*Gulp*.
With a shaky hand, Zyran reached inside his suit's jacket's inner pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Here, use this". He handed it to her and then averted his eyes.
"Thanks". She took it and wiped the sweat off her forehead, she was taking heavy breaths, her cheeks flushed. Unfortunately for Zyran, if he hadn't looked away he would have seen the tantalising sight of her chest rising and falling.
The Gravel siblings weren't the only one's who noticed the sharp rise in heat, everyone in the restaurant did.
"Hey!, What's going on?. Why is it so hot all of a sudden?". Spoke a man who seemed to be in his thirties. He was confused by the sudden increase in temperature. ' Don't they have a freakin AC in this place?'.
"Their AC must not be working or something". The one who replied was a woman, who wore a red dress. "How the hell are we supposed to survive in this heat?. Are they trying to cook us?".
"You have got to be kidding me!, not only are we cooped up in here, waiting for help that would arrive who knows when, we also have to deal with this damn heat".
"He has a point, the least they should do is make this place a little comfortable to be in".
"Where is the manager of this place?".
People were finding the heat too uncomfortable, as they launched one complaint followed by another. Some of the people within the restaurant were wealthy business men and women. They weren't used to being mistreated in such a way, at least they thought of this heat as mistreatment. Being squeezed inside a crowded place, while being forced to bear with extreme heat wasn't something anyone would want to experience.
Just then, the Oldman from earlier, who was actually the restaurants manager began to speak once more, he was standing by the door that led to the kitchen, with Sofia next to him. *Ahem!*. "I would like to extend my deepest apologies to all guest regarding the current situation. Our AC system is currently nonfunctional. At this moment a staff member responsible for repairs is working at his hardest to fix the problem. Would all guest be patient enough to bear with the situation until our current problem is fixed, Thank you".
The restaurant manager then left along with Sofia behind him who no longer carried her earlier warm smile. They did not wait for anyone to say anything. The manager was aware that not everyone would be satisfied with what he said. Right now his job wasn't to satisfy his patrons but, to keep them safe and to make sure the building's lock down mode functions were all working in check. Plus, he had already told them that the current heat problem would be fixed, all they had to do was bear with it for a little while. Though he was smart enough to hand out cold beverages to all guest so that they could cool themselves off. The government will pay the bill.
"Hey Z, What do you think is going on outside?". Asked Alora who held a can of cola.
When Zyran heard what Alora asked, his expression turned dark, only to revert back to normal a second later. Alora who was paying attention to her drink, failed to notice this. "I'm sure the people responsible for dealing with the demons are probably out there fighting them right now". He was wrong and he knew it. Who didn't know how cruel the demons were, how the would kill and capture anyone indiscriminately. If help did arrive, he was hoping it arrived before any lives were lost.
"Help huh?, You mean The Yeager Corps?".
"Who else other than them".
"Honestly...", she traced the top part of the can. "I've never seen a member of The Yeager Corps before. I don't think I've met anyone who has".
"Me neither. Maybe they don't like public attention".
"Why would they not like public attention, aren't they literally protecting the whole world. Getting public attention is kinda inevitable, don't you think".
"If that's the case, then I can't think of another reason why no one has seen a member of their group".
"Kinda makes them mysterious, doesn't it?. They protect us from humanities biggest threat and yet we know so little about them. Not even the media talks about them". Alora has always dreamt of meeting one of humanity's defenders. Unfortunately, they rarely sticked around after finishing a job and even if they did, the public wouldn't know about it. "Hey, You think it's true that all their members have magical powers?. The things I'd do to get magical powers too". She had a serious expression when she said the last part.
"What? You want to fight demons too?". Zyran didn't like where this was going.
"Of course I want..."
"NO!". He yelled, drawing everyone's attention to them. His expression was dead serious.
"What's going on over there?".
"It's the usual couple drama".
"Seriously, right now"
"I bet it's the girl's fault".
"You don't have to yell you know". Zyran's yell almost gave Alora a heart attack. He has never yelled at her before. ' what's wrong with him?, I just want to protect people too'. Her eyes turned teary as she looked down. She looked like a mistreated puppy.
Zyran noticed his blunder and deeply regretted it. He felt worse when he saw that she was about to cry. "Hey... I'm sorry". He removed his hands from the wall and then used them to wipe her tears away, before gently holding her cheeks. He had a gentle expression on his face. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just... I don't know how the Yeager Corps does it's work, but I'm sure it's dangerous. If you did somehow get powers and join, wouldn't your life be constantly put in danger. Alora, your very important to me...". Alora felt a tingly feeling in her stomach when Zyran said this, she even forgot that he yelled at her. "... I don't want to lose you, I've already lost mom and dad. I don't want to lose you too. So no powers for you, got it". He said the last part playfully.
Alora found it hard to avert her gaze from Zyran's eyes. His word's made her feel giddy. Who would have known that casually saying that she wants to risk her life for others would get such a reaction from him. 'Should I talk like this more often, no. He'd be pretty mad at me'. No lie, she was really enjoying this moment. Even if, unknown to her, outside of this very building people were currently being shredded apart.
"I don't know what they were arguing about, but right now they look so romantic. Haa~". Said a woman that was paying attention to the earlier commotion caused by Zyran.
"Girl, what I'd do if my husband was gentle as that young man".
"I know right, men can be too prideful sometimes. They should learn how to apologise more often".
"Yeah you'd like that wouldn't you, you do know that most of the time we have to apologise for things we didn't do, right?". Refuted a man that was listening to the women's conversation. He took this chance to share the grievances shared by all men.
"Your right brother, how many of us have to endure apologising for things we didn't even do".
"We also have rights you know, we deserve fair treatment".
"What was that, honey?". Said one of the men's wives, who had a smile that promised a night on the couch for a week.
" Cough... Nothing".
It seemed that Zyran's stunt had lightened the mood in the restaurant, as everyone communicated freely.
"H-hey Z, can you let go". Alora's voice came out small, her face turning red by the second.
"Huh?".
"M-my face".
"Oh, sorry". He then removed his hands from her cheeks. 'I got carried away in the moment, where her cheeks always that soft?
The moment Zyran let go of her face, Alora quickly lowered her head and then covered her face with her palms. ' Embarrassing'.
Zyran scratched the back of his head and noticed that everyone was talking freely. ' I guess people are now comfortable enough to talk to one another'. He then looked at the steel alloy shield separating them from the demons outside. 'I wonder what's going on out there?. Did the Yeager Corps finally arrived? Or are they still not here yet?'. He looked at Alora who still has her head down.' I know I said those steel alloy shields will protect us but, I'm not even sure how long they'll hold. What if a powerful demon were to show up and tear through those doors as if they were nothing, were screwed if that happens'.
It just so happened, that at this very moment. Something that took everyone of guard happened...
*BOOOM!*.
An explosion that caused the whole building to shake occured, as the light's started flickering on and off. Everyone was scared senseless.
Zyran wrapped his hand around Alora's waist and then pulled her towards him, holding her close. He then looked at the place the booming noise came from, which was the steel alloy shield. His expression was dark. ' You have got to be kidding me'.
"Z, what was that?".
Zyran looked at his sister, but before he could reply...
*BOOOOM!*.
Another explosion resounded again. This one, powerful enough to knock people off their feet and cause the ground to crack open in some places. When people looked over at the steel alloy shield that was meant to protect them, they saw something that made their blood run cold.