System Change

Derek smiled as he slowly strolled toward the Crown Restaurant with the five people in tow. Zac and Luke seemed happy enough at the prospect of getting dinner at the restaurant, but, being Avery’s wards, Derek was sure that the two boys got to eat delicious meals at the restaurant often. Clare was also happy, but she was still preoccupied with her fighting, as she shadowboxed as they walked.

Jensen and Walter, however, were visibly shaking in excitement. Just eating at the restaurant for normal civilians or even lesser nobles was a treat, and both Walter and Jensen knew that Derek was one of the very few that had a tier four membership.

“Ah,” Derek said, as he stopped walking. “Do any of you know Delilah and Richard Steward?” he asked.

“Thomas’s grandparents?” Clare stopped her boxing and answered.

“Those are the ones,” Derek said.

“I know them,” Clare said with a nod. Zac and Luke also nodded their heads in affirmation that they knew them, too. “Thomas comes by to see them every once in a while when he has a free day from the academy. Sometimes, he trains with us and they watch.”

“Do you know where they stay?” Derek asked.

“They are in the hotel,” Clare answered. “Their room is close to the one that I stay in.” She finished.

“Oh? Good!” Derek said. “Would you mind running to fetch them? Thomas wanted me to check in on them, and what better way than to treat them to a meal with everyone?”

“I’ll go see if they’re in the hotel,” Clare said, then turned to run the opposite direction, where the hotel was.“We’re coming too!” Zac and Luke yelled out and then followed behind Clare.

“Let’s see…” Derek said. “When those two get here, there will still be one person we’re missing, and it will be a pain if I don’t bring her along,” he muttered almost silently to himself, but Walter and Jensen still heard him because of how close they were. After that, he flicked his wrist and a communication crystal appeared in his hand. After just a few moments, it disappeared, and he smiled.

“Who is coming?” Walter asked.

“You’ll see in a minute.” Derek waved off the question. “Have you been having a good time since coming back?”

“It has been a great experience,” Walter said. “I almost forgot what it was like to not have the burden of being the patriarch of a noble house. I no longer have to stay in Tor… Searidge at all times, and I get to do what I want for the first time in ages.”

“How is… Searidge?” Derek asked.

“Many of the people there were unharmed, at least during the invasion, so they’re working on building it back up,” Walter answered. “With a little help, we’re going to make it a bigger sub-city with the hopes of it becoming a true city one day. Though, it may still be a little too close to Wilmette for that to happen. Still, it’s looking like it’s going to become better than ever. I plan on trying to speak with King Edwin when he gets back and seeing if we can install a teleportation building in the city.”

“I’m sure he’ll allow it,” Derek said.

“Oh, I know he’ll allow it,” Walter said. “The question is if he’ll fund it. Those buildings and circles are not cheap, you see.”

“Oh,” Derek said with a shrug. “Well, if he won’t fund it, I’ll talk with Malorie and see what we can do. I just recently learned that I am quite rich,” Derek laughed and slapped Walter on the back, sending him forward a couple of steps.

“Ugh,” Walter murmured, then a small stream of water circled around him before focusing on his back. “Be careful,” he said. “I’m still an old man.”

“Yeah…” Derek said dully. “I saw this old man fight in the raid. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

After waiting for a couple more minutes, Derek felt something he’d been expecting since putting his communication crystal away. The feeling of dread washed over him, and Walter and Jensen looked over with wide-eyes.

“It’s fine,” Derek said. “It’s just Silvi. She’s not about to miss a good meal.”

Sure enough, the void opened before the three men, and Silvi, wearing just her cloak, hopped out with a floating pot and lid hovering over her head. Once she was no longer in the void, she removed the sealed lid from the pot, and a slightly frazzled Rudy poked his head up. After that, he reached out with Silvi’s collar and handed it to her.

In the next instant, she slipped her head through her collar and her outfit was completed. She then dismissed her Void Creation and Rudy fell onto his backside with a ‘thud.’ Silvi gave a look at the three men, then at Rudy, then turned back to Derek.

“Malorie was too good to ride in pot,” she said through her communication crystal that was on her collar. “You have to get her.”

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Ah, so that’s why Silvi didn’t bother closing the portal, Derek thought. “Got it,” he said, then covered his own hand and wrist in a thin layer of void protection and jumped into the portal. It took Derek all of a few seconds to exit through the other side, which was the kitchen of the Void Emporium. There, Malorie was waiting in a beautiful black dress.

“I think you may be a bit overdressed,” Derek said with a smile.

“If we’re using your tier four membership to the Crown Restaurant in the capital, I might as well dress up. I’ve been waiting for a good occasion to wear this,” she replied.

“Then I may be a bit underdressed,” Derek said. He looked himself up and down, then, with a shrug, he cast Cleaning on himself. “Better,” he said.

Malorie rolled her eyes, then said, “Are you ready?”

“What about Brandi, Rayna, and Jacks?” Derek asked.

“Brandi doesn’t want to come. She said she’s busy. Rayna and Jacks are still out. I sent them a message, but they said to go ahead without them.” Malorie shrugged.

“Oh, that’s fine, then,” Derek said. “Try to be as still as possible,” Derek told Malorie as he placed one hand in between her shoulder blades, then another on her shoulder. After that, he created a thick layer of void around Malorie and stepped inside the open portal. Derek made sure to close the portal to the kitchen behind him, and he did the same with the one in the courtyard when he and Malorie stepped out.

