“Now, hold the menu like this,” Arthur displayed, clutching the laminated sheet of paper with both hands. “Look at the pictures and decide what you want. Then, tell the man in the black suit about your choice.”
Kai nodded, looking over the menu. When the waiter arrived, he pointed at the dish he wished to consume. “This is a red ball. It has a bumpy texture is covered in yellow strings that intertwine…”
The waiter stared at the child as if he were crazy, while Arthur laughed muffled. ‘I shouldn’t have told him to “tell the waiter about” his choice.’
“He’ll have the spaghetti and meatballs, please,” said Arthur, stifling laughter. The waiter recovered from his shock, nodding before glancing at the child again. He sat with his legs closed and his body curled as if troubled at the possibility of taking up too much space.
“What about you, sir?”
“I’ll have… let’s do chicken biryani for today, shall we?” Arthur said, to which the waiter nodded before taking a few notes and wishing the two a nice stay. “Kai, when the waiter comes, you either point out the dish or if you know its name, simply say it.”
Kai realized his mistake, attempting to apologize almost immediately. 𝒃𝒆𝒐𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝒎
“It’s fine,” said Arthur. “It’s your first day. We’ll work on this in the future.”
Arthur’s purpose for bringing Kai to a restaurant was to familiarize him with basic human interaction while treating his bland taste buds to something nice after several years. A satisfied slave was the best slave.
Kai continued to look at the other customers, who furrowed their brows while reciprocating, wondering why the child was so socially unaware. Arthur ignored his behavior, maintaining a silent persona.
“Why are you wearing a cloak?” Kai inquired, unable to suppress his curiosity at Arthur’s dress sense. He was unaware that wearing tattered clothes was not the norm.
“So I can hide my identity,” replied the crimson-eyed man. “You never know what might happen in public, so it’s better to be wary and careful. Prevention is always better than cure. You’ll learn that, eventually.”
Kai nodded at his reasoning, recalling his experience. A single misstep would result in several lashings, and remaining wary of other slaves was the best choice. Refusing to interact with other humans was always best.
“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t interact with other people,” Arthur continued. “You can interact with those whom you trust.”
“Trust… What is that?”
Arthur didn’t respond for a few seconds. “You’ll know, eventually.”
He felt pity for the child before him. At such a tender age, instead of being treated like a human being, he was treated like air. Even physical abuse was better than such torture. Kai was unaware of all societal norms, except the language.
He was merely a shell of what he could have been.
A few minutes passed, and their food arrived. Kai extended his arm, preparing to grab the meatballs. His hand was shot down by Arthur, who shook his head. He then handed the child a fork.
“Use this to swirl the spaghetti around the metal,” said the crimson-eyed man. “Then, you can either balance the meatballs on the fork, or you can pierce them using the sharp part of the utensil.”
Kai nodded. He was clumsy at first, but he quickly learned how to properly eat his food. Arthur nodded, using his fork and spoon to quickly yet gracefully finish his food in mere seconds. Hunger was powerful.
Once Kai finished his food, the two headed out.
“Where are we… I apologize.”
“You can ask such questions,” said Arthur casually. “I don’t mind. The reason I found you interesting was because you weren’t a puppet… at least, not yet. If you don’t display that quality, then what’s the point?”
Kai wondered how his “will” was interesting, but paid no mind to the specifics. However, he nodded in response.
“We’re heading to a clothing store,” replied the crimson-eyed man, leading the way. The two quickly arrived at a shop named “Larkin’s Clothing.” Heading inside, they were quickly greeted by a helper.
“Can I help you?”
“We’re looking for casual, battle wear for him,” said Arthur, placing his hand on Kai’s back. The helper glanced at the child as an expression of disgust flashed across his face. It was natural, considering Kai was dressed in crude attire.
“I’ll be back in a second.”
Once the helper returned, he showed three outfits. One was a sleek, stark black, skintight battlesuit. Another was akin to a loose robe that most “cultivators” wore, while the third was a tunic and loose pants.
“Which one do you want?” Arthur inquired, glancing at Kai.
The latter pointed at the loose robe. His eyes remained on the tunic, but he shook his head promptly. “The robe.”
Arthur nodded, praising his choice. He grabbed the robe before heading to the cash register, where he paid merely 50 Tokens for the attire.
After wearing the robe, Kai and Arthur left the shop.
‘Why is he buying me all this stuff?’ Kai wondered, narrowing his eyes. Arthur smiled faintly, realizing his current change in face was the most expressive he’d been since their meeting. It was unusual.
‘I’m not beneficial in any way,’ thought Kai. ‘Then why…’
“Do you know what fate is, Kai?” Arthur inquired, leading the way while maintaining a lighthearted expression and voice.
“Yes,” replied Kai. “Fate is a web. It’s a series of strings.”
“That’s only for you,” replied Arthur. “No one else can see those strings.”
Kai’s eyes widened slightly. It took him a while to process the information that escaped Arthur’s lips. “No one else can see these except me? What…”
“It’s true. You’re special in that sense.”
Kai gazed at the floor, sensing the build-up of an unknown emotion. Was it happiness? Excitement? He’d often heard the mention of such complicated emotions but had never felt it before.
“For regular people, fate is a concept they aren’t certain exists. No one is certain of fate’s existence, except you… and perhaps me, since I know of your ability.”
Kai remained silent.
‘So that’s why he bought me.’