Season 2 Chapter 2 Part 1.
A Goal.
Early in the morning, Sky walks behind Sister Theresa as she shows her around the church. Theresa wears a nuns uniform and has a scar over her left eye. She passes a window where the church orphans are already playing outside with another sister watching over them.
They head to the front of the big church. "Now Rebecca will show you around today and tell you about the tasks that you will be assigned," Theresa explains, and they look at a teen with long red hair with sea blue eyes and a navy sweater and a red skirt walking up to them.
"Good morning, Sister, and you must be Sky," she greets.
"Sure am," Sky utters, looking at the kids around her. "Oh, I better introduce you to my siblings. The small toddler on my back is called Ruca, and the two boys in front of me are Luca, and Marco. The two girls next to them are pam and, Mira" she says, and they all have the same color of hair as Rebecca.
"Rebecca is a hardworking young lady, and you will get along nicely, I am sure," Theresa tells her.
"Right," Sky says a little uneasily.
"You will be fine," Rebecca smiles, and with that, Sky walks along with the teen and her siblings through town. Rebecca introduces her to the people she will be aiding in the future, and they head to the other side of town where they stop by a big circle in darker gray on the cobblestone street.
"We are just in time," Rebecca says, and Sky looks up and sees five people on brooms with a huge net between them, carrying plenty of wooden boxes.
At the front is a teen girl with purple hair and blue eyes. "Hi, Rebecca!"
"Hi, Alisa, good to see you," Rebecca replies.
"Oh, who is this?" Alisa asks as she dismounts, and with the guys behind her, she places down the net with the cargo.
"This is Sky; she will be helping out a bit."
"Sky, that sure is a wondrous name. It suits your eyes perfectly. My name is Alisa, in case you didn't catch it," Alisa says cheerfully, and Sky blushes a little.
"Yeah, I, uh, right," she fumbles.
"I do most of the deliveries that Rebecca orders from me, as she has fallen head over heels for my family's farm's meats and produce," Alisa explains and gets a couple of boxes and hands them to Rebecca.
"I don't know if I would go that far. It is just what I can afford," Rebecca smiles.
"What? No way! Our prices are fair, and the meat is always tender," Alisa says with surprise.
"I was just teasing you. I would never stop doing business with your family's farm, Alisa," Rebecca replies with a giggle.
"Aww, how sweet. We are still up for the usual shifts this week too, right?"
"Huh, of course. Those two days a week are when I can actually breathe," Rebecca reassures.
"Good, not just for the money but for the experience, it becomes most important," Alisa tells her.
"Experience?" Sky asks.
"Yes, I have a goal. I will open up my own restaurant someday, and I know just the place where the land is up for purchase," she smiles with beaming eyes.
"Yeah, I still don't know if having a restaurant in the middle of nowhere is a good business strategy, but you do you," Rebecca tells her.
"It will work. I just know it will," she says and looks at the guy behind her. "Right, Tory?"
"Well, if it works or if it doesn't, at least we will do it together," he smiles warmly as the wind blows through his blue hair.
"I truly wish I had your optimism," Rebecca tells her, and Alisa smiles and hands Sky a couple of boxes too.
"Wow, these are heavy," Sky says.
"Huh, oh, I guess they are a little bit heavy. I guess I don't really notice," Alisa giggles.
"How so?"
"I grew up as a farmer, meaning these have gotten a good daily workout just by doing manual labor," Sky tells her and shows her bicep.
"Oh, I see," Sky replies. (so like Asta an Leo she has a goal and she seems so happy) she thinks to her self.
"Well, I am certain we will be more acquainted in the future, as I am certain we will meet during my shifts at Rebecca's restaurant. It was nice meeting you, Sky, and see you later, Rebecca."
"Yes, see you later. We will open the shop soon," Rebecca replies, and turns around and leaves.
"Uh, right," Sky replies, gripping the box better and turning around and halting.
"Oh, sorry," she says, looking straight into a guy's black shirt. She looks up and sees a guy with dark-brown curly hair and brown eyes.
"No problem," he tells her and looks at her as she walks past him and leaves.
The guy turns back to the two making deliveries. "Hey, Tory, got the wares?"
"Huh, oh, Dylan, how is my man doing?" Tory asks, and they bump the back of their fists together. "I have what you seek right here," he says and hands him a small box.
"Thank you'' he utter and takes the box. ''So, a new face in town?" he asks.
"It would appear so. She seems nice," Tory replies.
"That is good. It means this town will still be at peace," he smiles.
"Still the peacekeeper, I see," Tory smiles.
