Commissioner Arrietti stood with arms akimbo looking down below at the construction crews that were rapidly moving through the area of the duos tournament and either tearing down or making the various structures permanent Just as quickly as this place had housed thousands of attendees now the Orchard moved forward with plans to make this area literally house people Beneath him the stone ground began to tremble
While a small crowd watched the many legs of Kharon eased outward and pressed against the ground Engravings gradually began to glow along their length Up by Commissioner Arrietti moss spirits swirled downward over the edge of the city in larger and larger numbers preparing to fuel the movement Four hundred metal limbs pressed against the ground and then began to flex Kharon trembled once more
Then it gradually began to rise Another wave of moss spirits exploded outward from the buildings of Kharon in a breathtaking number They whipped through the air and then zipped down to swim playfully amongst the many legs as the metal limbs heaved Kharon’s bulk up into the air The motes of emerald light ran together so thickly that they no longer seemed like individuals but were one giant river Upon that river the boat that was Kharon gradually stirred and was carried away toward the borderlands
When Kharon was safely trundling South heading to blaze a Path to Earth’s final and hitherto uncontacted Zone Commissioner Arrietti gave up his heroic pose at the edge and turned around He strode purposefully back toward the center of Kharon giving stern nods to the various municipal workers that continued to pack away the materials used for the bridges When he passed the two officers that were talking about him earlier they snapped to attention and offered him a sharp salute Arrietti’s heart swelled with pride
He walked around the corner and was now safely out of sight Arrietti surreptitiously checked the surrounding street Then he broke into a brisk jog toward Town Hall feeling a light film of sweat beginning to form on his forehead despite the cool temperature he was going to be late
The consequences of such a state made him furious at himself for losing himself in the swell of pride If Tatiana was in a bad mood and assigned him some additional training with Helen
Arrietti began to accelerate and tears formed at the corner of his eyes What did it say about him that his closest female relationship was with the woman who regularly tortured him He was only a few steps away from those particular men who enjoyed painful explicit acts in sex dungeons with beautiful women what if this prolonged exposure to Helen who was admittedly a very attractive woman was slowly warping his typical preferences
Needless to say Commissioner Arrietti arrived at Town Hall with a bubbling cauldron of negative emotions sitting in his chest But at the front door he straightened his uniform and coughed into his hand His worries were ultimately pushed to the side in the face of his training It was only with a confident and severe expression that he proceeded into the building Regardless of his feelings respecting the institution of Kharon was paramount It was only as the prestige of Kharon was increased that Arrieti could find satisfaction in his semi miserable state
Only through my station that I can feel satisfaction Arrietti reflected rather dourly as he walked down the hallway and approached the meeting room He sighed and shook his head reaching for the door handle He was prepared for the worst
But before Arrietti opened the door Tatiana came swiftly around the corner Her face split into an apologetic smile as she saw him “Ah Commissioner I hope you all haven’t been waiting long my meeting with Randidly took a little longer than expected Is everyone present “
I have no idea Arrietti thought to himself But instead of answering he smiled and opened the door His eyes scanned the present faces within as they turned to regard him Then he confidently answered “Yes we are ready for you “
“Actually though ” When Tatiana reached him she put her hand against the doorframe and pushed it shut The people within tilted their heads curiously to the side as she did so “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about Come to my office after the meeting so we can address it further but I wanted to give you some time to gather your thoughts before that there has been a sharp increase in complaints regarding Kharon’s police force over the course of the tournament It is most likely just due to the added strain of helping with security but I want to be thorough As long as you don’t mind I’d like to launch an investigation into the entire department searching for corruption and abuse of power “
“Eh But we just put the whole department through the Dungeon training ” Commissioner Arrieti mumbled He heard a strange ringing in his ears His department investigated
Tatiana sighed “We don’t talk about it much but its precisely after sharp gains in power that people can experience dangerous shifts in their psychology Previously repressed and controlled impulses have a habit of manifesting when someone feels a newfound sense of capability But I trust your choices in subordinates I’m sure all of it will be for nothing “
Then she opened the door and walked into the room
Chapter 1476
Tatiana smiled at the five figures waiting at the meeting table while she and Commissioner Arrietti took their seats at opposite ends Gertrude Collins sat with her hands folded on top of her legal pad looking every bit the teacher’s pet with her blue and pink post its flanking her legal padlike two brightly colored watchtowers Kharon’s senior teacher Mrs Jane sat similarly with her hands folded but without any paper in front of her Yet Tatiana had interacted with the mild seeming woman enough times to know that she was wickedly sharp anything that she heard she remembered
Beside Mrs Jane was Brethren Zod the Weaver representative chosen amongst the non human teachers that would be present at Kharon Academy From their few interactions Tatiana had found the Weaver surprisingly useful for planning if a bit unpredictable Oftentimes the young spider provided a perspective that greatly challenged the human’s preconceived notions about teaching Naffur was currently out helping Vye with a Raid Boss problem so Ajax was present to represent the interests of the Order Ducis opposite the Weaver Perhaps it was somewhat racist of her but Tatiana found it very amusing how much the cockroach man and the spider detested each other Even though Ajax was originally a human transported into a monster’s body the body seemed to have steadily influenced his behaviors She made a mental note to be careful about letting the two argue
The final figure at the table was the smallest ogre within Wolfram’s cohort of scribes hunching his shoulders to not take up more space than he needed At two and a half meters the act of him slipping through the door was mildly impressive
As she sat and pulled her chair in behind her Tatiana glanced one more time at Commissioner Arrietti The man’s face was creased in a deep frown Inwardly Tatiana shook her head She didn’t doubt that the man was even now examining his every memory to search for any evidence of the creeping corruption that Tatiana referenced as an example she could have waited until after this meeting but Tatiana had figured giving him some time to reflect was better than springing the issue on him once she had him in her office But Tatiana hoped that he wouldn’t now let the issue distract him from the meeting the man simply took his work way too seriously
He would probably kill me if he found out but I wonder if I can secretly set him up with a woman to help him ease up a little Tatiana organized the papers in front of her and then set them down on the table Then she cast one last critical glance over Elmer Arrietti making note of his attire and how he held himself Heh who would have thought that my experience running a high end escort service would come in handy like this