"Would you eat, sir?" Cosmo asked, gesturing toward the bowl in front of Jiru that was beginning to grow cold.
He was sitting backward on a chair, facing the man seated across from him.
The light above the dining table had been switched on more often over the past few weeks than at any other point in the previous ten years.
The same could be said of the stove.
Despite being a busy woman in her own right, Maria was more than happy to support what she believed was her ward's social turning point.
She was always quick to provide whatever assistance others needed. However, the same was equally true from the opposite perspective.
Truthfully, nobody ever disobeyed her, despite the fact that she never exuded any sort of pressure. As a result, her presence within the Nebula had always been that of someone whose existence everyone was deeply grateful for. This sentiment held among both the old and the new generation alike.
"I'll be off now. And I probably won't be able to visit for a little while, alright?" She held a large handbag and wore a long coat suited for the weather. It was early October, and while the temperature had not dropped significantly, the increasingly chilly winds were impossible to ignore. "I left a fresh set of recipes for Argenta on top of the fridge. Make sure to cycle through the whole list often so she doesn't get tired of them too quickly."
"Thank you so much, Mama Maria." Cosmo waved as she stood in the center of the living room. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Starve, for one." She chuckled. "You'd better maintain a healthy diet while I'm gone. I'll be able to tell if you don't."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll listen. See you later."
"Hm-hmph." She blew a loving kiss and waved once more before suddenly vanishing from the living room, returning to the white forest.
"Well…" Cosmo turned back toward Jiru. "Go ahead."
Jiru looked at the meal.
It was a beef and vegetable stew prepared specifically with his malnourished condition in mind.
The dish itself was unfamiliar to him, but that wasn't the issue.
He gently pushed the bowl farther away and lowered his head.
"No, thank you. I'm not hungry."
"Oh, no. I'm not asking anymore," Cosmo replied, earning a puzzled look.
"You see, she's gone now, so I don't have to pretend to be quite that nice about this matter. I bothered her for a single meal and delayed her trip home, so you might not have the luxury of rejecting it. Sorry, but that's just how it is."
Anyone could tell that Jiru hadn't eaten properly in days.
He looked weak and pale, and with the way his bones made themselves known beneath his skin, it was as though the outline of his skeleton could be drawn at a glance.
According to what the staff had told Cosmo, Jiru had brought an unconscious woman to the clinic without saying a word.
Apparently, she was a former law enforcement officer who had suffered an unexplained injury that had cost her her right arm.
She had received temporary treatment and had been deemed fit enough to move independently into the new Boundary, only to suddenly collapse amidst a crowd from what they could determine was some form of severe stress disorder.
Although Jiru had been the one to notice her among the crowd and carry her to the clinic, all he did afterward was stand in random locations without responding whenever someone spoke to him. Despite that, he never left the clinic's vicinity.
Since they assumed he was merely a concerned bystander dealing with issues of his own, they allowed him to remain, as he wasn't causing any trouble.
That continued for two full days until the incident outside the clinic occurred.
Cosmo sighed quietly when Jiru finally picked up the spoon and slowly began eating the stew.
He was certain there wouldn't be a single drop left by the time the man was done.
Mama Maria had a way of coaxing the glutton out of absolutely anyone through her cooking.
It was as though she could tell, at a glance, exactly what a person craved and precisely what would make them lower their guard.
This, among many other things, was why Cosmo remained convinced she was some sort of secret magical being. She wasn't an Eminent, a Grace user, nor, as far as he could tell, the holder of any Gift. Yet somehow, she always seemed capable of things that bordered on the impossible.
Unfortunately, he had no way of proving it.
"It's good, isn't it? Her cooking has always been out of this world." Cosmo spoke after turning around in his seat once more, facing away from Jiru.
He wanted to avoid becoming a disturbance, but he also needed to ensure the man didn't sink back into his daze amidst the silence.
"I'll apologize for my behavior earlier. I have no excuse for it. However, I do intend to make up for it through whatever you wish," he said sincerely.
