Chapter 169: Bliss and Worry
———Karra———
<6: 21 pm>
“I don’t know about you, but my metabolism is top notch. I can eat just as much as I want.” Kenni boasted while leaning on the sofa with a big bowl of ice cream with a bunch of toppings.
“No one is saying you’ll get fat, just for the record.” Jeyst said in response.
Everyone is starting to get a lot less formal with the party and just laze around while a comfy music is playing in the background. Hopefully no one ruins the moment and plays that brainrot of a song. Who even put it on there?
I’m just resting on a sofa and waiting for things to settle in my stomach before I go for more desserts. A lot of us certainly have a large appetite, some still having a large plate of food and they keep chowing down on it.
“Man, this vibe is getting me all sleepy.” Nicks said while laying on another sofa and looking very sleepy. This place is rented out until midnight, so he can take quite a long nap before going home.
“Ah, man.” Jennla muttered while still staring at her phone. Looks like the game she is playing isn’t going all too well. From the sounds of it seems to be a gacha game?
Emmie still has a large pile of chocolate-covered treats, casually eating it while scrolling on her phone, probably reading something either grimdark or comedy-focused.
“It’s getting a bit dull without much else to do, but having a fancy place like this all to ourselves… It’s quite nice.” Wers said, grumbling as always.
“I mean, if we just want to do that, we can just go to Useph’s mansion, that place is massive, and they got a crap ton of food lying around anyway.” Gregori pointed out.
“I think that’s a bit different. It’s not as if that place is always welcoming guests.” Orrel said as if he’s not one of the persons who can just go in and out as much as he wants.
“Look who’s talking.” Gregori pointed out. “Honestly though, where did Useph’s parents even get all the money to build up that fancy mansion? I don’t think I’ve heard of what they even do.”
“How many times are you gonna ask that? I don't even really know.” Useph said, clearly a bit frustrated by the constant questioning. Admittedly it feels like it has been a while since anyone ever brought that up. “I never really asked them since I don’t really care about following whatever they do. With them being so vague or unclear about it it’s probably some boring but very lucrative job of sitting in an office all day or something.”
“That is such a boring answer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen your mom around these parts, you know? Mostly just photos.” Gregori suddenly brings up. “Is she mostly overseas or something? You made it crystal clear that she ain’t dead.”
“I’d like to know that as well…” Useph said, sounding a bit melancholic.
“Alright, you guys, let’s all chill down with all the thinking a bit.” Jeyst said in the middle of eating their large pile of ice cream. “By the way, Useph, you think you could arrange a party at your house at some point? Feels like it has been a while since everyone has been there.”
“Unfortunately, my dad is planning some sort of renovation of the place, so he doesn’t want anyone else in at the moment.” Really? What a convenient excuse. “It has been a while since then, it should be done before the week is over.”
“Well in that case we should be able to go on the weekend, right?” Jeyst pressed him further.
“Yeah, I guess.” He said, sounding somewhat reluctant still. “By the way, do we know where we’re going this Thursday? I haven’t been keeping up with the updates.”
“Looks like we are going up north near the Canadian border, there is a Fantarban Realm there.” Orrel answered. I wonder if it’s gonna be even colder there. Winter is far from over. “Presumably there won’t be any dispute over going into it. You know how things go with the borders.”
“Eh, I’m sure the school has some way of squeezing their way in there. I mean what’s gonna stop them? They basically have a few walking nukes employed.” Gregori said, not particularly worried. “If there was any stipulation they probably would’ve given us a rundown by now.”
“I guess that is true…” Useph said before drinking down another large glass of cola. “By the way, are those two gonna be fine?”
“If they aren’t, I’m sure Seni or Jass could cast a spell or two when it looks like it’ll get dire.” Gregori dismissively said despite those two not looking too good laying down on the floor. That eating competition of theirs really led nowhere if they’re just gonna end up finishing at the same time. “How did they even fit all those fried rice in their stomach though? It doesn’t even expand their belly all that much.”
“...Should we really get into the specifics of that?” Orrel asked with one of his eyebrows raised.
Anyway, there isn’t really anything notable happening here with everyone just chatting and eating, many getting a bit drowsy from eating so much, some stomachache here and there.
I look at Emmie still eating all the chocolate fondue stuff. I feel like some of us should’ve gotten sugar crash by now, how are some still keeping eating all the sweets?
As for me, I’m just drinking some tea they have on the menu, constantly beckoning one of the staff members to refill it for me.
“By the way, Jennla, what game are you playing right now? You’ve been at it for a while.” Jeff asked, not really doing anything else aside from getting something new to eat each time, despite how much he’s struggling with stomaching certain foods. He was never the one with the most diverse palette.
“Some Japanese game you probably never heard of. It hasn’t even been localized yet. They keep promising it, but there’s still no date yet…” She said while staring at her screen and tapping, doesn’t look like it’s super tapping intensive, probably something turn-based?
“I see.” Jeff said before going back to eating. He is struggling with that pile of blue cheese. Is he really gonna be fine? Others are eating a lot, but at least they’re in their comfort zone.
