Banjo looked out the window of the quaint coffee shop, a cup of tea in his right hand, and a book in his left hand. Turning his attention to the book, he took a sip of his tea and flipped it open, humming to himself.
"Mr. Adeoye?"
Banjo lifted his head, and grinned at the stranger, an Asian boy, around his age by the looks of it, with short black hair and eyes, and a soft, yet determined gaze.
"You can call me Banjo. Kou, right?"
"It's Shen to you, Mr. Adeoye." He took the seat across from Banjo and rested his hands on the smooth wooden table.
"Shen, got it." He grinned again. "How about some tea? It'll be just a minute, I'll call som-"
"With all due respect, Mr. Adeoye, I'd like to get straight to the point of this meeting. I have questions which need answers."
"Sheesh, straight to the point, huh?"
"I have better things to do then waste time playing tea party. And I would hope the same is true for you."
Banjo chuckled, sipped his tea, and closed the book, turning away from the window so that all of his attention was directed towards Shen.
"Alright. To get us properly introduced, my name is Banjo Adeoye, and I'm looking for capable, strong allies to enter Moloc's Labyrinth with. I'm sure you know that much already, I had it all in the ad."
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"I do. Firstly, I want to know, why do you want the eyes of Moloc?"
Banjo paused, narrowing his eyes slightly, and put down his tea, sliding it away from him slightly.
"To become a remarkable person." He answered after a lengthy amount of time.
"A remarkable person?"
"Yes." Banjo smiled down at his hands. "I want to become the sort of person remembered in history books for thousands of years to come. I want to become known as a great man...no, the greatest man." He put a hand to his chin. "What the sun is to the earth. I want to be like that for the world. Does that make sense?"
Shen blinked. "Not at all. What kind of ridiculous dream is that?"
"I don't know, but what I do know is that I need to realize that dream. Not because I have a complex, or anything like that. Trust me, I'm a humble man."
"You picked the most bougee place in town for this meeting even though it'll be over in two minutes."
"Two minutes?"
"Yes. I don't need to talk to you any more than that. 2 minutes. If you stop beating around the bush and answer my question, that is." Both Shen's expression and voice remained completely still, as if Shen bore no ill will despite his harsh words.
"Alright, Alright. It's not because I have a superiority complex. It's just that, realizing this dream, is the key to realizing myself. If I don't obtain those eyes, then I'll never truly be satisfied. That's why I need to obtain the eyes."
Shen stared at Banjo for a few minutes, not uttering a single word before breaking the silence with another pen click. "Alright then."
"Pretty impressive, right?" Banjo chuckled.
Shen stared at Banjo, who gradually stopped chuckling, before shrugging his shoulders.
"I understand that you'll be holding several tests on the 10th of February to see who's fit to take along to Moloc's Labyrinth?"
"Yup! I'll weed out the 3 who I think are the most capable and take them along with me. I trust you'll be there?"
"Yes." Shen got up from his seat and dusted himself off before turning. "Have a nice day, Mr. Adeoye."
"Likewise."