A Little Trouble

Felix was leading Adam somewhere. Eventually, the streets started to widen and more people started appearing more frequently. Before he knew it, Felix was guiding Adam through a supermarket.

"Are… we going shopping?" [Adam]

"Nah, this is just on the way." [Felix]

"Oh, if it isn't Felix?" [???]

An elderly woman had called out to Felix from a food stall.

"Hm? Oh, if it isn't grandma Marsh!" [Felix]

("His grandma? Or is it just a nickname?") [Adam]

"Is school going well? How is your brother?" [Grandma Marsh]

"School is going great! My brother is on a trip, he'll be back soon I think." [Felix]

"Good, good. Here, have some apples before you go." [Grandma Marsh]

She offered a bag of apples, but Felix waved his hands trying to refuse the elderly lady.

"I couldn't possibly take them for free." [Felix]

"No, no. Please take them. It's the least I could do for your brother." [Grandma Marsh]

"In that case…" [Felix]

He reluctantly took the bag of apples off her hands.

"Thank you for the food. I'll see you next time!" [Felix]

They walked away as the Grandma Marsh slowly waved at them.

"Was that your grandma?" [Adam]

"No, I just know her through Sebastian." [Felix]

Adam wasn't convinced, but he stayed silent. As they walked through the streets, more people called out to Felix.

"Felix! Take some of my potatoes! They're fresh as can be!" [Middle Aged Man]

"Hey Felix! Try out my new recipe! You'll love it!" [Young Man]

"Uhm… Felix… Can you give this letter to Sebastian?" [Young Girl]

By the time they exited the supermarket, both Adam and Felix had their hands full with a variety of items.

"That's a lot of people you know through Sebastian." [Adam]

"To be honest, I don't even get how Sebastian can have so many connections. He usually stays home all day." [Felix]

"Wasn't there a couple girls back there that gave you some letters?" [Adam]

"They're going to get heartbroken." [Felix]

"You going to turn them down Mr. Popular?" [Adam]

"...The letters were for Sebastian." [Felix]

Adam's snide remarks stopped.

"...Yeah… They're not gonna like him when they find out about his hobby…" [Adam]

After some time, the two ended up in front of a restaurant that looked like coffee shop. Before stepping in, Adam read the name of the store aloud.

"The Old Gentleman..." [Adam]

"That's right, Sebastian used to bring me here pretty often." [Felix]

The two walked in to be greeted by the smell of coffee beans. The interior felt incredibly old fashioned, but a little bit classy. There were tables lined up against the windows with an old man behind a bar further inside the building. It didn't take very long for a waitress to come up to them.

"Welco- Oh? Felix?" [Waitress]

"Hi Mia. Nice to see you again." [Felix]

"It's been a while. Who's the person next to you?" [Mia]

Felix nudged Adam to introduce himself.

"I'm Adam, a friend of his." [Adam]

"Nice to meet you Adam, a table for two?" [Mia]

"Yeah." [Felix]

She led the two up until the bar's counter.

"Please have a seat. These are the menus, I'll come back to take your orders. If you would like any drinks, just ask the bar master over there." [Mia]

("How professional…") [Adam]

They took a seat and skimmed through the menu before deciding on a dish.

"Which one are you picking?" [Felix]

"Got any recommendations?" [Adam]

"I think you'll like the Beef Alfredo. If you don't want it, then just order the Chef's Choice." [Felix]

("Beef Alfredo is basically steak with noodles… But the chefs choice is seasoned salmon with rice. This is a difficult decision…") [Adam]

"I think I'll go with... Chef's Choice." [Adam]

"Then I'll go with the Trendy Spaghetti." [Felix]

"Your order will be out in a few minutes." [Mia]

"Huh? When did she get here?" [Adam]

"That's kind of how this place works. Well… not really the place, but how she works." [Felix]

While Mia took their orders into the kitchen, Felix called over the bar master.

"Master! Can I get a chocolate sprinkled latte?" [Felix]

"Sure thing- Felix?!" [Bar Master]

("The bar master was that old man?") [Adam]

"It's been a while since you last visited. How is your brother?" [Bar Master]

As the bar master asked questions, he was already preparing the latte Felix ordered.

"He's on a trip with his friends." [Felix]

"Ah, I see. How is school? Make any friends?" [Bar Master]

"It's fine, as you can see I brought my friend with me today." [Felix]

He wrapped one arm around Adam as he said that.

"Here, one chocolate sprinkled latte. What will you have, Felix's friend?" [Bar Master]

"Can I have a lemonade? Also, my name is Adam." [Adam]

"Alright then Adam, I'll have it done in a jiffy." [Bar Master]

("What a funky old man.") [Adam]

It only took a few minutes for his lemonade to be made. Adam and Felix just took small sips to pass the time until their meals came for them.

"Here's your Trendy Spaghetti and your Chef's Choice. Enjoy your meal!" [Mia]

The aroma wafted into their nostrils, whetting their appetite. They just couldn't wait to dig in.

"This looks amazing… I'm going in." [Adam]

After his first spoonful, his hand started to speed up and he couldn't stop eating.

("This… This tastes amazing!") [Adam]

At the rate he was eating, he finished his meal in a matter of seconds.

"Phew~ I'm stuffed." [Adam]

When he turned to look at Felix, he saw Mia out of the corner of his eye. It seemed like a group of people were giving her a bit of trouble.

