Bruce heard Eren talk about how he learned of this place from someone else. And he couldn’t help but chuckle in response.

“Haha. I don’t know where you heard my name from, young man. I have rarely seen customers since the shop opened. But I’m glad you are here and that you know about me. The Crane’s Nest is always delighted to have customers.

Please take a seat.”

Bruce said to Eren in a soft and welcoming voice. His demeanor had also changed from that of a calm storm to a friendly businessman in a matter of seconds. It was as if the guy’s nature was as fluid as water, taking any shape he wanted it to be.

Bruce then reacted as if he remembered something. He straightened his back and scratched the cheek below his right ear with his index finger before saying out loud.

“You must know this, young man. There’s no staff in my restaurant. All of the work is done by me. So your order might take a while for me to process. Are you fine with that? I wouldn’t want to waste your time if you are in a rush.”

Eren shook his head before replying.

“It’s fine. You can take your time.”

Bruce nodded at Eren’s statement before replying.

“Alright then. I’ll be right back with your order.”

Bruce said and left Eren to his devices. The latter had found out that Bruce was playing a zither tune in the background for his entertainment. To make his wait more bearable. Music for those who want to unwind while doing nothing at all.

***

Bruce had served Eren piping hot Dan Dan noodles in an ample-size white ceramic bowl. Out of consideration, Bruce had also provided Eren with a fork instead of chopsticks and a soup spoon.

Eren was glad for the fork. He didn’t like to complicate his eating by learning to eat with chopsticks. As he picked up the fork from the cutlery, he was about to eat.

He watched Bruce walk away from him, intending to occupy a table placed in the corner. On that table was a book with a bookmark. It seemed that Eren had interrupted Bruce’s quiet reading session.

“Sir, there’s nobody here. Would you mind sitting opposite me? I just want to talk while I have my food.”

Eren said with his lips pursed. Bruce raised his eyebrows and had a mini staring contest with Eren before nodding at him affirmatively. He walked to his table, picked the book from the table, and walked back to Eren before grabbing a chair opposite him.

“Tell me what you want to talk about. And I’d appreciate it if you start with your name.”

Bruce said while flipping a few pages of his book. The book was about some Tai Chi concepts. He had his eyes set on the book’s content. But Eren could feel that Bruce was listening to him.

“My name is Vik… Err… Eren Idril, Sir Bruce.”

Eren corrected himself quickly and had his first bite of Dan Dan noodles. He had to admit that they were indeed full of flavor and packed a spicy punch. Vik was used to eating spicy food because of Tory so he didn’t mind feeling a bit of burn inside his mouth.

He savored a few more bites of his noodles before asking the owner of the restaurant, who appeared to be running the place as a leisure activity.

“Sir Bruce, do you feel different here from our usual self? As if you have been trapped in this world that may or may not be real.”

Eren asked while he observed Bruce’s reaction. This was a common mind-boggling type of question people used to ask Oshos. Most often, Oshos would freeze after processing the question and restart the conversation once again as if that question was never posed to them.

But Bruce seemed different from normal Oshos. He had a mild smile on his face as he flipped another page of his book and kept on reading. He only replied after taking his time.

“What is real in any world anyway? What’s so special about the ordinary concept of reality that we must cling onto it as if our life depends on it?”

Eren was not expecting a nihilist answer from a construct like Bruce who seemed very positively grounded in reality. Bruce, however, seemed to understand what Eren was thinking and explained further.

“Hehe. I’m not saying that one should stay delusional, Vik “Err” Eren. I’m saying the reality we think we live in and the reality we actually live in could be poles apart. It’s a relative term, more than any of us can understand.

For example, a broke person has a different value for money than a filthy rich person. Now they are both living in the same world. They both have the same money. And they are both born in the same era, living in the same socio-economic sphere. Yet, the value of the same amount of money would be different for these two people.

Why is that?”

Eren listened to Bruce’s interpretation and pondered a bit before answering him.

“But they both value money, right? It’s just a matter of how much they value it. Their point of view wouldn’t be able to change the value of money for the rest of the population. The value stays in the middle of two opposite poles.

Same way, the world I live in and the world you live in are two opposite poles– real and not-so-real. Do you ever feel the need to step out of this world and enter mine? Look at my point of view of two worlds?”

Eren said while drinking half a glass of water. His pale complexion had a tinge of red after eating something spicy like this. But he didn’t mind. Bruce had a mild smile on his face as he replied to Eren’s philosophical question that was meant to reboot him as an Osho.

“Why should I look at things from your perspective?

I’m not here to live up to your expectations, Eren. And you’re not in this world to live up to mine.”

Bruce said as he looked at Eren with his brown eyes. He sighed and put his book on the table before adding up.

“I now understand what you are doing here, boy. I always knew there’d come a day when I’d be tested for my Osho and non-Osho-like behavior.

You want to absorb the experiences and the martial arts and weapon arts that are part of me, right? Hehe.

Unlike the rest of the Oshos, I know who I am. My creator had called me an Easter egg– hiding in plain sight, waiting to be claimed. He has kept them just for explorers like you.”

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