Chapter 85: Preparing for the headache

Saturday morning, September 15th, Harvey Wayne's office.

Barbarian Vivian smiled at her boss as she placed two different and thick stacks of papers on his desk.

It had taken a few days without sleep and contacting some annoying old acquaintances, but she had managed to complete the mission rather quickly!

Punching the group on the right, she added proudly.

"Here are the best mechanics I could find. If anyone can make that 'projector' you want, it's them."

Her hand moved to the next one.

"The other one is about several musicians who are in need of work. Their job profiles and experience, along with the instruments they play."

Moving a little closer, she whispered, "And when I say 'in need,' I mean desperate! When these guys heard I was looking for musicians, they came running with their resumes!"

Finding the mechanics had undoubtedly been the most annoying part, and it took her the longest. Almost all this time was spent looking for only the best.

When she put up the sign that she was looking for musicians, 30 suitors knocked on her office door. In five hours, she had a list of more than 100 participants.

Harvey Wayne grabbed the first page of the mechanics and looked at it calmly. He read a little of the profile, and after a few seconds, he put the sheet down with a small smile on his face.

"I'll have someone review their profiles. Good job, Vivian."

Without trying to hide it, the Barbarian smiled with pride.

One point scored!

'A few more and I'll be able to ask...' Calming down a little, she gave a slight bow, "Is there anything else you need my help with, Mr. Wayne?"

"Not until we finish reviewing everyone on this list." Harvey said with a sigh. "You're free until then."

Hiding her disappointment, Vivian could only bow and then leave the office...

"How long do you think it will take to check on each one with your soldiers?" Flora asked calmly.

She knew full well that whenever the man mentioned 'someone,' he almost always referred to his soldiers.

Whatever it was that kept them busy was finally over, and they were back.

Now grabbing one of the group of musicians, the dark-haired man said half-heartedly, "About three days at the most. Four if something gets complicated. But by next week, I'll be able to get them to start working..."

Once again, the spy pigeons would come into play. Oh, how he missed that.

Nodding a little bored, Flora took a deck of cards out of her sleeve. "Want to play a game? It'll be 12 soon, so why not waste a little time?"

Saturdays were a bit slow, so they had little to do during the day.

"Yeah, why not?" Rolling his shoulders, the dark-haired man carefully pushed the documents aside.

Without saying anything else, with just a smile, the woman placed the cards face down in long rows, but not before showing them.

This wasn't a game of poker; it was something much more childish and considerably more entertaining.

The card game they were about to play was quite simple. Once the cards were laid out, whoever drew the most cards in identical pairs won.

Placing the last card, Flora rested her cheek on her palm and looked at the cards with little interest.

"Tomorrow is the 16th." She said boredly.

Adryan nodded at her words. He picked up a card and saw that it was a cup. He grabbed its pair.

"I've already booked the tickets for the trip, and I have some good motels in mind for the night."

Although to a stranger, this would sound like they had planned a passionate outing, for the duo, the message was clear.

Tomorrow was the Hermits of Fate gathering. A gathering that would not only change their future but could also bring them trouble if they weren't careful.

"Same room?" Flora said as she held up a card and grabbed her partner's.

"Tomorrow's Sunday, isn't it?" Adryan winked, answering with another question.

Her fingers twitched a little, but the woman only snorted with false indignation.

"You're hopeless. What time does the train leave?"

"Tomorrow at noon."

Pausing before grabbing her card, the woman looked somewhat taken aback at the man, but after a few seconds, that turned to suspicion.

"Why do you want to stay another day in the Oldeah district?"

She thought they would leave today, attend the Hermits of Fate meeting tomorrow, and leave the same night. However, they would only leave tomorrow and stay the night.

"I just want to see what the oldest place in the country has to offer," Adryan shrugged nonchalantly. After looking at his card, he went for the match.

"There's nothing more to it." He added.

Gently tapping her cheek, the woman narrowed her eyes a little more.

"Mmm. I don't buy it."

Faced with the evident mistrust, the dark-haired man sighed tiredly. "You want the truth?"

Such a question made her pause. The dozens of possibilities of what might come from his mouth froze her a little.

What kind of stupid thing, evil event, disaster, or something random would come out of that guy's mouth if she said yes?

After considering it for a moment, she gave a slight nod. "Yes, I do."

She thought that if it were one of the last two events, the man would let her know without making such a fuss or a spectacle...

So it was much more likely that it was to annoy her.

Adryan smiled brightly, his eyes shining strangely, "Do you seriously think I'm going to waste an opportunity to sleep with you? My little piece of heaven?"

The hand that was about to grab the last card of her pair froze and closed into a mighty fist. The tips of her ears turned slightly red.

"I don't even know why I'm asking." Giving up, the woman grabbed her last pair and placed it on her pile.

"If I were someone more savage, I'd grab this chair and throw it in your face." Flora began calmly, "Tell me, what's that new nickname? What, I'm not a worm or a rat anymore?"

"I thought it was obvious."

