Chương 116: Panda Gramps

Luna and I left the cafe shortly after. Since we had about an hour left until the enchanter interview, we decided to go on a quick date. One of the reasons we chose this cafe as the meeting spot with Ashley was because of its location. The next place we wanted to visit was within walking distance, just a few hundred feet away. Not even five minutes since leaving the cafe did we arrive at the shop, an ice cream parlor. We walked in and a cold blast of fresh air hit us.

The interior was cozy and minimal, they only had a few tables for seating. On one side of the store was a giant display case, showcasing all the ice cream they sold. Superhero Landing, Bubblegum Power, Lollipop Wonderland… There was a whole bunch of flavors that just didn't make a lot of sense. But, that's to be expected of an ice cream parlor; At least we can see the colors. Superhero Landing is blue, so, probably blueberry? Bubblegum Power is pink, that's has to be strawberry.

And Lollipop Wonderland is also pink… Is it strawberry again? I don't know! And I don't care!

"Chocolate chocolate chip for me, please! Two scoops!" I happily ordered, "With the waffle cone, of course!"

"Of course you order that," Luna chuckled, "I'll have the…" She looked at every ice cream displayed. I noticed her eyes fixating on the pink colored ones…I think she might have a strawberry addiction. Did I cause that?

"I'll have two scoops of Love Potion in a waffle cone." She said. …First, that's an odd name for an ice cream. And second, of course! It's pink! Hm…Should I try making homemade strawberry ice cream some time? Isn't it just milk, ice, and salt in a bag or something?

"Two scoops of chocolate chocolate chip, and two scoops of love potion, both with the waffle cone. Your total will be $20. 87" The cashier said. Luna paid as the cashier started to make our orders. I nudged Luna with my elbow and she turned to me.

"Yes?" She asked.

"You know…" I started, "You don't need a love potion, I already love you very very much." I whispered into her ear. I saw her flinch a little as her cheeks started to flush.

"Mwah." I gave her a peck and giggled.

"Mm…It's…It's just the ice cream's name…" Luna meekly mumbled.

"Or maybe it's a…different kind of love potion?" I whispered teasingly. Luna turned completely red.

"Here you go." The cashier held out my order.

"Thank you!" I cheerfully took it and started to lick the ice cream. So good!! I mean, you can't really mess up chocolate ice cream, but, it's still so good! I can't stop eating. I just really want to…

"Nom!" Suddenly, I clutched my head with my free hand. Waaaah!!! Brain freeze!!! My teeth are freezing!

"And, for you." The cashier handed Luna her ice cream.

"Ah, thank you." Luna took it. Luna and I left the parlor and headed to her car.

"How's the love potion?" I asked.

"…Ice cream." Luna corrected.

"But it's called 'love potion'?" I tilted my head and took another lick.

"It's…Haah," Luna sighed, "It's alright."

"Just 'alright'?" I asked. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Yeah," Luna nodded, turning the car on, "It's strawberry, but, it tastes a little lackluster."

"Pfft, your standards are just too high now!" I pointedly said, "You got addicted to my strawberries and now other strawberries can't satisfy you!"

"I'm…I'm not addicted!" She said.

"Sure you aren't~" I teased, "You only snack on at least five strawberries a day, maybe more that I don't notice."

"T-T-That's…" Luna looked flustered. This was my moment to push the attack!

"Just admit it! You're addicted to my strawberries!"

"I'm…I'm addicted…" She mumbled quietly in defeat.

"Hehe!" I giggled, "That's fine though~ I'll get you as much strawberries as you want." I smiled.

"Mm…" Luna let out, "Can you hold this while I drive?" She asked, handing me her ice cream cone.

"Of course!" I readily nodded.

"The interview starts at three, right?" Luna asked.

"Mhm," I nodded, taking a lick of ice cream. But, it wasn't my chocolate one.

"H-Hey!" Luna said, "That's my ice cream!" She exclaimed.

"Hehe, tastes like strawberries."

