He didn't know what a maid café was? Vanilla pursed her lips in thought. Was he from an older time or something? the knight-like attitude and appearance, as cute as it was, did cause her to wonder if Earth-chan had pulled people from way back when besides the current year. But she'd entertain his question for the time being. Thoughts and memories of a more recent time came as she'd lean back and kneel over to cut another piece of herb. "It's complicated. So imagine a café. You have guests and waiters and waitresses. Now a maid café is the same thing, but the waitresses are dressed as maids. The owner wanted something more "exotic" in his own words. Kind of a creep, but a nice one that let me run things when he took a sabbatical. I did most of their finances and then I get pulled into some stupid game on Christmas Eve and..." Vanilla ranted a little bit more about things but pulled herself back on track after a while. She'd offer an apologetic glance towards Tila and then move on.

"Sorry. A-Anyway, the whole draw is that waitresses are closer to the guests. They sit down as you can talk to them about anything. Weather, your life problems, the politics of everyday life. Nothing like sex work. It's just for people to sit and unwind, as noble as it sounds. But the clients pay well and enjoy talking to the staff. I, um...worked as one before I took over ownership. It's for everyone, money doesn't really discriminate in the old economy. But a majority of the highest paying clients tended to be wealthy. That or IT workers. God, I once saw a record of him spending around $200 in thirty minutes."

Vanilla was on the move again, twirling the knife around her hand again as they walked. She looked around, frowning to herself. The mission did say that no harmful animals should be present, but she couldn't help but feel on edge. The woman paused but continued on her way and led Tali, who was describing his weaponry. "Fascinating. So you're all four horsemen, bundled up into a cute one man army." she chuckled to herself and allowed him to speak about his family and upbringing. From the sound of it, he lived in some type of commune or group family or something. Or probably a cult, though she wasn't going to tell him that while they were out in the woods away from civilization. He put a hand on her shoulder and showed her the next batch of herbs that was...high up in a tree. She fussed and began to slowly climb up onto the tree to fetch it.

They were making good progress. Vanilla did come to a stop when he asked about her family life, chewing the inside of her cheek for an answer. "A lot. Out of all of my siblings, I was the weakest at it. I guess I don't know why I wanted to run a bakery. Maybe it was just because it's been the only thing I know how to do correctly..."

dantalion

It all happened in a flash of the eye. The man standing in front of the alley had been standing up to the small group of the gang currently pinning her against the wall. Vanilla really did feel bad for getting him involved in a fight that he had virtually no chance of winning. The men around her pulled out weapons of their own. Blades, guns, anything that could harm or kill consistently. Just as all hope seemed lost, her savior powered through everyone, arms carving a path through the crowd of people in the alleyway. Her eyes widened in surprise, watching as the people would fly away from his charge in. Such strength...Vanilla was in awe of the display in front of her, as was the man currently pressing her against the wall. His blade struck true, bodies fall one by one as it soon came down to the only man on her. With a little reminder about how out of his element he was, Vanilla was freed.

The man addressed her as Vanilla silently nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. Her body was shaking, and despite the terrified look in her eyes, she gave her best attempt at a smile. "Ah-I'm fine. A bit shaken...but fine." Her British accent was harsh and weighed heavy on her body. "Thank you for the help. Ha-I don't want to imagine where I'd be if you hadn't come along. Let's get somewhere...not here, shall we?" The tiny woman walked forward to him and then past the alley out into the safety of the open.

After a bit of back tracking into an open seating area or somewhere that didn't have her trapped, the woman exhaled and spun back around to face her savior with her glasses slid halfway down her face. A hand came up to push them up further while checking her pockets for everything. So far, nothing got stolen or taken, thankfully... "I was exploring all these zones and things for a place to set up shop. I've never been to the Americas before so I figured that I would stop in for a bit and explore around. Nobody told me that the air here was so..." she waved her hand around a bit to try and find the right word, "Hazy. But air purity aside, I do want to thank you somehow for saving me." Vanilla recalled the sword he had used to defeat all those people in the alleyway. She did know about the various systems in game, but was it part of some larger power he had? Maybe, but there wasn't going to be any way that he'd tell her. But an idea formed in her head.

