[Fantasy Novel] Prologue to Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Seed-Sowing Pavilion | The Story of the Seed-Sowing Pavilion—Your Strengths Become Light

The 'Seed-Sowing Pavilion,' a mysterious cafe where business cards are burned.

A slightly mysterious story about Kaede, a woman who lost herself by comparing herself to others, and her rebirth through her own strengths.

When someone who has been hurt regains their power, camellias bloom and seeds of light turn into constellations.

This might just be your own 'story of strengths'.

Prologue — The Night of Burning Business Cards

When the veil of night falls, the office building goes quiet like a giant aquarium.

Outside the window, the lights of distant buildings flicker, and occasionally, taxi headlights flow by like a river.

In the midst of it all, Kaede sat alone at her desk.

On the desk lay a stack of business cards printed with the company logo and her name.

Tracing them one by one with her fingertips, Kaede reflected on the years that had passed.

Dreams from Student Days

Kaede's dream had always been to 'be close to people's hearts'.

When she was in elementary school, she would gently pick up a child who had fallen and was crying in the park near her house, or sit next to a friend who was isolated in class to eat lunch together—
'I want to be someone who can be useful to others,' she thought, even as a child.

In junior high, she became absorbed in reading books on psychology and children's literature at the library.

'In the future, I want to be a counselor or work with children.'
When she wrote that on her career survey, her parents smiled and said, 'That's wonderful.'

However, reality was not so sweet.

When she entered a college-preparatory high school, everyone around her was aiming to be a doctor or a lawyer.

'Wouldn't a more stable profession be better?'
The casual remarks of relatives and teachers left small thorns in her heart.

During high school, she often listened to her underclassmen's worries in club activities.

'Talking to you, Kaede-senpai, makes me feel lighter.'
She was happy to hear those words, and they confirmed her sense of purpose.

But as entrance exams approached, she was swallowed by an atmosphere that favored 'reality' over dreams.

In university, she entered the Faculty of Education.

However, she spent her days losing confidence, overwhelmed by the excellence of those around her.

On the night she failed a presentation in a seminar and received harsh criticism from her professor,
she asked herself over and over under her covers, 'Can someone like me really be of use to anyone?'

Relationships with Family

For Kaede, her family was both a warm harbor and, at times, a burden.

Her mother was a full-time housewife who always kept the house tidy and cared for the family's health.

'Kaede, thanks for your hard work today. Eat your dinner while it's warm.'

While she was saved many times by that kindness,
she also developed a habit of blaming herself due to words like,
'Be more responsible' and 'You're the big sister, after all.'

Her father was a man of few words, devoted entirely to his work.

Even on his days off, he would just read the newspaper at home and occasionally glance at Kaede's report card.

'You're working hard.'

That should have been enough, but
somewhere in her heart, she kept wishing,
'I want you to acknowledge me more,' and 'I want you to listen to me more.'

Her younger sister was bright and sociable, the mood-maker of the family.

'Big sister, are you reading books again?'
Even that teasing feels nostalgic now.

The more she tried to be a 'good girl' in the family,
the more she hid her true self—
Kaede had always carried that sense of suffocation.

The Daily Routine and Loneliness of Office Life

After graduating from university, Kaede joined a mid-sized company in Tokyo.

Assigned to the HR department, she initially went through training with her peers,
and was excited about her new environment.

Mornings spent swaying on crowded trains,
lunches out with colleagues,
and working late into the night on document preparation and meetings—
those days passed in the blink of an eye.

At first, she enjoyed learning the ropes of the job.

'Thank you, Kaede-san.'
'You really helped me out.'
She found a sense of fulfillment in those words.

But as a few years passed,
the expectations grew heavier as she produced results,
and she began to corner herself, thinking, 'I can't fail,' and 'I have to try harder.'

Even when she went out for drinks with her colleagues,
deep down, she was someone who built walls, thinking, 'I don't want to be a burden to everyone,' or 'They might hate me if I speak my true feelings.'

One day, she made a major mistake on a project.

She was severely reprimanded by her boss,
and the words, 'I had such high expectations for you,' pierced her heart deeply.

On the way home, I couldn't stop my tears on the station platform.

I couldn't show my weakness to my family or my friends.

"Everyone else is working so hard, yet I'm the only one standing still."
That sense of loneliness slowly ate away at my heart.

The Psychology and Scene of the Night I Burned My Business Cards

That night, Kaede remained in the office alone.

On the desk lay a stack of business cards.

My name, the company logo, my job title—

They were symbols of all my efforts to date,
and the armor of "how I should be."

Outside the window, the night breeze blew through the gaps between the buildings.

The neon lights visible in the distance were blurred and hazy.

Kaede picked up the business cards one by one,
feeling the texture of the paper with her fingertips.

"This title was my everything."
Thinking that, her chest tightened.

Suddenly, she remembered her dream from her student days.

"I want to be close to people's hearts."
That desire had, before she knew it, been replaced by "results" and "evaluations."

