“So, Mr Duck, I take it? What would you like for us to do?” the previously offended duck had calmed down after Xiao had separated it from the wrathful hands of Kei. the previously wronged expression on the duck’s face turned into a pleased smile.

“Finally someone with manners, unlike the undisciplined child who threatened me” the duck huffed with righteousness but quickly quacked in fright when Kei let out a small chuckle and extended his hands toward it.

However, before his hands could make contact with anything even close to the duck, they have been slapped away.

“Don’t patronise the customer. Let’s move to the business table to discuss it. The windows are way transparent here for such talks” Xiao suggested. The windows were a great way for traditional business practice and generally did a great job of attracting the crowd, but somehow he was sure that it would only serve to label him as crazy if someone actually saw him right now.

The duck seemed to agree with the decision as it quacked and huffed but started to move on the short yellow legs toward the direction he pointed to.

“I’ll lock the gate and join you,” Kei said as he picked up the keys from the key holder and made his way toward the front door of the store. While Xiao did not want to give him free rein to any portion of his shop, but if he had to choose, keeping the child in front unsupervised was much safer than to keep him in the back unsupervised.

Not that he would take the risk of keeping such a threat unsupervised. Despite the popular opinion out there, he was neither losing his marbles nor planning something great. He just wanted to have his own wish fulfilled when his duties were over and someone else took over.

“Hey, are you not done yet? Would you keep someone as important as me waiting?” the duck squeaked out. Kei who had just finished locking up the front joined him as they moved toward the back rooms of the shop where a low bed sat. occupied on three sides by the wall, there was only one way for people to step up or down from the bed. It was really low in height and had a raised platform in the centre.

“Please make your way toward the table so that we can discuss your wish in more detail” Xiao gestured to the duck which just gave out another huff as if to assert its importance. But it moved to the assigned area without any complaints.

Xiao himself moved to join the duck but when Kei also made a movement to join them did he stop to look at him. Was it a good idea to have an outsider here while it took place? By the rules, no one was allowed to watch this or the ceremony would fail. However, considering Kei’s circumstances and his origin of power, maybe it would be a better idea to have him here.

Besides he could not allow the child to roam around unsupervised.

However, he should still inform the child of all pertaining risks. The last time someone has even tried to step up on the bed without having a wish or being involved, it had ended in death or so the records told him. After all, the bed was rumoured to be made of a world tree and had protection.

“Kei, no one else has ever sat in the first ceremony of others. Are you sure you want to risk it?” before his sentence was over, the child’s foot had already crossed the line and fallen on the bed. The body which was hunched over the bed and the floor showed no visible sign of discomfort or hurt.

“It won’t affect me. You just concentrate on your work, I’ll take care of myself and you for the time being. Can’t let my employer get hurt after all” Even though Xiao had not delivered any reason behind his words, the child most likely knew. Can he even call him a child at this point?

“If you’re sure. Opt-out at any point you feel uncomfortable” Xiao called out as he himself took the place opposite to the duck. The child just nodded but Xiao had a feeling that it would not be necessary.

“So, what can we help you with Mr Duck?” Xiao asked and realised that the creature in front of him still did not have a name to it. Nor was the duck particularly eager to give him name out.

“Well, now that you have basked in my magnificent presence, I guess I can tell you my reason for being here. I wish to become a god” the duck which hardly could reach the top of the exclaimed in that still unnatural pitch that caused Kei to burst out into laughter.

“Y-you. A Duck? A g-god? A duck god. A God duck? Hahaha” Kei let out in between laughs, finding the situation indefinitely funny. Even Xiao found it a little funny but mainly because he had seen weirder situations.

However, the duck didn’t find it funny at all and squeaked at the pair in anger.

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“What's wrong with a duck being a god? Well, that’s my wish you hear” The duck squeaked out while the laughter got more explosive. Not a good combination to have for sure. Xiao, seeing that the situation was getting problematic, decided to put an end to it for now.

“Kei, stop laughing at our customer. We understand my Duck, about your wish. I’ll look into this matter. It'll require some time. Is there any way to contact you in the meantime?” Xiao asked. It was not that there were no easy ways to do it - there were tons of ways to approach this wish. However, the time needed was to analyze the wish.

Besides, his curiosity was touched here. Animals rarely awoke like this and even when they did, they generally were content with their lives. To have one come here to ask for their wish to be fulfilled was not something that happened often.

He could ask the duck for the story but Xiao felt that it would not be appropriate. It would not add anything to the capability of having the wish fulfilled. It would be a personal curiosity at that point. There was no need to invade someone’s privacy like that.

“Well, I guess I could tell you. I live in the Emin reservoirs. You can ask the guardians for me” the duck exclaimed and Xiao nodded at the duck. Kei looked at them in question but Xiao ignored him for the time being.

“Here, I’ll need your imprint. Anyone will do” he passed an A1 notepad toward the duck. There were several ways to get an imprint. Spiritual, with body part impression in inks and even some with more ‘unorthodox’ substances. However, as long as they contained a part of the person physically or energy-wise, they would work.

