"Ay, Boss! Give me chicken wings and a glass of beer! Also, make it hot!"
"Sure thing, Man! Wait here for a second!"
It was a pretty chill night in Shamsa City with the sound of people chatting and laughing could be heard from inside the Dons bar. Even without taking a look outside of the window, Ursa knew it came from the workers who just poured out of the office buildings nearby. However, he didn't expect a single one of them would visit this place since he just opened the bar two days before.
Instead of thinking about those strangers who he couldn't control what they were going to do, Ursa put his focus back on his current job. He moved around the kitchen with the ease of someone veteran, grabbing ingredients and tools like a pro. He swiftly seasoned a single chicken wing, expertly tossing it in the hot fryer until it sizzled to golden perfection. With a quick glance at the bar, he poured a cold glass of beer from the tap, watching the foam rise just right.
The man who ordered the food sighed from behind the bar, watching Ursa prepare the food like it was a show. "I swear I can just sit here and watch you prepare food all day and I will never get bored of it. You are a magician, Boss."
Ursa just smiled wryly at that. Even though he knew it was a compliment, Ursa would rather be known as anything other than a showman bartender like what the man in front of him insinuated. Not that he hated this job, per se. It was just… Well… Screw it! He hated the job! If he had a chance, Ursa would rather be outside there, fighting with his peers for all injustices in this city rather than being stuck in a small, shady bar like this.
Yeah, it was just two weeks ago, when Ursa graduated from Shamsa Academy, the best high school in the city. At that time, he was excited to start his internship with the local government office where he had the vision to help others and make a difference. However, everything had changed. Both his parents had died suddenly and under strange circumstances, and even the old house his parents used to live in was confiscated by the city, leaving him heartbroken and lost.
Fortunately, he remembered a small bar that his dad's family owned for several generations that his dad inherited a few years ago, and since it wasn't in his dad's name, the place was safe from the city's grasp. At least, one problem was solved here since he didn't have to sleep outside. No disrespect to all the homeless people outside, but the thought of having no roof to sleep under sent quite a chill down Ursa's shiver, knowing he would never be able to survive in that kind of situation.
"Here, enjoy the food, Mister!" Ursa brought the chicken wings he just made and the glass of beer to the table, giving it to the customer who grinned excitedly.
"Atta boy! This is what I am waiting for!"
As he watched the customer enjoying the food, Ursa sighed as he fell into the pity party once again. The man in front of him was the first customer tonight, and while the night was still pretty young, he didn't expect more customers would come. After a week of running the bar by himself, Ursa finally knew and could appreciate the effort adults had to make just to earn some money. Hell, some even had to overwork just to find themselves getting overpaid, which while at first, he couldn't comprehend why anyone wanted to do that, now he knew that most of them were in a desperate situation, not that they enjoyed getting tortured and squeezed by those corporations outside.
Those kinds of people and street children who didn't have a roof to sleep were the kind of people Ursa wanted to help the most when he was about to do an internship in the local government. Unfortunately, all of it was just a dream now, slipping through the back of his head, ready to be forgotten as he had to use all of his resources to survive first.
'Maybe, being a hero is not for me. This is God's way to let me know that I need to be realistic.'
Creaak...
The creaky sound of the door suddenly brought Ursa back to reality. He turned his head and saw two men stepping into the bar, hoods covering their faces. One of his eyebrows rose immediately, one from the fact that his expectation that no one would be here didn't come true, and the second was because of the two men's appearances.
At first glance, they looked like the villain characters who were about to do a shady business just like what he saw in a movie when he was in high school. However, Ursa knew that it was just a fictional story, and there was no way something so unrealistic like that could happen in reality.
Or… So that was what he thought.
"What can I get for you, Gentlemen?" Ursa greeted them both professionally, trying to hide his thoughts.
"Just get us your best salads and two glasses of water." One of them – the taller one – answered, his voice was raspy.
Ursa raised one of his eyebrows slightly at that before nodding his head politely. "Sure! Please, wait for a minute, Sir. Your order will be ready after this."
As he prepared the food, though, so many thoughts crossed Ursa's mind as he watched the two new customers go into the corner far from the bar. If before, he still thought there was no way anything shady could happen in his bar, now he was not sure about that. He didn't want to make an assumption, but those two acted so suspiciously.
First, they wore attire that covered their body from head to toe, not giving people any idea of their identity. Then, in a bar where all the people there usually came to refresh themselves or even just to hang out with their friends, those two ordered salads and plain water, the cheapest and the most ordinary combos Ursa had ever heard of, making them more suspicious in his book. Lastly, those two went to the corner far from the bar, the least expected spot for people to walk over.
Everything from those two screamed that they were going to do shady business here, and honestly, Ursa didn't know what to do right now. He couldn't just cause them both away from his bar, yet he didn't want to get into a troublesome situation. Unfortunately, as he was hesitating between two choices, fate seemed to help him choose what to do, as in the next second, an electronic ping voice suddenly could be heard inside his head, followed by a bright screen popping in front of his face.
[DING!]
[Congratulation! You've awakened the Justice Warrior System!]
[Expose all the sinners and be the light of hope for the oppressed people!]