Extra's Descent

90  A Week Off [4]

After the whole arcade ordeal, the two decided to go for lunch.

Since Rachel was paying, Brandon was given the right to choose the restaurant.

It wasn't an everyday occurrence that an heir to a conglomerate would pay for his expenses.

Which is why…

He decided to go to a luxurious restaurant.

"..." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Rachel was speechless. Clearly, Brandon was taking advantage of her kindness.

She was peeved. After saving for quite a while, who knew most of her savings would blow through the roof in a single day?

Brandon was way too heartless

"Haaa…."

Sighing heavily, she eventually relented.

Brandon deserved at least this much.

But in the first place, Rachel deserved a bit of rest.

She had only noticed it recently, but cold sweat was beading down her forehead.

There was something wrong with her.

And she was already quite aware of what it was.

Most likely, the backlash of overexerting her mana core. She had felt it for quite a while already, but due to mana's nature, it would take several days for the symptoms to show.

And today seemed to be that day.

But nonetheless, she waved it off for later. Currently, it was Brandon's time to be pampered.

Therefore, the two entered the restaurant.

Stepping inside, golden chandeliers hang from the ceiling. From a distance, musicians filled the room with their music.

Male customers, wearing fancy blazers, much similar to Brandon's. While the ladies wore dresses or skirts.

They all sat by rounded tables as they continued to cheer with their goblets, laughing at each other.

Truly, a richman's paradise.

But this didn't faze Rachel.

No, in fact…

She knew she was much richer than them.

Evident by the fact that once she entered the establishment, all eyes were on her.

Most of the people present…

She was familiar with them.

Without a doubt, they were working for the Asami Company as well, albeit, some of them.

But Rachel ignored their stares. Closing her eyes, she walked towards an empty table. Brandon followed her closely.

Brandon wasn't fazed either. Not because he knew he was rich, but mostly because he had no idea how rich the people in the room were in the first place.

To him they were an enigma.

And to his surprise, they were all wearing matching blazers.

'I knew it, this really is the trend.'

Looking at the menu, Rachel placed it down and stared directly at Brandon.

"Have you chosen yet?"

"Uh…"

Waving him off, Rachel leaned back.

"Okay, take your time."

Not.

Waving her hand, Rachel whistled.

"Fuuu~"

It was just wind.

"Waiter! Fuuuu~ Over here!"

Shortly after, a waiter appeared. Holding onto a notepad and a pen, he asked,

"What would the two of you like to order?"

With a roll of her tongue, Rachel smoothly replied.

"I'd like a Homard à la Presse."

"One Homard á la Presse…"

"And for you Sir?"

Before he answered, Brandon blinked continuously.

"A homie a la what now?"

"Homard à la Presse, Sir. It's on page 34."

Flip—

Flipping the menu, Brandon thoroughly scanned the menu as he narrowed his eyes.

"I see. One of these then."

"So that'll be two of those. Anything else?"

"Hmm…"

Brandon continued to ponder for a while.

Just like that, Rachel was taken aback. She had finished her order forty minutes ago, and yet Brandon had yet to finish his.

"Uh… One Croque Monsieur."

"Excellent, will that be a—"

"Uhh… One Quiche Lorraine."

"...Okay."

The waiter's brows started twitching all of a sudden.

There was a brief silence before the waiter continued.

"Are you finished with your order, Sir? Let me rep—"

"No, I'm not done yet."

"..."

"..."

Even Rachel was taken aback.

"One Cassoulet."

"One–"

"One of these."

"..."

.

.

"And this."

"...So basically, one of everything?"

"Yes."

Brandon could hear the waiter murmur in a low voice to himself, 'I can't believe I'm asking this,' before continuing.

"...So anything e-lse?"

"Nope, that'd be—Uh wait."

Brandon opened the menu again. Pinching his chin, his mouth opened.

But before the words left his mouth, the waiter cut him off.

"So that'll be all. The waiting time will be one hour."

For a second, Brandon could see the waiter's entite body shudder.

But it didn't matter.

The most important reaction was from the girl who sat in front of him.

