[Huh...it appears our fellow kaijin are about to get involved in some violent activity,] Blazejudicator noted. [How fun.]
[Booo. Weâve just been dealing with our Caretaker getting hit on by a significantly less charming Bellona,] Corpse Doll complained.
[Uglier too, but I think thatâs because Iâm biased towards people who donât look at Caretaker with such lascivious eyes,] Porcelain Doll added.
[Wait, doesnât the Caretakerâs consorts look at him in that way, though?]
[Yes, but those looks were earned through sheer dumb luck and unexpected bouts of charm. Iâm pretty sure this guy has been stating at Caretakerâs cleavage for the past hour.]
[Has it actually been that long?!]
...Time is moot, especially when that time is spent on an incredibly awkward date...
"I must admit, Iâm not usually one for shrimp, but the chefâs take on them with almond sauce was quite divine. Wouldnât you agree?" Alder asked Mei Yue in an attempt to strike up a conversation...like he had been for the past...thirty minutes.
Or was it longer?
Shorter?
Holy shit, Mei Yue wanted to do nothing more than shove this man down a toilet, but she had to settle for... making less than ideal responses.
"I was actually more inclined to say that the herb-infused quail tasted better," Mei Yue answered verbally while thinking about the added bonus of Alder not being able to handle the smell of the dish...like a bitch.
Dinner went, unfortunately, rather smoothly.
Unsurprisingly, Jinju Renâs delivery of her fake backstory went incredibly well and convinced Alder and Alain that she was indeed the princess of a fallen kingdom. To help hammer home this idea, the princess even threw in a false tear.
Either way, once the rubes bought the dragon princessâs act, dinner was as smooth as the aged butter that was used to make the dinner rolls.
On the downside, because it went so smoothly, there were precisely zero chances where Mei Yue could make contact with the [Rainbowsmith Manual] without drawing suspicion.
She had attempted to just outright grab the damn thing twice, but it got misinterpreted as a signal for Alder to try and make a move.
Both times, Mei Yue tried to play it casually. Both times, she wanted to jam a knife in Alderâs hand.
Then again, that couldâve been due to the manâs hand feeling just... incredibly greasy yet somehow dry at the same time.
On the plus side, Mei Yue wasnât the only one suffering.
After she had finished sharing her fake story of woe, Alain had suddenly become even more interested in Jinju Renâs existence.
To be more precise, he said something along the lines of finding it nice to have a kindred spirit when it came to the matters of royal succession and wanting revenge against those that have wronged them. In other words, he sounded incredibly psychopathic at best and downright familicidal at worst.
Either way, it eventually got to the point that Ren Jia and Mei Yue needed a moment to powder their noses.
In other words, get the everloving fuck out of that room so that they could figure out their next plan of action.
"Apologies gentlemen, but weâre going to go and powder our noses before desert is served."
"Of course. One must answer when nature calls."
"Yes..."
Thankfully, the Seven-Colored Star was one of the more "modern" restaurants, so they had access to a proper bathroom complete with sinks, mirrors and private stalls.
When they entered the room, there were no other women present, so they had free rein to say whatever they needed to say.
That stated, they did still make sure to cloak their words with aether and [Chaos], just in case someone tried to do something stupid.
"Alright, as much fun as it is for me to see you act like a demure maiden with an icy demeanor, Alain is starting to stroke my scales in the wrong direction," Jinju Ren complained to Mei Yue, having dropped the fallen princess act. "Also, when were you going to tell me that he was apparently blood brothers with Bellonaâs cousin?"
"Honestly, I am learning about all of these developments at the same time you are," Mei Yue replied with exhausted honesty. "I know one of her cousins was present at the Zhen Clan tournament, looking to recruit my kin for their claim to the throne."
"Heh, imagine how different things couldâve gone if you and your kin didnât show up that day," Jinju Ren mused while remembering Zhen Liuâs face after he had broken through that barrier with his head. "You know, you looked nice with blood dripping down your manic face like that."
"Thanks...?"
"But enough reminiscing, how are we supposed to get our hands on that book?"
"That is the question of the hour..."
Evidently, it was a damn good thing that Zhen Liu and Jinju Ren didnât plan to steal the [Rainbowsmith Manual] because just trying to touch the damn thing was already a massive pain in the ass.
At this point, Zhen Liu was thinking of just flying off the handle, stabbing Alder in the eye, and having the Kaijin run distraction after stealing the book.
Jinju Ren would...honestly be pretty open to that idea. Hell, she probably wouldâve stabbed Alain in the gut in the process.
Alas, Zhen Liu promised himself that he wouldnât make waves this time around, and that was a promise he planned to keep...for the next few hours at least.
"Objectively, I just need to touch the book for a couple of minutes," Mei Yue reiterated to Jinju Ren. "Once in contact, we can just run away like the wind or a one-night stand."
"You...Are you planning toâ"
"Absolutely not," Mei Yue immediately shot down. "I hadnât even done the deed in my actual body; you expect me to fuck up this one?"
"I mean, you couldâve resolved it sooner if you just took the initiative at night..." Jinju Ren mumbled under her breath in response to Mei Yueâs rhetorical question.
If Mei Yue heard her frustrated companionâs muttering, she did a great job keeping a poker face about the whole thing. That, and they still had other things to worry about.
"Alright, I think I know what we need to do," Mei Yue said after several moments deliberating with the voices in her head. "Trying to get our hands on the book inside of the restaurant is a massive bust due to the simple fact that trying to do so in here is just...fucking awkward and weird. Thereâs no natural way for us to get that book while sitting at a big-ass table."
"No shit, so what are you thinking?"
Jinju Ren had her own ideas on how to approach this matter, but Zhen Liu had a tendency to come up with shit that was a touch more entertaining. I mean, he was crazy enough to change his whole body using the power of [Chaos].
"The only way for us to naturally get our hands on that book is to create a situation where being in close proximity would be considered normal, and possibly accessing his stuff would be considered necessary," Mei Yue continued. "As such, we have two options. We can either go on an evening stroll with him and Alder. This would entail us being forced to act even more maidenly and get physically closer to them, although saying that is already making my skin crawl and itch."
"Understandable; that Alder guy was the exact opposite of charming. Hard to believe heâs related to Bellona and Santiago," Jinju Ren agreed. "So, whatâs option two?"
"Option two is basically that same thing, but..."
Before fully answering the question, Mei Yue reached into her purse and pulled out several dozen zako marbles.
"We sacrifice a couple of zakos to act as decoys while we steal that book in the resulting havoc of a street brawl."
Jinju Ren was about to fully agree with this plan until she heard something a bit off about the statement.
"Wait, I thought you didnât want to steal the book in order to prevent him from getting suspicious of us?"
"Honestly, after the evening we had...we might as well make them miserable in the process," Mei Yue retorted. "But youâre right. Weâll steal it if we can, give it back if we have to."
"Fine by me."
Now that the girls had a plan in mind, they both proceeded to actually make use of the restroom in order to belie any suspicions that they werenât actually using the damn place.
However, while they were in the process of powdering their noses, something unexpected occurred.
Well, not to them anyways.
DISTANT BOOM!
"What the shit?"
Curious about the strange thundering sound, both Mei Yue and Jinju Ren stuck their heads out of the restroom door to see if that explosion had occurred in the restaurant.
Judging from the expressions of the staff, that wasnât the case.
"I get the feeling that that explosion may have involved my other kaijin..."Mei Yue speculated before checking on the kaijin.
Spoiler alert: it did.