Chapter 31: Restaurant
It was midnight but the street was still flooded with people. Some were spending time with their families, some with their significant others while others hung out with each other in groups. Rewen was alone.
"I am alone." He thought about bringing Gill or Cal with him but he didn't want to pay for what they would eat and he was confident that either one of them would definitely not show mercy to his wallet.
'I should call Uncle Ben.' He took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello."
"Hello."
"It's you, Rewen?"
"It's me. Can you book a single-man table?"
"I'm afraid all the single-man tables are reserved. There are several groups and two-mans, …"
"Anything will work."
"Anything will work? Ah, I see. Got it."
"Okay."
He hung up. He was about to start walking towards the restaurant when he felt a violent urge to pee. He didn't want to hold it in so he went to a dark narrow alley and decided to make full use of his male privilege.
*Hiss*
"Uu… that felt good." He smiled in satisfaction before closing off his zippers but as he turned around to move out of the alley, he saw a figure he never thought he would see here.
It was the ghost which haunted him in the night. Her terrifying face is still etched deeply in his mind. She was standing a few feet away with the same white cloth, her face obstructed by her long messy hair.
"I'm not interested in playing hide-and-seek with ghosts. Please leave me alone." He pleaded with a tired face.
{I… a-am sorry… Ar...thur…}
"I don't know who Arthur is but you're forgiven!"
The ghost stood still as if she didn't hear a word he said.
"I said you're forgiven! Shoo shoo! Go away now!"
The ghost didn't budge. Rewen went impatient as time ticked by. He waited for five seconds more and seeing the ghost was in the same position, he used [Freestyle Knights Combat] technique and made a mad rush towards the street.
Reaching the street, he looked back. Surprisingly, the ghost didn't follow him.
Not caring about her anymore, he walked to the restaurant he booked.
***
"You have grown very big."
"Aha, you have also begun to look older. I couldn't tell whether you were Uncle or Brother because of your baby face when I was small."
"Hahaha. The last time I met you must be around two years ago? Yes, two years ago."
Rewen was talking with his father's school friend, Uncle Ben who was also the Manager of the 'Late Night's Restaurant'. Uncle Ben was a slightly obese man with a thick moustache who always has the hint of a smile on his face.
"Your beard is becoming more and more prominent, kiddo. What do you wanna do?"
"I'm thinking of keeping it." Touching from his cheeks to his chin, he felt a rough outline of beard forming and he had no plans of destroying it.
"Good choice. Ah, I'll talk with you later. Call me if there's anything you need." Uncle Ben patted on his right shoulder and went to a room.
Rewen hummed and looked around the room. There were only three two-man tables placed in the entire room. He sat at one of the tables relaxing and waiting for his feast.
*Creak*
The door opened. 'Did the waiter come?' He guessed. But what came in was beyond his expectations. 'Devil woman!?' He wanted to duck down as if to pick something up in order to hide his face but it was too late. Her gaze was already fixed upon him.
"Fancy meeting you here, lady!" He enthusiastically smiled to show that he was very happy with her arrival.
The devil woman smiled in response and hopped on the chair opposite to him. "Isn't this too big of a coincidence? Are you stalking me?"
"I wouldn't dare."
"Hmm… why would you not? You certainly aren't afraid to butt-fight with me. You are very brave, you know that?"
"Ha...hahah..ha. If you say so, then I certainly am."
"Answer me. Why do you look so afraid of me? Do you think I would eat you? Or is there some other reason?"
"No, no. It's actually like this. I'm usually the timid, shy and nervous kind of guy. Not sure if I'm nice but I'm harmless. I give you this guarantee."
"I don't know about that but I have gotten news that your first day at Academy was wild."
"Rumors, just rumors."
"Enough of your nonsense. I'm not here to entertain you."
"Okay, as you wish."
"..."
"..."
"What?"
"What?"
"Are you making fun of me? Fine. If that's how you want to play-"
"I don't know what to say. Like, what are you even asking?"
The devil woman took a deep breath. "Alright. Why did you not help me that night?"
"I don't understand how you think. Why would I want to f*ck a stranger? Rather, why would you want to get f*cked by a stranger?"
"You goddamned incel, why said anything about f*cking?"
"Didn't you say aphrodisiac?"
"Yes and you could have helped me just by giving me simple smooch on my lips! Although you would have to lose a fraction of your lifespan, you could have enjoyed-"
"Excuse me what!? A fraction of my lifespan? Thanks for informing me. I indeed didn't make a mistake that night."
"Watch your tone."
"Watch my a*shole. I'm so tired of speaking to you."
Rewen was like this. He would compromise and decide to be good for as long as he wasn't entirely ticked off by something. When that happened, he would completely go on the offense. While he wouldn't completely disregard the situation and circumstances, he would definitely not continue to be a pushover.
"I see that you have finally snapped and showed your true colors. Good, this will make our conversation smoother. Now, I want you to answer a few questions for your own good. Can you do that?"
"What exactly do you want?"
"The truth."
As they were conversing, the waiter came and kept the respective dishes on the table.
"I don't think I have anything to hide from you. I want to know where your suspicions are coming from."
"One thing. Coincidence. You were the only man that could help me from my situation yet you chose to not and you were unexpectedly admitted to the same Academy I'm in. My theory is that you were hired by someone close to me to help me but you chose to not do so. In exchange, you became a spy of an enemy of mine and went to the Academy to keep track of me."
"There is a hole in your theory. If I really wanted to not help you, why would I decide to show my face to you? Wouldn't that make you suspicious when I meet you in the Academy the next day?"
"You showed your face exactly because you wished to deceive me with this argument." The devil woman said with a nonchalant face. ��Also, the fact that you seem to be half-aware of almost everything I say and quickly accept it makes you even more suspicious."
"What if I say you are overthinking?" Rewen picked up a piece of steak with the fork and ate it. "I'm just trying to make sense of everything. I'm responding accordingly not because I believe you but because I'm inclined to believe you."
"What a perfect cover up!"
'Either she is messing with me or she has problems in her brain.' Rewen decided to not take her seriously and just have his steak.