Wave to the Sky (Omegaverse)

Chapter 31

Caelus's Point of View (After a few weeks)

I'm currently sitting on the sofa, flipping through the newspaper. Our competitor just released a new toy line, and from the looks of their designs, it's bound to attract a lot of kids and adults alike. They've secured the license for a popular Japanese anime, the one where you catch monsters and battle with them. "We're falling behind in this competition," I muttered to myself. "Carl, what have you been doing? Why relax now of all times?"

I'd heard from Layla that Carl had flown to France to meet with another business tycoon in a different industry. Networking is important, but it's crucial to keep those connections relevant to our industry.

"Sir Caelus," Mirabel called out as she entered my office. I set the newspaper down on the coffee table and turned to her, glancing at the clock on the wall behind her. Her working hours were all over the place.

"Mirabel, why are you still here?" I inquired.

"I need to finish some papers, Sir," she replied.

"Fine, just make sure to inform Human Resources about your overtime work," I instructed. She nodded. "Anyway, you were about to tell me something?"

"Sir Samuel wants to have a word with you," she informed me.

"Samuel? He's the General Manager of the Art Department, right?"

"That's right, Sir. He's still in the Art Department, but he'll come after a while."

"Never mind. I'll just visit him there," I decided.

"Noted, Sir. I'll inform him you're on your way."

"Thanks." I watched her leave the office. After finishing the last of my coffee, I also left the office and headed to the elevator. The Art Department was on the thirtieth floor, and it seemed like a good idea to see what they were up to. It had been a while since my last visit. Of all the floors in the building, the thirtieth floor was the liveliest, bursting with color everywhere. It seemed to fuel the creativity of the artists, so I didn't mind. I made my way to Samuel's office as soon as I reached the floor.

"Good afternoon, Sir Caelus," Samuel greeted as I entered his office. He paused what he was doing to meet me. "You should have let me visit your office instead."

"It's no big deal," I replied. "A little stroll around SkyHaven won't hurt, right?"

"Do you want something to drink, Sir? Some coffee? Or tea, perhaps?"

"I'm fine, thanks," I declined. "I just had a cup a few minutes ago." I made my way to the sofa and sat down. "This department hasn't really changed a bit. It still looks like a kindergarten." Samuel laughed at my remark. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"I just want to show you the winning designs from the Toy Design Competition we recently concluded," he explained, picking up some folders from his table and placing them in front of me on the coffee table.

"Okay, but isn't this Carl's decision to make?" I asked.

"Yes, Sir Caelus, but he's not around, and we need approval," Samuel replied.

"I see," I nodded, reaching for the folders. "So, how was the competition?"

"Most of the employees who participated are from the art department," he proudly stated, though I found it trivial. "Seventy percent of them are junior artists." Right. We needed to hire new artists since the old ones would be quitting their jobs. I didn't feel good about this. "This is the winning design for this year's competition." I opened the folder and examined the winning design.

"It's nice," I commented. "But there's really nothing special about it. Who decided on this?"

"Sir Carl," Samuel nervously replied.