章 63: The Devil
Isaac always plans ahead, no matter the circumstance. Although he always did this in the past in fear of unexpected situations, after going through an unexpectedly severe event with Furina, he decided to change his methods.
Originally, he wanted to entice Lumine to work for his cafe with a piece of information regarding her brother. But when he thought it over, he decided to take a step back and change it. He thought that it was too early for her to know such a thing— moreover, he wanted her to follow the original story and learn things in her own way.
And so, he came up with another method— the common language of all adventurers!
Money!
No one can resist such lustrous pieces of materials— especially if given in high amounts!
As such, Isaac decided to take a minor percentage of his money and give it to Lumine as his first commission for her.
But you might wonder— where did Isaac get such an amount of money? Much less give them away when he oh-so-dearly loves them?
Well, that's another story for another time.
Some things are better off hiding in the dark until discovered, after all.
---
"Welcome, you two." Seeing the baffled expressions of the traveler and her companion, Isaac almost couldn't contain his laughter. But he kept his professionalism and upheld his courteous smile. "Seeing as you two have the cards, that means Mr. Chariot has acknowledged you— how delightful."
"Hold on a sec!" Hearing the bizarre words uttered by the man In front of them, Paimon was the first to interject. "What do you mean by cards?! Who's Mister Chariot? And where even are we?!"
"And isn't this technically human trafficking?!" She added as she pointed at Isaac.
'I mean— it totally is, but we'll just have to pretend that it isn't.' Isaac lampooned honestly. "Just some minor details."
"What do you mean by 'minor details'?!" Paimon asked profusely.
However, Isaac decided to ignore the white fairy for now. He then turned his head to the blonde traveler. "Miss, I believe you're the renowned Honorary Knight of Mondstadt?"
"I am..." Cautiously looking at the smiling man, Lumine nodded her head. "You must be... The friend Luocha mentioned?"
"Indeed," Isaac uttered with a nonchalant tone. "And, as he has most likely stated, I'm hiring some helpers."
"I believe the amount he gave is quite proper?" He emphasized with a cheeky smile.
Hearing his confirmation, Lumine pondered deeply for a moment before speaking. "Very well. But... I want to know."
"Where are we?"
"Good question," Isaac smirked as he pointed at her. "Well, to not beat around the bush, you're currently inside my café in the beautiful City of Fontaine."
"Fontaine?!" Hearing the word, Paimon quickly interjected. "The Nation of Hydro?!"
Maintaining his courteous smile, Isaac nodded. "Indeed— but let's skip over those minor details, eh? Let's get down to business."
Snap—*
With a flick of his fingers, a thick green vine suddenly started crawling from the ground and quickly grew to his height. Afterward, a flower bloomed, and inside, a paper with letters inscribed on them appeared.
Everything looked natural. Of course, if it wasn't for Isaac wearing a velvet red overcoat with a dark suit underneath, then this scene would have probably ended up less tense.
Everything about Isaac's current appearance yelled "Shrewed businessman."
If he had a pair of red spectacles, then it might have just been the perfect scene.
Soon, more vines appeared and condensed to one thick vine before dragging a chair nearby and placing it behind Isaac.
Lumine and Paimon watched in silence— not knowing what the man in front of them would do.
Isaac, on the other hand, was having fun toying with them. Sitting down with his leg on top of another, he smiled. 'This is some good reaction... Maybe I should make this a new persona of mine? I'll write that down in my journal.'
"Well then..." Controlling the dendro vines he conjured, Isaac stared at Lumine with an amused smirk. "Care to read the fine print?"
Seeing the darkish green vines extending towards them, both Paimon and Lumine hesitated.
They were terrified!
"T-Traveler... Paimon thinks we just met Teyvat's devil..." Paimon said with a low voice as she hid behind Lumine.
"I assure you, I won't do anything that would otherwise harm both of you," Isaac chuckled lightly seeing their reactions. "Again, I am only someone looking for temporary employees."
"Yeah, but saying that with that look is scary!" Paimon blurted out. "You're like... like a..."
"A devil in velvet!" She added.
'Not a bad nickname,' Hearing the first nickname Paimon gave him, Isaac didn't find it half bad. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Commanding a Dendro vine, Isaac brought forth a teacup. "Take as long as you need. I'll wait."
With that, he started sipping his cup of tea, waiting for Lumine and Paimon.
Seeing the man not do anything anymore, Paimon and Lumine looked at each other before looking back at the man sipping tea.
"Traveler... Should we back out now? Paimon's senses are telling her that he's bad news..." The floating fairy said while pointing at Isaac who was happily drinking.
"Maybe you're right..." Lumine nodded her head as she thought more about this. "I've got a bad feeling— let's just stick to our gut and refuse his offer. I'm sure he'll understand..."
'But still...' Though she said that, Lumine's eyes couldn't help but dart back to Isaac's figure. 'To meet someone capable of teleporting others across nations...'
'One could only imagine how powerful such a person is...'
Lumine wasn't a fool. She knows how to read a situation and properly react to it. And right now, she was torn between two decisions.
Either trust this mysterious man or leave— potentially never meeting him again.
She had to admit— she was very weak right now. With her powers sealed and her utter lack of knowledge of this world— she was as vulnerable as she could get.
Right now, other than her blade work, she only has two elements at her disposal. And she knows pretty well that those won't last her long.
As such... Perhaps there's a chance for them to team up in the future and help her.
'Then again...' Recalling the man named Luocha's words, she couldn't help but ponder. 'This person is undoubtedly suspicious... But...'
'He's showing goodwill right now...'
