Chương 80: Chapter 37 : Part 3 : A Simple Evening

When they arrived at Emma's apartment, Aldric carried both grocery bags into the kitchen while she took off her jacket and placed her keys on the entryway table. He put the fresh food into the refrigerator, stored the pasta in a cupboard, and set the tomatoes on the countertop. Emma opened a drawer and took out a cutting board. — You know, you're doing that as if you lived here. Aldric closed the refrigerator door. — You always put the groceries away in the same order. — That wasn't really a criticism.

— I didn't interpret it as one. Emma smiled and handed him a knife. — Then slice the zucchini. I'll take care of the onions. Aldric stepped beside her and began cutting the vegetables. Nearly every piece was exactly the same size. Emma glanced at her own cutting board, where the onion pieces were far less uniform, then at Aldric's. — Are you trying to make me look bad? You could at least cut one of them crooked. — That would make the cooking less even...

Only the sound of knives against the cutting boards and the water heating in the pot filled the kitchen. Emma kept an eye on the cooking while Aldric added the vegetables to the pan. Then she asked him to pour in the sauce. — Not all of it, she said. Start with half. Aldric stopped with the jar suspended over the pan. — Why not use all of it immediately? — Because we can always add more. Taking it back out would be much harder. He nodded and poured in exactly half. — That method is reasonable.

— Thank you for the official approval. Emma stirred the sauce, added a little salt, then tasted it with a spoon. — It's missing something. — Pepper? — Maybe. She added a small amount before handing the spoon to Aldric. He tasted it as well. — Well? — The pepper improves the overall flavor, but the acidity is still too pronounced. — What do you suggest? — A small amount of sugar. — Since when do you know that? — You did it last time. She added a pinch of sugar to the sauce and stirred again.

After tasting it a second time, she nodded. — You were right. — I know. — Excuse me? — I meant that the result matches the expected outcome. — Too late. I already heard you. — In that case, I stand by my answer. Emma burst out laughing and gave him a playful tap on the arm. They finished preparing dinner together. Aldric drained the pasta while Emma mixed the vegetables into the sauce, then they carried the plates over to the living room table. They sat across from each other.

Emma took her first bite, tasted the sauce, then looked up at Aldric. — It's good. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. — Yes. — You could at least look a little surprised. — Why would I? We followed the correct method. — It's amazing how you manage to remove every bit of mystery from cooking. — The purpose of a recipe is precisely to eliminate uncertainty. Emma shook her head before taking another bite. They ate in comfortable silence.

She told him the rest of the story about the client from earlier that day, who had ultimately asked for a week to think things over even though the apartment might be rented by the very next day. Aldric then explained how Lucas had tried to sit on a chair that was still wrapped in its packaging after their last moving job. — He knew it didn't belong to him, though, he concluded. — He was tired. — That does not invalidate the rules of ownership. — No, but it does explain some bad decisions.

Emma then set down her fork and looked at the man sitting across from her. He was still wearing his work T-shirt. His hair was messy from the day's work, and a faint streak of dust was still visible near his wrist. Nothing about the image reminded her of the knight in full armor who had walked into her agency a few months earlier asking for a fortress. — Do you realize how far you've come? she asked. — I never imagined life could be this peaceful. — Do you like it? — Yes.

The answer was simple, but it left no room for doubt. — Even the paperwork and the rent? — They are still unpleasant. — I just wanted to make sure. — Even so, they threaten no one. They destroy no cities and demand no sacrifices. They are merely irritating. — That's actually a pretty good definition of adulthood. Once they had finished eating, Aldric began clearing the table. — I can do that. — You cooked. — We cooked. — You were in charge of the preparation. — I stirred a sauce. — You also chose the ingredients.

Emma raised both hands. — All right. I'll let you win this battle. He carried the plates into the kitchen while she packed the remaining pasta into a container. Once the kitchen had been tidied up, Emma sat down on the couch and picked up the remote. — One episode? Aldric checked the time. — I still have enough time before the last metro. Emma started The Walking Dead, which they had begun watching a few weeks earlier. Aldric sat down at the opposite end of the couch.

The episode opened with several survivors entering an abandoned building. — Why didn't they secure the secondary exits before going inside? — You know, most people watching this scene are wondering whether a zombie is about to appear. Besides, otherwise the episode would only last ten minutes... — That justification is not logical. — For television, it is. A few minutes later, one of the characters decided to split off from the group. — That decision is clearly dangerous. — Yes. — Why are the others allowing it?

— Because they need something to happen to him. — They know something is going to happen to him? — No, the characters don't know. The writers do. — So the writers are responsible for their poor decisions. Emma burst out laughing. — In a way. He turned his attention back to the screen. When a noise echoed behind the character, the man called out loudly to ask if anyone was there. — That question is unnecessary. — Why? — Because an enemy will not answer honestly. — Perhaps he is polite.

— That would be unusual behavior. Halfway through the episode, the main character refused to tell his companions a secret in order to protect them. — He should share the information, Aldric said. — He wants to keep them out of danger. — A lack of information generally increases the danger. — I agree. — Then why is this approach used so often? — Because people sometimes find it difficult to talk. — That seems to create a great many unnecessary problems. — Yes. Very often.

The episode continued until the group finally uncovered part of the truth. When the credits rolled, Aldric nodded. — These events could have been avoided by a conversation lasting less than five minutes. — Welcome to almost every television series. Emma turned off the television. She checked the time and realized it was later than she had thought. — You should get going if you don't want to end up running to the metro. Aldric stood up. — I can still reach the station without any difficulty.

— I know, but I'd rather not see you sprint across Paris as if an army were chasing you. — I no longer run through the streets without necessity. — That's real progress... He picked up his jacket and his phone while Emma walked with him to the front door. She opened it, then leaned against the doorframe as he put on his shoes. For a moment, neither of them spoke. There had been nothing extraordinary about the evening. They had gone grocery shopping, cooked dinner, and watched an episode of a television series.

Yet Emma had no desire for the evening to end. Aldric straightened up and picked up his bag. — Thank you for the meal. — You cooked half of it. — Thank you for inviting me. — My pleasure. He took a step into the hallway before turning back. — Good night, Emma. — Good night, Aldric. He smiled at her before heading toward the stairs. Emma remained by the doorway until he disappeared from sight. She listened to the sound of his footsteps for a few more seconds before quietly closing the door.

Emma returned to the living room and looked at the two glasses still resting on the table. A smile spread across her face. Outside, Aldric headed toward the metro with the very same feeling. The night was peaceful. The streets were still lively, but nothing reminded him of the battlefields he had crossed for so many years. A few cars drove by. People laughed as they left a nearby restaurant. Farther down the street, a musician played a quiet melody on the sidewalk.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ MAIN QUEST COMPLETE Learn to Live in the Modern World Objectives Completed Find a Home Find Stable Employment Earn Your First Salary Make Your First Friend Be Invited to Someone's Home Invite Someone to Your Home Share a Meal TITLE UNLOCKED Citizen ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━