Enshiron Kiiros

Shien, Phoenicia, and Elysia arrived at Enshiron's Kyyrhim Bistro. They stood in front of the glass doors of the rectangular building that glowed with different colors.

"We're here!" Shien jumped through the doors, ringing the restaurant bell.

"Ready to be acquainted with the rest of our group, Elysia?" Phoenicia turned to Elysia.

"Yeah," Elysia's Vulpi ears twitched.

"Your hesitation likely shows that you never met incomprehensible blockheads as both of us, correct?"

"I never had friends for a long time."

"I see. Do you wish to communicate your thoughts?"

"It's a long story," Elysia kept her rough past with her friends of the Waxing Sickle to herself. "It's nice of you two to invite me."

"Of course! It's our pleasure!"

As the friends walked in, a purple-haired Vulpi with green eyes spun across the bar counter. "And, who would our next extraordinary guests be?"

Enshiron looked to find Shien, Phoenicia, and Elysia together.

"Well, well!" Enshiron patted Shien's head. "It's my petite-sized friend! Quaint as always, little Shien!"

As a vein popped out of Shien's forehead, the girls chuckled at Enshiron's blunt truth about Shien's height.

"Aw, don't give me that, my old pal!" The Vulpi boy exchanged Dorian's handshake with Shien.

"Dude, you know I get annoyed when you call me little," Shien elbowed him.

"Of course! That's why I continue to ridicule you!"

Enshiron turned to Phoenicia.

"Ah, Phoenicia!" He gave her a bear hug. "What a pleasure to see our favorite mechanized young lady! You're always easy on the eyes!"

"Aw, Enshiron," Phoenicia blushed. "You are too kind. Such endearing words."

"Aren't I always?" Enshiron walked to Elysia. "What's your wonderful name, fair maiden?"

"Oh," Elysia felt her cheeks redden, surprised that Enshiron was a Vulpi. "My name is Elysia."

"Elysia! Such a wondrous name! You may call me, Kiiros. Enshiron Kiiros."

The two Vulpi shook hands.

"The Double-O-Seven name intro?" Shien snapped his finger. "Classic."

"Looks to me that Shien and Phoenicia here have dragged you into our notorious gang!"

"I guess so," Elysia nodded, still surprised by the welcoming atmosphere the friends displayed.

"Pleased to meet you, Elysia! Ahem! Have a seat, my fine gentleman and dazzling damsels!"

"I'm hungry! Feed me!" Shien darted towards the long counter.

Enshiron is a Vulpi. Elysia wagged her tail. Shien's group welcomes my race?

As the two girls sat beside Shien, Enshiron slid three menus to them.

"Where did Naivern and Ritom go?" Shien looked for his other friends.

"Ah, you know. Ritom ran off to gamble with the big boys," Enshiron described as he poured wine for another player.

"Not again."

"No worries. Our Loud Girl, Naivern, is there to make certain that he does nothing stupid. The usual beef stew special with grape juice?"

"Yes, please. Thanks, buddy."

"And, my ladies?" Enshiron spoke to the girls. "What may I take the pleasure in serving you all on this fine day? Feeling like eating something scrumptious today, Phoenicia?"

"I wish to experiment with the taste of masala chai Nashura told us about."

"Oh! That's an excellent choice!" Enshiron smiled. "And you, Elysia?"

"Hmm," Elysia browsed through the large menu.

"I know, lots of magnificent choices! Want to try the masala chai as well? Nashura style?"

"Uh, sure," Elysia accepted. "I can try it, but who's Nashura?"

"Another friend of ours! She and Enshiron are cooking buddies. Nash is a medical student and the master of tea and spices!" Shien jumped.

"Indeed!" Enshiron wagged his tail. "Want anything else with the tea? Dessert, perhaps?"

"No thanks," Elysia replied. "I ate stuff before logging in."

"Alrighty then!" Enshiron spoke as he took the menus, flipping a frying pan in his hand. "Little Shien and his beef stew special with grape juice, and masala chai tea, Nash-style for the beautiful ladies!"

"Little? Hey!" Shien shouted.

"Relax, tiny," Phoenicia shoved another noogie into Shien's hair.

