Vol.1 Ch.10 - Clinical dilemma

“Good morning!” I opened the door to greet the very tired Anna, “Annie,goooood morning~!”“Grr…” She grumbled, “Buzz off.”Well, looks like she’s still a bit wary of me. Not like I’m surprised about it,though. I mean, if I was a girl, and a random guy not affiliated with my familysuddenly started living with us, I’d be scared out of my mind to the pointwhere I wouldn’t even leave my room. Eh, she managed that at least, so Iguess she’s a braver girl than me.“Hey, hey.” I pried for answers, “Where’s Arthur?”“Dunno, probably at his lousy restaurant that won’t ever return the money andtime he poured into it, working as per usual.” She clicked her tongue, “Geez,you boys always think about money. Would it kill a guy to prioritize his lovedones?”“Usually, I’d have a couple of things to say to that, but I’m really not in anyposition to speak. You see, I myself actually ran away from home to explorethe world!”“I couldn’t care less about your little fake goals. You don’t even have apassport, so how the hell would you go about even leaving TrivisNumerica?”“Eh? A… passport?” I tensed up, “Do I really need that? I mean, Schnelldidn’t…”“Schnell? Actually, never mind, I don’t care. Listen, it’s as simple as that. Apassport is handed out only to those who sign up to become an ITA Agent andpass all the examinations. You can’t leave your country of origin any otherway.”“Then it shouldn’t be that difficult. Where can we sign up? Actually, I think Ifound a place that had a sign labeling it as the ITA yesterday, would that beit?”“Sign, you don’t understand.” She replied, “The ITA stands for the‘International Traveler’s Association’, meaning you need to qualify for anadventurer willing to do any and all tasks they assign to you. Do you realizewhat I’m getting at here?”“Uh, no, not really…”“Ugh, boys are so dumb…” She rolled her eyes before explaining, “Think ofit this way – have you ever seen an adventurer below the age of 17?”Oh, I see now. Crap, I have to wait four more years so that I can come of agebefore even being eligible to apply for an exam?! That’s so far away, I’ll bean old man by then! I can’t wait that long, goddammit! There’s gotta beanother way!“Do you see now why I called your goal fake just now?” She gave anannoying smirk, “You’re just like grandpa, you both act on impulse and don’tat all think things through. Honestly, why do I even bother talking to hotheadslike you…”“I’m not a hothead!” I shot back, “I’ll have you know, I know mymultiplication table up to a hundred by heart, and I’ve read more books thanyou’ve spoken words!”“I don’t care! Now go somewhere else, Smarty Pants!”“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where Arthur is, Miss High-andMighty!”“Like I said, I don’t know…!”Bickering amongst ourselves like this for a good while, we finally justdecided to have breakfast and wait for Arthur together. In the end, it seemsshe’s rather fond of her Grandpa, she just has difficulties expressing it infront of others. Now I feel doubly bad for putting myself in between them likethis.“Huh, you’re oddly good in the kitchen.” I complimented the deviled egg shemade, “This is pretty good! Needs more salt though.”“What’s that supposed to mean?” She hissed, “Be happy you’re getting thismuch! If it wasn’t for my grandpa’s hospitality, you’d have starved in thestreets by now!”Once again, despite our best efforts to play nice, it seems we just couldn’t getalong. Well, at least Arthur came back home from work early today so that hecould take me to Harper’s clinic, so I didn’t have to endure this annoyinggirl’s endless tirades for too long. I had immediately put on my coat as weleft the house, not even giving him time to unwind. I know it’s rude of me topush him out of his own house before he even got the chance to properly getin, but I can’t stand Anna any more than this!***”Must we be in such a hurry, Lune?” Arthur got dragged along, “I know youwant to see your friend so badly, but please do keep in mind my age andphysical capabilities.”“Ah, is that the case? Sorry, Gramps. I just really didn’t wanna be with thatannoying girl any longer that I already had to before you came. Oh, nooffense!”“Don’t fret, she’ll get used to you in due time. For now, all I can ask of you isto be patient with her. She really is a sweet girl when you give her a chance.”Yeah, as if it’s that simple. I really can’t see eye to eye with that girl, and Idon’t think I ever will. Whatever, let’s just go get Ed so we can figure outwhat to do next.“Good day, we’re here to visit a young boy.” Arthur approached the guardworking at the clinic, “His name is Edward Saint, could you tell us in whichroom he’s in?”“Hold your horses, sir.” The guard gave me a cautious look, “Beforeanything, I’d like to know who you are. After all, that boy holding your handright now looks awfully similar to the boy described as the suspect thatcaused that ruckus the other day.”“Ah, heh-heh…” I chuckled nervously, “I’m just Ed’s friend. Please don’thurt me…”“Pfft!” The guard cracked up, “Dude! Calm down, would ya? I was justjoshing you, I didn’t think you’d seriously crap your pants like that!Phahahaha!”