2030 HOURS
ALPHEIM
CITY CENTRAL
FIVE MINUTES BEFORE BIANCA'S DINNER RESERVATION.
"I thought we were just gonna grab dinner at, like, a fast food restaurant or something." Roza said.
"I don't think you'd grab a burger while wearing clothes like these, Roza." Siegfried loosened his tie a bit. "God, I need to breathe. I feel like my arm's gonna break all over again."
"We'll be there soon enough, Kallen. Stop complaining. You haven't been here before, have you?" Bianca asked from her seat up front.
"I'm more of a burgers-and-fries type of guy, vice-president."
"Then Republique is so going to change your mind." Ilise said.
"Hepubleeq?" Siegfried asked, confused.
"Republique. It's the restaurant we're going to. They're booked all year round, but Bianca's a regular there. Plus, the maitre'd is really nice to us."
"The maitre what now?"
"You'll see, Siegfried. You'll see! Just enjoy the ride."
"At this point, I've been asked to see so many times I'm starting to think I'm blind. Maybe I should borrow some of Rei's glasses next time round." He muttered to no one in particular.
Rei was positively quivering with excitement. Apart from Bianca and Ilise, he was the only one present who'd heard of Republique. He couldn't fathom even being at its entrance, much less dining there. He hadn't intended on making friends with a Rossweisse when he'd first stepped through the gates of Mistilteinn, but if these were the perks it came with, he was more than happy with his decision.
Republique was the premier restaurant in all of Alpheim. It was nestled in the spire of one of Alpheim's tallest towers, overshadowed only by Yggdrasil's Midgard. It was as Bianca had said - Republique was booked all year round, and sometimes that waiting list extended to two, or perhaps three, years. Getting a seat there on short notice was something only a Rossweisse could do.
As the car pulled up outside the tower, two men opened the doors for their party. Bianca gave them a parting wink, and took off into the night. Ilise was, for the first time in the entire day, in her element. Her teammates marvelled at how the shy girl they'd known mere hours ago settled into her role as a Rossweisse.
"Lady Rossweisse and company. It is our pleasure to host you for tonight." The first man said. There was a bulge in his coat pocket. Where magic failed, guns could always be relied on, it seemed.
"Thanks, Montague. I've told you to call me Ilise."
"Of course, Miss Ilise. Julian here will lead you to your seats. Jean-Pierre will be waiting for you there. Will Lady Bianca not be joining you tonight?"
"She's occupied."
Without another word, Montague and his partner, Julian ushered them through the lobby of Republique. Ilise had never thought it possible for a restaurant to occupy an entire skyscraper, but Republique had made it possible. Word was that its food required so much preparation that a regular kitchen simply wouldn't have the space.
"Aren't we going to take the lift?" Siegfried asked.
"Non, monsieur. That is for regular guests. For Lady Rossweisse? We go here." Julian led them around the lift, cutting across the queue that was forming. Some of the people there shot glares at them. Others looked on reverently.
"Who the hell are those kids?"
"Don't be so loud, Jonathan! One of them is that Rossweisse girl. Elise or something."
"If you feel affronted by that comment, Mademoiselle Rossweisse, I will ask the guard to remove them from the premises." Julian said.
"No need for that, Julian. We'd like to get seated as quickly as possible."
"As you wish."
The lift they found themselves in was a shining crystalline tube, built on the exterior of the building. Unlike the main lift, this one was all magic - it was controlled by two Gravity magicians and maintained by hard-light architects. As they travelled up the building, the floor glimmered beneath them. The platform they stood on was all but invisible - a flickering light that appeared in and out of existence. It gave the feeling that they were floating upwards.
The lights of Alpheim turned into a multicoloured, faceted blur as they sped upwards. It was truly as if they were ascending to Heaven - completing their culinary apotheosis, as it were.
Roza gagged. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"Motion sickness, mademoiselle?" Julian asked. He pulled out a paper bag from his vest. "It happens for first-timers. Please, feel free to vomit in here. I hope that it will not affect your palate."
"Nope. I'll be fine-" Roza covered her mouth. "Gimme a moment."
Thankfully, the lift stopped. They had broken through the clouds, and were now at the very peak of Republique. A man with neatly coiffed salt-and-pepper hair greeted them, his moustache neatly plucked and a towel draped across his arm.
"Ilise, ma cherie. It is good to see you again."
"Mr Jacques!" Ilise shook the old man's hand.
"I take it your examinations went tremendously well. Otherwise, I don't think your sister would have rescheduled this weekend's dinner. I take it that these are your compatriots?"
"Good evening. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Rei bowed. "My name is Rei, and this is my sister, Rozaliya. With me are my friends, Siegfried and Tobias."
