Picnic?

Sai quickly grabbed his order and made his way back to the headquarters. Sara, the owner and receptionist of the restaurant, could only smile wryly from the young man's antics.

"Thank you for coming to Good Hunter. Do come back next time!"

"I will!"

…

This time, the guards didn't dare stop his entrance, so he barged through the library's door without thinking. As soon as he entered, he saw Kaeya talking to Lisa in a nonchalant manner.

"Sai, you are here!" Kaeya grinned.

He turned back to Lisa one last time, and the latter spoke up:

"You are already back. Shall we go, then?" She had a light smile on her face that Sai could swear was mocking him.

"Go where?" Kaeya apparently wasn't told of their lunch plans.

"Sir Kaeya." Sai greeted. "I was planning on having lunch with Lisa, but perhaps…" He looked at Lisa at that moment. "…you would like to join us?"

His eyes widened a little, but Lisa was faster.

"I'm afraid he already has other plans." She was still smiling.

"R–right. I still need to search for Noelle, and there's another matter…"

"That's fine. Maybe we could talk tonight over some drinks?" Sai offered. He knew it was an offer Kaeya wouldn't deny. Nonetheless…

"That… also won't be possible. I have work to do tonight, so perhaps tomorrow we can go get some drinks." His usual confident demeanour betrayed slight nervousness.

"O–oh… okay… That will do. Let me know when you are free, Sir Kaeya." He agreed on the outside, but it seemed like something was happening that was making the powerful knight worry.

'It doesn't seem like it's about Noelle's disappearance… is it related to the Traveler? Or perhaps it's that event? The advent of the Darknight? Hmm, I can ask Lisa later…'

"Will do. I have to go now. Please let me or Jean know if you figure any clue about Noelle, alright?" He patted Sai's shoulder as he passed by.

"Sure thing. See you another time."

'Thump!'

As soon as the door closed, Lisa left her desk and went to the handrail that faced the second floor (or in this case the lower floor).

"Xia Hu! I'm going to the garden." She yelled.

No one answered. He doubted the old man even heard her shout. Lisa calmly led Sai outside the library and gave the same words to the guard stationed there. He replied positively and saluted as they simply walked past him and deeper into the building.

Despite its spacious design, it didn't look very crowded at all. The headquarters of the knights seemed to be lacking people. Sai figured it should be partly due to the absence of the Grand Master, Varkas, and his squadron of knights. Still, it was odd.

Eventually, they turned left and after walking for a minute, arrived at their destination.

The place was beautiful, with a similar architecture to the Church's garden. The trimmed bushes and colourful flowers gave the place a joyful atmosphere, yet the lack of noise made it so peaceful that it was comforting.

The pair passed through another couple of guards and went into an open space. White tables and chairs laid under the protection of sun umbrellas, and that's where Lisa was ultimately headed.

"This is one of the places that I like to come for a relaxing time." Lisa explained.

"I can see why… it's beautiful. And it's… soothing…" Sai was indeed impressed, and she smiled slightly.

She took a seat and gestured for Sai to do the same. The latter placed the bag— which he had acquired for free from the restaurant by using Lisa's and Amber's name— with their lunch over the table and proceeded to open it. Lisa didn't bat an eye, for she raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

"Pannng!" The resonating sound was particular enough to make Sai ponder if she had used some sort of magic.

Soon enough, a maid came with light steps and stopped besides their table.

"Madam?"

"What is on the menu today?" Lisa asked with a normal smile while Sai observed with suspicion.

"Today the kitchen prepared fried chicken and radish soup."

"Soup in this weather? Hm… I don't feel like eating chicken today, either. Luckily, Mr. Sai has bought something better, isn't that right?" She looked at him with a pleased face and he quivered in place.

Back on the restaurant, Sai almost decided to buy two Sweet Madames, a relatively cheap type of chicken dish, as a sort of revenge against Lisa's jokes. Thankfully for him, he decided otherwise, since he had much to lose if she were to hold a grudge.

In the end, he got her the Sticky Honey Roast and himself a Fisherman's Toast, the cheapest item on the menu. Additionally, he bargained to reduce the price of a cup of a sweet drink he didn't remember the name. He left the place with no money on his pockets, but that was all he could ask for with 10,000 Mora.

"Yes, I bought a Sticky Honey Roast for you, the house's specialty." He showed her the plate with the meat that he just took out of the bag.

Lisa swept a glance over the food and looked at Sai instead. She maintained that position for a couple of seconds before moving on.

"Yes, that's great. Bring me the leftover sandwiches, my tea and cold water, please." She ordered the maid.

"Understood." And with that, the cute brunette maid left from whence she came.

"I– Uh… I also got you a drink." Sai took the wooden cup out. It was evidently lighter due to it having spilled along the journey.

"Oh… how kind of you." For the first time since they met, Sai felt that her smile was genuine.

The wind blew. Lisa held her hat from blowing over. Or tried to, because she wasn't wearing any. For one moment, Sai simply enjoyed the view of the beautiful lady in the beautiful garden. Lisa smirked when she noticed her blunder.

"Oh, my." Lisa said as she covered her mouth with unusual shyness. To him, it looked like she was just a graceful young lady in a picnic with her lover.

"You are used to wearing hats, it seems." Sai noted with a gentle smile, and for a couple of minutes, they made idle chatter like they had no other worries.