Later
"So, a new friend?" Phil asks as Caelus, Astra, and Seed walk out of the cafe after the singing incident.
"You could say that," Caelus says with an unsure tone.
"Ou, after that talk we had, you didn't even consider we're friends?" Astra asks with a pout.
"...yeah, she's a friend," Caelus shrugs, causing Phil to sweatdrop and Astra to snort.
"You sound very insincere," Astra points out.
"I am still trying to process the sheer embarrassment of the incident, so please give me a break." Caelus groans.
"You didn't sing badly," Phil admits.
"I heard a lot of people singing, including the people trying for auditions, and I agree," Astra added, earning a strange look from Phil.
"You sing very well," Seed agreed.
"Let's not talk about it anymore..." Caelus mutters as they walk around the city.
"Alright, alright," Astra says with a chuckle. "Anyways, sorry for my late introduction. You can call me...Asta."
'Really?' Caelus deadpans, which Astra notices and pouts.
"Hey, don't give me that look!" Astra exclaims. "Don't you know it's rude to judge people's names!?"
"I ain't judging you because of that, and you know it," Caelus deadpans, causing Astra to pout even more.
"Did I miss something?" Phil asks in confusion, feeling like he was left out.
"Nothing to worry about," Astra quickly dismisses it. She doesn't want anyone to know about her identity, which could lead to her being swarmed.
She would try to hide her identity from Caelus as well, but for some reason, he somehow recognised her twice despite the disguise. She wonders if he was a detective or planning to be one.
Or is her disguise simply that bad? But everyone doesn't seem to recognize her in her disguise, so perhaps it was just Caelus?
"So, how did you two met?" Phil asks curiously.
"Well, it was a few days ago when we coincidentally met. We're both stuck on a long line, waiting to get a cup of coffee from Tin Master. Due to my tight schedule back then, I had no choice but to ask Caelus to help buy some for me." Astra explains.
"...so he got charmed by your look," Phil says dryly.
"Hey, I was simply being a decent human being," Caelus protests.
"Sure..." Phil says in an unconvinced tone, which causes Astra to giggle. "So, I heard you said that you heard people from auditions, are you some sort of a judge?"
"Mhm, something like that," Astra says with a bright smile.
"...so, today's your day off?" Phil asks curiously, and before Astra could respond, Caelus cuts her off.
"She was overwhelmed by the constant work put by her manager, so she decided to slack off a bit," Caelus says, earning an indignant look from Astra.
"Could you not make me sound like I'm a lazy bum?" Astra says in disbelief. "And besides, it's not slacking off! I am simply taking a break!"
"This break involves sneaking out of the studio and grabbing some coffee, possibly buying some more dessert?" Caelus teases, causing Astra to splutter.
"N-no! Don't accuse me of something I didn't do!" Astra exclaims before silently questioning how Caelus even correctly guessed that.
"For someone you just met, you guys sound like she's your childhood friend, finally reunited and decided to tease the hell out of her," Phil says with a raised eyebrow, causing Caelus to blink.
"I did?" Caelus asks in surprise as Seed and Phil nod in unison.
"I honestly didn't expect him to tease me like this," Astra says while scratching her left cheek. "But, honestly, it's muchmore refreshing compared to how my co-workers treat me during work."
"Are your co-workers a bunch of jerks?" Seed asks innocently, causing Astra to wave her hands dismissively.
"It's not about who's being a jerk. My workplace is...not very fun. My co-workers always maintain professionalism with each other, and all of us have never been more than friends. Trying to socialize with either of them feels very awkward. Of course, not all of my co-workers like that, but still..." Astra says with a slight frown.
"Geez, that's one hell of an unhappy work environment," Caelus says with a wince.
"Oh, you have no idea," Astra says with a slight chuckle. "But still, I do love my job."
"I honestly can't think of any reason you chose not quit your job other than that..." Phil mutters.
"Anyways, since I had permission to take a day off, would you guys like to spend a day with me around the city, or perhaps you three have other plans?" Astra asks as she glances at others.
"Well, we don't have a plan..." Phil admits. "I would say I'm gonna continue to study, but tomorrow's exam is an easy one, so not much to study."
"I don't have a plan either. Phil and Caelus invited me to hang out, too." Seed says with a bright smile.
"Yeah, you could join us," Caelus says as the other two nod in unison. Astra can't help but brighten up a bit.
"Awesome, then let's spend our day-!" Before Astra could finish her sentence, they all heard a cough before glancing at the direction. Everyone is surprised by an appearance of a blonde-haired woman with a pair of tight black trousers, a sleeveless button-up shirt with a black tie, and a black dress jacket hanging on her shoulder.
"O-oh, hi Evelyn..." Astra can't help but stammer nervously, surprising both Seed and Phil as they weren't expecting her to act nervously.
"Ms. Yao." The woman says plainly. "You're slacking off again."
"I take a day off," Astra instantly loses her nervousness and corrects Evelyn.
"Sneaking out through the studio's emergency exit and leaving a simple note of 'I'm going out for a bit - Love, Astra Yao' can't be considered as taking a day off," Evelyn says in a deadpan manner, while Phil's brain short-circuits. Before he could react, someone had apparently heard Evelyn's words and started screaming, startling everyone.
"Guys! Ms. Yao is over there!" Everyone blanches at how fast people gather as Astra stares dryly at Evelyn, who simply looks away while coughing awkwardly. Without a word, Caelus carries Phil and Seed before dragging Astra and Evelyn away, running straight to the alleyway, while the fans are chasing her like a horde of zombies.