When Malorie stepped on the ground, all eyes fell on her, then they all looked down at how they were all dressed. Luckily, it wasn’t hard for people with storage rings to change clothing, and in an instant, both Walter and Jensen were wearing pristine white and blue robes. Rudy didn’t seem to be bothered by anything, and he was already dressed quite well in his normal working attire—he had to look good for his contract business, after all.

Silvi suddenly appeared on Derek’s shoulder, and she sent to him telepathically, ‘Come on! Let’s go eat! I’m hungry!’

“We’re just waiting for the kids to get back with Thomas’s grandparents, then we can go,” Derek said, answering Silvi and letting everyone else know at the same time.

“What about Thomas?” Malorie asked. “I’m sure he would like to come, too.”

“He has evening classes today,” Derek said. “I’ll be sure to bring him on one of his free days.”

Malorie nodded. “He’ll like that,” she said.

It wasn’t long before they all heard the commotion of the three children kicking up dirt and running their way from the hotel. At a distance behind them, was both Richard and Delilah. They weren’t running like the kids, but they weren’t taking their time.

“Derek!” Delilah reached the group and gave Derek a giant hug, even lifting him in the air a little. “It’s so good seeing you again. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Thomas. He’s doing so well!”

“He’s a good kid,” Derek chuckled as the older woman sat him down.

After that, Richard came forward and shook Derek’s hand. He gave Derek a deep nod, which was all that was needed.

“We’re sorry we took so long,” Delilah said. “When the children told us that we would be dining at the Crown Restaurant, I didn’t know what to wear.”

“You look great,” Malorie said from the side. “Besides, we’ll be eating with this…” she motioned to Derek. “Person with only one set of clothes, so any kind of dressing up will put you leaps and bounds above him.”

“Malorie!” Delilah ran over to the woman and gave her a big hug, too. “You’re still so beautiful,” the older woman said before looking around. “Where’s little Brandi and Rayna? Are they coming?”

“I’m afraid not,” Malorie replied. “Brandi’s busy doing whatever it is she’s doing now, and Rayna is out with Jacks.”

“That’s a shame,” Delilah said.

“Maniac,” Silvi’s voice chimed out. “Crazy to miss such good food.”

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t be doing the same if we were doing something other than eating,” Derek said. “You’d say, ‘I’m making a new kind of cookie, I can’t go!’ for anything other than a meal.”

“Mhm,” Silvi agreed. “I do need to make new cookies.”

Derek rolled his eyes and nearly facepalmed. Finally, he shook his head. “Alright!” Derek said with a clap of his hands. “Now that everyone’s here, let’s go!” If nothing else, Derek was excited to try out what his legendary tier four membership card could get him.

The group all fell in line behind Derek, and they followed him to the front of the restaurant. Once there, they all went inside and waited for a couple of groups in front of them to either be led upstairs or to be seated at the ground level. Derek’s group got a few interesting stares and even a couple of scoffs when one of the more well-dressed customers looked over their ragtag group.

The adults—except for Derek—may have all dressed nicely, but Clare, Zachary, and Lucas were all three in the clothing they had worn during their spar, minus any armor they were wearing during it. They had all been gone over with a round of Cleaning, but their clothing was still basic. Plus, bringing beast companions to such a restaurant wasn’t exactly something that people did. However, Silvi saw the stares they were getting and just turned her nose up at them. They may have thought that Derek’s group was beneath them, but Silvi knew that they were beneath her.

Finally, after waiting for the next group to be seated at the base level, it was Derek’s group’s turn.

“Welcome to the Crown Restaurant. My name is Ester. How may I help you today?” the hostess asked, but her eyes were switching back and forth between Silvi and Derek the whole time.

“Oh… uh…” Derek muttered, then began looking through his storage bracelet until he found the black card he was looking for. With a flick of his wrist, it appeared in his hand and he handed it over to Ester to take. “My group is pretty big, so I think we’re going to need one of your suites,” Derek said.

“Mr. Hunt!” Ester said with a small bow before taking the card from his hand. “I have been looking forward to meeting you.”

“You know me?” Derek asked.

“Our whole staff knows who you and your companion are,” Ester said. “It’s very nice to see you again, Ms. Silvi.”

“Hi Ester!” Silvi’s small voice rang out from her crystal. “I’m here to eat today!”

“So it would seem,” Ester chuckled. “If you will all follow me, you have a suite waiting for you.”

To the amazement and awe of the other guests, Derek and his group was led past them, then up the stairs. Apparently, Clare had seen how everyone was staring, and when they passed by, she stuck her tongue out at the other guest.

“Stop that!” Walter whispered a reprimand to his niece. “Just because they behave poorly does not mean you should, too.”

Derek smiled as he heard Walter’s light rebuke. She’s going to grow up as a much better person than Wallace was. It’s good that he doesn’t have to worry about being the patriarch anymore and can spend time with her and Jensen, he thought.

“In here,” Ester said as they arrived at a closed door on one of the top floor. The hostess grabbed the handle, and the door opened—revealing a beautifully decorated private room with a single large table in the center that could seat at least 14 people. “Please have a seat and I will be with you shortly with the menu.”

With that, Ester bowed out of the room and everyone walked over to the table. Derek grabbed a chair at the head of the table, then took a seat. Immediately, he jumped up and looked down at the chair. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed. “It’s actually comfortable!”