After Julian Neal’s hasty departure, the silence that followed at the table was neither heavy nor uncomfortable. On the contrary, the absence of the Neal boy’s pretentious aura seemed to allow the air around them to return to its usual purity.
Lohan withdrew his Killing Intent completely, feeling the Mana settle within his internal channels as Isabella let out a sigh of relief, adjusting her wide-brimmed hat.
They didn’t truly care about Julian or his antics. Although they took the danger a vengeful heir might pose seriously, they didn’t feel that pathetic boy was reason enough to interrupt their day.
"To be honest, Lisa... if he spent half the energy he uses to hate me focusing on his own grind in Elysium, he might have already reached Level 20," Lohan remarked, taking a sip of his ether coffee with an indifference that made Isabella smile behind her mask.
They continued eating, and Isabella took on the role of culinary guide.
She introduced Lohan to delicacies he had never imagined existed in his previous world or in the Lower Zone.
There was the Crystal Fruit of Blue Star Alpha, which melted on the tongue, releasing a refreshing burst, and the Ether Flower Nectar, a special drink that could only be harvested during the equinox on a naturally cultivated planet and imported at astronomical costs.
With good food and good company, the atmosphere between them grew increasingly light and pleasant.
Lohan didn’t take advantage of this moment to rush or force a romantic connection with Isabella.
He knew that, for them, nothing would be better than simply spending time together and making gradual progress in their daily lives.
Isabella, for her part, grew accustomed to the attention Lohan received at the mall; she realized that women didn’t look at him just for his appearance, but for the aura of confidence and authority he exuded without even realizing it.
Realizing how similar that was to her, and that despite all that attention from other women, Lohan didn’t let himself get carried away, become conceited, or try to show off to them, she began to calm down.
When it was time to leave, they walked to the mall’s parking lot.
The Ferrari’s small trunk was now crammed full, stuffed with the duffle bag and shopping bags of clothes that contained practically Lohan’s entire new wardrobe.
As Lohan closed the trunk, Isabella paused for a moment by the driver’s door. She looked at the holographic keys on her ocular interface and then at Lohan.
"Hey, Halon... do you want to drive?" she asked in a challenging tone, but with a spark of curiosity in her golden eyes.
Lohan was surprised.
He knew, from college gossip, that Isabella Vance was extremely protective of her machines and that, aside from Alice Muller, no one else was allowed to touch the steering wheel of her cars.
Without a second thought, a confident smile spread across his face.
"Definitely!" he replied excitedly. As much as Lohan loved cars, even with no experience at all, he knew he had to seize this opportunity.
As he sat in the driver’s seat, Lohan felt the initial shock of the technological complexity.
Driving a land car in a video game in the other world was one thing; now, controlling a luxury Ferrari with fusion engines was a whole different ballgame. The vehicle’s dashboard had so many buttons and joysticks that he could fiddle with to change something that, for a moment, he felt completely lost."If you want, you can use the power steering." Isabella laughed, looking at him with interest.
"With power steering, you just need to accelerate, brake, and steer where the car goes."
But upon hearing that, Lohan refused without a second thought. "And what’s the fun in that?"
He saw how Isabella was managing various factors while driving, and had noticed that although it was labor-intensive, she was having a lot of fun doing it.
That was exactly the feeling he wanted.
Although she found his lost expression behind the wheel cute, Isabella patiently explained each control beside him, and to make learning easier, Lohan even activated the Parallel Processing Core.
His mind split into several independent tracks, with one monitoring the engine telemetry, another calculating the air currents indicated on the dashboard, and the third processing Isabella’s instructions.
Thanks to Sharpened Instinct and Synaptic Synchrony, he quickly adapted, understanding the limits of each maneuver little by little.
Within minutes, he wasn’t just driving, but piloting with a proficiency that someone with only days of practice wouldn’t possess.
Isabella was surprised by this, but not all that surprised considering she’d seen even more shocking things in Elysium from this Slime.
The flight back was a lot of fun for both of them.
Lohan took the opportunity to execute some sharp turns among the hanging gardens, feeling the adrenaline pulsing through his veins, while Isabella laughed, a genuine, crystal-clear laugh, enjoying the sensation of being in the passenger seat.
Finally, they landed in the private garage of Skyline Heaven.
As he got out of the car and carried the bags, Lohan looked at his new home with excitement once again.
He saw the glorious heated pool, the high-tech barbecue built into the marble, and the private gym equipped with gravity simulators, where he could train even more easily, without relying solely on simple calisthenics on the dirty floor of his old apartment.
Isabella seemed slightly reluctant to say goodbye, her eyes wandering over the view of the horizon.
Noticing this, Lohan had an idea.
"Lisa, since we’re already here and the day has been... fun, why don’t we celebrate?" he suggested, gesturing toward the apartment.
"You didn’t let me try on any clothes other than this one in the stores. How about you give me your final opinion, and then I’ll prepare a barbecue for us?"
Isabella was surprised, looking at the penthouse grill. For a moment, the Ice Queen hesitated.
The last time she’d been part of an intimate barbecue like this was in her childhood, when Evelyn used to cook meals for her and her brothers before the inheritance disputes and the coldness of the adult world drove everyone apart.
She remembered the mess, the children Isaac and Ivan fighting over candy, and the genuine laughter that time and power had silenced.
"All right, Halon. But I’ll be a ruthless critic, of both fashion and meat." She agreed, a soft smile softening her features.
They went inside, and Isabella removed her mask and hat, letting her red hair cascade over her shoulders and a faint blush color her face.
She sat down in the spacious living room, crossing her legs elegantly while Lohan went into the bedroom.
Every ten minutes, he emerged with a new outfit: another midnight-blue suit, smart-fiber jackets, different urban tactical ensembles.
And Isabella was strict. "That color doesn’t really go with your eyes." "That cut hides your shoulder structure too much." However, whenever Lohan appeared in something that fit his well-built body perfectly, highlighting his dense musculature and the blue sparkle in his eyes, she would blush slightly, looking away toward the window before delivering her verdict.
When the "photo shoot" ended, Lohan went to the kitchen and found the fridge stocked with top-shelf organic meats and farm-fresh vegetables.
He’d thought they’d have to go out to buy meat, since this apartment had been "vacant for years" according to Isabella, but seeing the fridge like that, he realized that might not be the truth.
But determined not to expose the girl, Lohan ignored that detail and began seasoning the meat, with the sound of crackling coals on the grill filling the terrace.
The atmosphere brought a peace neither of them had experienced in years.
However, the moment was interrupted by a high-pitched beep coming from Isabella’s communication device.
Isabella projected a hologram in front of her face, and a priority message with a Level 1 security seal appeared.
The sender made her heart skip a beat.
[Evelyn Vance]