NOVEL WEB 8: Old Friend Reunion
Feeling two deities close in, Valencia made her way around the counter then out the store, flipping the sign from open to closed as she left. “Damn nosy fools. Can’t someone just run a little store in peace?”
Crossing half the street to the thin gravel area between the two sides of the street serving as a median and divider, Valencia took a seat on one of the benches to wait. The street the store was situated on didn’t have anything too fancy, but Valencia had chosen it because of this very area.
It was almost park-like. Paved with a tan gravel, the section was home to plenty of trees, bushes, and benches. It provided greenery, shade, and a place to sit on the road considering the sidewalks were pretty cramped. Valencia, having some fantasies of sitting and enjoying the afternoon with Astrid on a bench, decided the store was going somewhere on the street.
Turning to lean on the side of the bench, Valencia kicked her feet up as she waited for the two deities to hurry their asses up. Blowing her short hair out from around her mouth and face, Valencia glared as she saw her two acquaintances round the corner.
Valencia had to admit though, they put a lot more effort into dressing up for this meeting than she did.
On the left, she saw Solomon, hunched over—as always—with his hands behind his back. Though he had wrinkles on his face and grey white hair on his head, Solomon seemed as energetic as always: his eyes still had the same annoying twinkle.
On the right, was Estelle, dressed in all black street clothes: baseball cap, tank top, unzipped oversized jacket, and baggy pants. The aggressive waving, big smile, and act of tugging Solomon along though destroyed any serious or cool demeanor Estelle might’ve had. In her own not-so-humble opinion, Valencia felt that she could pull off the cool and detached vibe Estelle was going for better.
Yet, even if Estelle was bonkers gorgeous as always (still worse than Astrid though), Solomon was still the one turning the most heads. Not because he was super attractive, but because—to Valencia’s chagrin—he had chosen to wear a long cloak emblazoned head to toe with Library of Truth logos.
Ignoring the few passersby who were glancing in her general direction, Valencia gave the two a double middle finger as they walked up. “What are you two doing here?”
“I’m here for official business.” Solomon replied with a serious tone and small smile.
“And I’m here just to hang out!” Estelle interjected with a cheery smile, giving two middle fingers back. “Can’t I come bother you?”
“No! I’m busy! Can’t you see I’m running a shop?” Valencia retorted with a disdainful snort. “Go bother Sylvia! While you’re bothering her, you can also pass my gratitude along too for the tea leaves she provided!”
Freezing for a second, Estelle shook her head, befuddled and perplexed. “H... How are you so caustic all the time but then randomly throw in something like that... But what, you don’t have time to hang out with me and Sylvia anymore? What are you so busy with? You got a partner all of a sudden?”
Tapping her chin Estelle shook her head murmuring, “Well... that’s obviously unrealistic. Never... someone as mean as you could never...”
Trailing off, Estelle’s eyes widened as she watched Valencia, of all people, flinch and turn away as a blush climbed her cheeks. Hearing Solomon murmur a “Oh?” next to her, Estelle couldn’t help but sputter. “No way...?”
“Look into the shop,” Solomon nudged, pointing towards the store with his chin, “There’s someone sleeping on the counter.”
“No wonder you actually came out to meet us!” Estelle blurted, flabbergasted as to how Valencia managed to charm someone. “I thought you had changed in the years we hadn’t seen each other!”
“Shaddup. Shut up. I’ll punch you. I’ll beat you up so badly.” Valencia swore with a glare as Estelle clung onto Solomon to support herself while grinning and laughing like a maniac.
Clearing his throat to change the subject, Solomon stroked his chin. “Let’s calm down, you two will have plenty of time to fight later. Let’s move onto official business. I have some questions to ask. Would you rather do them inside or out here?”
“Out here.” Valencia nodded without a moment’s hesitation. “I don’t want to disturb her.”
Ignoring Estelle who was laughing her ass off right next to him, Solomon nodded and asked if Valencia could move her feet. Sitting down on the bench, Solomon explained, “I came myself because of the... esteemed position you hold. That also means this should move along much faster though, I have the power to make any change I want to the database without making a report first.”
