Chương 16: After the Fight
Lami embraced the cold floor until a familiar shadow fell over his face. Lucian extended a hand to help him up, and Lami gladly accepted.
"...Thank you."
"No worries, man. That was a great fight—well done," Lucian said.
Lami simply nodded to him as they made their way to the exit.
"So what're you going to do next?" Lucian asked.
"I don't know, I guess I will eat and hit the shopping district. I need to buy a few things," Lami answered monotonously.
"Okay, then what a—" Lucian's words trailed off as they spotted a familiar face.
It was Lumia, she was seemingly waiting for Lami. A faint smile appeared on her succulent lips.
"Hello Lami," Lumia greeted Lami warmly. "Were you going somewhere?"
"Uh yes me and Lucian were uhh… What were you about to say?" Lami asked, turning his face to Lucian.
"Yeah, I was about to ask you, if you wanted to grab lunch. Wanna come too, Lumia?" Lucian switched his attention to Lumia.
"You sure? Wasn't she your enemy?" Lami whispered at Lucian, ensuring Lumia wouldn't hear him.
"Enemy? I have no enemies," Lucian said, putting his chest outwards.
He was looking proud of himself. Lami sighed at the sight.
"If it's okay with you two, I would be glad to," Lumia rejoiced.
"It is decided then. LLL, here we go," Lucian shouted.
Both Lami and Lumia exchanged surprised looks.
"....LLL?" Lami asked, not understanding what it meant.
"Yeah, why not? Lucian, Lami, and Lumia. Don't you think it is cool?" Lucian said with a stupid smile on his face.
Lami's face twisted in disgust as he felt creeped out all of a sudden. Lucian's odd sense of humor whispered in Lami's ear, compelling him to leave.
"....."
"....No?" Lumia said though she appeared to be even more confused than before.
Lucian continued without caring,
"So, cafeteria or random café?"
'Shit! It wasn't a joke?"
Lami shrugged, his mind still being somewhere else.
"I don't mind."
Lumia didn't say anything. She had a complicated look on her face.
"There is a good cafe in the shopping district. You need to buy things afterward, right?" Lucian said happily. "So then chop-chop. I am hungry."
With that, the 'LLL' started to walk to the metro station. Lami didn't talk much unless Lucian or Lumia forced him to.
"What're you going to buy, though? Why not just order?" Lucian asked.
"....Just wanted to roam around, and It's for Jack, my cat. I need to buy a cat tree, and a new litterbox."
"...And you are talking about my naming sense! Who the fu—"
Lumia's sudden, excited voice cut Lucian off mid-sentence.
"Y-you have a cat?" she asked, her eyes shining with excitement.
"Yes?" Lami said. He was taken aback by the abrupt change in her tone. Her already energetic demeanor now seemed overly bright, almost blinding to Lami.
…
Lucian had ordered a plate of American breakfast which seemed to be too large for a single person.
Both Lami and Lumia had opted for sandwiches with Lami ordering a black tea, and Lumia a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
And a large cup of parfait.
And a humongous slice of chocolate cake.
'Gluttonous bunch.'
Both Lucian and Lumia were devouring their food.
Lucian, while munching his food, asked,
"Lami, how did you guess the moves during the fight with no effort?"
Lami sipped his tea, the warmth awakening his tired mind, the aroma wrapping him in a cozy haze.
"I observed every single fight, and noticed her going for similar patterns, She was doing so on purpose though, most likely."
"Still it was impressive," Lumia chimed in. "I don't think many could notice those."
"...Thank you." Lami smiled slightly.
Lucian wiped his mouth after finishing his food, glancing at his empty plate with regret.
"By the way, about those guys—there will always be pricks around. Just don't give them any attention."
Recalling the state Elliot had left the arena in, Lami wasn't sure ignoring them was the right choice.
But he didn't say anything.
Both Lumia and Lami also finished their food soon after.
Lami paid 10 Crones for a chicken sandwich and black tea. It was not cheap.
He didn't have problems with daily needs, but if he were to buy potions and Manuals, his money would melt quickly.
Leaving the cafe that Lami didn't even check the name of, the trio started to walk toward the pet shop.
Due to the animal-cruelty laws in the continent, the pet-shops were not permitted to sell animals. They could only be adopted or bought from private owners.
So the shop they were walking to didn't have any animals, but instead everything about pets.
It took them twenty minutes to reach the pet-shop. The shopping district was huge, spreading over a few kilometers long area.
