Magic of Arteria Volume 1. Cherry Blossom Arc

Chapter Nine

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Parking the car on the parking lot, I turned the engines off before looking at Hikari, who was focused on her game, she was still playing the same game from early, competing with someone who goes by the name “Shy.” Online, the objective of her match is who can get to the planet, Pluto the fastest.

 

I opened the door on my side and said. “Hikari, we have arrived…”, in response to my words, she shook her head while frowning her eyebrows. It seemed like she still wants to play her game, I do understand her as someone who used to love to play games.

                                                                                                                                                                                            

Seeing her not want to leave yet, I walked out of the car, closed the door on my side before walking towards her side, and taking her out of the car as she continued her game. “You can continue if you like, don’t worry.”

 

After closing the doors to the car using my leg, I walked over to the mansion, arriving inside a few moments later and being greeted by a magnificent lobby. The lobby was large, with walls of carpets and chandeliers of diamonds. It screamed luxury; the staff was also more beautiful than most.

 

Walking over to us, a maid asked with a weird gaze. “Hello, would you like a room or a public table?”

 

I felt like she was looking down on us, her eyes were of disrespect. One could tell, she was a new staff of this restaurant, otherwise, such an attitude would never be overlooked here. Disregarding her behavior, I answered in a displeased voice. “A room by the ocean.”

 

The maid opened her mouth, only to be stopped by a woman who was dressed in a more luxurious dress, shutting her before she got to reply, whispering into her ears with anger. “You idiot, can’t you tell who she is?! Get out of this restaurant, this instant!”

 

In normal cases, those whispers wouldn’t be heard, but since my hearing differs from others. I could hear it loud and clear, though, as always, I acted as if I never heard of it since I felt like it would be disrespectful to others.

 

“Sorry for the rude greeting, Mrs. Angelica! I hope you won’t mind! Would you like to have the same room as always?” she asked as I smiled before she bowed down and led us upstairs, towards a room on the second floor.

 

Upon entering, a breeze of brilliance blessed us, the sight of the ocean with the sun descending was in sight. The room was my absolute favorite in this restaurant for its wonderful view of the ocean and the cityscape.

 

It was also spacious, being meant to be used by parties. It had plenty of magical devices for all people to use, from televisions to computers. In normal cases, these private rooms are meant for groups of people, not for two, but with money… anything is possible.

 

I sat on a sofa near the ocean, placing Hikari beside me as the woman handed the two of us a menu, filled with all kinds of dishes. The cheapest among the menu was a small steak, the size of a phone, while the most expensive among them was the carbonara and the beef which I tend to order.

 

The beef costs around 50,000 Talis per ounce, an amount that would be expensive for others, while the carbonara was a little bit less, being 48,000 Talis per plate. For the taste, the dishes were an absolute bargain, even Hikari would like the beef I love the most.

 

Looking at Hikari, who had placed the phone away and was staring at the spaghetti on the menu with an intense gaze, I asked. “Do you have anything in mind?”, before she was about to answer, her eyes widen after seeing the price, and instead shook her head.

 

It seems like the price tag had scared her away, I found it adorable though, placing the menu down. I looked at the woman and said, “I would like to have the usual forty ounces of the Royal Leaf Beef, two places of Crema White Bianca Reale, and the best meals you can have for a child, with two plates of spaghetti.”

 

“For the drinks, I will take two Queen’s Mango Shake, and for the add-ons, I will take the Golden Fries, together with the carrot and beef soup, if you may.”

 

The woman wrote all of them down on a piece of paper with elegant handwriting before asking. “Forty ounces of Royal Leaf Beef, two plates of Crema Bianca Reale, two plates of Spaghetti Re Rosso Intenso and one chef’s suggestion child meal together with two large Queen’s Mango Shake paired with Golden Fries and Carrot, and Beef soup. Is that correct?”

