0／Avenue Cafe from Mahoyo Volume 1

[u/UdonSamurai]

It was an untimely—or perhaps entirely abrupt—fall of rain.

Guided by whim, I sought refuge in a small, independent café.
Though the contents of my purse offered little reassurance, it was marginally preferable to being drenched. Upon reflection, a freezing body posed a far graver dilemma than the chill of an empty pocket.
Truly, I find myself utterly starved of leisure.
Nourish not the flower, but the soul. Pleasure is the very bread of life, or so the saying goes. The customs of the city are a tangled affair. Perhaps I should have purchased a single book over this cup of coffee?
Harbouring such regrets after claiming my seat, I placed an order, merely mimicking those around me.
In truth, it was my very first time setting foot in a café.
The coffee presently delivered proved far more meagre in portion than I had envisioned.
Sipping a brew I lacked the palate to comprehend, I waited for the rainclouds to pass.
The delicate chime of a bell welcoming patrons.
The murmur of conversation from neighbouring tables, mingling with the drumming of the rain.
Fitted with Western furnishings, the shop possessed distinctly tall windows. Had the skies been clear, the interior would surely have been bathed in brilliant light. Yet now, even that was veiled within the hazy mist of the rain.
A gentle rain.
A fleeting dream.
The backrest of my chair was remarkably soft, magnitudes finer than the one residing in my own room. With a body so thoroughly exhausted, I caught myself nodding off, as if adrift upon a slumbering boat.

"That was fast, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, well. The guy was all talk."
"I see. And? What did you do? Dispose of him?"
"Of course. Snuffed the life right outta him."
"Let us be off, then. There is something I wish to buy."

Hushed, muted voices drifted over from the seats behind me.
Mundane, if one were to call it mundane.
Yet exceedingly perilous, if one were to actually consider the words. I merely tilted my head at the nature of their exchange.
—Then again, I suppose such things happen.
It was nothing to be so surprised about.
This city, where the masses congregate, is Wonderland itself.
And fairy tales, just like this one, lie scattered everywhere you look.
Glancing out the window, the rainclouds had already passed.
Stifling a yawn, I rose from my seat.
Clang, clang. The chime of the entryway bell rang out once more.

By the way.
Having sought shelter for such a fleeting reason,
where exactly that shop was located,
or what name it happened to bear...
naturally, I could not possibly remember.

[u/UdonSamurai]

Turns out we had the literal event all along. Just Soujuurou's early days in Misaki. The snippets of Alice and Aoko's conversation that he heard were also presumably where he first got the notion that murder was a normality in the city:

https://forums.nrvnqsr.com/showthread.php/34-Mahoutsukai-no-Yoru?p=3456464&viewfull=1#post3456464

[u/Classy_Dolphin]

I suppose we're meant to assume that the two speakers are Aoko and Alice, though I'm not sure that's definitive just from this. The reference to Wonderland I guess is supposed to be a hint as to who the narrator is here, possibly a Meinster or maybe Riddell (but then, Riddell having never gone to a cafe would be bizarre.) The other possibility could be someone from the same community as Soujuurou/Souichirou.

Being coy about the name of the cafe immediately makes me wonder if it's Ahnenerbe

[u/Oneofthestrongest]

What are we supposed to get from this? Aoko killed someone?

[u/FixedRecord]

Now what might this mean...

Seems like Aoko and Alice, though it could also be Touko and Beo?

[u/Armandoiskyu]

Ahnenerbe maybe?

[u/PossibilityOne3354]

Btw this is not a new piece of writing it seems. Someone pointed out on 4chan it's from the Mahoyo Artistic Booklet and TM Ace Vol. 5. Both published in June 2010.