Before she realized it, she was hiding her true feelings,
thinking only of meeting someone else's expectations.

"You don't have to force yourself to be strong anymore."
A faint voice whispered deep within her heart.

Kaede put the stack of business cards into an envelope,
and opened the window just a little.

The night breeze brushed against her cheeks,
and the siren of an ambulance echoed faintly in the distance.

She lit a small lighter,
and gently brought it to the edge of the business cards.

The paper scorched slowly,
and soon the flames spread in an orange glow.

Beyond the burning business cards,
the version of herself from until now appeared and then faded away.

"Thank you."
She whispered quietly in her heart.

I will stop living just to meet someone else's expectations.

I will accept my weaknesses, my pain, and everything else, and take a new step forward.

Outside the window, the silence before dawn was spreading.

A faint light was beginning to shine from between the buildings.

Kaede took a deep breath,
and quietly felt the beginning of a new story.

Chapter 1: Morning at the Seed-Sowing Inn

The light of dawn had begun to gently illuminate the still-quiet town.

Kaede was slowly grinding coffee beans behind the counter.

The sound echoed as if it were marking the rhythm of a new life.

Preparing to Open the Cafe

When she decided to start the cafe, Kaede's heart was a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

"Can I really do this?"
The days since quitting her company had been a mix of freedom and loneliness.

First, the property search.

She was drawn to an old, detached house in a quiet back alley a little ways from the station.

The wooden floor creaked and the wallpaper was peeling in places, but
she had an intuition that "I can create a warm place here."

She did most of the renovations with her own hands.

She repainted the walls, polished the chairs and tables she found at an antique shop, and
lined up her grandmother's keepsake teacups on the counter.

On the night she finished waxing the floor,
she whispered to herself, "This will be my new place to belong."

The Origin of the Camellia Garden and Memories of Her Grandmother

A small camellia tree is planted in the backyard of the shop.

This was something Kaede planted with her grandmother when she was a young child.

On cold winter mornings, digging into the soil with her hands turned bright red,
"Camellias, you see, bloom slowly even in the cold. There is no need to rush; you can go at your own pace."
The face of her grandmother smiling as she said that is still vividly remembered today.

Her grandmother would hand out sweets to the neighborhood children and
hold small gatherings in the garden each season.

"A warm atmosphere naturally flows in places where people gather."
That teaching had taken root deep in Kaede's heart.

Ingenuity in Interior Design and Struggles with Financing

The funds were by no means abundant.

She rewrote documents over and over to receive a bank loan,
and bowed her head to a friend to get them to hand over a used coffee machine.

While munching on the rice balls her mother brought her, saying, "Don't push yourself too hard,"
she thought about the shop's layout until late at night.

In the shop, she lined up her favorite books,
poetry collections she had collected during her student days, and miscellaneous goods bought on her travels.

"I want to make this a space where people who come here can regain a little bit of themselves."
That thought was poured into every detail.

Anxiety and Expectations on the Eve of the Opening

On the eve of the opening, Kaede sat at the counter
and looked out over the quiet shop.

The camellia leaves were illuminated by the moonlight coming through the window,
and the surface of the water in the glass vase shimmered and swayed.

"Will customers come?"

"Can this place become a sanctuary for someone?"

While anxiety tightened her chest,
there was also a small sense of pride that she had "taken a new step forward."

Episodes from Her Days as an Office Worker with Misaki

Suddenly, she remembered Misaki from her days as an office worker.

When they had just joined the company, the two of them often ate lunch together,
and talked about their future dreams at a cafe after work.

"Someday, I want to make what I love my job."
Misaki said that, staring intently at the latte art in the cafe.

However, with department transfers and promotions,
the two of them gradually drifted apart.

When Kaede failed at a major project,
Misaki quietly placed a chocolate on her desk.

"Eat something sweet once in a while and take the pressure off your shoulders."
Even though she should have been saved by that kindness,
she was too busy to even thank her properly.

One day, she walked to the station with Misaki after working overtime.

"Kaede, you haven't seemed like yourself lately."

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired."

"Don't push yourself. I like that about you, Kaede."

Those words remained quietly in the depths of her heart.

The Morning of the Opening Day

And then, the opening day arrived.

She lined up brand-new cups on the counter,
and placed a single camellia flower in a glass vase.

Outside, it was still dim, and there were few people passing by on the street.

"Will customers really come?"
Anxiety and expectation vied within her chest.

Every time the clock hand moved, her heartbeat quickened.

She brewed coffee over and over,
polished the counter, and wiped the camellia leaves one by one with care.

At every shadow passing on the street outside, her heart raced, wondering if the door would open.

Before long, the door opened softly.

In the light that poured in, there was Misaki.

"Long time no see, Kaede. It's a wonderful shop."

Kaede smiled, tearing up just a little.

She had a feeling that a new story was beginning right here.

📘 Series List
▶ Chapter 2: Library of Space and Time
▶ Chapter 3: Scent of the Future
▶ Chapter 4: Feast of the Lanterns
▶ Epilogue: New Seeds