Endless Journey: Infinite Realms

Chapter 330 Want to hear a Dad Joke?

(((Author’s Note: Yo, I’m back)))

MINUTES EARLIER

"Annie, this is delicious! How could something like these exist?"

"Hah, what did I tell you, Kiera? This restaurant has the best food in this place! It’s just normal for the food here to be good!"

"But Annie, are we really allowed to eat this many? Isn’t it a crime to eat this many delicious food?"

"What are you talking about, Kiera? You should not be worried about that! With me here, you can eat anything you want!"

"So I can really eat all of these?"

"Of course Kiera, you can! You can even add more if you want!"

"Oh! This is the best! You really are amazing Annie!"

"Ahahaha... this is just nothing much..."

This delighted, and somewhat cozy conversation was held between Kiera and Annie, who were both siting around a table inside a restaurant.

Their table was filled to the brim with numerous amount of delicious food, which both Annie and Kiera had been gorging on since earlier.

Judging from the blissful looks on their faces, it was quite obvious that these two girls were extremely satisfied with the food.

"Hahaha, you two girls should eat more! You will need that if you want to grow as beautiful as Alina!" Kiera’s grandfather, who was sitting beside them, said as he drank a cup of tea. "I mean, just look at her! She’s the epitomy of beauty, elegance and gracefulness. If you eat and sleep well while you’re young, you can be as beautiful as her in the future!"

As the old man mentioned Alina’s name, both Kiera and Annie beamed as idolizing looks appeared in their eyes.

"Big Sis Alina... she’s not only beautiful. She’s also cool!" Kiera said as a silly smile appeared on her face. "Just the sight of her holding her sword makes her look a lot cooler than Big Brother Alex!"

"Ah, if Big Sis Alina was only a male, she will surely be a lot cooler..." Annie chimed in as a dreamy look appeared in her face. "But still, Big Sis Alina is cool enough right now!"

"It’s too bad that Big Sis Alina’s coolness is being wasted on Big Brother Alex." Kiera said as he let out a sigh.

"You’re right." Annie said as she also sighed.

"H-h-hey you two, why are you suddenly like that?" Kiera’s grandfather said as he almost spat out his tea. "You think Alex is not cool enough for Alina?"

"Grandpa, don’t ask us anymore. We are girls, and you are an old man". Kiera answered as she and Annie both let out a hmph. "You won’t understand what we are talking about."

"Ah okay..."

As the old man started to visibly deflate, both Annie and Kiera smiled again as they resumed eating.

"Hey Annie, can I ask you a question?" When a few minutes has gone by after they resumed eating, Kiera looked at Annie as she asked the latter with a question.

"Yes, you can go ask now Kiera."

"Well... my question is about our stay in this place." Kiera said as she rubbed her legs nervously. "Um Annie, are you sure that we should be really here?"

"Hm? What do you mean by that, Kiera? Didn’t you enjoy our food here? Even grandpa said that this is great!"

"Yeah... the food here is good, but I am just worried about our distance with Big Brother Alex." Kiera replied as she started to look nervous.

"The distance... with Big Brother Alex?"

"Well... Big Brother told me before that he has a power that can allow him to monitor people, as long as they were close to him." Kiera replied as she timidly speared a meat with her fork. "That power allows him to keep track of his allies, especially, when a battle happens."

"Okay... so what is the problem?"

"Well, the chess place and the tea house that we visited earlier are just near Big Brother, so that means that he can easily monitor us." Kiera said as she started to look a little nervous. "But this restaurant that we are in right now is located far away from Big Brother, which means that he cannot monitor us now..."

After Kiera said these words, Annie, who looked confused earlier, started to nod as she understood what Kiera was saying.

"Oh Kiera... are you worried about us getting in danger while Big Brother is unable to monitor us?" Annie said as she crossed her arms.

"Y-yes. I am worried about that." Kiera replied as she looked around her warily. "I... just don’t feel that safe without Big Brother Alex monitoring us..."

"..."

Kiera’s grandpa was unable to think of any reply to that, as he understood what Kiera was talking about.

But Annie on the other hand was unfazed by Kiera’s statement.

"Hmph! Kiera, with me here, you don’t need to be this worried!" Annie declared as she crossed her arms. "You will always be safe by my side!"

"I-is that true, Annie?"

"Of course it’s true!" Annie replied as she raised her chin.

Annie then pointed her finger to the nearby TimeMasters with a reassuring expression on her face.

"Kiera, my mother is the big boss of all the TimeMasters." Annie said these words with confidence, as if nothing can ever dispute this statement. "That means that whenever I ever get in danger, the nearby TimeMasters will come rushing in to save me and my friends! See all those nearby TimeMasters? They will save us if someone attacks us right now!"

"Ohhh!!! That’s so cool Annie!" Kiera exclaimed as her eyes glowed with excitement.

"Hehehe, it really is cool."

"So your mom is like a mafia boss then?" When Kiera asked this question, her grandpa, who was drinking tea calmly beside her, started choking as he inhaled his tea.

"A what?"

"A mafia boss! I mean, they are so cool!" Kiera said as she grasped Annie’s hand.

"Mafia bosses are cool?"

