Upon entering the private dining booth, the boy immediately sees the person to whom the angel-like voice belongs to. Although she is wearing a veil to conceal a part of her face, even a common passerby could tell that the face hidden underneath the satin cloth is extremely gorgeous. So striking in fact, the veil doesn’t hide the beauty but enhances it several times.

“Forgive me for starting without you. I’ve had a long and arduous journey to get here quickly before the others, and it’s taken a toll on my appetite.” the older woman apologizes in a serene and sincere voice, all the while taking a nearby napkin and sneaking it under her veil to dab her mouth. After patting it several times, she puts the cloth back neatly besides her half-eaten plate of food.

“Where are my manners? Sit, please. Let me call somebody so they can take your orders. And I don’t want to hear any nonsense about skipping lunch. You children are still in your growing phase and denying sustenance to your budding body is like cutting off the air supply to a drowning man.”

Delyth Anatol half expected the boy to plop his ass in the chair directly across from her other mother before immediately launching into one of his (in)famous tirade and thus making a complete ass of himself. To the beautiful third year student’s complete surprise, the boy pulls out a chair for her. She complies and after making sure Delyth is sitting comfortably, he proceeds to sit next to her.

The veiled woman pushes a button partially embedded in the dining table that causes some hidden strings to become taunt and ring a bell somewhere else. While waiting for a server to come, she decides to introduce herself to the boy.

“My name is Mistress Heather Anatol. May I have the pleasure of knowing yours?”

“The pleasure is mine, Mistress Anatol. My name is Darrel Acanthus.”

“..…”

“What? What is it?”

“You don’t look like a Darrel.”

“What do I look like?”

“Someone who is not a Darrel.”

“I know, right? I should’ve put my foot down and told my old man that Bob was the right choice.”

“…..”

“Anyway, funny you should say that.”

“Say what?”

“That I don’t look like a Darrel.”

“Why is that funny?”

“Since you don’t look like a Heather yourself.”

“Whatever do you mean-“

Right at that moment, a series of knocks can be heard outside the private booth, cutting Mistress Heather off before she could finish asking her question. A bright and bubbly waitress immediately enters before giving a short bow to the boy and his companion, her clean and crisp tailor-made uniform hugging her athletic body tightly.

“Good afternoon. My name is Susan and I’ll be your server for today.” says the attractive waitress in high-spirit. “May I take your orders, young master and young mistress?” she smiles cheerfully.

Delyth waits for the boy to order for himself first. The third year student is in the process of figuring out what kind of light food she should order because she currently doesn’t have much of an appetite. Just as Delyth is internally debating between the green salad and the fruit salad, she is taken aback when the boy orders for her.

“My companion here will have the smoked salmon and lentil salad with fennel.”

Before the third year student could open her mouth to say something, the boy turns to face her.

“Trust me on this. You won’t be in the mood for food later on tonight. Better to have something in you now before your eventual and eventful reunion.”

Delyth holds her tongue and blinks several times rapidly, she is busy processing this new piece of information the boy had just given her. He turns back to the bubbly waitress.

“And instead of the usual lemon juice you normally prepare for her, please get dear Delyth here a glass of apple juice. She has a mild citrus allergy.”

The attractive waitress and the veiled woman immediately exchange looks with one another. Mistress Heather clears her throat before saying

“I didn’t know you suffer from citrus allergy, Delyth.”

“Don’t use that word.”

“What? Citrus allergy?”

“No. Suffer. You make it sound like I’m inflicted from some life debilitating disease. And seriously, drop it.”

“Why haven’t you told us before?”

“It’s just something that started to develop last year. And like he said, it’s mild. The itchiness are usually gone after an hour or so. I never had any rashes or hives. No wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath. Nothing as much as a cough. And now that I’m done with my interesting medical report, shouldn’t we go back and focus on the matter at hand? This is a restaurant, not some doctor’s examination room and we are here for him, not my yearly health checkup.”

