Sen returned to the restaurant with a little gloom on his face. He couldn't seem to stop thinking about them. The words the man said. They were short and direct yet they carried many possibilities that Sen could only try to fathom.
" She wants to know if I'm of value to her. "
What's more the words the man parted him with didn't aid in calming him down. Rather they riled up his tucked away thoughts, leading to him getting more anxious. Things were escalating faster than he thought they would.
It had been roughly two weeks since he woke up. Every morning was a routine check up administered to him by Lisa. Sen understood that there was more to her caring façade she was masking under. But he could never pinpoint down what it was she wanted. He'd thought he had time to figure it out but now her patience had ran out and she wanted results.
Back in the restaurant things had settled down. The tables were fully set with the lamps on top of them shimmering in the lowering light of the sun. It was quiet except from the noise coming from the kitchen outback.
" Is she still being scolded? " Sen wondered as he walked in.
The noises cleared and we're replaced by voices. They drew closer finally revealing the cause behind them.
" You forgot one. " A male voice said.
There were quick footsteps fro and to the kitchen door. Then a girly voice said.
" I've got it, you happy now? "
The male voice just groaned as he opened to door with his foot.
" Come one let's go. " he said as they walked out of the door.
Out of the kitchen door came the two servers Sen had been acquainted with earlier. In both their hands were fully packed bags. Their weight weighed down on the fabric slightly exposing the disk like structures within them.
Then a pleasant scent followed. It was the smell of recently prepared food doused with spices. It was also the main dish that was served during the lunch rush. Its smell was to enticing to forget.
" Oh, it's the new kid. " the girl said casually.
" Great. " a voice from the back said.
" Sen can help you two, won't you ? " miss Nellie asked.
Sen nodded unawares of what he had signed up to. A few minutes later the three trekked across the streets with each a bag in hand, bags that emitted aromas that diffused through the air.
" Where are we taking these? " Sen asked tightening his grip on the bag.
" An orphanage. " the girl answered.
" An orphanage, huh? "
" Well it's not entirely an orphanage… " the male server said.
" Jeez Finn, you don't have to out the specifics., he can see for himself. " the girl reprimanded his answer.
Finn shot a glare at the girl. She walked in front of them carefree and inches away from dropping her bag.
" I'm not talking to you, " he said before turning back to Sen.
" You see the orphanage we're going to takes in more than just homeless kids. It doesn't really care about the age of those it takes in as long as they are truly in need of help. "
" We usually take to them the leftovers from the meals at the restaurant. " the girl added.
" Doesn't the lady have a problem? " Sen asked.
" Not really, she doesn't care where the left overs go to as long the dinner stays clean. " the girl answered.
" So… what happens if something doesn't meet her expectations? "
" We've never seen her mad or even see her at all but I've heard that the lady is kind but she is just as much cruel. " Finn answered.
" Why do ask? "
" Nothing really. "
" Thanks about earlier by the way. " Finn said.
Sen lagged for a while.
" The lamp. " Finn added.
" Oh, no problem. "
Suddenly the girl in front of them turned. She had curious look on her face.
" So Sen you never answered me, can you use arcane? " she asked looking at Sen.
" I told you that doesn't concern us, Korry. " Finn reprimanded her.
" I'm not talking to you, also Sen doesn't really seem to have a problem with it. "
Sen stood in the middle of the crossfire. Both of them flared at each other alerting the streets around them. As though carrying aroma plenty bags wasn't enough. He could intervene but he didn't know where the conflict stemmed from.
" Are you two okay? " he asked hesitantly.
" We're fine! "they both said.
" Sen could you tell this know it all that it's not his matter to decide. "Korry said pointing to Finn.
" I'm sure Sen might not want to talk about his personal matters with someone he met hours ago, right Sen? " Finn asked.
They were both looking at him, eye to eye, hoping for an answer.
" I don't really have a problem with it. Not that I can do much other than coat myself with it. " he said as a shimmer of silver encased his body.
Suddenly Korry's eyes dropped.
" Bummer, I thought you could do cooler things than that. " she said before turning away.
" Tch! " Finn clicked.
" At least show some restraint, Korry. "
"Hmph! "
" For some reason I feel like I disappointed her. " Sen said as he released the coat of silver.
" Don't be. Its quite impressive how you can activate it pretty much instantly. Most people would need to focus a lot to achieve that let alone sustain it long enough to move as fast as you did. " Finn complemented.
" Is she going to be okay? " Sen asked watching Korry walk away.
" Yeah, don't worry about her. " Finn said dismissively.
" Come on we're nearly there. The lower Lap isn't far from here. "
***
There was still that screeching creek as the door to her office opened. It still annoying and especially for someone in her position, where every minute one or more people would walk in with reports or problems she needed to fix. And whenever she asked for the woodsman to come and repair the door, the answer was still the same, he was on vacation.
The same irritating feeling still swelled up within her as the door opened and her two most trusted employees entered. There was a pile load of paper work on her desk, each with a different issue to answer. In normal cases she would tirelessly work through them ignoring anyone who entered her office and brushing them off. But matters took a different turn whenever either one of these two came to her.
She raised her eyes to meet the two's. They each took a short bow and proceeded with their report.
" Milady. " they both said.
" Any new developments? " she asked.
" Yes. " Lisa said.
" The mass I extracted from Sen is gone. " she said her eyes slowly looking down.
" How is that ? " she asked dropping her pen onto her desk.
" I was testing for viable ways to achieve when it started to decay. It was slow at first but as the days passed it's decay increased exponentially. "
" My guess is that a mass of that much concentrated arcane cannot stay long in that state and would generally decay if it has no organic conduit to exist in. " she added.
" Your guess? " the lady asked raising an eyebrow.
" Merely a speculation, haven't been able to test it now that the mass is gone. But it would explain why the mass was able to exist in Sen without decaying as fast as it did while contained in Sol Glass. "
" And what about you Kroger ? How did the boy respond? " she asked turning to the goliath standing beside Lisa.
" He understands the weight of the task you assigned to him but he still doubts your capabilities. " Kroger responded.
" Milady if may, " he asked.
Lady Belhe nodded.
" I don't see the need to be so easy on him. I would easily be able to break him into your will at your command and get this over and done with. "
" I understand your concern but I have my reasons for taking this path. He has something I need and he must give it to me willingly. " she said with finality.
" Also no need to worry, if he isn't done with his task by the end of the six days you'll get to have your fun. "
Kroger gave her a reluctant nod. Lisa noticed the reluctance but keep quiet. They each had their own issues to handle in her empire.
" For now I'll need you to handle something amongst the higher lap Kroger… " she said handing Kroger a sheet of paper.
" I'll get to it, milady. "