The three watched Enshiron and his sous chefs at work, throwing and catching cooking tools across the vast kitchen as their ovens and stoves roared with heat.

Such a lively bunch. Elysia smiled as she sat with her friends. When I had friends at the Waxing Sickle, they demanded my loyalty. But these guys are just so welcoming, without cost, that they even welcome Vulpi.

"Hey!" Shien poked the spaced-out Elysia. "What's up?"

"Oh, Shien. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Well-"

Elysia stared at Shien. She could view his profile now that she befriended him. The Vulpi girl gasped.

Shien Niang

Level 97

HP: [73,990/73,990]

Trait 1: Contour Haze

Trait 2: Plasmodium Phalanxes

"Elysia?" Shien stared at her blank face. "Are you okay?"

"Level 97?" Elysia shuddered. "Your last name is Niang?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"That's why you're so good at martial arts."

"My mom taught me. Why?"

"If only I could see your profile, I wouldn't even have bothered to fight you!"

"Where's the fun in that? People would avoid me."

"That's true."

"Also, we probably wouldn't be friends that way, right?"

"Yeah, I might have run as fast as I could."

"But we're buddies now, right?"

Elysia nodded with a smile.

"Don't fear, Elysia," Phoenicia whispered to the Vulpi girl. "When Shien is friends with you, he's harmless! Unless you make fun of his adorable height!"

"I heard you, tin can!" Shien pouted.

"Ladies, your Nash-style masala chai!" Enshiron spun through the counter, bringing out the drinks. "Shien, your grape juice!"

"Nice! Thanks, bud! Hm? Hey, is it me? Or do I feel deep breathing on the back of my head?"

There stood the red-haired Naivern, towering over Shien's head.

"What's up, short stack?" Naivern smirked. "Five-seven on five-two!"

Shien elbowed her before laughing and exchanging Dorian's handshake with her. After all, Naivern was Shien's very first friend.

"Sup, people?" Naivern greeted the others.

"Greetings, Naivern!" Phoenicia hugged her.

"What's new, Loud Girl?" Enshiron bowed. "Want anything?"

"Nah. Thanks, Enshiron. Good to see you!"

Naivern then noticed Elysia.

"Ok, Shien. How did you pick up this girl?" Naivern teased as she adjusted her ponytail.

"It's not my fault that most of my friends end up being girls, Naivern!" Shien rolled his eyes. "This is Elysia. Elysia, this is Naivern."

"Elysia? Cool name! Name's Naivern! A pleasure to meet you with a forte!"

"Oh, nice to meet you too," Elysia was puzzled to see another human welcome her as Shien did.

The Waxing Sickle was not as welcoming as the friends Elysia was meeting.

This human welcomed me just like that. Elysia pondered. How is this human comfortable with me?

"How did you meet us screwballs, Elysia?" Naivern asked.

Elysia scratched her head. "I dueled Shien."

"Really? I wish I could see that. How did that turn out?"

"I got my butt kicked by that shortie."

Enshiron slapped his knee in laughter. "Nice one, Elysia! You learn fast!"

"Don't encourage her!" Shien snapped.

"Come on, Shien. Be nice to us girls!" Naivern pinched his nose. "Elysia, Shien didn't beat you up too hard, did he?"

Naivern placed her arm around Elysia as Shien massaged his nose.

"D-don't worry. I'm fine," Elysia assured.

Is she touching me like a friend? She wondered. When humans see me, they get scared. Naivern doesn't know me, yet she treats me as a friend. I never experienced friends like this group who welcome different people like Vulpi. Will they ever demand me to prove myself to be a part of this group like the Waxing Sickle did?

"Alrighty!" Enshiron placed an elegant white bowl full of delicious beef stew. "Here's the savory taste of my beef stew special!"

"Thanks, Enshiron!" Shien ate the stew.

"By the way, Naivern. Weren't you supposed to be with Ritom?" Enshiron asked.

"No worries!" Naivern laughed. "He's fine!"

The orange-haired Ritom screamed and flew out of the bistro's mini-games section through its doors.

"As you were saying, Naivern?" Enshiron raised an eyebrow.

"That's the last time I played poker with you, Ritom!" A muscular African man with a mohawk and gray jacket roared, shaking his fist. "If I see you snooping kings and queens in your fat sleeves again, I'll send you flying, you cheating dope!"