"I don't know about that," Dylan replies, and Tory looks at the box in his hand.
"So, how is Jim doing?"
"He is good."
"Is he still doing his experiments?" Tory asks.
"You know it. Only half of the gems actually get used for the store before we run out again," he says.
"I could ask the miner to increase the order if you need it."
"No, it is fine. After all, if we never ran out, then Jim would never do any form of socializing outside of me in the store."
"I see. It is probably a good call then. He is lucky to have a dumb, sensitive guy like you, as his friend" Tory teases.
"Hey, where did the sensitive crap come from?"
"Hey, don't get your panties in a twist," Tory teases.
"You are being a fool like always," Dylan sighs. "Well, I am off. See ya later," Dylan says and carries the small boxes of gems with him, looking around and seeing everything is going smoothly as usual.
"This is good. I like it to be peaceful," he utters to himself.
A week passes, and Sky helps out, doing many different kinds of jobs like painting fences, watering flowers, and cleaning up storage rooms for shop owners, as well as helping out around the restaurant. And as predicted, she got to work alongside Alisa too. she occasionally run into Dylan at times.
The next start of the week comes, and Sky stands in the bathroom and adjusts her hair a little, thinking over the past week. Alisa has three jobs, and Rebecca is constantly working either at the restaurant or helping out her siblings or agreeing to help out the townspeople when asked.
"They are all working so hard...," she remembers her words to Millie that they are both going to start a new chapter. "Well, if I want change and to be as happy as those two, I better work just as hard," she thinks, locking eyes with her reflection, as a new found determination fills her eyes.
"Okay, Sky, you've got this," she tells herself and nods before going out.
Rebecca walks up to the church door and sees Sky come out. "I will get the boxes; you can focus on the restaurant," she yells, running past Rebecca.
"But, Sky!... What has gotten into her?" she asks and looks at her siblings, who are just as confused. "Maybe she just had a really good night's sleep," Marco says.
"Uh, maybe so," she replies and sees Sky run off.
A little bit later, Dylan walks the street, listening to his own footsteps and the sound of birds chirping.
Then he hears the rapid sound of footsteps fast approaching from behind.
"Move!" he hears and steps aside, continuing to walk. He sees red hair flying in the wind as Sky runs.
"She seems to have somewhere to be this morning," he mumbles to himself and keeps walking, coming up to the loading area.
"Hey, Tory, got the same old delivery?"
"Oh, Dylan, of course I do, my man," Tory replies, and they do their usual greeting. Tory gets the small box of gems.
"Be careful, Sky. Don't overdo it," Alisa tells her.
"I am fine," Sky says and spins around, walking as quickly as she can with the heavy load.
"Miss," a lady utters, and Alisa turns to an elderly lady.
"Oh, my apologies, Madam," Alisa says and hands the lady the box.
''Uh, you don't normally space out. Are you okay?'' Tory asks. "Oh, it's just Sky. She seems to be pushing it a bit much all of a sudden," Alisa tells him. "I agree. Taking all the boxes alone is one thing, but doing it so quickly seems a bit overkill," Tory tells her.
"I agree. I just hope she doesn't hurt herself," Alisa utters. "I'm sure she is fine," Tory tells her, and she smiles. "I hope you are right," she says and keeps working. Dylan looks in Sky's direction.
"The new girl seems to be a hard worker, at least," Dylan mumbles. "What?" Tory asks. "Oh, nothing. I better get back to the shop so I can set it up," Dylan replies.
"Right, well, see you later then," Tory says, and they exchange goodbyes. Dylan walks with a relaxed pace and looks around himself as he walks. He sees kids running about.
"Listen to your instructors, kids, and be safe!" a lady yells. "Got it," one of the kids replies.
Dylan smiles, looks up at the blue sky, and back at the street. He sees shop owners readying their stores in the shopping district and putting out signs.
"Same old peaceful day in the same old peaceful town," he tells himself contently, looking at the small box of gems in his hand as he turns the corner and bonk! He falls back and does everything he can to save the box, holding it up high above himself, and sighs in relief.
"What is the deal with being in the way?" he hears a girl say and looks down as the redhead sits up, touching her forehead where she hit him.
"Being in the way? You ran into me without seeing where you ran. What if the gems were destroyed? We wouldn't be able to make more magical items for a whole week, plus we would be down a ton of money. Do you have any idea of what these cost?" he tells her sternly. While sitting on top of him, she looks at the box he is still holding up.
