PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

The frost that felt was ever-present in Silvia’s behavior lightened a bit, she was never the kind of person who would have a bad attitude towards someone as cute and courteous as Kira.

Due to the disaster, they encountered in the morning, neither Sofía nor Silvia had the chance to eat, which led them to the Garden restaurant after Silvia’s suggestion.

Feeling downright hungry, Silvia didn’t beat around the bush and started choosing things from the menu before making a couple of recommendations to Sofía, who didn’t know the place well.

With the same joy and energy, Kira responded. “You’ll have your order in a moment.”

Taking a look around, Sofia had to admit that the atmosphere of the place was quite nice, somewhat homey. Still, the restaurant was by no means rustic in an unaesthetic sense; you could tell that someone put a lot of energy into designing the restaurant to be as nice as it was warm.

“Only women work here?” Sofia asked noticing that she hadn’t seen a single man who looked like staff. How could Sofía know that her question was like stepping on a mine that triggered an almost explosive reaction on Silvia’s part?

Looking clearly upset, Silvia replied coldly. “That’s right, all the people who work here are women. All young and beautiful, you just have to look around and you’ll realize that’s part of the reason they’re doing so well. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that the food isn’t exceptional, it’s just that I wish fewer womanizers and perverts came to try their luck.”

Looking a bit skeptical, Sofia replied tactfully. “It can’t be that bad, other than giving the waitresses a few awkward glances, no one seems to be behaving inappropriately, which is weird enough on its own.”

.....

What Sofia didn’t expect was to hear such thick disdain in Silvia’s response. “That’s because everyone here is afraid of my asshole boss. That man has a clear fondness for beautiful women and it is well known that he has his sights set on the girls in this restaurant.”

Cough* Cough* Cough*

“Do you really have to talk so badly about me behind my back? You know, I’m still your boss.” Unexpectedly, after coughing a couple of times, a voice interrupted both women.

Without having to look back, both women recognized the source of the voice. For better or worse, Desmond had left a pretty deep impression on both women, so it was only natural that they couldn’t forget the sound of his voice.

Approaching with easy steps, Desmond took a seat at the table without taking leave; It’s not like any of the women are going to stop him. Looking at the annoyed expression on Silvia’s face, Desmond couldn’t help but comment.

“You could at least try to pretend you don’t dislike me so much, you make it sound like I′m some kind of villain.”

Silvia’s response was quick and scathing. “Is there another way to call a man who sees women’s hearts as if they were toys?”

Confronted by the stubborn and displeased Silvia, Desmond just shook his head in resignation. As he waited, Desmond didn’t forget to greet Sofia, who could be considered a friend of sorts.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you again Sofia, I didn’t know you were in the city, how are your little princesses?”

As quick as lightning, surprise and suspicion filled Silvia’s expression, who was flicking her gaze back and forth between Desmond and Sofia. Completely ignoring Sylvia’s attitude, Sofia was slightly happy to see Desmond again, they might have had a few clashes in the past, but they could still get along quite well.

Sofia showed a clear smile of satisfaction and motherly warmth at the mention of her daughters, she didn’t seem bothered by Desmond’s sudden intrusion into her lunch. “The girls are fine, as energetic and mischievous as ever. Sometimes they ask when you will play with them again, although I suspect their interest is more focused on the sweets you sneak them in all the time.”

Remembering the little antics of the pair of twins, Desmond couldn’t help but show a genuine smile, one that he rarely showed. “Well, it’s your job to be the strict mom, I guess pretending you don’t know what those naughty little pair of girls are hiding is part of the job.”

“You couldn’t be more right.” Sofia responded with a small giggle. The sudden casual conversation was quite relaxing for Sofia, who had had a very stressful couple of days. Of course, if she knew that Desmond was precisely the source of her stress, her reaction would be hard to predict.

