The waiter had time to bring his food, and the girls still haven't came back.
The special of the day was a large, medium-rare steak, with mashed potatoes, and a side salad. It smelled delicious, nothing like Galleon's food, but still good. The coffee though, was grotesquely bad. So much so that Edric almost spat it out after one sip. Without thinking twice, he pulled to the side and pretended that didn't exist.
The steak was cooked to perfection, the texture was tender and the meat was bloody juice. The smash potato was fluffy yet creamy, rich with butter, and perfectly smooth. And finally the salad…well, it's a salad.
Even as he finished his food the girls still hadn't come back.
'They didn't let me pay the bill, did they?'
An absurd thought. Tina would never do that. However, his paranoia was speaking louder than his logic. Just in case, he got up and went towards the bathrooms. He needed to go there anyway, he may as well check on them. Who knows, perhaps Tina was getting hit on by some dudes and he would have the chance to play the hero...though that sounded even more absurd.
Obviously, he couldn't enter the woman's bathroom. The only thing he could do was wait, and wait he did, leaning over the wall. Thankfully he didn't have to wait much longer.
Rachel was the first one to leave.
"Hm? Mister Edric, what are you doing?"
"Nothing…what about you? What are you doing?"
"I am just…leaving the bathroom, I guess?"
Edric cleaned his throat.
"Indeed that's what you seem to be doing…" he paused for a second to adjust his posture, "Where are the other two? I had time to eat and you three still haven't left."
For some reason Rachel's face turned slightly red.
"Ah…you know, sir…girly stuff, you wouldn't understand…"
Edric thought for a second. "Girly Stuff" was a broad term. They could be doing anything, from touching up the makeup to gossiping. But Tina didn't use makeup and he doubted the girls did too, so…
"Ah, so you three were taking a–"
"Sir, language!" Tina's voice came from behind.
She walked in their direction while drying her hands with a towel, Raquel following right after.
"Sorry, I mean to say that you three were–" He was interrupted once again when Tina suddenly hit his head lightly.
"Really, sometimes you are impossible…"
Pretending he didn't exist, she grabbed Rachel and Raquel's hands and went back to the table.
'Did I do something wrong?'
Left confused, Edric shrugged and went towards the men's bathroom just around the corner.
The place wasn't as bad as he expected. Everything was clean and nothing was broken, which was already quite unusual for a men's bathroom.
The most strange thing was the man that sat on the floor. He didn't seem to be homeless, as his suit and neatly done black hair proved the opposite. His black eyes were unfocused as he stared at nothing in particular.
Why was he sitting on the floor of a bathroom behind a small, improvised cardboard desk, Edric couldn't even begin guessing.
As the man seemed to be ignoring him, Edric did the same and went inside the first stall he saw.
After nature's call Edric washed his hand and was about to leave when he felt a gaze on his back.
"Hey, sir. Want to play a game?" His voice was weird, Edric didn't know how to explain it, it just was.
Looking around for a moment to be sure it was talking to him, Edric responded:
"I don't have any money."
"Really? That's a shame, perhaps you should look for a job."
"...Funny, I almost laugh."
The man grinned.
"Don't be like that, Sir. I just want to play. Yet, having nothing on the table is kind of boring, don't you agree?"
"Indeed it is," Edric dried his hands on his clothes since they didn't have towels there. "What do you propose then?"
"What do you have, kind sir?"
Edric thought for a second. He didn't have anything actually, only his cane–that he couldn't lose–and his brain.
"Knowledge."
The man's grin grew larger.
"What coincidence, no, this is not a coincidence, this is Fate, sir. Fate brought us together."
Edric raised an eyebrow.
"Fate?"
"Indeed," the man took a deck of cards from his front pocket. "Let's play a game of Blackjack. The stake: Our knowledge, of course."
"That's odd," He got closer either way, "How will I know you aren't lying to me? Or the other way around?"
"Please, sir…I never lie, and although I can tell you aren't the same, I trust that you will honor the bid."
Edric was scratching himself to play a game of Blackjack, yet Tina had forbidden him…but it was only if he was betting money, right?
"Ok, let's play. But unfortunately I won't be able to sit down, as you can see, my leg is not in its best state."
"That is not a problem, sir. I will deal the cards."
Edric paid close attention as the man shuffled the desk. He was skilled, the cards flowed side to side. Although Edric didn't have the best eyes, he didn't see any sign of cheating, so he let the man continue.
The first card was Edric's; Six of hearts. The next one to the dealer; Five of diamonds.
One more to Edric; Seven of clubs and finally, the hole card.
"No peeking," the man said, "Makes the game more interesting."
Edric looked at his cards. Normally, he would double here, but, let's be honest, who counts cards or uses Basic Strategy in a casual game?
"Hit."
"What bad luck, Jack of Spades. You bust it." He turned his face down card; Two of hearts.
"So? What do you want to know?" Edric asked the man, a little frustrated for having lost.
"You can tell me whatever you want. Surprise me."
It would have been easier if he just said what he wanted to know, Edric had no idea what to say. Although he said he had knowledge, it wasn't entirely true. Sure, he had a few things he could say, but nothing that the man probably didn't knew already.
Would that count? Probably not. So he had no option but to share things about himself.
"Any type of knowledge about any subject?"
The man shrugged.
"Sure."
Edric looked straight at the man's eyes and smiled lightly.
"Then…my name is Edric Holden."
The man started laughing frenetically, thinking it was really funny for some reason. After laughing for almost a minute, he stopped and took a deep breath.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Holden. Now…let's continue, shall we?"