With hands freshly washed, a new shirt and apron put on, and hair carefully contained underneath a cap I stood in front of the mirror to check my appearance. I looked pretty good. It would have been nice to have a tall, white chef's hat... but that was asking a bit much.

A voice from behind me interrupted my cheerful thoughts of hats.

"Huh...?"

I looked around the room but there was nobody in sight. How odd, I could swear I had heard someone....

"Wah!"

The voice was coming from almost directly underneath me and I stepped back automatically.

Standing there was a small child-sized doll.

She was wearing a lemon-yellow kimono and had a large black ribbon in her hair. She was watching me with large eyes and her tiny lips were pursed together. It was impossible to read her expression.

She spoke bluntly as a soldier would.

Karasuba-san had said that three dolls were working here. Haizakura, Karasuba, and Gekka. That made three.

"You're here to show me around, aren't you? Thank you....

With a small nod she began to walk briskly away.

She had on a backpack that was rather large for her size - all the more so because it had feather-like attachments on it. It looked like she shouldn't be able to enter the kitchen without them catching on the door frame, but she was apparently well aware of this as she turned sideways to enter.

I followed her into a small but clean kitchen.

In the center was a large counter for preparing food. Pans, pots, and other cooking utensils hung along the wall. They even had what looked to be an imported gas stove and a water boiler.

"What's the menu like?"

Gekka opened a drawer under the counter and took out a notebook.

"Thank you. Wow, it's so detailed...."

I flipped through the book of recipes. They were all handwritten with a fountain pen. The writing was detailed and precise. Whoever had made the recipe book even included illustrations for some things. The person who made this was skilled with a pen.

"This is perfect. I can't wait to see what I can do."

"You mean... you don't get very many?"

I could look out at the cafe through a small window in the kitchen.

The store is empty right now of course, since it's still before opening, but she must mean that the cafe has trouble fillings its seats. Thinking about it more, I've only visited the Black Cat Pavilion twice and both times had been before opening.

"This place has a nice atmosphere and there aren't many places where dolls will serve you. I would think a place like this would be popular."

"I suppose those who fought in the war would not be."

Seeing dolls must bring back dark memories for many people.

"But Gekka and the others aren't combat dolls, so that's hardly fair."

"Eh?"

She said it so plainly that I had to look her over once more.

She's small. I would guess a girl her size would be a 3rd year primary school student. She's very calm and collected, but she didn't have the powerful presence of a combat doll.

"Ah, no... you just don't seem like the type."

Maybe she has some kind of special ability.

"Can you shoot electricity from your eyes?"

"Shoot a laser from your mouth?"

"Oh, the feathers on your backpack, maybe you can throw them like a boomerang and cut through-"

Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone running towards us.

Haizakura: "Gekka-san! Usa-san! It's awful!"

Haizakura appeared, her hair bouncing as she ran.

"Is there some kind of trouble?"

Haizakura: "The garbage dump is being vandalized!"

"Eh..."

An intruder..?

We won't be able to take care of this on our own.

"Unless...."

I glanced at Gekka.

If she really is a combat doll, then maybe...?