Just as Arthur was about to head back to the kiosk and continue making the rest of the preparations, a graceful white hand lightly touched his hand.
"Are you available tonight?" Madison spoke in the most seductive tone she could manage. Her eyes were looking at Arthur deeply.
But still, it wasn't enough for Arthur.
"Sorry to disappoint, but tonight I'll be busy. But thanks for the invite anyway!" Arthur's voice was apologetic and was accompanied by a smile.
"Oh, alright!" Madison looked a little sad. But her expression soon changed and she kept talking, "Since we can't go out tonight, why don't you give me your number and we'll set another time?"
"I'll have to disappoint you again. I left my cell phone at home, and since my number is new, I don't remember it well." Arthur again showed an apologetic smile, through his eyes, and spoke calmly. He was obviously lying.
"Alright then. I'll come here every day until you're free!" Casting a sympathetic smile, Madison soon gave up trying anything else.
Arthur finally left and left the girls to eat.
Silence...
The silence at the table didn't last long before it was dispersed by Sara's laughter.
"'Hahaha! I can't believe he turned you down twice! I'm glad it wasn't me."
"'Shut up! I already told you I'll keep coming, so eventually he'll fall for me." Tossing her hair in the wind, Madison spoke, chest open and proud.
"If so, then I will compete with you to see who gets the prize!" Sara also spoke with a proud tone and joined the "hunt".
Throughout the discussion, Emily just watched from the side. Her eyes constantly looked at the fighting girls and then switched to Arthur, who by now had gone back to preparing the meats.
Not long after, the girls had finished eating and said goodbye to Arthur in a very seductive way. Emily also nodded slightly at him.
Arthur didn't really care about all of this and just waved back at the three of them.
Though the three of them were very beautiful, Arthur's heart was still afraid of falling in love since that New Year's event. Not only for that, but also because Arthur didn't want to cultivate unnecessary feelings.
But that logically wouldn't stop him from having fun. He wasn't the famous 'hurted idiot who will never fell in love again'. Although he was almost that person for a few hours...
A few moments after the girls left, the real business started. The employees' vacations were almost over after so many days that the new year had passed.
The movement was increasing, but nothing Arthur couldn't handle. Silva basically became a supporter and he didn't hate it one bit.
'This kid is really crazy. Once he starts something, it will stop only when it is finally done. I think if I scream in his ear right now, it's quite possible he won't hear it.' As he watched Arthur work swiftly and gracefully, Silva's thoughts began to wander.
After some time had passed, even Silva became just the waiter, delivering the juices and sandwiches for the people at the tables.
"Silva, I think you're getting old. Even the pretty boy over there has already taken care of the business! Hahaha!" One of the kiosk's longtime customers took advantage of the view and made a joke.
"Hahaha! A hardworking person like that is worth hiring. If it weren't for you, I would already be lying down and enjoying the wind!" Silva also didn't miss the opportunity and played another joke.
"Hahahaha!" Everyone who was in the courtyard having a snack burst into laughter when they heard the conversation.
***
Finally, when it got close to 5:00 pm, Arthur was finally able to rest as he finished cleaning the kiosk.
When he was putting away his apron to leave, he looked around and noticed that Silva was nowhere to be seen.
"Silva?!" Arthur yelled low to see if he was behind the kiosk.
Silence...
No response came.
Thinking this was strange, Arthur left the kiosk and started looking around.
He soon found him... in an alley near the square talking to some tattooed, aggressive-looking men. The conversation seemed to be getting a little awkward, so Arthur didn't hesitate to approach.
The closer he got, the more Arthur could understand what these people were talking about. His keen hearing helped a lot in this regard.
"I already told you this is all I'm going to pay. If something happened between you, it's your problem!" Silva's voice sounded, a little irritated, but still as usual.
"Look how you talk to me, old man! This can only be done in two ways: In conversation... or by force!" As soon as he finished speaking, the man who appeared to be the leader and his henchmen pulled out small knives.
Upon seeing this scene, Arthur's fast pace turned into a sprint. He was worried that something might happen to Silva, who was a kind old man.
Once there, without making any noise, the first thing Arthur did was jump towards the leader, wanting to hit him with a downward kick.
But before he could even do anything, a thick hand grabbed his ankle and pulled him down.
'What!?' Arthur's Thought.
Bam!
A thud of something heavy hitting the ground sounded through the alley, along with a small shudder.
A hand was soon placed on Arthur's chest and a voice sounded at his side.
"Not everything should be resolved with violence, Young!"
'H-how… what the hell happened?? This old man managed to hold me!?!?!?' Arthur soon looked at Silva in disbelief.
Even if he had used very little force, it would still be a little difficult to hold someone in the air and put them down so skillfully.
He already knew Silva's abilities and knew he wasn't or was an ordinary person, but that move opened Arthur's eyes, making him never again underestimate Silva.
Right after talking to Arthur, Silva looked at those men and said, "If you don't leave now, don't worry about returning home."
Along with his speech, a murderous intent, which far surpassed Arthur's, spread and concentrated on these men.
"R-run! Looks like the old man is as strong as the boss."
"The old man was pissed off!"
"I don't want to test if I get caught..."
Those men soon began to run in fear and dared not stay any longer. They had only felt pressure like that with the new boss.
Arthur, who was at the side, was a little shocked and suffocated by that murderous intent.
'And it wasn't even aimed at me! Who is this person in front of me?' Arthur's thoughts began to wander about Silva's possible past.
As Arthur had already seen that Silva was not a dangerous or deceitful man, caution was not necessary. Now he knew he wasn't like that to people close to him or friends. But if they were an enemy...
A sincere respect for Silva began to grow in Arthur's heart. 'A good friend and a bad enemy'. That was the kind of person he wanted to be.
After the men left, Silva finally breathed a sigh of relief and soon that proud and heroic pose fell apart between coughs.
"Cough cough cough! Damn cough!" Silva's grumbling was followed by him leaning against the wall.
Arthur soon ran to support Silva and asked him: "Want me to call an ambulance?"
"What for? It's called old age, boy! The universe gives these surprise gifts to those who live long, hahaha!" Silva's playful tone didn't fade, even between coughs.
"I'm warning you, an asylum is a very comfortable place." Arthur saw that he shouldn't worry too much and followed the joke.
He soon supported Silva to stay upright and walked with him back to the tent. When he got there, without Silva noticing, he took a cup and poured a health potion there and gave it to Silva.
"Drink it! I swear it helps."
"Homemade recipe? I'd rather die! Vai que tu colocou veneno aí?"
"Drink soon, or I'll throw it away. Besides being old, you're stubborn. If I really wanted to kill you, it would be easier to let you work alone for a few more years."
"But look at the audacity of this wretch! And you, besides being unpretentious, are still naughty. Or did you think I didn't see the girls hitting on you? Next time I scream that you already have a girlfriend. Hahaha!"
The joke session ended with Silva taking the potion anyway.
"Aaar! I feel so much better, boy! Helped me a lot. What's the recipe?" After drinking the entire glass, a surprised and relieved look from Silva stared at Arthur.
"Secret recipe..." Arthur just said that before walking home.
"Secret my ass! You who do not want to give, selfish!" Silva's gaze stopped being relaxed and became slightly irritated, joking.
Arthur ignored Silva's grumbling and left quickly.