Chapter 65: Tea & Small Talk
'The incident ended… but why is this guy still bothering me?'
About an hour had passed since Euclid's Trial had come to an end.
They proceeded with an official apology as well as a public announcement.
It was said that Lord Benowitz would not be punished. However, it seemed like he himself disagreed with that arrangement.
Euclid didn't care about any of it. He wasn't interested from the beginning. In the end, House Agyris had to step forward to take care of the aftermath.
Having done what she had to do, Kyriaki left the scene as if fleeing due to all the thoughts invading her mind when she was with the council members.
However it seemed she was far from fleeing from the two eyesores.
〘Ria was really cool!!!〙
〘I want to be like her!!!〙
〘I want to experience those things they did in Void too!!!〙
'Kyrios' adorable rambling are palpable. But what about this guy?'
Kyriaki gave a sideways glance to Euclid, who was walking side by side with her. The moment she moved, their eyes immediately met, and he flashed a brilliant smile. With his head tilted to the side, his snow white bangs, tinted with aquamarine blue edges, fell softly like flower petals.
Kyriaki almost saw imaginary flowers blooming behind him, resulting in her polite judgment.
〘Is she getting annoyed?〙
〘That's cute〙
〘Hmm, By the way, I never once thought she'd barge in like that in to the court room〙
〘It was legendary〙
〘And cute too〙
〘Oh, our eyes met!〙
〘I thought this last time too, but her eyes are really pretty, like the golden sun〙
〘She's frowning〙
〘How cute〙
'What is this?' Kyriaki couldn't help but frown more.
'Did this guy hit his head while I was out?' She genuinely had those doubts. 'And what's cute?! What's this nonsense?!'
"Cute."
'What the fxxx'
"Stop." The moment she heard Euclid's inner thoughts leaking out of his lips shamelessly, Kyriaki didn't hold back and winced on the spot. Genuine goosebumps rose on her skin, unconsciously mimicking human reactions.
"Hmmm?" Euclid tilted his head.
Instead of talking to him again, Kyriaki turned to her twin brother, who was still engrossed in enthusiastic yet embarrassing thoughts knowing all well she could hear them.
"Rio, go back with Netzer. I'll come to take you out for a walk later."
"Ah, why~"
"Do as I say and I'll remove the lollipop ban for you as well."
"Got it!"
Kyrios saluted like an obedient soldier and immediately turned. Instead of keeping his dignity as a prince, he hopped away with great joy, waving his hand with a cheerful smile.
"And you."
〘She's adorable when she treat Rio like a puppy〙
〘Oh, wait a minute. We are alone?〙
〘Damn, what should I do?!〙
〘Wait, don't panic. I should calm down first〙
〘Be rational, Euclid. Be very rational. Ria likes rational and capable guys〙
〘Phew…now, what am I supposed to do?〙
〘Ah yeah, Tea! I need to invite her to tea!!〙
〘But how should I open up the conversation?〙
"Sigh…" Kyriaki pressed her fingers on her temple, her free hand resting on her hips. Her whole body screamed; I am terribly annoyed right now.
'Can't be helped. Now that I have a useful authority unlocked, I have to dig into anything about his god or whatever that's backing him.'
"Come with me, let's have some tea."
"Yes!"
〘YES!〙
〘I DON'T KNOW WHY! I DON'T KNOW HOW! BUT I'LL TAKE IT!!!〙
〘TEA!〙
〘I'M GOING TO HAVE TEA WITH RIA!〙
Kyriaki took the lead, trying to distance herself from the weird guy as much as possible. They soon left the main Palace.
Euclid, outwardly quiet, followed her happily without asking where they were going. Kyriaki on the other hand didn't bother to explain the details either. All she cared about was to dispel all the internal screams and mentally-ill-looking comments of Euclid's inner voice.
The walk to the front gates was almost scandalous.
People looked at them curiously, bowing the moment they spotted them.
In the Selene city, there were only four people with golden hair and eyes. And there was no one who didn't recognize the only female of that golden family.