"The pleasure is mine. You are friends of my most honoured guest. I would consider it a most grievous fault on my end if you did not feel comfortable. Please, come with me. Your meals are being prepared as we speak."
"If you'll, uh, pardon my rudeness, Mister Jean-Pierre, isn't there a menu or something?" Siegfried piped up. Rei gave him a withering glare. He pushed his glasses up his nose and opened his mouth to prepare for a tirade when Jean-Pierre burst into a booming chuckle.
"Non, non! Here, at Republique, we are not your regular fast-food restaurant. Mon ami, we have highly trained Pasitheans who have scoured your minds, to ensure that our chefs create the perfect dish for you. Everything we do here is magical. You will come to see. This way."
Jean-Pierre pushed aside a silken curtain and led the teenagers into a small, intimate dining room. A cushioned booth had been laid out for exactly five. The seats were all colour-coded, and had the names of each of their occupants carved into golden plaques. For some 'unfathomable' reason, Siegfried's read 'Kallen'. Ilise giggled a bit when she saw that.
"As specified by Lady Bianca, you will only be served parfaits. I have, of course, allowed my chefs the creative liberty to put their own spin on their parfaits. I sincerely hope you will enjoy them, and be surprised by the sheer artistry that has gone into their creation."
A contingent of well-trained waiters appeared out of the Teleportation glyphs that had been carved into the ground, each of them holding an ornate gold-laden tray. As promised, each one of them bore a singular, inhumanely large parfait.
Jean-Pierre cleared his throat and rolled out a long list.
"To begin: For our most valued customer, Ilise Rossweisse, we present to her our latest culinary innovation. It is composed of..."
"Just tune him out. You'll learn how to eventually." Ilise said. "Here." She dug around in her purse and passed everyone tiny earplugs.
"Don't tell."
--
When they were through with their parfaits, even Siegfried had run out of things to say about Ilise's 'rich girl tastes'. The entire experience wasn't really a singular dessert - it was more of a ten-course meal, all bundled up in a ten-layered, luxuriously decorated parfait.
"My tastebuds will be spoiled forever." Siegfried moaned in ecstasy.
"You get it now, don't you?" Ilise smiled. She was the only one left standing. The rest of her friends were all incapacitated in some way or the other. Toby was in the bathroom after forcing himself to eat too much. Roza had fallen asleep on Rei, who was very awkwardly trying to not wake his sister up.
"Thanks for the opportunity, Ilise." Rei said softly. Roza stirred slightly at his words. "Mhrmh. Thanks, Ilise."
Jean-Pierre entered the booth. "I trust dinner was satisfactory?"
"More than, Mr Jacques."
"I am glad to hear it. Republique has taken the liberty of arranging transportation for you. Simply tell our drivers where you wish to go, and they will take you there. As for you, Ilise, I believe Lady Bianca is waiting for you."
"So this is it, then?" Ilise waved sadly to her friends. "We won't be seeing each other for another two weeks?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Ilise. It's not goodbye forever. We can still meet up. I mean, now that we know that your house is the coolest thing in all of Alpheim-" Siegfried started. Rei cut him off with a glare.
"He means that we'd be more than delighted to meet up over the holidays."
"Yeah," Siegfried sobered up, and his tone became serious. "In all honesty, thank you for everything, Ilise. We've only known each other for like a day, but I can say with absolute certainty that you are the first friend I've ever made at Mistilteinn." He hugged her.
In that moment, Ilise's entire body shut down. it was like she was merging into Siegfried - melting into his warmth and the perfume, not cologne, that Bianca had lent him. It just felt right. It was the most Siegfried-esque thing he could've done.
"See you next week?"
"'Course. Does that make it a date, then?"
"Nope. It doesn't. Bianca's waiting for me. Bye!"
Ilise ducked into Bianca's waiting car.
"You sure are cosying up to Kallen, huh?" Bianca asked.
"W-what? N-no! We're just friends." Ilise said, flustered.
"My baby sister's growing up really fast, isn't she?"
"Bianca, don't say that!"
--
The sounds of the Rossweisses' laughter faded as Oryx stood up from his perch. He was accompanied by someone else today.
"Fukuro. Glad you could join me."
"Raven put me up to it, Oryx. Have you identified the Torchbearer?" Fukuro said dispassionately. He slung his gear bag onto the vents.
"I have. Raven was right. This cycle has begun abnormally early. The Rossweisses have already made contact with the Torchbearer. We must secure him as quickly as possible. I would like to do this without any explosions, Fukuro."
"If you insist, Oryx. Here." He tossed a can of beer to his partner. "A toast, to hoping this Torchbearer doesn't get burned up like the rest."
"A toast."
--