"Yes." She responded and in no time a new item was added to her collection.
The next thing she wanted was the Infinite void Ring.
Her experience points were falling quickly, so she decided to end her splurge here. At least until her heart recovered from the pain of separating from her 'money'
Ranta heard her quiet mutterings and thought to himself. 'And she calls the system frugal.'
Tejumole had something similar to the Infinite Void ring. However, the ring in her possession was simply called 'Void Ring' and could only store a few items at a time.
Just slightly over twenty inanimate objects.
She couldn't even store small animals inside, much less a living person.
Tejumole figured it was time for an upgrade.
The 'Void Ring' was a circlet object that she always wore on her index finger.
However, to avoid detection, she preferred to activate its invisibility function.
With a thought, a small red ring appeared on Tejumole's finger. It glimmered softly under the restaurant lights and felt cool to the touch. The ring was also smooth with a pair of engraved wings on its surface.
Tejumole glanced at the ring as her thoughts travelled down memory lane.
This was the first thing she received after becoming a punisher. It was right after she thought her time had ended.
At the time, she lay in a pool of her own blood a distance away from her burning house. That was the day she was reborn from the ashes and lost her innocence as her hands became stained with blood.
To Tejumole, that period in time was unforgettable. So many things happened and there were numerous changes.
However, among those changes, the most fortunate was meeting Haoyu. Her little one.
Tejumole fiddled with the red ring with a pensive gaze and wondered whether she should take it off or not.
A moment later, she turned to Ranta who had left her shoulder, and was currently occupying himself with her cake.
Her supposed guide was already half way done with it.
'What a glutton.' She frowned at his ravenous attitude before purchasing her object of choice. Temporarily forgetting that he developed his attitude from his host.
[The host has chosen "Infinite Void Ring".
Cost: 450EXP
Confirm Payment: YES/NO]
"Yes." Tejumole uttered with a yawn. She was getting pretty tired and couldn't wait to leave.
Unlike the first two items, the Infinite Void Ring appeared in her closed palm. When she felt the foreign object in her hand, she opened her fists and observed its appearance.
The ring looked similar to the old one, but instead of a dull red colour, this ring was a brighter shade.
It was also fairly larger with a sharper contour, and would cover more than one third of her finger.
Like the other ring, this one was cool to the touch, but the engraved wings were more detailed. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be lightening bolts in between the feathers.
Tejumole twirled the toroidal object between her fingers before wearing it on her right hand.
Now, she had one ring on her left index finger and a larger model on the right hand.
"Now for the other thing…" The last thing Tejumole wanted to do before leaving the restaurant, was to take a pick from the two rare items the system awarded after completing the previous mission.
{Cloak and dagger: A cloak made from the skin of an extinct ancient beast with tough skin and camouflage abilities, coupled with a special dagger made from Inerite steel. Inerite steel is a metal exclusive only to the system. It combines softness and hardness, being light and ever sharp and making it the ultimate choice for assassins.
— White Lotus: A unique lotus that has both attack and defence properties. The petals can be as sharp as a blade, easily cutting through rocks, and as hard as diamond, making it impervious to external attacks.}
Tejumole scrutinized the uses of both objects and decided to go with White Lotus.
Her decision was primarily to maintain the balance between assault and defence because she had so many weapons for attack, but not much to shield her from potential harm.
Another reason she chose White Lotus was because apparently, she could use its petals as weapons.
This way she would have a reliable defence to protect her from onslaughts and also a sure way to double her offence.
It was killing two birds with one stone.
There were still a couple of things Tejumole could purchase. The system had unlocked a few more items apart from these.
However, Tejumole glanced at the time and decided to head back before it got too late.
She had been away for a while and was starting to worry about Haoyu.
Tejumole turned to the empty platter and shook her head with a sigh.
Ranta had retired to the space to rest. He wouldn't be out for a while because he still needed to digest what he ate. That's if an S.A.I even had a digestive system.
Tejumole packed her belongings, a simple red handbag, and called a waiter over to her table before ordering a few dishes from the menu.
She requested he packaged her order and added a cake into the list…just because.
Not long after, the waiter returned with two bags and a transparent cake box. This time the cake was a tantalizing mocha colour with an exquisite design.
Just looking at the design made Tejumole want to gobble the entire baked goodness.
Controlling her urges, she transferred what she owed and bid her farewells before carrying the luggage away.
Tejumole stepped out of the restaurant and shivered slightly from the night breeze. She waited for a motorcycle to pass and walked over to her car on the other side. She then entered the driver's seat, and placed the bags on the front seat before starting the engine.
The greyish-silver hatchback shuddered to life and gradually disappeared into the distance. While she drove, Tejumole wondered if the little one was asleep.
However, what she didn't notice were a familiar pair of dark fox eyes watching her movements from inside a black car. Its design was simple but intricate and was obviously an expensive vehicle.
"Drive." Haoyu's deep voice resounded from the back seat, and the black car shuddered to life before speedily leaving the vicinity.
•••
Tejumole entered the house and closed the door behind her. She removed her shoes and changed into a pair of soft slippers before walking to the living room.
The lights were still on and when she glanced in the direction of the couch, she saw Haoyu laying motionless with his eyes closed.
She carried the items in her hands over to the open kitchen and placed them on the counter, before putting the cake inside the fridge.
After doing this, Tejumole lightly strolled into the living room and crouched in front of the sleeping beauty.
She crossed her arms on the black couch and rested her head on them. In this position, she watched the steady rise and fall of Haoyu's chest.
He lay on his side and was dressed simply. Donning a thin shirt, that showed his body faintly, and soft pants.
His glossy hair which covered half of his face was soft and had light curls. She strangely felt it looked like cotton candy.
Tejumole raised a hand and removed Haoyu's hair from his face, tracing it from the roots to the tip as she did.
Her gaze wandered the resting face endearingly. His straight brows that resembled a sharp blade, the beautiful contour of his eyes and the long eyelashes that even she felt jealous of.
Her gaze travelled further to his well-structured nose and paused slightly on his lips before taking in his entire figure.
'Little one… you've grown.' Tejumole thought to herself. It felt like yesterday when she met Haoyu.
Then, he was a detached thirteen-year-old kid who she happened to stumble upon.
Their meeting could be described as coincidental.
Or was it fate?