The Beginning of the End of Magic

Grimoire 01 - Chapter 03 - The Balance between Science and Magic [Part 05]

"I guess it should be around here somewhere."

Finn took a look around as he stepped off the tram. He was currently at 89th Street, which was not too far away from the studio apartment. Taking the tram only took him roughly 15 minutes at most. Remembering what Cel had mentioned, he quickly took note of anything that stood out like a sore thumb, and sure enough, there certainly was a store with an outlandish design, right across the street.

Making sure that there were no cars approaching, Finn quickly made his way across the road, heading straight towards the store.

Other than the design, the layout of the store was actually pretty simple. The store itself did not take up too much space, allowing just a sparse amount of customers to sit inside, while there were a few more tables and chairs that lined up outside the store, alongside the road. Since it was nearing the end of the work day, especially for a store that primarily sells dessert, the number of customers numbered just a few. As such, it was pretty easy for Finn to spot Cel, who was sitting outside. Her ice blue long hair was hard to miss.

"You sure are early, there's still 10 minutes to go." Finn said as he pulled a chair and sat down at the same table.

"Hehe, I for one, am particular about time. Any other girl is no comparison." Cel giggled as she replied.

"That's some bold words. Well anyways, what's nice here?"

Finn took the small menu from the holder on the table and took a look. It was a fairly simple menu, just a single laminated piece of paper. Desserts was on one side, and beverages on the other.

"Any of the crepes are good, so just choose the flavour you like. Other than that, would be the waffles."

"What about the coffee?"

"Oh, so you're more of a coffee guy. Well then, you can try the Affogato or Macchiato, or standard Americano if that's your style."

"Hmmm... all right. Okay, a promise's a promise. What do you want?"

"Just the Hearty Crepe. That'll do."

"All right, I'll head over and order."

Finn stood up and headed inside the store. As there was no queue, the staff was able to prepare his order rather quickly, and within a couple of minutes, Finn returned to Cel with a Hearty Crepe on hand, with his Macchiato on the other.

"Here ya go."

Cel took it off his hands and her eyes immediately sparkled at the sight. She tucked in without hesitation, biting off a huge chunk of it, filling her mouth full with sweetness. Finn chuckled at the sight while he took a sip of his Macchiato, which was surprisingly not bad. But then again, for the price he paid, it had to be, was what he silently thought.

"Lindonium sure is a nice city. Or rather, I guess the whole of Albion Kingdom is."

The sudden sentence which Cel blurted out caught Finn by surprise. She was not really looking at him when she said that, so Finn was also thinking whether he should even reply. As he looked at Cel, he could not help but notice her golden eyes.

Golden eyes that sparkled flawlessly like a national gemstone.

"Right, you aren't from Albion. You like it here?"

The reply by Finn made Cel turned back to look at him. She seemingly pondered for a little while, before taking a bite out of her crepe. Only after she swallowed a small piece, did she reply.

"Compared to the Empire, it's much more tranquil, yet diverse and teeming with life at the same time. The architecture is also much more diverse and unique." Cel said her thoughts out loud. But the next words she said were ever so faint, to which Finn could not catch. "But it's probably just a façade. I wonder at the core, how similar are we?"