Claude followed them walking to the entrance of that neighborhood since he had overheard the duo would be going out tonight.
He wished they would settle down as he too, needed the rest. He hardly had enough sleep these days of following them because he was supposed to keep watch, so when the duo was asleep, he took that time to slip in an hour or an hour and a half of sleep. Never more than that because again, he had to keep watch.
But he sensed he would get at least three hours of sleep tonight. So he held the sleepiness in and continued with the babysitting.
Jai and Darrion walked to the left after leaving the neighborhood. This was another busy road, but it wasn’t as crowded as the right side of the road where the red hotel was. Jai remembered what the old man had told him about that bakery and café, so he brought Darrion to go there. His instinct told him that where there’s café, there should be plenty of people walking around the a
The restaurant was a little bit far from the intersection. They were going to the right, and then followed the way until they met a Y crossing. This part of town was less busy than the one where the red hotel was. There were shops selling different things here.There was a toy store, a small boutique or dress shop, a shop that sells plumbering tools like pipes and other things. There was also a water shop and they displayed a line of jugs in their wooden terrace. Some people were lining up to buy water with jugs in a cart or even bringing other sorts of water container, which confused Jai why they would need to buy water too here. So he asked Darrion about it.“Oh yeah, in some parts of the town, the water is not from uhh, the pipe. So people come to buy water, and they store it in jugs. Aeronvein does that too you know? In the outskirts, and south eastern market districts,” Darrion answered.“Oh we do?” Darrion nodded. “Hmm…
The place was not that crowded when they went in. The only customers were highschoolers, an elderly with his teenager, and a man. Even though there was no one to welcome the both of them in, the cozy-ness of the place seemed to have been a sufficient replacement.The parlor has a simple, yet interesting, interior design. The room is shaped into an asymmetrical letter “H”. The entrance is the bottom left corner with three tables of two, one of them was occupied by the elderly and his teen. While the counter is in the right side of letter H which side has more space for tables of fours, and the three highschoolers were occupying a table in the corner of this room, just beside the counter.Those are not the only seats available. The counter also offers single seats like in a bar or a ramen stand. So people who comes in alone can just sit there to order something rather than reserving a table of two or four. The other customer, a single man“Welcom
“It’s alright,” the white haired boy, Haku, said after Jai apologized. Although the boy looked slightly annoyed, his voice was calm. “But, what were you thinking, though, big brother? That got you thinking and not looking at the road? What if it’s not me that crashed into you—or umm… I crashed onto the road...” he muttered the last part barely in a whisper. Jai looked nervous. “Well… Some things… are you okay though? You’re not hurt aren’t you? You took off before I can ask if you’re okay.” Indeed, he was the boy from before. The only difference was his clothes had changed. He was wearing a lime colored outfit before, but now, he was wearing a white themed short hakama with a tint of light blue. Haku nodded, making his short but slightly puffy hair bobbed a bit cutely. His hair was short and straight, but it was a bit puffy like souffle pancake that it makes him look adorable. “I’m okay. Not even a bruise. Just very surprised and a little bit annoyed.”
“Jai, I’m a little bit concerned about that boy,” Darrion said, looking at Haku’s disappearing back into the front door.“Like, I know I can’t make out much about their conversation, but Haku didn’t look very pleased when he saw them,” the blonde said. “I can see something is going on between the four of them. But no one here seems to care,” Darrion subtly looked to the three highschoolers who were enjoying their time in the corner booth and didn’t seem to even notice in the slightest that something had happened just a few meters from them.Darrion turned to Jai again, “And doesn’t it irk you that even his grandmother acted like this is an ordinary thing going on? And, can he really face three bullies by himself? Should we help?”Jai didn’t answer his friend’s concern right away. Instead, he looked at the back room’s curtain.There were some sounds that c
Haku's eyes widened as he heard Jai introducing himself. He heard of that name many times in the past month. The Friendly Tournament of Aeronvein was very well known because it was the first event Aeronvein had held in a long time that invited the four regions in the continent, and even those from the other continent.It was reported that the newest Prime Minister of Aeronvein, Artaglia, had ordered his army of windlets to share the flyers to each and every village there is in the continent that they could find, so that everyone has the chance to participate.Although it was unknown how many people from outer continent that had joined, it was still a feat to behold because there were two representatives from different continents that had arrived to watch the event unfold.From this, it could be asserted that the influence was quite significant. That's why the papers in Shouha was also infested with the news about the tournament for a month.The news about
“Here's your Fruity Berry ice, and here's a milky flavored one for you, on the house!” Haku slightly cheerfully said while putting the two bowls of grated ice beside their food bowls. His grandma had retreated to the back room after taking the orders of the next customers, so it was only him at the counter.Someone would expect that the boy was smiling out of habit or just because he was being professional at work. But he wasn't. He was actually feeling content. And Darrion noticed this because his expression was brighter than before he met the bullies.“Thanks!” Darrion replied, equally expressive. “So uhh… You know about us? From the papers? And, hey! You’re talking universal language!” he said.Haru put small spoon in each of their ice bowls before he smiled. “Yes. I learned universal language at school. I’m quite good at it among my other friends in class.”“You’re very goo
Even though it was only around 9 PM and many of the hang out places weren’t yet closed, they decided to return to the inn and call it a day.The following day, Jai woke up first just right after dawn. It was always his habit to wake up in the morning, but after dusk is slightly later for him, which means that he is tired the day before.As Darrion snored, Jai considered whether he should wake him or not. He couldn’t see the sign when Darrion was using his Windtalker skill, so he didn’t know how many information that the windlet had tried to filter yesterday.Jai hummed. “Maybe I should let him sleep some more. Might as well go to the hospital to check on the little guy. But, hmm, is the hospital for pets opened yet? Are they open 24/7? What if they’re closed? Where should I go?” he hummed again as he thought of his next activities.A knock came to the door as he was thinking, and he stopped his thought to open it.
There were already many people walking about on the street when Jai reached the main road. There were many different people passing by, but upon a quick skimming, he didn’t find any red head among them.Jai sighed internally. ‘Should’ve known they wouldn’t let Alex roam free like that,’ he thought. Again, he didn’t know Alex’s face, but at least, if he was really kidnapped and against his will, Jai would be able to notice from the gaze.While he may have never been face to face with a person who was currently kidnapped, he had a few times encountered his bullied friend. That time, the poor guy was forced to prank the teacher, but Jai managed to catch him before he did it because he knew from look and gesture alone.It’s not fool proof, but he was trying to be optimistic.He could also see a group of children crossing the street, helped by a woman who was wearing a green uniform that seemed a bit similar to D