By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, painting Cirrus Cloud Town in deep shades of indigo and violet, Dylan Vastocean was utterly exhausted. His throat was raspy from shouting all afternoon, his legs ached from dodging the town guards, and his hands were stained with plant sap and soil from helping Scarlet and Victoria.
Yet, as he stood at the archway of the courtyard and looked back at his home, a strange warmth bloomed in his chest.
"All preparations are finally finished!" Dylan proudly looked over the house, the courtyard and the signage in front of him.
'I have always been busy trying to survive... so this is what it feels like working towards fulfilling one's dreams and ambitions...' This was the first time in his life that he has put in so much effort into putting a dream and ambition in reality.
Who would have thought that the famous rundown, abandoned and notoriously haunted house, which was even mockingly called the Fox Spirit Manor would transform to be an eye-catching mansion with a mystifying courtyard of nature and woodwork?
Night descended gradually, the soft golden lanterns hung from the ivy-covered pergolas, casting gentle, flickering light across the hand-carved trestle tables. It was creating what seemed like a fairy land with its warm yellow lights.
"The menus are finally done as well!" Dylan was proud as he looked at the menu in front of his hands that he had been writing copies for. After around an hour or so writing the menu, he was able to finish twenty set of the menu. It took him awhile especially since he was very careful in making each character legible and uniform. He did not rush and made sure that it was presentable.
"We're going ahead now, sir Dylan!" Jake bid his farewell after they finished renovating the kitchen.
"We're looking forward to coming here tomorrow!" Jeffrey said with anticipation written over his face.
"I will definitely order a lot for lunch!!" Harry waved his hands as he said goodbye.
"You have my utmost gratitude for your work! See you tomorrow!" Dylan slightly bowed to display his gratitude towards the three craftsmen. If it were not for them, the renovations would have taken longer.
"This looks great! Although, I paid another large sum for this..." Dylan surveyed the renovated kitchen. It was now larger and much spacious. They used the lumber to extend the kitchen outwards to the backyard. It was twice as big with ten cooking stations with cooking cabinets and an improved ventilation system. He paid another thousand copper coins for this.
"This is an investment. This is an investment." Dylan repeated that mantra again and again to calm himself as he exited the kitchen.
...
Dylan stood in the middle of the courtyard, just smiling as he appreciates the enchanting setting of his Vast Ocean Courtyard.
"Look at you, smiling like a fool," Victoria's voice broke the silence as she walked up beside him, wiping a specks of dirt from her hand.
"My apologies, Lady Victoria, I did not see you there..."
"Ahem!" Victoria interrupted him, with a meaningful look that suggested he got it wrong.
"I'm sorry, Victoria?" Dylan corrected himself, looking unsure if he got it right.
"Mhm." Victoria nodded.
"I can't help it," Dylan murmured, looking up at the polished wooden sign: [GARDEN FORD TAVERN] and [VASTOCEAN COURTYARD]. "I never thought... I never dreamed this place could look so alive."
"You worked hard today. Even if your marketing strategy was..." Victoria paused, letting out a soft, melodious laugh, "...definitely unique. The guards in the market square are still talking about the 'crazed youth' shouting about a vast ocean of flavors. There is already rumors that you must have been possessed by the fox spirits of this mansion."
"Hehe, it definitely worked, didn't it?" Dylan grinned, though he mentally sent a prayer of thanks to Ford for the wild idea. "Half the town is curious, and the other half thinks the spirit in the manor has finally possessed someone. Either way, they'll come tomorrow."
"They certainly will," Victoria said softly, her eyes softening.
"Hopefully, they will, haha. We've worked hard for this." Dylan's eyes shone with expectations and optimism.
"WAAAH!"
They heard a sudden shriek from inside the house. It was Scarlet that was evidently excited about something, "The dress is so cute!"
The moment the the two entered the house, they saw the little red haired beauty wearing a maid outfit that Dylan bought him earlier. It was one of her requests to him when he went out.
"Scarlet looks so cute in that maid outfit. Aaaah!" Victoria hugged Scarlet so tightly due to her cuteness.
"You're squeezzing me too much, Big Sis Ria!" Scarlet was pushing Victoria's face away from her face.
"Oh I'm sorry! You are just too cute!" Victoria gave her a peck on the cheek before letting Scarlet go from her embrace.
Dylan smiled at this as he asked, "So why did you ask me to buy this?"
"Well, you've been working so hard to get prepare for this restaurant. You were also having so much fun doing it. I just thought that maybe I should help out around here as well..." Scarlet pouted as she had her hands behind her back while she looked down at her foot.
Then, seemingly looking like she realized something, she hurriedly defended her own self, "I can serve the things you order to the customers! I have always done that when you cook around here! I... I don't know anything about taking their orders but I can definitely help out like doing the dishes! I do that a lot of times too!"
"I have the best younger sister in the world!" Dylan could not help but feel emotional from those words He hugged his younger sister while being teary eyed, "Don't worry, you can definitely help out!"
"Oh, big bro! Stop iiiit!" Scarlet tried to push him away but she was smiling while doing so. It was clear that she was happy, being allowed to help with the restaurant.
