"Smith-san," I said with a hint of sarcasm as we took our seats at the same place where she offered me the counselor job. "I'm starting to think you have a thing for maid cafés. Are you sure it's okay for us to meet still? I figured you'd have a mountain of paperwork to deal with after that orc incident."

"Oh, I had to follow through on a promise made to my Romance, Master-kun!" she cheerfully said.

"You just wanted an easy way out of doing more work, huh?" I grumbled. After the waitress had taken our orders and left, Smith leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table.

"So, how did your first meeting with Mandroot go?" Smith inquired curiously.

I shrugged. "It was alright. It took a while for Mandroot to open up, but once I asked him about his favorite flowers and a friend, he started to talk a bit more."

Smith smiled and nodded in agreement. "That's great news. Mandrakes are usually quite reserved, but if you take the time to talk to them, their shyness usually disappears. So, Zombina-chan said you were going to meet with him again?"

"Yes, the week after next should work. I was thinking of giving Oosawa-san a call beforehand to see how everything is going since I didn't have the opportunity to chat with her much before I departed."

"By all means, do so."

The waitress returned with two steaming cups of coffee, and as she set them down on the table, I couldn't help but recall Mandroot's words that still lingered in my mind.

"Have you heard of the Far Side, Smith?" I queried after the waitress left. "Mandroot mentioned it as a place where his friend works."

The coordinator paused, and my heart sank as I realized I might've said something I shouldn't have. However, the feeling quickly dissipated when I saw the confusion on her face.

"No," Smith eventually admitted with a frown, shaking his head. "I haven't heard of it before. What kind of details did he provide?"

I shook my head in response. "No, I wouldn't press the issue. However, I would revisit the topic if he seemed open to talking more about it when we meet again."

Smith brought her cup to her face, blew at it, and said, "Let me know if you find out more. Any new knowledge we can gain about liminal societies would be invaluable. But, somehow, I don't think that was all you wanted to talk about today."

"No, it's not," I firmly told her, "That was just a small afterthought."

"So," She sipped, "What is going on?"

"I've been contemplating the Cultural Exchange Bill and the laws surrounding it," I stated as I added more sugar to my coffee. "I was wondering what the protocol would be if certain situations arose that may not have an easy solution."

She asked me, tipping her head to look at me without sunglasses, "What kind of situations might those be?"

"Well, first of all," I took a deep breath, "What happens if a host family sends their exchange student with someone who doesn't have the necessary Cultural Exchange approval? Suppose they wrongly assumed that the third party was authorized, but this was false."

Smith furrowed her brows and absently stirred her coffee with her spoon. "It's shocking how gullible people can be when someone in a suit shows them a badge," she muttered regretfully. "Unfortunately, this has happened more than once."

She was undoubtedly speaking from experience on that matter.

"However, responding to your query regarding the procedure," she continued, "it is, unfortunately, challenging to handle those situations as the perpetrators evidently comprehend our inspection timetables and consequently organize accordingly. We can never identify the issue until one of our representatives visits the host family to review their welfare, and by then, the third party has already fled."

"Does the host family face any repercussions?"

"Depends," Smith replied with a shrug, "Usually, we just take them off the hosting list, but if the case is more along the lines of actually selling their student..." She gave me a knowing smile that sent chills down my spine. "Let's just say that would be a grave offense and will be dealt with accordingly."

"Right," I replied, my throat suddenly dry. Even though I knew I wasn't the topic of discussion, I felt a wave of guilt sweep over me at the thought of such a thing happening. Beneath Smith's professional demeanor, I could detect a hint of disdain in her voice, a palpable heaviness. Regardless of what one might say about Smith, she certainly didn't take kindly to the exploitation of liminals.

"As for catching the perp," she continued, her tone now lighter, but the cold tension still lingering, "We'll do all we can to apprehend them and free the student, but... sometimes, it's not a story with a happy ending."

I slowly nodded in agreement as I imagined a dozen outcomes for Rachnera's situation, all ending poorly. She was fortunate to escape alone, but for other species, such as nekomimi or dryads, the problem could be much direr if separated from the wild for too long.

An image of a minor, disoriented Kii, lost in the back of a shadowy van, suddenly flashed into my mind.

I asked, staring into my coffee, "What happens if the liminal escapes alone but gets lost? If they become enraged by the abuse they went through and act out violently, attacking anything that comes into sight, what then?"

