Although the group managed to get out of the crowd, there were still new people coming from all sides. Some were eager fans while others were only curious about the commotion.
"We can't get surrounded again! Hurry up!"
Leroy urged the group as he took the lead. Everyone rushed at high speeds through the mall, leaving the ordinary people no time to catch up. In no time at all did they reach a large door between to shops not far away. Ignoring the 'staff only' sign, they barged in and arrived within an unadorned corridor. Leroy took out a small card and held it against a nearby console. With a click the door was locked.
"Puh, we did it…"
"They won't break in here, right?"
Silva was a little worried. She looked towards the door, noticing the people gathering outside through a window. There were indeed some knocks on the door, but no one put much force into it. Fortunately, in a world with martial artists if one wanted to guarantee a certain level of security, doors like this one had to be reinforced. Thus, even if there were players outside, they wouldn't get through without exerting all their strength.
"Let's go. They will calm down after you leave their vision."
Silva and Liam nodded at Leroy and followed his lead. After turning a corner, the commotion coming from outside was indeed dying down. The crowd realized that the stars had left and gradually dispersed. Only a hard core stayed behind, but they were soon chased away by more security personnel.
Walking through the corridor Silva let out a light sigh:
"I really didn't expect our little trip to end early like that."
"Yeah… ever since the tournament I have been recognized a few times, but it was never that bad."
"I guess that's the disadvantage of being too famous. In the future we can't even go out without security."
At this moment Liam involuntarily thought back to his past life. With the wealth of his family, he usually never interacted with such a large crowd of common people. This was not even because he looked down on them, but their lifestyles were just too far apart. An insurmountable chasm. However, he vaguely remembered his teammates telling him of similar occurrences and how they can't even visit some public places they used to visit in the past. Only now did he fully understand what they were talking about.
Noticing Liam seemingly lost in thought, Silva continued:
"Such a pity. I was really looking forward to a good burger."
Next to her Liam snapped back to reality and nodded lightly:
"Yeah, I was also looking forward to getting treated by you. Should we go somewhere else? We can reserve a private room at One Thousand Tastes."
"I guess…"
"Well, if you are eager for a burger, why don't I send someone to buy it for you?"
Silva's eyes lit up from Leroy's suggestion. She nodded at him with a smile. Inwardly, Leroy sighed with relief. He was quite afraid that these two important clients would be displeased. He really didn't want to draw his boss's anger. Fortunately, he could be quite smart sometimes.
With Silva's and Liam's agreement Leroy led them through the staff corridor towards a break room he and the other security personal were using. Silva and Liam sat at a simple table scanning their surroundings. The staff room was really nothing special. It held a small kitchen, a screen to show the schedule, and some simple posters and calendars as decoration.
Suddenly Silva giggled and tabbed Liam's shoulder. He looked over and saw her pointing somewhere with her chin. Liam glanced over his shoulder and his eyes fell on… himself. Well, it was a poster of Hotpot seemingly torn out of some magazine. If he didn't remember wrongly the picture was taken by a journalist during the federation tournament.
When Liam turned his head back, he observed the smile on Silva's face and was glad that she wasn't angry or annoyed by what had happened. The two friends started to talk, joking around about the strange situation they found themselves in right now, calling the staff room their little restaurant.
After a while Leroy and another security came back with various bags containing the food ordered by his clients. Burgers and fries were placed on the table, the smell whetting one's appetite. Leroy handed them some drinks usually prepared for the staff, before taking position outside the door, making sure no one would disturb the clients.
When only Silva and Liam were left in the room, Silva's eyes lit up brightly staring at the food in front of her. She pounced on the burgers like Cyclone on loot, causing Liam to laugh involuntarily.
The friends ate, talked, and laughed, not allowing the ambiance to drag down their mood. As martial artists they could consume a lot, spending at least one hour eating. When they were done the table was clean except for a single bag holding all the packaging waste.
"Time to go home."
"Yes."
