Her hand shook as she took it from his outstretched hand.
It was a ring.
She examined it. It had a sliver surface with various runes and other symbols etched on it. It only had one white circle draw on it near the place where an Emerald stone was embedded into it. The circle had barely visible lotus petals on either side of it.
Some people would find it far too ugly but Freya found the ring the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
She heard a light chuckle.
She turned to the blue-haired man. "I can't take this!"
"Sure you can! You just did," he said with a laugh.
"Mr Titus…this is a green stoned ring!"
He shrugged. "I have many of those in my home."
"Bu-but this one is encrusted with the Storage Circle. More specifically the Petalled Circle!"
Titus frowned. "The what?"
"It is an advanced form of storage seals. A white circle with two Lotus petals at either side. It is hard enough to make such a Magic circle, the fact that it was etched on to a ring of this size with such a precision means that it can hold on to a lot of things!"
Titus sighed. "I am a weapon fighter and don't know much about these kind of things…and anyway, what is so special about it? Most storage rings store many things."
Freya shook her head. "It is not about that! The storage rings in market are not durable. The most costly ones only last for six months, after that you have to either repair it or replace it with a new one if you want your things to remain undamaged."
Titus raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"
Freya nodded.
"Then I should take this off your hand then?"
Freya hesitated for a moment. Her eyes fell on the storage ring with longing.
She nodded and stretched the ring out towards him.
He closed her hand around it. "Keep it. I don't take back something I gave."
Freya frowned. "Even if that something is so valuable?"
Titus smiled. "Even then. If it was supposed to be mine, I would have known its value long ago. I have never used it before."
"But-"
Titus laughed. "Just accept it."
Freya bowed her head. Her grip tightened around the ring. "I don't have anything to give to as compensation."
Titus smiled. "There is no need. Do you live around here?"
Freya nodded and then shook her head. "I live on the out skirts. What about you?"
"I come from Grey Scaled City."
Freya looked at him in astonishment. "That is so far from here."
Titus nodded. "I had to leave for the Tower two days back."
Freya's stomach growled.
Titus laughed. "And your stomach is angry."
"Sorry…I didn't eat breakfast."
"Because you were nervous?"
Freya gave him a slight smile. No, because she was too poor and couldn't afford three meals a day.
"I held out to the hope that I would get this job," she said instead. "I needed it."
Titus looked at her in surprise. Everyone who came to the meeting were people who did not need a job. They wanted it.
"Then why weren't in the front of the line?"
Freya smiled. "I hadn't realised that we were being judged for how quickly we joined a queue."
Titus looked at her curiously. "Do you want to prove your worth to your family? Is that why this is so important? There are a lot of other opportunities out there. This is not the only way."
Freya shook her head with a smile. "Come on then, we should eat before the food turns cold."
"The plates are spelled to make the food stay heated."
Freya shrugged. "I guessed from the fact that you were not in a hurry but it's the idea that counts. I never liked to keep food waiting for long. They must be eager to enter our stomach."
Titus laughed. "You think if it was not warm, I would hurry?"
Freya smiled. "Nope. I just think that you are the kind of guy who would not eat cold food."
Titus sighed. "You have that correct. I always feel that cold food is unhealthy."
"I see."
"I'll make us a plate."
He grabbed two plates with food. Some vegetable salad and a single piece of grilled chicken was placed in one and the other was filled with bread and soup.
He handed her the plate with the vegetables in it.
Freya looked down at the food in confusion. The food barely covered the middle of the plate.
"This is…"
Titus had just took a bite of his food when he saw her movement, or the lack there of.
"Is it too much? I know chicken is not that nutritious but this one is grilled so it should be okay."
Freya sweatdropped. "That…the portion…"
Titus tilted his head. "Is it too much? My sister only eats a few bites of chicken but you seem too skinny. You should maybe eat a bit more."
His eyes were on a certain part of her body.
Freya's hand tightened on the edges of the plate. Would she get arrested if she smashed the plate to the guy's face, would she? Maybe she would get lucky and a bit of spice would enter his eyes by accident.
Freya shook off her dark thoughts. This man gave her a Petal Circled ring. She would have to tolerate his comments.
Titus realised that his words and actions would not be seen so innocently. "Sorry. That came out wrong."
Freya shook her head. "It's okay. And I do eat a bit more than what you have given me."
"Oh?" Titus was surprised by her words. His sister was so sure that all girls ate less to look good.
Freya skipped to the buffet table and grabbed a plate and filled it to the brim with food of all kind. Chicken, meat, vegetables and even a few skewered snakes, just out of curiosity.
Titus raised an eyebrow. "Were you starved as a child? You eat so much?"
Freya didn't stop eating. "My parents fed me."
It was just that they couldn't feed her all the good foods. They made their ends meet, even if it meant the parents had to go hungry to feed the children. But she wasn't sure hearing that information would make Titus think any good of her.
Most of the rich and influential that she had met always hated her kind. The weak who had to rely on their strength to survive.
Freya finished off her plate and started to fill the ring with food as well. These kinds of Storage rings read the intentions of the wearer than a spike of magic that might be from another person entirely.
Titus watched in astonishment as she collected more and more food into the ring.
A suspicion formed in his mind.
Though he wasn't sure of it, he guessed that she couldn't afford food so much as he could. Maybe he wasn't as aware of the country's economy as he thought he was.
Should he have given her one more storage ring? There were so many in pocket alone…
There was a sudden bang sound and the walls around them disappeared.
Freya looked up as the ceiling disappeared as well.
"What the hell?"