Chapter 3 Introductions part 3
“Stupid box, wishes are for kids… and idiots.”
“HOW DARE YOU MOCK THE GREAT HOLE!”
“Am I really? You have to admit that’s mostly your fault with a name like The Great Hole.”
“THE GREAT HOLE SHALL DESTROY YOU!”
The box shook and glowed a nightshade blue, but the seals held and drain the mana that was seeping out. “I…Will…be….set….free.”
“Keep hoping you idiotic box.”
“Kid would you stop antagonizing the weapon of massacres, it was already annoying when they were out and about possessing idiots and killing.”
“Stop calling me kid mister delinquent, my name is Sen, thanks for asking!”
“SO, this little bat’s name is Sen hmm, any last name?”
“Shouldn’t you tell me yours first?”
“Fine, my is Nkot Kizukai the 12th member of E.M.P.”
“E.M.P., what’s that an underground smuggling ring?”
“No dipshit, it stands for Explore Memory’s Price.”
“Then you’re con artist then?”
Mister delinquent starts to color a crimson red when he answers back “No we venture the world to make money! It’s better if Jack explains it to you.”
He grabs me by the waist as he reopens the entrance his inventory, just outside of a building with the big letters E.M.P. There was no entrance to the building as he walked in. “Hey Jack I think you scared this kid off with your cooking apron!”
That was a cooking apron!? “Really Nkot? Cause I haven’t noticed, I’m too busy carving your coffin.” (-.-) I could tell he was not sarcastic about the coffin as I listened to their conversation.
“Don’t be like that, you know I didn’t open that window. How was I going to know he would jump?”
Nkot puts me down as he plans to run away in his head.
“Oh really, I distinctly remember you opening the window last night for some fresh air, did you close it after!?”
“That’s not important, Sen’s awake now that’s the most important thing right now.”
“I beg to differ!”
Mr. Jack Remming was cracking his knuckles while walking slowly towards Nkot. While my stomach growled in this tense situation.
“Um Mr. Jack I’m hungry, do you have any food?”
With a smiling face Mr. Jack answers
“Sure I’m cook something right after I bury Nkot in the ground.”
“Will that take long?”
“No not at all.”
“Hey Sen shouldn’t you be defending me, I am the one that saved you.”
I roll my eyes at that, sure you could.
“Really? I distinctly remember Mr. Jack casting the healing spell though.”
“Lying to kids now Nkot? A coffin is too good for you, straight into the ground you go.”
Nkot tries to run but trips on the butcher knife Mr. Jack left on the ground, he picks up Nkot by the skull and walks out the front to bury him in the dirt near the road, headfirst of course. He walks back in and heads toward the kitchen.
“Now I am cooking you something to eat, what would you like?”
“Um can you make fusilli lunghi with tomato soup?”
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“I sure can, but boy I haven’t made that in a long time.”
He turns to take out the pot for the pasta and the tomatoes from, surprisingly a refrigerator and the cupboards.
“Who’s Phalie?”
Mr. Jack drops a pan onto the floor as he heard that name and turns with a surprised dark look.
“Where did you hear that name?!”
His face being all serious and scary I decided to just tell him the truth.
“You were just thinking about him so I just asked. Please stop being scary Mr. Jack.”
“Hahahahaha, so you can read minds what an interesting boy, you found Nkot.”
Mister delinquent wiped the dirt off from his tunic and hair before he came in.
“Like I said those stupid envoys shoved this problem onto me, for ten years! I didn’t want this!”
“But the reward should be incredible right? Maybe you can finally pay off your debt with me.”
“The reward says one wish, but I don’t trust one bit what they want me to see.”
“One Wish! Ha, you would be better off with money, we both know the cost of such things all too well.”
An awkward silence seeped into the setting and only the tomato soup and pasta broke the dead mood.
“Here, eat up Nkot is cleaning the dishes anyway.”
Soup had a glimmering surface and the fragrance of green leaves wafted off the crimson color while the pasta looked just as appealing with the gold sheen. “It’s delicious Mr. Jack, I thought the taste would be more barbaric because you know Nkot.”
“Hey just because I know this dunce head over here doesn’t mean I can’t cook tasteful things, don’t compare me to someone who turns caviar into bland sand.”
“He’s that bad at cooking Mr. Jack? Thanks for warning me, I would have took an obligatory meal if he cooked and that would have been the end of me.”
“I’m still here you know, don’t talk like I’m not in the room.” I look around and see Nkot in a corner drawing circles in the porcelain tiles hugging his knees like an idiot.
“So what is E.M.P. Mr. Jack?”
“Oh stop with the formalities, call me Remming.”
“Ok Remming, Nkot couldn’t explain E.M.P well so I’m confused.”
“E.M.P., is an acronym for Explore Memory’s Price. The Explore signifies the expeditions we go on to map the world. Memory and Price go hand and hand, as we sell what we record on these expeditions according to the price valued by the Grimnoire. The Grimnoire is that book over there on that pedestal.” He points to a blank book shrouded in night black on a golden pedestal.
“How does it pay you? Does it just take your memories? Can any old memory suffice?”
“Slow down, I’m getting to that. There are two options in selling your memories, 1 is direct sale where it indeed takes your memories and replaces the lost memories with dreams so not to cause any mental problems. While you’re doing that you must be sleep for the same time that the memory goes on. Second is copy sale, where it just copies your memories without repercussion. The money comes from…I don’t really know where the money comes from, but I assume it’s from the buying of memories.”
“Buying memories! It can let you do that?!”
“It’s safe to say that the price is determined by the need for the memory and that if the Grimnoire doesn’t have what you seek it can’t sell it to you. As for the significance of the memory it doesn’t matter, the Grimnoire takes any memory that you’re willing to sell but the price will always be different.”
“Amazing! Remming, what about selling mine?” A deep fallen dark preface took over him as he ask, remembering the pain in years of his memories.
“I wouldn’t, but you can’t since you’re not a member of E.M.P. I’m also guessing you want to join?”
Seeing the shining eyes beyond the hazel mantle of Sen’s eyes, he could understand that Sen could not be persuaded away.