Kyriaki never bothered with hiding her identity. In a city like this, it was impossible from the start.
She proudly walked around and people accepted it just as proudly as her.
The moment they set foot out of the Palace gate, they got into a hoovering taxi.
There was no driver, they only had to enter the address and it automatically drove them to their destination.
If only Euclid was as quite inwardly as he was outwardly, the time they spent would have been peaceful.
Kyriaki never knew he was this loud. Not in this timeline nor in the timeline before this she knew he had this kind of side to him. She hates noises, so when Euclid finally calmed down and stopped screaming in capital letters, Kyriaki almost forgave his chatty inner thoughts.
〘I wonder where we are going〙
"..."
〘Her side profile is adorable〙
"..."
〘Feels nice to be back in the city. Even better because we are together〙
"..."
〘Is this a date?〙
"Sigh…"
"Why are you sighing? Are you okay? Is something wrong? Are you still suffering from the aftereffects?"
"Shut up and get out."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Thankfully, the car had already reached their destination. Kyriaki felt like she spent all her social battery on today alone, encountering countless inner voices. But never had she been disturbed by anything more annoying than Euclid's thought in her entire day.
Calming her inner self, Kyriaki stride inside the place after signalling Euclid to follow.
The place they visited was a café on the 57th floor of a 100 story building.
The large neon sign board with an extra crescent moon and "Café Del Luna" scribbled on with curved elven letters had an allure only a punk city could provide.
Tling!
"Welcome!'
The moment they entered, a teen elf girl with large basil hue eyes greeted them cheerfully.
Since Kyriaki was a regular, there wasn't any discomfort or astonishment in the staff. They only glanced at Euclid curiously and escorted them inside with professional calm.
"Which theme would you like to try this time, Your Royal Highness?'
"Hmm…I don't care. Let's just pick a random room instead."
"Understood."
"Oh?" A familiar voice greeted them as soon as the staff led them towards a fancy door.
Kyriaki and Euclid both halted like time had commanded them to freeze and turned their heads to the side, only to lock eyes with two familiar figures.
"Oh my, are you two on a date?" Atlas grinned mischievously as he waved at them from afar. His voice was unusually loud and clear.
"Does it look like that?" Kyriaki's face crumpled at the mention of a 'date'
'They are definitely blood related'
"Yeah, it does." Atlas didn't back down as he completely closed the door he just came out of.
Besides him, another person absentmindedly stood there with sleepy eyes, carrying a white cat with blue horns on his folded hands. The cat was fast asleep, giving no attention to the apex predators surrounding it.
"Professor Kairos. Hello." Kyriaki chose to entirely ignore the Agyris bloodline and greeted the man with a cat, courtesy dripping from her actions.
"Mm."
Kairos only let out a soft whimper-like response. Kyriaki didn't even know if it was a response for her or a sleep groan. He looked so uninterested and lazy to her. Since the distance was a little over five meters, and there was no eye contact, Kyriaki couldn't read his mind. She felt no need to read it either.
Instead, she carefully scanned her sleepyhead professor from head to toe.
Long silver hair with pale yellow tips, butter yellow hue eyes dripping with sleepiness and striking facial features rivaling any other dragon; his looks alone could be called flawless. The fragrance of mango and frangipani he subtly emitted was refreshing yet tranquilizing, as if inviting her to a cozy sleep.
This man is the young head of House Sokratis, the controller of four attributes including Time. Someone who was walking on the path of a Dragon Sage. He was also the Advanced Time Element and Prophecy Professor at EESOP.
But above everything else, despite his lazy, absentminded and sleepy personality, he was also the partner-in-crime and the best friend of Atlas. Till this day, no one knows how such opposite personalities became inseparable best buddies.
However right now, Kyriaki cared for none of that.
"By the way, Professor. Are you the one who changed my teammates in the mission?" This was something Kyriaki was curious about. She just felt like being direct, and asked straightforwardly with a poker face.
