Chapter 84: Dinner

By the time Jet, Nadia and Inez left the coffee shop, the afternoon had already begun giving way to evening.

Jet had made the reservation earlier that morning, choosing a restaurant far enough from the Awakener District that they wouldn’t spend dinner surrounded by Raiders discussing Dungeons, Guild recruitment and monster materials.

After an entire week in the Beyond, he wanted a few hours in which the strangest thing he needed to worry about was whatever Inez decided to order after discovering someone else was paying.

The restaurant occupied the upper floors of a sleek building overlooking one of Zenith City’s busiest commercial districts.

Its entrance was understated compared to the enormous illuminated signs covering neighboring buildings, with nothing more than the restaurant’s name engraved across dark stone beside a pair of tall glass doors.

A uniformed attendant greeted them as soon as they approached, and Jet gave his name while Nadia looked around the lobby with growing suspicion.

A hostess checked the reservation and immediately smiled. "Welcome, Mr. Saint-Clair. Your table is ready. Please follow me."

They were led through the main dining area, where floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city. Warm lighting reflected from dark wooden tables and polished glass, while enough distance had been left between each seating area to give diners privacy without making the restaurant feel empty.

There was no unnecessary extravagance, but everything from the quiet music to the view and the carefully dressed staff made it obvious that this wasn’t somewhere people wandered into because they happened to be hungry.

Nadia slowed beside Jet and gave him a sideways look. "When you said dinner, I assumed you meant somewhere nice. I didn’t realize you meant somewhere that probably charges extra if I breathe too enthusiastically."

Jet pulled out one of the chairs as Inez immediately claimed the seat closest to the window. "You told me I owed you dinner, and I wasn’t going to repay you for looking after Inez with fast food."

Nadia sat across from him and accepted the menu offered by the waiter, although her eyes remained on Jet for another second. "I’m going to remember those words when the bill arrives. You don’t get to look shocked afterward."

Before Jet could answer, Inez opened her own menu and stared at it with intense concentration. The menu was almost comically large in her hands, and she moved her finger slowly down the page as though conducting serious research.

Jet watched her for several seconds before asking, "Do you actually understand what you’re reading, or are you searching for whichever picture looks the most expensive?"

Inez immediately raised her head. "I can read, Big Brother."

"I didn’t say you couldn’t read," Jet replied, struggling not to smile when her eyes narrowed. "I’m asking whether you know what half of those dishes are."

Inez glanced down at the menu again before pointing confidently toward one of the options. "I know this one."

Nadia leaned across the table to see what she had selected, then started laughing. "That’s the dessert section."

Inez looked down.

Her confidence disappeared for approximately two seconds before she recovered. "I know. I was checking dessert first so I know how much room to leave."

Jet leaned back in his chair and looked toward Nadia. "You’ve created a monster."

Nadia immediately rejected responsibility, raising both hands. "Don’t blame me. She was already like this when you gave her to me."

"I am sitting right here," Inez complained as she looked between them. "And I’m not a monster."

The waiter returned before the argument could develop further, saving Jet from whatever defense Inez had prepared.

They ordered several dishes to share rather than committing themselves to individual meals, although Inez still insisted on choosing one item entirely for herself after making Jet promise that dessert would remain possible afterward.

Once the menus were taken away, Nadia rested her elbows lightly against the table and studied Jet more carefully.

"You look different."

Jet’s attention shifted toward her. "Different how?"

Nadia tilted her head as she considered the question. "I’m not sure. You were only gone for a week, so I know that sounds ridiculous, but something about you changed. You look more... settled, maybe. Tired too, although you’re hiding that badly."

Jet smiled faintly.

A week wasn’t long.

It was also enough time to fight more monsters than he could easily count, participate in a Raid far above what two new 1-Star Awakeners should normally have experienced, discover a Grade Three Origin Treasure, watch Asura advance and learn that Ilios could eventually be released.

"Training was more exhausting than I expected," Jet answered, keeping the explanation simple. "Frey and I pushed ourselves pretty hard."

Nadia’s expression suggested she suspected there was considerably more behind that answer, but she didn’t press him. She knew he had become an Awakener, and Jet had already established that some parts of that world weren’t things he wanted Inez hearing in detail.

Inez had no such hesitation about asking questions.

She leaned across the table and stared directly at him. "Did you fight monsters?"

Jet looked at her.

Nadia covered a smile with her hand.

Jet eventually nodded. "Yes, I fought some monsters."

Inez’s eyes immediately brightened. "Were they huge?"

"Some of them were."

"Did you win?"

Jet nodded again and replied, "Considering I’m sitting here waiting for dinner, I think you can probably guess how that went."

Inez seemed satisfied for a moment before another question arrived. "Did big brother Frey scream?"