She leans forward, and he pulls his hands up and away from her. "What are you?" he asks. "I am just gonna look," she says and leans more forward, and he quickly realizes.
(Okay, that is her chest, too close to my face) he blushes and twists his face away to not see anything behind her dress.
"The gems are fine. You are being dramatic," she says and sits back down on top of him. "Over-dramatic? It still could have happened," he says, composing himself and looks at her up and down.
"And could you get off me already?" "Oh, right," she says and gets up. "Why are you blushing anyway?" she asks, standing up.
"Well, your chest just got a little too close to—" "My chest? What are you doing looking at my boobs, pervert?" she tells him as he stands up.
"Pervert? You literally just pushed them up to my face, not that there was anything to look at," he tells her.
"Nothing to look at? I'll have you know I am a size B, not that you needed to know, pervert," she scuffs.
"Enough with the—"
"Oh no, I have to keep going. I don't have time for your dumb ass," she tells him and starts to run.
He sees her beyond her way, and he takes a deep breath. (Well, that was an encounter) he thinks to himself and keeps going, heading into a store.
"Jim, I am here, and I got this week's delivery," he says and hears tinkering from the back. "He is on it again," he mutters and heads further in.
"Oh, Dylan, good. Get over here," Jim says and pushes him to the middle of the room and takes a pair of goggles from a table.
"I am not trying one of your contraptions again," Dylan tells him. "What? Why? They aren't dangerous," Jim replies, his brown hair bouncing in front of his eyes. "The scar on my hand says otherwise," he says and points to the scar on his wrist.
"What? That was nothing, and it was so long ago," Jim replies.
"So long ago, nothing? You nearly cut my arm off, dude." "Yeah, but it didn't happen, so you are fine," Jim replies and takes a gem and places the box on the table with other metals and undone projects.
He moves over to the goggles again and places the gem within a small space, and the goggles glow. "Yeah, but this time, all you are wearing are goggles, so you are fine," Jim assures him.
"Right," Dylan replies, and Jim puts the goggles on him and turns them on.
"Whoa, what am I seeing? Everything sparkles so much," he says. "Well, what you should be seeing is natural mana in its purest form, and with it, I should be able to study the, uh—"
"Uh, what is it? Why did you stop?" "Nothing. It's fine," Jim says and runs over to a bucket in the corner behind Dylan.
"Uh, why do I smell smoke?" he asks. "No reason," Jim tells him and takes the bucket over Dylan's face.
"Hey, what was that for?" he asks and takes off the bucket and goggles, and Jim stops, trying to hide the hint of horror on his face.
"You know... it might be fine," he tells him.
"What?" Dylan questions and heads over to a small mirror on the wall. "The hell? It is completely fried at the front," he exclaims.
"It is fine. At least not all of it got burned," Jim says with a shrug and goes back to his goggles to try and fix them.
"Seriously, I am the one dealing with customers out of us two. I can't look like this; people will think that I am a crazy person," Dylan exclaims.
"Maybe... fine, I can take care of the store while you get your hair fixed," Jim says and cleans his hands.
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah, just go ahead. I am sure Helene can fix it."
"You sure you got it, though? Your intensity usually weird people out."
"Hey, it is fine. We can't have you looking like... whatever that is," Jim gestures to Dylan's hair.
"Gee, I feel so much better now," he says with his eye twitching.
"Fine, I guess I can go," Dylan replies and heads out of the store.
He walks the streets calmly and stops in front of the hairdresser. "Well, time to—" something hard just hits his chest, and he looks down.
"What the... you again," he utters.
"What? No way, the pervert again? Uh, pffth, hehehehe, what happened to your hair? Did you lean too far into fire or something? You know you shouldn't play with fire; it is dangerous," she tells him.
"Gee, thanks. I will keep that in mind," his eye twitches. (Lecturing me now, what the heck is up with this girl?)
"You look ridiculous. Anyways, later, pervert," she tells him and moves past him and starts to run again.
He takes a deep breath. ("Enough with the 'pervert' thing,") he thinks to himself and heads into the hairdresser.
"Hi, girls. Good morning," he says and closes the door behind him.
"Oh, Dylan, good to see you," Helene says. A girl with bright blond hair and blue eyes greets him. "And I guess you want me to aid you with, eh... Did Jim get to your hair?"
"You know it," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't worry. I will get it fixed in no time. Just come over here," she smiles. "Thank you," he replies and gets into the chair.
Then a brunette walks in with purple eyes and a green dress. "Oh, a customer! Hi, Dylan," she greets. "Hi, Kelly. Uh, something on your mind?" he asks.
