CH-64 Cafe fight[1]

"Oh, and one more thing… Please sign these papers?" Zeno saunters up, a stack of papers like a windmill gone wild on the side of the table.

"And what is this?" I eye the documents suspiciously, "I'm not about to scribble my name willy-nilly without knowing the craic."

Zeno's lips do a little jig, "Hmph… You see, although you're the top dog at our first company, the other firms were all under Disha's umbrella. But now, we're bringing them all under your reign, your majesty!"

… Heh! She said in a very boring tone. Not like I mind. I raised an eyebrow, "You don't have to lay it on thick just cause I'm parched."

"Okay… waiter!" As if on cue, Zeno summons a feast fit for a king.

I peruse the papers, and sure enough, there's a whole slew of small fries companies, plus our original big company, all waiting for my royal seal of approval.

"Not too shabby... Someday if everyone has time… Let the other three main members assemble and meet me at once. I will give them a party and meet them." I nod, scrawling my signature before tossing the papers aside and digging into the grub.

"Righto!" Zeno softly laughed, no doubt already planning the next caper.

Arle wolfed down her repast like a starving jester, when Zeno burst in, all aflutter.

"Harken, good lady! We must go to yon crescent moon forest for an adventure most peculiar!" A few days prior, Zeno had prattled on about some unsolvable riddle.

I did ignored the fool's ramblings at that time, having more pressing matters - like determining the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.

Now I'm free. Why not have an adventure and solve the trouble for her.

"An exploration, you say? I'm ready, mother." Arle replied with a mischievous twinkle.

I leaned in conspiratorially, "Zeno, my good knave, sendeth me the full details post-haste via mobile. Could you deliver a magical scribing tablet or laptop, that I might hack off or cheat on nefarious servers?"

"Sure. it will be done. Probably do it at night, and post it at night in the white family house." Zeno gave a deep, theatrical bow.

"Hmm!" I moaned contentedly, savoring each morsel of the modest and delectable fare.

A humble establishment this may be. Its culinary offerings are fit for royalty on a pauper's purse.

No sooner had I taken another delightful bite than a raucous troupe of young bucks messed upon our table.

"Hello, fair maidens!"

The ringleader proclaimed, that playboy, eyes agleam with unmistakable roguishness. "Might we join these beautiful classes?"

I steeled myself, for surely a confrontation breweth. Do these coxcombs fancy themselves hussies' champions, coming to sweep us off our feet with amorous advances?

Arle, sweet innocent lamb, gazed upon them with wide-eyed curiosity.

"Pray, do we know thee, good sirs?" she interrogated, guileless as a newborn babe.

One knave, doubtless the group's self-appointed Don Juan, leered lecherously at my… daughter, looking for all the world as though he wished to devour her whole.

"Tsk! I feel like the protagonist's magnet aura is with me." With a put-upon sign, I rose, towering over the would-be gallants, and sought out the watchful eyes of the establishment's stalwart guardians.

Come, ladies and gentlemen, shall we see if your charms yet withstand the uncouth rebuff of the house's protectors!

"Oye!" I bellowed, my voice booming like thunder from the heavens. "Is this the way you run your establishment, allowing other ruffians to accost fair maidens whilst they break their fast?"

I turned to the guard patrol, eyes narrowed to slits colder than a witch's embrace. "Should not the very rules and edicts of this eatery demand you eject these rapscallions forthwith, ere they further disturb the peaceful repast of yer paying guests?"

The two watchmen traded glances filled with trepidation, as though I had lost a plague of locusts upon them.

In a flurry of action, they called reinforcements from realms unknown through phone.

Those watchmen made its approach, the young rake who had first propositioned us wore a most punchable smirk upon his visage.

'Why are you looking at your foot with your head down?' The serving staff, meanwhile, seemed to find their own feet quite fascinating indeed.

I sniffed the air, detecting a faint whiff of skulduggery afoot.

Though this particular offshoot may have lacked the full contingent of our fraternal order's stalwart defenders, surely the most basic standards of decorum should still apply?

Or would they risk losing this humble branch from our ever-expanding family of eateries?

The stage was set for either a grand comedy of errors or a pageantry of pugilistic prowess.

Whichever path lay ahead, I vowed to act in a performance most entertaining.

"Young master Nian, cease your disturbance of our esteemed guests. Might I escort your people to another table more suited to the suitable table?" An unassuming damsel approached our table, curtsying deeply as she addressed the rowdy band of rakes.

The young bucks have a smug look, their leader, this 'Nian's' fellow, puffing out his chest as if a pompous prairie chicken.

"Harken, wench!" He sneered, ensnaring the poor maid's wrist in a vice-like grip. "Don't you know who we are? I'm scions of the mighty Xu clan! One word from me and this piddling eatery shall be razed to dust and rubble!"

At this moment, the branch master arrived, regarding us as commoners. "What insolence is this? These are esteemed nobles you so brazenly accost!"

I shot the young master a look that could curdle milk. "His bastard family doesn't interest me."

"My question is simple - is this how you treat the common people?" I glanced around at the other wealthy snobs, catching a few short nods of agreement from the less obnoxious ones when Nian wasn't looking.

"I have an esteemed family. With great status comes great… opportunities." that brat punched his chest with fist.

His wandering eyes looked at me with pure lust as he tried to grab my chin between fingers. "How about you ladies join us for some fun?"

I slapped his groping hand away. "And what great connection does a worm like you have with? I feel like even whores have standards higher than a pig like yourself."

His face turned an unflattering shade of green before he regained his composure, looking down that upturned nose at me.

"The prestigious Xu family has tight ties with the president of Zyricon incorporated. The president herself told us it is vital to the company."

A smile played across my lips. "Is that so?"

The moment he uttered my company's name, I knew I had him under my foot. Clicking my phone, I dialed a number I had on the speed dial.

"It's been a while, boss!" Disha, the president, picked her sentence.

"Indeed. I need you in Velo Smart City stat. Teleport if you have to. I'll share my location - we have a situation to address."

This Xu punk and his lecherous friends, And branch master, were about to learn a lesson in humility.

Disrespecting me and my girls, then name-dropping the company to throw around unearned weight? Not on my watch.

At Zyricon, status and wealth meant nothing - everyone was and will be on equal footing.

"On my way!" Disha confirmed. "Just wait a minute."

Detail my location to her, Hanging up the call, I fixed Nian with a sardonic gaze. "Let's see how long before bankruptcy… have a sexy night with your family of that oversized ego, shall we?"