Magic of Arteria Volume 1. Eden Arc

Chapter Twelve

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After driving for some time, we arrived at the front Java entrance of the Lana Mall, one of the largest malls in the country, named after the Slavic name Lana, which means Light.

 

“Can you two wait for me on the second floor? I have to park the car on the parking lot on the highest-level floor, really quick.” I asked before Alina smiled at me as she combed Hikari’s hair who was sitting on her lap while playing her phone.

 

“That’s fine for us, which area of the second floor will we wait?” Alina asked as I looked out on the mirror, replying. “If possible, please wait on one of the branches of the Angelina Group’s fashion store here. I will reach there in about five minutes, or so.”

 

“Mhm, we’ll head first then,” she replied while smiling, opening the door to her side as she carried Hikari who was focused on her game, she was grinding hard for an item apparently. After making sure the two had entered the mall safe and sound, I drove the car to a tunnel on one of the sides of the mall.

 

It was a bright tunnel, illuminated by several Crystal Diodes on the walls; there was no queue, or payment required to park. The drive up was not exciting though, since the tunnel was steep enough that braking midway would cause you to slide down fast.

 

Pressing down on the acceleration pedal a little more, the car sped even faster, roaring as it flew past the other vehicles who were in wait. And after a minute of driving upwards, the bright light of the sun was visible; we had reached the top, it was a glassed garden that was as wide as the entire mall.

 

The area was not all grass and flowers; there were concrete pathways to guide us to our way, I followed the concrete path to the left side which was the closest to one of the branches. Looking around for a free slot.

 

“It’s strangely packed today,” I mumbled while driving at a snail’s pace towards the end of the pathway where an empty lot was located; not letting the opportunity leave, I sped up a little bit more while aligning the car before pressing on the brakes to the maximum as screeches echoed inside.

 

SCREEEEECCCHHH

 

Without notice, I was flown towards my steering wheel as the car fully braked before the end of the lot. It was just a little bit away from flying off the lot and bumping into a wall, my heart was pumping as I rested my head on the steering wheel, “Haaaa! That was fun.”

 

 The adrenaline and the Gs the car pulled off was a fun experience; I always wanted to try out those traditional fighter jets in the past, the main reason why I agreed to enroll in the military. But contrary to my expectations, there were no jets in the military!

 

After calming my heart a little bit, I took my phone out from the floor after it had flown out from the glove box after braking too hard; scanning through the contacts before pressing on Myu’s contact, a young-looking woman dressed in casual clothes.

“Hello, chairman? Is there something wrong?” Myu’s voice asked from the phone; her voice was of a teenage girl which makes sense as her age was only sixteen.

 

After making sure my phone microphone was functional, I replied with rough breathing. “Does your branch still have the Valentines’ Ring on auction?”

 

“The Valentines’ Ring, do you mean the pair of rings made from Yunitanitum? We still have it on auction, the highest bidder at the moment is the CEO of Luxens at over 250,000,000 Talis,” she responded as I heaved a sigh.

 

“Is that so, then feel free to take a billion Talis from my account, and place a bid for it with my name; I want the pair of rings desperately for reasons, I will allow you to bid as much as ten billion Talis for it. No questions asked. The commission fee will be 20 percent of the price.” I said before the sound of a fork falling to the floor came out from the speakers as she asked in a loud voice.

 

“Wait! Are you serious, right now, chairman?! A billion Talis is more than 80 percent more than our expected amount of profit from this auction, what will you do with the ring? I can recommend you some cheaper options if needed…”

 

“No need, I want that specific pair of rings within a week or two from now; be sure to have these two names embedded on them,” I said while texting both Alina’s and mine’s name on the chatbox before ending the call as I relaxed on the car seat with a smile.

 

Without notice, my phone started ringing, causing me to be surprised as I looked at it and saw Alina’s name as the caller sign, without hesitation, I accepted the call as Alina’s voice came from the ear speakers.

 

“Elde…Dear, are you coming or not; we are waiting for you on one of the pizza shops on the third floor, I think it was called Daisy’s Chain of Pizza since Hikari wanted to eat something. I am currently lining up right now, do you have anything to add?”

 

I looked at my smartphone with a smile, it seems like she still is the same person who calls me Elder Sister… “If you really know me a lot, then you should know my favorite kinds of pasta, right?”

 

“O-of course, I know… I am j-just asking in case you want something else…” she replied as a chuckle came from my mouth. Her stuttering was telling me otherwise, she is the kind of person who would never stutter if she was confident. “I’ll take your choice, is Hikari with you? Be sure to keep a good eye on her.”

