Entering inside, Talon was met with a considerably large room. Tables were set organizedly across the entire place with a small counter on the other side. Since it was the middle of the day, the diner was filled with people. Even then, the atmosphere felt quite cozy and familiar as bustling as this diner was.
Talon could see many people laughing, joking around, and having a fun time. It put him a little at ease because of it.
The rich aroma of the food filled the entire place and made Talon raise an eyebrow. It was quite pleasant, as foreign as it was to him. That eased his worries that the food might turn out to be disgusting.
"What do you think?" Emino asked as he turned around. "This is the haven of every hungry soul in this city. If you don't eat here at least once in your life, then your life isn't complete."
"Is it that good?" Talon laughed dryly and looked around him. 'I mean, I wonder if there is someone who didn't eat here with how many people are inside.'
Even as they were talking, more people walked inside. He was sure that there were at least a hundred or so customers inside and counting. It was certainly popular no matter how he looked at it.
"It's the best! The food here is addictive." One of the twins replied.
As they were like that, a waitress approached them. She wore casual working clothes that fit the entire diner. A brown shirt, a white apron, and black trousers. She had tied brown hair and a rather friendly aura around her. But, her most eye-catching feature was the tattoo that run from her left cheek up to her left eye and covered her eyebrow. It was that of a snake coiling around itself.
"Welcome to Remi's diner. How can I help yo- Oh, it's you guys!"
"Hey, Remi! Been a while!" Kichi and Michi greeted the woman with excited looks. "We missed you!"
"I missed you too, little things! How can you not come here for a month? Is my food not to your satisfaction anymore, huh?!" She said with a dangerous smile.
"W-We are sorry!"
"How can you be sorry? Is it true? So you two hate my food now?" Pretending to be sad, she looked away. That made the twins panic even more.
"What should we do, Michi?"
"I don't know, Kichi! She's crying!"
"Of course not, Remi. You know how work goes being a Sky Seeker for a living." Emino approached them as he laughed. "Things get pretty hectic every now and then."
"Tsk, you shut up, don't ruin my precious time teasing these two." Immediately, her sad expression turned into a sneaky smile.
"Hey! You tricked us!!"
"Bad Remi!"
The twins glared at her angrily.
"Hahaha, don't blame me. You two have the funniest reactions."
As the group laughed and joked around, Talon watched from the side silently.
'Oh, so this is the owner of this building. She doesn't seem like it at first.' Talon looked at her curiously. She had a rather dangerous appearance for someone with such a chirpy personality.
Eventually, the woman seemed to notice Talon and Arryn as she looked at them. "And who are these two?"
"We found them lost in the desert. They're siblings."
"Gladly, boy! You can get my dish." Emino said.
"No, he can get mine," Michi interjected with a challenging look.
"No! He is going to get mine!" His brother said.
Then, the trio started glaring at each other as if this was some kind of serious problem. Talon could only laugh drily. 'Why so serious?'
"Since none of you can decide, he will get what I suggest." At that point, Lefa put the menu down and said with a cold tone.
"But, dea-"
"Do you need something?" Turning to her husband, she gave him a single look. That was more than enough for him to flinch and turn away. "None, nothing at all."
'Terrifying... She reminds me a little of Hyun-Jae.' Talon stared at the interaction silently.
Even though Lefa seemed way more serious than Hyun-Jae, both had that dangerous look to them that nobody could oppose.
With that, the group ordered their food and waited for it to be prepared. Meanwhile, Talon simply looked around him, picking up bits and pieces of the conversations people were having around him.
Most of it was trivial and pointless, but some did pick his interest.
"Sigh, I fucking stink, man. What a horrible day!" A few tables away from them, two men were sharing a drink as they talked. They were wearing old clothes that had blue stains all over them.
"Don't talk, old man. I was cutting that worm and it splashed the blood on my face. It's still burning my eyes!"
"Why are we even working at the 'Blue Tower' to this day? I think I'm going to look for another job. I've had enough of this shit."
"Are you crazy?! Where are you going to find a job with that peanut brain of yours?! You're lucky you even found this job!"
"Hey! Screw you! I can find a job if I look hard enough!" The man cursed as he chugged his drink down.
"Yeah, good luck with that. Our job is shitty, but it ain't bad. We get paid enough money to live and all we have to do is cut down some dead worms."
The conversation, as crude as it sounded, made Talon raise an eyebrow. 'What are they talking about? They mentioned something about a Blue Tower... Do they mean?'
Naturally, Talon's eyes wandered to the window were a small part of the gigantic blue structure in the heart of the city could be seen from afar.
"The Blue Tower..." He murmured curiously. "What is that building, Emino?" He turned to the first man that could know anything about it.
The man turned curiously to stare out of the window. "Hmm? Oh, you mean the Blue Tower. Well, you could say that is the beating heart of Aridopolis. It is the most important place in the entire city."
"Why is that?"
"To put it simply, that tower is the first layer of defence we have. See that blue rain pouring outside the city? It all comes from within the tower. Sand Eaters are being bred within its walls, and then killed so that we can use their blood as a Blue Elixir. It's the most efficent way to protect the city apart from the walls."
Talon blinked in surprise at what he heard.
"Oh, one other thing, that's also the main building for the Sky Seekers Guild."
A//N: If you enjoyed reading, don't forget to support the book with GT and PS. Thank you!