"That sword you beat all those guys with...Is that your best piece of equipment?" she asked randomly, a brief flicker of brilliance in her eyes as Vanilla stood up in front of him. Her five foot self appeared quite proud as she'd bring out her phone. "I think I may have a way of repaying you. But I'll need some points and your best piece of gear. I give you my word that I'm not up to something, but you'll see what kind of business I'm trying to run."

Try Hard

It had been a pretty interesting time to travel to some of the other areas around the world. With Earth-chan or whoever making this all the more easier to go seek adventure, Vanilla had found herself wanting to experience what the current zones had to offer here. LA had been one of the more active places to be and so she decided to go out and discover where things might be around the zones. As she entered, there was a noticeable dip in the quality of the air. Clean air had a slight scent of something metallic and rather musky. It was a slight haze that mixed with the air around the girl, with Vanilla able to just look around and find the coastal city still as large as ever. It was only slightly comforting that the big cities and towns had people in them. A nice way of showing that life had still found a way to carry on despite what had happened to the planet.

She had been walking down one of the many empty streets of the city when one had approached. He seemed like any other person passing by, only he didn't seem to be going away as she wandered about the city. Vanilla ducked and dove down streets but still he wouldn't go away. What's worse is that he was slowly gaining friends. She panicked and was soon running away before being cut off down a street and handled a little while away from the action of the thriving city. So now there the brit was. Pressed against the wall while all the other men were surrounding her in the alley, everything seemed to be going poorly. Vanilla had her hands back while they were going through her pockets. Luckily there wasn't much to really have but she was worried about their patience for their mark having such a low payout.

But then a lone voice would come out from beside everyone. Vanilla looked over to see a black haired individual standing before the small group in the alleyway. She wriggled somewhat out, trembling before them. "Pl-Please! Help!" she called out frantically. Her speaking out was rewarded in full by one of the members gagging her as she flailed, kicking her legs free while trying to fight her way free. Easier said than done for a woman who just barely hit the five foot mark...


Try Hard

It was a fascinating read with Olliver to understand more about her class. Vanilla did have to wonder just how safe it was entrusting quite literally all of her information to a man she barely knew and just agreed to help her, but in her naïve eyes, it seemed like the best way to get a straight answer from this guy. "Chests do sound nice. Even better when you can choose what will be inside of them." she mused, smirking at Olliver while kicking her feet around beneath the seat. She brought her legs in the seat with her for the moment and leaned forward to look over her class information with the man. She did find herself feel somewhat proud of her selection back when she first came here. It looked like hitting random buttons out of your control had paid off for her.

Just as fast as they put in the order, their food had come for the both of them. Vanilla had quickly gotten into eating her portion, bitng into the most delicious dishes that Paris could offer. This place had certainly been worth its weight in both price and quality. Was this what eating like one of those five star restaurants back home was like? Maybe she was in the wrong business! "I do have to wonder, about the class, I mean." Vanilla began, wiping her mouth free of residue and crumbs before taking another bite, "I haven't actually used it yet. So how does that power work anyway? I need to learn more about it if I'm to use it effectively. And I wonder what it would look like if I could perfect it further..." she said to herself aloud, working on her meal while soon looking back over to Olliver.

"You know better than I surely. How can I get better as an Enchanter do you think?"

Ollie

It did sort of stand to figure that Olliver would be able to find stock by his own means. Be it buying them or stumbling upon them himself, she did have to wonder just what constituted treasure in this world. By his own definition, they had to have magical properties, but did he sell keys or some other miscellaneous things like an actual shopkeeper? How intriguing! Vanilla had to admit that his power seemed a lot cooler than the first impression. Lots of things to get when he'd finish a dungeon would make for an easy way of restocking his store, and there was also a pretty active incentive for people to buy from him. It gave her an idea. Sure, she wasn't much of an adventurer but maybe that business degree would come in handy here? There was a clear market for cafes or even shops. But that did raise the question. Was she going to just give up the search for her friends to just open a store somewhere? Decisions, decisions. Vanilla kept her thoughts to herself for now but returned to their conversation. "That's a fairly nifty ability. I imagine most people would want you for getting treasure then."

