He didn't dream anything, and the only thing that pierced his blissful unconsciousness was an unfamiliar voice. Some child was shouting incomprehensible words. The Apostle blinked in confusion. He looked at the empty living room and then sat down on the sofa. He noticed that his cat's bowl was empty. Someone must have fed it, either Lesteria or Lois. The boy grimaced. Even on Saturday, he couldn't get any sleep. The sounds were coming from the hallway, which was now the reception area of Sphinxphere. He walked lazily to the slightly ajar door. A familiar bespectacled man sat behind the counter, and the customer was a very small boy. From Lois's perspective, he was barely visible. He was dressed in a tacky pirate outfit with an eye patch. He was holding a foam sword that was clearly too big for him. Lisping, he spat out another incomprehensible cascade of words.

  "Allll! I am Paiwat! Paiwat!" He waved his weapon. "How many times do I hafta teww you!!"

  The Apostle, still in hiding, smiled mockingly. He was curious to see how this unempathetic and sarcastic employee would cope with this difficult challenge.

  "Paiwat..." Lois entered the data into the computer without enthusiasm. "Last name?"

  "Piwat! Give me a bweak, you wandwubbah" The boy was red with anger.

  "Paiwat... Paiwat." He filled in the personal details. "What brings you here, Mr. Paiwat?"

  The Apostle of Destruction nodded approvingly. Lois was very patient and professional with the kid. After all, in his opinion, the employee should have asked the joker to leave long ago.

  "I heawd that you hewp those in need!" He lowered his gaze. "I need hewp."

  "What kind of help do you need, Mr. Piwat?"

  "I..." He burst into tears. "I want a pawwot."

  "Are you looking for a parrot?" Lois adjusted his glasses.

  The young man eavesdropping grimaced. Did everyone really think their business was a machine for fulfilling silly wishes? The boy probably wanted to show off at a costume party. The Apostle listened to the silence. He was curious to see how the receptionist would deal with the troublesome customer.

  "What color is this parrot?" Hearing these words, he involuntarily opened the door.

  "Lois! Are you taking Sphinxphere seriously?" He pointed his finger at the employee.

  "Good morning, boss..." He paused to clean his glasses, while the Apostle waited for an answer much longer than he expected. Seeing his expression, Lois continued. "Do you want an honest answer?" He tilted his head.

  "No..." He covered his face with his hands. "Never mind..." Sighing, he approached the boy. He bent down and said in the kindest voice possible:

  "Are you lost, little boy?" The child opened his eyes wide. In silence, he raised his index finger.

  "Cosplayew!!"

  "And who says so..." The Apostle forgot that even without his lenses, his hair made him look eccentric. "I mean... Where are your parents?" He smiled artificially.

  "None of youw business, you scuwvy dog!!” He hit him in the face with a foam sword.

  "Okay, kid..." He grabbed his hand. "We're not going to help you with your stupid parro..." He led him towards the door.

  "We have to help him," Lois interrupted. He took a sip of warm tea and then continued. "I entered the task into the register. It can't be deleted. We can only cancel it."

  "So what? Let's cancel it then." The Apostle raised his eyebrows.

  "All ten Sphinxphere leaders have access to it... Or something like that." He shrugged.

  "And?"

  "Do I have to explain it to you..." He stirred his warm cup of tea with a spoon. "What will the rest think when they see that number one can't handle a simple parrot?" He smiled slightly. "God forbid they think you're a fraud or something."

  "..." The Apostle swallowed.

  "But you're not, are you?" The redhead looked at Lois. He didn't understand him in the slightest. Did the boy believe the stories about the Apostle? On the other hand, he had already witnessed paranormal phenomena, and he didn't seem bothered by it. He turned back to the boy.

  "We'll find that parrot for you. You can go now." He sighed. The child skipped out of the office, lisping. The incoherent sentences were probably words of thanks.

  "That's more like it, boss." Lois nodded approvingly.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Yeah. It'll definitely impress the rest of the rankings..." He sat down in a chair in the waiting room. "A parrot... I guess a regular one will do? I don't feel like traveling around pirate worlds."

  "A parrot is a parrot." Lois began filling out the paperwork. "There's a pet store nearby, is it not?"

  "But a talking one?" He took out his wallet with the organization's gold payment card. "I guess it will be expensive."

  "Excuse me." Suddenly, they heard a quiet female voice. The sound seemed to move around the reception area. "I hope it's open..."

  "Yes..." The Apostle narrowed his eyes. "It's open. Are you invisible, or...?" In the blink of an eye, she appeared right at the tip of his nose. A tiny fairy dressed in a dress resembling the texture of leaves. She waved her hands, creating a small glow of light. She was so small that without his lenses, it was difficult to tell what her face looked like. The Apostle could only make out the golden color of her hair.

  "Tinkerbell?" he stammered.

  "Hmm...?" She tilted her head. "My name is Mirelia." She flew towards Lois because she wanted to show herself to both hosts. Her small wings, like those of a dragonfly, fluttered in place.

  "Another fairy?" sighed the receptionist, typing the name into the keyboard. Unlike the twins, she was as small as a titmouse.

