Crystal Badge
It was exactly the opening time of the White Cloud Inn, Seth couldn't help take a glance at the Old Man with his upgraded energy eyeball.
With his new eyeball, he could move it as much as 1 meter, which expanded his visibility, tremendously.
'This guy... He waited for 10 minutes just for the Inn to open,' Seth was amazed. If it were someone with his power and strength, they would have barged entry to a small Inn like this.
Henry held Seth at the side, with a looked of awe on his face. He was also amazed by the Old Man's courtesy.
Seth turned his eyeball and looked at Henry with disgust in his heart. During their ride, he was fidgeting the whole time with Seth on his crouch!
'Could I condense the ability energy to a needle and stabbed it to his 'meat' till it turned into a porcupine?' Seth tried his idea. Of course, it didn't work. He could form a needle but it would simply bypass any material object.
It wasn't long before the door open, Greg took the [Close] sign and saw the two people waiting near the door.
"Sage Lucas?!" he blurted.
"Hello," Sage reached his hands for an arm shake.
Greg shook his hands and hurriedly open the wooden door wide and said. "Sage Lucas, please come in."
"Well do." Lucas went in. Henry followed.
Greg quickly called Julia and Tina to meet Lucas. They also prepared tea and breakfast on the table with nervous expressions.
In the quiet pub, five people sat at a table full of palatable food and refreshments. Clearly, Tina and Julia didn't withhold their hospitality.
Seeing their expressions, Lucas broke the awkward silence, "Please accept my humble gratitude, your pillow saved countless lives of Puppeteers." he handed Seth and deeply bowed.
"Sage Lucas, please don't. You're making us guilty." Julia hurriedly helped the old man, "We also have our motives, we wanted peace and security. If we can help the person who provides us that, then we would help unhesitantly as we will also benefit from their harsh battles."
"But what if I stole the Pillow instead? You wouldn't be able to take it back even if you wanted to," Lucas said coldly as the pub turned heavy.
The place went absolute quiet, Tina hugged Seth tightly, afraid that Lucas would really take him away.
"Come on, I'm just joking," He laughed, "I wouldn't be that petty."
Everyone's mouth twitch. Your jokes aren't funny at all! They were almost given a heart attack.
"If only the people I knew have that kind of mindset—helping someone without conditions." he sighed as he drank a mouthful of tea, "Anyway, may I ask the origin of this particular pillow? Its uniqueness piqued this Old Man's curiosity."
Julia nodded and began to recount her encounter at the flea market with perfect detail.
10 minutes later.
"I see," Lucas stood up and place a crystal badge on the table. "Please take this as my genuine gratitude."
Everyone stared at the crystal badge with astonishment. It was the President's badge!
"S-Sage Lucas, we don't dare accept s-such item," Greg stuttered as he stared at the crystal badge.
The exquisite circular crystal badge has an engraving of a doll puppet holding a book. The doll was then linked with the golden intertwined strings in the rim. It symbolizes absolute authority.
This means they could practically obtain anything within the City as it represented Sage Lucas. Insulting the bearer of the badge would be insulting the President of Puppeteer's Association.
"Just take it. I don't use it anyway. With just a glance at my face, people would immediately recognize me and would scurry for favors." Lucas laughed.
'Then let me have it!' Henry was green from envy. If he had that badge he wouldn't need to cultivate anymore! He can just sleep and still lived a life of luxury.
"I'll be going then. Still have a lot of matters to do." Lucas left the Inn as he casually waved his arm. Henry quickly followed the Old Man, earnestly hoping he could receive a hefty reward for his achievement.
Tina, Julia, and Greg were dumbstruck. How could you leave your badge like it's your shit?
They looked at the white fluffy pillow, almost simultaneously, a question arose in their minds: What did you do anyway?
They were so anxious about having Sage Lucas as a guest that they forgot to ask questions about Seth.
. . . . . .
After a dizzying bath, Seth was back in his room again.
It was already late afternoon, the orange light emanating from the sun shone the purely white room.
Contrary to the stillness of a white fluffy pillow placed on a well-maintained bed, the white pillow has a mind of its own. And its mind was buzzing in thought.
'Which Attachment Ability should I used?' Seth wondered as he scoured the wall of text in his void mind.
. . . . . . . .
After sending Henry off, Lucas unnoticeably went to a dark alley, not far away from the PA Stone City Headquarter.
"Protect that family in that Inn. Remember, no matter what it takes, safeguard them as best as you can. No, safeguard them as if your life depends on it. Because it is," Lucas said to the empty alley with a brilliant smile.
Thereafter, an inconspicuous shadow, near a large garbage bin, moved and instantly disappeared. Even if there were surveillance cameras, it wouldn't capture the shadow's sudden disappearance.
However, Lucas was different, he noticed its movement. Right after it disappeared, he slowly walked out of the dark alley. The radiant sunlight illuminated his wrinkled face. He was still smiling, but this time, it was laced with amusement and anticipation.