First Lead

"Erin. Table eight, two dishes of curry." Tist said.

Ryuma was back in the inn serving in the diner. There were quite a few customers. As packed as it was today, it wasn't too rowdy. Most people came here to escape from their problems, enjoy a nice meal away from their homes, or as a stop towards another destination. In this way, Ryuma met a lot of people he'd otherwise would've never met or is likely to never meet again.

He had been waiting tables and having small chats with people all day. He was told a lot of things about the surface world. Most of it was useless information about their personal life and problems. Other things were a little more useful in terms of how the people acted and interpreted the world around them. They saw Straissand differently than people from the Skylands.

He was even more shocked to find that people had a variety of opinions about The Order.

"The Order? Bunch of No good exploiters with a monopoly on Soul Force. Course we hate those fucks." One old man said to him.

"To be honest, I really don't think they're that bad. Just let them do what they do and stay out of their way, they'll get rid of the apparitions for us." Another person said.

"Yeah… if you want to turn a blind eye to their bullying… their sexual misconduct… and their killing." Their partner said.

"Well all the heavy stuff is usually against the smaller towns right? They're not going to do most of that here."

That must mean that The Order must be keeping some type of appearance up. Their reputation must mean something to them then.

As far as Ryuma learned. If it's a remote village with little resources, then they don't give a squat how their members treat them. The capital and the larger villages are a different matter. Any misconduct they commit must be either too small to get involved with, or hidden and unproven.

The good thing about that was that at least it wasn't a full-on fest of death, destruction, and sex violence. However, if they acted like this, then gathering up a cause to deal with it would be that more difficult. Some people learn to deal with it as a fact of life. Others, would ultimately refused to see it whether or not they know it's happening.

He narrowed his eyes.

This world was more nuanced than he thought. He originally thought everywhere was going to be like Hestia. Now that it wasn't the case, there were going to be people even of the surface world to defend the status quo. Sure they may not like their personal position in it, but to them, they're not going to want to rock the boat if they always see somebody else in an even worse position.

Ryuma looked towards the ceiling. It's because of this, nothing will change. The surface world will remain oppressed, and the Skylands won't even be aware of it. At least from a child's perspective such as him.

Even him or anybody else with good intentions would have no choice but to follow the system. Maybe over time, they would've learned to except it. It's possible, he'd even learn to enjoy it.

"HEY WAITER! ARE YOU JUST GOING TO STAND THERE!?" a customer complained.

"Oh, sorry about that. I'll be on it right away." The sudden call startled him to the point he was fumbling. He quickly got back on schedule.

At some point in the day a group of women showed up. All three of them seemed a generation apart. While the oldest one was an elderly woman, the middle one had a mature look about her. Then there was the youngest who looked right around his own age.

Ryuma casually walked up to them with notepad in hand.

"Hello. It's not often we get a trio of stunning woman. Is there anything I can get you?" Ryuma asked.

"Oh my. What a charming young man." The eldest touched her face and brightened up.

The tigress in the middle seemed uninterested. It's like she heard it all before. Still, her interest piqued all the same.

The youngest, the one with the least amount of experiences and defenses, slightly blushed and turned her look downwards.

He did just like Saya told him. He casually gave them a compliment, but instead of switching targets to another woman, stopped and became professional at the drop of a hat.

"Oh I'd like something soft if you don't mind. These old molars aren't what they used to be." The elder said.

"Got it. How does mashed potatoes and some eggrolls sound?" Ryuma asked.

"That sounds wonderful!"

"And you Mrs…" Ryuma asked referring to the middle woman.

"I'll have the steak with a side of biscuits and rice." Though she sounded harsh, she looked at him with casual interest.

"Alrighty then. Is there anything I can get the lovely young lady." Ryuma asked. He smiled endearingly. A technique he found out works.

The young girl could only blush and keep her head down.

"Sure you can. How about your hand in marriage." The elderly woman said.

"GRANDMA!" The young girl went from blushing to beat red. There was no way she could look him in the eyes now.

"Oh relax. We could use a dashing, hard-working young man in the family. Your grandma will be well at ease. You don't want to end up a leftover like your aunt." She shot her glare at the middle one. Though a vein popped on her head, she couldn't say anything in retort towards her mother.

Ryuma got an idea of how the family dynamics worked with this group. "I'm sorry. I'm sure any man would happily take a vibrant young girl such as this. However, there are circumstances I must attend to that keep me from family life." He made sure to give her a wink to put her at ease.

"Is that so?" The young girl said. Her voice carried a trace of sadness and a hint of longing with it.

"Besides, I don't think this one at all to be too old. She looks lovely herself. If only for my own embarrassment, I'm afraid my inexperience would show itself." He lightly ran a finger through her orange head of long hair.

The middle one started to show a shade of pink. "I'll admit. You have a bit of skill." She bit her own finger in anticipation. She could only curse she was in the wrong generation.

The youngest one puffed up her cheeks. Why should her aunt get his attention? The two glared at each other, jealous of the other's position.

People snuck glances at their table. Ryuma was handling these women quite well. Who actually was this young man?

"I'm sorry. It seems I forgot your order Mrs." Ryuma said referring to the youngest.

"OH! I'll go with a bowl of Udon." Though she said the words, her mind was clearly elsewhere as she stared at him.

"Gotcha. Three orders will be coming right up." Ryuma turned around to leave but was pulled by his sleeve.

Surprised, he stopped and turned around only to see the young girl hold on longingly as if she didn't want to see a lover go.

"Is there something wrong Mrs.?" Ryuma asked.

"Oh my. How bold of you Elise. I didn't know you had it in you." Her grandma said.

Her eyes went wide once she realized what she did. "No it's not… ugh… I mean… your name! What is the name of our waiter?" It was something she came up with on the spot.

Ryuma blinked a few times before finally smiling. "The names Erin. I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself earlier. That's my mistake."

He closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Once he opened his eyes he knew something was completely off.

All three woman had a complete look of horror written all over their faces. As if they'd seen a ghost. This piqued his interest. Was his answer that off putting?

"I see. Thanks for telling me that." Though she said that, she didn't seem so thankful. It felt more like a formality.

Something was off. Ryuma couldn't help but try and get to the bottom of it.

"Was there something wrong with my answer? I hope I didn't disturb you." Ryuma said. He wanted to put them at ease which did the trick.

"Oh folly that idea young man. You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that, it's a coincidence that you shared the same name as him…" the grandma said.

So it was the name they heard that was disturbing. It couldn't be… were they talking about Erin Frost? In earnest he didn't know how casual a name it was down here. It could be anybody.

"Oh then I remind you of somebody. I guess that's a relief then, I thought I said something wrong. Though I'll have to admit, you have gotten me a bit curious." Ryuma said. This might be his chance to find out. "I'd love to know more about it."