“Sounds good,” Valencia nodded, putting one leg back onto the bench just so Estelle couldn’t sit down. “What do you need to know?”
Taking out a decent-sized handheld device, Solmon began entering some information. “Not much. I have the address already. Me coming here was to confirm it was you and not a look-alike.”
With Estelle deciding to just sit on her leg, Valencia flipped her off while motioning for Solomon to continue.
Solomon, raising an eyebrow and deciding to not get in between them, asked a few questions as he looked back down at his device. “I want a quick rundown on what you’re planning on doing with the shop, a quick description of anyone you’re running it with, and just whatever else you want to share. Because of who you are, the shop will immediately be entered as an SS-Level Extreme caution zone though.”
“Alright, I can tell you that, I didn’t know you had a ranking system though now. It used to just be Extreme, Very High, High, and so on...” Valencia mused, sliding her leg out from under Estelle.
Now between Solmon and Valencia, Estelle leaned back and spread her legs as much as possible just to annoy Valencia. “Yeah, it was Joanna’s idea way back, right about when you left.”
“Huh...” Valencia shrugged, “Anyway, I’m just here to run a normal shop. Planning on serving some tea. Maybe some pastries every once and a while. Nothing more, maybe a little less.”
““No underground or hidden fight club?”” Solomon and Estelle inquired, the amazed curiosity clear in their voices.
“None!” Valencia snorted, “I’m just running it with Astrid, my girlfriend!”
Shaking her head hearing Estelle sigh and murmur “maybe she really has changed” Valencia cleared her throat and continued. “You already know my powers, in exhaustive detail I’m sure. But Astrid has some healing powers.”
Seeing both Estelle and Solomon perk up, Valencia grinned as a happy smugness crept its way into her voice. “Good ones too! Before she got hurt she was getting close to regrowing limbs! She’s only in her early-twenties right now though, so she’s still young and will keep growing. She’s also recovering from an attack where a deity tried to absorb her and her powers so that’s why we’re here.”
“Damn... a deity able to regrow limbs barely after being born...” Estelle sighed, twirling little streams of black energy in her palm to pass the time. “You really found a good person to date.”
“Nah,” Valencia denied, “It was luck. She’s too good for me. Also, she was just a mortal back then. So her ceiling’s probably gotten even higher.”
Whistling, Estelle jumped out of her seat as Solomon froze. Baffled, Estelle’s jaw dropped at Valencia’s nonchalant demeanor. “You not only started dating a mortal, but then deified her?!”
“Yep.” Valencia nodded, grinning as Estelle let out a long sigh before elaborating. “I didn’t fully apotheosize her. I just gave her a little divinity. But she’s favored so much by the heavens that she’ll gather the rest all on her own fast enough.”
“That’s still a very major undertaking and commitment though,” Solomon acknowledged, adding a few more warnings in his update to the Library of Truth database. “Astrid might then have the potential to be a very major player in the city once she matures... if not already. Make sure to keep her safe.”
“I will, I will,” Valencia waved with a scowl, “I learned my lesson already once and I don’t plan on learning again. The Church already noticed us, but I’ll beat up anyone who tries to get close.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Solomon chuckled, pushing himself up before ambling around the bench. “I have to warm up these old man joints, don’t mind me. I’ll make sure to update the database later today. Don’t be surprised if the others start visiting the store though. Everyone is in need of some tea after all.”
“Just don’t make a commotion...” Valencia sighed, kneading the bridge of her nose. “Now scram, I have a girlfriend to attend to.”
“Alright~” Estelle laughed as Valencia left the bench and crossed the street back to the store, “Don’t spend too much time with her now! Beds are expensive around here!”
Seeing the door to the store close, Estelle burst out laughing as Valencia ignored her last comment. “Shall we go then Solomon? I’m glad I tagged along to see Val again.”
“We should get going.” Solomon agreed, a faint smile on his face after watching the two banter and bicker. “It was certainly quite the commotion with you two face to face again. But it seems we all have a new shop to frequent, don’t we?”
Laughing as she pushed herself up, Estelle nodded as she glanced at the small shop. “Leaves of Dawn... It’ll be fun to pop by.”