Jiru, however, merely shook his head.
Another stretch of silence followed, largely because Cosmo wasn't exactly an expert conversationalist.
It was in moments like these that he wished either Yon or Clarisse were present.
However, he had used the need for privacy as an excuse to get a certain girl off his back without directly contradicting the terms of his punishment.
The entire reason behind his current course of actions was simple.
He felt that he absolutely could not leave Jiru there alone.
Even outside the world of Eminents, there existed phenomena that seemed impossible at first glance.
What Cosmo observed in Jiru was one such phenomenon.
In fact, it was something he had seen far too many times before.
An example of the spirit killing the body.
Coupled with his complete lack of rest, there was a crushing burden weighing upon Jiru that extended far beyond what his already exhausted mind and failing body could endure.
Cosmo felt that if he had left the man on his own, it would only be a matter of time before he collapsed beneath that burden, one way or another.
Of course, he understood perfectly well that many others were likely suffering from the very same thing.
His request for assistance from the Nithya Branch was part of his effort to address that problem as best he could, since they possessed the resources needed to deal with those kinds of issues more effectively.
However, Jiru was one person standing directly in front of him who needed help.
That alone was reason enough to do whatever he could.
"Hey, I heard you were an auditor. Need a new job?"
At that, Jiru raised his head.
Genuine shock flashed across his face as he stared at the back of Cosmo's head.
The latter craned his neck over the chair and looked at Jiru upside down.
"Considering your good deed, and as an apology for my little outburst earlier, I thought I'd make you my first official nepo baby."
'Actually, second, since I promoted Clarisse straight to lieutenant. Not that she wasn't qualified.'
"You don't have to do much," he continued. "The branch is about to come into a pretty huge sum of money. I need help making sure we don't waste it all on needless crap when we finally get the chance to use it. Also, the Nebula's previously allocated funds have just been sitting in an account for years, and I have absolutely no idea how to properly manage a sum that large."
Veil operated using the standard CBC currency known as Jewls, which could be exchanged for the currencies of any boundary associated with Veil at varying rates.
He couldn't exactly expect his officers to immediately understand how best to capitalize on that kind of wealth.
If they ever grasped it at all.
Jiru, however, would almost certainly possess experience with such matters.
Despite how little information Dravark shared with other Boundaries, the nature of its objectives still required trade with numerous minor Boundaries scattered throughout the lower quadrant of the Conmundia.
Since Jiru's former profession had been closely tied to those dealings, he would have inevitably acquired several useful skills.
"...and hey, it's not like I'd trust just anybody with the job," Cosmo added. "Unfortunately, it won't always be easy. Things can get hectic around here, and you might end up dealing with situations that seem completely beyond common sense. Still, I can confidently say it won't be beyond your ability for the most part. You'll also be paid the same as a regular.-"
"Wait."
Jiru finally interrupted.
His widened eyes slowly narrowed back to normal as seriousness returned to his expression.
"Is this also not a request?" he asked.
His gaze was laced with unmistakable doubt.
"Well, actually, I can't exactly force you into a job like this, can I?" Cosmo chuckled. "The thing is, for one reason or another, and regardless of your motives, you still found the drive to help someone in need out of everyone there despite the state you were in. That's not something I can just ignore. It's made me very curious."
"..."
"I'll give you as much time as you need to think about it." Cosmo stood up. "And who knows? If you accept, maybe someday you'll finally tell me the story behind those eyes."
Jiru's grip on the spoon tightened ever so slightly.
Then, while staring up at the chandelier hanging above the dining table, he voiced a single desire of his own.
"Then... would you tell me the story behind yours?"
Cosmo stopped moving.
For a brief moment, he simply stood there before turning his head slightly toward the man.
"You..."
'THUD!'
Before he could speak, a red-haired teenager dropped into the center of the living room and immediately looked around, as though searching for something.
"There you are," Tyson said the moment he spotted Cosmo. "I've got a favor to ask of you."
Cosmo smirked at the strangely perfect timing.
"As do I."