Chapter 3: The Owner and The Manager

“Now now, I heard someone is looking for me” came a carefree voice out of nowhere.

Before anyone could react another two men were standing near Kael and Lyra, but these two were not hostile like Mark and Dave.

One of them was a tall man in his mid-twenties with a well-built physique, silver hair and short stubble wearing a casual shirt and pants. Another was a blonde man in his late twenties with a clean shave wearing a neat suit and looking tidy.

“Someone is looking for a death wish,” Mark said looking at the two newcomers. There was still a bit of unease in his heart.

“Hey isn’t he the one in the photo” Dave said laughing at the newcomers feeling a bit lucky.

“Come to think of it, yeah he’s the one we are searching for. I guess his name is Valentino or something” Mark replied as he got ready to make a move anytime. These two people gave him a dangerous feeling.

“It’s Valerio, you muscle heads,” the tall said with a laugh, looking at Mark and Dave without much interest.

“Yeah, whatever. If you come with us quietly, there won't be any bloodshed” Dave said with a smirk.

“Haha, looks like someone doesn’t know their place. Anyway, amateurs like you shouldn’t even be swinging those weapons like that. Do you guys even know what those are?” Valerio asked with a smile.

“You bastard! Are you done talking?” Mark said in a dangerous tone as he got his sickle ready.

“Hey Mathew, why don’t you teach our kids a lesson as the shop’s new manager?” Valerio said as he placed his hands on the blonde man’s shoulder.

“What, that mister is our new manager?” Kael asked with a doubt. This unreliable owner just went god knows where and suddenly out of nowhere, he bought a new manager with him.

“I know right? Isn’t he perfect? Also Kael, hand over that pipe to him and watch his actions very closely” Valerio replied feeling pretty proud about his selection.

Kael handed over the small piece of pipe that was cleaved in the previous exchange to Mathew. He was very doubtful about what this new manager was going to do. Lyra also looked at Mathew with interest.

Meanwhile, Arthur slowly opened his and looked at this scene with confusion. As he was looking, the tall man just glanced at him with a smirk.

“How does this count as something that a manager does?” Mathew asked with a serious expression as he got the small steel pipe from Kael.

“Ah, just get this over with. Anyway as a manager, you should do what this owner says” Valerio replied with a smile trying to shrug it off.

“Whatever” Mathew replied as he looked at Dave and Mark.

While this was happening, Mark also took out a sharp knife from his coat and coated it with a dark red aura. Both of them charged towards Mathew with a shout.

“Ahhhhh, you're dead meat ”

“Pipe down you two” Mathew said with an annoyed expression as he coated the steel pipe with his aura. It was a bright golden yellowish aura that felt both warm and dangerous.

“There you go, making puns again,” Valerio said with a laugh.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“You know that’s a habit I cannot control” Mathew replied as slashed the pipe without much effort.

There was a bright yellow flash. Kael, Lyra and Arthur instinctively closed their eyes as it was too bright. Meanwhile, a random guy passing outside looked at the shop and said

“Damn, why is it so bright in there. I think I would go blind if I looked at it any longer”

There was no noise or any disturbance. After a while, Kael and Lyra opened their eyes. There weren’t any changes.

Everything was just as it was before the flash. Well, the only difference was there was no trace of Mark and Dave.

“Umm, where are those two?” Lyra asked curiously. She looked at her new manager in a new light.

“Yeah, I wonder where they are” Mathew chuckled as he looked at Lyra.

“Wowww! You are so awesome Mr Mathew” Kael exclaimed, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Mathew in awe.

“Thank you” Mathew replied in a formal smile.

Lyra tried to hide her shock when she suddenly thought of something as she looked at the table Arthur was hiding. Arthur was lying down with a pained expression.

“Hey Kael, lift him up. Looks like he passed out of fear” Lyra said with pity.

“I pity him, poor thing” Kael replied as he went to pick up Arthur from the floor.

“So, who’s the kid?” Valerio asked with interest.

“He’s Arthur. He just stopped by for a bit, but those two ruined his day” Lyra replied.

“Also, he was asking us if he could get a job here. That’s okay with you right, Uncle Val?” Kael looked at Valerio with a hopeful expression.

“It’s alright, we need an extra hand anyway” Valerio replied with a smile but suddenly he paused as he looked at Kael with a frown

“You brat.. how many times have I told you not to call me uncle. Do you need another beating”

“Haha, I’ll just put him in my room,” Kael said in a hurry as he took Arthur to his room.

Lyra just laughed when she suddenly heard the siren sounds outside.

“It must be Ruby” Lyra said when Ruby ran inside the shop with two police officers.

“Are you okay guys?” Ruby asked in a panicked voice. She was shocked to find that those two attackers were gone but the owner Valerio was standing with another unfamiliar man. She also noticed Kael taking Arthur to his room.

“Let me handle the officers,” Valerio said as he went to talk with the police officers. Meanwhile Ruby ran to Lyra hoping for a

Explanation. Lyra suddenly got a headache trying to cook up a lie to tell Ruby.

…

After a while Kael came back from his room. He was surprised to find Ruby and a few police officers standing outside the shop.

“Are you alright?” Kael asked her.

“Yeah, I am fine” Ruby replied absentminded. She left a sigh of relief after learning no one was hurt and Arthur just passed out due to fear and exhaustion.

“Good thinking Ruby” Valerio complimented her as he entered the shop again after finishing explaining things to the cops.

Ruby just nodded at him with a smile. “How’s Arthur?” Ruby asked Kael.

“He’s exhausted. I just let him sleep in my room” Kael explained.

“Looks like you get a temporary roommate Kael” Lyra teased with a smile.

Kael also chuckled at her remark.

“Okay Ruby, you go home soon. It’s already getting late”

“Yeah, I better get going. Bye, guys” Ruby left after taking her belongings. She was very tired and just wanted to go home and sleep.

After Ruby left Valerio looked at the twins and said

“So let me introduce him again. He’s Mathew, the new manager of the shop and as you would have already guessed”

“Please tell me he’s-” Lyra intercepted him and looked at Valerio with a hopeful expression.

“Yeah, he’s one of the fragments we’ve been searching for. Also, he will temporarily act as your trainer” Valerio looked at them with a smile.

Kael and Lyra looked at Mathew with excitement and curiosity. They also felt their powerlessness today and wanted to learn those skills from Mathew.

“Mathew, these two are Kael and Lyra, they are twins,” Valerio said.

“Hope we get along” Mathew replied with a nod.

“Yeah, you guys get along as you like but clean up this mess of a place before you do that,” Valerio said getting a headache looking at the broken chairs and tables. His hard-earned money was ruined by those two bastards.

“Arghh, it’s been a long day already. You can’t do this to us” Kael and Lyra grumbled in unison.

“It's okay guys, I will take care of things, You just get a good sleep” Mathew replied with a smile

“Thank you, mister. You are a lifesaver” Lyra replied happily.

Kael and Lyra waved goodnight and they went to their respective rooms to sleep. They were also mentally exhausted. The only happy thing was tomorrow was Sunday and they didn’t need to work.

After the twins left, Mathew also got busy with cleaning the shop.

“Very well, I will also take my leave then,” Valerio said as he left the shop leaving Mathew alone to his work.

Before leaving, he took a glance at Kael’s room and thought

‘I don’t know why, I feel something off while looking at that Arthur kid. I just hope I am tired from the journey