Chapter 310: Close, but Far...

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~~~(POV: Hailey Adamo)~~~

~~~(location: Border City)~~~

~~~(Time: 5:03 PM)~~~

The amount of food that Jasmine can put away astonishes me. She's got a much more petite stature than I do, and she's a few inches shorter than me. Yet, here I sit, watching her eat for three or four people. It's not the first time I've seen it, but it's still an amazing thing that I can't get over. I'm getting through my first dish, and she's starting her fifth.

The juice from all the steaks she's eaten makes it look like she went and bit into a cow. Forget cutting it up and cleaning it. She should walk out into a pasture and go to town. "Slow down, Jasmine... You're eating your food so fast they can't keep up with you in the kitchen. Not to mention the massive tab you're running up..." The price isn't too bad, not for food this good.

Normally I wouldn't spend so much on a trip to a restaurant. Sometimes, habits gotta be broken, and if not for you, then someone else. "Don't talk to me right now... Let me enjoy this moment..." Her food is more important than anything going on for her right now, and we've all been at that place. The place where we're so hungry, we don't care about the rest of the world.

This is a prime example of what that looks like, teeth filled with food as she tears it apart. "I can't believe your world had food like this everywhere you went... It's not fair. I'd have food like this every day..." She'd end up like a lot of people who did live their lives that way. Obese and years took off their lifespan. Most are a sad sight.

More like were a sad sight, the shift to this world has taken away the fat and unhealthiness that many of my world faced. My understanding goes as far as liking food, but I don't understand how someone could end up getting to a 250+ pound mark at 5'8. They were like a slave to the fast-food industry. More often than not, they'd probably go there for comfort.

It's called comfort food for a reason. "Jasmine, if you ate food like this every day, you'd balloon to a weight that is detrimental to your health. It's okay to have this stuff once in a while, but not every day." She glares at me like a hungry animal would if you'd try to take its food away. It's all about perspective, in the end. It's different for me than it is for her.

My second plate finally arrives, and the look on the waiter's face tells me everything. It's a sight that a player-owned and ran restaurant would see, but Jasmine is a messy eater. "Oh, stop looking at me with those judgy judgemental eyes. This is the first good food I had since we started this damn trip." I'm not judging her... Not harshly anyway. It could've been worse.

~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Inn bedroom)~~~

~~~(Time: 5:30 PM)~~

Sally and I will have to start searching the city starting tomorrow. There is no way we'll run into each other the one or two times we'll be leaving this room. "Why didn't you plan for something on how to find each other when she gets here? You're usually pretty good at planning things like that." She's hurt my ego and pride more than I'd care to admit with that comment.

Hailey has to be here by now, and if she's not here. She'll be here by tomorrow. There is no way that they'd take this long getting here. The closest teleportation gate is about a day and a half away. The border city doesn't have one. "I can't plan for everything, Sally... Missing the small things when planning for the big picture is common." She's right, though. I should've made a plan.

It's not that big of a deal. Searching around town for a day doesn't sound all that bad. Not like there are many places for them to go. The first step should be looking into inns and asking who has paid for rooms. "Don't worry. I'm already thinking of ideas and figuring out how we can find them." One problem is I don't know what Jasmine looks like.

She's completely unknown to me, and that could be a slight problem. The odds of them being together is high, but you never know. They might split up. "See, all you needed was a little motivation. Aren't I great?" My chuckles can't be stopped from surfacing. She has a humorous edge to her voice, one that shows she's just playing. 

Hailey and Jasmine won't be easy to find, but it's not like it'll be impossible. Hopefully, Hailey will recognize me like last time. That way, I won't have to search for her, but that's dumb on my end. She only knew it was me from my sword. "Exactly what did you motivate me with?" I might as well have some fun with Sally. These moments between us are few and far between.

Her head is lying on my chest, listening to my heart. She lifts her head and looks at me, a mischievous grin that I don't see from her very often. "Oh, I don't know... Something along the lines of you and me..." Interesting, this is the first time she's been aggressive with an advance. She's really grown to trust me. I'm doing something right.

My arm coils around her, and I give her a light hug. We've been doing it far more in these last few days than our entire trip together. "I don't know, Sally... You seem to cover me in sweat whenever we do this. I'm not sure I like it." My playful tone and tease cause her to move up my body and close the distance between our lips. 

~~~(POV: Jasmine)~~~

~~~(Location: Border City, in an inn near the city center)~~~

~~~(Time: 6:15 PM)~~~

The bed bounces in response to my landing on it. I'm full and ready for some actual sleep in a real bed. "You remember the plan?" Hailey has been drilling the search plan into my head since we finished eating. "Cause you need to remember it. It's important that we find them as soon as possible." Yeah, yeah. I get it already. Let's just go to bed. 

She smacks my hip, and I respond with a groan. "The plan is searching the inns and sparsely populated parts of the city. That's where your brother is likely to be, at least you think so..." Rather simple and easy to remember. She thinks I don't take things as seriously as she does. I know when to listen and when to tune out, and that's what makes me smart.

The bed across from me bounces and releases a small thump. Hailey is getting ready for bed too, and tomorrow it's back to work. "You know I wouldn't beat it into you if you just showed me that you're listening when I talk to you." You have a bad habit of droning on, Hailey. It's not my fault you do that, and anyone would tune you out.

Responding to that isn't the smartest thing to do, so I'm not going to. Changing the subject is the smartest thing to do. "You told me that the girl your brother is traveling with, Sally, is an ex-slave like me... Why did he accept her despite her past..." That's a question that's been on my mind for a while. Most men wouldn't see past that, but he does.

She stays quiet, and before I can say anything, she responds. "You can ask him when you meet him. I'm sure there is an answer there that isn't as complicated as your making it out to be." She's right about that. I'm creating scenarios in my head that aren't shining favorably on her brother. The ex-slave in me is telling me that he's using Sally. I know it's wrong, but I can't help it.

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A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.193]

[Exp: 3/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 30] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Sally's Dresses 5x] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 4x] [Dried meat 4x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.59 325/5900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.59 225/5900] [Slash Lvl.77 4600/130000] [Parry Lvl.53 80/5300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controled Fun]