Hm, I think that's all of it...do I need to get anything else, Ai?
I know, I already ordered it online from Sanctuary Eta in India. Or rather, what used to be India.
Today's the 15th of May, 2169, I was about ten days out from the tournament. Charlotte had confirmed that my place in the roster of participants was set, so my participation was all but assured.
I was currently at a grocery store, buying some ingredients for something I wanted to make. It's a dessert my mother made for me as a kid a few times in my previous life, called Watalappam.
It's a traditional Sri Lankan dessert, and I've searched for it here in Sanctuary Theta, and while there are plenty of restaurants with Asian cuisine here, I couldn't find any that had what I was looking for in their menus.
I've got a raid tomorrow, so I won't be training today. And since I have some extra free time, I figured I'd try shopping at a supermarket in person instead of ordering online like I usually do with most of my purchases.
Alright, I believe I'm set. Did I miss anything, Ai?
Nah, I'll stick to only the necessary ingredients. I've never made this before, so it's probably best that I keep it as simple as possible. More ingredients means a higher chance of screwing it up.
I'll be counting on you to guide me through it, Ai.
Cool, thanks, appreciate it.
Hm? Wait, isn't that...
"Hey, man, how's it going?" I greeted the familiar figure as I approached him.
"Huh? Oh, it's you...hey, Kai," He responded with a sigh.
"Hey, Rex. Doing a bit of shopping too?"
"Yeah. My girlfriend doesn't trust delivery, she says they give lower quality ingredients with stuff like fruits and vegetables...so I had to come here in person. This is such a drag, I just wanna go home and sleep," He muttered, letting out a strained sigh.
"Cool, didn't know you had a girlfriend. Still, though, you seem like you're in an unusually bad mood, anything else bothering you? Not that you have to tell me if you don't want to, but if you need to vent...," I suggested as he half-heartedly put some apples in his cart.
"It's my stupid Guild...first, they wouldn't stop pestering me to tell them about what the Chairwoman had me doing. Of course, I couldn't say anything because of the NDA, so that was a pain.
And then...they started pestering me to participate in the Hunters Championship Clash, which is a hard pass from me, but they don't seem to understand the meaning of the word no," He grumbled irritably.
"Wait, you're participating too? That's great, I-...," I began with a smile.
"What? No. I refused, of course, I didn't cave no matter how much they asked," He responded with a huff, before pausing and adding, "Wait, 'too'? You're participating? Does that mean...?"
"Yeah, I decided it was time to stop laying low, and I'll be announcing myself at the tournament."
"Ah. Let me guess, the Chairwoman's suggestion?"
"Mhm."
"Yeah, figures. That's good, my Guild will finally stop bugging me about what the Chairwoman had me doing," He sighed in relief.
"Too bad you're not participating. I might've gotten a chance to fight you again," I mused with a wistful sigh.
"Absolutely not. Even if I was participating, a very big IF, I wouldn't fight you. I'd just give up before the fight begins. I meant what I said, I'm never fighting you again...your Aura is bigger than it was the last time I saw you too," He muttered warily.
"Well, I've been on a few raids since the last time I saw you."
My last raid was about a week ago, and tomorrow's raid will mark what's very likely to be the final time I team up with my current party.
"I see. It really is scary...the way you get stronger and stronger with every raid. Any idea which Guild you'll join?" He asked me.
"Huh, didn't expect you to take any interest in that."
"Well, yeah. If you end up joining my Guild, my workload is bound to reduce."
Ah. So, that's why he asked.
"You're in the Demonsbane Guild, right? Sorry, but I'm currently leaning towards the Diva Guild, I've got a close friend there," I informed him sheepishly.
"Eh, it's fine. Well, anyway, I think I've got everything I came for. I'm going to leave now, see you later," He replied as he tossed a couple of loaves of bread into his cart.
"Sure, see ya. Take care, man," I responded, giving him a wave as he headed to the front of the store.
Yeah, that's done.
And now, for snacks...let's look for some new options, stuff I've never tried before. I'm definitely going to want some chips and chocolates to start with.
As for drinks, sodas and fruit juices are a solid choice. Ooh, maybe some chocolate milk too, can't go wrong with that.
Hm, except for the chips, that's a whole lot of sweet, gotta get a few more spicy and savory options to balance it out.
Any suggestions, Ai?
What, you gonna tell me this is a waste of money? You know how much money I've got at this point, don't you?
Hey, they're not all unhealthy. Fruit juice and chocolate milk are plenty healthy!
Well, duh, why would I go sugar-free?