Chapter 17 - Visitor Nobody Expects (3)

James woke up with a deep breath. He had been extremely busy for five days. It had been a good distraction and a good way to improve himself at the same time.

He got up and went to the bathroom first because of Lucy's and the customers' complaints about the smell. To be honest, James hadn't had a chance to wash himself properly all this time.

One by one he took off his clothes and when he was completely undressed he happened to see himself in the bathroom mirror.

He had a bronzed body. Not muscular, but not skinny either. He was average. His hair was long and messy. The chin of his face was pointed. His eyes were mostly black except for sparkling white.

He was only momentarily surprised to see himself. But then his hand involuntarily went to his chest. There was a white spot on his chest. The white spot was too conspicuous on other parts of his body affected by the sun.

Like a disease, this white spot started from the center of his chest and completely surrounded his rib cage. James felt a scaling sensation when he touched the white spot.

He frowned. He was not bothered by these white scales. It felt like a part of him. But deep down inside, he rejected the scales.

"This..."

He was puzzled, but that explained the sudden gasps. The scales that had completely encircled his rib cage had already begun to move down his belly and arms. It was almost in his face how hard he had to try.

He took a deep breath in and out. He closed his eyes as he stepped into the shower and avoided looking at the scales whenever possible.

As he finished bathing like this, he heard Fox's voice:

[Are you done washing?]

James had a bored expression. He nodded slightly.

"Yeah, what happened?"

By this time he had gone and dressed quickly. They had to open the restaurant.

[I didn't ask if anything happened, but you seem a little upset. Did something happen?]

James sighed as he made his way to the kitchen.

"It's advanced. The Dimension Controller has its limits, after all. It was something I expected. And it's normal, considering the matches I've been in."

The Dimension Controller was a construct that generally forced bakugan to remain in ball form. The duo hypothesized that this would slow it down considerably. But as they entered the battles, it sped up, and it was even possible to observe it from the outside.

He sighed a second time.

"Anyway... Let's get this over with today. I'll challenge two hundred tomorrow."

Fox spoke in surprise:

[Two hundred? Isn't a hundred difference a bit much? Can't you challenge two hundred fifty instead?]

James stroked his sharp chin. Then he nodded his head in agreement:

"You're kind of right. Well, it doesn't make much difference. I'm feeling pretty confident right now."

[If you say so.]

With that, James finally arrived in the kitchen. It wasn't long before the smell of food filled his nostrils. When he walked in, he was surprised to see Lucy preparing most of the food.

He had been doing most of the work himself for the past few days. Of course, the robots that had been repaired in those five days had helped, but he had to do the unregistered meals himself. Lucy was only helping with the serving.

He was bewildered by this, but soon recovered. He had given Lucy the recipes for the dishes he had made while preparing the menu. But it was surprising how quickly she did it with just the recipes.

'She really has a talent for cooking.'

Of course, he stopped thinking about it and greeted her with a smile.

"Good morning, boss."

Lucy said as she put the lid on the last pot:

"Good morning, and how many times do I have to tell you? Call me by my name. It sounds uncomfortable."

James laughed but said nothing about it. At the sime time, Lucy took a few steps closer and bent down. Lucy's nose wiggled slightly as James looked at her, not understanding what she was doing.

"You've bathed. You smell good."

James made a strange expression but quickly smiled.

"Of course, my boss's wishes come first."

Lucy started to say something but finally gave up.

"Anyway, the food is ready. If you're ready, let's open."

James nodded his head in agreement, went and switched on the restaurant sign and took his seat and waited.

There were no immediate customers, so he just waited. In the meantime, he muttered:

"Boring... Why is it so annoying to complete the system's quest?"

He heard Fox's voice:

[This quest is actually pretty good for the reward, when you think about it. Imagine how much you're earning right now.]

James knew Fox was right, but that didn't stop him from whining.

"Yeah, but… Whatever."

He finally gave up. By this time, the vestals had finally started to arrive. He quickly put on a smiling demeanor and set off to take the orders.

"Bro, are you really James from number three hundred?"

James replied with a smile:

"Sure, what kind of food did you want?"

The innocent customer spoke up:

"Whatever suits you. Why do you even work here?"

James spoke as he quickly typed one of his most expensive meals on the tablet in his hand:

"For the money, of course. Why should it be? Battles are fun, but they don't fill the belly."

The customer nodded in agreement.

"I understand, good work then."

James replied with a smile:

"Thanks, dinner will be right up."

With this and other conversations, James began to bring the food back and forth. He was able to move around more easily as the robots and Lucy took up most of his workload.

The customers were the center of attention, but it quickly turned into a conversation involving the other players.

"I hear Siren's up to forty-nine."

"Really?"

"That's good."

"This girl has potential. The future Darkus will be the best, I'm telling you."

"Shh! Lower your voice."

Understanding why he wanted him to lower his voice, James spoke as he put one of the dishes down:

"No problem. Siren may indeed be the best in the future."

But then he grinned.

"But I aim to be the best of the present, and I will achieve that."

And with that, a lot of voices went up.

"Go, James!"

"That's it, man. You can do it!"

"It's a bit extreme, but..."

As these and other voices were raised, the subject slowly began to change and a voice was heard:

"Guys, did you hear that? I heard that Ehter started playing bakugan."

With that, many voices raised in surprise.

"The daughter of that woman who is a bakugan hater? No way."

"That maniac would lock her in the house if that happened."

"She probably just happened to pass by the arena."

"That's probably it."

James got a curious look on his face. Ehter, a bakugan hater... This was the first he had heard of them. As the conversation became more and more gossipy, James preferred to just listen and learn.

He served everyone the food they wanted and took his seat.

Just then, someone walked in. Her pink hair fluttered with her entrance. As she walked in step by step, one of the customers noticed her and spoke in surprise:

"S-Siren is here!"

With his speech full of surprise, the environment became silent. Siren's footsteps were the only sound heard. After advancing to where James was, she stopped and smiled:

"Hello."

James glanced at everyone's reaction and then turned to Siren. He spoke quite normally:

"Hello to you too. Have a seat."

Siren giggled.

"Thanks, but I didn't come to eat-"

James replied with a flat expression:

"I don't talk to people who don't order food during work time. If you want to talk, go somewhere and order."

With that, he closed his eyes in a nonchalant manner. Everyone, including Siren, stared in amazement.