Chapter 13 - Fancy

"I used a face sensor to switch on this recording, the system is automatically connected to the projector above your head," Darius said.

"What a devil!" I grumbled while holding back a headache.

"Last night you fainted because you were hit by Evan. Well, it wasn't much of a blow anyway," he said with a derisive chuckle.

"Do you know how much of my furniture you broke last night? I'll count it and include it in your debt bill."

"But the good news is that I can regenerate, so my handsome face can be saved and you don't have to reimburse me for my facial surgery" Darius added while showing his smooth right jaw.

'Damn!'

"By the way, I can't take you home this time."

"Do you see the beautiful view behind me? Can you see the opera house behind me? Yes, I'm in Australia right now." he babbles throughout the video while showing off the sunset view at the opera house.

"If you're hungry you can make whatever is in the kitchen, don't be spoilt!"

"One more thing, don't forget to wash and tidy up all the utensils you use. I'll probably be home in two days. That's it," Darius ended the video recording.

"You son of a bitch!" I said as I threw a pillow at the hologram.

Just throwing the pillow made me feel very tired. That's how weak I am right now. No matter how tired I was, my stomach said otherwise. It's as if it has a mind of its own.

Being hungry, it was also difficult to close my eyes. Slowly, I started to get out of bed.

While walking unsteadily. I tried to hold onto the wall occasionally, just in case I suddenly lost my balance and didn't fall.

My eyesight wasn't very good at the moment, I could see the stairs in the shadows. So I had to walk carefully when going down the stairs. Plus, the distance between the bedroom and the kitchen is quite far. It felt like I couldn't take it anymore, but my stomach was already sore because it hadn't been filled.

I paused to gather my strength, it took me a long time to get to the kitchen of this mansion. It was a classically designed kitchen with all kinds of utensils. I wondered if they would open a restaurant when I saw all the cooking and baking equipment. 

It's been a long time since I've cooked. I really miss my mom's stew. It reminds me of my childhood when I was sick. But I was too weak to cook stew, so I planned to cook something simpler like sandwiches. Maybe I could imagine the sandwiches I made as stew to relieve my longing.

I started to check the fridge, and all I found were a few bottles of mineral water that filled the door and shelves of the fridge. I'm still thinking positively, considering Darius is very rich and he must stock a lot of water in his fridge for the needs of many people.

Then I opened Buffett's drawer, but all I found were empty jars. And so on until I opened the last drawer.

"You are rich and have an old-style luxury house, but you only have one cup instant noodles?"

" Even I could eat at least a sandwich in New York after being laid off " 

Let alone making stew, I couldn't even make a sandwich. All I found was a cup of instant ramen, the only food left in the kitchen.

I had no other choice, my stomach was already feeling very twisted and I could only laugh sadly while enduring the pain. It looks like I have an ulcer. Although eating instant noodles is not good when you have a stomachache, I have no other choice here.

"That thing must be around here. There's no way this 'Chef's-like' kitchen doesn't have one"

I started looking for a water dispenser as a source of hot water to brew the ramen noodle cups. After finding it, I quickly unsealed the ramen and poured the seasoning into the cup. 

I studied the few buttons lined up to find the hot water setting. After that, I started pressing it and the water started coming out.

"Hey, who are you?"

A middle-aged woman's voice squealed from a distance. Just as the hot water poured into the ramen cups touched the recommended water level line.

'Are you kidding me? Let me make this ramen in peace'

I stopped the flow of the tap and turned my head towards the source of the sound. Smoke with the scent of burning tobacco blown out, accompanied by the sound of high heels. 

A confident woman with Asian features, around 35 years old, walked in while smoking a red cigar with a golden dragon carved into it. Her presence exuded a friendly and approachable vibe that made me feel at ease. 

She had the pretty face of a Korean drama actress with shoulder-length black hair, cut with hime bangs, big purple eyes. The woman had a mole on the corner of her left lip and wore red wine lipstick.

She approached me confidently in a sparkling black dress that fit her body shape perfectly, swaying with each step. Despite her ideal body and long legs, her assertive tone and piercing gaze made her less approachable. 

"I asked you a question, fancy pants!" she added, looking at me sharply.

Before I could open my mouth to answer her question, the woman continued speaking while looking at me from head to toe.

"You don't seem to understand. I'll change my question. Which club are you from?"

To be honest, at first, I didn't understand the meaning of her question. In retrospect, this question was somewhat familiar to me, I had heard something similar when my father met up with an old friend of his when we went to the basketball court.

'Club? Does he mean that I'm a fan of which basketball club?'

"Ah..."

"Maybe it's a bit weird because I'm not from there, but I support the Byson Centaurs. Yeah, everyone knows they've been playing well lately."

The woman was wide-eyed and stunned at my answer, followed by her squealing laughter. I could see tears coming out of the corners of her eyes from laughing so hard.

"Gosh, I thought your slightly different scent made you special"

"But it turns out you're just a slow and stupid human, huh?"

"I mean, the club bar. Not the basketball club! Ahahaha!"

That woman's way of laughing was just as bad as Susan's. I, who was dizzy and starving, became even more dizzy as I listened to her laugh. I felt like stuffing her pretty red lips with something to shut her up.

"I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong idea, Ma'am."

"Shhh! It's Hestia, not ma'am!"

"Hestia"

Then she continued, "I can't be wrong about you, look at that outfit you're wearing."

"How can any good woman that Darius brought to this mansion dress like that?" she added sarcastically.

I am indeed currently wearing a nightgown that can be considered quite revealing. But these pajamas are not my choice either!

"I understand what you mean, but these tacky clothes are not my taste!"

I know I'm pretty terrible at defending myself. It was obvious from the look in Hestia's eyes that was still cynical. But I was just trying to be honest with her. 

"Huh, a lowly creature like you doesn't belong in this mansion. You're shameless!" she said.

Hestia, who was still looking at me sarcastically started to smoke her cigar, the smoke billowing out a pungent odor that made me dizzy. I could hardly keep my focus.