Silva and Liam smiled at each other and stood up. Liam was about to grab the eight bags of clothes which he managed to protect against the earlier crowd, but Silva was faster.
"Do you want to carry everything?"
"Yes, it's only fair. I'm stronger than you after all."
Liam opened his mouth, but no sound came out, prompting Silva to laugh brightly. However, she was actually not wrong. As a tank she had most of her points put into STR. Additionally Silva's martial arts were more advanced. Liam couldn't deny that she was indeed stronger considering pure physical strength.
Thus, Liam followed Silva out of the room. He immediately felt the strange gaze from Leroy and couldn't help but roll his eyes. But the bodyguard naturally wouldn't say anything. He simply guided his clients through the corridor. Soon, they reached an elevator and returned to their car. Fortunately, Silva had already expected that they would buy a lot today and had those chosen a spacious car. She stuffed all the bags in and turned around to say goodbye.
"Thank you for your hard work today, Leroy!"
"It's nothing. If anything, I have to apologize for what happened. Your trip was not quite peaceful."
"That's really not your fault. Why would you apologize? There is nothing you could have done better. Even, thanks to you we got to enjoy a sumptuous meal in our private restaurant. I have to thank you for that."
"I agree with Silva. Thank you, Leroy!"
Seeing Liam and Silva laughing joyfully, Leroy finally let go of his tension. As long as the clients were satisfied, he wouldn't be blamed by the boss. He also said his goodbye as Silva and Liam got into the back of the car.
In the driver's seat was Watchful Eye, or rather Sam Colville. It was actually also through Cynthia's painstaking efforts that the dutiful bodyguard was convinced to wait in the car instead of following Silva like a shadow. He glanced at the rare-view mirror. Noticing Silva's happy expression, a small smile formed on the usually taciturn man's lips.
Sam pressed a button, and the car came to life, slowly rising to about half a meter above the ground before accelerating and leaving the parking garage.
Unbeknownst to Silva and Liam coincidentally some new advertisement was broadcasted throughout the mall at this moment. On big screens people were invited to join the official opening of Dream Avenue's guild house in four days. Instantly a wave of excitement spread through all the fans who had missed their stars just now. Many instantly marked the date, looking forward to it with passion. This time they would surely get their pictures!
After leaving the mall, Silva and Liam didn't feel like going elsewhere and returned to the guild house. As soon as they stepped into the lobby they were spotted by Cynthia, Rachel, and Mel who actually took the opportunity to sort out some details concerning the decoration during the grand opening, turning Cythia's excuse into reality.
"Silva! Liam! You are back already? Was you trip bad?", asked Cynthia anxiously.
"No, don't worry. It was quite fruitful. Here, those are Liam's new clothes.", answered Silva pointing at the bags carried by Sam.
"Good, nice. But does this mean you only bought some clothes and left right after?"
"Almost. But we also had something to eat."
"And Silva paid because I won a challenge.", added Liam with a laugh.
"A challenge? What did you do?"
"I told Liam to choose an outfit for me and if I'd like it, I would pay for launch."
"Oh? And Liam actually did it? Now I'm really curious about the outfit!"
Rachel was surprised looking between Liam, Silva, and the bags. Silva naturally understood the hint. She took the Sun&Moon bag and brought out the outfit Liam had chosen for her. The other girls crowded around Silva, scrutinizing the outfit carefully before nodding in approval.
"Not bad, not bad. I almost can't believe this was chosen by Liam."
Liam rolled his eyes, prompting the girls to tease but also praise him. They talked for a while before dispersing. Liam took all the new clothes back to his apartment. While he was storing them in the closet, Serena suddenly hopped in.
"Liam, you're back! How was your date with Silva?"
Instantly Liam froze. A moment later he turned to his sister, asking suspiciously:
"What date? Where did you hear that word?"
"Cynthia told me!"
"Cynthia, hm? Well, whatever. This was certainly no date today. I just went shopping with a friend."
"Oh…"
Watching his sister leave, Liam let out a breath, unsure if he managed to convince her. Even… unsure if he managed to convince himself...