The deity stepped towards Cole, clicking her tongue as she shook her head. "How did you get this damaged?"
Cole scratched the back of his head, sniggering at the question. He briefed her as best as possible, explaining the unexpected twist of events, the circumstances surrounding them, and how he had befriended the only employee and owner of the restaurant.
She dug into her pocket and brought out something in her palm. Without revealing what it was, she offered it to Cole. "Open wide," she ordered.
Cole first pressed his lips together and squinted his eyes, then shrugged. He obeyed her without a single complaint; she couldn't kill him, after all.
Once Cole's trap was wide open, she tossed something swiftly into his mouth. Cole choked at first but managed to gulp it down in one go.
It didn't taste like anything, nor did it really give him the impression he had swallowed something. 'I might have been too harsh with Vanity,' he thought.
As his thoughts concluded, Cole was stricken by a sharp squeezing at the edge of his abdomen. The severity made him fall to one knee, making ugly expressions as if he had tasted a bitter herbal remedy. Though unpleasant, Cole felt as though he had experienced something similar before.
Eventually, he began to retch repeatedly until he barfed out a large pebble. Cole widened his eyes at the familiar sight; at the same time, his wounds and injuries sealed up and mended back together.
"Hey, what did you give me?" Cole asked with a partly shaky tone.
"A Reversant Pepper," she proudly answered. "I brought some in case we ended up fighting."
Cole looked at the pebble with cold, reminiscing eyes. "This was what saved me from Atasa the first time. Without it, I don't think I'd be alive right now."
"I've been meaning to ask, who gave it to you?" The deity dimmed her bright demeanour. "Reversant Peppers aren't an everyday item, even in True Earth."
Cole spoke with a voice lacking emotion. "An old lady."
'A shapeshifter, perhaps?' she speculated.
"Daddy, there he is!" Ohami burst out loudly, excitement latent in his tone.
The Potter faced Cole's direction with a steady yet wavering look. He stroked his beard, staring at Cole's body from head to toe with intrigue radiating from him. Cole twitched his lips in discomfort as he averted direct eye contact.
Vanity popped out of the kitchen with two trays filled with food; the smell was enticing and, at the same time, captivating. Even Cole himself was persuaded by the food's tempting aroma. Luckily, unlike before, Cole had assisted Vanity in the cooking to prevent the earlier abomination from being served again.
Vanity arranged the plates on a table where the others sat around. He served three dishes: for Cole, the Potter, and Ohami.
Cole stretched his lips back. "What about hers?" He raised his brow.
"Who?"
"The lady sitting beside me."
Vanity's eyes shifted to the vacant seat beside Cole. To him, it was exactly what he saw: empty. Neither did he see nor sense anyone staying beside Cole, but for the sake of the mood, he quickly adapted.
"My apologies, ma'am." He shut his eyes and bowed. "It won't happen again."
He served her the same as the others but added a side dish as an apology. After which, he bowed and went back to the kitchen. "Enjoy your meal," he spoke with a draggy voice.
'Who was there? I didn't perceive anyone,' he first wondered. 'If it were invisibility, I'd still be able to sense them,' Vanity pondered as he left.
The Potter held off until Vanity entered the kitchen, after which he turned towards the smiling deity and asked with a deep voice, "You wouldn't happen to be his natural enemy, are you?"
She placed her chin on her palm, narrowed her eyes closely, and smirked. "Who knows? But I won't bother with that right now."
Cole and Ohami watched blankly. 'Natural Enemy? What does that mean?'
The first person to have a bite was 'Her'. The delectable presentation of pork broth with chopped carrots and green peas made her body tingle. She savoured the taste of the broth flowing down her tongue, smacked her lips, and returned the spoon.
"This tastes like ass," she commented bluntly.
Cole was stupefied, to say the least. 'That's not possible; I calibrated the ingredients and seasonings perfectly.'
He took a bite of the jam buns on his plate, munched loudly to get every taste, and dropped the remaining half like a tennis ball. The sensation made Cole curve both hands and gaze downward in shame.
"How did this happen? All that hard work... forsaken in the blink of an eye," he muttered. "My cooking was perfect, damn it!"
Ohami and the Potter exchanged awkward glares and pushed their dishes aside. The Potter cleared his throat and uttered, "Let's cut to the chase. What do I have to do for you guys to leave my family alone?"
Cole raised his head after hearing this.
