†Chapter 7: Snare†
EUPHEMIA became engrossed in conversation with Maurice and didn’t leave his house until the promised dinner date with Haydn.
“I’m terribly sorry for being late. I borrowed a room downstairs to change before dinner.”
Thinking it was inappropriate to wear a work suit to a luxury restaurant, Euphemia changed into an elegant dress, put on casual jewelry, and fixed her hair and makeup. She practically ran up to the restaurant on the top floor with Ronaldo, but still arrived slightly past seven. She was on pins and needles worrying she’d offended Haydn, but he welcomed them with a generous wave of his hand.
They were shown into a private room with a stunning view of the nighttime scenery.
“Oh, that’s perfectly all right. It’s natural for women to take time to prepare themselves. You look lovely in that dress.”
“Thank you very much. It was a gift from my sister,” Euphemia responded amiably to his obvious flattery. “I didn’t know there was a TV station in this building. It’s no wonder I saw so many people coming in and out on my way up.”
“Yes. There seems to have been a special event held today.”
“I saw a lot of big rigs in the parking garage. Wonder if they were for the event,” Ronaldo added.
“There certainly were a lot,” Haydn responded, waiting for a break in their small talk to call over the waiter.
The waiter waiting at the back of the room respectfully handed them the menus and explained the specials. They were being waited on hand and foot, as expected of VIP treatment in a private room.
Aperitifs were served before the first course.
“This is wonderful wine. I’ve never tasted anything like it before,” Euphemia said, holding the beautiful red liquor under the chandelier lights. The wine she tasted for the first time perfectly fit her palate. In the back of her mind she stressed that she mustn’t drink too much.
“This is a wine made from grapes harvested from grapevines grown in fields artificially altered to reproduce the exact taste of grapes from the old world,” Haydn explained, swirling the wine in his glass.
“Then you used seeds from stasis?” Euphemia asked. Botany was her primary research field.
“Yes, I was able to obtain them after extensive searching. Things left behind by the old world bring us immeasurable benefits to this day. Wine is but one of many gifts they imparted,” Haydn said, spellbound by the ruby-red alcohol he held up to the light.
“…I wonder what happened to that world. There was a whole civilization there, the things that they made, and the things that they lived alongside. How could we just lose a planet and its people?” Euphemia asked. That question had plagued her for a long time.
“Many say that our homeworld and its people shared their fate with the dying sun. We are the ones they sent out into the galaxy. The old worlders picked our ancestors just before the world’s demise and entrusted the future to them. We must not forget that we are the descendants of the chosen ones,” Haydn articulated with confidence.
“But why isn’t there any record of it or what came after? Was there a reason they chose not to write down their history?” Ronaldo asked, unusually serious.
“Maybe there was some conflict they didn’t want later generations to know of?”
“Perhaps there are some things we are better off not knowing, and yet I find the old saying ‘those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it’ is also valid. If we don’t know why they left, how can we make sure the same fate doesn’t happen to the colonies?”
“…You say some thought-provoking things, Euphemia.”
Dinner proceeded surprisingly well over the chosen conversation topic.
Every dish was superb and the setting left nothing wanting. Even Haydn, who normally seemed to dislike interacting with others, perfectly entertained his two young dinner guests. He teased Ronaldo and complimented Euphemia at all the right times.
Compared to Gothic City, where the buildings towered over the land and pierced the sky like spears, Romanesque City had an idyllic atmosphere, and the night view from the top floor of the tallest building in the city was breathtaking in its own way.
“Do you own this entire building?” Euphemia asked Haydn.
“It belongs to my company rather than me personally. The same applies to all the surrounding buildings.”
“Holy Muta. You have more money than I could even imagine,” Ronaldo joked.
“Only having money is boring. I’m an old single man after all. Money only has meaning if you have something worth spending it on,” Haydn answered Ronaldo with a composed smile.
“What? You aren’t married, Mister Haydn?” Euphemia asked.
“Never got married. Don’t have any living family members either. Hahaha, I’m a lonely old man. All I have going for me are my hobbies.”
“Your hobbies? Please don’t tell me your hobby is working?”
“Good one,” Haydn laughed. “I certainly enjoy my work, but I wouldn’t call it a hobby… I’m not that miserable of a man, I hope.”
“Mister Haydn…”
“Would you please stop with the formalities? My friends call me Zig. My first name is Ziggurat.”
As far as formalities were concerned, Haydn was being far too formal with them when they were much younger than him, but being polite seemed to be his default mode. Euphemia, however, was more surprised that Haydn had friends who were close enough to call him by a nickname.
“Ziggurat? That’s an unusual name.”
“Isn’t it? It’s a word taken from the old world. Apparently it refers to a holy pyramid temple that connected heaven and earth.”
He skillfully hid it from his face, but Haydn pronounced that word with the utmost care. He took great pride in his name.
“A holy temple that connects heaven and earth?”
“Yes.” Haydn stared at Euphemia.
“What a wonderful name… May I ask what your hobbies are?” she asked to escape his sticky gaze.
“Well…to sum it up in one easy word: movies… Or perhaps filming fits better?”
“Movies! That’s a great hobby!” Ronaldo exclaimed. “I love movies too.”
“I enjoy watching videos… I fancy old world video data in particular. Not a lot of it is well-known today, but there are some excellent pieces,” Haydn said, more animated than usual.
“Oh…I’ve caught the occasional special feature on IHT TV. I believe the works of the past were a lot more imaginative than those today,” Euphemia said, taking another sip of wine.
“I agree. What I enjoy the most are documentaries that show reality. The true, raw filming data without any special effects or post-editing. The nitty-gritty type. Love it so much I ended up becoming a TV station owner.”
“Wow! That’s what makes you so different from the rest of us. You act on your interests,” Ronaldo said, sincerely impressed.
“I can dispatch my film crew to different locations and have them film various types of unedited content. Makes my hobby easier than gathering film data alone.”
“Have you gathered a lot of films up until now?” Euphemia asked.
“Oh yes, I certainly have. Everything from the beautiful to the shocking… I ended up with such a wide collection I have started to narrow down the genres I’m looking for now. How would you like to see my film archives someday, Euphemia? I would love to show you,” Haydn said with a smile. “Oh, would you like some more?” He gestured to her half-empty wineglass. The waiter came over and filled it to the brim.
“Are you sure you want to show me? My older sister is Mayor Saionji.”
“That doesn’t matter. Your sister is certainly my rival, but you aren’t. She’s an understanding person. I’m certain she will allow it. There is a film I am dying to show you.”
“I look forward to seeing this wonderful film of yours then,” Euphemia said with an open-mind and a placid smile as the excellent wine made her feel like she was on cloud nine.