The duck took out a feather from its wings and pushed it toward the pages. As soon as the feather touched the pages, it burned up and a feather started to imprint on the page it laid on in its place.

After the formalities were done, the duck quickly left the employee entrance. Then there were only two left in the dark silence of the shop.

“Emin family? That’s the first time I’m hearing about them. Are they famous?” Kei who had been mostly keeping to himself during the deal spoke up. At this point, Xiao had even forgotten that he had been there all the time. This was a first for him.

“Ah, yes. They are part of the upper north fraction of sectrilute. One of the main families but not the leaders. Their influence is enough to make them viable as allies. I’m surprised you have not heard of them seeing as they were a part of the group which was attacked by the butterflies” Xiao explained. He was a little surprised that Kei had not heard about that family.

“My expertise lies more in the other section of knowledge. In techniques, artefacts etc. I’m afraid I know nothing about the political structure of the world because I don’t care about ants at all. They can try what they want but all they are heading toward is a doomed future” Kei’s words were clinical but carried a cold detachment to them. It was like it all had nothing to do with him at all.

Xiao frowned at those words. As long as one was in their world, it was impossible to get out of the political struggles of their world. He would know as his position was a grey as it came and yet he was a frequent victim of the power struggle. Even for his own family and cousin, he was more of a bargaining chip than a loving member of his family.

This made him worried about the child’s future.

“You should take them seriously. There is power in numbers after all and there are powerful individuals among these people who could prove a problem to you” Xiao explained, but the child seemed not interested at all in his advice.

He looked almost bored from all this talk.

“I’ll do what I want to do and if someone thinks they can stop me, well let them try” Kei’s voice had confidence in it but Xiao thought it was all brave talk. After all, the world was much crueller than one can think of and no matter how much power one had, they were not invincible.

“Alright. Do what you want to. I have too much to do on my own for now, so I’ll go and prepare for it. Also, since you're living here, you’ll have to share quarters with me since I need to keep an eye on you” Xiao just decided to be blunt. It had worked so far and if the child had any complaints till now he had not voiced them. He had been almost ductile compared to what he was capable of.

Not that it made any difference for Xiao. Right now, Kei was his responsibility and he would see to it. However, as soon as it was out of his hands he was going to turn away and never look back at this mess again.

“Sounds great. So, what’s for dinner?” Kei replied cheerfully. The whole demure was more childish in nature and vibrated with energy. At first glance, one could not really tell that he was any different from a normal child at all.

“Takeout. I was not expecting anyone over so I don’t have enough for two. Choose your flavour” Xiao called out. While he was not a masterful chef, his food was not horrible either. He could use the kitchen effectively. However, his one big flaw in the kitchen was one he was trying to redeem. Whenever he made anything it usually yielded a lot less than he initially set it out for.

If he was cooking with the intention of the food lasting three meals, the chances were that it would only be enough for one meal after cooking. The number of ingredients usually didn’t matter in this case.

However, maybe with two people here, things might turn out to be different. However, he was not taking chances right now.

“Indian would do. Shall I order?” Kei called out while Xiao nodded. Once that was taken care of, the pair exited from the employee door. Xiao locked it and led Kei toward the adjacent two-storied house just adjacent to it.

“Since you are going to be a more fixed member of the household, you can take the ground floor room opposite mine. I spend most of my time upstairs while here for experimentation so you should be relatively undisturbed. If you are to have guests inform them first. And keep them away from the first floor at all cost. You are free to use the ground floor though” Xiao explained. He thought it would be best to lay down the rules beforehand. Kei just nodded absentmindedly looking around the house.

After looking around a while lost in thoughts, he was knocked out of them by the ringing doorbell. Xiao moved to open the door for the takeout. Paying the guy which was required, he made his way toward the open kitchen counter to get the utensils out. Kei followed him toward the kitchen, however, he just looked awkward standing around doing nothing.

“Here, Unpack them. I’ll get the utensils out for us. Microwave it if it’s not hot enough, it's to your right” Xiao called as he made his way around the kitchen with ease. Kei’s earlier awkwardness had vanished as he unpacked the containers. However, he did not make his way toward the microwave.

After a more domestic routine, the pair sat down at the table to eat their takeout. So far, all the important topics have been left untouched by them. Xiao thought that he should be the one to break the ice since the child was in an unknown place, even if he seemed comfortable now.

However, much to his surprise, the one to break the ice turned out to be Kei instead.

“So, have you given a thought about how you would go about the Goose’s wish?” The amusement was back in his voice and the relaxed atmosphere caused Xiao to chuckle at the joke.

“It’s a duck Kei. I have an idea but I’ll confirm it tonight. I’ll inform you tomorrow about how we will proceed” Xiao answered. He had pretty much accepted that Kei would be a part of this all. More So because he had actually sat through the initial process. However, Xiao himself felt a little lighter to have someone to count on for now. No matter what Kei’s intentions were, his senses were calm and the atmosphere was relaxing.

It made him a little more prepared for tonight and the dream method he was about to use to imprint the wish’s meaning. It always filled him with dread afterwards, but somehow he had a feeling that it would be alright for now.