But what took her by surprise was the clear offer to assist her in opening a café here in this new world. "You'd actually help me without knowing who I am? I could be some kind of thief or a murderer!" By all accounts, Ollie probably could tell the woman was neither. her biggest struggle from a existential standpoint appeared to be choosing a take out restaurant to order from rather than taking a life. "I appreciate your concern and assistance though. Any help would be quite valued." It wasn't a terrible sort of deal. She'd be able to get on her feet and start something, but she did have to wonder why exactly he had wanted to help her. It could have been for the good in his heart, but Vanilla knew that those types of people only really existed in those manga pages she binge read in between classes.

They arrived at a local café a short while later. She did find herself charmed by the décor and food here. Her seat was so graciously pulled back by Ollie as she'd smile and sit down before scooting in. It was a tad embarrassing to have to look up so awkwardly to speak with another person, but Vanilla was comforted that he appeared so genuine. She even started warming up to his pet snake a little. They both ordered, with Vanilla thanking Olliver time and time again for his extra goodies as an apology for bumping into her. As they waited for the food to finish, she'd show her phone to the other man and display her own status and class for him to see.

Some short time later, Vanilla would be learning more about the Enchanter class from her phone and Olliver. It had been a wealth of information that she just never really discovered until now. "Hm, perhaps I should have dug a bit deeper into my phone when I got here. I'd know much more about this than I did then." It had been a pretty fruitful investigation into her abilities here. She raised the fruity drink to her lips to take a long, introspective sip before continuing on. "So if what I understand is correct, then I can make any item better than it was before? And similar to your own powers, I can control what's inside of a chest? Then It certainly seems like I'm not much of a person meant for the battlefield, rather more formidable in what I can do to other peoples' belongings." Vanilla mused on this for a while, staring at the screen as feeling swelled inside of her seeing the addition of more power being unlocked at a certain rank. Was it drive? Aspiration? A feeling that she desired to improve upon herself that had been all but lost? Her siblings might have been better at her in the world of baking, but being an Enchanter? That was what she would use to stand out. And if she was well known enough, would any of her roomies come and find her if word spread out? That was her best real benefit and thing that would help the most.

She smiled, looking up to Olliver.

"I think I know what I wish to do. If I can get better with this class, then I can get out to more people, and find my friends. But I don't think I can do it on my own...Would you still offer you assistance?"

Ollie

Vanilla watched the man with interest. He was certainly not somebody that she would have seen just out and about while at work. No, he was more...what word would best describe him? So rugged and wild, Vanilla found herself attributing his features somebody who spent their days in the wild away from civilization. His attire was mysterious, the fur coat and outfit ensemble made him look more ready to provide covering fire than it was to go and pick flowers out in the forest. But it was likely be seeing action soon enough if the monsters around the world had anything to say about it. The woman looked him over once or twice, though would soon have her sight travel back down to the hand being offered to her. Her own hand slowly slid inside of the gloved hand, giving it a slight squeeze and shaking it.

"Tali. A pleasure to meet you."

From her accent, he could probably deduce that the five foot woman was from Britain somewhere. She carried herself with a slight grace and a more refined way of speak. Hands went to comb through her bangs while offering him a soft smile. "I do admit, I may not have the most experience, but I'm happy that you'll be watching my back during this little outing." Tali spoke up and asked about her experience in the game and how long she had been working with her current loadout. Admittedly, Vanilla was sure that he wasn't going to be too thrilled with the current answer, but she was anything but somebody to embellish the details. Maybe it was just one of the reasons she got this class besides picking it while rolling down a hill.

"I've had this class for..." she did some quick mental math, counting on a few fingers before she continued, "Three...four days now? But we'll do fine!"

Vanilla gave a semi confident nod before taking the lead from Tali and motioning for him to follow. The girl made their first steps inside of the forest with grace, her feet moving across the forest floor as they made their way in search of herbs. While on the way, the woman looked back from time to time while keeping a conversation going with her bodyguard. "How long have you been working with your class? You strike me as the type to be out and about with mission after mission."