“I was surprised when you called,” Katherine said, grabbing the seat across from Nil. She looked as gorgeous as last time in her civilian clothes. The woman seemed to have put less effort into her appearance than their not-date, but still appeared glamorous. Katherine had not bothered with any makeup besides a bit of eyeliner and lipstick. Nil doubted she needed even that. “Susan was sure you’d never want to hear from me again.”

“The last time we met, we established that we’re friends,” Nil said, putting on his best smile. He ignored the visage as it stood at the end of the booth like a blood-splattered waitress. His soul weapon's consciousness had been content with exploring the restaurant and studying neighboring tables' food until Katherine arrived. ‘So, I’m just a friend calling on a favor. I hope that’s okay.”

“I think I owe you as much after embarrassing you. The Met Police owe you for saving Susan as well, so I don’t feel too bad about misusing resources and the unethical nature of the request.”

“I seriously appreciate it. The circumstances behind my meeting were a bit unconventional, so I’m just doing my due diligence.”

“And what does Symbiotech want off you?”

A waiter appeared with menus and to take drink orders. Neither ordered alcohol. Nil requested a lemonade, while Katherine asked for an iced tea. The waitress lingered for annoyingly long, making small talk and delaying the continuation of their conversation. The visage also seemed annoyed.

“Symbiotech is looking to sponsor Apocalypse Arena hopefuls,” Nil answered. “They specifically want to study melee fighters—your brutes, knights, rogues—and develop armor for them. So, they’ll help me get into a ludus and pay for a good deal of things as long as I test their creations for them and market the product.”

Katherine stared at him, eyes narrowing. “What have you been up to, Nil?”

“What do you mean?” Nil stiffened. Her tone made her sound more like a policewoman than a friend.

“How precisely did you encounter a representative of Symbiotech and get their attention? A recent Summoned doesn’t just get approached out of nowhere, Nil. This Shina Patel must’ve witnessed a demonstration of your power and martial skills somewhere before she thought you an arena hopeful worth sponsoring. Unless you found this person on the street and dragged her to Andrew’s scrap yard, she shouldn't be wary of your capabilities at all.”

Nil sat silently, staring at the woman. A deep breath helped calm his racing heart. He did his best to channel Andrew’s calm, nonchalant aura. “You need to make a decision right now, Katie,” Nil said. “Do you want to be my friend or an agent of the police force? You and your employers already know the kind of person I am. I can also tell you that I haven’t done anything that would damage the peace or hurt the public. But if you have more questions or want to push the matter, I’d suggest we end this meeting and friendship right now.”

“No.” Katherine sighed, leaning back in her seat. The sternness disappeared from her face, and her shoulders relaxed. “It's difficult to separate myself from my job. Even when on quests, I often work as an investigator or the local secret police. This is a part of who I am, and sometimes, I forget how it can affect relationships outside of the police force. But I need to know.” She looked sad as she continued. “I think you’re cute, and I like you. But I can’t associate with you if I know you’re up to something illegal. Whatever Andrew is doing with refurbished aethertech is fine with me. Working for crimelords and sanctioned private armies are not.”

“What if circumstances forced me into a grey area, and I need this to move away from that? I can promise you that I haven't taken part in activities where someone was permanently hurt or died. There was no property damage either.”

“I suppose I could forget and help you toward a more legitimate path,” Katherine replied. She pulled a plastic folder out of her purse and placed it on the table between them. “Symbiotech seems clean. There were a couple of complaints a while ago, but they went nowhere. Investigations and ongoing lawsuits suggested competitors were just trying to fuck with them. Aethertech is a cutthroat industry. If they’ve offered you a genuine sponsorship, I think you should consider it. Saving the necessary funds with just quests will be dangerous and take time.” Katherine paused. She smiled softly, leaning forward. “I’d also like to continue spending time with you and would prefer you keep away from the grey or straight-up illegal parts of life, which I'm sure pay extraordinarily well..”

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“I’ll do my best,” Nil replied. “Andrew is just a bad influence.”