"Yes they are!" Kiera said as she nodded her head quickly. "There’s this movie that Big Brother Alex showed me before... it was titled ’The Godmother.’ Annie... that movie is a masterpiece! And it’s about a very cool female mafia boss! If you will watch that movie, you will also realize that mafia bosses are extremely cool!"

"But that is just a movie..."

"So Annie, is your mother a mafia boss?"

"..."

"..."

Under Kiera’s innocent and excited gaze, Annie was unable to muster the courage to correct her misconception.

"Y-y-yeah, my mommy is a mafia boss..."

"Hah! I knew it!" Kiera shouted out as she raised her arms. "Only someone cool like her can fool Big Brother Alex!"

"Ahaha, my mommy is really cool..." Annie replied in a much more subdued manner.

Then to the surprise of Kiera and her grandpa, Annie’s face suddenly went downcast as she seemed to have remembered something bad. "But even if mommy is cool, she is not really good at staying close to me..."

"Umm..."

"Oh, I’m sorry if we made you feel sad." Kiera’s grandpa hurriedly said as Annie started to look down.

"It’s okay grandpa. I’m already used to mommy leaving on her trips..." Annie slowly said as Kiera gave her a worried look. "Really Kiera, you don’t need to look at me like that."

"..."

"..."

With the mention of Annie’s mother’s frequent departures, the cheerful atmosphere between the three of them suddenly turned awkward.

Kiera, who was beaming at the mention of mafia bosses, visibly looked down as she gave Annie an awkward smile.

As for her grandpa, he seemed to be slightly saddened too, although hints of curiosity could be seen on his face.

"Umm... maybe it is too much for me to ask, but can I ask why your mother sometimes leave on her trips?" Kiera’s grandpa said before he could stop himself. "Oh! Of course you don’t need to answer that if you don’t feel comfortable...."

"It’s fine grandpa. I can talk about it." Annie replied as she gave the old man a reassuring smile.

"Oh is that so ?In that case, maybe we should start talking about it already..."

"Grandpa, you act like a gossip woman right now. Please restrain yourself." Kiera coolly said as she glared at the old man. "It’s a little embarrassing..."

"B-but Kiera, stories are always a vital part of our lives! Hearing more stories is good for everyone!"

"Grandpa, just admit that you like gossiping."

"..."

Annie only smiled at the banter between the two, as if she was enjoying what she was seeing.

When the grandpa-granddaughter duo looked like they were to continue arguing, Annie let out a cough to gain their attention.

"Ehem, ehem. We’re talking about mommy, right?"

"Oh yes, yes, Annie, we are talking about your mommy. So what’s the story?"

Under the old man’s interested gaze, Annie only let out a sad smile as she said,

"Mommy... she’s always leaving... because she’s looking for daddy."

"Your daddy?"

"Um." Annie nodded as her face turned more melancholic. "Daddy... he has been gone ever since I was born. He did not tell mommy where he went, or why he left. He just... disappeared."

"Annie, that’s..."

"I know that it’s daddy’s fault, but my mommy does not care about that." Annie said as she looked down on the floor. "Ever since daddy disappeared, mommy always go on trips to look for him, but she always comes back without daddy..."

"Okay, timeout, timeout. This is too much sad vibes here. Let’s just stop talking and enjoy the food, ok?" Kiera’s grandpa seemed to be unable to endure the sudden change in the atmosphere, prompting him to change to topic. "You still haven’t finished your orders, right?"

"Oh right! There’s still this orange chicken that I will still eat!" Kiera added, sounding too enthusiastic even by her standards. "Annie, let’s eat this together!"

"Ah, um, orange chicken? Well that tastes good I guess..." Annie replied hesitantly as she was forced by Kiera to start eating again.

"Hehehehe, Annie, the chicken tastes good, right?"

"Oh Kiera, this is gud!"

"Hey, can you let this old man join in too? Even I get hungry seeing that chicken."

"Okay grandpa, open your mouth!"

"Haha, let me join in too. Grandpa, here comes my share!"

"Hohoho, please slow down you two. I am only one person here..."

And with that, the trio went back to their cheerful atmosphere. They focused back on their food as they lost interest on their surroundings.

"Leader, I found the target." Three tables behind the Annie and Kiera, a lone man, who was wearing a hooded robe, muttered these 5 words as he clutched a stone near his mouth.

This stone was glowing faintly, which indicates that it must be some kind of magical object.

"Our target is there? Good." A faint voice came out of the stone, which the hooded man heard perfectly. "Since you have seen them, you already know what to do."

"Aye, aye leader. Should I make it discrete, or should I make it explosive?" The hooded man replied as he brought the stone closer to his lips, as if he was about to kiss it.

"We need to give these bastards a message, so make it explosive" The voice from the stone replied. "Make sure everyone in this area will be affected, or they won’t feel our stance. Do you understand that?"

"Yes leader!" The hooded man replied as he nodded his head.

"Then start the operation right now." After the so-called ’leader’ said these words, the glow from the stone faded as it seemed to have turned off.

The hooded man then hid the stone in his pocket as he continued eating his order.

"Okay... since our target is still eating, we will give the target 1 more minute before we start the operation." The hooded man muttered to himself as he gulped his food. "After all, the impact of our operation will be better on a person with full stomach..."