Chapter 15: Unwinding

Tom decided he needed a bit of time to unwind. He spent the recent months mostly shut in his lab and one day, it occurred to him that he might have gained a habit of staying at home because of his childhood.

Well... he didn't mind it all that much but when he received an invitation to the Magical Gathering of British Millionaires, he couldn't help but crack a smile at the name and his interest was caught.

The Magical Gathering of British Millionaires was an event where the Magician Families of Britain could come into contact and make connections with the unsuspecting and unknowing mundane millionaires.

Unlike the magical society from the Harry Potter movies Tom had watched in his past life, the magicians of his world were smart enough to not completely cut themselves off from the mundane world. Instead, they used it to gain more influence and wealth.

That didn't mean that the mundane businessmen were controlled by magic or something equally asinine. The Magician Families were competitors and funnily enough, that was what kept them in check from doing something distasteful to the mundane rich people.

They kept each other in check, creating rules of conduct while doing business with the mundane because neither of them wanted the other to gain 'dirty' advantages.

Tom didn't pay much attention to that. It didn't matter to him. He only knew the reason why this system worked was the harsh punishment delivered if a family or individual breached these rules in some kind. Usually, it was a very bloody affair where the most affluent magician families united to butcher the perpetrator.

Hence, Tom decided to make business with the Magician Families in the first place. That was where his participation ended. It didn't matter they then sold his products to the mundane folk. He had nothing to do with that so if somebody... Jasin Family, wink, wink... screwed up these rules, Tom would have no problems because of that.

Tom was currently seated in the corner of the banquet hall, enjoying a pie made out of 'his' fruits and he had to admit that he was a bonafide genius. He usually didn't bother enhancing the taste of things at home but this fruit pie showed him the error of his ways.

He had been foolish. Oh, so foolish!

'Maybe I should learn cooking?' Tom mused, 'It should be similar to alchemy. It can't be that bad. Maybe I could even abuse my Sacred Gear to learn it?'

Tom's fingers twitched, his mind contemplating if he should or should not waste magic to make tasty food.

'Who am I kidding?' Tom inwardly wryly grinned, 'Of course, I will do it.' He mused, unable to lie to himself. He was just a humble human and couldn't resist the temptation of heavenly-tasting food.

And while Tom was busying himself with his thoughts, the people started dancing... which meant music. Tom was looking forward to experiencing the classical pieces that were supposed to be played. He had no idea what to expect, to be honest, but the second they started playing, he inwardly groaned.

He... didn't like it at all. Just listening to the slow-paced piano and violin made him irritated. So much so that he decided to stand up halfway through the song and went to the balcony where the music was diminished.

When he arrived at the mostly empty balcony with just a few people enjoying the night breeze and minding their own business, he leaned on the ornamental railings made of stone and sighed, "Finally some peace." He loosened the tie of his suit.

While yes, Tom came here to be among other people but that didn't mean he was comfortable mingling with them. As long as nobody approached him, he would be completely fine just enjoying the food and atmosphere before he returned to his research.

His quota of one social event per year would have been mentally checked out. With that, he would have been satisfied with himself.

"Not a fan of social events?" A sweet feminine voice interrupted Tom's moment of quietness.

Tom turned towards it, a bit unwilling as talking to someone seemed like a drag right now. When his eyes landed on the woman that approached him, however, his breath almost hitched.

She was... gorgeous.

Curly red hair freely cascaded onto her shoulders and then separated into three streams, two falling onto her chest and the third onto her back. Due to the curls, her hair reminded Tom of fire... even though her shade of red was far too crimson... and her curious emerald green eyes slightly narrowed in amusement only adding to her appeal while contrasting well with the black dress she wore.

Tom calmed his heart and centered himself.

As a young man who was locked in his house during the wildest part of his puberty, it was only natural he would have a hard time controlling his hormones when meeting a female that caught his interest but as a magician, he refused to be controlled by his basic urges.

The very thought brought distaste to his mind.

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"I could say the same about you. It's the dancing part of the event. Shouldn't you be out there, having fun?" Tom indifferently said as he nodded towards the dancing floor.

"Shouldn't you be a gentleman and invite me to a dance?" The woman quipped, her tone making it obvious she noticed his attraction to her and found it amusing that he still tried to act indifferent.

Tom chuckled, "Not really. You are drop-dead gorgeous but I don't know you. Besides, it would take more than just a pretty face to make me join that kind of madhouse." He jokingly added but his nose scrunched as his eyes followed the dancing people.

He might have been biased due to the compulsory dancing lessons he had to take when he was a child but he didn't like dancing at all.

"You are not very used to flirting, are you?" The woman giggled, covering her curled lips with her hand while her eyes curiously awaited Tom's response.

Tom glanced towards her, "And for someone of similar age to me, you are far too used to it." He lazily narrowed his eyes at her, the attraction he felt to her slightly diminishing.

"I am no whore." The woman frowned when she realized the implications hidden in his statement, not expecting that kind of reply. "How would you even get to that conclusion from a casual flirting?" She seemed to be a bit affronted.

This was... first, for her. Her flirting didn't seem to be very effective and yet, that only sparked her interest. She spoke to this man on a simple whim, really. But since he wanted to play it this way... the game was on!

Tom completely turned towards her and lazily leaned on the railings as he gave her a quick once-over, "It's your dress. It's very nice but simple. You also do not wear a lot of jewelry." Tom pointed out, and he could see the astonishment in her eyes despite her attempt to look unperturbed.

Feeling slightly smug, Tom decided to press on, "Your behavior and mannerism are perfect. Judging only by those, you fit in extremely well here. But if you look at every wife or daughter of the millionaires here, they all have a lot of trinkets all over them. It's a silent competition between them, trying to show off their husband's or father's wealth." He shrugged leisurely.

"Telling apart the women that are not in a relationship with their date is a bit harder at first glance but their jewelry is usually a lot cheaper, though they try to cover that with quantity. You? You seem entirely too confident and at ease in this setting yet you don't dress the part." Tom questioningly raised an eyebrow at her. This was starting to be mildly interesting.

"I... Wow." The redhead released a breath she was holding. She looked as if she was trying to find words fit for that kind of reasoning but after she couldn't get any in a few seconds, she gave up and looked at Tom with a gaze full of respect. "I am actually impressed. And now I feel a bit insulted that I have no rebuke for that. Damn." She chuckled, showing she didn't take any sort of offense at Tom's words.

Nor was she denying them…

Tom also cracked a short chuckle before he smoothly continued, his unasked question still in the air, just worded differently. "So, tell me, Red. Why is a woman like you, one that ninety percent of the men here would absolutely love to have around their arm and later on in their bed, doing alone on the balcony?"

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Author Note - update schedule:

Hello, guys. My update schedule for this story will be slightly different from the one for my last story. On webnovel I will be updating 4 chapters a week, one chapter on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

This is mostly because writing my previous story was too hectic at times and I don't want to either get too stressed out or burn myself out with this one.

And for those interested,

www.pa treon.com/kasicair

Currently, there are 5 advanced chapters posted there.

Have a nice day.

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