'Turning away such a person...' Biting her lip, she closed her eyes for a few moments. Moments later, she opened them— revealing her glistening golden pupils that seemed to radiate the soft and tender glow of the sun itself.
Taking a look at the contract given to her, Lumine read them in her mind.
What was inside followed a proper contract— it included three parties, namely Isaac, Lumine, and Paimon.
The contract only lasted a day, but during this time, Lumine and Paimon would act as Isaac's bartenders in his absence, and, at the end of the day, the latter would pay them a hundred thousand Mora in full.
What followed was a series of clauses— but none of them were very demanding.
As Lumine continued to read the contract, she couldn't help but notice one clause in it.
'Never set foot off the café in Isaac's absence?' Reading this clause, Lumine first contemplated the reason for it. But in the end, she just concluded it might have something to do with the teleportation. 'Perhaps this is the restriction for such a thing?'
No matter what it was, Lumine didn't find any problems with it and subconsciously agreed.
This was a reasonable development.
Lowering the paper from her face, Lumine looked at Isaac for a moment before reopening her mouth.
"I agree."
"Traveler?!" Hearing Lumine's decision, Paimon's eyes widened as she floated beside her. She then leaned forward and asked the traveler. "What do you mean?! Don't tell me you actually accept it?"
"It's fine, Paimon." Looking back at her worried flying companion, Lumine curled up a soft smile and reassured her. "This is my decision. If anything happens..."
"Article I clause 4, if the Employees, Paimon and Lumine were harmed by the Employer Isaac during their time in his café, then the Employer Isaac would pay them twofold of their original salary promised to them and treat them with utmost medical aid." Lumine quoted content in the contract given to her.
"H-Huh? Did Paimon hear that correctly?! Twofold?!" Piamon's baffled voice continued to reach a higher pitch as she spoke. "Th-that's... Way too generous!"
"I know..." Lightly nodding her head in agreement with Paimon, Lumine once more looked back at Isaac who was sitting down on his chair. "To go that far... I'm sure Mister Isaac truly values his employees."
What started as wanting to earn money turned into curiosity. Now that she had read the contract, Lumine found that it mostly benefited them more than Isaac.
In essence, it seems like all Isaac truly wanted were bartenders.
Regardless, this meeting brought forth an opportunity for Lumine— a chance to be close to this enigmatic being.
'If he can teleport others... Then, perhaps...' As she thought of this, scenes of her attempted departure resurfaced in her mind. 'Perhaps he knows a thing or two...'
While Lumine and Paimon were talking to each other, Isaac, on the other hand, was still calmly sitting down. However, his hand was now covering his mouth.
For the two of them should never see such a frighteningly voracious smile from the man in velvet.
'Ha... I got her.' Isaac tried his best to conceal his smirk that seemed to reach both ends of his ears. But all he could do was twitch it. 'This is even better than I imagined...'
'I thought I would have to coax her with more things but to think that she accepted it from the get-go...' Biting his lips, he forcefully stopped his mouth from smiling. 'But this is even better.'
'Worry not, my dear Lumine.' As Isaac thought of this, his deep amber eyes— which always seemed to be devoid of anything— for the first time, showed a faint brilliance as if radiating the surface of a setting sun.
Those dead lifeless eyes, which even Isaac gave up on showing emotions from, finally showed a reaction.
And the target of this brilliant reaction was none other than the incarnation of the stars themselves.
Unaware of his eyes, Isaac continued to look at Lumine. 'Yes... I'll make sure...'
'To be your sponsor from the shadows...' Isaac smiled faintly. 'I'll be your Supporter in the Shadows!'
'Just thinking of being a mysterious entity secretly aiding the Traveler from the shadows... Ah, it makes my skin crawl.' Isaac shivered at this thought. Not from disgust, but from excitement.
'Seriously...' Internally sighing, Isaac scoffed before standing up. 'The things I do to make things a bit more interesting— What a pernicious habit.'
"Well then," Standing up from his chair, Isaac flared up his velvet red overcoat and approached Lumine.
"I'm looking forward to your cooperation." He showed a faint genuine smile as he spoke. Perhaps because of his excitement earlier, but his face still had a bit of a red hue.
"I welcome you, Ms. Star and Ms. Moon." He added with a sincere smile. "These would be your code names in the Café from now on."
After saying this, he then reached out his two hands to Lumine and Paimon for a shake. "Isaac Alder."
"Lumine." Extending her hand, Lumine took his hand and shook it. "A pleasure working with you."
"Well... The name's Paimon!" Although she was still a bit skeptical of Isaac, Paimon still shook his hand. "Pleasure to work with you too, devil!"
'Ah, that nickname's gonna stick, won't it?' Isaac internally sighed. 'Well, there's no stopping her now. Oh well.'
Shaking both of their hands, Isaac chuckled softly. He then took the contract. "Oh, let's not forget about the signatures! Don't worry, this is just for legal reasons."
He then gave two pens to them from his pockets and also gave the paper back to them. "If you would."
"Alright," Taking the pen offered to her, Lumine held it and found a table to write at. She placed the contract down on the table before signing her name. "Done. Your turn, Paimon."
"Oh, okay!" Holding her pen, Paimon floated over to the table and also wrote her name. "Pai-mon... Done!"
Seeing this, Lumine lightly nodded her head. She then looked back at Isaac with her determined golden eyes. "From now on, we're in your care."
Isaac caught her stare and looked back with his deep amber eyes that had already stopped their reaction from earlier. "Likewise."
"May we have a great time... All of us."
Grin—
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