Sworn Brothers

Luca's mood soared after the credit to his account after taxes and deductions.

A whooping 135,000 Star coins!

In reality, he hadn't researched past the prices of apples, but if a cafeteria meal were 150 Star coins, then he'd be able to eat many times!

Some would call him a simpleton, but for someone who had slaved away without earning anything until his death, Luca's heart already reveled at having enough to buy food whenever he wanted.

Maybe he could even buy those little desserts he liked back when he was a child. 

Hopefully, they had something similar here!

But more than anything, he could pay his debt to Ollie! Luca didn't waste any more time and decided to send over the payment via a transfer.

So now, all he needed to do was to send Ollie some apples to thank him properly.

Others might think he's being too dramatic, but Luca couldn't help but overcompensate for it as someone who rarely received kindness.

And that's what started the commotion at the cafeteria.

"Luca! Over here!" Ollie called Luca after seeing him glancing all over the place.

And Luca's face brightened the moment he heard Ollie's voice.

His smile was like a bright star, blinding several people who looked over after hearing the call.

Even Ollie flinched at Luca's reaction.

"It's good that you're here!" If Luca had a tail, it would've been wagging by now. 

"Ha? Why?" Ollie pointed to himself as more and more people stared at him.

None of their interactions were out of the ordinary, but Luca's face was. And his excitement caused the others to question what was so special about Ollie Mylor that he elicited such a reaction.

"I wanted to give you some of these!" Luca took out a small sack with about a dozen apples.

Ollie looked surprised at his gift and even said. "Hey, I only gave you one! Isn't that too many?"

"No, this is just right. I managed to buy a few anyway!" Luca shrugged as he gave the sack to Ollie, who stopped right before storing the apples in his space.

It was because his nose picked up a sweet scent that smelled so good it warranted a pause.

Was it coming from the apples? Ollie asked as he pulled one out to smell. And the enticing scent encouraged him to bite into it.

Meanwhile, Luca watched as Ollie inspected his gift. He found it funny that Ollie kept sniffing the apple like it had an unfamiliar smell.

But it looks like Luca underestimated his apples because Ollie panicked after biting into one. Ignoring the fabulous taste and the potent energy Ollie just got shocked with, his main concern now was how to preserve his life.

"You… You're giving this to me?" He asked, wanting to actually follow it up by asking, "Are you crazy?" but chose to swallow it down. 

Because under his relatively 'calm' exterior, Ollie was actually in severe turmoil.

He was raised learning about spiritual fruits as an heir to a successful trading conglomerate. He's even had a bite before, which would probably be an exaggeration because he barely got a piece bigger than a tooth.

Spiritual fruits were so rare that even if people had the money to buy one, it may still be impossible to buy one in this lifetime.

But what was this just now? Didn't he just bite down a large chunk of this apple? How many Star coins did he just swallow by ingesting that bite?

Ollie schooled his face, even managing a grateful smile in an attempt to save both of them from being mauled.

"Thank you! Hey, would you like me to give you a tour of the school?"

And Luca smiled at Ollie's invitation, causing him to buckle a bit.

Is this how he was going to die? Ollie pondered about the meaning of his life while carefully storing the apples in his space. In fact, he wanted to throw out everything inside just to make sure nothing touched the apples.

"Are we going now?" Asked Luca with that innocent smile.

"Yes, yes," Ollie said as he swiftly abandoned his seat. He would've dragged Luca out as fast as possible if it wouldn't look too weird. 

While Ollie aged a bit as each moment passed, Luca was just happy about Ollie's response. He was glad that Ollie liked his gift enough to give him a tour of the school voluntarily.

So, he was caught off-guard when Ollie pulled him into a corner.

"Is everything okay? Are you feeling sick?" This time, Luca actually noticed Ollie's face. In reality, he looked normal if not for the cold sweat on his brows.

"Luca, did you make a mistake by giving me those apples?" Asked Ollie, which further confused Luca.

"Huh? What do you mean? Did you not like them?"

"It's not really a question of liking. Because only an idiot won't like those. But you just gave me spiritual fruits? Did you rob your house to get these? Are you in trouble?" Ollie whispered as his mind conjured up the worst possible scenarios.

Luca realized something was wrong, so he decided on a different approach.

"I'm not sure I understand, but I just bought them off of Star Mall, then just gave them to you."

"You got these from Star Mall?!" Ollie found that incredulous, but one look at Luca's flustered face showed how he genuinely had no idea. Plus, who in their right mind would hand over such apples?

"Do you want them back? You just gave me something really special, you know? And I won't feel comfortable taking your unexpected find! Though maybe you won't want the one I just bit. Sorry!"

"Oh no, no! I bought some for myself too! So you can keep those!" Luca shook both his hands in front of Ollie, trying to convince him he was fine.

"Damn. Luca, with this, we're basically more than just friends. We're like sworn brothers now!" Ollie kept on shaking his head as if trying to wake up from a hazy dream.

"Heck, even my Dad only gave me a piece as big as a tooth. But you! You gave me a dozen! Maybe I should name my first child after you?"

Luca had no idea where all this was coming from. And even D-29 seemed rattled at the development.

"Host, is your friend alright? Why is he planning for children already?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should check the fruits for drugs?"