I signaled to Akumi and then both of us paced toward the table he was sitting at, settling into the seats in front of him.
He was startled a little by our sudden arrival, as until then he had his head down while looking at his cup of tea—which I could see had gone cold by this time.
"Why did you choose to meet up in a place like this? It's literally out in the open, I can get caught any second!" he said once he calmed down a little, although his voice still contained a hint of anxiety.
"That's precisely why I chose this place. No one would be expecting you here, right out in the open. In fact, you kind of ruined my plan a little by dressing up like that—it makes you stand out too much," I replied.
"I couldn't help it! Everyone is looking to kill me. It's impossible for me to come here casually as if nothing was wrong," he stated hurriedly.
"But despite all that, you still came, even though you could have asked me to schedule the meeting elsewhere," I mentioned.