"Oh no, I just have to get ready for a customer that I am going to have today," Kelly says. "Wait, don't tell me that it is Walter?" Helene asks. "Sadly, yes." "That sleaze ball probably knows that Magnus is out of town today," Helene utters.
"I know," Kelly says and takes a deep breath to mentally prepare.
Then the bell rings as the door opens. (Great, the town's prime noble ass hat) Dylan thinks to himself, seeing the blond big man walk in.
"Oh, Walter, welcome. Please take a seat, and I will be right with you," Kelly tells him. "That I will, and Magnus is not here, I see. Or is he in the back?" he asks.
"No, he is in Kika, the castle town, in a meeting," she tells him, and Walter gives a sleazy smile as he walks past Dylan. Dylan watches as Kelly prepares everything next to him, and Walter is looking a bit too much directly at her ass, not even trying to hide it. The presence coming off him is enough to make Dylan's skin crawl.
Kelly takes the big cloth around the man as he leans back into the chair, waiting to get a good cut. He moves his hand as she adjusts the collar, and his hand bumps into her chest. "Oh, sorry there," he says with a pleased laugh.
"It is fine, sir," she says, not making eye contact, and gets herself ready, bringing out her magic to start cutting. Walter looks her over as she stands a bit far away but is still able to reach him.
"Please stand closer. I won't bite," he smiles, and Dylan sees Kelly's discomfort. He thinks it over and turns his gaze to Helene.
"Helene, could you get us two drinks?" "Huh, oh, of course. Just one moment," she says and heads into the other room.
But Walter did not catch Dylan's words yet and focused on the girl beside him.
"Here you go," Helene utters, and Dylan uses his green-tinted mana to float the beverage up to the noble. "Hi, I just sat down too, so why not enjoy ourselves with a cold drink, sir?" Dylan offers. Walter looks at Dylan and smiles.
"Sounds lovely. Finally, someone who knows how to treat a noble of my status," Walter chuckles, and Dylan keeps the man distracted by asking questions related to Walter's businesses and such. A bit over an hour passes, and he and Walter head out the door.
"Well, I had a good time. See you ladies later, and maybe even you, Dylan," Walter smiles. "Maybe so," Dylan utters with a reluctant smile and watches the nobleman leave. Once he is gone, the door opens.
"Thank you for that. I wish we could do something about this, but since he owns a large part of this business, it is impossible to tell him no without him threatening our jobs or our lives. I mean, he is a noble and has a lot of mana, so he could easily... you know," Kelly tells him.
"I understand, and he is a true sleaze ball for sure," Dylan tells the girls.
"Let us do something good for you as a thank you, maybe a discount on future visits or something," Helene tells him.
"No, we all know how hard you girls work, so it wouldn't be right of me to take advantage of a situation caused by a dirtbag like that. I mean, you deserve the money," he says, and the girls look at each other.
"Well, how about we take you to Rebecca's restaurant this weekend, at least?" "Well, it would be a good way to get Jim out of the house, so maybe," he utters. "Great, we can invite Erika too," Helene smiles.
"Sure thing," he says and looks at the girls, giving them pleased smiles.
"What is it?" he asks. "It is just... you know what all the girls in this town call you, right?" "Huh, what?" he asks. "You are the best guy in town," they both smile.
"There is no need for flattery," he says, slightly blushing. "Well, anyways, see you later." The girls wave him off, and he walks calmly along the street. He sees the shop a bit away in the distance, and he sees a guy walking backwards out. "No, I am good, Jim. Really," the man says. "Come on, it is only 3000 yuell. You can totally annihilate every ounce of speck with this," Jim pushes, leaning out of the store door.
"No, I am good, I swear," the man says and quickly walks away.
"What is with that guy?" Jim asks. "Jim, you know using the word 'annihilate' does not make the product sound safe to use," Dylan says and looks at the device in Jim's hand.
"Wait, that is one of the prototypes," Dylan says. "Yep," Jim replies. "What makes you think it is a good idea to try and sell an unfinished product?" "Uh, for the sake of science and adventure," Jim smiles.
"You are literally insane," Dylan says and walks past Jim into the door. "Well, I am back now, so you can go back to doing what you do best," Dylan utters, getting behind the counter.
Jim shrugs his shoulders and heads into the back.
Dylan looks out the store window and sees Sky running by. "Well, at least the new girl is a hard worker," he utters to himself. Crash! He spins towards the sound.
"It is fine, I promise," he hears Jim say, and Dylan sighs with relief (This guy will give me a heart attack one of these days.) ...