I Arrietti cleared his throat again Well I do technically still need to taste the food so
The woman smiled and withdrew to the other side of the small restaurant Commissioner Arrietti couldnÆt keep his eyes from following her She was short and had an extremely healthy waist with her arms and legs lean from the labor of hauling and hanging all the meat that the restaurant Her auburn hair was done up in a tight bun above her head Although he didnÆt want to get ahead of himself Arrietti would admit that she was very close to his ideal type Adding to that the fact that she moved to Kharon alone
I must be careful cannot make it seem like IÆm using my station to pick up women Arrietti scolded himself He took a drink of water cooling his throat and also cleansing his palate
When he had arrived he had thought she was a beautiful waitress He had been mortified when he asked to talk to the pitmaster to speak about the meat selection and she sweetly responded that she preferred the term pit mistress and introduced herself as Selene After stumbling through his order he had guiltily used his high Perception to follow her movements through the back of the restaurant as she prepared the food
She truly handled everything herself So not just a beautiful woman but also a capable one Elmer Arrietti gulped He took another drink of water
Abruptly he realized that he was looking over at Selene and she was staring back at him with her chin in her hands As recognition dawned in ArrieitiÆs expression the corner of SeleneÆs eyes crinkled in amusement What you donÆt like a woman who likes to watch
When ArrietiÆs mouth refused to close normally he took a fork and stuffed some of the brisket inside so the expression wasnÆt so unusual The common physical machinations of chewing began to take over But almost immediately he forgot all about SeleneÆs coy expression Elmer Arrietti was immediately at peak concentration He mobilized his image so that every one of his senses was heightened to its limit This meat
The next ten minutes were a blur of barbecue sauce and savory flavors The meats were placed on ArrietiÆs tongue where their spiced juices and tender flesh became a culinary delight Although he usually controlled his appetite on this meal he made so such attempts for this meal He continued voraciously devouring the food until the tray was entirely clean
Elmer leaned back from the table and sighed in contentment Selene laughed as she stepped forward and picked up his tray ThatÆs a great expression on your face ThatÆs exactly why I like to watch my customers eat when I can Can I get anything else for you
Actually Arrietti took a steadying breath Her earlier comments had definitely been a bit flirty right Although it was somewhat awkward that he was doing this at her place of work they were both adults They could behave as adults And ElmerÆs heart was trembling in a way he hadnÆt felt in twenty years But it was an extremely adult tremor More than her looks SeleneÆs cooking Actually Maybe sometime I can come to eat here with you again
That wasnÆt quite right Commissioner ArrietiÆs eyelid twitched
Selene smiled Sure IÆm open six days a week Do you want your check then
No I err yes actually bring the check Arrietti scratched the side of his head But what I meant to say is that you and I the two of us maybe not at your restaurant
CoommIIssIoonneerr
ArrieitiÆs stuttered proposal was drowned out by the sound of someone yelling from outside on the street In a way Arrietti was relieved at the distraction why was he behaving like a prepubescent boy ShouldnÆt he be old enough that these sort of nerves didnÆt ruffle him But simultaneously he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach he recognized that voice
Heiffal burst through the door to the restaurant followed closely by the other members of the crew that had enthusiastically taken the joy out of bowling for Commissioner Arrietti These were the few dozen that constantly infested the alley making it boisterous and busy at all hours of the day They were the ones that had stolen ElmerÆs peaceful moments of repose from him The group crowded in behind Heiffal quickly filling up the available space Tables and chairs were pushed to the side making more room for them to congregate around Arrietti
There were tears in HeiffalÆs eyes Commissioner Arrietti I just want to say thank you for everything youÆve taught us about control and precision about inner peace and self improvement
Arrietti began gritting his teeth Control Inner peace You people Why havenÆt I ever seen any evidence of this
We are heading back to the Nexus Heiffal continued a single tear running down his cheek as he regarded Arrietti But we knew we couldnÆt go without one last game of bowling So please For old timeÆs sake
Ah IÆm actually Elmer was trembling He had FINALLY found an opportunity to escape his status as a fifty two year old bachelor and these punks wanted to ruin his first impression I need to
Commissioner Arrietti your sense of honor is pretty legendary in Kharon IÆll give you this one on credit Selene said as she deftly wove her way through the press of bodies Then she waved goodbye with a napkin as though sending him off on a sea voyage from which he might not return safely
Elmer Arrietti studiously kept control of his face as he was buoyed away by the capable hands of HeiffalÆs crew Behind him he could hear HeiffalÆs soldiers whispering
Look at his face he can barely control his emotions
Ah Commissioner Arrietti heÆs so overcome Seeing him so emotional like this
Take it easy be strong just like Commissioner Arrietti We canÆt guh We canÆt cry Waahh
So she had heard of me before A bitter Arrietti thought desperately trying to find the silver lining in the situation
Chapter 1491
When he left Kharon Randidly had a few more visits to make before he could actually leave Expira in good conscious It seemed that every time he turned around he somehow had developed a whole new slew of responsibilities The first this time was a visit to Ghost Once his mobility was revealed and most of the world knew about the AIÆs transforming gundam esque body he was forced to relocate to the Wildlands South of Zone 1
From what Randidly understood all of the Zones pressured Ghost to come work for them manufacturing drones To avoid being locked down once more Ghost had refused them all preferring to experiment on his own But because of that he had been forced to keep his operations relatively low key
Ghost was quite delighted with his visit it seemed he had saved up a lot of research to share since they last met After briefly allowing the excited Ghost to take him through his newest drones and then complain about having to hide the continued production of his metal army Randidly brought him back to intelligence The two discussed the current state of Expira and Randidly was rather relieved to find GhostÆs understanding basically matched TatianaÆs Seems like she has enough sources to survive in this world
Then due to a spur of the moment thought Randidly suggested that Ghost move his operation to the island formerly used by the Nemesai It was slightly stained with RandidlyÆs images now but it was also very secluded and included a spacious underground It would be hard for the Zones to track the AI there
Ghost agreed and packed up his operation within only fifteen minutes It was an impressive feat Three two hundred meter assembly lines were folded and compacted into bus sized vehicles A shimmering sea of scuttling spider robots that assisted Ghost arranged themselves in tight formations and waited for Randidly to open up a portal While the sea of metal trooped off to its new home Randidly made sure Ghost new to contact Neveah if he had any problems
In addition Ghost agreed to help Kharon three times should they need it in exchange for one favor from Randidly or Neveah Then they shook hands Randidly using his flesh and blood right arm to grasp the porcelain and steel appendage that Ghost offered him