"Welcome, Miss Nina, to this humble abode we both call home."
Eren opened the door and greeted Nina who had just got back from finishing her affairs with her trusted person in the Osan Healers Association. With his gentlemanly hand gesture, he gave her a cordial bow before inviting her in.
The Master ranker smiled and got in. one could see a dash of excitement in her eyes.
Tonight was the duo's second dinner date. This time, Eren had arranged everything at home instead of picking a venue outside. Nina couldn't roam much in the city because she wanted to keep her rank-up under wraps before she reached Nightshade Duchy. So she only met her trusted contact and had her arrange everything she needed to do before leaving the city with Eren.
Nina had been using an artefact to limit the spread of her natural mana fluctuations while also being conscious of her surroundings. It was a simple artefact. But it couldn't prevent someone at that rank or higher than E-Rank from using their mana sense on the user.
Although the city of Osan didn't have many E-Rankers and above, Nina didn't want to risk it. She was already done serving the kingdom. She didn't want to swim in the murky waters of political matters again.
Nina raised her right hand in front of her and allowed Eren to lead her in. Holding her hand, he closed the door behind him. Then he led her to the vast living space he had just emptied of all its furniture.
The living space featured a dinner table along with the food trolly that was placed nearby. There were a couple of chairs. A bed was placed near the window at the far end of the living space.
Nina saw an array disk lying in the middle of the living space. It was also an E-Rank artefact that was used to recreate the recorded audiovisuals stored on it in the form of 3D spectral form.
Nina looked questioningly at Eren. She wanted to ask him what the disk contained. But she held back and let Eren lead her and reveal his plans at his pace.
Nina was wearing a white mini dress with green floral patterns printed over it. She had worn strappy heels, making her appear a bit taller.
Nina's waist-length hair was creating a cascading visual appeal behind her back. The pair of petite golden earrings she had worn complimented her overall outfit. Plus, she was wearing the same perfume Eren had gifted her some months back.
Eren had worn a simple grey blazer and white shirt underneath it. The grey coloured pants boded well with the blazer and coordinated with the dash of white highlight he had underneath the blazer. His leather belt and cognac shoes completed the ensemble.
"What are we having for dinner?"
Nina asked as she was guided to her dinner table seat by Eren. The latter brought the food trolly near her and started serving her the exquisite ranker-specific dishes he had ordered from Soiree Gracieuse.
"We have some mouth-watering dishes on our menu tonight, Nina. First, we have lobster meat from an F-Rank monster-sized lobster that has been garnished with herbs and spices. Then we have pastry twists that would have an E-Rank concoction to stimulate your mana circuits. Then there's…"
Eren lifted the lids over the ranked cuisines he had ordered from Soiree Gracieuse. He introduced them to Nina one by one as if he was the restaurant's staff working his usual shift. There were also mortal cuisines he had included in the menu to enrich the variety even more.
Nina was impressed. She told Eren which cuisines she'd be having for now. The latter nodded and served the selections before picking a few items from the trolley for himself. There were also a couple of E-Rank and C-Rank wine bottles that he uncorked and poured for both of them respectively.
"How did you like Stroganoff made from the meat of the D-Rank beast? I can't eat it so you'd have to describe the taste to me."
Eren said this while eating the roasted beef of the E-Rank beast. Nina took one more bite out of Stroganoff and inspected it with her taste buds before passing her judgment:
"Not bad. But the beast's meat doesn't contain much mana essence. I guess the beast was on the verge of death. Plus, the cooking techniques performed on it are mediocre.
The city of Osan really can't compete with some of the big-league city-states. Trust me, Erni, the food here would look pale to you as a ranker when you eat for the first time there."
Eren nodded and started talking about other topics of interest with Nina. he didn't have a rich lifestyle in his past timeline. So even when he had visited the so-called big-league cities in the past, he had only eaten the cheapest food from there. And he didn't stay there for more than a couple of days because of the expenses they had.
One of the reasons Eren was thrifty in the timeline was because he was always running short on money in his past timeline. That feeling of despair he had because of his lack of money had pushed him to become the man he was today.
Eren and Nina chatted with laughter in the air. They had their share of double innuendo jokes they both dished out at each other. The night was turning out to be one filled with fun and eroticism at the same time.
*******************
Eren knew things were about to become cosier once they started with the main event of the date. Therefore, he thought of asking the Master ranker a bunch of questions he had for a while before things progressed further. As eager as he was to spend time with Nina, he hadn't forgotten that he still had to gather information for his plans ahead.
"There was something else I wanted to ask you, Nina. I'm not sure how much you can share.
But since you have crossed into the B-Rank, and haven't signed any official binding contract with any institutions yet, this is as convenient a time as any for me."
Nina got a bit serious and nodded at Eren. The latter gathered his thoughts for a while before asking:
"Nina, what are the inherent spells? Can humans have them in their arsenals? If yes, then how?
There's one more question I have. How do we differentiate between inherent spells and abilities?"
Eren was thinking about the answers to these questions since his fight with Renar. He also had an innate spell of his own now. But he had only used his abilities subconsciously when his life was in danger or by instinct. He couldn't control the spell the way he wanted to unless extreme conditions were present around him.
Eren wanted to have complete control over his innate spell and his abilities. Therefore, he needed the Master ranker's guidance. Someone who he could count on.
