Chapter 25 Seventh Heaven

Jaune and everyone went inside the seventh heaven. It was a bar and restaurant with a heavy western style. A game arcade, and a jukebox were there to enhance the atmosphere.

The walls were adorned with vintage cowboy hats and posters of classic western films.

"This place is really interesting."

Yang spoke as she looked around the place. Ruby went to the arcade while leaving Rose Petals behind. Yuffie went after Ruby. Even though Ruby felt threatened by her, they were actually friends because their ages were close.

Pyrrha was interested in the culture, so she went and checked on the poster and cowboy hat on the walls. She will let Jaune and everyone else gather information from the bartender. She didn't have much talking skill, so she might not be able to get the information they needed.

Blake and Weiss went to the bar with Ifalna. They want to check if the bartender was there or not. When they came inside, it was very empty.

"No one's here. But I didn't see any close signs at the front. Weird."

Weiss spoke while scanning the empty bar. Blake shrugged. Ifalna sat on the stool, feeling down. They were traveling nonstop from the Wutai continent to here.

She thought that when they reached here, they would be able to find information about her daughter. Or she might be able to feel her easily. But nothing ever went as planned.

The planet couldn't help her much because it was fighting for its life right now. It was too weak to do anything on its own.

The bar's desolation mirrored Ifalna's own sense of hopelessness. She had hoped that coming here would bring her closer to finding her daughter, but it wasn't what she expected.

And as she was falling into her own pit of despair, Jaune came to her.

"Don't worry, Ifalna. I feel someone is here, but he or she is doing something at the back of the bar."

Jaune comforted her. He could feel that she needed support, and he was willing to give her.

Ifalna smiled at Jaune, even though it was a weak smile. A smile is still a smile.

"How sweet of you, Jaune. Thank you."

Ifalna replied, grateful for Jaune's presence in this bad moment. She took a deep breath and waited for the owner of this restaurant to come.

They didn't have to wait long as the bartender came into the bar from the front door.

"Oh, Customers? Welcome, Welcome. What would you like to have for today? But I won't sell any alcohol for you, youngsters, you know."

An old man's voice came through the front door. He smiled happily when he saw them. It looked like he didn't have many customers. And he adhered to a moral code not to sell alcohol to underage individuals.

"Duh, we're old enough to drink whatever we want, old man!"

Yang, When she heard there was no alcohol for her, she protested. Jaune shook his head.

"Stop Yang. We are not here to get drunk."

Jause, when he finished speaking with Yang. He then apologized to the old man, who introduced himself later. His name is Monty, and he is the owner of this bar.

Jaune wanted to ask him about the information they wanted immediately, but it would be rude if he didn't order anything.

"Order anything you like. It's on me!"

It felt good to have money. Ruby and everyone knew that Jaune was rich due to him having so many coins that could be exchanged for any currency, so they didn't hold back and ordered whatever they liked.

Jaune thought to himself as he scanned the menu. He decided to order fired chicken wings with a non-alcoholic beverage and asked Monty about the information they needed.

"Hum, I think I heard about this young lady somewhere from the few customers I have. She was usually seen wandering around Sector 5 of the slums to sell flesh flowers for only 5 gils. But if you want to know where she lives, I am afraid that I can't tell you even if I know it."

Jaune nodded, glad that his thought was correct in coming here to ask for information.

They had their lunch there. And Yang was quiet about having alcohol because Jaune had given her a warning. She didn't want to have a problem with Jaune over such a little thing.

And when he paid money to the owner and was ready to go out and go to Sector 5 with everyone, a young woman came in carrying two big barrels of beer. She was very strong physically.

The young woman is beautiful with dark brown hair, occasionally appearing black, which falls below her waist and is tied at the tips to form a dolphin-tail split. She wore a white top and a black short skirt. Her eyes were red, which was really beautiful.

She was surprised that there were customers when the sun was still high in the sky.

The young woman greeted everyone with a warm smile while the old man introduced her to everyone.

"Her name is Tifa Lockheart. I just hired her as my assistant, and no. I don't let her drink beer."

The old man laughed at Yang, who was about to ask him that. He then had a good idea.

"Well, there's no work anymore. Why don't you help them as their guide? They want to go to Sector 5, and they might get lost because they are from outside."

Tifa nodded with a smile. She liked to help people, so she gladly accepted the old man's suggestion.




"Where do you guys come from? There are many people who came to this city, but they usually went to the upper city, not the slums. This place is really dangerous for outsiders, you know."

