One Lunch Man

The MetroLine murmurs with the sound of people and machinery as the coach grinds to a halt. As people are interchanging their destination, A young lad walks out of the transport, fully immersed in his world of music. As he continues to walk out of the subway, his pace becomes slower and slower until he freezes.

"Waaaait, this isn't the Electown terminal like you said. This looks like the...umm somethingtown terminal--I don't know, I've never been here before" Zed comments as he turns down the volume of the music. He brings out his PET to speak with his Navi. Chrosa shows himself inside the casing of the device, as it fills up with turquoise liquid.

"What do you mean somethingtown, Zed? Do you not know that this is ACDC Town, a place where nature's beauty still holds to this area unlike the pessimistic lifestyle of the city skylines." The Navi spoke such powerful words. His Operator's eyes ever so slightly narrow. "You know, being a butler Navi doesn't mean you have to speak in Poetryese."

"I have gotten better, haven't I?" Chrosa says proudly.

"Yeah that was good. But I was reeaally looking forward to get home quick and relax for a bit instead of going on one of your curiosity trips. I'm buying another ti-"

"Dammit, subconscious walking habits strikes again." Zed had long exited the station and has already been walking a few blocks downtown without even noticing. "It's a good thing it's cloudy this afternoon. Let's explore then." That was the response Chrosa was waiting to hear. So they both went off sightseeing and made small talk around town. Chrosa took detailed notes of the interesting places they would passed by. ACDC was a quieter place than Elec Town, but not as uneventful as both of them thought the place was.

Suddenly the boy was caught frozen in place again. What followed was a rumbling sound coming from his belly. "Did I mention how I'm super hungry right now? Let's go get some food." Zed says as he looks around if there are any good shops.

"Then, I'll locate the nearest convenience store around the block."

"What, no no no. My stomach needs a restaurant menu. And, you know what they say, a destination is recognized by its food," the Operator said beamingly. "If you wish so, then I recall an eatery a few turns from where we came from," Chrosa informs as if he has a mental notebook that he had written that down.

After a leisurely walk, they arrive at the restaurant. Zed impatiently takes a seat so that he can order quickly. He sees that the server is about to finish listing the adjacent table's order making him feels slightly tensioned and hastily pulls out his PET again. "Uhmm, so what do I order and how do I say to the waitress that I want to order a full course," "Well Zed, I suggest the tomato basil soup, the squash and orzo salad followed by the roasted chicken with basmati rice finally complemented with a melted chocolate cake."

"... this isn't even on menu! Where did you read that off from!?"

"Welcome to Eriv's Garden, what would you like to order," the waitress had already come with a smile as she steadies a pen and notepad. Zed without much thought, had to flip through the menu book while blindly choosing his order. After much anguish from the whole ordeal, the waitress takes off to take another order.

Chrosa chuckles softly, but not without his master catching him in the act. "Thanks." Zed bluntly said. "It's good to have a little bravery to get a better experience," The servant throws his wise words at his master again. The Operator pouts while he slinks his body down the seat. "Hmm, what's this? There's something written on the table." The boy's eyes are locked on the display. He straightens his body again to properly read it.

'Our restaurant also provides services to Navi's via our Net side of the restaurant. If you wish to do so, please jack in through the plug located at the center of the table. Have a good day eating at Eriv's Garden!'


"Hmm, this is quite interesting. Do you wanna have a bite too Chrosa?" Zed asks his Navi. "Thank you for the offer Zed. I'll decide if I would like something," he replies. He notices that his master's anger had faded away.

Zed connects his PET to the plug and signals his Navi. "Jack in Chrosa.EXE, Execute!" At the same time, the liquid in the PET casing begins to dissipate.

[[TO ACDC NET]]
Seeing the bubbly turquoise liquid filling up his PET again, Zed decided to leave the device connected to the cafe port in case Chrosa was tired from the fight and wanted actual food. It suddenly played a soft jingle when his Navi jerked out, "We hope you have a nice time at our NaviCafe~." How unoriginal the name was, Zed thought. But he didn't mind it much as his order was steaming in front of him, indicating it's fresh quality. "Sweet merciful Cybeasts, can you smell that Chrosa?" Zed grinned in anticipation.

"Sadly no, but I can once again give info on the dish in front of you," Chrosa smiled as he spoke through the PET. "Well, I can see you ordered a normal Hamburger Steak, you really were hungry, ordering all this meat weren't you?" Zed scratched his head and smirked at his poor selection. "And ho, what is this? Squash Gratin. Quite ambitious aren't you Sir Zed." "I was in a hurry, so I just ordered whatever. Anyways, gratin is okay for me although never had a squash before...," Zed was inspecting his food. But a moment was what he took and he hastily gobbled down the food. He realizes Chrosa's stern face and corrected his bad habits. Zed this time didn't even bother to comment on the food as his uninterrupted spree obviously showed his satisfaction of the food served at the restaurant.

After consuming the food until the plates shone with a spotless gleam, Zed placed the silverware neatly as if undisturbed. He worried a bit though thinking that the waitress would just chuck it in with the clean utensils so he ran the fork and knife in the leftover steak sauce. "Are you done, Zed?" Chrosa looked up to his operator's face from the PET that was left on the table. "Sure as heck. It's gonna be an exhausting trip to the station again. I'm gonna doze off in the coach if you don't mind." Zed picked up his PET and checked his account to pay for the bill at the same time when the waitress showed herself. "Here's your bill, can you confirm that it was this much zenny that you paid?" Zed looked at the maid with a perplexed look as he didn't even begin to deposit. "I think there's been a mis-"

"Yes, yes, that seems like the right amount. Thank you kindly waitress," The Navi interrupted. The maid bowed slightly before busily going on about her work. "Hey, what was that about? Chrosa, did you do something again," Zed was even more puzzled. "I just used Aunta's account to pay for the bill." Zed elevated his voice, but while whispering. "What! Why did you do that? We got the money from the battles so just use that." "Do not fret my boy. This money was specifically given from Aunta to me for our use. She said it was a reward for your increasing grades in Japanese." Zed then simmered down and was a bit embarrassed from the overreaction. "Ah, I see... Well no time like the present. Let's head out home."

The boy rose from his seat and patted his belly in bliss. They both went out through the door and headed straight to the station to head back home. Or what Chrosa thought. This time, Zed was going to do Chrosa's 'experience trips'. In the end Zed didn't fall asleep hoping to catch the correct stop.

[[to SciLab's Navi Shop]]