He raised his hand and delicately grabbed the woman's ponytail, who only looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Your hair looks like a cloud, and you're my wife. Isn't it the most appropriate?" Adryan laughed in a low, amused voice, his hand playing a little with the ponytail.

Flora's eyes flickered for a moment before she closed them and snorted to one side, her ears turning a little redder.

"… Are you sure you don't have an Intisian side? That's something I'd expect one of them to say, not a Feysacian."

"Ha! No dear. Pure Feysacian here." Faced with the comparison, he shook his head without interest. "Besides, those horndogs wouldn't know how to appreciate you like I do.

Not wanting to delve deeper into the subject and give the man more ammunition, Flora just closed her eyes and sighed. Her victory in the game earlier completely forgotten.

So, using the best move she knew to change the subject, she opened her gray eyes and looked deeply at the man.

"What are you cooking today?"

Being a Cryptologist, noticing certain things about people was not beyond her. And since she spent a lot of time with the man, she could read him quite well.

If there was anything that Adryan Kenway loved as much as annoying her or the people he considered close to him, it was cooking.

Of course, not to mention coffee...

The man's disinterested eyes immediately focused, his pupils centering on her.

"Oh. Milanese with mashed potatoes. Or would you prefer it with cream noodles?"

Immediately, Flora could feel her stomach grow somewhat empty.

"Mmm... I've had enough noodles this week. Mashed potatoes it is."

"Would you like a little sauce on top?"

"Do you really have to ask?" 

...

Later that Saturday, in the night...

With a full stomach, Flora changed into a simple white dress after her shower, and after fixing her white hair a little, she left her room.

As soon as she did that, she sighed tremblingly and grabbed her sides.

The nights really were cold here...

Wearing simple slippers, she walked rather quickly through the dark corridors of her apartment to her companion's room.

Knock Knock

"Come in!"

Barely getting the go-ahead and not wanting to be in the cold much longer, Flora quickly opened the door and entered the room.

Faced with the temperature change, a relaxed sigh escaped her lips.

Looking at her partner, she saw that he was in his true appearance. Unlike usual, his long red hair fell freely over his right shoulder.

His back was against the frame of his bed, his scarlet eyes calm at his handiwork.

He was wearing a shirt that was a little tight, so much so that he had to leave several buttons undone so that his chest wouldn't burst out of it, along with what appeared to be black trousers.

The curtains were closed, and a solitary fireball floated next to his head, illuminating the pages of the book he was reading.

That book was a small paperback book. The cover was an old yellow color with multiple worn parts. On the cover was a drawing of a boy riding a dragon. The drawing was crude but still understandable.

She recognized the book as one of the two artifacts the man had grabbed from the list the Church gave him.

2-65 Feynapotter's Children's Stories.

This was the second time she had seen him since he had obtained it that day.

"How about the stories? Are they as childish as the book says?"

"More or less. I don't know much about the Feynapotter stories, but they are quite childish, always referring to motherhood and returning to the earth."

The redhead took his eyes off the book and looked at her for a moment. Smiling, he lifted the thick blanket in an invitation to come in.

Faced with the offer of something warmer, Flora walked to the bed. Without delay, she got under the blanket and covered herself, a satisfied sigh leaving her lips at the warmth that now surrounded her.

"Just your style then... Maybe now you'll have other good stories to tell your kittens..." She murmured wearily and closed her eyes.

"..." Adryan said nothing, just looked at her coldly.

She lay a little away from him, leaving a little space between them.

Puffing indignantly, the redhead closed the children's book and placed it beside his bedside table.

He didn't have to read it again until 12 hours had passed, so he didn't have to worry about it taking a stroll through people's dreams and making them stupid. Therefore, he had 12 hours before he had to throw it back into the closet of calamities.

With more than half a day at his disposal to do what he wanted, his first action was obvious.

Both arms wrapped around the white-haired woman's waist, and he pulled her towards him, pressing her deeply against his body.

Flora let out a moan of annoyance, but it turned into one of comfort. Her comfortable pillow had been replaced by two soft, extremely warm pieces of heaven.

But, not wanting to let out too much of her happiness, she could only grunt with annoyance.

"You really are a cuddlebug..." Although she said it with irritation, she made no move to free herself; she even turned around to fit better in the arms that enveloped her.

The redhead chuckled and rubbed his cheek against her head. "It's your fault for being so huggable. Now shut up and go to sleep. Tomorrow, we have a long day that I can already see will be annoying."

"About that... you're right..." Flora murmured in agreement, crushing her cheek against her 'pillow.'

With everything they had to do tomorrow, she was sure a headache would be the least of her problems.

So, with every intention of enjoying her own piece of heaven, she wrapped her arms around the man's sizeable little waist and pressed her face into his chest.

All the cold she felt died in the warmth that enveloped her, and within a few seconds, she fell deeply asleep.

"Fufu..." Laughing silently at his favorite worm, the redhead closed his eyes and also fell asleep after a few seconds...