Capítulo 13: Hidden Genius
07:24 - No. 7 Water Maiden Street
The tap water trickled down gently on to the foamy plate and the pair of small hands holding it. With every scrub, the plate turned squeaky clean, reflecting the face of a blonde haired girl with bright blue eyes. She has a soft smile on her face as she cleaned up the last of the dishes before finally turning off the water and stepping down from the stool.
"Annie, can you go get Sanae's plates upstairs?" a deep masculine voice came from the room near the kitchen.
"On it," she said before walking down the wood-paved floor of the two story house. She walked past the empty dining table straight towards the living room. There, she saw an old man with dark gray hair wearing a shirt with brown vest over it sitting down on the sofa.
He has a leather bound book in his hand and seems to be observed in it. Annie waved at him a little before walking to the large room upstairs. There's a bunch of doors, one of them led to her room and the other to her father's room.
Annie didn't went for any of the door. Instead, she grabbed a large stick in the corner and used it to pull down a large trapdoor on the ceiling. A set of stairs dropped down from the trapdoor and the little girl start climbing it.
"Sanae, have you finished your breakfast?" the girl said as she peeked into the room. There, she saw a green haired girl sitting down on the bed in a fetal position. Her dull yellow eyes gazed blankly at the wall in front of her.
A tray full of fish sandwich lies abandoned at the foot of her bed. Annie sighed patiently and walked towards the food. She picked it up and held it up in front of the former slave. "It's getting cold Sanae, come on, eat," Annie said softly.
The elf's gaze focused on the little girl in front of her. She slowly opened her mouth and was about to stay something when 'plop', the little girl stuffed the elf's mouth with a piece of the sandwich. Acting on instinct, elf slowly chewed the sandwich in her mouth before swallowing it.
"How is it?" Annie sat down on the bed and positioned herself in front of the elf girl. She then started cutting the sandwich to small bite size with a fork and a dull knife. "I made it myself, father said it was delicious but he also said that about a glass of boiled water I gave him the other day."
A tiny spark came from within Sanae's dull yellow eyes. She blinked a little and her mouth curled into a smile. "It's delicious, Annie," she spoke as a drop of tear trickled down her face. She then saw Annie already holding a piece of sandwich in front of her.
"N-no, Annie, it's alright I can…" Annie stuffed her mouth with another piece of sandwich, cutting her off.
"No talking with your mouth full."
With that, Annie spend the rest of her morning feeding the elf girl some of her hand made sandwich. Annie knew she has an appointment in an hour, but she couldn't care less. She won't leave this room until the plate on her hand is clean.
Soon enough, Sanae finished all the sandwich. The elf have long given up resisting her pampering and simply sat there as Annie poured a cup of warm coffee for her. "I made a new friend yesterday," Annie said before handing her the cup.
Sanae stared at the brown liquid in her hands. She then slowly took a sip on it, smiling a little at the bittersweet taste of it. "Good for you, Annie…"
"Her name is Ender, she's around your age, or at least she looks like it," Annie said while putting aside the tray and the empty plate. "We met at the town's edge while I'm fishing with Robyn, she cooked us some fish and treat us with crepes."
The elf simply nodded at her explanation. To her, this little girl lives in a different world than hers. Her stories are like a work fiction, a simple fantasy to help her escape from the cruel reality. To help her escape from the shackles of her past.
"She reminds me of Lala," Annie continued her story. "They're both nice, reliable, and seems to have a solution to everything," she then smiled a little. "But they're different. When I see Ender, I saw Robyn. They're both cool, confident, and being with them makes me feel so safe and comfortable."
Annie took Sanae's hand and gazed at her eyes. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but decided against it. "I should get going," Annie said before climbing off the bed. "They're waiting for me. You're free to join me anytime you're ready."
Seconds before Annie could walk to the ladders, a certain dark haired girl popped out of the entrance. "Mornin' Annie!" Robyn exclaimed with a bright grin on her face.
"Wh-what! Oh, Good morning, Robyn…" Annie said nervously, not expecting Robyn to arrive so soon.
Robyn gave her a piece sign before climbing into the room. "Ah, Sanae! Mornin'!" she walked towards the elf who just nodded nervously at her. "Come on! Big sis and Ender's waiting for us downstairs." she said.
"Ender's here?"
[[UPF]]
Earlier That Day- Black Cat Cafe
"Mornin' Emilia!" Robyn greeted with toothy grin.
Emilia looked at her friend with wide eyes. "Good morning Robyn," she hid herself behind a large tray. "Anything I can help you?"
Robyn stepped into the cafe and looked around. "Is Ender around?" she then noticed Ender talking with a dark haired teenage boy at the corner of the cafe. "Miss Ender, mornin'!"
