'Hello there?' Place projected his thoughts outwards.
'Skip the greetings! This one is time-sensitive!' The Thing's voice was a bit urgent.
'There is a person of interest nearby! Trust me! You don't want to miss her!'
'Tell me the mission.' Place demanded immediately as he closed his eyes while keeping his finger up to impede interruptions.
'Meet Malia Blackheart and impress her. Do you accept?'
'Blackheart?' Place stumbled on that name.
'Quickly!' The Thing seemed very enthusiastic about this.
'I accept.' Place gave it a moment of thought, then accepted easily.
'Good, she's approaching a restaurant two streets away, make haste!' The Thing vanished, even though it had not been present in the first place.
Place eyes snapped open as he felt a tug, leading him down the street.
"Something's calling me." He stated aloud, then started to march, following the tug.
"Young sir!" Babis and Ernote immediately caught up and matched his steps.
"Is something wrong, young sir?" Ernote spoke up as both he and Babis discreetly scanned their surroundings.
"Something calls to me." He repeated his words and continued marching forward.
His two guards said nothing more, even though their faces became tense and they prepared for anything to happen.
While marching, Place thought back to what he knew about the Blackhearts.
They weren't originally called that, they had another name, one he didn't remember, he would have to correct that lapse in his knowledge later.
The Blackhearts gained their name from a rival family, who said that their hearts were black with sin.
So they took that insult as their name just to mock their rivals, the Ainth family.
The Blackhearts were well known across the world for two reasons. The first was their lack of sanity and care for their surroundings, and the second was their thirst for melee combat.
They were an absolute nightmare to fight, and that led to them being feared by almost every army.
That was also how Place planned to complete the requirement of impressing Malia Blackheart.
She most likely wouldn't refuse a duel, especially when he would state that he couldn't use magic.
And she was heading to a restaurant, so he could offer to pay for her meal to get in her good graces from the start.
Place turned again, and his eyes immediately snapped to a figure heading in the same direction.
She was wearing a large fur coat, and her back was entirely hidden, with only her head sticking out.
"Both of you, don't do or say anything." He warned his guards to not do anything.
He briefly noticed his guards stiffening up, but they disappeared from his vision as he strode forward.
Once he decided he was close enough, he called out.
"Excuse me?" He stopped as he spoke.
Malia Blackheart turned around with an irritated gaze
She had short black hair with frighteningly bright green eyes.
She was slightly taller in comparison to Place, and since the front of her coat was open, he could see that she was muscular to a degree, and her bosom was also quite heavy.
A mostly healed bruise was present on her face. 'Possibly the reason behind her irritation.'
Place could not see any weapons on her person. But those were easily stored, so he didn't count them out.
"Do you know why there is a tugging in my head leading to you?" With his mind running in the background, Place asked a question he had preplanned to throw her off and increase 'pique?' her interest.
"A what?" She questioned.
"There is a tugging in my head, leading to you, Miss...?"
"Blackheart." She stated, and immediately, Place could feel his guards tense up even further.
She glanced at them, dismissed them, and turned her attention back to Place.
"Place Cublue."
"Cublue? Interesting, tell me about this 'tug'."
"A minute ago, I was at a weapons shop with these two." Place gestured behind. "After we exited, I suddenly started feeling a tug towards your location, along with directions to you."
"Huh." She placed a hand on her hip, and Place did not move his eyes as she cocked her head and examined him.
"Sounds interesting, but I have no idea about any of this." There was a glint in her eyes as she spoke, she was genuinely interested.
"I see, the tug is still present, but I don't think we can do anything about that."
Place let out a sigh, then made an invitation.
"Since we have met, it would be impolite of me to not offer you a meal. Have you eaten?"
She raised an eyebrow at that.
"Inviting me to a meal? You didn't make all of this up just for this, did you?"
There was a dangerous tone to her voice as she questioned his motives.
"I did not." Place replied with a calm tone.
Malia started to let out an aura of bloodlust as she studied his face.
Place held up a hand to stop his guards from moving.
"Alright then, I won't negate free food!"
The bloodlust disappeared faster than it appeared as a smirk appeared on her face.
"Do you have a place in mind?" Place looked around, there were quite a few restaurants on this street.
"I was heading to that one." She pointed to one a bit down the street.
"The Wet Prince?" Place asked, reading the giant painted sign.
"That's the one, let's go!" She strode off.
Place glanced at Ernote.
"I know you don't like this, but don't do anything."
He followed after her.
Babis and Ernote shared a glance, sighed, and followed after him.