Just A Normal Person
"Miss Catherine, is there something in particular that you are looking for?" Ken tried to sound as polite as possible.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Catherine finally put down her phone to face her handsome escort. "To be honest with you, I really can't stay for too long. I am kind of halfway through my work, so I would have to take my leave now."
"Wai- what?!" Ken exclaimed in shock. "But Miss Catherine, you haven't even taken a look at any of the booths!"
"You know, I'd love to as well. But I really am in a hurry," Catherine said apologetically. "Sorry for taking up your time!"
"No, wait! Miss Catherine!" Ken hurriedly stopped her from turning around. "I understand that someone as important as you must have a busy schedule, but is it possible to stay just a little longer?"
There was a hint of desperation in his voice, almost like he was pleading with Catherine.
"Is there something wrong?" Catherine asked in surprise.
"I know I really shouldn't be saying this, but since I have been tasked to show you around, I'd be in big trouble if you were to leave just like that!" Ken put his hands together as he pleaded. "I will be eternally grateful if you can do me a favour here, please!"
Seeing the look of desperation in his eyes, Catherine sighed before taking a look at the time displayed on her phone.
As expected, she was already running late.
"If you don't have much time left, how about simply coming with me to visit the VIP room?" Ken quickly added. "It will be a great help as long as you can show your face there for just a few minutes!"
He could tell that Catherine was highly likely to just leave if he did nothing more to stop her.
If that really happened, he would end up being labelled as the one who had caused his escort to leave immediately after entering the exhibition!
"I guess I can spare a few minutes..."
It might be their first meeting, but as a kindred soul who was similarly working hard for that little bit of money to support herself financially, Catherine decided to do the poor guy a favour.
It's not a big deal anyway; she would just have to pray that she does not encounter any traffic police while speeding to make up for the lost time later...
Again, this has absolutely nothing to do with Ken's looks!
"Really?" Ken's face lit up in joy. "Thank you so much, Miss Catherine! I don't ask for much, just a few minutes will do. Please follow me to the VIP room!"
Catherine followed closely behind Ken as he led the way towards a corner of the exhibition hall.
Along the way, they passed quite a few booths that displayed all sorts of unfamiliar items, further reinforcing her conclusion that this was a cosplay event.
On top of that, she realised that, be it the booth vendors or their customers, most of them were dressed in strange costumes.
Catherine could not help but feel impressed.
Not only did these people take the effort to dress up, they even brought all this stuff to trade with each other.
They are truly committed to their hobby, immersed in the world of role play!
"This way, please," Ken held the door open while guiding Catherine in.
"Thank you," Catherine smiled awkwardly as she entered the VIP room.
She had seen this sort of VIP treatment in TV shows before, but this was her first time having someone personally escort her around in such a manner.
Unfortunately, rather than enjoying it, Catherine actually felt slightly awkward instead.
Perhaps someone like her was just not meant to enjoy this kind of luxury.
"Welcome to the VIP room, esteemed guest," a lady in a bob cut stood at the door, greeting her with a professional smile the moment she entered.
"Miss Catherine has only just arrived at the Orchid Exhibition," Ken informed the lady in a bob cut. "This is her first stop."
"I understand," the lady in a bob cut maintained her professional smile while handing a small bag over to Catherine. "Esteemed guest, this is Orchid Corporation's newest product, the OC12 Pro mana awakening crystal. This is a new model that has yet to be officially launched in the market, but we are giving one to each of our VIP guests as a show of our sincerity. If you wish to purchase more of this product after giving it a try, please feel free to contact the Orchid Corporation to make your pre-orders."
"OC12 Pro... mana awakening crystal...?" Catherine felt the corner of her lips twitch as she looked at the small bag in her hands.
These people are far more engrossed in the role playing than she had expected!
"That's right," the lady in a bob cut nodded. "The new OC12 Pro is designed to be more user-friendly, so it is much simpler to use as compared to the previous models. Please refer to the manual within the box for detailed instructions. Well then, I shall not hold you up any longer."
With that, the lady in a bob cut stepped aside to allow Catherine to enter the room.
Catherine was not too interested in continuing the conversation with the strange lady either, so she silently kept the small bag in her messenger bag before taking a good look around her.
The VIP room was large but not exceptionally so, only around the size of a basketball court.
Unlike the main exhibition hall, the lighting within the VIP room was slightly dimmer. One-way mirrors lined two sides of the walls, allowing them to observe the situation outside while enjoying an exclusive level of privacy.
There was a long table on which various refreshments had been laid out neatly buffet-style, while additional tables and sofas furnished the rest of the room.
It looked just like a typical hotel club lounge.
Catherine was not the only one here either. When she arrived, there were already a few groups of people sitting around and chatting among themselves.
Still, everyone looked over curiously when they noticed that there was a newcomer.
Catherine had already been unsure of what she should do here in the VIP room. Now that she was suddenly given such attention, she instinctively turned her eyes away to avoid eye contact.
An uncomfortable silence fell upon the room as Catherine stood awkwardly by the door. That was, until her wandering gaze finally settled upon the refreshments laid out by the side of the room.
"Is the food free?" Catherine turned to ask Ken.
"Yes, of course!" Ken answered enthusiastically. "Would you like to have some? Just let me know what you want, and take a seat. I will go get it for you."
"No, no, it's all right. I will just go take a look myself," Catherine replied with a polite smile.
With that, she walked over to the refreshments table to look through the food selection.