The bubbly waitress decides to take charge of the matter before it deteriorates any further.

“And for you, young master? What will you be having?” asks Susan warmly with a hint of charm. Not a full blown seduction mind you, but just enough allure to send mixed messages to male patrons to confuse them into leaving huge tips for her.

“Oh, I’ll just have a glass of water. I’ve already had some lamb legs before I came here.”

“Lamb legs for lunch? That’s fancy.”

“For breakfast actually, I got out of bed nearly an hour ago. Or maybe it’s lunch depending on how you look at it… Damn, this waking up late really messes up my perception of time.”

“Shame. You’re really missing out. The chefs have prepared some rotisserie chickens for today’s special. Are you sure I can’t tempt you with a portion?”

“Are they pasture raised or free range?”

“Free range I think. I’m not too sure about it though.”

“Damn, I was hoping for them to be pasture raised. I don’t like to eat free range chicken.”

“Why would pasture raised chicken be better than free range chicken?”

“I hate eating something that had hopes and dreams.”

“…..”

The attractive waitress looks at the veiled woman to check if she wants to add anything. Mistress Heather shakes her head to indicate that everything is fine for now.”

Just as Susan is about to exit, the boy stops her.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

The puzzled waitress looks at the boy. She ponders for a few short moment before exclaiming.

“Oh! I forgot. Please enjoy your meal.”

“Our meals haven’t arrived yet. The other thing…”

Susan scrunches her forehead.

“Should I have offered you some choices for dessert?”

“No, not that. You forgot to- you know what? Never mind. But now that you’ve mentioned it. What are the desserts for today?”

“We have some delicious Orangetess…”

“Stop…” the boy tries in vain to stop the oblivious waitress from continuing but it’s hard to halt someone who is already in the midst of speaking their prepared script.

“Those are strips of candied orange peel dipped in dark chocolate. Besides that, we have our famous lemon tart, well known even to people visiting from outside the Kingdom of Nurani. Our key lemon pie is also to die for. I’m not even kidding about the “to die for” part. Duels amongst guests have been fought over the remaining slice of…”

“Speaking of to die for…” the boy nudges his head towards the person sitting beside him to indicate to Susan that she should stop talking.

“Oh no, young mistress is stricken with citrus allergy. Those desserts would wreak havoc on her delicate body-”

“I am not stricken with anything!” the third year students flings her arms up in frustration.

“Ah!” The attractive waitress delicately slaps her own forehead. “The thing that young master said I had forgotten just now. Was that it? Young mistress’ medical condition?”

“No…” the boy shakes his head.

“Am I the only normal person in this room?” an exasperated Delyth yells out loudly.

“Judging by conventional standards, no one currently in this booth is normal, not when compared to the common everyday people. But don’t be alarmed. It’s because we are not normal that we are all gathered here today. And that in itself is a cause for celebration.” smiles the boy knowingly. He turns to Susan and asks.

“Does the East Wind accommodate custom dessert request?”

“It depends on the availability of the materials we have at hand. But more so on the person or party making the request.”

“Do I qualify?”

The cheerful waitress looks at people accompanying the boy. Susan nods to her own self and replies.

“You are more than qualified to make a request, young master.”

“Then in the spirit of this joyous occasion, could I trouble the dessert chefs and ask them to bake some blueberry muffins?”

“I’m sure it would be their honor to serve such a distinguished guest.” Susan politely makes a half bow and immediately exits the private booth.

Just as the boy is about to make some small talk with the veiled woman in front of him, a knock can be heard outside the private booth. A male voice asks politely for permission to enter the room. Mistress Heather immediately grants the man access by inviting him in.

A handsome waiter enters the room carrying a tray with the items ordered for Delyth and the boy.

That was fast, thinks the boy. But it’s normal considering they have a method to listen into this supposedly private booth.