"You have your own ice cream! Stay away from mine!"

"Hm…" I thought for a moment then…

"Nom!" I took a small bite of Luna's ice cream. Waaaah! Brain freeze!!!

"No!!!" She reached out to take her ice cream cone back but I pulled it away.

"Mm-mm!" I shook my head, "Hehe!"

"You!" Luna shot me a glare before leaning over the dashboard. I thought she was going to reach for her ice cream cone again, but instead…

"Nom!" She bit into my ice cream, "Hmph! See how you like-Ah! Brain freeze!"

"Pfft! Bahahaha!" I burst out laughing. And after she endured her brain freeze, Luna also started to laugh.

"Hahaha!" … Luna and I sat at the dining table. There were only about five minutes left until it was time to talk to panda mister. Luna was telling me about different enchantments that could be applied to clothing or fabrics. It was quite interesting, other than the obvious temperature regulation, heated, and cooled, enchantments. There were also obscure ones like 'camouflage', which helps the fabric blend into the surroundings; or 'scentless', which removes any scent within the blanket.

Apparently that one's useful for avoiding tracking. Soon, five minutes had passed and it was time for the interview! Big Boss Stella is coming back!

"Ahem," I cleared my throat and sat up straight. Luna had an amused smile as I did so.

"Mwah," I gave her amused face a peck on the cheek before starting to call panda mister. Tawer had a built in call feature, so, we didn't need to exchange numbers or anything. It rang only two times before the call was answered. To my surprise, panda mister had turned on the video function for himself, so, instead of just seeing the call screen, Luna and I could see him directly. I wasn't expecting him to reveal himself so freely. Panda mister was an older, grandpa type of guy.

He had short, gray hair and a long beard, wrinkles signifying his age covered his face, but, he didn't look bad. If anything, he aged extremely gracefully. He was wearing a simple blue short-sleeved shirt and suspenders. Since we could only see the upper half of his body, I didn't know what he was wearing below. I reckoned he was in his low sixties; He wasn't joking when he said he awakened at an older age.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Raccoon." Panda gramps said, he had an old-sounding but gentle voice. It was one of those kinds of voices that makes you think that this person has a lot of wisdom and has seen a lot of things, honestly, I was already starting to trust him.

"My name is Richard Valkins, otherwise known as Lonely Panda Lover." He said.

"O-oh!" I flinched, I had found myself at his pace without even realizing it. Darn! This grandpa is charismatic! My big boss moment has been ruined! But! I didn't let it affect me!

"Ahem, good evening, Mr. Richard. I assume you know why I asked you to talk today, but, for confirmation, I'm thinking of having you enchant something for me, but I wanted to get to know you beforehand to know if I can trust you with this. It is an extremely important item to me, so, I want it in the best hands possible." I said with my most mature voice I could manifest.

"Of course," Panda gramps nodded, "Before trusting anyone with something important, you have to understand the person first." He said, sounding sagely. Gah!! I really want to hire him already!

"So, Mr. Richard, if I remember correctly, you said you awakened later in life?" I asked.

"That's correct," He nodded, "I awakened as an enchanter at 61 years old—Well past my prime, haha." He smiled, "It's been a year since then, and I've been spending my time enchanting whatever I could get my hands on; I retired a few years ago, so, it's been a nice pastime."

"You…" I started but I couldn't find the proper, professional words to say. Gaaah! I give up, I can't maintain Big Boss Stella mode!! Whatever!

"Panda Gramps! You're still in your prime, what're you talking about, hehe!" My voice turned back to the usual cute one, "Wah! I'm sorry, Panda Gramps, I tried so hard to be professional but I just can't do it! I hope I can speak to you like this? Maybe? Perhaps? Potentionly?"

"Pfft." I heard Luna let out a laugh from beside me, but, I didn't pay attention to it. My attention was fully on panda gramps. His eyebrows raised a bit but quickly settled back in their normal position, after the brief confusion passed, a gentle, grandfatherly smile appeared on his face,"Ms. Raccoon, there's no problem with the way you speak." He calmly said, "I'm happy you said that I'm still in my prime; My children keep saying that since I retired I should just relax peacefully and go on cruises or vacation.

