Chapter 10: A Nice Meal
After classes were done, Cyril said goodbye to his friends and left towards his apartment with Alicia. Seeing the teasing grin on both Stan and Lam's faces was infuriating, but he ignored it as he walked away, making small talk with her about what the teachers said during class and how bad some of the food from campus was.
It took about thirty minutes to reach his apartment since they stopped to get some coffee on Starbillys, but once they got there, Cyril asked Alicia to get comfortable since it was going to take a while to explain the entire situation.
"*sigh*... Do you mind if I smoke?" Cyril inquired as he showed her his pack of cigarettes. Alicia simply denied with her head, so Cyril went ahead and lit a cig before taking a long puff of it.
"Didn't picture you as the type to smoke, considering your sports achievements." Alicia said while looking at Cyril's apartment, now a lot more relaxed than before. "And I got to say, you got a really nice style when it comes to decorations."
"Simple minimalism goes a long way." Cyril said while shrugging his shoulder before turning serious. "Ok, enough small talk, let's get to what you came here for."
"Ok." Alicia said while sitting more comfortably on the one seater, black leather couch. "I'm listening."
Cyril then reclined on his own couch while shaking the ash off in an ashtray on the coffee table between the couches. And then he began the long tail of explaining what The Abyss was and just how messed up the world truly was. Avoiding big factors like 'The Riot' or 'The Missionaries of Lincoln', Cyril navigated through the supernatural world trying to paint the worst possible picture he could to Alicia. All in order for her not to get even more interested in such a dangerous side of the world. Alas...
"You're trying to tell me there are people with superpowers, magic, monsters, demons, and that everything is real?!" Alicia almost screamed at the top of her lungs. Luckily, Cyril had created an ID without telling her just in case something like that happened. "How can I get powers?! Or learn magic?! Can I fight like you did?!"
"Alicia calm down for a second!" Cyril yelled a bit annoyed as he lit another cigarette. He was trying to protect her and the girl just wanted to get into that world. He didn't know how she could get powers or if she could even have any powers. She was regular twenty year old girl who could barely fight another girl, how did she expect him to get her to fight monsters? 'Though I could perhaps try with the Zombie ID... but I don't know if that would even work... *sigh*.'
'Wait... don't I have a 'Social' tab unlocked by 'The Gamer'?' Cyril thought before making a mental note to check that later. If the tab worked in a norma game, then he might just be able to give them a chance to protect themselves. "For now, I don't know. I might find a way and if I do, I'll tell you. I want you and the guys to be able to protect themselves if possible. After all, I can't be everywhere at the same time."
"That... I... I didn't know you worried about us like that. Thank you and... sorry for kind of guilt tripping you into telling me." Alicia said while looking down, a bit embarrassed by something she clearly misunderstood. Cyril hadn't meant anything with his words, but for some reason he didn't mind the misunderstanding on her end.
"Anyway, that is about all I have to tell you about The Abyss. There are a few more things but those really aren't something you should concern yourself with." Cyril said offhandedly before looking around them and looking at Alicia with a smirk. "ID Escape."
And with the sound of glass breaking, they both left the barrier. It was a neat trick that Cyril realized he could do during his grind. He could choose the barrier to just disappear or break if he wanted, and just now he thought that it would be a neat trick to use to both impress and warn Alicia.
"What was that just now?" She asked while looking around for a broken glass or anything of the sort. "It sounded like glass breaking!"
"That, Alicia, was a barrier. Remember how everyone disappeared from the street when the skeletons chased you? That was because you were inside of a barrier." Cyril explained patiently while ordering some food for them, since the entire conversation had taken a few hours and it was already half past eight in the evening. "Think about it as a room inside another room or a separate space from the world. Whatever we do in a barrier does not affect the real world and regular people can't enter barriers unless brought into by the creator of it. Is Korean ok?"
"Oh, I've never had Korean food, but I guess it's as good a time as any to try it." Alicia answered after nodding to his explanation. Then, thinking about it, she realized that if what Cyril said was true, then she had been targeted. "Why... was I targeted then?"
