The Challenge of the Masters

⊱⊰ 53: Two Worlds ⊱⊰

Arisa had a spoon of her meal. As she felt the salty yet sweet flavor of the food, she examined her surroundings. An arched green tent worked as an improvised ceiling of the annexed area of the inn's building where she was housed. Through the transparent wall of the tent, she could see a small number of people passing by the sidewalk talking in their native language.

She took another spoon of her food, losing herself in her thoughts. When she woke up a few hours ago, she was embarrassed to see she had woken up at such a late hour. Despite her friends telling her that it was normal for her to oversleep since she was recovering from the previous battle, Arisa couldn't help but feel ashamed.

It was past early afternoon when she woke up and as she went to meet her companions, she saw that they were having lunch after they spent most of the morning exploring part of the town. They told her Rangi suggested them to enjoy the island since he would be away to talk to the lady who would enchant them to explore the ocean.

Thelma gushed about how stunning this world was. She said that the town and the world itself was beyond beautiful with paradise-like places. She added that she wouldn't mind living in Oceana. Before Arisa's order was ready, her friends told her she would find them at the beach. She exhaled, wondering why they couldn't wait until she finished eating.

Arisa was so distracted that she didn't notice a small child with a fluffy ponytail, standing by her side. The girl's brown eyes froze on Arisa as the girl watched her having her lunch. The little girl would lick her lips every time Arisa would serve the seafood flavored with coconut cream on her plate.

Arisa gazed at the little girl as she noticed her presence. The small child blinked as Arisa smiled at her. She then shifted her view back at the seafood on the small roundtable.

"Oh," said Arisa. "Do you want some?"

The girl didn't reply and kept her gaze locked on the seafood. Arisa grabbed a few napkins and placed some of the seafood in it.

"Here," she said, giving the napkins to the girl. "Be careful, it's still hot."

A large smile spread across the little girl's face as she grabbed the food and had a bite. Arisa smiled.

"Samaria," called a distant voice by their side. "There you are. Mama is calling you."

Through the sea of tables, Arisa saw the lightly strong girl with curly hair, approaching them. The young girl placed her hand on the hip and glared at the small child when she turned around.

"You glutton child," she said, shaking her head. "Mama already told you not to bother the clients. If you were hungry you should have told us instead of scaring the client with your stares."

"Buat itsh umu cooked fuish," said Samaria, her mouth full. "I like umu fuish."

Lani rolled her eyes as she finally reached them. "Of course you do. There's no food you don't like. Now go back to the house, mama is calling you."

Samaria nodded as she had another bite of her food. She then walked in the area filled with various tables, back to the house. Arisa smiled, finding her cute.

"That child never ceases to amaze me," said Lani, sighing. "On behalf of our inn and family, I would like to apologize. My little sister has a little problem with food and just can't resist. I can ask the restaurant to refill your dish."

"No," said Arisa, shaking her head. "It's okay. It's not like I would finish eating this alone."

"Alright then," said Lani. "I heard from uncle Rangi that you and your friends are Guardians, are you here to protect us from the People of the Sea?"