And that got a reaction.
Kairos froze.
Not dramatically.
Not visibly.
Just subtly.
Kyriaki saw. And Kairos knew she saw.
"Well…" Kairos dragged on his voice in a sleepy tone, blinking his eyes slowly as if he was in a half dream. Kyriaki read the surprise mixed in each of his actions.
"Just tell me honestly. Not like I want to punish you for it or anything."
"Yes." Kairos didn't beat around the bush either. It looked like he was too lazy to do that. Hence, he replied honestly with his still slow and sleepy voice.
"So it's true?"
"Yes."
"I see."
"Yes."
"But why?"
"Well…"
"Did you, by any chance, see a prophecy?"
"...Yes."
"You wouldn't tell me what it was, would you?"
"...Yes."
"Hmmm…well, thank you for your help."
Kairos' sleepy eyes widened. For the first time, his absent mind and sleepy demeanour vanished as a sharp glint appeared in his butter yellow eyes. Her reaction seemed to have piqued his interest. Watching him, Kyriaki smiled gently and turned away from him as if her business with him was done.
It was her way of saying if he doesn't talk, she wouldn't either.
Kairos spoke nothing. As if he wasn't sure of speaking yet. And Kyriaki let it go. An understanding of unspoken rules settled gently between them.
'There is plenty of time, after all.'
Kyriaki then looked at the bickering Agyris bloodline with complicated emotions. She felt a headache coming after listening to their chaotic inner and outer voices.
"My dearest cousin…to think he has grown enough to go on dates." Atlas jabbed Euclid, snickering as he slightly bent his waist to barely match Euclid's height.
"Shut up." Euclid's voice was cold. He looked at Atlas with open disgust.
"Wow…my cousin has changed since he came back from the dead."
"Get lost."
"If you do this, my heart will hurt, little brother."
"Be hurt more."
"Aww…why so cold?"
"Be gone."
"Hey! Why are you treating me like I'm a pathetic demon?"
"Demon? No. Pathetic? Yes."
"Ugh! It's puberty! My little brother is going through puberty!! How sad!!!"
"You guys look like monkeys in a circus." Kyriaki coldly spat out her venomous words. The Agyris bloodline immediately shut their mouths and looked at her as if she was someone who betrayed her lover, family, nation and the world itself.
Receiving their gazes without even flinching, she gestured to the customers and staff who were glancing their way from all around.
"Ahem." Euclid cleared his throat and slightly moved towards her.
"Let's meet again, Professor Atlas, and Professor Kairos. I have to discuss the aftermath of our first mission with Euclid. Well then…" bowing with perfect etiquette, Kyriaki grabbed Euclid by his sleeve and dragged him inside the room they were given to.
The moment they entered the room, soft sunlight and bird chattering greeted them like a living painting. A soft breeze brushed against their bodies, carrying the sweet fragrance of roses and magnolias. The world seemed to have suddenly fallen into a state of silken calm.
Kyriaki looked around, taking in pure ataraxia the new environment offered.
They were standing in a greenhouse, filled with various colors glorious spring had to ever offer. From a far was a small western style tea table, with only two chairs facing each other.
It felt cozy, completely different from the world behind the door.
In a place where technology and magic intertwined like roots of two close trees, this kind of sudden scenery change was no surprise. Yet it was utterly satisfying. Enough to give anyone a chance to escape their untold emotions.
Kyriaki walked towards the table and graceful sat on her usual place. Her hand automatically reached out to the transparent tablet on the side stand. Then she looked back at Euclid, still standing there looking at her with dazed expression.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh?"
"Come sit down and order something. It's on me."
"Oh!" Euclid finally came to his senses.
His jwel like eyes glittered like a lake under summer sunlight as he walked towards her. Kyriaki nodded once in approval before leisurely borwaering the café menu. Not long after she picked up her preferred tea and sweets with her unchanged calmness.