  "No, no," she said, puffing out her chest. "I'm a water nymph!"

  "How is that different? Apart from size, of course," he asked, without looking up from the monitor.

  "We differ from fairies in that..." She turned pale. "I don't know! I've never met a fairy!" She cried out in comical shock.

  I unfortenately did... Even two of them

  "Did you come here to ask us to find a fairy?" asked the Apostle, amused.

  "Yes... I mean, no!" She stamped her foot in the air. "Don't make fun of me!"

  "What brings you here, Miss Mirelia?" Lois asked.

  "Well..." She took a deep breath. "Me and my companion, I like him, but I don't tell him that because, you know, I'm not ready for it. I wanted to confess it to him once, but then he met this princess and I... And I saw how he looked at her, so I stopped even trying... And now..."

  "Did you come here with a matter of the heart?" The Apostle raised an eyebrow.

  "No, no. What are you talking about? Where did you get that idea...? Oh... I've strayed from the topic again. Sorry... I'm such a chatterbox. She took another comically deep breath. "Sometimes I talk so much that even my enemies cover their ears. Hihihi. Once there was a situation where..."

  "Could you repeat that?" Lois asked sarcastically. He was typing everything she said.

  "Of course. From where?"

  "From... 'Me and my companion.'" He looked sternly at his client.

  "No digressions this time," added the Apostle.

  "Okay... My companion and I found a space-time rift in our world. We decided to enter it and ended up here. My friend is a knight, and there are so many knights, mages, archers, nobles, and various others here that I lost him. I can't find him anywhere..." She was holding back tears.

  "Sorry to interrupt," the red-haired boy interjected. "But there are no knights, magicians, or anything like that in this world," he explained.

  "You're lying!" She shook her head. "I saw it with my own eyes!"

  "But that's impossible..."

  "On the other side of town," Lois interrupted him, without taking her eyes off the screen. "There's a convention being held." The Apostle's face drained of color in an instant. His good mood gave way to fatigue. He sighed heavily.

  "It's going to be a tough day."

  "Indeed."

  "Sorry I'm late!" Lesteria ran into the tram stop. Her pink hair shone in the bright sunlight. However, it wasn't her hair that attracted attention this time. She was wearing a long navy blue tunic made of a fabric unknown to this world. On her chest was a beautiful embroidery with an inscription in an unknown language. Compared to them, she looked like a flesh-and-blood sorceress.

  "We could have spent a little more. You literally have a gold card with unlimited money..." Lois raised his hand lazily. The black sleeve resembled foil in texture.

  "We'll use it once and throw it away," replied the Apostle, embarrassed by the contrast with his friend. Indeed, the young men looked like novice cosplayers. Their dark tunics fluttered in the light breeze, resembling raincoats.

  "I did what I could. I didn't have much time." She raised her hands, revealing her full wizardess outfit. "A friend of one of the leaders of Sphinxphere is the director of a magic school in another world and..." Seeing the slightly irritated expressions on her companions' faces, she paused. Only now did she see their poor outfits. She felt embarrassed, as if she had been bragging.

  "Are we infiltrating some kind of mage organization?" she asked after a moment. "I didn't have time to ask on the phone..."

  "Worse," replied the Apostle. "I'm going back to a place I never wanted to return to," he added dramatically. Lesteria's eyes lit up with excitement. She could learn more about her idol's past.

  "Eww!" A water nymph flew out of the Apostle's pocket.

  "Hey, Mirelia! Come back. People are looking." He looked around frantically.

  "No way! This thing stinks of something..." Without a moment's hesitation, she flew into the pocket of Lesteria's tunic. She poked her head out. "I don't know what it is, but it's yuck."

  "Plastic..." Darkhaired boy sniffed the fabric. "The cheapest kind."

  "Lois!"

  The girl didn't even have time to ask who the water nymph was when the tram pulled into the station. She opened her eyes wide when she saw the passengers. She raised her hand, stopping her companions. She had never seen so many different creatures in one place. Wizards, strange costumes, knights, robots, all riding on the same tram. The Apostle patted her on the shoulder.

  "Relax, they're just cosplayers." He grimaced. There were surprisingly many of them. The crowd stared mockingly at the boys' costumes.

  "Cospla... What?" Confused, she got inside.

  "Beautiful costume!" praised a blue-skinned stranger. She herself was dressed as a first rate sorceress. "You should be ashamed! Your friend tried so hard, and you..." She looked at the cheap rags.

  "Budget vocational school of magic," laughed the boy dressed as an elf sitting in the back.

  "Yeah, yeah. Very funny." The Apostle blushed. Lois, on the other hand, didn't seem to care about the jibes. Without a word, he took the last seat.

  Less than half an hour later, the tram crossed a bridge over a wide river.

  "We're getting off at the next stop," announced the Apostle. They were approaching a large hall rising above the other buildings. The huge square in front of the building was full of people similar to the passengers. The variety of clothing made the place seem very colorful. Lesteria instinctively grabbed her belt in search of a weapon, but the redhead stopped her with a wave of his hand. The tram stopped, and her worst fears became reality. The line to enter the convention stretched all the way to the stop.