Chapter 18 - To Throw

Everyone looked a little dumbfounded. When Siren had recovered from her surprise, she looked at James' face carefully. She asked in a surprised voice:

"Are you serious?"

James nodded.

"Of course."

Siren glanced around. No matter how full it was, there were still empty seats. She was just starting to hear about the reputation of this place. It was said to have different flavors.

After thinking that she was not at a loss, she accepted it.

"Fine."

She started walking towards one of the tables in the corner. Siren was the target of the customers' gaze. The customers started talking among themselves in low voices:

"What was that scene just now?"

"That was... Wow."

"Someone just wanted to ask him a question before. He did it again about his struggle."

"But… but it's Siren!"

"It didn't seem to make a difference to him. And she didn't seem to mind either."

"You're right..."

Siren let out a frustrated breath as she sat down at a table in a relatively far corner. She muttered to herself in a low voice.

"What a bore, I hope the food is good."

With that, she glanced briefly at the menu, only to be surprised. There were so many different dishes. Some of them she had seen similar dishes before, but some she was seeing for the first time.

'Such a variety of dishes in a small restaurant...'

By the time she had chosen one of these different dishes at random, James was already at her side.

"What did you order?"

Siren pointed to the menu, unsure of the spelling. James nodded his head in agreement.

"I'll bring it right away."

As James left, the atmosphere, which had become awkward, began to improve. The Vestals were talking normally among themselves again. Siren waited as she began tapping her finger on the table.

"I came here to see him, and look what he did."

As she sulked, James came quickly with a plate in his hand. The hot steam from the plate gave the impression that it was still cooking. Pieces of what appeared to be dough floated in the water. One of the pieces opened slightly, revealing the cooked minced meat inside. It was lightly drizzled with a red liquid.

She stopped sulking and put on a curious face. James spoke in a flat manner as he placed it gently on the table:

"Enjoy your meal."

Siren watched the food with interest, then recovered after a short while. She spoke with a sullen expression:

"Thanks, and you're obviously very well. I was worried for nothing."

James raised one eyebrow as he stood. He glanced at the others, making sure no one had asked for anything yet. Only then did he sit down opposite Siren. He looked at her, not knowing what to say.

Siren spoke as if she understood his problem:

"You don't need to say anything. I just did what everyone should do."

Then she paused briefly, but then, out of concern, she felt the need to add:

"But be careful that playing bakugan doesn't cause health problems."

James nodded his head in agreement.

"I'll be careful."

After a brief pause, he spoke:

"Anyway... I don't think that's the only reason you came here, otherwise you could have come earlier. So tell me, what's on your mind?"

Siren turned her face to the side. The red lines on her mask shifted in another direction. Then she spoke extremely hoarsely:

"Even though I wanted to come early... I couldn't."

Then she recovered quickly and a smile appeared on her face.

"The reason I came here is to invite you. I'm asking you to be my partner for the tournament in a week's time."

James froze for a moment but then recovered quickly.

He already knew it was very soon, thanks to the clients, but he didn't know the exact date. He had only just found out.

He shook his head in denial:

"I'm sorry, but I'll be participating in single challenges."

Alpha City needed to stop the Dimension Controller from being detonated. He knew no one would believe him if he told anyone, and even if they did, James had a bad feeling about it. He felt he had to stop it himself.

Siren was surprised at the rejection, but her surprise was short-lived. James' strange changes had caught her attention. A slight smile appeared. She spoke with understanding:

"I suppose you have your reasons."

James nodded.

"Of course I do. And I'm sure there are many who would like to team up with you."

Siren cocked her head to the side. She said, "Of course there are," sounding a little disappointed. Even so, she would have liked to rub shoulders with someone she considered interesting. Just then the door to the restaurant opened sharply.

James frowned. He turned toward the source of the sound and stood up.

In walked a man wearing a black jacket with purple stripes and dark glasses. He had a faint blue hair color. When he lowered his glasses slightly, it was possible to see his blue eyes. Just like the other vestals, he was devoid of light. He was looking around with a disdainful look.

With his arrival, the atmosphere was completely silent. Everyone was watching with curiosity to see what would happen. Someone spoke:

"It's Gray!"

Someone's voice was clearly heard in the silence. James had of course heard who it was. This guy was a fighter who was fighting under the sponsorship of a famous restaurant, the Eclipse Restaurant.

It was not difficult to understand why he had come here.

James felt an unexpected coldness in this situation. He wore a neutral expression as if he had been in similar situations before. He walked a few steps and made his classic greeting in a casual manner.

"Welcome, how can I help you? If you want to ask me a question, first you need to move to any empty place and choose what you want from the menu-"

Gray interrupted him:

"Are you the bastard who stirred up this dump?"

James glanced at the white and yellow gauntlet wrapped around Gray's left arm, then spoke:

"I don't know what you're talking about, but if you want to ask me a question, please do as I say."

Gray was surprised and angered by his rather emotionless and expressionless demeanor. He opened his mouth and was about to say something when he saw Siren sitting where James had just stood. His mouth hung open.

Siren was like a rising star. Although she paled in comparison to the Vexos, she was undoubtedly one of the best. She was even given a title like Pink Star Rising. Though it was quickly forgotten when Siren expressed her dislike for it.

Compared to a big shot like her, he was only in the first percentile. Even though he was much higher than James, if even a status holder like him behaved like this, it would be unseemly not to comply.

His mouth opened and closed several times and finally he swallowed his saliva. Even if that was the case, he couldn't abandon the reason he had come here.

"I'm here to warn you, Eclipse wants you to disassociate yourself from this place. Otherwise- ah!"

Before Gray could finish, James suddenly disappeared from sight. He appeared in front of Gray just after a light breeze blew. He spoke as he lifted the man by the collar:

"As I said, you can't contact me without ordering."

He grabbed the man by the collar and literally threw him out the door! He used a bit of uneven force, but fortunately not too hard.

Gray looked dumbfounded as he fell outward. He didn't even realize what had happened. James smiled as he closed the door and turned to all those watching him… completely ignoring Gray's presence.

"Now... does anyone have an order?"