"...I didn't remember that Ms Yao's fans were this unhinged..." Evelyn mutters in disbelief, sweat dripping down the back of her head.
"From what I gather in Inter-Knot, those guys have been restless after not finding her in the city for a few days, specifically since the day one random paparazzi spotted her and posted her image in Inter-Knot," Caelus explains.
"That's a massive breach in privacy." Evelyn frowns before glancing at Caelus. "And what is your motive against Ms Yao?"
"Lady, I am just a friend lending a helping hand," Caelus says plainly before using the Power of Preservation to summon a wall of rock, surprising Evelyn and Astra. They all could hear loud, disappointed groans from the other side, some crazy enough to try to climb the wall.
"Okay, I have so many questions!" Astra exclaims.
"Later, please. We still need to get away from your rabid fans." Caelus groans.
"Remind me, why are we even following her? We could just walk in a separate way, making things easier." Seed suggests.
"It's better if we don't." Phil whimpers. "I heard how they wanna skin me alive for being 'selfish' for spending time with Ms. Yao alone and not telling them."
"Oh..." Seed mutters in shock.
"I swear to all Aeons, those fans are crazy..." Caelus mutters as he runs out of the alleyway. Before they could take a breather, they heard a scream. They turned and saw a random fan shouting and waving while pointing at Ms. Yao. This made everyone panic as they continued to run, with Evelyn carrying Astra like a sack of potatoes.
"Do you have a place in mind to hide from these rabid fans?" Evelyn asks.
"I was expecting you to leave us since you're carrying Astra now," Caelus says with a raised eyebrow. If he knew Evelyn from the game, she's protective of Astra. Now that Astra is in her hand, she would've prioritized her safety over them.
"Those fans may not go that far, but they will still be targeting you for being with Ms. Yao. And she wouldn't let me leave you all in your demise." Evelyn says. She is surprised at how fast Caelus can run, and she has to waste quite a lot of stamina just to keep up with him.
"Ah..." Caelus nods. "Well, I had a place in mind. But we need to go through a detour to shake them off our tail. Can you-!?"
"Just guide us," Evelyn cuts him off. Caelus is silent for a moment before nodding as he and Evelyn run in the direction he and Phil are familiar with, the alleyway that leads to the black market. As they ran, Evelyn had to raise her eyebrow when she noticed a lot of sellers in the market visibly showing fear towards Caelus.
"Oh, right. Before that." Caelus says before summoning his lance and slams them into the ground, startling every vendor.
"Listen up, ya punks! In a few minutes, a horde of customers who happen to be Astra Yao's biggest fans is about to come! Whatever you do, no murder, no maiming, no rape, and no torture! The rest is fair game!" Caelus says as everyone goes silent before grinning lecherously, pulling out fake copies of Astra Yao's album.
Evelyn stared at the entire black market in sheer disbelief before she was gently tugged by Caelus as they ran off. She decided not to think about it and let those maniacs get badly scammed by a bunch of morally questionable 'merchants'.
As some people say, it's either them or us.
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Later
Everyone can be seen sitting in the apartment's cafeteria, with an awkward silence, as many elderly people glance at them curiously. Evelyn notices how everyone stares at them curiously.
"...of all the hiding places he suggested, I didn't expect this..." Evelyn mutters.
"Honestly, it's a much better hiding place than I expected. I was honestly expecting a warehouse." Astra says with a bright smile.
"Let's not forget you're still in trouble for sneaking out of the studio," Evelyn reminds Astra as the singer pouts. "So...your new friend here, he's a cook..."
"He's a part-timer, simply helping the actual chef here." Phil corrects her. "He plans on joining the HIA to prevent himself from getting into any legal trouble."
"What did he do?" Evelyn asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Getting into Hollow to save his friends, a few times..." Phil says. "It was recommended by his PubSec friends."
"He sure has interesting friends..." Evelyn mutters as she watches Caelus walking out of the kitchen with a huge tray filled with food. As the residents wait in line, Caelus puts the food into the plate one by one. It took a while before he walked towards their tables with a tray filled with multiple plates of food and Slyboo hanging on Caelus' shoulder.
Astra finds the scene adorable.
"Sorry for suddenly leaving, I still am a part-timer." Caelus apologizes before offering foods for Astra and Evelyn.
"How much does it cost?" Astra asks curiously.
"Don't worry. You both won't be charged any Dennies for this." Meilian approaches them. "You both must be Caelus'friends. Nice to meet you both, I am Meilian."
"I'm Astra, and this is Evelyn, my friend." Astra greets her. "But...is it really okay?"
"Of course," Meilian says with a smile. "As the owner of this apartment building, everyone who's either visiting this place or renting a room will get free food based on the schedule."
"No offense, Mrs. Meilian..." Evelyn says. "But, won't this ruin your business, especially with so many TOPS organizations...."
"Oh, trust me, I know the business world like it was the back of my palm." Meilian chuckles softly as she gently pats Caelus's shoulder. "The young man had once asked me the same question. This place is meant for those who had trouble finding a stable job or are struggling financially. When you are as old as me, you won't find money to be as important as we used to think."
"I...see..." Evelyn mutters, unsure how to react. Astra simply smiles somberly. Before they could talk more, they were interrupted by someone calling Meilian.
"Hello, Meilian." Caelus glances and sees Qingyi approach the old lady. In her hand is a wrapped item, and from its shape, it looks like a baseball bat.
'Ah...so that's what I've been forgetting...'
To be Continued