Ender looked at Robyn and waved her hand. "Yo, Robyn, good morning," she pat the seat beside her and Robyn hurriedly sit down next to her. The little girl looked at Marshall with curious eyes. "This is my friend, Marshall. Say hi Marshall,"
"Hi Marshall," the demon boy joked to which Robyn just giggled a little.
"My name is Robyn!" Robyn said before holding out her hand. "Nice to meetcha!" They both shook hands for a moment before Robyn looked back at Ender. "What now miss Ender?"
Ender looked around for a bit. "Shouldn't we wait for Annie?" she asked.
Robyn shook her head and took out her phone. "No, Annie said to meet her at her house," she showed Ender the smart phone and the agent couldn't help but sigh in envy. "Do you want to start now or…"
"Not yet, I'm half my potential on an empty stomach," the moment she said that, Rena came walking in with a tray full of bread and pasta.
"Sorry for the wait!" the waitress said cheerfully before putting down a plate of Fettuccine Alfredo in front of Marshall and an assortment of sweets in front of Ender. "Here's your order, please enjoy," she said.
"Thank you Rena, it looks wonderful," Marshall said and it wasn't just a baseless flattery. The pasta is plated like a small mountain with a slices of fish fillet leaning on it. There's also a sprig of mint on top of the mound with a sprinkle of a parsley all over it.
Rena hid her face behind her tray in a very Emilia-like fashion. "N-no, it's nothing Marshall," she shook her head and slapped herself a little. "A-anyway, Robyn, have you had breakfast yet?"
Robyn shook her head. "Nope, I snuck away before breakfast!" she said with a proud grin on her face.
Ender blinked a little. "You're, you're not supposed to do that," she pointed out.
"That's okay miss, this is all a part of my plan!" Robyn said with a knowing smirk. She then looked back at Rena. "Miss Rena, chocolate pie, strawberry soft cake, chocolate milk, and unsweetened black tea!"
Rena seems to realize something as she just sighed a little with an amused smile. "Okay Robyn," Rena said before walking back to the kitchen.
Ender meanwhile has her full attention on Robyn. On the outside, there doesn't seem to be anything special about her. She's just a tomboy, hyperactive, little girl who loves to play around. But the way she said 'this is all a part of my plan' reminded Ender too much of herself.
"So what exactly is your plan Robyn?"
The door bell answered Ender's question. A certain dark haired girl stepped into the cafe in a hurry and out of breath. "Sorry for the intrusion!" she gasped. She looked around for a moment before she noticed Robyn sitting right next to Ender.
"Robyn!" Lalatina walked towards her table, stopped for a moment to catch her breath, before glaring at her. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
Robyn gave her a piece sign. "Having breakfast! Come on big sis, I ordered your favorite!"
Lalatina couldn't resist as Robyn dragged her to the seat beside Marshall and forced her to sit down. "Robyn, what in the world are you…" she took a deep breath. "…doing?"
"I'm having a breakfast with Ender, then we're going to Annie's place, then we're all going to get a new waitress!"
Lalatina looked at Ender with an incredulous look on her face. The latter just raised both of her hands and shook her heads. Then Lala turned back to her sister and sighed in defeat. "Then why can't you wait until after you have breakfast?"
"If I do that, you won't be helping us finding a new waitress," Robyn replied. "You're basically running the Secret Garden yourself big sis, so I'm pretty sure you're the best person for the job!"
"And what makes you so sure I have time to help you?"
A third party answered her question. "Sorry for the wait," Rena said before putting down a plateful of strawberry cheesecake and black tea in front of Lala. She also put a chocolate cake and iced chocolate milk in front of Robyn.
"I'll treat you your favorite food! Rena's super special strawberry cheesecake!"
Lalatina looked at the strawberry cheesecake with wide eyes. "You're, treating me?"
"If you help us, yeah!" Robyn replied cheerfully.
"How long have you been saving up?"
"Not at all, Christopher is going to pay for this," Robyn turned towards Rena. "Rena, tell Christopher I said thanks. Both this and the crepes the other day," Rena nodded and walked back to the bar table.
"Oi, Emilia!" Robyn exclaimed towards the little girl standing in front of the entrance. Emilia turned towards Robyn and waved her hand in excitement. "Emilia, come here, I have something to show you, it's super cool!"
Emilia slowly walked towards Robyn. "What is it Robyn?" she said once she's beside the table.
Robyn was about to say something but then she put both hands on her stomach. "Ah, hold on, nature's calling," she stood up from her seat and forced Emilia on to her seat. "Keep my seat warm for me Emilia, I'll be back with the surprise!"
Silence filled the cafe the moment Robyn left her seat.