“Do you think that joke is a good idea, Mr Roy? Susan and I have become close friends, and she’s my partner. She and Andrew are going on a date tonight. Are you telling me that he’s the one who got you involved—”

“No. It was a bad joke. I apologize, Officer Park.”

“It’s Detective Park. Don’t you forget it, Mr Roy!”

After their drinks arrived, the conversation turned playful and flirtatious. They had met for Korean fried chicken, and he let Katherine order. She knew what pickles and side dishes were best at the restaurant, which was the same venue from which she had ordered delivery on their not-date.

As the pair chatted, Nil went over the folder she had brought along. He didn’t have permission to take it with him, and she planned on shredding the contents afterward. The cases against Symbiotech mostly involved equipment failures or patent and design disputes. There was also something to do with accusations of medical malpractice; the matter went nowhere since the company had no medical practices, didn’t prescribe drugs, and didn't conduct surgeries. Nil was no lawyer, but most lawsuits filed against the company appeared frivolous.

Afterward, their conversation moved on to more personal matters. The pair talked about their families and childhood. Katherine pushed him for information regarding his relationship with Aisha and how he dealt with her passing. Nil was hesitant, but he told her just enough to smoothly switch topics without revealing how much it had messed up his early twenties. No one but Doctor Mendez knew about the depths of his depression, the nightmares, or his hatred of white parkas. Regaining any level of normalcy had been a long journey and he didn't want to relive it. Nil occasionally felt tempted to call the man and tell him that the visage was real but didn't want to go down the conversational rabbit hole.

Katherine also told him about her last and only relationship. She dated the only other person of Korean descent in her high school, and things were going brilliantly until she became a Summoned. Initially, dating someone like her fascinated her boyfriend. Then, the thought of spending time with a person wielding Mind Magic ate at him. Whenever they had an argument, he accused Katherine of messing with his head and altering his emotions. She loved the man but had no choice but to end their entanglement as things got increasingly worse.

After their meal, Nil and Katherine went for a walk around Harrow-on-the-Hill. They went through the station and Harrow College to the hills behind it. A large green hill overlooking the town center proved a lovely location for the pair to just sit and talk. The more time Nil spent with her, the less he thought about the visage. In fact, ignoring it became easier. He found himself enjoying the woman’s presence and didn’t want to ruin things. Unfortunately, the situation got the better of him.

“You’re a strange man,” Katherine told him as the pair sat on the mown grass, sipping from cans. They had bought a few from the vending machines in the station.

“Strange how?” Nil asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve been flirting with you all afternoon, laughing at your bad jokes and touching your arm, but you haven’t made a move. Hell, I told you that I liked you, too.”

“I thought you were being friendly,” Nil said. “Didn’t we decide that it's best if we remain friends? I’m too awkward, and you have a career to think about.”

“All of that’s true, but sometimes, don’t you want to go ‘fuck-it’ and do what feels right?” Katherine asked.

Nil laughed. “That’s how men get done for sexual harassment or worse. First of all, you should know that I’m pretty daft when it comes to such things. You could be wearing a sign around your neck saying, kiss me, idiot, and I still wouldn’t get it. Also, in this day and age, I feel it would be best if I didn’t make a move without an express invitation.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Katherine laughed.

“I don’t make the rules,” Nil said, holding up his hands like there was a gun pointed at him. “It's the world we live in. I always say it is better to be safe than to get accused of something following a misunderstanding. That’s doubly relevant since I’m targeting Apocalypse Arena. It won’t be a problem once I make it to the multiversal stage, but as far as Earth is concerned, I need to stay squeaky clean if I want success in the public eye.”

“You’re an idiot.” Katherine rolled her eyes, grabbing his hands and pulling them down. She scooted closer and leaned toward Nil. “You have my consent. You can kiss me. Do you need it in writing, or is this good enough?”

The visage lingered behind Katherine. Nil shoved aside his internal struggle, deciding he didn’t care if its presence ruined things again. For the first time in a long time, he felt happy. He and his family were financially secure. Nil had his first success as a Summoned fighter, and a ludus sponsorship awaited him. He wanted to celebrate and have a good time. Instead of worrying about how things could go wrong, Nil decided to live in the moment and kissed Katherine.

Tomorrow be damned.