After Holen confird the item’s authenticity, he quickly closed the case. Reeva handed over the knife, and they said their goodbyes. As Reeva went to fetch Theia from the side room, she greeted him with the brightest smile he’d ever seen from her.
"Thank you!" she exclaid, her gratitude more sincere than he’d ever heard before.
"Is talking to her really that bad?" Reeva couldn’t help but ask, glancing at the waving figure of the old lady next door.
"It’s not that bad... She just talks way too much," Theia replied, frowning in mild exasperation.
"Maybe I should talk to you more, then," Reeva teased.
"Please don’t," Theia quickly retorted, her expression dead serious. She couldn’t bear the thought of enduring more endless chatter.
They returned to the hotel to rest.
-----------------
Reeva’s daily life had settled into a routine: selling burgers in the morning and training in the afternoon. He wanted to find the White Demon Heretic Cult, but that wasn’t his area of expertise.
He wasn’t the church, capable of divining answers, nor was he like Holen, who knew where to look for clues. The best he could do was sit tight and focus on improving himself, which he was doing step by step.
His stamina steadily improved through afternoon training sessions with HIlda. In the evenings, he read books to practice his Eyrish. Life was going well.
On the third day of training, Theia decided to join in, expressing a desire to get stronger too. However, her body was much weaker than Reeva’s, so her training regin had to be adjusted accordingly. She was running less than him and Hilda was less strict around her.
As the last day before the first wedding approached, Reeva noticed sothing interesting.
While custors ate, they would exude a small amount of yellow mist. When they really enjoyed the burger, the mist grew more substantial.
But that wasn’t the most interesting part. Reeva discovered that he could slightly move the mist. It was a slow process, like an ant taking a single step, but it was movent nonetheless.
He stumbled upon this discovery out of boredom while making a burger for the hundredth custor of the day. He thought, if the demon version of himself could do it, why couldn’t he?
He began experinting, trying to manipulate the yellow mist every ti he saw a custor exude it. He tries to get the sa feeling as the demon self. The task required minimal focus, and Reeva had been selling burgers long enough to zone out a bit while doing it.
His initial attempts yielded no results, but he kept at it since he had nothing better to do. Finally, he felt the mist move—a tiny shift, but enough to confirm his efforts were paying off. Each ti, he got better, gradually gaining more control over the mist.
He had a long way to go before he could match the abilities of his demon counterpart, but he was making progress. One small push at a ti.
Theia was also making strides in her personal growth. When Reeva first t her, she had been a gloomy, lost girl. But working at the food stall had changed her. She was more outspoken now, often seen chatting with familiar custors.
While she wasn’t the type to strike up conversations with everyone, she would engage with those who approached her.
One day, an old lady ca to the stall. She looked like a pleasant, middle-class woman, albeit on the older side. Reeva recognized her as the lady Theia owed a burger to. He noticed Theia quietly retreating from the front station of the stall.
"Hello, how are you?" the old lady asked, her tone warm and friendly.
"I’m fine, ma’am. How was your burger last ti?" Reeva replied with a smile, though he would soon regret it.
"Oh, my dear, let tell you, this place is just the bee’s knees! I was telling my friend Margaret—you know Margaret, don’t you? She’s the one with the cat that always runs away—anyway, I was telling her, ’Margaret, you simply must try the burgers at this place!’ They’re just so juicy, aren’t they?
I rember back in the day, my husband used to say, ’Betty, you make the best als,’ but I told him, ’Well, Harold, you’ve clearly never had one from this place!’ And the cheese, oh, the cheese just lts right into the patty, doesn’t it? I could talk about it all day! And that sauce! Oh, don’t even get started on the sauce—it’s like a little slice of heaven in every bite.
I just knew I had to co back for another one. So here I am, back again! Oh, I hope you don’t mind rattling on, dear, I just get so excited about a good burger! You know, they say you are what you eat, so I guess I’m just one big, happy burger, aren’t I? Anyway, I’d like to buy one, please, with extra pickles, if you don’t mind. You do pickles, right?
Of course, you do, this place thinks of everything! And the buns—oh, the buns! So soft, not like those dry ones you get at the big chain places. I tell you, if I had more teeth, I’d eat three of them! Anyway, I won’t keep you, but I just had to let you know how much I adore your burgers. Simply the best!"
"T... thank you, madam," Reeva stamred, struggling to keep up with her rapid-fire chatter.
"Oh, also—"
"Your order is ready, ma’am," Reeva interrupted, quickly preparing her burger. His hands had never moved faster.
"Thank you! Next ti—"
"I’d love to talk more, ma’am, but please make way for the other custors," Reeva said, gently urging her along.
"Oh, sorry for the inconvenience. I’ll talk to you next ti!" the old lady replied with a smile, unaware of the toll her conversation had taken on Reeva. He felt as though he had aged four years from that exchange alone. He truly hoped there wouldn’t be a next ti.
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