 

“Don’t worry, she is by me on the counter. Anyways, I’ll have to order soon… bye,” she said before the call ended as I placed the phone in my pocket with a smile, twisting the door handle on my side open as I walked out of the car in a happy mood.

 

It has been a long time since I was this happy; the times where my heart was at ease, despite yesterday being a dusty storm, my mood was strangely joyful which makes me feel weird; why does hearing my little sister’s voice, who has always been with me for my entire life, make me happy?

 

Why does thinking of her face when she smiles make me happy, it feels different from joy… I feel like an idiot smiling this much, but I don’t hate it, rather I want to smile like this more.

 

I questioned while walking towards one of the hundreds of elevators around the area, entering inside while selecting the third floor as I looked at the glossy wall of the elevator which showed a bright reflection of me.

 

Me, inside a garden of rainbows, smiling; the emotions I am feeling right now, was different from my time with the other person. It felt much better, is this because I have matured more since that time, to the extent that emotions differ?

 

I do not understand the human heart, it is a mysterious part of a human. They say the heart is where your soul resides. They say the heart is the one who controls your brain. Love makes you foolish, but even then, no matter what, you will like this emotion called “love”.

 

The elevator doors soon opened as I walked out, looking left and right in search of this Daisy Chain Pizza store. I had no physical description of what the store looks like, and with the number of stores there were on the third floor, it was complicated.

 

After looking around for some time, I decided to follow my instincts which were telling me the store was located on the left; walking down the path to the left for a few minutes, the store was not there. After taking one more check, I walked back to the right path.

 

And after walking down to the right path, a bricked store with a glass window together with a pizza on a masonry oven logo was visible; shown on the glass window was both Alina, and Hikari chowing down on a cheesy pepperoni pizza.

 

It seems like the right path was really the right path, always follow the right path they say. I smiled looking at the two of them who were eating happily before Hikari turned to my direction while waving her hand.

 

Waving my hand back, I ran towards them with a smile before reaching their table a few moments later as Alina greeted me with rainbows, “Welcome back, eld…ear!” before passing me her half-bitten pepperoni pizza.

 

“Thanks for the greeting, did I take long?” I asked while taking the pizza as I sat in front of them, biting the side with the most bites from her as Alina shook her head, while Hikari responded with, “Twenty minutes late!”

 

“Is that so, sorry for taking so long… I was handling some calls from the company,” I chewed on the slice of pizza while patting Hikari’s hair with my free hand as she demanded, “Twenty minutes is equal to this!” before showing the phone once more as another microtransaction came up.

 

I looked at her and sighed; my regret of teaching her mobile games was at its peak, she had become an addict without knowing. “Didn’t I say a few moments ago that it would be your last one for this week, I won’t do it even if you cry.”

 

Immediately, her eyes turned teary, looking at me with pleading eyes as she said while stuttering, “Bu… but…!”

 

“How about this, we do it this way; I will buy you as much as you want for this month, only if you promise to get a grade of S on your first month of class, in the case you fail to do so, you will be prohibited from playing any games for an entire month, do you accept?” Alina suggested while smiling as Hikari looked at her with bright, and shiny eyes.

 

There is no stopping a child who is addicted to games, but knowing her intelligence levels, she should be able to earn a Grade of S without any obstacles. Alina… you are stepping on a thread of death right now; your wallet might disappear tomorrow.

 

With a confident look, Hikari replied to Alina. “Yes! I will do it, when will I start class?!” before Alina looked at me with a questioning gaze as I replied to Hikari’s question, “You will start heading to school by tomorrow, or the next day, once Leah and Leanna arrives.”

 

“Hu… Ley is coming here?!” she asked with a bright smile as I smiled wryly. How fast can their relationship grow in a day, or two? They went from formal names to pet names! Why do I feel threatened over this!

 

“Mhm, she will be coming, and also will follow you to school,” I replied while taking another slice of the pepperoni pizza as she jumped from her seat with joy, before being grabbed by Alina who was surprised from her sudden action.

 

I sighed looking at Hikari after meeting Leah; she had turned into a completely spoiled kid when it comes to either games or her friend. I now understand why parents tend to keep their children away from online games, such a bad influence!

 

“We’ll talk about those stuff later, how about the three of us eat for now? I want to bring the two of you somewhere later, we’ll also have to shop for clothes, especially for Hikari since she is getting fatter every hour that passes.” I said before Hikari looked at me with her eyes wide open, looking down to her stomach as she pouted.

 

“I am not growing fat! I am still thin!” she complained as I bit on my pizza, ignoring her. “Yeah, yeah… let’s eat fast before we run out of time for the day.”

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