Recruiting a Prophet

Two weeks after the day I had met Mark passed, I was beginning to get worried. I had been searching around, but I had essentially no more luck with chance encounters with people in need of saving. Currently, I was at Sarah and Connor’s apartment, having just finished having a cup of coffee with her. Though honestly, I don’t quite see the appeal of coffee. You can achieve the same stimulant effect with the more side effect free variants of modern methamphetamines. Pushing my consideration of the potential benefits of speed aside, I glanced at their television screen, and saw the time was past nine in the morning. I most likely needed to leave for my daily visit to the library soon.

Sarah was still chattering at me about how Connor had to do a “bunch of exams” to prove his qualification for the course he was aiming to enter. Based on my previous visits, he seemed to have become quite the studious type. Breaking out of my thoughts, I turned to Sarah. Perhaps she would have some insight.

“Actually, I’ve recently spent a day with one of the children of the Bellons. To be honest, it was quite an intense encounter.”

Sarah’s jaw quite literally dropped at that.

“The Bellons?! You spent an intense day with them… you mean you’re in a secret relationship with a rich kid?!”

A secret relationship? What does that mean?

“I don’t think it’s secret…?”

Sarah’s astonishment visibly grew further. If you keep your jaw like that, you’re going to inhale too many microplastics and die out like that whale species did a century or so ago….

“It’s out in the open? So, the parents know?”

I paused for a moment to consider.

“Well, that’s my concern. I haven’t heard back from them in a while, so I was wondering how I should try to contact them myself.”

Sarah’s eyes suddenly started spinning at that. Is she okay? Is the idea of me being in contact with a Bellon that unusual? I feel like I’m missing something here, but I’m not quite sure how my statements could be misunderstood….

“That’s no good, Elysia. You’re worth more than that! You need to stand your ground!”

I opened my mouth to query as to how that would help me get in contact with them, when I was cut off by a blitzkrieg of tousling upon my hair. Sighing in memory of the cheap hairbrush I had to replace thanks to Sarah’s frequent hair ruinings. I still have no idea when this supposedly employed woman actually works…. Regardless, Sarah continued to give me something resembling advice.

“Elysia, when it comes to this kind of thing, if you just come running back to them even though they are mistreating you, you’ll become an object of convenience.”

“Well, I don’t feel like I’m being mistreated…. To be honest, it is already a favour for them to be-”

“No!”

A fire seemed to have been lit in Sarah’s eyes.

“Elysia! Value yourself more!”

I do appreciate her enthusiasm, but I do feel it is a little misplaced here…. In any case….

“Thank you for the advice, Sarah. I have to head off for the day now, though.”

Sarah sighed, and stood to lead me to the door. When I walked outside with her and glanced over at my apartment, however, I was dumbstruck.

In my vision was once more that golden hair and those amber eyes. However, it was not Mark Bellon.

“Ah, I see. You were with a neighbour, that’s why you weren’t responding to the door.”

Sarah glanced at me in awe, while I stood frozen in shock. No way….

The visitor gave a wry smile.

“I suppose I’ll introduce myself, on the chance that you aren’t already aware. My name is Lillia Bellon. You can call me Lily.”

Lillia Bellon, the beautiful darling of the gossip media, younger sister of Mark Bellon, and heir to the Bellon family’s business stood before me. Regaining my senses, I first set out to clarify the situation.

“My apologies, but I am unsure why you came all the way out here.”

Well, I do have a good guess. It’s simpler to just have her clarify the full story, though. As if to see through my playing dumb, however, she gave a soft laugh, before giving me a dazzling smile.

“I’ve heard about you from my brother. You sounded unbearably interesting, so I wanted to meet you myself.”

That was more or less what I had assumed, given what I knew of her personality from the media surrounding her. However, that made it odder as to why Mark never contacted me. That said, tracking my address wasn’t all that surprising given the Bellons’ resources. Apparently guessing my thoughts, Lillia explained.

“Mark wanted to meet with you, but he has been too busy arranging his internship in the civil service and preparing for interviews to leave and meet with you.”

“Oh, so he passed?”

Lillia gave a slight chuckle, which morphed into a somewhat bitter smile.

“For someone who spoke so highly of you, Mark is quite poor at communicating with you, isn’t he?”

If what she was saying was the case, then I couldn’t help but agree. That said….

“So why specifically did you come to meet with me, Miss Lillia?”

Lillia suddenly approached me, and, in violation of what most humans would normally consider their personal space, brought her face right up to mine, examining it with the vigour of a 21st century health insurance executive examining his stacks of fancy green paper. Given that we were of a very similar height, our noses were almost touching. Lillia was wearing a dangerous, yet undeniably enchanting smile.

“Well, if my useless brother couldn’t make proper use of you, it only seems right for me to snatch you up, right? Also, I told you to call me, Lily.”

I see. She was intrigued by my abilities as she perceives me as genetically engineered. Since Mark can’t utilise me as a subordinate in the civil service, she wants to recruit me.

Watching on the side, Sarah was almost hyperventilating with flushed cheeks while muttering incomprehensibly.

“The sister is trying to steal from the brother…? You hooked both, Elysia?! You were so innocent when I first met you!”

What in the world is she on about? If she keeps acting like this, I’ll be even more embarrassed that I somehow manage to keep losing to her in that VR game….

Shaking my head, and distancing myself a little from Lillia, I gave her a reply.

“Miss Lillia, while I am honoured by the idea, I am currently too preoccupied with other things to take you up on that offer.”

I can’t work for anyone other than the Lord while I am on this mission. Though, I wish working for the Lord paid as well as working for a wealthy family…. Despite my refusal, Lillia firmly shook her head and placed a finger on my lips.

“Elysia, you need to call me Lily!”

Gently brushing off her hand, I sighed and replied.

“Fine then. Lily, I’m afraid I can’t take that path as of now.”

Lillia exhaled.

“Well, it doesn’t need to be a full-time thing. You can do it on the side. If you are as impressive as my brother says, then you will be rewarded appropriately.”

Sarah seemed on the verge of collapse at this point.

“Elysia is turning a Bellon into a side piece…?!”

I was honestly a little worried about her. Should we call for medical help…?

In any case, I could probably work with Lillia as a freelancer. I did need a way to get funds, and this seemed to be the best opportunity available to me.

“I can probably work with that. What precisely do you need me to do, though?”

“Well, we can discuss the details and contract at my office. Besides, your poor friend there might not be able to take much more of our discussion”

Lillia winked at Sarah and blew her a kiss. In response, Sarah hissed and shielded herself as if to defend from a punch. These two are weird….

And so, leaving behind a muttering Sarah, Lillia and I headed to her office. At the very least, I could say that she seemed far more assertive than her older brother.

===

Elsewhere, a blonde haired and amber eyed man sneezed and then glanced around. He was busy in front of a screen, reading up on civil service internship opportunities. Recalling the mountain of work ahead of him, he could only slump over on his desk.

“Maybe I should have skipped that exam after all….”