Because of how ordinarily the food had been laid out, Catherine was expecting it to be regular refreshments that could be ordered from most caterers.
She could not be more wrong.
It was not like they were extremely luxurious dishes, either. Instead, the problem was that Catherine was unable to recognise a single one of these dishes!
The strange shapes and colours were completely unidentifiable. Even the food labels that were supposed to identify each dish were of no help whatsoever.
These dishes include green bead feeler-crabs stir-fried with rainbow dust cream, winter flute bamboo shoots with stone ice beef, feral imp soup, sky fox meat with lava pepper... and the list goes on.
The corner of Catherine's lips twitched as she read the food labels one by one.
It was not just the people outside who were into role playing.
Those in the VIP room were no different as well!
"The food selection sure is extravagant, isn't it? The Orchid Corporation truly lives up to its reputation," a deep voice came from behind her.
It was not Ken's voice.
Catherine quickly turned around to see a middle-aged man smiling at her.
He looked well-groomed with shoulder-length blonde hair that was tied into a short ponytail. His lean body wore a snug black tuxedo that seemed to be screaming the word 'expensive'.
Who would have thought that someone with such great presentation and poise was actually into role playing as well?
Then again, considering the situation, Catherine would not be surprised if the expensive looking clothes themselves were all part of a cosplay set!
"Pardon my manners, I should have introduced myself first," the middle-aged man bowed gracefully. "I am the one and only Golden Hand. Any business that has my hand in it will surely strike gold."
Golden Hand seemed to be brimming with confidence as he flashed a radiant smile.
"I-I see," Catherine stuttered as the corner of her lips twitched. "I am Catherine."
Senior Fate Master... Golden Hand...
She was still having trouble getting used to all these strange titles.
"So it's Lady Catherine, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Golden Hand said while maintaining his smile. "Unfortunately, I can't say that I have heard of your esteemed name. I suppose you are not from this country?"
"I am, but it is only natural that you don't know me. Oh wait, do you perhaps know a Senior Fate Master?" Catherine asked in return. "I kind of ended up here because I happened to have picked up this person's invitation card."
It was not as though Catherine was concerned about her reputation among these people, so she did not mind being frank about how she ended up here.
Golden Hand's previously calm expression froze momentarily when he heard Catherine's words. "Senior Fate Master? As in... THAT Fate Master?"
"Eh? Is there something wrong?" Catherine answered hesitantly when faced with Golden Hand's unexpectedly huge reaction.
"Secret Keeper, come over here!" Golden Hand quickly beckoned towards another person in the VIP room.
Catherine sighed in her heart.
It's really not easy to get used to hearing these names...
The man called Secret Keeper was dressed in a monk's robe. He wore a sun hat attached with a veil that fell to his shoulder level, preventing Catherine from seeing his facial features clearly.
It was the typical look of a warrior in those eastern dramas set in the ancient times, making it quite the contrast when he stood beside Golden Hand who was dressed in a fine tuxedo.
"What is it, Golden Hand? Are you intending to introduce me to this beautiful lady?" Secret Keeper asked.
His voice was deep and gave Catherine a strange feeling of tranquility.
For some reason, she felt as though this was the voice of a person who would never lie.
"Here, meet Secret Keeper," Golden Hand introduced. "And this is Miss Catherine. She is here with Senior Fate Master's invitation card."
"Fate Master?! To think that I would be hearing that name here!" Secret Keeper sounded surprised under his veil. "May I ask how Miss Catherine is related to Senior Fate Master?"
"That's the thing, I am not related to this Senior Fate Master at all..." Catherine answered.
"Wait, you don't know Senior Fate Master?" Golden Hand froze.
"That's what I was trying to tell you!" Catherine replied in exasperation. "I just happened to pick up an invitation card that was dropped at the doorstep of my apartment and, well, here I am. Perhaps he used to live there but moved out without updating his address?"
"The invitation card was dropped outside the door of your apartment?" Golden Hand's smile returned to his face upon hearing that. "If what you said is true, then you must be fated to pick up the invitation card."
"Fated...?" Catherine felt the corner of her lips twitch.
Is this man serious?
"You seem sceptical," Secret Keeper seemed to have read her mind. "Let me give you a piece of advice, Miss Catherine. Senior Fate Master's means are deep and profound. It is by no mere coincidence that you have arrived here with his invitation card. Most likely, the very fact that you are here is part of his grand plan, so don't feel too nervous and just go with the flow. The river of fate will not lead you astray."
Golden Hand glanced over at Secret Keeper and smiled in agreement.
"Is that so?" Catherine felt the corner of her lips twitch again.
So they refuse to break out of their role play, eh?
"I guess you are right. Since I am already here, I might as well just play along, right?" Catherine finally let out a sigh of resignation. "It's too bad that I didn't know what this is all about before coming. Otherwise, I could have borrowed an outfit from my friend to fit in better."
"Borrow an outfit to fit in better?" Secret Keeper asked in surprise. "What kind of outfit do you mean?"
"Yes, my friend Jean is really into this as well, and she has a whole collection of cosplay attires at home. If I were to ask her for it, she would be more than happy to lend me one!" Catherine said.
Hearing her answer, Golden Hand and Secret Keeper could not help but exchange glances, before simultaneously bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha! I see what's going on now!" Golden Hand asked after laughing for a bit. "Miss Catherine, you really are just a normal person, aren't you?"