We sat down as her two guards kept a cautious look around the cafe. She looked exactly as she did in the game, albeit a couple of years younger. Her famous red cloak gave her the nickname ‘Red Riding Hood’ online due to the similarity in appearance. Her serious demeanor hadn’t manifested yet, but one could tell that she had enough experience to hold her own.
The owner quickly gave Amelia a menu as I ordered a small cup of coffee. I had other things to attend to due to the ball, and couldn’t stay long with Amelia. Amelia ordered herself a cappuccino and returned her focus back onto me.
“So, the rumors were true. You seem to be in fine health and have even been doing physical training.”
Her calculating eyes swept over my body as she said this with an intrigued tone.
“Yes, I was quite fortunate that I recovered soon after my birthday. Once I escaped my bedridden state, I decided to devote myself to the things I couldn’t before.”
“Truly an inspiration for many…” She murmured as the owner arrived with our coffees and delicately placed them on the table for us.
The rich aromas of the drinks halted our conversation for a bit as we sipped from our cups.
“You’re also quite the busy person yourself, I've heard. Already managing multiple businesses across a couple of territories. That’s no small feat in such a short time.”
I had been keeping up with rumors and information in this world as I added it to my previous knowledge of this world. One could never be too lax with the ins and outs of the important characters in EoR, especially now that I was living in their world.
Amelia gave a small smile at my words as she placed down her cup and gave a small nod.
“Thank you, I can imagine you’ve also been going through a lot in order to catch up to others. I would also like to add that this is some of the best coffee I’ve had in a long time. Your recommendation was spot on. I’m now a little bit expectant to see what comes of your little food competition.”
I gave a slight chuckle as I could already guess what she was thinking about. True to her merchant characteristics, she’s probably weighing the pros and cons of potentially working with me. I had already piqued her interest through the letter, now I had to set the bait up for her to pounce. I sipped more of my coffee as I got my thoughts in order.
“I happened to fall in love with food now that I eat meals. What better way to celebrate than by hosting a grand competition where the best chefs and cooks can compete? They get to display their skills to a wide audience, and they will be generously rewarded if they win. Of course, this can’t all be done without the help of others who spread the word and sponsor the event.”
I give her a quick look before finishing up my coffee and standing up.
“I think it’ll be fun in the end for everyone involved, and that’s what I hope to achieve through this. Making new memories now that I can is something I look forward to.”
Noticing my intention to leave, Amelia gave a slight smirk and then took a sip of her cappuccino.
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“It definitely was a good idea talking with you. I look forward to seeing you at the ball, Ray Glouse.”
“The pleasure was mine. I do hope we can talk more at the ball, but as of now I must get going so excuse my behavior.” I gave a slight wave as I exited the cafe.
It seemed the conversation went smoothly, and I got Amelia thinking about me which is a plus in the long term. I had to begin developing relationships with key characters if my wish to save everyone were to come true. Meeting her at the cafe was no coincidence, she had initiated contact herself which meant that I was on the right track. Now all I had to do was prove to her my abilities and trustworthiness.
The walk back was uneventful, but I was pleased with how I carried myself with Amelia. I didn’t have any concrete plans for the day, but the ball was in two days so I decided that it would be best to stay around the estate in case anything were to happen. Ana was busy with her own duties, as were the others, so I was left to my own devices.
In the study, I began to look for books about the gods. I had a vague knowledge of them from earlier studies, but I wanted to have a deeper understanding of them in case I encounter the Saintess again or have a chance of obtaining pieces of divinity. While going through the study, I noticed a weathered and oddly colored book by the corner of one of the shelves. The book was bound in a faded violet leather, and the once silver title along its spine was cracked and barely legible.
I picked up the book and gently brushed off the dust. The faded title read Fading Eclipse, and had an icon of the moon depicted. When opening the book, however, the majority of the pages seemed to have been damaged well beyond repair or simply torn out. Flipping through the pages, I stopped on one that still has some semblance of imagery left on it. The tattered page depicted a woman with her back towards the reader kneeling in front of an imposing tree. Buds and flowers scattered throughout its branches as a red hued moon stood behind it in the night sky. The page next to it was missing, but I felt something stir within me as I looked at the artwork.
I flipped through the rest of the book, but its damaged contents were illegible or in a language I couldn’t understand. I placed it back on the shelf as I continued to go through other books related to the divine.
After a couple hours of reading through what I could find, I had a pretty good foundation of knowledge about the gods of this world. I stretched myself out as I got up and headed back to my room. Not being able to work out had been driving me insane lately since I didn’t have much else to do with my time other than read or walk around the capital.
The system had also been quiet as of late other than stating the missions that were left for me to complete. I had long wondered what the gods of this world could control considering EoR had kept their existences a mystery of sorts. Of course, players were encouraged to receive the blessings of the gods throughout the game due to the insane benefits that would be imparted onto their characters. The only issue with receiving blessings, however, were the requirements for them. Most requirements were based on difficult achievements that players had to accomplish, while others were entirely luck based events.
The blessing I was striving for would be the one bestowed by the goddess Iram. Unlike other games where aura is something that can be learned and attained through effort, Iram was the only one able to impart the blessing to people. This rather restrictive element was met with backlash from the gaming community, but to the residents of this world it was a fact of life. There were no set rules as to how to receive her blessing other than trying your best and to strive for various battle related merits.
I let out a sigh as I prepared to end the day. I had been trying to create a breathing technique similar to ones I read in novels, but it seemed like nothing was occurring other than helping me meditate. The reason I had persisted with meditation and breathing was simple; other novels and games had something like this so maybe this world had something similar. Since aura was a blessing, any activity related to it was strictly protected by the Church of Iram as well as aura users themselves. Most aura users in this world developed their own techniques and were cautious with their discoveries. This meant I couldn’t easily find information related to aura and had to explore the concept myself using the knowledge I had from EoR as well as from other sources back on Earth.
After practicing for a bit, I decided to call it a night. Tomorrow we will be hosting a reception before the ball for introductions and networking. I was nervous about my first interaction with other nobles, but my experiences at company events and career fairs should be applicable. All the preparation and classes I had been taking so far will culminate in tomorrow’s reception so I couldn’t fail. I will not fail.