It took no more than three minutes for the staff to serve them everything they ordered. The customer satisfaction Kyriaki felt was 100%. She had never been to a café this meticulous and satisfying in her previous life, no wonder she became a regular here.
A refreshingly gentle smile naturally formed on her rose tinted lips the moment she sipped her tea.
"Is it good?" Euclid asked, curious.
"Yes!" Kyriaki replied with a dazzling smile, the kind Elysium always compared to nectar said to be made in heaven. Her tone on the other hand was the textbook example of pure joy. She seemed to have forgotten why she came there as she savoured the cloud leaves herbal tea.
"Weird."
"What is?"
The sight of two five year old looking kids tilting their heads as they held big tea cups in their tiny hands looked utterly adorable.
"You used to be too indifferent before, Ria." Kyriaki's smile faded at Euclid's careful words.
"And now?" She asked, her eyes unreadable.
"Too capricious. As if you're expressing all the emotions you've bottled up so far."
Kyriaki blinked, too stunned to speak.
It wasn't that she suddenly became capricious. She has always been capricious and emotionally unstable to begin with. She couldn't figure out how to interact with people and adjust to new emotions.
It was hard for her to use the correct expression and emotion at the correct time. Sometimes, she herself found it confusing when her mood changed in seconds. It had been billions of years since she last had this kind of opportunity after all.
No, even before then, in her previous life where she was a mere human, she had been like that.
Always lost when it comes to emotions.
So, it was just that her indifference was also part of her capriciousness, and he happened to see that part of her very often.
Frankly, she knew she had no set personality. Sometimes she was distant and indifferent. Sometimes she was gentle and polite. Sometimes she was cold and calculating. And she switched those emotions as easily as switching filters on Instagram cam.
It was like a teenager going through puberty or a woman on her monthly period.
However she also knew she was slowly getting used to everything. The very best example was the relationship between her and her family.
At first she was distant and indifferent to them, afterwards, she became a bit accepting and polite. And now, she quite liked them in her own way. She didn't force herself to be lenient anymore. Every one of her gentle gestures and kind words were her true feelings.
That's why she knew. Someday—if not now—she'd settle on a set personality. Whether it was to keep being gentle or arrogant, kind or cold, playful or calm… she'd know it one day.
Because she has too much time on her hands, she wasn't very worried.
So be it that she was capricious—for now.
"I suppose so." Kyriaki smirked nonchalantly, her unreadable eyes turned to mysterious twin suns once again.
Seeing her relaxed attitude, Euclid also relaxed. He playfully shot her a knowing smile before asking;
"By the way, why are we here?"
〘 probably not because of that lame excuse of aftermath discussion or whatever, right?〙
〘What could it be?〙
〘I'm so curious〙
〘Ugh…why am I like this? These feelings are so unfamiliar〙
'I think so too.' Wholeheartedly agreeing to his inner monologue, Kyriaki sighed softly. She then blinked several times, internally chasing away Euclid's thoughts filling inside her head.
"You're sighing again."
"I'll get right to the point." Kyriaki put down her tea cup and grabbed a mini quiche.
This one wasn't made of elixirs. Normal cheese, normal ham, normal tart. But it was to her liking. She savoured the taste carefully like a food critic and smacked her plumpy lips together.
Her life rule no.04; Always be serious with food was working tirelessly today as well.
"Go on." Meanwhile, Euclid leaned back on his chair, completely unbothered about his former question that went unheard. A mix of anxiety flickered in his brilliant ocean blue eyes.
"Why is your system different from others?"
Thus the girl completely occupying his gaze and heart dropped a bombshell of a question after getting his permission to continue, completely shattering his countless unfavorable scenarios.
∆ ∆ ∆
"Cloud leaf: an elixir with wind and mind attribute mana. Herbal tea made by these have the effects of tranquilizing the mind and relaxing stiff muscles. It is said to make the consumer feel as if they are walking on clouds. Temporary grant 05% wind affinity for one hour. Caution; overconsumption might lead to death in sleep."
—From the book