The mohawk player slammed the doors. As Ritom lay on the floor with his tongue sticking out, Naivern and Shien ran to check on their friend.

"Ritom?" Shien slapped him awake. "What happened?"

"Dude," Naivern yanked Ritom by the cheek. "I've only been out for like five minutes, and you already get kicked out?"

"Chillax, it's all good!" Ritom blinked his blue eyes. "I won a lot of netium credits there!"

"By cheating?"

"Ahem, I call it resourceful improvisation! Hey, Shien," Ritom hugged Shien. "Good to see you! Guess what?"

"What?" Shien raised an eyebrow.

"You see?" Ritom showed his friends a pack of gray rectangular netium credit chips. "The dudes forgot to get their money back! Hehe."

"Hey! I want my money back, you worthless hooligan!" The mohawk player boomed out the door.

"Meh!" A short old man waddled beside him, swinging his cane. "That dumbo sunny boy cheated my money through that darn o blackjack! Slug him to the moon!"

As the two stomped their way to Ritom, Shien, and Naivern calmed them down to make a compromise.

"I calculate that this is the 22nd time Ritom started trouble," Phoenicia sipped the masala chai. "Splendid tea, Enshiron! It would be wise for me to assist them."

The android girl walked to the noisy commotion, leaving Elysia and Enshiron alone.

"Does this happen often?" The white-haired Vulpi asked.

"Most definitely! Ritom can be a troublemaker, but he has a good heart deep down."

"I see."

Elysia looked at Enshiron washing some dishes as Ritom's usual commission took place.

"Hey, Enshiron."

"Yes, my dear Vulpi companion! What do you need?"

"How did you and Shien become friends?"

"That's quite a story! Wanna hear an extraordinary tale?"

Elysia nodded. "Sure thing."

"Shien protected me from bullies."

"Bullies? What happened?"

"When we were high school students, I encountered quite a grim situation of these four guys beating me to a pulp. They called me things like fox freak, furry devil, and such."

"That's terrible!" Elysia clenched a fist. "When would people accept us for who we are? I'm sorry about that."

"Although I was badly injured, little Shien arrived to save the day!"

"Wow! That's amazing!"

"Yes, I'm much indebted to him."

The two looked at Shien, who was still talking with the big mohawk man and the short old man. The gang successfully handled the situation peacefully and bailed Ritom out once again. Ritom swiped the tab to return the netium credits he cheated the two men off.

"I can't believe that..." Elysia smiled. "Shien would defend a Vulpi."

"I know, quite an intriguing young man," Enshiron placed a dish away, twitching his purple Vulpi ears. "Despite all that Fanghui and those Kneapexists say about us, isn't it wonderful that bright humans like Shien still accept us for who we are? I say we need more humans like Shien in this world."

"Definitely. Oh," Elysia looked at the time. "I just realized Fermato will be home shortly. I was going to have a snack with him."

"Wait, Master Fermato?"

"Yes, he's my caretaker. You know the Vultau Order?"

"Of course! I learn from Master Oreic. He's like an uncle figure to our gang."

"Cool!" Elysia opened her menu tab. "Thank you so much for talking to me."

"Anytime, my lady! You may always talk to yours truly, Enshiron Kiiros."

"And, tell Shien and the others that I say thanks."

"I will do as you ask, fair maiden. I bid you farewell!"

As the two Vulpi waved to each other, Elysia scrolled down to press the log-out button. Instead of disappearing back into the real world, she was still in Enshiron's Kyyrhim Bistro with her new friends.

"Elysia?" Enshiron saw her repeatedly press the button.

"My log-out button won't budge."

The purple-haired Vulpi scrolled through his menu to find pressing the log-out button obsolete. Enshiron asked Shien, his friends, and other players to check. Nobody could return to the real world, causing everyone to panic.

Ritom checked the news on his menu. "Enshiron, turn those TVs on! Go to the news, quick!"

Enshiron turned on the television screens on his bistro's ceiling with his remote. Everyone stared at the screens, hoping for answers. The entire bistro was silent to see the red-haired, tall man with his teal and red eyes. Fanghui stood in front of the Arcane Phalange with Jin Feilong and his other officers.