Chapter 83 (2/2)

Of course 10 feet away from the stand piles of people were laying, snoring next to their half eaten plates.

“It’s here,” Raina said, stepping into line. To her surprise, all of the people from Donnyton had extremely strange expressions on their faces as they gazed up at the food.

Raina ignored that and tried not to worry overmuch over how Randidly reacted to her face. Would he even recognize her with the mask…? Of course he would, he had made it for her, but…

After what felt like an eternity, their group reached the front of the line. Randidly’s stoic eyes slid up to them, appraising them. Raina froze, unsure of what to say.

But what she didn’t expect was for Randidly to largely ignore her, turning to the others. “Fatigue level?”

“Moderate, but no injuries,” Devan said smartly, saluting towards Randidly. Rubbing his hands on his apron, Randidly nodded.

“Good, this level of enemy shouldn’t give you pause. Also, this is convenient. All of you come back here. Devan, you take orders. I’d rather just cook. And you, how are you at cutting vegetables…?”

Raina’s jaw, hidden by her mask, remained dropped as these stalwart warriors, who even the toughest of the Freedom Fighters treated with awe and respect, dutifully trotted behind the counter of the stand and began to help Randidly cook and clean.

“Alana? Tell me about the Soul Skill you received.” Randidly said, rapidly stirring a sauce in a pot, smelling it, and then adding a pinch of something.

“Ah…” It was a slight comfort to Raina that Alana seemed to think this whole situation was strange. “There are 4 things that rotate, I get 1 every 5 pp spent. 5 Health and Stamina, and then 1 Endurance, followed by 1 Strength, and finally 1 Willpower.”

Randidly grunted, and turned to Raina finally. “Alright, Miss, Devan will take your order.”

“What will it be?” Devan said, his face serious as he stepped forward.  Randidly began to turn away, but Raina ripped off her max, trembling.

Randidly stopped, slowly turning to look at her. He gazed at her for several second without comment, a curious sadness in his gaze.

“H-how do I look now?” Raina asked, desperate to end this strange silence, smiling as well as she could with her stiff facial skin.

To her surprise, Randidly chuckled. “Still plain. But… more genuine than before, for sure. Are you feeling better?”

Raina frowned, feeling oddly jubilant in her heart. Why had everyone else acted like her face was ruined earlier if Randidly was just going to ignore it…? Now she felt slightly hysterical for inciting a mob over the incident.“The only reason I was feeling down before was because you called me plain.”

Randidly just smiled awkward and shrugged. “... I really didn’t like your skill. It seems whatever happened has let you control its activation. Its… nice.”

“I have a question.” Alana interrupted, finally unwilling to remain silent any longer. “When the fuck did you have time to learn to cook like this? This is fucking delicious.”

Shaking his head, Randidly turned away and walked out towards where the shopkeeper was keeping supplies.

“How do you know him…?” Raina asked, turning to Alana.

Alana blushed. “He… he’s my…. Our town’s….”

“Something like a guardian angel.” One of the squad members supplied, tying an apron around his waist and moving to skin potatoes.

“He is the Ghosthound,” Devan said, his face completely still and disinterested. “I would love to chat, but there are more people to take orders from. If you don’t mind, please step aside until you make your decision so we can service other customers.

Alana still was thinking. “It’s not like he’s in charge… but he’s definitely got the support for anything he wants to do… and he’s the most powerful…”

“Some people…” One of the other squad members hesitated, and then said. “Some people really revere him. Worship him, almost.”

Raina blinked, but it was the absolute surety in Devan’s tone that left her speechless.

“That is true. He is, after all, the Ghosthound.”