It would be in that staff only door right at the back of the last table near the washroom. Wait! "Maybe it would be inside that staff only room!" I whispered to Sh.e.l.ly.
"It is weird that there is a staff room even though there is no staff in this cafe," Sh.e.l.ly answered back while raising one of her eyebrows.
After we finished our pudding, Sh.e.l.ly and I walked towards the staff door to see that it was unlocked when I turned the door k.n.o.b.
The walls looked like they were made of cold cement and there was long staircase rather than a room.
Sh.e.l.ly and I anxiously went down the stairs with firm determination, however even after two hours of going down the spiral staircase, the stairs never seemed to end.
"I feel like these stairs are never going to end," I said while panting.
It was like the stairs were a never ending illusion schemed to deceive people. At this rate, it would be faster to fall down to the tunnel rather than to keep walking down. "Sh.e.l.ly! Are you ok with falling?"
"Huh? What do you mean by falling?" Sh.e.l.ly asked.
Sh.e.l.ly looked very pale and her clothes and hair disheveled. She was constantly panting to catch her breath and looked like she was going to faint any minute. I'm sorry Sh.e.l.ly with how you're looking right now, I'll take that as a yes.
I closed my eyes and imagined a laser beam shooting down a step below where I was standing. The laser beam would destroy the whole set of stairs underneath it as well and all I had to was to, "Release!" I yelled.
When I opened my eyes, Sh.e.l.ly and I were standing in front of a tunnel that resembled a futuristic high-tech underground tunnel surrounded by metal and gla.s.s.
There was a badly broken metal vault in front of us that seemed like the entrance to this tunnel. Strangely, there was a huge hole in the vault like it was melted from a huge laser beam?
Well, since the hole looked like it was big enough for both Sh.e.l.ly and I to pa.s.s through one by one, I asked, "Shall we get going?"
"...Sure." Sh.e.l.ly replied looking confused like she didn't know what was going on.
We walked through the tunnel to find ourselves bathed in warm sunlight again in the scenery of hover cars, high skyrise condos and many people outside with their smartphones. Wow! So this was the second district!
When we exited the tunnel, and I looked back, I couldn't find the tunnel anymore. Strange~. Maybe this was another illusion, if not, we'll somehow find ourselves the way back.
"Have you been to the second district before," I asked.
"Well, other than school, I've only been to the first district," Sh.e.l.ly replied.
"Since this our only chance to explore the second district, let's enter that cute cafe below the cliff!" I said cheerfully while winking.
It took us some time to walk towards the city, but one hour later, we found ourselves standing in front of a homey cafe that looked like it was made out of wood.
We entered the cafe to find ourselves greeting a waiter in a butler uniform saying, "I'll escort you to a table, miladies."
Wow. Was this one of those butler and maid cafes? When I looked back to see Sh.e.l.ly's expression, she seemed unsurprised. Instead, she had a calm demeanor on like she was used to this kind of environment.
Right~. When I forcefully went to Luke's mansion, there was maids and butlers everywhere. I guessed rich elites were used to these kinds of things.
We were led to a wooden table with cute antique looking chairs and the waiter handed us the menu. I wondered how we would pay for this because the payment method per district seemed to differ.
On the menu, instead of the money presented in like points, dollar and etc. It was written like a strawberry shortcake costed 40 crystals, while milk tea costed 30 crystals.
I looked at Sh.e.l.ly in confusion while she ordered, "Please give me a white chocolate tiramisu with milk tea."
I guess that's a hint telling me to order what I wanted as well, "As well as a strawberry shortcake with milk tea," I added.
When the waiter took our order and disappeared into the kitchen like looking room, I asked, "Do we have the money (crystals)?"