After reaching her flat, the older Shiro locked the door and placed a silencing formation around the room.
"Is it a good idea? A fight might break out soon so if weāre a bit more patient, we can still achieve our goal." Shiro furrowed her brows,
"Yes, I get that, but do you think that Batros guy is kind enough to give us some time? Since the fight is going to happen soon, it would make more sense for him to make drastic moves as time is running out." The older Shiro replied with a shrug.
"True. Have you gotten any news from Attie and the others?" Shiro asked.
"A little. Attie is still helping the party hold the demons back. Yin managed to collect a few samples but nothing close to the core and Lisaās managed to help evacuate the entire sect. There were some casualties but they were mostly unharmed." The older Shiro replied.
"I see... Thatās good then. Any news from Misu? Sheās the one participating in this fight after all."
"Not much. Sheās still just making sure that her domains are safe for now and keeping an eye on the Lightning Queen herself. When sheās ready to fight, sheāll send me a message and Iāll provide her the weapons." The older Shiro shook her head.
"So we have to figure out a way to buy more time in this city then?"
"Essentially." The older Shiro shrugged.
"And Iām guessing that murder is unfortunately off the table."
"Indeed."
"Urg... what a pain."
"Tell me about it. And guess what, Iām the one who has to deal with it since youāre still a child." The older Shiro sighed.
"However, I do have an idea of what we can do but itās just a tad bit risky. Just a tad."
". . . You know Iām you right? And a tad bit risky in my dictionary is mortal danger in anotherās." Shiro looked up at her older self with a bland expression.
"Well... Letās just say Iām thinking of following this twat and getting closer to the anchor. That way, I can try to steal it or interfere with it. Only problem, like I said, is the Kirin. With him in the way, anything I try is going to be dangerous. The chances of death are pretty high."
"Hmm... I say give it another week or so tops and weāll see what happens. Hopefully, he wonāt make things too annoying." Shiro sighed.
"Mn, thatās what Iām planning. So what do you want to eat tonight then? I still have some decent ingredients so I can probably make something special."
"I donāt really care. As long as there is juice by the side Iām happy." Shiro waved her baby hands and crawled onto the sofa. Turning on the TV, she scrolled through the news to see if there are anything new happening in the world.
###
Spending the next few days with caution, the two kept an eye out for anyone that might be trying to harm them but so far, things had been eerily quiet.
Furrowing her brows, Ori kept herself on guard while working her part time jobs.
"Fu..." Breathing out softly, she cleaned up the table of those that had just finished with their meal.
*Ding~
Hearing the doorbell, she knew that there were more customers so she packed away the used plates and grabbed a menu.
Looking at the people in front of her, she could already tell that they were here to cause trouble due to their hostile gazes.
However, since they havenāt done anything yet, Ori wasnāt going to make a scene.
"Welcome, are you here to dine or take out?" She asked with a smile.
"Weāre here to dine." The leader of the group said with a low voice.
"Understood. Would that be a table for 5 or are there more arriving?"
"No, just the 5 of us."
"Follow me please."
Leading the group to a table for 5, Ori set down a few menus before walking away.
But just as she did this, one of the people in the group reached out and tried to grab her rear.
*PUCHI!!!
Quickly stepping out of the way, she hurried back to the counter and took a breath to calm herself.
Seeing this, Shiro knew that these were the people that Batros had sent to bother them.
"Are you ok Ori? You seemed a bit stressed." The manager asked as Ori forced a smile.
"Mn, just a little surprised. I might have gotten the wrong idea though." She replied.
However, the manager could clearly see that they had tried to harass Ori a second ago so he wasnāt too happy.
"Just serve them normally for now. if they try anything, Iāll deal with it donāt worry." The manager smiled as Ori nodded her head slowly.
Just as she walked past Shiro, she could see a small note left by her younger self.
āTry not to kill them since itāll affect the manager. If anything, you should kill them late at night if thatās what you want.ā
"I know, donāt worry." Ori whispered back.
Nodding her head, Shiro destroyed the note before acting like a kid who was scribbling on some paper.
Taking their orders, Ori had to make sure that she kept dodging their harassing advances so that she wouldnāt kill one of them by accident the moment their hand touches her.
Watching this, the manager had enough.
"Excuse me, dear customers, Iām afraid I have to ask you to leave my restaurant as you are disturbing my staff." He asked politely but Shiro could see the annoyance in his eyes.
"Ha? Did you actually see us harass her? Weāre just stretching ok? Stretching." One of the people said with a grin.
"Regardless, I have to ask you to leave the premises."
"Are you looking for a fight. old man?" The leader of the group narrowed his eyes.
Hearing this, the manager took a deep breath.
"Oi brat, are YOU looking for a fight? I might be an old man but I can still send you to heaven and back with ease." He threatened as a dangerous aura erupted out of the old man. Even Ori was surprised as she hadnāt detected this from the manager.
Just from his aura alone, she could tell that he was an experienced Tier 6 entity, maybe even Tier 7.
"I donāt usually like to fight but when you are causing trouble for my staff, itās not something I can look past. Not get out of my restaurant or else Iāll drag you out myself you brat." The manger warned again as his body started to increase in size. His muscles bulged threateningly as sharp teeth could be seen peeking out of his mouth.
Feeling his murderous aura, the group of men immediately knew that theyād picked a wrong time to come bother Ori.
Quickly leaving the restaurant, the scene returned back to normal.
"Fu... Sorry about that, itās been a while since I had to last demonstrate my strength." The manager smiled as Ori nodded her head slowly.
"However, I must say, your auraās pretty impressive for a young woman. If I didnāt make a move, you would have dealt with them yourself no?" He chuckled as Ori immediately went on guard.
"No need to be on guard. Iām just an old man who is annoyed by some young brats harassing my staff." The manager shook his head and returned to the counter.
Narrowing her eyes, Ori decided to do a quick background check on the manager when she gets back to her flat.
###
"Youāre telling me that the manager of her workplace managed to scare you five idiots away?" Batros asked with a frown.
Looking at the shivering bodies of his subordinates, Batros only clicked his tongue before sending them away.
"Get Haulia to deal with the old man. Kill him then hang his corpse on his shop door. That should give Ori an adequate warning."
###
The rest of the shift was rather normal since no one else wanted to cause trouble for them. Handing up her apron once more, the older Shiro decided to talk with the manager properly as he clearly understands her strength.
Waiting till it was just the two of them, she called out to the manager.
"Thank you for what happened earlier today." The older Shiro smiled.
"Oh? What happened to the timid Ori that was struggling with work." He asked with a chuckle.
"You know that was never the case." The older Shiro chuckled.
"Mn, maybe, maybe not. However, Iām quite surprised that the great Shiro has actually come to this city. So what brings you here?" He asked as silence swept through the room.
Narrowing her eyes at the man, the older Shiro smiled. After hearing that line, she finally understood who she was dealing with.
"Well Iāll be damned. Who else would call me āgreat Shiroā other than you huh? Howās it hanging old man? Last time I saw you, you were still a dragon. How come youāre a bear now?"