A Successful Scheme
The knock on the door surprised all of them. It was unusual to have uninvited visitors at this hour of the day. Brandial assumed that an urgent issue must have come up for someone to seek her.
"I will go check, you guys can continue eating."
"Eh?"
"Don't worry about it Poltas, if I need any help I will let you know."
He was not concerned at all, but for the sake of appearances he acted if that was the reason for his constipated expressions. Winzton mirrored his apprehension and if not for Poltas still being seated at the table, the man seemed ready to sprint to the door.
Brandial had gone down a mental list of possible guests, but the person outside the door had not crossed her mind at all.
"Tyom. What are you doing here, did something happen?"
"Ah. I hope I didn't disturb you ma'am."
"Not in the way you think you did. Just rare to see you here at this time."
"Actually I came to look for Miss Poltas. A few bugs reappeared, but this time they are in the pantry. If we leave them there, they'll eat all the stock overnight. So I was hoping I could get some help like last time. Sorry to have worried you Miss Brandial.
"Oh. That sounds quite troublesome. Actually we have a guest over for dinner right now."
"I didn't know that, I'm sorry for the disturbance. I will come back later."
It was already 8 at night, Brandial considered the option to send Poltas after dinner. Although it was a very safe town, Pamsteria was not protected against magical attacks and spectors. Sending a person out at night without any talismans was ill-advised.
Brandial mulled over it for a minute, and chose to leave the decision up to Poltas.
"I will let Poltas know, if she wants to go right now then she can. But afterwards it might be too late in the night for Poltas to go and come back."
"Okay then, I will wait here."
The duo at the dinner table had barely moved their utensils since Brandial left. One was genuinely wondering what trouble might have occurred while the other was overjoyed at the fulfilment of his plan.
Finally Brandial returned with an update.
"Poltas, can I talk to you for a moment?"
The joy he felt a moment ago evaporated into thin air.
'Was I found out?'
"Sorry to disturb your dinner, but there is a favour I need to ask of you."
"For what?"
"Tyom came by with news that insects have somehow gotten into the bakery's pantry, I am hoping you would be willing to help them again."
"Did they still not learn how to handle it by themselves?"
"I promise I'll find the time to make it happen soon. But for tonight, can you handle it?"
"Well I can't refuse if you insist like this."
"Thank you. I will be sure to find a reward for you this time."
Poltas excused himself from Winzton and went off to the bakery.
Convincing Brandial to have dinner on his behalf was difficult, but leaving a few insects in the bakery was extremely easy. Still nothing was as easy as killing the insects and pretending to exert effort to avoid going home.
When Poltas thought of this idea, he had been a bit reluctant considering the possible loss of resources these insects could cause. But as he witnessed it being executed, he realised that all his prior concerns were meaningless.
Tyom would never let insects survive a day in this place. And Brandial was too kind for her own good to consider whether this was a set-up or not.
After an hour of aimlessly moving the fly swatter, Poltas reappeared outside the pantry to announce his success. Aslant was embarrassed to have ruined his dinner at home and invited him for a meal.
"I don't know how these insects find their way into all these places. I have switched from mechanical vents to magical ones. This is beyond my understanding."
"Uncle you shouldn't stress out over this, here have some sweet noodle soup."
"I think it might have to do with the location of this bakery. Have you asked around if anyone has the same issue?"
"The neighbours don't, but all the residents of the complex above say they have had encounters with these pests."
"Hmmm."
In the back room of the bakery, Aslant and Poltas discussed possible solutions to this recurring problem throughout the meal.
Across the town, in Brandial's cottage, the two people left behind had awkward exchanges for their own reasons. Brandial was ashamed to have sent Poltas away while her coworker was still here. She partly regretted making the date jokes before.
"Sorry about this, I hope you don't think I had any other ideas for sending Poltas to help them."
"Uh. Oh. It's fine. I don't mind. I was just being silly."
"Silly? Why would you be silly?"
"Umm. I guess Poltas didn't tell you but I had the idea that she was avoiding me intentionally and confronted her about that. Turns out I was wrong all this time and she is just really busy."
"Definitely busy, she started working at the clinic again for some reason even after getting a job at the warehouse."
"Yea…I should probably work on myself before doubting others."
"Maybe. In this scenario you were only wrong because Poltas is a special case, but I think it's good that you decided to talk it out with her instead of secretly getting offended."
"You think so?"
"Yep. Communication is a difficult thing, I can only offer my utmost respect to those who practice it."
"What about you, do you communicate well?"
"Hmmmm. I can say yes, but honestly no. I usually say things others expect of me, even if it is the opposite of what I want."
"That sounds difficult."
"Only because I make it hard for me. If I just told the truth, I wouldn't have to deal with all of the mess. That's why communication, to me, is a commendable task"
"You can do it to me."
"Do what?"
"Say what you want to even if it isn't what I want you to say."
"And you'd be okay with that?"
"Of course! I would be delighted to talk to someone without pretences and stuff."
The tense air surrounding the two eventually dissipated as they began to interact comfortably. Regardless of their different jobs, the two shared a lot of common interests.
The night slowly transformed into a pleasant experience for everyone involved. Even the people who had used underhanded methods to make this happen.