“Wha=!? You’re a jerk! Arthur, let’s go!” I yelled, looking over at him, “AArthur?”“Pfft… Ah, apologies, Lune. I’m not laughing, I just… Phah! Oh,heavens…!”Geez! All you adults are the same! What’s with you people and tormentingthe younger generation? That’s it, I’m going to see Ed, whether it be with orwithout you, Gramps!“Ah, Lune, wait up! I’m sorry, but you must admit it was rather comedic,pfft!”Knocking on the door I could hear Ed’s voice from a couple times, I couldhear him muttering something, but I couldn’t tell what exactly. Prylos, pleasedon’t make me walk in on him doing something… self-indulgent.“Ah, Miss Harper!” He looked over at the door with pure bliss beforefrowning with all his might, “Naww, it’s just you, Grim…”“Hey, I came here to check up on you and that’s the greeting I get? Shame onyou, Edward Saint!”Arthur looked on at us bickering with a hearty smile across his face, but thattoo soon vanished when he heard what Ed had to say next.“You’re also the guy that pushed me off the viewpoint and got me in thisplace to begin with! So really, you’re the one who should be ashamed rightnow!”“Eh?” Arthur gave me a frightened stare, “Young Lune, you didn’t… I-Is thattrue? Wait, huh?”“A-ha-ha-ha! Oh, you little jokester, Ed!” I strongly patted him on the back tosignify he should shut the hell up, “You’re still a bit woozy from theanesthesia they gave you, I see! Ha-ha!”“Ow, ow! Stop that, you ass!” He yelled in pain, “Who the hell hits their bestfriend while they’re sitting in a hospital bed, you demon!?”Just then, we heard the door open behind us, and a lovely lady pop her headout of the doorframe. She was slim in terms of her body shape, but I guessyou could say she had the ideal build, given her, ahem, assets. Then again, itcould just be the lab coat that’s doing it for me. She looks to be around herearly twenties though, so I can definitely see why Ed was so happy when hethought she entered the room. I imagine this girl is the famed doctor Harper,no doubt.“Edward, is everything alright?” She walked up to him before grabbing hishand, “Who are these people?”“Ah, Miss Harper!” He smiled like never before, “Don’t worry, these guysare my friends, Grim and uhh…”“A-Arthur Gray, Miss!” He tightly squeezed my hand, “I am these two boys’caretaker. Pleased to meet you.”“Caretaker? Ed never mentioned anything about you people…”Crap, she’s onto us. Heck, she’s also giving me a pretty nasty stare, which Iimagine is because I resemble the mysterious suspect who’s wanted acrosstown. I should probably think up a good lie again, otherwise we’re toast!Okay, time for Rule 2 – Create a coherent narrative!“Ed, we should really be going home.” I winked at him, “Anna’s worriedsick about you.”“Anna is?” Even Arthur seemed confused.“Yeah, she’s all but crying over him!”“And who, pray tell, is Anna?” Harper turned to Ed.“Heh.” He donned a disgustingly smug grin, “Not to brag, but she’s my deargirlfriend!”“Eh?” I could hear glass breaking in Arthur’s voice as he clenched my handmore.Dammit, Ed! What the hell, man, Gramps is gonna break my hand at this rate,then I’ll be the one at Harper’s place! Well, not that I’d mind, honestly…“Is that so?” She seemed genuinely delighted, “Well I’m really glad you’re soactive in your age! Honestly, given your demeanor, I was worried you didn’thave many friends, so this is a very pleasant thing to hear!”“Pfft, yeah, he’s the talk of the town…” I stifled in my laughter as much as Icould.“Oh, but sir.” She turned to Arthur, “He’s still not in a state that allows him tobe overly-active. Don’t let him walk too much, and especially don’t makehim run errands or go out to play. I’m sure Anna can come visit him if she’sso worried, but absolutely don’t let him out of bed!”“Yeah…” Arthur shone a heinous and terrifying smile at Ed, who in turngulped without even realizing why, “I’ll make sure he limbers up realquick…”-ON THE WAY BACK HOME-“I’m so sorry, Mister Arthur!!!” Ed cried out, “I thought Grim was making upnames on the fly like he always does! I genuinely didn’t know!”“Don’t worry about it, Young Edward.” Arthur seemed to have completelyzoned out Ed’s wails and pleas, “I made a promise to Miss Harper that I’lllimber you up, and I intend to carry that promise out to its fullest.”“Wait, really?” Ed sighed in relief, “How so?”“Let’s see, a light workout should be fine, like… cleaning the restaurant,doing the dishes…”“That’s not light at all!”“Oh, and you said back at the clinic that you’re quite the ladies’ man, so Iimagine having you be a waiter exclusively for girls should make you happy.Heh, that’d for sure start some rumors…”“Nooooo!!!!”And so, another saga ends. Well, not really, because this is only the beginningof mine and Ed’s work life. That’s right, starting tomorrow, we’ll officiallybe helping out around Arthur’s restaurant, and with a little bit of elbowgrease and a ton of great ideas, I’m sure we’ll make it the greatest restaurantin Trivis Numerica, no, the world! Ah, I wonder if Anna’s willing to put insome work as well. Heh, seeing those two interact should be a treat!