Jet nearly laughed.

Nadia didn’t bother stopping herself.

"No," Jet admitted, although several memories from the expedition passed through his mind. "Frey didn’t scream."

Inez looked disappointed by that answer. "That’s boring."

Their food began arriving shortly afterward.

The first dishes occupied the center of the table, followed by grilled meat, vegetables, seafood and several smaller plates that immediately drew Inez’s attention.

Conversation temporarily became secondary as they started eating, although it didn’t disappear entirely. Nadia told Jet about the week he had missed, including Inez attempting to convince her that bedtime should be moved two hours later whenever her brother wasn’t home to enforce it.

Inez immediately objected to that version of events. "I only said that because there was no school the next morning."

Nadia calmly cut into her food before answering. "There was school the next morning."

Inez frowned. "I didn’t remember that part."

Jet stared at his sister across the table. "That’s an incredibly convenient memory problem."

The little girl ignored him and concentrated very seriously on her food.

The conversation moved between ordinary things after that. Inez talked about school, including a classmate who had apparently committed the unforgivable crime of borrowing one of her colored pencils and returning it with the tip broken.

Nadia complained about work and a colleague who had somehow transformed a ten-minute meeting into almost an hour. Jet mostly listened, occasionally contributing whenever they dragged him into the conversation.

He hadn’t realized how much he needed something this normal.

For the past month, nearly everything in his life had revolved around preparation and survival. Before the Second Red Moon, there had been tattoos, money, Kuze and the knowledge that the world was approaching a disaster only Jet knew was coming.

After awakening came the Beyond, O.R.D.O., Dungeons, Mana Crystals, Monster Cores and the constant pressure to become stronger before the future caught up with him.

Tonight, none of that mattered at the table.

Inez laughed when Nadia stole something from her plate. Nadia nearly choked on her drink when Jet casually revealed that Inez had once tried to hide vegetables beneath a napkin and dispose of them after dinner. Inez retaliated by announcing several embarrassing things Jet had done around the house, although half of them were exaggerated beyond recognition.

By the time the main dishes were cleared away, Jet’s face hurt slightly from laughing.

Then dessert arrived.

Inez had apparently spent the entire meal preparing for this moment.

A large chocolate dessert was placed before her, decorated with fruit and a small scoop of ice cream. She stared at it with enough reverence that Nadia pulled out her phone and took a picture before Inez could destroy the presentation.

Jet ordered coffee while Nadia chose something considerably smaller for herself. He expected Inez to struggle after insisting she still had room, but his younger sister attacked the dessert with determination and somehow made respectable progress.

Nadia watched her for a while before looking toward Jet. "So what happens after your three-day break? Are you disappearing for another week?"

Jet shook his head. "Not immediately. Frey and I are going back to Dungeon raids first. We’ll probably remain around Zenith City for a while."

Inez stopped eating and pointed her spoon at him. "You have to tell me before you disappear again. You promised."

Jet remembered their conversation yesterday and nodded. "I remember. If I’m going anywhere that keeps me away for several days, you’ll know beforehand."

Inez lowered the spoon, satisfied.

Nadia’s expression softened as she watched them. "She’s been waiting all week to make you promise that."

"I noticed," Jet replied as he reached across the table and wiped a small streak of chocolate from the corner of Inez’s mouth. "Apparently I returned home to discover that I now require permission before leaving the house."

Inez corrected him immediately. "Not permission. You just have to tell me."

Jet smiled. "Right. Completely different."

They remained at the restaurant longer than Jet had originally expected. There was no reason to rush, and for once he didn’t feel compelled to. When the bill eventually arrived, Nadia tried to see the total, but Jet folded the holder closed before she could lean far enough across the table.

Nadia stared at him. "Why are you hiding it?"

Jet handed his payment over to the waiter and replied, "Because I know exactly what you’re going to do. You’ll see the number, start complaining that I spent too much and then try to pay part of it even though this dinner was specifically supposed to be my thank-you."

Nadia leaned back with a small smile after realizing he wasn’t going to surrender the bill. "Fine. But if you complain about being broke next week, I’m reminding you of tonight."

Jet almost laughed at the timing of that statement. The money converted from his Citadel credits had reached his account only hours earlier, making this dinner one of the least concerning expenses he had faced recently.

They collected their things once payment was complete.

Inez was already talking about somewhere else they should visit during Jet’s remaining days off as the three of them made their way through the restaurant.

Nadia walked beside her, arguing that one expensive dinner hadn’t somehow transformed the next three days into a holiday, while Jet followed slightly behind them with an amused smile.

They were approaching the exit when a voice came from behind.

A familiar voice.

"Jet?"

His foot stopped in the middle of the next step.

Jet froze.