But then Randidly realized the source of the sensation was something else entirely Randidly could feel how isolated Lyra was due to his increased sensitivity toward Nether The Nether around her radiated her immense sadness and lack of connection
Randidly licked his lips And I m supposed to do what Comfort you
No thatÆs not right All IÆm supposed to do is what I want to do So
He released a breath and smiled at LyraÆs back Then good luck Lyra
Allies and connections are how you grow huh
Lyra swayed but otherwise didnÆt respond Silence hung between them like Christmas lights left along the eaves as January stoically transitioned into February Lyra looked at the wall Randidly looked at her pale shoulders
It wasnÆt that there was more to say but that the saying wasnÆt everything that was at play here Knowing about the two fundamental energies meant that interactions were even more complicated than they were in the past So while Randidly could have stopped it he ultimately allowed some of the ambient Nether to catch an invisible current and spiral out toward Lyra
Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 302
Then grow Lyra This time I wonÆt be able to watch you But if you manage to succeed and save the Earth without sacrificing our freedom well that certainly would make me happy
Chapter 1459
Commissioner Arrietti Commissioner Arrietti spoke to himself weighing the words with his tongue He was sitting in his office with only his desk lamp providing light The sun had fallen leaving the room with only a halo of light around his desk He was looking down at the mock up business card he had specially made the prior day First Responder of Kharon
It was truly a cool title for a Class One he was quite proud of despite the difficulty in the transition process Setting the business card down on his desk Arrietti leaned back and released a sigh Still though he knew the act of making these business cards was useless how often was he in a situation where he would be able to hand out business cards People around Kharon simply recognized him on sight Those who werenÆt from Kharon saw his Kharon Police uniform with all the stripes and commendations and leapt to their own probably accurate conclusions about who he was
He was a man who did not inspire the least bit of curiosity in an onlooker It was honestly quite depressing Especially when he had finally found a part of himself that was so idiosyncratic
It would probably be a bit too much to get my officeÆs nameplate changed to say Commissioner First Responder of Kharon Arrietti thought as he rubbed his chin Then he released another explosive sigh and let his body sag backward into his comfortable leather chair What it should say is Commissioner Arrietti 51 eternal bachelor
The man who inspires no curiosity in the opposite sex
This troublesome train of thought had started earlier today In the day long break between the rounds of the duos tournament Kharon had hosted its first random selection of representatives The police force and the Order Ducis had been working tirelessly through the night and early morning in order to make sure that nothing went awry with this first election They had carefully monitored the surging flow of individuals coming in an out of the city looking for anything suspicious
Riding high on the capabilities of his new Class Arrietti had been a man possessed When he wasnÆt apprehending someone for questioning he was hurrying across the city to intercept someone else His new Skills related to Kharon gave him subtle tip offs when rogue elements entered the city Combined with his growing sensitivity toward images the representative selection had gone off without a hitch
Well that wasnÆt exactly true As Tatiana had feared a foreign business owner had attempted to have themselves nominated as a representative even though they werenÆt a citizen of Kharon Luckily KharonÆs image had reacted almost immediately with a powerful wave of hostility With the support of the crowd the new Kharon Council had passed a few laws regarding who could sit on the Council and also a security value in that removing a Council member required an affirmative vote from 70% of KharonÆs population
Just like that things were back on track for the Wandering City The council excitedly began deciding their itinerary for the next two months But in the wake of the political excitement Commissioner Arrietti had been looking forward to finally having the break that he deserved He had walked through the busy thoroughfares around the arena waiting to receive one last report before he clocked out for the day And when he walked around the corner to the agreed upon meeting place with Derek Moss
He found Derek Moss locked in a gentle embrace with Gertrude Collins Needless to say their mouths were touching
Commissioner Arrietti froze He wanted to look at anything else but the place they had chosen was the service delivery side of the food court At this time of day it was completely deserted There was a broken wooden pallet a few meters behind the couple but focusing on that made them just vague seething blobs in the foreground of his vision That made it almost worse
Et tu Moss The First Responder of Kharon eventually couldnÆt stand anymore and turned to walk briskly away His slightly frazzled brain decided he would walk around the food court once or twice looking for any suspicious activity and then come back Hopefully at that point this public display will have ceased and they could speak professionally without any distractions Which was the way that police officers should be
Not that Derek is a police officer But this lack of professionalism is certainly Ahem Commissioner Arrietti had coughed lightly into his hand and glanced around at the people chatting happily about the tournament bracket Although there werenÆt any matches today it seemed people were out in force just to enjoy a meal and soak in the festive atmosphere
As Arrietti walked around most of the discussion he overheard centered on the fact that most people believed the side with Alana and Hank was much stronger than the other portion But overall it seemed that most people were quite happy with how the tournament had gone
Gradually Commissioner ArriettiÆs eyes had narrowed as he walked around The more he looked the more he realized that there were small signs of affection everywhere that he looked A woman with her hand on the arm of the man next to her A man nudging the man next to him with his elbow exchanging a heavy glance and a secret smile Two cats scampering excitedly underneath a funnel cake stall
And then right in front of him
If you donÆt like it pull your hand away Delilah announced dragging the Moss boy confidently behind her
The Moss boy rolled his eyes How many Strength Stat points do you have anyway I donÆt think I could overpower you even if I wanted to
A lady never tells Ohoho Delilah laughed exaggeratedly hiding her mouth behind her extremely small hand Then the two walked away laughing and joking Commissioner Arrietti could only reach up and wipe a small tear from his eye
Of course the kid probably didnÆt think of their involvement as romantic at all there was too much age difference between them Yet wouldnÆt this someday be the base setting of a heartwarming romantic comedy In comparison ArriettiÆs recent interactions
IÆm swimming in professional respect Arrietti said to himself in an attempt to inject some cheer but what did that really matter The more he thought about the more he realized how much work had consumed him for the past several months So he had staggered around the food court like a zombie met an obnoxiously cheery Derek Moss for the report and then returned to his office to consider the problem Yet the more he thought about it the more depressed Arrietti became