Inside the Crown Restaurant…
A couple hours after Derek and his group left…
Stella held a blue crystal in her hand. The crystal was smooth on all sides and round with no jagged edges. This was called a communication crystal, and it could only be created by a high level Runesmith working together with a Gemsmith.
On the smooth surface of the crystal were multiple etchings. Each etching represented a connection to another communication crystal. Stella’s crystal still had plenty of room to hold multiple more runes. Other than her boss, a few coworkers, and a couple friends, nobody else had been able to pique enough of Stella’s interest for her to give away any more of the crystal’s precious space.
As Stella held the crystal, she focused on a specific rune, injecting mana into it. Soon, the mana ran through the crystal and began to trace along the rune. Before long, the rune started to illuminate fiercely. Once the rune lit up, Stella sat the crystal on her desk and waited.
She had gathered her thoughts and knew exactly what she was going to say before activating the crystal. She hated talking to her boss, so she wanted to be exact and make the conversation straight and to the point. Though, she doubted that it was even possible. Every time Stella needed to make contact, she did the same, and every time she ended the conversation rattled.
After nearly an hour of waiting, the blue glow changed. The bright, still glow darkened and began to blink. This was the indication that her boss had activated her crystal and was ready to speak.
Stella hurried to pick up the crystal and injected more mana into it. She quickly transmitted. ‘My Lady. I have ma…’ She tried to start the conversation on topic. She tried so hard. But it was all for naught as a perky voice resounded from her crystal.
“Oh, if it isn’t my dear little Stella. I’m so glad you called. I’ve been thinking about you for days. You really must make time to come to the Capital, it just doesn’t have the same beauty while it’s missing one of its brightest gems.” The happy and alluring voice echoed throughout the room.
Stella’s freckled cheeks began burning and soon reached the same color as her hair. ‘M-my Lady, please stop. I am nowhere near as radiant as you.’ She transmitted, but soon realized that she had already fallen into the Lady’s trap. She tried to save herself. ‘I’m sorry, but there real…’
“Oh! Do you really think so? You’re making me blush.” Stella’s thoughts were cut off by the voice once again. “I fear that my age is finally getting the better of me. It’s so nice of you to say such kind words to an old woman like me.” The voice let out a happy giggle.
‘Old woman? Surely you jest. If we were standing next to each other, any person would think you were younger.’ Stella sent through the crystal, then sighed again. It was hard to not go along at her boss’s pace. See, her boss’s class was called Dawn Siren. Even if the woman did not try to seduce or sway one with her voice, her passive skills still made it impossible for most to be unaffected. Even with such a distance between them, Stella was unable to stay calm and speak what she wished.
“Oh, Stella! You don’t know how lonely it has been here, all by myself. I wish you never would have taken that opening in Torith.” The voice echoed. “Ah! Is that what you’re calling about? Are you coming back? Have you missed me too? Oh, how exciting!”
Stella blanked for a second before regaining her thoughts. ‘I am so sorry, my Lady. I cannot leave her yet. There is much that I must do.’ Slowly but surely, Stella was regaining her control over herself. The longer the voice influenced someone, the less hold it had, especially through a communication crystal.
“Ah, how sad. Is that whiny lord over there treating my little Stella well? Do I need to come down there and teach him a lesson? Should I go to that father of his and give him an earful?” The voice rang with question after question.
‘Everything is fine, my Lady. He wouldn’t dare to disrespect me knowing that I have you as my benefactor.’ Stella’s will finally won out, and she was able to speak freely. She took a deep breath and let it out. ‘My lady, I am contacting you to let you know that I have made a contract with a very interesting fellow, and I plan to make another with him, but I need your approval for it.’ The voice on the other end tsked, which made Stella smile. She knew that her boss figured out the effect wore off.
The happy voice coming through the crystal changed to a dry, almost sad tone. “Business, business, business. Why must people only call about business? It’s so hard to find someone to have a proper chat with these days.”
“Please stop with the ‘My Lady’ shit. It makes me sound old. There’s no one but me here anyway.”
