Wanderer's Realm, somewhere...

That made me roll my eyes in her direction, but I didn't insist since I would learn everything in the future anyway. Instead, I asked. “Since we're done with the products, for now, what should we take care of next?” [We can talk about the bar's layout, if you will.] “Yes I will! *Cough* I mean, yes I want to!” I started to figuratively roll up my sleeves in anticipation.

“By the way, do I have 'carte blanche' to choose how to arrange the whole thing?” I asked excitedly. She definitely picked up on it. [You seem oddly excited about the prospect. But yes. You do. Although, I would still need to approve the whole thing. If it is too ridiculous then I would have to decline.] I nodded, thinking that it made sense. After all, our establishment couldn't exactly have the pictures of pink unicorns break-dancing in front of one-legged purple singing chicken... That one may have been a bit too specific. But my point still stood. I thought so anyway.

“Alright, that makes sense.” Let's not mention what went through my mind just then. “And yes, I'm very excited at the idea of arranging my workplace. It reminds me of an old game where you had to do the same. I wasn't good at it, but I loved playing it.” [An old game where you had to arrange your workplace... Are you talking about the sims? or those city builders like SimCity?] Although I understood that she had been on Earth for decades and that she probably knew many things about our culture, the fact that she knew about those specifics video games struck me as weird. Imagine talking to God and at one point he said to you 'Rush B you noob.' [A/N: Counter strike reference] Utterly disturbing. Anyway.

“No, I was talking about warcraft 3.” [...] “What's wrong?” I asked her after a few seconds elapsed without hearing an answer. [What the f...] “Language Ali, language.” After a few seconds of silence where I assumed she profusely thanked me in her mind for avoiding a social faux-pas by using a swear word in public, she said, with a slightly exhausted tone. Weird, isn't it? [Isn't this game a war game? What does it have to do with arranging your workplace? I just do not understand how your brain work sometimes.]

“My brain works just fine. I think...?” *Awkward silence* “But let's not dwell on that. To answer your question, I built my base how I wanted. And since my job was to eradicate the undead among other enemies. I guess it makes sense? Close enough anyway.” [I can see your logic, now. But it still feels wrong to me.] “I just like to think differently than other people. Shall we start planning the bar's layout?” [*Sigh* Yes.]

Once we were done with the bantering, I decided to focus on our present task. Future clients were waiting after all. “Do you have an holographic-like tool to help us visualize everything better?” As soon as I finished talking a square shaped transparent box appeared in front of me. “How does it work?” [I am using my power to create it. So, you simply have to tell me what you would like and I will modify it on the light ball.] “You're really amazing.” [That is true.] “And very modest too. Not that you would need to be with all your 'phenomenal cosmic powers'. Alright!” I slapped my cheeks lightly to focus my mind.

“What would be the first thing needed...” I mumbled. “Furniture? No, that comes after. The walls? Tables and chairs? What is the first think you see when you enter a bar?... The materials... The overall materials, of course! They always say that foundation is the key, after all. Always start with that.” Glad that I found the first step needed, I resumed my pondering out loud. “It has to match with the atmosphere we want to convey. Otherwise, it won't work.” [You said earlier, and I quote: 'Classy but not uptight. Also warm and comfortable.' You should use those guidelines to help you decide.]

I nodded. “Thanks. I didn't even remember that I already created the guidelines for the decor. So... Something simple, well-made but also warm and comfortable. Wood? That usually reminds people of Nature which relaxes people. To be honest, it's my favorite material. [Using wood is a good idea. Do you want to use something else with it, or not?] “That's a good question. I can't say that I'm an interior decoration specialist, but I have the feeling that if we only use on kind of material, it won't look as good. Well, at least not the same color. It becomes 'boring' otherwise.”

[Not the same material or color. Understood. If you're not sure, you can start to think about the furniture that you want to put inside, and some things may come to you afterwards.] That sounded like good advice. When you were stuck, it was better to attack the problem with a different angle. “Alright then. Warm and comfortable. Warm and comfortable. Warm. And. Comfortable... A fireplace! Of course! When I was a child I used to live in a big house with a fireplace. And during winter, we would watch TV and drink hot chocolate with the fire roaring a few meters away. It was a better time... Well, maybe not better, but at least simpler...” I lost myself a few seconds in my memories of childhood. Despite knowing that I probably used rose tinted glasses to 'look' at them, I still could not help missing those times where my only worries were having to do my homework, studying enough to have good grades in the tests and being on time for the school bus in the morning... Simpler times indeed.

The past is the past, so I shouldn't dwell on it. Focus, Lucas! Focus! “Alright, so a fireplace. However, if we use wood for the structure, wouldn't it be dangerous to have a lit fireplace in here?” I asked her, a bit doubtful. [Not really. Although it is true that if you took a certain level of fire and that you put it against a similar level of wood, the latter would be disadvantaged. However, the wood that I would use would be at a very high level and I would also protect him with some carved runes. So you should not worry about the fire damaging anything.]

“That's reassuring. And awfully convenient. So a fireplace then. Although... I'm thinking that although it would work on the practical level, it would still be weird visually if it was fully wooden. Since we want the atmosphere to have a certain quality, we can't overlook that detail.” [What do you have in mind then?] She seemed intrigued. “Simple. What do normal people use for their fireplace? Rocks, of course. Or bricks. Or metal. Well, I don't like the last one, and I believe that using rocks would be better. That would give a 'raw' feeling that would work perfectly with our guidelines.” I felt that my reasoning made complete sense. What a genius, I could be. And very humble, too. I felt like Ali's 'good' habits were rubbing off on me. Or maybe it was just who I was. Who knows?