It took Ender a minute to process what she just witnessed. When she did, she's convinced that Robyn is either an agent in disguise or a one in a million genius. How did she came to that conclusion?
One, this girl played her own sister like a marionette.
Two, she blackmailed a third party who wasn't even present at this time.
Three, she forced Emilia to sit right next to her and Marshall effortlessly.
Four, she gave Ender a thumb up as she disappeared upstairs to the bathroom.
Five, she did all this without breaking her stupid girl act.
'Now what?' Ender thought to herself as she watched the long cat eyeing Marshall in suspicion and Lalatina looking at Emilia in slight curiosity. 'Should I block Alicia's telepathic power and talk to Emilia? No, that's too suspicious. Should I just talk to Emilia about the new waitress requirements? Yeah, that sounds logical, and what the hell is with that girl?!'
With that, Ender took out an empty note from her pocket. "Well then, time to list off the job requirements," she turned towards Emilia. "Well, Emilia? What kind of person do you need for the job?"
"Miss Light, I told you, this is unnecessary…"
"Can you really talk Robyn out of this plan?"
Emilia sighed in defeat. It's obvious which one is more dominant between the two. "We need a new waitress. Preferably around Rena's age. Must be patient, confident, and reliable," she paused for a moment and glanced at her cat mother. "He or she also has to pass a secret test."
"Secret Test?"
"I told you, it's a secret."
Ender wrote the four points on her notes, making a big circle around the 'secret test' thing and made sure everyone sees it. "Let's see," she rubbed her chin in deep thought. "How patient, confident, and reliable are you looking for? What about me? Do I pass the requirements?"
The cat shook its head furiously and Emilia just looked away. "Well yes, but you don't pass the secret test," she said.
"Wow, this secret test must be hard huh? What about Christopher? Does he pass the secret test?"
"Yes, with flying colors,"
Ender faked a hurt expression. "Ah, you're so mean Emilia…" she then turned towards Lalatina. "What about Lalatina? Does she pass all the requirements?"
Emilia nodded. "Yes, if possible, you should look for someone like Lalatina."
"Oh! Me, me!" Robyn's voice came from the stairs. "What about me Emilia? Do I pass the secret test?"
"Yes, you pass,"
Robyn pumped her fist victoriously. "Aww yeah!" then she looked at Emilia in confusion. "What is the secret test anyway?"
"It's a secret."
"What about me Emilia?" Rena said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
"Barely,"
"Uwaah, that's so mean Emilia! But I already work here!"
Then, Ender dropped the bombshell. "What about Marshall here? Does he pass the secret test?"
The long cat slapped Emilia's head and the little girl quickly shook her head. "No, no he doesn't pass the test."
"So… Ender and Marshall's the only one who don't pass? Why?"
Silence answered Robyn's innocent question. Everyone turned towards Emilia and she shrunk underneath their gaze. "W-well… It's… it's because they're not like u- I mean, not from here!"
"You don't like tourist?" Rena asked.
Emilia started stammering out excuses but Marshall held out his hand, cutting her off.
"I think what she's trying to say, is that the cafe needs a permanent staff, not just a part timer. Ender and I are travelers, so having us work here temporarily would be a hassle." The demon smiled at the little girl. "Isn't that right, Emilia?"
Emilia nodded in agreement. "Y-yeah, Marshall's right… We, we need permanent waitress, so please find someone who lives in this town," she said.
"Must, be, a, permanent, resident," Ender wrote it in her note out loud. "Okay, any other secret test we should know about?" she added jokingly.
"N-no, I think that's all…" Emilia bit her lip and looked at Marshall with a nervous look on her face. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly closed it again. She then look at everyone else before quickly bolting away from the table.
"Wait! Emilia!" Rena exclaimed. "What's wrong?" she ran up the stairs after Emilia, leaving Ender, Marshall, Lalatina, and Robyn.
'That was more effective than I expected,' Ender thought to herself. She then looked at Robyn who just stared at the stairs in confusion. 'And seriously, I need to have a chat with her in private. There is no bloody way she's not a foundation agent…'
"Uhh…" Robyn sipped on her chocolate milk awkwardly. "Should we go now Ender?"
"Yeah, let's go," Ender said finally. "Come on Lalatina, let's look for a…" she took out her notes. "patient, confident, and reliable person who lives in this town."
Lala took the last bite of her cheesecake. "Are you sure? Emilia seems to be bothered with something."
"Don't worry, Rena can take care of her," Ender then looked at Marshall. "Keep an eye on things while I'm gone okay?"
Marshall gave her a thumb up. "Leave it to me," he said confidently.
"See? Everything's fine, let's go everyone."
"Yosh! Let's go!"
"Ah, wait, Robyn stop pushing me…"
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