—[Tavern: Upstairs]—
In a secluded room upstairs, the timber layed clean, it was rid of dust and debris. The lumiscent candle lit the room enough for a person to see. Tranquil air flowed in out of of a small squared window at the very back of this room. Noah was sitting on a wooden stool at the very centre. Celia calmly crossed her arms waiting to hear her father's thoughts on a specific matter. Victor circled around Noah, giving him scrutinised glances.
"So you are Noah." Stroking his beard, Victor felt a little perplexed at his skin complexion.
"He is a tanned man Celia. What do you see in your friend?"
"Father!" With a low but heavy huff, she leans on the wall with an annoyed expression.
"Calm down dear… It's just really uncommon to see the tanned people. You know how it is like in this city. You can count the amount of tanned people with your fingers, they are that rare."
"And?"
With a short sigh, Victor continued, "It's just that there is history with these tanned people. They caused more harm than good to the pale counterparts, us. You never know what this man is thinking. He could be scheming us till now." Antsy was laced all over his explanation, Victor understood what it means to deal with a person of the tanned race.
"It's not like I have anything personal with them. But…"
"It's fine father. He was the one been the protecting me over the years. He showed what many other people lack, integrity." She smiled gazing the stoic Noah who was silent the whole time.
'Celia does notice… Victor doesn't seem like a bad father to her…' A hidden but brief smile escaped from his hardened exterior.
'It's strange to see someone compliment me. I don't mind it at all…' Noah then said a few words, "I am only here for convenience sake. I don't want to hurt you nor Celia."
Upon hearing his thoughts, Victor ponders with slight suspicion. However, from what Celia had pointed out with protecting her over the years, he dropped his suspicions knowing that what she had said was true.
"So you were the one protecting her from the shadows, this isn't assassin like you know?" He teasingly nudged Noah who felt a hint of blush.
"Well… It's my act of courtesy in return to her help during the past." Noah then explained further, "She helped me in the lowest points in my life without asking for anything in return. How can I not repay her kindness?"
'Repaying kindness wasn't something I was used to. In my world, debts were paid in blood. But with her… it felt different.'
"Hoh…" Victor thought, 'This man… his words seemed genuine, and Celia's trust in him was undeniable. Perhaps, despite his assassin background, he was more than just his title.'
Celia smiled softly, her gaze lingering on Noah. She didn't say a word, but the warmth in her eyes spoke volumes.
"He is undeniably one of the most reliable people to associate." Feeling the brief wonderful past recollections with him and herself, it felt like an unspoken bond tightly wrapped with an invisible rope.
"Victor… I was meaning to ask you of something." Noah thought it was the right moment to ask this question.
Raising an eyebrow, Victor questioned, "What is it?"
"…"
"You have awakened a Mindset am I right?"
A thick silence submerged, its pressure sucking in, it felt large and tangible as a whirlpool.
"Why do you ask?" Victor eyes glint a bright green, an updraft of wind surrounded him causing the vicinity to shift.
"…I just wanted to know if you know how to awaken the Mindset."
"…" The answer felt plausible, but its abruptness caught Victor off guard.
"So you want to know the method of obtaining a Mindset right?"
"Indeed."
'I want to see if it is possible to awaken Mindset perhaps somewhere else or using a different method.'
"Father calm down!" Hold her head tightly, Celia crouched down in a protective stance guarding from the influx of wind.
"Don't beat around the bush. Answer me truthfully." His tone was heavy and commanding. Victor didn't come here for little mind games, he had someone he had to protect right next to him.
"I—" Remembering his lost with his guild master, his restricted ego began unravelling itself, opening up the tight chains.
"Want to win!" It was loud, clear. His intention stood firm with his statement.
"Why do you want to win so badly?!" Victor counter questioned, his voice still lingers of skepticism.
"It's because if I don't win the next encounter with a specific individual, I will die."
The answer was there, plain and simple. Victor glanced at Noah's fervent desire to win on his tensed expression. He could feel the intense rage boiling deep inside him.
It reminded of him in the past, his own recollection.
"You don't look like you are lying."
"…"
"But! I can't take your word for it. So…"
'So?…' Noah greatly anticipated for the answers he was looking for.
Internally, he was waiting, like a dad buying ice cream for their craving son.
He gulped, it was loud and telling, he felt what was about to be said was going to be what he had hoped for.a
However, it all came crumbling down before the very words of Victor,
"You have to be a waiter at this tavern for a week without rest!" Victor declared, a challenge he instilled upon Noah if he were to choose to take this opportunity.
Victor's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, the wind around him stilled. He remembered a time, long ago, when he too had been desperate, with a fire that burned as fiercely as Noah's. It was that fire that had driven him down a dangerous path, one he was sure Noah was on now. That's why he had to stop him, make him see something he didn't yet understand.
Celia who heard the challenge from her father was in laughing joy, she had hoped that a day where she could hang out with Noah while having him close by.
'Two birds with one stone. Noah gets what he wants, I get what I want… I didn't even do a single thing.' A slight crazy appeared from Celia quiet laughter, she felt a hint of ecstasy.
Noah let out a tired sigh, 'I guess it is what it is. Why did I even have hopes for what comes next. I knew this stuck up dad of hers is going to be a sore one to handle.'