She gestured for Cole to speak. Cole's determination flickered for a second, then burnt with a scorching passion.
"I request of you to create a Homunculus capable of withstanding Ascendant Wavelength." Cole's words held an intense weight that pressed against his head.
The Potter stared silently at Cole with a darkened expression, as though he had just listened to the ramblings of a madman. "What for, exactly?" he asked with an equally dreadful tone.
Cole inhaled and calmed his nerves. "I wish to save my sister, trapped in an eternal seal." The words blurted from his mouth as though they were shoved out.
The deity gaped at his answer, her face brimming with awe.
Ohami was dumbfounded; he didn't fully understand what Cole meant, but the intensity and care he felt from his tone resonated with him on a deeper level.
"Be more specific," the Potter asked unyieldingly. "Just what is this girl's name? And what did the sister of a normal Indulger do to be trapped in an eternal seal?"
He thickened his tone. "Mr Cole, are you truly an accomplice?"
"Whether an accomplice, mercenary, Venerable, or even a brother, those words feel so intimate to me, yet at the same time so alien. You could ask me which one I am exactly, and I would look at you speechless." Cole spoke with a soft, pained tone, his face gloomier and sourer than Vanity's.
"It wasn't too long ago that my life flipped upside down. During my mercenary days, I thought I saw it all—the worst of the worst and true hell on earth—but... the Indulger world truly humbled me to extents I can't even laugh about. Seeing things, experiencing countless deaths, being overpowered by my opponents in terms of skill and strength... These are small experiences I could never have seen myself undergo, and from the looks of things, it won't be getting any better for me."
The Potter was intently focused on Cole's speech. Ohami didn't understand, but he felt the weight. She was surprised but oddly moved. Vanity overheard from the kitchen and paid attention.
"With all the odds stacked against me, I decided to throw all doubts and fears to the side and keep moving. If I die, I die; no ifs or buts. If I live, all well and good. If I suffer, then I might as well die trying to end it. If I live a horrid life, so be it. If my future can be peaceful... I'd be happy, I can't lie. So many possibilities, none are certainties. Lose or win, live or die, I adopted the mindset that everything is 50/50. Nothing more, nothing less."
The Potter acknowledged his words with a silent nod. "I understand." He stretched his hand towards Cole and gave him an empty palm. "But how does that answer my original question?"
Cole was stumped as his mind raced for an answer. "Uhmm... I don't know exactly?" he faintly spoke.
"Then I'm afraid I can't help you." The Potter crossed his palms together. "This sister you wish to save—she wouldn't happen to be sealed inside a large tree, would she?"
Cole paused, then answered, "...Yes, she is."
'Gothel...' the Potter thought with virulence.
"Forgive my previous statement." The Potter raised both brows with a calm face. "I won't be helping you, not because I can't, but because I don't want to."
"Have you forgotten your son is in our hands?" she cut in.
Cole prevented her from speaking further with smooth hand movements. He gave the Potter an equally calm stare. "I understand. I won't force you." He shot up from his seat, and so did the Potter.
Ohami was at a loss for words after everything. The Potter gently dragged Ohami with him as they headed towards the entrance.
The deity sent a vicious glare at Cole; letting such a golden opportunity slip was pure foolishness to her. Before the Potter and Ohami left through the exit, Cole shattered the fragile peace.
"She's changed, by the way!" he yelled. "You've lived longer than me, so you've probably seen worse than I could imagine. But the girl you knew before and the person she is now are different!"
"She's held down by regret, not the seal. My sister is like you and me! Hateful of her past mistakes, drowned in her old sins, cursing her judgments, but unlike us..." Cole's voice shrunk into his throat. "She doesn't have a second chance. That's something she at least deserves. It's not fair for someone like me to be given another chance at life while she's locked away forever in that tree, alone!"
The Potter stopped, gave Cole a side-eye, and carried on.
"If you want my services, you'll have to pay me for it," he spoke casually to no one.
Cole gripped his pockets. "Money isn't an issue."
"It'll take over 100 false years to complete. That's with the proper equipment and materials, which I don't have, so it'll take over 200 false years plus a fortune. That's approximately 20 human years. Can you wait that long and spend that much?"
Cole was too stunned to reply, his eyes darting around the room just trying to conjure up a sentence.
"I thought so. If you're so desperate to save her quickly, then there's a way. But it's got nothing to do with me, so your decision is all that matters."