[Social - Balthazar & Eero] Free Food is Always Good

It was one of those times when Eero had to get out of the Guild, out of his book-stuffed room and just wander around the land. Also it was one of those times, when Eero eventually found himself in a place that he least expected - the Rose Garden. He had no idea how it happened again, considering the amount of money he would need to stay here for extended periods of time. But on the other hand, he had done a few jobs, so now he had at least some Jewes to spend. It was not much, in the grand scheme of things. Eero was sitting on a bench on one of the streets and watching the people walk by. The day was in full swing, but it was slowly rolling into a sunset. Perhaps it would be best if he found something to eat, before there would be too many lineups.

Sadly, he was wrong. A lot of places had queues already. They must've been serving great food, especially at the price that Eero got a glimpse of. It sent shivers down his spine. He briefly wondered as to how people made such amounts of Jewels. He was wondering where he could find a more affordable place, when he was hit by a muse who gave him an idea. More like, he was reminded of something. He remembered a job, that he had undertaken the last time he was in the Rose Garden. It involved him tasting wine for a restaurant's owner to make sure it was flawless. The reward was that the next time he showed up in the restaurant, he would get a free meal, no matter the amount of Jewels on the bill. It sounded like the perfect idea for the evening.

It took Eero some time to find the restaurant, since he was still unfamiliar with the Rose Garden. At least it didn't have a long queue, just a handful of people. If he was lucky, the waiting time would pass quickly and he could have a dinner. For free. That was the key factor. The boy would stand at the end of the relatively short line. He had his trusty leather bag on his side and the artifact chained to his leather choker. To take his mind off of the waiting game, Eero would pull out his notebook and review some of his notes on the Neutral Grounds he collected not too long ago.

Ah, the Neutral Grounds... The way the things operated in that area was so intriguing. The lacrima crystals that were unusable in their usual magical sense, but used in different reasons. Eero wrote down a few passages about automatons aswell, but those were way oout of his league of knowledge, so that information was truly left for a rainy day, when he had nothing better to study. He flipped through a few more pages, until he found the part about the various ores, again. Perhaps if Silver Wolf could get their hands on some samples, they could examine what exact properties they held and what they could be possibly used for. But, then again, this was not exactly Eero's field of expertise. His was more like trying to research a topic and failing, miserably. Now he only made himself feel bad.

The boy lightly shook his head, when he heard somebody behind him, talk. Something about hair. Eero would look up ahead of him, the line hasn't moved yet, but he didn't notice anybody with wierd hair, so it was probably meant at him. He would turn around and face a man, that seemed to be also part bat. Eero had seen some things in his life, but this was definitely a first. He was unsure as to what he was supposed to think, just yet. The boy would close his notebook. "..Can I help you?" Eero would ask the bat-man, as he put his notebook back into his leather travel bag.

If he knew anything about the restaurant he was queueing for? That was actually a valid question. Sadly, when he thought about it, Eero had no idea himself. He was here, indeed, but he was just getting drunk on wine in the back with the restaurant's owner. While it was him getting drunk on purpose of determining the quality of the wine, he didn't eat anything. Eero was suddenly plunged into a rather funny, but also embarrassing position. That only deepened when the other commented on his hair. Complimented his hair, would be a better description. Eero had heard too many comments on his hair in his time, but only very few of them were good. He was usually just regarded as that kid with the hair. Such label is not neccessarily a good one. Perhaps not a bad one, either, but the point was still made.

Being a person who is still kind of awkward and easily caught off guard by things that don't happen all the time in his life, Eero would try his best to sound like a normal person. "I actually have no idea what kind of food they serve. I just did a quick job here, so I figured that I would check it out for the food this time." He really didn't expect somebody asking him about what the restaurant served. "And thanks. People usually just say that my hair's wierd." Eero would thank in return. "It's kind of refreshing to hear somebody say something else. Positive, at that." He would chuckle awkwardly. "I'm Eero, by the way." He would offer a quick introduction. Eero always introduced himself properly, unless he outright forgot to do so, which happened to him more than he would've liked it to.

Eero was sad that he couldn't provide a suitable answer for the other. But perhaps he could try and rectify it by extending the free meal. The other man also noted the amount time that one would have to spend to keep the hair the way Eero had it. There was truth to whose words. It took him quite a bit of time and magical hair gel that made a dent into his wallet every now and then. The bat-like man introduced himself in return and also threw in a bonus question. The boy pondered his idea for a moment as the line shuffled forward a bit. "Tell you what - since I failed to answer your question, how about I treat you a meal? I have a free meal here, because I helped out the owner. If you want, of course." He would share his idea with Balthazar. Who knows? Maybe it would help him come out of his shell better if Balthazar accepted the offer.