"Sir, touching the staff is not allowed." [Mia]

"Can't you just bend the rules for me?" [Unruly Guy A]

"How about you and us have some fun?" [Unruly Guy B]

"I'm currently on shift, how about another time?" [Mia]

"Then we can just wait for your shift to end. After that, no one can bother us~." [Unruly Guy C]

Although Mia seemed calm and cool on the surface, she was clearly nearing her patience.

("Isn't anyone going to do something?") [Adam]

Looking around, all the customers just turned their heads and avoided the problem. It was then that the bar master came from behind the counter and confronted the group.

"Excuse me gentlemen, I would like to ask you to restrain yourselves within this establishment." [Bar Master]

"Shut up!" [Unruly Guy B]

He shoved the bar master to the side, causing him to fall over.

"Agh!" [Bar Master]

("That's it.") [Adam]

He stood up and approached the group.

"Apologize to him." [Adam]

"Huh? Who're you?" [Unruly Guy B]

"Doesn't matter. Apologize to the old man." [Adam]

"Why should I?" [Unruly Guy B]

"Why shouldn't you?" [Adam]

"Hah. Looks like we got a smart guy here." [Unruly Guy B]

The other two friends he brought along chuckled.

"Not really, but definitely smarter than you." [Adam]

The people in the background chuckled as well.

"You little-!" [Unruly Guy B]

Suddenly, He swung wildly at Adam.

("He's slow.") [Adam]

He titled his head only slightly to evade the punch.

"Huh?! That was a fluke!" [Unruly Guy B]

A few more punches were thrown, but that only meant a few more punches were evaded.

("What a mess.") [Adam]

Adam countered. His fist was sent straight into the Unruly Guy's stomach.

"Guwoh!" [Unruly Guy B]

He staggered backwards and propped himself up against the table.

"Ugh... Y-you punch pretty hard for someone that skinny, I'll give you that much." [Unruly Guy B]

He glanced at his friends and they approached Adam as well.

"Looks like you need a lesson." [Unruly Guy A]

"You should've just walked away when you had the chance." [Unruly Guy C]

Adam glanced back at Felix trying to signal for assistance.

"Adam, I'm still not done eating. You're on your own." [Felix]

He gave Adam a thumbs up as he slurped up another fork full of noodles.

("Guess it's on me then…") [Adam]

"Need help?" [Krino]

("Nah, I got this.") [Adam]

The two ruffians swung, clearly faster than the first guy. Although the punches were faster, it still didn't pose a threat to Adam.

("I think I'll be straightforward this time.") [Adam]

He simply caught their fists and held on firmly.

"If you don't want me to crush your hands, then apologize and leave." [Adam]

"As if you ca- Ack!" [Unruly Guy A]

They fell to one knee holding their arm. Cracking noises were coming from the hands held by Adam.

"W-wait! We'll apologize!" [Unruly Guy C]

Adam released his grip and motioned towards the bar master.

"Go on." [Adam]

"We're so- Sike!" [Unruly Guy C]

A punch came out of nowhere at Adam.

("These idiots.") [Adam]

He quickly caught the punch once again, but he didn't hold back this time. With a loud crunch, the thug's hand was crushed.

"AAAAHH! M-MY HAND!!" [Unruly Guy C]

"You should've apologized when you had the chance." [Adam]

"Alright! We'll apologize! Just let us go!" [Unruly Guy A]

"I don't want your apology anymore. Leave, and don't come back. If I see any of you here, I won't stop at just crushing a hand." [Adam]

The group of unruly men walked out holding each other by the shoulder. As soon as they left, an applause filled the room.

"That was incredible, young man!" [Bar Master]

"It was nothing, they were just a bunch of nobodies." [Adam]

"Haha, if I was your age, I would've whooped them myself! Unfortunately, these old bones of mine can't do that anymore." [Bar Master]

"Don't push yourself." [Mia]

She helped up the bar master and brought him back to the counter.

"As a thankyou for today, your meal will be on the house!" [Bar Master]

"If you're offering, I'll take it!" [Adam]

The restaurant was lively for a while until Adam and Felix went home. Though it was a bit troublesome, they carried the items received earlier along as well.

"Felix, you should've backed me up there." [Adam]

"I thought you could take them, and I was right." [Felix]

"That was unnecessary." [Adam]

"By the way… I didn't know you had enough grip strength to break someone's hand." [Felix]

"Actually, I don't. I used my compression ability to help me out." [Adam]

"...Wasn't your ability supposed to be strong enough to only squeeze a sponge?" [Felix]

"It was. Until Roy taught me how to make it stronger with mana control." [Adam]

"...Teach me." [Felix]

"Ask Roy." [Adam]

"Nevermind." [Felix]

When they arrived home, Felix quickly gave the rundown of what happened today to Vivian.

"I'm surprised, angry, and proud of you. All at the same time." [Vivian]

"Why?" [Adam]

"I didn't know that you were that strong. That's why I'm surprised. For why I'm angry, you shouldn't have jumped into danger like that." [Vivian]

"But no one else was helping." [Adam]

"That's the reason why I'm proud of you. You stood up for someone who was all alone." [Vivian]

Adam's face turned a bit red from embarrassment.

"Thanks." [Adam]

"All right, now get to bed. You have a tournament coming up in two days. Get some rest while you can." [Vivian]

"Don't worry, I'll win. Definitely…" [Adam]