Her boss was finally showing her true self. Stella sent her thoughts into the crystal. ‘Alanah, I really do need to report some things.’
“That’s better.” The voice said. “Fine, who is this ‘interesting fellow,’ and what kind of contracts have you made?”
‘His name is Derek Hunt. I first met him when he came into the restaurant and caused a scene… Well, he didn’t cause the scene, but some of the guards judged him before finding out about him, and that caused a scene. What was interesting about him, is that he tossed a Void Beast corpse on the table like it was nothing.’ Stella began.
“Oh, a Void Beast? That’s good. Is that what the contract is about? Why do you need to contact me to make a contract about a Void Beast?” The voice spoke.
‘That is one of the contracts, yes. But, this Void Beast is much stronger than the usual one we get. Usually, Void Beasts of this caliber are the smart ones that flee when they find they cannot win, so I will need to confirm some things with you before writing up the contract.’ Stella answered.
“That’s fine.” The voice said. “How strong would you say the beast was? And is this man also strong?”
‘I would say that it would take someone in the mid 100s to take out the Void Beast without letting it escape. And yes, the man is very strong, I still do not know how he killed the Void Beast because there were no real external injuries on it. In fact, when it was just me and him in my office discussing some terms, he intimidated me without meaning to. It felt like I was doing a business deal with you.’ She transmitted into the crystal.
“Hmm… Are you sure he wasn’t trying to intimidate you?”
‘Positive. He actually seems like a decent guy. Which brings me to the other contract which I have already signed.’
“Go ahead.” Stella’s boss said.
‘He had on him a type of beverage that I had never tasted before. It also had small amounts of some medicine or something that increases alertness, though, with my Vitality, the effect was minimal. Our contract was for our Botanists to reverse engineer the plant that makes the beverage, then to sell it in the restaurants, or however we deem fit. He gets as much of the product as he needs for individual use, a portion of the profits, and some contribution. At first, I figured that it would bring in around the same amount of profit as our tea, but if we can increase the potency of it, it could double, or even triple, the sales of the tea.’ Stella explained most of the contract to her boss.
“That much? If that’s the case, his contributions are going to be quite high. We may very well be giving out another membership in the near future. As for the Void Beast, just give him a premium contract. One that you would give to someone who is already a member. Throw some more contribution to him too, might as well start treating him well before he even becomes a member. Your instincts have always been good.” The voice ordered.
‘I was thinking the same thing.’ Stella transmitted. ‘Oh, the man seemed pretty close to the Gracefall house, or at least Walter’s head guard. And I suspect that Derek is going to make some big noise in the coming days, and I’m sure that it will draw the attention of Malcolm. I do not believe that the two of them would get along.’
“I see. I’m sure that brat is going to try to stir up trouble with him…” The voice paused for a moment. “Well, if Mr. Hunt asks the Crown for help, you have my permission to help, but if not, don’t bother getting involved. With what you described, the man can take care of himself.”
‘Yes, Alanah.’ She answered.
“About this beverage. What are the chances that we will be able to reverse engineer it?”
‘I have already sent the beverage to our in house Botanist here in Torith, and he said that the specimen contains more than enough of the plant to make it. He assured me that he should have a plant ready by the end of the week.’
“That’s good. Is there anything else?” The voice asked.
‘That is it. I will prepare the contract and contact Derek within the next two day.’ Stella replied.
“Very well. Give me that man’s description.”
That caught Stella a bit off guard, but she did as she was told and described Derek to her boss.
“Okay. I’m going now. Do contact me again, andpreferably with a topic other than business.” The voice changed back to the alluring tone at the end of the communication.
‘Yes, my Lady.’ Stella flinched at falling under the spell again as her crystal stopped glowing. She let out a sigh. She was tired, she decided to call it an early night.
Inside the Crown Restaurant in the Capital…
A beautiful woman with emerald green hair and ears with a slight point to them smiled as she tossed a crystal into a drawer full of other, near identical crystals. She leaned back in her chair and whispered a silent whisper. “Derek Hunt… Interesting.”