Summary:
This episode opens in the Très
Spades cafeteria. The MC is happily eating with her friend and coworker,
Sakiko. Her other friend and senior, Chisato, joins them. They ask her about
her “special assignment”. She asks if they know about the “tea room”, and they
both look at her blankly for a moment. They mention that it is “legendary”. Before
they can say much more, Erika, Rina, and Kana show up to do their usual
bullying. After the bitch trio parts, the first three continue to talk about the tea room. Chisato
calls it one of the “Seven Wonders of Très Spades”. They question the MC about
who resides there, but she’s at a loss as to how to explain the Mad Hatter.
Sakiko wonders if he’s rich, and Chisato scolds her for prying about customers.
Chisato changes the conversation to ask the MC what she will be doing for the
upcoming holiday. Of course, the MC knows she can’t leave. Chisato tells her
about an upcoming meteor shower.
The MC is thinking about the
meteor shower as she walks back to the tea room. She hurries back to find a
whole bunch of unfamiliar men there. She sifts through the crowd to find the
Mad Hatter interviewing them. He notices her presence and pulls up a chair for
her. After a bit of listening, she finally questions why he is doing the
interviews. He says he is trying to find replacements for the March Hare and
Dormouse. She asks how he knows these men, and he reveals that he put up an ad on
the Internet. Deciding that this was a really bad idea, the MC stands up and
tells them that the interviews are cancelled. This infuriates the Mad Hatter. He
calls her selfish and explains that he went through great effort to get these
people together. She reminds him of what Mr. Ichinomiya had said to him earlier
about having unknown people around. He seems to be affected by that and quiets
down.
He explains that he just wants
the tea room to be a fun and beautiful place. Something about all of this
causes the MC to start giggling. He wants to know why she’s laughing at him.
She can’t stop, and he starts pouting like a child. She apologizes, telling him
to “fix his mood”, but still can’t stop giggling. He tells her that he doesn’t
want to smile and even lemon pie won’t fix his mood. She is intrigued that he
revealed something personal like that. He talks about his favorite food at
length before telling her that even lemon pie “won’t open the door to his
heart” and that is was closed long ago. The MC quickly changes the subject to
ask the Mad Hatter if he knows about the upcoming meteor shower. She asks him
if he will go with her. The thought of going outside causes him to nearly fall
out of his chair. He asks her if she is joking. Of course, she is not, and she
thinks that maybe there’s a reason why he has not gone outside for so long. She
tells him that she wouldn’t force him to go, and he relaxes a little. He then
gets up to show her something. He presses a switch on the wall that turns the
lights out, and she clings to him in her fright. He lifts her chin up to show
her the beautiful starry sky projected on the tea room ceiling. She starts to
wonder about how lonely he must be, being alone for so long. Her chest aches to
think about it. He catches her staring at him and asks if there’s something on
his face. She quickly returns her gaze to the “sky”, nestled comfortably in his
arms. He says that he’d like to incorporate a shooting star someday. The
episode ends with her noticing a sweet smell drifting from the Mad Hatter.
My
commentary:
I found the whole interview
scene to be quite hilarious. I can just imagine that he put this crazy add up
on something like Craigslist… This is also the first time that we see the Mad
Hatter truly angry. And that lemon pie comment is just too darling! What a cute
weakness to have! I was definitely making little happy noises at the cute scene
at the end when he shows her the starry “sky”. …I need to be held now…
A little language side note, I went to Japan earlier this year, and when
I was getting a little bit grumpy (that’s a whole different story…), my translator
told me to “fix my mood”. It’s not really something we’d say in English, so it
seems like a direct translation from the Japanese phrase.
Songs to
listen to while reading this chapter:
"A Place Where You Belong" by Bullet for my Valentine
"Saferwaters" by Chevelle
“Dear Vienna” by Owl City
"Saferwaters" by Chevelle
“Dear Vienna” by Owl City
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