[So the fireplace would have a rocky structure. What about its shape? And the rest of the walls?] Very sharp. “I like the rectangular shape with a bit of a curve on top. Nothing too fancy, but the latter soften the whole thing. As for the walls, since we started with the wood and rock, why don't we use both? The walls could be separated into two horizontally with the rock part at the bottom and the wood part at the top. There could be some light fixtures on the latter part. Do you have any idea for that one? I've never really thought about it before and I'm not really aware of all the possibilities.” While we were talking, the slightly transparent floating square started to change its form. I could see the walls turned into what I described while the fireplace was put on the right side of the room. As we decided to discuss a bit more about the light fixtures, we also decided on the couple of doors' side by side placement (one for the entrance and one for the exit), material and shape (darker wood color in the form of two inverted shield), coupled with the wooden floor, I felt like we were almost done with the so-called foundation.

Oh right! I forgot to tell you about the light fixtures! After a few minutes of bouncing off ideas, we decided to go with a shield shaped metal fixtures all over the different walls with the initials of our bar carved at the bottom, coupled with teardrop shaped lightshade gems placed over the latter. You're probably wondering what the heck are those gems... LIGHT. SHADE. GEMS. *Sigh* Young people can't use their brains nowadays... I'm only 30 years old, so I can be considered young? I don't know what you're talking about... *Look away definitely not in a shameless manner* Anyway, those gems are the magical equivalent of light bulbs. Except that they didn't need electricity. Pretty convenient to be honest.

“Let's use the same configuration for the counter. I mean the same as the walls. Of course, I'm relying on you for the small details. After all, you are much more powerful and knowledgeable than me, so it would be better that way.” [I agree. I will take care of the carvings and the rest. For the tables and chairs, do you have something in mind?] “Wooden tables and grey fur chairs. To make it more comfortable than simple wood.”

Once all his specification appeared on the floating projection, Ali said. [I will put the door of the private quarter on the right side of the counter.] Her words puzzled me slightly, so I decided to ask her. “What do you mean by private quarter?” [I guess I forgot to tell you. Did you really think that I would let you live in your current dirty and cramped apartment? It would be too impractical, unsafe and would tarnish your reputation and mine since we are a team now. So you will live in the bar from now on.]

I was tongue-tied for a second, many things going through my mind. So, no rent, no taxes, no cleaning (I'm not certain about this one). That sounded like heaven to me. Of course, I hadn't seen the place yet, so I shouldn't start opening the bottle of champagne while running naked singing the song 'We are the champions' from Queen... And I would absolutely not do that because only weird people would... And drunk people...

Once my playful mind stopped thinking about the potential benefits, the negative ones started to creep in such as 'I need to terminate the contract for my rent and electricity', 'what about food, clothes, internet, etc'. Now, most of you would probably think that those are simple and inconsequential things. Not me. Or at least, not my fear-ridden subconscious mind which could not let me do anything new without trying to destroy any semblance of motivation and will to improve myself... Good times, I'm telling you.

So while a part of my mind relished on the fact that my life would become different in a more interesting way, the other part was sending negative signals which resulted in my stomach and head hurting, my whole body sweating and my breaths becoming irregular. Again. Good. Fucking. Times. While my subconscious was messing up my body (Would it count as a self-inflicted harm?), I felt a gentle presence in my mind. As if a warm blanket was covering my entire being. Not physically, mind you. It was on a deeper level. As I was lost in my own mind, I couldn't distinguish where it came from right away. However, I felt my fears weakening and the positive thoughts in my mind growing akin to a plant that has just been watered placed under the sun.

After an indeterminate amount of time (probably seconds, even if I felt like hours passed), I calmed down enough to noticed the source of the comfortable presence. It was my big boss Ali. She probably felt my thoughts through their link. *Sigh* She probably thought that I was a looser. Great way to start a new relationship. At least I should apologize for wasting her time. I angrily clenched my fists, ashamed of my weakness. “I'm sorry for the freak out.” I just couldn't look at her in the eyes so I just stared at the ground. Not that she HAD eyes since she was essentially a fog, but you get my point.

Despite my expectations, I couldn't hear any disdain in her voice as she replied. [It is the second time that you apologized. Are you aware that I am your partner and that we share a soul bond, although only partial for the moment? That means that I can more or less feel what you go through in your head. And I understand that what happened was not your fault. I am not aware of the right words to help you, but I can tell you one thing. I will not judge you, Lucas.]

“I...” What could I even say? “Thank y-you.” My voice may have cracked a bit there. Lack of hydration. Definitely because of that. [No thanks are needed.] Why do I have sweat in my eyes? Or maybe it was rain? In a closed room... Just roll with it, okay? It was in the realm of possibility that I became a tad emotional when you hit me right in the feels. I couldn't help it.

A few minutes later, and a bit more dehydrated, I felt a bit lighter, as if a part of the weight that I was carrying for a long time disappeared. It was small, but I felt like that step was not only in the right direction, but also would be the first of many to better myself. Apparently the job's benefits were a bit more all rounded than I initially thought. Which was not a bad thing overall. A real partner who put her trust in me and need me to help her. I could live with that. No. I WILL live with that and WILL do my best to help her! That's a promise to myself. I didn't want to say it aloud since actions spoke louder than words and I decided to show her that she chose the right person. I may be a bit scared of being embarrassed too... Oh come on! I can't change completely in just a few minutes...*Sigh*

“Alright, could you let me know what will be in those private quarters?” I asked, this time looking directly towards the fog-woman. [I will actually bring you there to show you. After all, we spent some time to plan a few important things, and now it is time to improve your cultivation a bit. Otherwise, it might pose some problems in the near future.] I could hear the smile in her voice. Of course, a smile also appeared on my face when I heard about this exciting news. Cultivation world, here comes the awesome Manager Lucas!