Tea Time with Granny! (Decayuss)

Job Information:

"Gone in a second~
Ultimate destruction~
Gods are warring~
Sorrow never ending!
Endless chaos!
For an eternity!
Welcome to the end~
To the abyss."

Deniel was quite in a good mood. He just got done with yet another job, and he thought that might be his very last D rank one before he took on the S rank exam. Just the very mention into his thoughts got Deniel excited. S rank exam. "Oooooh! I can't wait!" Deniel went back inside of his room, and he immediately noticed that something was a tad bit off. He saw a piece of paper on his bed, and it looked like a letter. The only papers he kept in his room were job sheets, so someone had to have put that there. Deniel frowned and walked over to it. Nidhogg had been leaning against his bed the past couple of days, relatively silent. Deniel just now figured out why...the sword had been asleep. Deniel grabbed the letter and sat down on his bed. At the same time he gave a light tap to the sleeping sword. "Hey, wake up." As Deniel tore open the letter, Nidhogg suddenly woke up from his sleep. "Woah! What---!? Huh...oh....ummm....what time is it?" Deniel shrugged and unfolded the piece of paper inside of the letter. "I think it's the afternoon. I don't know." The letter was handwritten, and not by someone he had seen before. Deniel read it out loud so Nidhogg could hear it together:

"Dear, Deniel,

I would like to inform you that you have been assigned a very special and unique task." Deniel was already getting excited just from the first sentence. He didn't know who it was from just yet, but he didn't care. He continued from there: "You see, there is a very important person I'd like you to take care of for a little while." ...That seemed a bit off. Deniel's excitement was slowly dropping, but he kept reading to see what was really going on. "You see, my grandma gets a little lonely sometimes, and like to vent out stories. So, I would like you to visit her and spend an afternoon tea party with her!?" Deniel couldn't believe what he just read. Here he was getting hyped up, only to be disappointed. He was about ready to just rip up the paper and throw it away, until he read the bottom. It was...signed from his guild master: Zeno. "Oooh...shit." After reading that last part, Nidhogg had burst out laughing. He was a bit grumpy when Deniel woke him up, but now he couldn't believe what he just heard. Deniel...out of all people...was assigned to have tea with Zeno's grandma. It was absolutely priceless. "Hahahahahah! Isn't this a nice turn of events, Deniel!?" Well, he was caught between a rock and a hard place. Either he had to go and spend an afternoon with some old lady....and tea...or he had to face the punishment of his guild master Zeno. If Deniel wasn't getting ready for his S rank exam, he would have chosen the punishment. So, he had almost no choice. He would have to spend his afternoon having tea with some old lady. "Wonderful. Just freaking wonderful."

So Deniel got out of his room and went to visit Zeno's grandmother apparently. He didn't even know that his grandmother was still alive. Deniel politely knocked on the door, and waited a few moments. After a bit, an old lady that was much shorter than Deniel, with glasses on despite her closed eyes, answered the door. "Oooh. And who might you be?" Deniel looked from left to right, and then down at the old lady. "I'm Deniel. Your grandso--" Before Deniel could finish his sentence, the old lady immediately recognized him. "Ooooh, so you're Deniel! My grandson has told me quite a bit about you!" Deniel was actually curious now. What did Zeno tell his grandmother about someone like Deniel? Someone he had barely even met. Sure, Deniel was one of the guild's aces, but he rarely even talked to Zeno. The last time he did, it was during his C rank exam...and he found that quite strange. Nonetheless, Deniel walked inside of the old woman's house, closing the door behind him. "So...what has Zeno told you about me?" Deniel followed the old woman to her living room, and sat down on a chair across from her. "Oh, nothing much! Now then, can I interest you in some tea?" Deniel held his hand up in protest. "No, no. I'm fine...I don't really like tea."

"Oh! Nonsense! Who doesn't like tea!?" She poured Deniel a cup of tea before she poured her own, pretty much leaving him with no choice. Deniel once again looked around himself, a little bit awkward. He decided it wouldn't hurt to just take a sip. He brought it up to his lips, and took down a very small portion. His eyes widened, and he wanted to spit it right out, but he knew he couldn't. So he just sucked it up and swallowed it. He tightened up his eyes and his entire face, still not getting over the bitter taste. He saw his guild master's grandmother putting some sugar in hers, but Deniel doubted that even with sugar he would be able to even remotely like tea. So he just sat there, and let his cup get cold. She didn't seem to notice or care. She finished putting a bit of sugar in hers, and then stirred it in her tea cup. As she did, she started to tell a bunch of stories about herself, and very little about Zeno. Deniel was actually a bit itnerested to know just a tad bit more about his guild master, but sadly, out of this tea meeting, he didn't really get a whole lot. Just a bunch of stories about her youth, her older days, and a bunch of other ridiculous crap. Deniel didn't care too much for it, and was lost several times. Deniel wished he brought Nidhogg with him, so then atl east he could have someone else to talk to in his head to pass the time.

He eventually got sick and tired of listening to it, that he decided to ask her for a bit of advice surrounding Zeno. She obviously knew a bit about him, Deniel just needed to get it out of her. After she finished her latest story, Deniel held up his hand before she started a new one. "Ummm...tell me a little bit about Zeno himself." She seemed a bit struck by the question, but answered Deniel anyway. It was a pretty dumb answer, though. "Well, he's your guild master, obviously. And he can be quite the serious person." Deniel was about to smack his hand into his palms and give up. "Yeah...well...that's nice. I'm hoping to become the latest S rank mage of his guild, though." Saying that had actually struck Zeno's grandmother's curiosity. "Oh? What makes you think you are capable of doing that." Deniel smirked, and spoke with pride. "I am strong, that's why. I thrive for battle and combat. I am a tactical person, a logical thinker from time to time, and I will do everything in my power to make sure every member of that guild is strong like I am." Zeno's grandmother almost frowned, "Indeed. Those are noble qualities, young man, but you'll need more than that. You need to be noble. You need to me a role model. You can't be focused on strength alone, young man. That is a very good quality, indeed, but a leader brings people together. Not by force, but by emotion. When you stand together, that is when you are strongest." Deniel rolled his eyes and sighed. This old woman did have a point, but Deniel had tried that before.

He knew that standing united was a good thing, and could help the ugild, but he wasn't the right person to do it. Maybe another S would be capable of doing it, but not Deniel. Not a killer like him. Not someone who could only build up strength. Well...maybe he could build up their emotional strength as well by letting them get over their fears via exams, just like he did with Alyia. Whatever the case, Deniel figured that he was done here. She did have a good point, and he might be willing to follow her advice. He stood up from his seat, and gave a polite bow to her. "Thank you, Miss. It has been an interesting afternoon. But now...I think I must now be on my way. I have an exam to take." The woman smiled at Deniel, "Good luck, young man. You are strong, but a bit naive. However, I believe that you can do it if your strength is as good as you say it is. Just remember what I told you, and earn more than strength." Deniel nodded and then exited her house. He felt a bit guilty about leaving his tea there, but that was the least of his concerns. Now it was time for him to embark on one of his most epic journeys. "Time to take an S rank exam!"