“Honestly, it feels like I never get the hang of the chopstick quite right.” Kist said, holding a pair of it rather awkwardly.
“You’re doing fine. Don’t worry about it.” Seni said, trying to reassure him. Both of them have a large plate of dim sum to go through.
Meanwhile Wers has a ton of steaks and other meat on his plate, slowly eating through it while having a large glass of cola next to him.
“Urgh…” Qyunda groaned before getting back up and looking around before going back to her seat and grabbing the glass of tea and chugging it down, her expression making it clear that she had seen better days. She then moves her tail and slaps Malk on the back of his head with it. “Hey, stop playing dead and get up already, let’s get a second… Urp!”
Before she could say anything else she slumped down on the chair and tried to not vomit.
She walks towards the bread section and gets some of it then quickly scarfed them down to help with her current stomach pain.
“Waiter! More water please! Refill the ice too!” She yelled out as she got back to her seat.
Meanwhile Malk also got back up and got a large scoop of ice cream with nuts for topping.
…You know, seeing all these foods starts to make me hungry again, and I don’t know why, but ever since the Eclipse it feels like my stomach size has expanded to at least twice as big. Let’s go get more sushi and maybe some salad.
———Lerim———
<6: 38 pm>
“What a mess…” He couldn't help but mutter while we waited in the lounge. It has indeed been quite a mess. It’s a miracle he’s even alive, but the fact that he has no public record is… more than a little worrying. Hopefully they just lost it between the shelves or something. I want this stupid mystery done and over with already.
“So aside from still living, is there anything else to say? A guy who doesn't have any arms left probably can’t pay off any hospital debts now, can he?” I said to the staff member who relayed his condition to us. “Just so you know, I ain’t paying for anything. He shouldn’t be around a walking misfortune like me in the first place.”
“I’d rather not pay anything either.” He said while shaking his head.
“We can discuss that topic later, none of you have to worry.” She said, clearly not really sure how to proceed. She probably has to talk with other doctors and such. “We will contact you later, can one of you three offer us a contact number?”
Both of us look at him silently, and he looks quite annoyed at what we’re doing right now.
“Alright… Here’s my number.” He said before showing her his phone number. “Please contact me through this.”
“Thank you, sir. We won’t bother you for today. Expect to hear an update on his condition tomorrow.” She said before walking away, and now we’re just left to ourselves.
“...So. Now what?” Evari said after a brief pause. There aren’t other people around this late, so it’s not as if we have to worry about other people eavesdropping.
“A good question… I think we keep this on the downlow, at least.” He said with a hand placed on his chin. “Good thing those people standing guard at the dungeon entrance didn’t make any fuss. Don’t want any rumors going out.”
“Yeah. Last thing I want is people thinking I was the one who did it.” Evari said with a frown. “By the way, Lerim, what happened afterward. You scare the hell out of me with your yelling back then.”
“Well, I fought that woman to a standstill. It took a very long time and by the end of it…” I was about to recount the conclusion, then remembering something I should probably ask Kara.
“Yeah, you were definitely in there for a long time. Who was that anyway? From your reaction, it looks like it was someone extremely dangerous?” Evari asked, not even bothering to ask about the thing I didn’t quite get to yet.
“I don’t believe I have been given any details either.” That guy said, trying to get some details.
“Basically, a lunatic I know came by and ripped that guy’s arms off, probably because he was in the way, and then started fighting me.” It’s that simple. There’s nothing more to it than that. Complete happenstance that no one could see coming. “I can’t really say I know too much about that mouse woman, but I do know that she isn’t from around here.”
“Well ain’t that terrifying… Do you know her from a different town then?” He asked, clearly concerned for the safety of everyone around here.
“Basically. I would say though, I doubt she’s gonna come here for a while, and she only ever targets strong people. I think that guy only caught the short end of the stick because of bad timing. Let me tell you, that woman doesn’t like anything getting in her way, at all. No patience whatsoever.” Since she would likely come over for a rematch at some point, probably for the best for any other people wanting to take a swing at me to reconsider. As for the mouse woman herself… Well, I doubt she’ll ambush me or try something weird, she seems pretty adamant in a straightforward one-on-one. Not that I want to do it, but if it’s just to get her off my back, then I kinda have to.
“Still… To tear off someone’s arms like that… It’s like the work of a monster more than any human…” He muttered. It is gruesome work, not one of the faint of heart.
“You just have to trust my words. Unless you want to spread panic everywhere and make people scared for their lives everyday.” Last thing we need on a new year is more bad news.
“Alright, if you say so.” He said, caving in quickly.
“Make sure you don’t say anything either, Evari. Unless you want people suspecting you of some shady stuff of your own.” I said just in case. I doubt she has the gall to talk about it in public.
“Yeah, as if I’m gonna recall that nightmarish scene.” She said with a subtle sneer.
“Guess we’re all in agreement. Let’s not talk about this anymore.” I said with a smile before opening my phone. I want an update on what happened on that side.