After getting the shit scared out of him for a second time, thanks to Aldusa and her love of tossing him around, Shango was wide awake. Shooing the trouble makers out his room for the second day in a row, he quickly washed and put on another set of clothing that Rolla had set out for him.

After freshening up, he did not leave the room immediately but stayed and stared at his bed for a while. The dream he had just felt so real. He could still remember the woman very well; her touch, her smell, the softness of her lips, everything was just so vivid, like it wasn’t a dream at all. It was the first time he had ever experience something like that.

“Just a little more,” he mutters to himself. If only he had had five more minutes or even a minute, then she would have wrapped her beautiful full juicy lips…just as he was about to get lost in his little dream world, there was a knock at the door.

“Shango, hurry. You don’t want your breakfast getting cold, do you?” Ave said in an energetic voice.

Jumping a bit, Shango replied, “I’m coming.” He took one more look at his bed before smacking his self on the cheeks and leaving.

A little while later, Shango was eating a big breakfast with Ave and Rolla in the center of a large garden. “So, what on the schedule for today?” Shango asked as scooped up a spoon full of scrambled eggs that tasted liked it was god’s gift to the world.

When he asked why they were so good, Rolla told him that the chef was the descendant of a hero. He had had a Diverge ability that allowed him to make marvelous food while bringing out the food’s best properties and allowing his food to heal all ailments, remove all fatigue, or temporarily boost the strength of the eater. But over the years, the descendants lost that ability and now can only make delicious egg dishes.

“Today will be a rather light day,” Ave said as she used a napkin to wipe her lips before locking eyes with Shango. “There is only one thing that we must do today and that is you getting your Artifact Weapon and testing it out a bit.”

“That’s good to hear. As long as I do not have to deal with that Elder anytime soon.” he said as he reached for a boiled egg that was placed in the center on the table before having his hand smacked away by Rolla for the umpteenth time, who had an almost unbelievable love for them.

“Speaking of the Elder—”

Before Ave could finish her sentence, Shango said, “Please, god, don’t tell me I have to deal with that guy today.”

“No, you should not have to deal with him soon, but you have to choose an Elder to study under.”

“Wait, I thought you, Aldusa, or Bertram would be teaching me.” he said as he stopped trying to snatch an egg from Rolla.

Ever since coming to this world, he had met a lot of people and he felt that most of them held a weird hostility towards him. Only a few people like Rolla, Ave, her Knights, and even that damn Elder looked as though they had no intention of harming Shango, so he let his guard down around them. All the other people just made him feel paranoid, like they were plotting on him. The only thing that bothered him about Ave and her gang was that it felt like they had bonded rather too quickly to him.

“I wanted to choose a teacher for you, but my father wanted to pick your teacher. He feared anyone I select would go to easy on you and create a paper tiger.” she said as she looked down.

“I hate to admit it, but your father is right. Your people will not always be around to help him. Shango facing a bit of adversity and meeting and socializing with different people is a good thing in the long run.” Rolla said as she peeled another egg and placed it on her plate.

Even if Shango didn’t want to admit it, the king was right. Someone babying him would not be suitable for his growth. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “It’s fine, it not my first time learning from someone that hates me.” He reached for an egg placed in the center, and once again Rolla moved to stop him, but it was a fake as he used his other had to snatch one off her plate and popped it in his mouth while smiling at Rolla, who was sneering hatefully at him. The interaction between the two caused Ave to let out a cheerful laugh.

After the three finished eating and were leaving to find Shango a suitable Artifact Weapon, Shango caught sight of a cute chubby maid cleaning a sizeable bird-like statue. She was about 5’4 with long reddish-black shoulder length curly hair and a body that was shaped like a juicy pear that made a person just wanted to bite into it, knowing it would gush everywhere.

She was wearing maid clothing which was very similar to style that was popular in Japan. One of the past heroes had made it a trend for all the maids to wear them. The one thing that stuck out the most to Shango about the maid was her eyes. They made him want to tease the hell out of her. She was so cute that he could not help but stop and stare at her.

As if realizing that Shango was staring at her, she turned to face him, locking eyes with him for a brief moment. She quickly brought her head down, like a shy girl getting caught looking at her crush, and quickly scurried off. It was so cute that Shango almost wanted to run after her.

So that is Moe? Shango thought to himself. He could not put his finger on it, but her eyes looked very familiar.

“Shango, what’s wrong?” Ave asked as she and Rolla looked at Shango with a puzzled look.

“Oh, nothing. Just something about that girl felt familiar.” He continued to stare in the direction she ran had off into.

“Rolla, who was that girl just now? I did not recognize her,” Ave asked.

“If I can recall correctly, she is one of the new maids, and her name is Casina.” Casina, that’s a good name, Shango thought.

“Enough daydreaming, move those feet of yours. Even though the weapon master is not as loony as that elder, he is a bit weird himself when it comes to people being late,” Rolla said as if knowing Shango would not move for a while if not told to.

Not wanting to experience another incident like his one with the Elder, Shango put all his thoughts to the back of his head and started to make his way to the weapon master.