Feeling the coldness on Silvia’s face begin to grow by the moment, Desmond had to take the initiative to explain how he knew Sofia. At first, Silvia was quite skeptical, thinking that Sofia was probably another love interest of her boss, but it seemed that she had been greatly mistaken.

Even with the misunderstanding cleared up, the aura of coldness around Silvia remained as intense as ever, not that it bothered Desmond much given how long he had been putting up with Silvia’s attitude towards him.

Out of nowhere, cold sweat began to form around Silvia’s forehead, as a feeling of being watched by a predator flooded her senses. It was an intense but fleeting feeling, it didn’t give Silvia any chance to know what was happening.

“It seems that the people I was waiting for have arrived, I have to go, it was a pleasure, ladies.” Seeing Claire and Cecilia walk through the door, Desmond got up from his seat and waved goodbye.

On the way to his private table, Desmond gave his shadow a glance before making a quiet comment. “Was it really necessary?”

Revna’s voice came back as a creeping whisper from her shadow. “That woman is too disrespectful to Master.”

Revna’s words reeked of blood, leaving Desmond defenseless against this overprotective and bloodthirsty woman. “Leave her alone. She doesn’t approve the way I live my life, the decisions I make, and she certainly doesn’t take our latest dealings kindly. It’s normal for her to be upset, at least she’s honest enough to show it.”

As always, Revna dared not disobey her Master’s orders. “If the Master orders it so, I will leave that woman in peace. But I still believed that she should change her attitude. She should feel grateful that Master found a use for her existence, thanks to that, her sister can stop living in a bed.”

“How she sees me and how she thinks about me is not something we can control. The only thing that matters is that she follows the agreement between us to the letter, Silvia is Claire’s friend so I would prefer not to have to cut her throat. Speaking of her sister, how is she?”

“As Master ordered, I was watching her this morning, Silvia has an impressive amount of medical equipment in her home and with the help of Melissa Collins from Master’s squad, they ran some tests at home. As expected, Miss Sasha’s potions are overwhelmingly powerful, not something an ordinary user can replicate.”

Now sitting at his private table while he waited for their food, Desmond continued his conversation with Revna, not hiding it from Claire or Cecilia. “I see, that might come in handy in the future. What about the other things I asked you to do?”

“I have been monitoring Sofia and Silvia’s progress, things are going according to plan. Sofia is already very suspicious of the situation, but Silvia managed to keep everything under control. For now, everything subtly points to the military, as soon as they finish analyzing the financial information on the laptop and find the ballistic records of the weapons; all fingers should be pointing in the right direction.”

“What about Rundert?”

“The commander had no time to react before Captain Sofia took over the investigation. Normally Rundert would have the authority to push Sofia aside, but he refrained from making such a reckless move thinking that Sofia was here to settle a personal matter.”

“That old fox is always so cautious,” Desmond responded with a cruel smille.

Agreeing with her Master, Revna replied. “Indeed. Now it’s too late, with so many drugs and weapons, the case has already reached the top brass in Kars city, Sofia has full authority over the investigation now.”

Since she still had to wait for the food to arrive, Claire chimed in on the conversation for a bit, mainly because she was bored. “That old bag of bone couldn’t have liked that.”

“Miss Claire is right. Sofia requested an audit of the base armory and Rundert is not happy about it.” Revna replied.

“It’s normal, not to mention everything you’ve been doing to frame him, that man sure has secrets that he prefers to keep as such.” Cecilia, who had read Sara’s files about this operation, intervened.

“None of that matters, things are already in motion, now it’s all or nothing; there’s no point in worrying, I’m sure Sara can handle it.” Desmond commented.

Arriving quickly with a tray full of food, Kira began setting the table. In the process, Garden’s orchid gave a brief report. “Master, the tracker has already been placed on Sofia’s car.”

Desmond nodded and replied. “Got it, just tell Sara and Natalie to be careful; Neither Sofía nor Silvia are people who are easy to deal with.”