 

I nodded after verifying my order before, she said. “That would be a total of 2,217,778 Talis, would you like to pay via cash or card?”, taking out my beloved pink card from my pocket, I handed it to her as she took out a metallic black device from her pocket and swiping the card on it as a notification rang from my phone.

 

“Thank you for your patronage! Please expect your meal to arrive within a few moments!” she said while handing back my card as I nodded, looking back at Hikari, who had a shocked Pikachu face that made me pinch her cheeks as I asked. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Two million Talis… for a dinner, isn’t that too much…?” she stuttered. It was normal for someone who isn’t used to such a large amount of numbers to ask, I understand her as I wouldn’t imagine myself spending this much back when I was a child.

 

“Two million Talis is a mere significant amount for the taste of their dishes, dear. As a side note, as the only successor to all my businesses, you must get used to numbers higher than those. This is especially important if you wish to have your dream fulfilled.”

 

“Strength isn’t everything in this world, there are two other factors that are needed to bring an impact onto the world, those two factors are influence and authority.”

 

“To become a great, and influential leader, one who can persuade the minds of others. And one who can handle the responsibility that befalls, after all, one cannot hold authority, influence, or strength without accepting the responsibilities of each one.”

 

“I will tell you one thing; your wish back then was childish… but it is not impossible, if you really want to stop people from experiencing the same fate as you, then strength will never be enough. You have to be influential enough to influence the many hundreds of officials in the country, do you understand, little Hikari?” I said before she shook her head.

 

“You will understand what I am saying in the future, there is no easy way to explain it. There is no better teacher in this world, other than experience.” I patted her head, kissing her forehead as she leaned her head in confusion.

 

Out of the blue, as I was explaining to her, the sound of the door opening entered my ears as I looked over and saw the woman coming back with a tray on her hand, together with several beautiful maids. They walked together in perfect harmony, placing the trays on our table as they bowed down.

 

Among the maids was a child who looked similar to the woman, her height was about the same as Hikari’s, but her overall atmosphere was more elegant. It was as if she was trained to become one from her childhood.

 

I looked at the woman and asked out of sheer curiosity, “Excuse me, but if you don’t mind… is that your child?”, the woman looked at me, stunned as she nodded nervously. “You have a really beautiful child, almost like you… but if I may ask, why is she working despite being a child?”

 

My confusion was at the extreme, it was not legal to have children work at such ages. The owner of this restaurant would be in large trouble if such news would be released. I was also worried about the child; I have a soft heart towards children like her. Not only that, but the girl has the potential to become one of Hikari’s friends, and someone who could accompany her to school.

 

After a few moments of silence, the woman decided to answer. Her answer was long, it was an entire story, and to summarize all of it. The girl was born out of wedlock after the woman’s fiancée abandoned her to have an affair with another woman, taking most of her money.

 

With the lack of finance, the only way she could survive was to work despite being pregnant. The hardship she had suffered was enough to bring pain, working morning and afternoon shifts to earn enough money for rent, etc.

 

“Do you mind if I ask for your name?” I asked, smiling as I fed Hikari with a slice of the beef, while I was listening to their story. I told them to sit in front of us while handing them half of the beef and my share of the spaghetti and carbonara.

 

Of course, they tried rejecting but after some time of persuasion, they surrendered and took it. As a girl like her, I could understand the pain she went through, having to take care of her child while searching for a way to live.

 

“I am Leanna Ann, while she is Leah,” she answered while feeding her child with some carbonara, despite being nervous.

 

“Leanna, was it? How about you work for me, I can offer you about 100,000 Talis a month, a house to live with your daughter and free education for her as well, with no binding conditions.” I smiled before the fork she was holding dropped.

 

“Ah! Sorry… do you mind if I ask about the details once more?” she asked with her eyes wide open.

 

It was a reaction that was normal for me, most people I hired myself, for example, Ansel also reacted the same. Ansel was once a poor teenage boy who had fallen into the schemes of his ex-girlfriend, causing him to lose all his properties in a court battle, meanwhile, Secretary Lin was a divorcee and one in a financial crisis.