"I want some Jajangmyeon and a serving of Chimaek, and I want a bottle of Soju too, if possible." Cyril said over the phone while talking to the restaurant he was ordering from. Covering the phone for a second, he looked at Alicia and spoke. "They weren't targetting you in particular Alicia... they were gathering sacrifices, but I still don't know what for."
"Hm? Make it half huraideu and half yangnyeom, please. Hm. And add some Tteokbokki. Yeah. Thank you, I'll be waiting." Cyril said as he finished the call and then focused fully on Alicia. "Look, if I find out, I'll tell you, but for now, I don't know anything. They aren't after you, you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I already told you, most people in The Abyss don't care at all about regular people."
*BRINNNNG*
"Hm? The food is already here? That was qui..." Cyril stopped while looking at the old man that was standing at his door with a small hint of displeasure. "Mr. Fredericks... I wasn't expecting you right now. You could've called me."
"Oh but I did, Mr. Bane, you just weren't picking up so I figured I would just pass by and check if you were home." Allen said apollogetically before looking at Cyril's face with curiosity. "Am I... interrupting something, Mr. Bane?"
"*sigh*... maybe. But if anything, this is a good thing." Cyril said before fully opening the door. "Please come inside."
"Cyril, who is this?" Alicia asked while looking at the old man dressed formally in the middle of the night that had just entered Cyril's apartment.
"This Alicia is Allen Fredericks, a member of the Order of the Bluebell, an organization that works inside of The Abyss helping those who are forcefully introduced to it or just new to the supernatural side of the world." Cyril introduced Allen before looking at the man himself and introducing Alicia. "This one here is Alicia Young, a classmate of mine and the person who was attacked by the skeletons that other day."
"It is a pleasure, Miss Young." Allen said while looking at Alicia with some pity. She looked like such a young and promising girl but was unfortunately involved with the darker side of the world. "I take it you have told her the truth about that day, then?"
"I have." Cyril answered simply.
"Well then, that is good." Allen said while smiling at Alicia. "Seeing your expression, young lady, Mr. Bane here must have told you why the skeletons attacked you, right?"
"Uh? Oh, um, the plesure is mine, Mr. Fredericks." Alicia said before slowly nodding to his question. "Yeah... he told me about the sacrifices."
"No need to force yourself to talk formally with me if you find it uncomfortable, Miss Young." Allen said before proceding to show a serious expression. "But I digress. We have found a clue on the case you informed us about, Mr. Bane."
"Need my help?" Cyril asked, thinking about why Allen would come all the way to his house if not to ask for his help.
"I'm afraid so, Mr. Bane." Allen replied apologetically. "Your scrying ability would be most useful to investigate this case."
"I have no qualms with helping you guys." Cyril said before looking at Alicia and thinking of the delivery. "But that'll have to wait until after we have dinner and I accompany Alicia to her home."
"Oh, I have already eaten anyway." Allen said before heading towards the door. "The case can wait for a bit Mr. Bane, meet me at midnight outside the Church of the Visitation, we'll go from there."
After Allen left, Alicia and Cyril were once again left alone. A couple minutes later, their food arrived. Cyril had already eaten Korean food a few times and he absolutely loved the more spicy dishes of it and was a fan of Somaek, the combination of Soju and beer. Alicia seemed to really enjoy the Jajangmyeon and Chimaek, and even asked for some Somaek herself, even if just to try it. They had very nice meal together, which made the entire thing seem more like a date than the serious conversation they had just had.
*
"I had a great time Cy." Alicia said as she walked towards the entrance of her house. "Thank you for trusting me with all of this, really."
"No need, I just did what I thought was right." Cyril answered before turning his back to her. Before leaving towards the Church of the Visitation though, he turned his head and looked at her sideways. "You know, I wouldn't mind repeating this another day. Bye Allie."
As Cyril walked away, Alicia looked at him with surprise until a small smile formed on her face. "Neither would I."
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I felt like I was promoting Korean culture sheesh! Anyway, the storm is coming.
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