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“I was hoping to pay a visit to Angela next,” Ektor says after we say goodbye to Kiefer and Candice and head toward a specific tavern in town. He went on to explain about the tavern and Angela.
During the day, the tavern serves food as well as drinks. Mercenaries tend to gather there, and various guilds use the space to advertise for odd jobs. That’s where Ektor and Angela originally met. It sounds like the two have worked together many times before. One could say she’s a regular part-timer for the guild.
“Angela’s pretty good at what she does, so there’s a chance she won’t be interested in being tied to a single guild,” Macro points out.
She sounds like the type of person you can always count on to get the job done, which probably means she’s high in demand. As a mercenary, she’s got a certain degree of freedom and the potential to make a lot of money, so it’s no wonder she might not be interested in giving all of that up.
“We’ve only got one chance! Claire!” Rinny turns to her.
“Huh? Me? What?”
As the three boys exchange worried glances, Rinny suddenly barks out Claire’s name as if he’d just remembered something. “Why me?” she seems to say while pointing at herself, confused, her ears standing straight up.
“Do you know why Angela makes so much money?” Rinny asks, smirking.
“Oh, I get it now.” Ektor claps his hands together, clearly understanding Rinny’s thought process.
Let us in on it, too!
“Angela’s a foodie, meaning she’s willing to spend boatloads of money on food,” Macro explains simply for us.
We’re going to try and win her over with food?
The three boys are well aware of how delicious Claire’s cooking is, which is probably how this plan came together. If Claire makes a feast for Angela, flexing her culinary muscles, then perhaps Angela will be more willing to join us so she can eat Claire’s cooking every day. Or something like that…
Will it really work? I mean, Claire’s cooking really is delicious!
“Isn’t this putting a lot of pressure on me?” Claire sighs.
“It won’t fall completely on you, of course,” Ektor says to encourage her. “Instead of asking her straight up, we’ll invite her over for dinner first. We’ll wine and dine her with your amazing cooking, and then, when she’s stuffed and satisfied, we’ll get to the real reason why she’s there… Perfect, right?”
A plan that involves everyone enjoying a nice meal together and getting along? I’m down for that! This way, she’ll get to try Claire’s cooking without us forcing it down her throat, and we can have a calm conversation in a relaxed environment. Which means the plan’s success relies entirely on Claire cooking up something amazing, though…
“I don’t care one way or another… I just never thought of using food as a method of persuasion. I don’t think one meal alone will do the trick, either. Do you have anything else up your sleeve if it fails?” Claire asks with her arms crossed.
“Absolutely! The plan’s set, then! Thanks a bunch, Claire!”
“It’s n-nothing… Besides, I make dinner for us all the time, anyway…”
What a relief! With Claire on board, everything will turn out just fine, despite her lack of self-confidence. But also…was she blushing just now? She looks so adorable when she does! I can tell she’s in good spirits by the way her tail’s swishing from side to side. Her easy-to-read emotions are too cute!
“It’s settled, then! Let’s try and find her!” Rinny exclaims. “You really think she’s at the tavern?”
“Wherever there’s work, there’s Angela,” Macro says dryly. “Besides, Rinny, you know Angela slinks around there all the time if she’s not out on a job. Or did you forget, like the airhead you usually are?”
“You can’t talk to anyone without insulting them, huh? You gloomy jerk!”
“I’m merely saying it like I see it, doofus.”
I can’t believe those two are fighting at a time like this!
Ektor shrugs his shoulders and sighs tiredly while Claire appears to be ignoring them.
Err… What should I do? I can’t just leave them like this. I’m used to them fighting all the time, but I still wish they could put aside their grievances and get along!
I take a deep breath and step between them. I grab each by the arm, linking us together.
“Come on, let’s go, you guys!” I say cheerily.
I was a little scared to get between them while they were fighting, but at the same time, I knew nothing bad would happen since neither of them have any ill will toward me. In their hearts, they’re good folks. I look at both of them in turn, smiling. They still seem annoyed, but quickly quiet down.