"It does take me a bit of time to keep my hair like this, but my sleeping schedule is pretty messed up, so I don't do it everyday." Not to mention that when he hits the shower it takes forever for him to get out all of the gel. While Eero knows how much gel he needs, he is often in a hurry while doing it, so he misses the hair to gel ratio because of that. Now for the question of his origin. Quite tricky. "As for where I am from... I'm not from around here." The boy would take a moment there to think of something suitable to answer. "I'm home at the Pheonix Mountains, where my Guild is." He would say as his final answer. It was technically a lie, but not in his heart. He didn't know where his real home was, but the Guild became that home that he had yearned for. A place he would always be welcome and happy to go back to. "What about you, Balthazar? Are you from around here?" Eero would shoot back the same question as the line shuffled forward again. Not too many people were left in front of them.

Balthazar didn't outright agree nor deny Eero's offer. It was going to be free, there was nothing to lose, really. "Whichever works for you. I just want to share my job's reward." He would say, leaving the decision not on him. Balthazar could suit himself however he wished. The bat man also mentioned the whole hairdo as being a hassle. Honestly, it kind of was, but in a good sense, for Eero. It gave him a sort of stability in his life that he needed. "I honestly kind of need the little bit of hassle." Eero would say with a little laugh. Though it seemed that Balthazar had the same idea when it came to home. Perhaps he too, used to be a traveler like himself, and only upon joining a Guild he then had a safe place to return to.

The boy would then notice that the last of the people who were ahead of him in the queue just got in and shuffled forward again. The duo was up next. Eero couldn't wait. "I see. I'm here to take a bit of a breather from my studies." He did need to do that more often, for his own sake. But he also knew himself all too well that such a notion would be hard maintain. "I can't wait to get inside. I'm getting quite hungry. How about you, Balthazar?" The boy would ask the other and soon after his stomach agreed by letting out a loud growl. It made Eero think about all the possible food items there could be on the menu.

Balthazar did have a point in him being a stranger. On the other hand, Eero desperately needed to communicate, to get better at those skills. These skills are only attainable by actually communicating with people, unfortunately for him. But he was glad that Balthazar seemed on board with the idea of Eero sharing a free meal. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't have a free meal here, trust me." The boy would say amusedly. It was true, though. Even a single plate of food would burn a hole in his wallet, let alone treating an extra person. On the topic of hair, there wasn't much that Eero could say. His hair was weird and he liked it that way. Maybe it would help him find his home, someday, if people recognise it. As a response to Balthazar's note the boy only nodded. He felt like nothing more needed to be added.

The bat man then explained his reason behind standing in a queue for a restaurant. Eero himself wasn't a skilled cook. He didn't exactly enjoy cooking. It felt more of a chore for him. Instead, he helped out in the kitchen by eating the leftovers, so that they wouldn't go to waste. Balthazar also noted on the service provided in restaurants. Eero could agree, but he also knew how tough it was, especially during an evening rush hour like this. And that was coming from someone who helped out at an inn for a portion of his life. It made him much more tolerable in such situations. "We may have to wait a little, since we did have to queue, I think." Eero would say, as a waiter stepped outside and nodded to Eero. "A table has free'd up, sir." That was good. "Please, follow me, if you would." The waiter would motion towards the door and head back inside. The boy would turn to Balthazar. "Food awaits us." He would say and follow the waiter.

Balthazar asked a valid question. "The owner said that the bill is free, nothing was said about the amount of people participating in the creation of the bill." The boy would chuckle. The owner didn't mention the amount of people, so Eero assumed that he could bring somebody along. He listened to what Balthazar said. While it was true and understandable from his point of view, Eero just knew the behind the scenes feelings. "It may take a while sometimes, but the pressure in the kitchen is palpable, if they aren't just outright lazy and not caring about their customers." He would share his outlook on the topic. The duo would then enter the restaurant, after the waiter.

They would be met with loud chatter of the stuffed restaurant's tables. The restaurant's interior was clean and neatly decorated. The waiter would lead them to a rather nearby table, that was set against a wall. There were four chairs, two on opposide sides of each other. The table was certainly intended for more of a family dinner, but more space was always good. The waiter would motion towards the empty table and get back to sorting off orders. "Shall we?" The boy would rhetorically ask and take a seat on a chair that was next to the wall. The menus were already present on the table. Eero would set down his travel bag against the wall on the floor and reach for one of them and start looking through what they had to offer.

Balthazar's outlook on cooking amused Eero. Though he didn't exactly think of cooking as being a pain, but instead of something that he just cannot do properly. One of many reasons he just usually plated the foods back in the inn, delivered foods, took orders and ate leftovers from the Guild's kitchen. "Sometimes you do get that kind of people. 'Get the owner' type who think they are entitled to everything." He would say as he looked at the bat man. Eero had a few run-ins with that kind of people. He tried to resist as long as he could, but if the person just wouldn't let up, Eero just called for the owner who told the person off. The person in question pretty much never came back and the boy was glad.