Tifa guided them and asked many questions, but all of the questions were just out of curiosity. She wanted to understand their background and why they chose to come to such a risky place.

Tifa knew that they were fighters just by looking at their posture. The one with blond hair was actually the same type as her. As for the leader of the group, she actually couldn't tell how strong he was. He gave her a dangerous feeling, like if he wanted to, he could shred her into pieces.

But whatever he did, it was so goofy that it was the opposite of what his aura gave off.

His playful nature and lighthearted demeanor seemed to contradict the intensity she sensed in him. It was as if he had mastered the art of balancing strength and humor, making him even more intriguing to Tifa.

"We came from a very far place, and we didn't know anything. As for why we didn't go to the upper city, it was because we didn't know how, and I think what we were looking for was actually in the slums, not in the upper city."

Tifa listened intently as he explained. She didn't know what they were looking for, but if they didn't tell her, she wouldn't ask either. She respected their privacy and understood that sometimes it was best to keep certain things to oneself.

Tifa guided them to Sector 5 through the cross-city link line. The price of the tickets was around 500 gil each, which Jaune could easily pay for.

And after paying for the tickets. They then went to the station.

"They still use old steam trains?"

Yang was curious about the means of their transportation. She didn't think it would be a steam train using coal. She thought it would be something more advanced than this because she had been aboard the airship before.

Tifa chuckled at her before telling her that the steam train was the best technology of mass transportation in the world. And airships were only used for military purposes or when they wanted to cross the continent, and the price of the ticket was very expensive.

"Is that so?

Yang could only nod. She was confused by this world's concept of technology. Maybe Ruby knows something more about it. Ruby was still Ruby. She was excited about it. And she could tell that it wasn't a normal stream train, as they didn't use normal coal to run it.

"How did you know that?"

Yang asked Ruby in a suspicious tone. Ruby then sweats a little. She tried to come up with something, but

"Don't try. I know my sister the best. Jaune, did you give something to her?"

It was now Jaune who began to sweat a little. He tried to say something, but Yang shook her head.

"You spoil her too much!"

Yang's accusation made Ruby's face turn red with embarrassment. She knew that her sister was onto something, but she couldn't bring herself to admit the truth.

Jaune, feeling guilty, finally confessed that he had given Ruby a tool to check on anything related to technology as a gift. It wasn't expensive, per se. Only 100 copper coins, and he thought that she looked much cuter if she wore glasses.

Yang sighed and rolled her eyes, playfully scolding both of them for their secret-keeping tendencies. She got back at him for being so manly and scolding her earlier.

"Hey, the train is going to leave soon. We should hurry up and get on board,"

Tifa warned them. Then everyone went on the board immediately. As they settled into their seats, the train began to slowly pull away from the platform.

The rhythmic chugging of the train and the gentle swaying of the carriage created a soothing atmosphere, allowing everyone to relax.

From Sector 7 to Sector 5, it only took them an hour to get there. Sector 5 was located under the Shinra Electric Power Company's control. Like every sector of the metropolis, it is composed of both slums and plate sections, though the plate is rarely seen.

"We are here. So where do you want to go? I will guide you there."

Tifa took her duty as a temporary guide very seriously. Everyone looked at Ifalna as she closed her eyes. She smiled as she pointed in a certain direction.

"We will go there. I felt my daughter's presence in that direction!"

Ifalna was very excited. She was finally able to feel her daughter clearly. And she was happy. No harm was done to her.

Tifa looked at Ifalna in confusion. She didn't know what she was talking about.

"I want to talk to you more, Tifa, but I think we should part here. from here on we can go on by ourselves. And thank you for helping us reach here."

Jaune gave something to Tifa. It was a bag full of gil. When he spoke to the old man, he heard that his employee was in need of money, and he couldn't help her.

Jaune, who didn't lack Gil a little bit, Giving her that much would be greatly helpful to her.

After that, he ditched her at the station and went with everyone with their Chocobos. They couldn't bring them through the gate, but they could use it to travel to the dangerous area in the slums where no one lives.

Tifa's eyes widen, and she looked at the back of Jaune. She narrowed her eyes. She didn't like getting something from someone for free. But she could only shake her head. They were already gone with their Chocobos. She didn't know where they summoned it.

"I will give it back to you next time we meet."

Tifa could only go back to Sector 7, as her duty as a guide was over. She really envy them for their lively adventures and the freedom to explore. She wondered what it would be like to leave behind the slums and experience the world beyond, even if just for a little while.