There were various sections, and their destination was inside a mall. Reaching the mall, their tour guide, Lucian, stopped.
"So this is the Anders Mall, by one and only Xander Anders, the owner of the Xander Innovations."
"..Anders?" Lami asked with a realization. "Is Elliot Anders by any chance his son?"
"Yes he is, sadly," Lucian answered.
That made things problematic for Lami, but if push came to shove Lami would still beat him.
He was already annoyed by that bastard.
"I see."
Lumia was silent this whole time, she was fidgeting her fingers excitedly.
They walked inside the mall; cold air brushing past their skin.
The mall was nothing but enormous. A grand fountain was situated in the center of the first floor.
"Come on," Lumia said hurriedly.
She was obviously excited to see the cat, but Lami didn't know the reason.
A cat was a cat.
It wasn't a mythic being with its presence being limited only to legends.
Simply a cat.
Lucian and Lami shrugged at the same time, coordinately, and took the escalator alongside Lumia.
The pet shop was on the third floor, so it took a while to get up there. Lucian left them, stating he needed to buy a few things for himself, so Lami and Lumia were left alone.
"I understand Lucian, he is lazy, but why didn't you fight?" Lami asked, wondering.
Lumia didn't strike him as the type to not go for it without a reason.
"It is not I didn't but I couldn't. My fighting style needs a few variables and one of them wasn't present."
'Variables wasn't there… So maybe something to do with mana?'
He would like to know more, but he didn't force Lumia.
The third floor was even more luxurious than the first, with rows of designer-brand shops. A massive ice-skating rink gleamed at the center of the floor.
There was a huge ice-skating ring located in the middle of the floor as well,
They reached the pet-shop while talking. It was a well-lit, huge place.
"Pat-Shop?" Lami said, his face crumbling.
He didn't understand the naming sense of some people. Who names a pet-shop Pat-Shop?
Lami turned his head to Lumia and saw her eyes glistening brightly. She resembled a playful puppy—a peculiar sight to Lami.
"Let's go," Lumia said in an urgent tone.
Lami took a shopping cart and started walking inside. He instantly noticed there being a lot of cameras, watching every single angle.
They were designed to prevent theft via dimensional storage devices. The expensive items also had tags that prevented them from being put into the devices.
It was a fairly new technology, its inventor being unknown. The blueprints of the tags were published by 'Violet Research', completely for free.
'Violet.'
Lami was quite interested in the name. If it was a name of course.
They could make millions solely by selling the idea. Their intent felt altruistic to Lami.
"Woah!" Lumia breathed, astonished.
The pet shop was massive, spanning so far that walking from one corner to another could take minutes. Lumia's eyes darted around, brimming with excitement.
Seeing the state she was in, Lami sighed.
Reaching the cat area, Lami grabbed catnip and two toys for Jack. Jack was still a kitten, brimming with energy.
"Cat tree and a litter box, and we're done," Lami said.
Lumia nodded, not giving any attention to Lami's words.
"Let's get this one," she said, holding a grandiose cat tree.
It was like a mansion for a cat. It would also be a little bit too large for his limited space.
"It is too expensive."
"I will pay for it," Lumia exclaimed.
"..."
No words came to Lami's mind. Who stood before him was completely a different person compared to her usual appearance. She was quite forceful.
Not like Lami had met her many times.
"Let's get this one too," Lumia pointed her finger at a self-cleaning litter box.
This time, Lami was visibly agitated by the price of the item.
"Are you out of your mind!? That thing costs 2,000 Crones!" Lami exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. Realizing his voice was too loud, he glanced around nervously. Thankfully, no one was nearby.
2,000 Crones was two times the rent of their old apartment. The litter box would have to generate its own electricity for that price to be justified.
"I will pay for it. Cats deserve the best," Lumia said calmly, unperturbed by Lami's reaction.
".....If you say so." Lami shook his head, understanding he couldn't change Lumia's mind. "But why?"
"I feel like it."
"...?"
Lami was even more confused. Feeling like it? What did it even mean?
Lami never felt like doing something. He did them because he needed to.
He didn't have the luxury of living for himself—no.
He had to live for the sake of his goals.
He wouldn't leave anyone he cared about behind, suffering.
And he would save his mom.
He had lost enough already.
"Do as you wish. Let's go—we're done here."
Lami started pushing the cart after putting both items in. As he was getting close to the register, Lumia grabbed the back of his blazer, making him stop.
Lumia whispered, pointing sneakily at the woman who stood with a comically large aquarium,
"Wait. Isn't that her?"
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