in that place. I wonder if I just stayed here for the night?'
Then, she shook her head as she decided to reject that plan. Ilaya had a feeling that she's going to worry the people at the base. And Nicole helped her to let her attend this celebration. She couldn't betray her expectation
As Ilaya was staying silent. The dining area became quiet. The owner looked at his friend, Michizugawa and coincidentally, he also looked back at him. With just one glance, they immediately understood what each other was thinking. The owner sighed as the feeling of nostalgia hit him and said to Ilaya
"Let's end the celebration here. It's already dark outside so you better go home now Ilaya"
Ilaya was pulled back in reality by his words. She nodded and said to him
"Yes. It's quite late now. I better go now"
As she said that, Ilaya look around the place and the dining area was messy. After glancing around, she said to the owner
"But, before I go, I'll help you clean the place"
As Ilaya stood up, she losses her balance and grabbed the table for support. The table shook and the wine from her glass spilled from the jolt. The owner was startled and stood up as he hurriedly asked her
"Ilaya. Are you okay? Is there something wrong?"
Ilaya smiled at him
"Are okay owner. I'm just tipsy from being drunk. I'm disoriented just now"
Ilaya really hoped that he didn't notice anything else as she felt an intense pain in her heart. She nearly collapsed from the pain alone and forcefully swallowed the blood that nearly came out from her mouth. But, the blood that she swallowed rushed up again to her throat
She straightened herself and picked up her wine. She brought the glass to her mouth as if to drink the wine. But in reality, she discreetly spit out the blood into the wine. Then, she put down her glass with the two concernedly watched her carefully
Her arms trembled lightly, but she suppressed it. Then, she looked at the owner and said to him
"Alright. We're do we start cleaning?"
The owner stared at her for a bit before saying while he shook his head
"No need to help. You need to rest now. Can you still go to your place? Do you want me to accompany you?"
Ilaya looked down and shook her head. She soon said
"I can still go to my place. I'm not that drunk yet. But, I'll have to reject your offer to accompany me on my way home. I trust you owner, but I still can't trust some of them. I don't want you to be involved with them"
After saying that, she looked at the eyes of owner and smiled
"Then, I'll take my leave now. I'm so happy that we all finally got to spend some time together with Mars"
Ilaya looked at the sitting Michizugawa and said
"And to you too. It's kind of embarrassing at first when you joined us. But now, I'm happy that you've helped me let out my burdens. Thank you"
Ilaya bowed slightly and walked towards the owner on the other side of the table. Michizugawa scratched his cheek and felt somewhat embarrassed by her gratitude. The owner however felt something was off about her words. He just didn't know what is it
Then, Ilaya hugged the owner tightly and felt his warmth. Ilaya smiled sweetly as he let go off him and smiled brightly
"Then, I'll be off"
The owner watched as Ilaya turned around and walked towards the entrance door. The owner's emotion turned sorrowful for some reason as he suddenly said to Ilaya
"Wait"
Ilaya turned around with moist eyes as she waited for him to speak. The owner hesitated for a bit before saying
"Ichiwa. My name is Ichiwa. Remember Ilaya, we are here. Mars and I are here for you. Don't you ever forget that"
Ilaya turned her head around to hide her face and hummed as a response
"Hmm"
Then, she walked out the door as she vanished from sight. The owner didn't leave his sight from her until she vanished in the busy street