Eero skimmed the pages of the menu. It seemed that Balthazar was looking for seafood, but Eero.. He was just looking for something simple to eat, but almost everything looked and sounded posh and fancy. He also didn't know what exactly he was in the mood for. Fish eactually didn't sound that bad. The price of the meal sounded a bit bad, but the boy was relying on the free bill. He also needed a drink. Again, mostly wines. Not his favourite, but he found a really old and fancy mead. Fish and chips with mead? Eero had no idea if that was a good combination of food and drink, but it would have to do. The boy would set down his menu on the table, leaving it open on the page where the fish was, so that he could point to it faster. "I've got mine picked out. How about you?" He would ask Balthazar, hoping that he found something to his liking.

It sure was a pain in the arse. Eero had received a number of beating threats and even some death threats from particularly aggressive patrons. And yet, despite all that, one still has to treat them respectfully, because they are already riled up enough. It takes a toll, especially during a rough day. "More like just an arse in general, really." The boy would chuckle. On one hand he was sad that he wasn't working in the inn, but at the same time, on another hand, because of reasons such as those, he was glad that he didn't have to deal with that anymore. It didn't go well with his introverted self.

It seemed that Balthazar was ready to order aswell. Now for the waiting game. Eero didn't like that game. It wouldn't be much of a problem, if the restaurant wasn't filled to the brim with people. The boy was readying himself to wave at a waiter, but he didn't have to, as a waitress came up from behind him, startling Eero a tiny bit. "Do you have your order ready?" She would ask the duo at the table, a little notebook with a pen at the ready. "Yes, we do." The boy would say and point at the fish and chips in the menu. "I would like the fish and chips and a bottle of mead." The lady would nod, as she wrote down Eero's order. "Can you also check if there is a free bill under the name Eero Saarinen? I completed a task for the owner and that was the reward." The boy would quickly add a question. The waitress looked surprised. "O-Oh, sure. I will check." She would say, rather turning to the bat man. "And what will it be for you, mister?"

Balthazar waited for Eero to finish his order and then placed an order for himself. The waitress politely nodded, took their menus and went to relay them further. Now it was just a matter of time. Returning to their previous conversation though, Eero felt that Balthazar was quite right. "Sure, agreed with the arsehole thing. Technically speaking, everybody is an arsehole, though. Some are just bigger than others." The boy would chuckle. He was sure that he himself had some habits that just drove certain people mad. However, he didn't know whether he should be sad or mischieviously happy.

Eero felt like the conversation was slowly peetering off. He still felt awkward to just talk about anything in particular. Him and Balthazar were still most likely within the stranger territory. But perhaps the boy could talk about something that intrigued him, to get him going? "I'd like to ask you something, Balthazar, if you won't mind." The boy didn't consider his question too personal, but the bat man had full right to not answer it. "I have a personal research project, where I'm trying to uncover the origin of magic, or at least its essence. To see what makes it tick." He would explain. "I also collect information about the many various forms of magic there are. Maybe you wouldn't sharing yours? You are free to decline, of course." Eero would ask hopefully. Even if he had asked that question in the name of science and research, he was almost absolutely certain that he would have to answer that question in return.

The boy would nod in agreement with Balthazar's reply. If a person was too nice or kindhearted, a lot of other people wouldn't hesitate and take advantage of that. The bat man leaned on his hand as Eero gave him his questions. When Balthazar noted that his research goal would take him a very long time. Eero was aware of that. If he had to be honest, he wasn't even completely relying on completing his goal within his lifetime. But the boy was glad when the bat man shared his type of magic. Eero's eyes shot wide in surprise. "Oh! Quite the magic you have!" The boy would fumble inside his travel bag for his notebook. Shortly after he pulled it out, along with a stray pencil. "I hope you won't mind if I note this down?" The boy would ask and note down this wonderful discovery.

Not that it was an actual discovery, but a person didn't meet somebody with that kind of magic every day. "The Slayers.. Lost type of magic. Acquired from a mythical being. Could be a God, a Dragon or possibly even a Demon." The boy mused as he wrote down Balthazar's magic. "The person that is the trainee has the magic passed down onto them. But where do the mythical beings get their magic from?" Eero would ask rhetorically as he closed the notebook. The note could still be erased, if Balthazar didn't want him to have it written down. "Sorry about that little monologue. One just doesn't meet somebody with such rare magic everyday." The boy would chuckle nervously, out of embarrassment. "But are right. It will take me a long time to reach my goal, if even get near it, in my lifetime." He would agree with the bat man's earlier statement.