But, keeping my hands busy is what's relaxing to me."

"Eh! No way! Maybe one or two cruise trips or vacations may be fun, but just continuously doing that would be so boring!" I said, "Especially since you've just become an awakener! Making things, or, in your case, enchanting things would be so fun and exhilarating!"

"Indeed," Panda gramps nodded, "My favorite thing nowadays is seeing the completed project, especially when it's restored from critical condition. There's something special about seeing something being repaired and improved."

"Mhm! Mhm!" I nodded enthusiastically, "So, back to the topic. What floor are you currently on if you don't mind me asking?"

"The tenth," He answered, "I used the association's tower program. I only wished to have access to the tower events and haven't needed to continue climbing since." Tower program? I tilted my head. I'll ask Luna about that later.

"Understandable." I said, "And, what enchantments can you currently apply? Adding on to that, do you have any skills or traits that can aid the quality of the finished enchants?"

"Currently, I have learnt a wide variety of enchants. If I'm thinking of enchants that can work with the blanket you want enchanted, I only have a few that are apt. However, I can promise to push those few to the absolute limit and handle it with utmost care." He said, "As for skills or traits, I have one trait called [Steady Hands] which will help ensure that I don't mess up the enchantments, ruining the blanket. I also have a skill called [Old Man's Touch] which boosts the quality of items I enchant."

"Oh! Gramps! You don't need to tell me everything in such detail! I wasn't trying to pry that much!" I said.

"No," He shook his head, "If you are to trust me with such an important item, it's only natural for me to also extend my trust to you."

"Gramps…" Gaaaah! I want to just say 'You're hired!' right now! But, I need to ask a few more questions!

"Alright, then, thank you for that." I said and he nodded, "What enchants are fit?" I asked.

"The major ones would be: Heated, Rested, Dreamcatcher, and Cozy. There's also: Scentless, Self-Repair, and Clean. Should I send you a list of every enchant available?" He asked. I thought about it for a moment and then shook my head, though he couldn't see that.

"No need." I said, "Gramps, why'd you choose 'Lonely Panda Lover' as your alias?" I asked. He smiled warmly as his eyes seemed to lose focus,"My wife had always said her spirit animal was a panda; It was an inside thing between us. She passed from illness a few years ago, and when the tower asked me if I'd like to choose an alias, it was the first thing that came to mind." He still had that same gentle smile, but, his eyes looked a little lonely now.

"O-Oh…" I let out, honestly I felt a bit emotional hearing that.

"By the way, Ms. Raccoon."

"Y-Yes?!"

"May I ask why you considered me to enchant your precious blanket? I'm sure that rankers or enchanters way more skills than I were available."

"Hm…" I thought for a moment, "You're not wrong." I said, "There were a lot of famous and high-ranked enchanters available. If I asked the association, I'm sure they could hook me up with someone." I nodded,"But, for something important, I find it more valuable to search for it myself. Yes, I'm still prioritizing the quality, but, I also want to give lesser-known awakeners a chance. And…

Here's a little secret, I'm planning on making something that requires a lot of unaffiliated people~ So, I'm also doing some character research! Hehe."

"Something that requires a lot of people? Ms. Raccoon are you-""Shhh!" I cut him off, "Hehe! It's not a secret if it's spoken!"

"I see, then, the reason you're telling me this…"

"First! I want to entrust you with enchanting my blanket. It really means a lot to me, so, please be careful. I'll pay you whatever you ask for."

"Thank you for trusting something so important to an old man like me." He smiled.

"You're still in your prime Gramps!" I said, "Hehe, I'll leave the enchants to you. Surprise me, put whatever you think fits on it."

"Understood. I'll make it the best I possibly can."

"Good!" I nodded, "And the second reason is…"