Smith let out a deep and drawn-out sigh and gave me a stern look. "Why do you insist on asking these kinds of questions, Aki-kun? None of this should be a concern of yours."

"I just..." I paused, struggling to articulate my feelings. "I feel so lost in this new world I'm thrown into. There's so much I don't know - what kind of cultures do the different liminal species have? Where do they originate from? How can the Cultural Exchange have such a broad reach, yet its regulations are filled with many loopholes? And, at the end of the day," my voice lowered to a whisper, "I'm just trying to understand what happens to those who don't have a guardian like Kurusu-san."

Smith stared at me briefly before a warm smile spread across her face, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand to contain her laughter.

"Are you laughing at me?" I asked her, bewildered.

Smith cheerfully smiled as she sipped her coffee with gusto, her blue eyes twinkling. "So overdramatic, Romance Master-kun!" she laughed. "I must say, I didn't plan on our date being so intense!"

"But you were so serious a moment ago!" I said, pouting, nursing my cup. "This isn't a date either."

Smith smirked with a hint of amusement. "Ah, he's in denial; how adorable."

Ugh.

"You do raise some compelling arguments," she conceded, pushing up her sunglasses, "regarding those specific scenarios and your limited understanding of how things work here. I'll do my best to double down on the issues you have described. However, I can't make any promises, as I was sincere when saying they are complex situations."

I breathed a sigh of relief. With Smith-san's help, I hoped Rachnera and Kii could get rescued before things worsened. "Thank you so much, Smith-san."

"Yes, indeed, you are fortunate that this is one of the few aspects of my job that I take a great deal of pride in. As for your desire to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this world, I am more than happy to provide you with additional documents that provide more detailed information on the Cultural Exchange and its interactions with the various liminal governments that are part of it."

I nodded. "I'd like that."

Smith gave me a sickeningly-sweet smile and said, "Just don't expect to learn anything that exceeds your pay grade, okay? Unfortunately, you're not quite at the level of government secrets yet."

"Like anything related to the Far Side?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Her smile remained unchanged. "If such a thing did exist, then it's highly likely." She turned towards the shop entrance and groaned. "Well, unless you've brought an umbrella, it looks like you and I are stuck here for the time being."

"Oh no!" I followed her gaze to find that a relentless downpour of rain had started outside. How had I not noticed it earlier? "Well, this is just great."

"I'll just ask someone to come and get us," Smith suggested, already taking out her phone. "Are we all done here?"

I thought it over for a moment before nodding. I'd said what I wanted to.

"Excellent!"

We only had to wait a few minutes before a nondescript and totally-inconspicuous van arrived at the maid café. After settling the bill, we stepped outside, where a very tall woman with long, flowing blonde hair, punctuated by a single black horn protruding from her forehead, was waiting to greet us with an umbrella. It was easy to guess who it was.

"Hello there!" Tionishia greeted us with a broad smile as we hurried into the van. "I'm Tio!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said as I sat. "My name is Akihiro, by the way."

"Oh, I've heard so much about you!" Tio chirped, eagerly settling down in the roomy chair across from me. She leaned forward, her eyes ablaze with curiosity. "Are you the boy Zombina can't seem to stop texting?"

"Um." My phone vibrated in my pocket. "Probably."

Tio let out a hearty chuckle as she leaned her considerable weight against the side of the van, causing the metal to creak in protest. "I knew it! But she keeps texting you during missions, which can be dangerous," she said, folding her arms and shaking her head in disapproval. "You need to stop being so distracting, you know."

"She's the one that keeps reaching out to me," I insisted, "Besides, I'd feel like a jerk if I just turned a blind eye to her."

"Hey, Romance Master-kun!" Smith called from her spot in the front seat. "Do you need to be somewhere else, or should I take you back home?"

Tio looked at me in wonder, her eyes lighting up with awe. "Romance Master?! Is that true?!" she exclaimed.

"It's just a silly nickname," I said, trying to prevent any requests for advice I didn't have the expertise to provide. "Don't stress over it."

I hesitated to answer Smith's question, looking out the window into the bleak, slate-grey skies. The distant rumble of thunder rolled through the air, accompanied by a steady pitter-patter of countless raindrops hitting the ground. Somehow, the sad sight drained my energy.

"Take me home," I told Smith.

To be continued!