"But you don't have to help out every day. I'm planning to eventually hire other people like waiters and cooks that we-I will train!" Dylan said while hugging her.
"Enough, Big bro!" Scarlet continued pushing Dylan away but Dylan was still hugging her tightly
Victoria looked at this heartwarming scene between brother and sister with a bittersweet feeling arising from her heart. She could not help but remember her own relationship with her late elder brother, 'We were this close together too...'
*Knock* *Knock*
The trio heard a knocking noise from outside the gate as they all stopped to ascertain whether the knocking was just a coincidence or it was intended to their residences.
*Knock* *Knock*
Hearing it again, Dylan went to the gate to see who it was. "Just a moment, please"
"Is this the residence of Mr. Dylan and Ms. Scarlet?" The voice from outside the gate asked.
"Yes, to whom may it concern?" Dylan looked over through the peeping hole of the wooden gate. He saw a luxurious carriage that carry the City Lord's insignia with it. From that alone, he knew what was the intention of this late visitor. The blonde man who stood by the door was rather large and well-built. He was wearing a luxurious robe, meaning he must be of noble status as well.
'They must be here regarding the arrangement between Scarlet and the City Lord.' Dylan remembered the discussion about the City Lord's support to Scarlet. He also vividly remembers Ford telling him that the City Lord most likely harbors grudges to them.
"I come here as a messenger of the City Lord!" the man introduced himself.
Dylan came out of the house and greeted the nobleman, "Greetings to you kind sir, what bring you here?"
The nobleman's proud statue did not change. He did not even greet Dylan. He only gave him a side glance before looking at the house once more, "I was tasked by the City Lord to bring the supported goods and ensure that it is received by Miss Scarlet."
'That condescending look...' Dylan knew that this nobleman was actively looking down on him. It was a look that he was very familiar with, a look of disdain. For years, he has had to deal with the same look due to being a cultivation cripple. But this was also a mix of the superiority complex of nobles in general.
But the Dylan had already grown past that after meeting Ford, he assumed a warm smile and calmly said, "Ah, I see. Would you want it to be personally received by Scarlet?"
'They want Scarlet to personally receive the gift, it seems? They want her to personally receive it so she knows who to be grateful towards... They're trying to take advantage of her age....' He looked at the Spatial Bag that the nobleman brought along with him. 'A spatial bag? That means it has a lot of treasures inside. But I think they must have messed up...'
"Scarlet and I are not cultivators so we would not be able to access it freely." Dylan thought that it was pretty stupid of them to not take that into account or that they were not just thoughtful on how to supply the cultivation support and resources.
"Yes, that would be ideal." The nobleman looked self-satisfied seeing as Dylan quickly understood his meaning.
"Scarlet!" Dylan called.
"Yes, Big Bro?"
Immediately, after that, Scarlet came running in excitedly but when she saw the nobleman, she stood behind Dylan and hid behind her.
Following closely behind, Victoria observed everything from inside the gate.
Suddenly, the entire atmosphere around the nobleman changed. His haughty demeanor completely disappeared and replaced by a sycophantic conduct, "It is my utmost honor to be able to meet you, Miss Scarlet. I have heard that the young missus is a heaven-blessed talent, destined for future greatness. I was tasked by the City Lord with important responsibility of imparting the city's support to you!"
'I guess the City Lord wants to butter up to Scarlet. He must have told his messenger the importance of this task and the incredible potential that scarlet has.' Dylan observed the suck-up attitude of the nobleman and understood what was happening.
The nobleman carefully raised the Spatial Bag to Scarlet, waiting for her to take it. He was smiling as warmly as he could. "Here, young missus."
"..." Scarlet looked at him warily and shook her head.
"There are a lot of gifts and toys in here for you to enjoy as well!" The nobleman's smile became more rigged, seeing that Scarlet was not accepting their gift.
"..." Even that did not do anything to make Scarlet budge, she still shook her head, refusing.
Having no choice, the nobleman looked at Dylan to ask for help with pleading eyes, "Mister Dylan..."
Dylan already knew why Scarlet was acting like this but he still decided to humor the nobleman. He looked at Scarlet and asked, "Scarlet, why aren't you talking to our guest?"
"Because you told me not to talk with suspicious uncles." Scarlet replied while hiding behind Dylan.
"U-uncle..." The nobleman's eyes bulged from that comment.
"What makes him look suspicious? He seems to be a rather well-put individual, sophisticated and dresses well." Dylan tried to raise the nobleman's case which the nobleman caught on and nodded.
"The moment he saw me, his eyes lit up and he started acting very close... Then, he immediately started telling me he's going to give me gifts... That's why he seems suspicious. Plus, you told me not to accept gifts from strangers too!" Scarlet once again replied. Basically to Scarlet, his brown-noser attitude seemed more like a predatory behavior.
"?!" The nobleman could only cough up blood from Scarlet's words. He never would have thought that he would be implied to be a criminal while doing this task.
"Pfft..." Dylan and Victoria could not contain themselves as they tried to suppress their laughter.