Looking at Rachel, her eyes were shot wide open, as her mouth formed an 'o' shape.

There was just something about Rachel that made Brandon want to tease her.

Looking to the side, a suspicious group of individuals sat together.

Noticing his gaze, the figure with blonde hair twitched as their gazes met.

"..."

They…

They have been following all day.

***

Huddled up behind the menu, Amy anxiously spoke up.

"He didn't see me right?"

"Nope."

"Definitely not."

Similarly huddled up in their own menus, Raven and Claire sarcastically remarked.

And it seemed like Amy bought it as she breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Haaa… Good."

Leaning back, a shadow loomed over them.

"Good day, may I take your ord—Huh!?"

As the waiter's eyes flicked to the side, his eyes widened at the sight of the girl with the short purple hair and purple eyes.

After all, most of the staff working at the mall knew who the big boss was.

And knowing who the big boss was, meant knowing the daughter was as well.

"Miss Victoria, I'm so—Nmmh!"

Before the waiter could finish his words, Claire pulled him down and covered his mouth.

"Shhh, keep your voice down."

"Nmmh…! Huaaa, okay."

"Good."

Pointing at two particular figures, Claire pursed her lips

"Do you see those two over there?"

"Ah, yes. What about them?"

"I'll pay for their entire meal. But don't tell them. Instead, say it's on the house."

"Understood, Miss Victoria. I will inform their assigned waiter as soon as they receive the bill."

"Good."

Looking at the others, Claire cleared her throat first before speaking.

"Kuhum… Now, it's time for our order."

***

"So Claire's paying…"

Brandon couldn't help but overhear the conversation from the other table.

They weren't doing an exact good job in whatever covert mission they were doing.

Truth be told, Brandon was planning on paying for the entire meal.

Though it was supposed to be Rachel, Brandon felt bad about letting the poor girl handle the bill.

Not like she was poor.

She was in fact the third richest in their group, following after Reinhard, then Claire.

Atleast, that's to Brandon's knowledge.

Breaking him out of his thoughts, a pleasant smell wafted in the air.

Their food was here.

Waiters approached them, carrying a bunch of plates.

They started placing the plates down on the table.

Clank.

One plate.

Clank. Clank.

Two plates.

Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.

.

18:44

"The fuck?"

From the other side of the table, a familiar figure abruptly stood up as she smacked the table.

Her brows twitched, and just slightly, Brandon could see a vein popping out of her forehead.

But before Rachel could take note of Claire, Amy immediately pulled Claire down, smacking her head on the table accidentally.

Flicking her head back to Brandon, Rachel pursed her lips.

"What was that?"

"Beats me."

Brandon shrugged.

"Eat a lot. You might not know, but most of these foods can help replenish mana reserves."

Indeed, it took him a while to order since he had to check for the ingredients.

There were certain ingredients he had recognized. After the mana poisoning incident, Brandon decided to read a lot of books about mana.

In there he had realized there were certain herbs that would replenish or directly boost mana.

And to his surprise, the current restaurant they were in served a decent portion of those herbs in their meals.

It was truly a luxurious restaurant.

Rachel seemed to hesitate. Realizing, Brandon reassured her.

"Don't worry. I'm paying for the entire meal."

He wasn't.

But Rachel didn't need to know that.

"You."

With widened eyes, Rachel struggled to speak.

"H-how did you know?"

"You've been quite drowsy the entire day."

"..."

Rachel continuously blinked.

"I see."

Closing her eyes, she flashed him the warmest smile she could give.

"...Thank you."

"Sure."

That being said, the two continued to enjoy their meal in silence.

*

And after everyone finished their meal….

[BILL: Brandon Locke]

[TOTAL: 65 Gold Coins]

"..."

Crunch. Crunch…!

Crumpling the paper, Claire walked heavy steps.

Brandon's neck…

It was ripe for the taking.

If she just continued to advance a few more steps, Claire could reach out for his neck.

His neck…

It looked like it wanted to be squeezed.

No, it needed to be squeezed.

Just a little bit?

"I'll fucking kill him."

"Claire, no!"