Damon sat down on one of the tables outside the restaurant. He gestured for Mikha'el to sit next to him as they looked at the menu to order.
"Master, why of all places did you decide to go back to the city? It's like directly going to the enemy's mouth," Mikha'el complained. She was still sulking at what had happened.
"We won't have any progress if we continue to hide," Damon replied and slammed the menu. "I want to eat Acedia's Hash Brown and the Fruity drink!" he exclaimed after picking.
Mikha'el sighed since she felt Damon wasn't listening to her at all. She stared at the menu, but nothing attracted her eyes. "I'll order the same as yours, Master," she stated.
Damon called the waitress and repeated their orders. However, the waitress paid Mikha'el more attention than Damon due to his childlike appearance.
"Master…" Mikha'el whispered with longing for answers.
"Call me by my name," Damon stated with a grin. He didn't want anyone hearing a fine lady calling him a 'Master' as it would only draw unwanted attention.
"How can I say the name of my Master!?" Mikha'el exclaimed in shock.
It was a disrespect if a mere servant would call their Master by their direct names.
"Well, you can think of this as a partnership rather than a Master and servant contract," Damon shrugged. He felt shackled being called a Master and leading Mikha'el when they could work together instead.
"Partnership…" Mikha'el whispered and thought about it.
"Mhmm, we do things together and take advantage of it," Damon continued, leaning back while looking at the clear sky.
"Then… Damon," Mikha'el said his name, and it felt foreign on her tongue.
"Yup, that's it. Continue doing that," Damon chuckled at Mikha'el's reaction; she looked adorable at how she spoke his name.
"Okay, then Ma— Damon… Why is performing to the public relevant to my revenge or anything that can help us, except getting a bit of pera?" Mikha'el asked and crossed her arms. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for Damon to explain.
"Haha!" Damon laughed, but the waitress arrived with their meal before he could say another word.
"Here you go. That will be 500 pera," the waitress informed and placed a check on the table before leaving.
Damon gasped with his mouth open. In his opinion, he expected the food to be relatively inexpensive. He counted the pera he had gathered from Mikha'el's performance, and it wasn't enough.
"We can exchange the Pooka's heads later," Mikha'el reminded after seeing the devastation on Damon's face.
"O-okay," Damon nodded with a sigh. It hurt him to be so broke at that point.
Mikha'el shook her head and started eating. Her eyes widened at how her taste buds burst at the flavor.
"This is amazing!" Mikha'el exclaimed and drank the juice, which added to the pleasure her tongue felt.
"I know!" Damon replied as he enjoyed eating as well.
"Mas— Damon, you still haven't answered my question," Mikha'el put down her fork and became serious. She knew Damon tried to evade answering whenever she opened the topic.
Damon sighed. He wanted to keep it to himself that he was just someone who had lost a goal in life. He desired to help Mikha'el and look forward to something while having fun on the side.
Aside from that, Damon thoroughly enjoyed having the Otherworldly Shop and wanted to use it in Tarynla to his advantage.
"Listen well," Damon muttered thoughtfully. He leaned forward with an intense gaze, which made Mikha'el feel nervous.
"Y-yes," Mikha'el replied. She gulped while waiting intensely for the revelation.
"This continent has seven nations, which means each one has different culture and ways of living, but there's only one similarity that links to enjoyment…" Damon explained sternly while drawing a circle on the table to represent a country using his finger.
"… and that's through the art of entertainment!" Damon exclaimed loudly. He threw her arms wide and expected Mikha'el to understand, but it was the opposite.
"I don't understand," Mikha'el replied nonchalantly. In her mind, revenge involved war, bloodshed, and chaos, not through dancing or singing.
"Look, entertainment might still be new to you, but with this tactic, we can have a fan base—" Damon wasn't finished talking when Mikha'el butted in.
"What's a fan base?" Mikha'el asked in confusion.
"Please, let me finish…" Damon wanted to cry out in frustration, but he sucked it up. "If the public trusts us. Isn't it easier to move and plan out revenge in secret without damaging our reputation?" he continued, hoping Mikha'el would understand.
Mikha'el blinked a few times while absorbing each of Damon's words in her brain.
"Hmm, it's better than war. Having an outer good reputation while secretly doing revenge in the darkness sounds like a good plan," Mikha'el replied, nodding. She was fine with the idea since she could live another life in public without hiding.
"Yup, and we also earn pera. What can we lose anyway?" Damon shrugged amusingly since, for him, the plan was all an advantage for them in the long run.
"My dignity," Mikha'el replied without hesitation. She said it with the most expressionless face and flat voice, which made Damon laugh.
"HAHAHA! Don't worry. I already introduced you as 'One' to the public. That will be your stage name," Damon replied while chuckling.
"So lame," Mikha'el rolled her eyes but didn't contradict Damon's ways. "What's with the numbers?" she asked.
"That's better to keep things tightly private and easy," Damon explained, shrugging. He continued eating, but Mikha'el kept staring at him, which made it hard for him to enjoy his food.
"I can't just tell everyone your name, right? If they join our group, it will be easier for the other Dra— I mean your kind. They will be known as Two, Three to Seven," Damon explained and gave Mikha'el a thumbs-up.
Mikha'el's mouth hung open. She remembered asking Damon about making her comrades human, but knowing he already set a plan for them warmed her heart.
'You're a good Master even though you're not from here,' Mikha'el thought. She was thankful to have Damon, who cared not only for her but for the other Dragons as well. It was rare since most people only wanted to take advantage of them.
"Ah, aside from that. You will be known as Mika from now on," Damon grinned and pointed the fork at Mikha'el.