 

“I will offer you about 100,000 Talis a month, a house to live on and free education for your child, for the simple job of handling the documents on my company. How about it?” I asked before she stood up and requested. “Do you mind if we talk slightly away from my daughter, Mrs. Angelica?”

 

“That is no problem for me. Hikari, I will be back soon,” I stood up and waved my hand as she nodded in response, the two of us soon walked over to the corner where she looked at me with suspicion as I leaned on the wall.

 

“Are you someone my ex sent… what are you scheming?” she asked with her eyebrows frowned. It was a unique situation for me since none of the people I hired asked me such a question.

 

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. I only want someone to look after my daughter once she enters school, and someone who could be her friend.” I giggled before her eyes frowned even more. “How can I be sure you aren’t someone my ex sent?”

 

“How powerful is your ex to ask for a favor from me? You should already know who I am, by the many times I enter this restaurant. If you still doubt me then this offer is off,” I said while walking away before she grabbed my shoulders and said. “I’ll take the offer!”

 

“That’s better,” I smiled, glancing at Hikari, who was playing with the girl, Leah on my phone. “Don’t worry, I won’t treat you and your daughter badly, after all, it would hurt me more if my daughter loses an opportunity to find a childhood friend, and from the looks of it, it seems like the two are already getting along well,”

 

Hikari looked comparably happier compared to when she was with me, I felt jealous, but as someone who understood the impact friends can do, because I once was a child who enjoyed playing with friends.

 

“I will meet you again in a few days, you can contact me once the two of you are ready to move. Here is my business card, the house you will be moving is the one next to mine, so I can send your daughter and mine to school every morning,” I said while handing her a pink, strawberry-scented paper containing my full name and my number.

 

Immediately after taking the card, she froze in place. Her eyes were wide open, as she looked at me and the card back and forth before asking in a nervous voice.

 

“Arteria… Angelica Arteria… the Queen of Asia?!” she asked in surprise as I smiled.

 

“The Queen of Asia is simply a title granted by the people, I prefer being called Angelica. After all, I am no Queen. I am, but a simple girl, living my life,” I answered with a smile before walking back to the table as she followed.

 

“Well then, with all the details sorted out. As I said, you can contact me once the two of you are ready to move. I will have an executive from one of my companies guide you and your daughter around.” I said while sitting down in my original seat before Hikari sat beside me with the phone in her hand.

 

“Can I?” Hikari asked while showing me the window being displayed on the phone.

                                                                                                       

I was surprised, what was being displayed on the phone was an event. An event that had a paywall, I felt like smacking my head. The first thing she asks from me was a microtransaction from a game… the very first thing she willingly asked.

 

“Mhm, don’t worry,” I said while taking the phone from her and purchasing the microtransaction she wanted, it was a character from the game worth about 15 Talis which was not much.

 

After completing the transaction, I handed the phone back to her where she happily took it and went over to her new friend, Leah, and played with her once again. My heart shattered, she did not thank me after! Instead, she went over to her friend and continued playing… my heart!

                                              

“It seems like they get along way too well, what should I do…?” I mumbled before the woman in front of me trembled for a second as I sliced the beef in front of me and ate it while thinking dozens of ways to minimize their relationship in the case they get too far.

 

After twenty minutes of eating, the four of us separated. Hikari and Leah didn’t really want to separate from the look of their eyes, which made it a pain, but I persuaded Hikari to separate by telling her the two of them can still play online.

 

I had to ask Leanna for her contact number, so Hikari can contact her daughter to play at times, I also handed her some money enough for them to survive until they move as well as enough money to buy another phone for Leah.

 

“I wonder if I will regret telling myself to spoil this child,” I mumbled while looking at Hikari, who was sleeping on the passenger seat as I drove the car towards one of the several largest malls in the city, a thirty-minute drive.