“Good afternoon, young master and Miss Anatol. My name is Hector and I have brought your orders.” says the man while serving the third year student with a plate of smoked salmon (with lentil salad and fennel on the side) and her apple juice.

“Where’s Susan?” the boy asks as Hector puts a glass of water in front of him.

“She is currently attending to another guest. Is there anything I could help you with? Or if you want, I can call Susan here.”

“No problem. I’m sure she’ll come back once she’s done changing with her business. Any word on the blueberry muffins?”

“I’m afraid I have some bad news, young master. Currently the kitchen has only enough blueberries to make one blueberry muffin while the rest of the muffins are made with other fruits and berries. Is that acceptable?”

“I know the Knights of Enahel’s chivalric code prioritize women and children first, but do you guys mind if I…”

Both Delyth and Mistress Heather shake their heads.

“No backsies!” exclaims the boy a little too excitedly. He could almost taste the freshly baked blueberry muffin rolling on his tongue.

“Then as soon the muffins are done, I’ll bring them here right away, straight from the oven.”

“You have my eternal gratitude.” says the boy as he wipes a bit of saliva from the corner of his mouth.

“Mistress Anatol. Can I take your plate away?” Hector asks the veiled woman.

“Yes. Thank you, Hector. And pass my compliments to the chefs. The food here is delightfully exquisite, as always.”

“I will sure to convey your gracious praise to them.” smiles the handsome waiter as he clears the table in front of her.

“If you need anything else, just call for me and I’ll be here immediately. Enjoy your meal.” The man gives another short bow before exiting the private booth.

Delyth says a short prayer before digging in. It seems the third year student has recovered her appetite. Looks like the information the boy had given her earlier had greatly lifted her spirits.

“Now that we’ve all settle in, let’s talk business.” Mistress Heather begins the negotiation process. “I know you didn’t convince my daughter to set up this meeting just so you could waste my time with an elaborate joke.”

“No.” smiles the boy confidently

“No? Then please pray tell what we are doing here.”

“Well, for me, I’m here because I need to satisfy my cravings. The reason I convinced Delyth to set up this meet and greet is so I can score a free and delicious blueberry muffin. Getting an audience with one of the Grand Elder from Ouroboros is just an added bonus.”

“…..”

“Delyth is here because she doesn’t trust me to be alone with her mother. Though I do declare her fears are greatly unfounded. The shady reputation I’ve incurred with women is completely untrue and pure hearsay. I am an officer and a gentleman, perfectly capable of keeping my hands to myself. Unless of course, they want to be touched. In which case, my hands serve upon their pleasure.”

“…..”

“You of course…” the boy nods towards the veiled woman “…are here because you hold the same opinion with Delyth as well.”

“Do you think I feel you can’t be trusted? That it’s a risk to be alone with you? I assure you, I can defend myself well enough.”

“Oh, perish the thought. I know you can hold your own weight. Graduated from the local training center with honors at the age of twelve. The youngest one in your district, I believe. Proficient in several types of martial arts. Skilled in wielding various forms of weapons, from swords to hammers to knives to bows. Being able to beat anyone wielding similar forms of weapons instantly and effortlessly. Highly intelligent and extremely loyal. All characteristics and factors combine to make you the perfect bodyguard or in this particular case, the perfect body double.”

“…..”

“You said earlier something about me wasting your time with an elaborate joke.”

“…..”

“Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself.”

“…..”

Just as the veiled woman is about to open her mouth to answer, a voice can be heard coming from behind the boy near the private booth’s entrance.

“Do forgive poor Sulis here. She’s just looking out for my safety.”

The boy turns around to see the waitress formerly known as Susan, who has changed out of her uniform into a dress befitting of a lady from high society.

“Thank the gods you’ve finally arrived. A few seconds later, you would have had to pry her off my body. No, not under the lewd circumstances you’re imagining, you dirty minded girl. I meant after she had lunged at me, aiming the salad fork to my throat.”

“…..”