As I said before, we deal with the perils of part time jobbing, as Cain (doesn't) bond with a certain catgirl. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this!

*Chapter 8: Part Time Problems*

In my first life, I was known as a model commissar. A Hero of the Imperium. I purged heretics, broke ork invasions, cleansed planets of Tyranids and thwarted the dastardly plans of the Ruinous Powers. Armies marched at my word. Entire sectors of planets sang my praises.

"We've got fish for sale! Up to forty percent off just for today!"

I wouldn't want to know what those people would think if they saw Ciaphas Cain, Hero of the Imperium, standing in the middle of a crowd of abhumans looking after a tiny shop alongside a halo-crowned catgirl.

As we agreed, the Foreclosure Task Force and I split up in teams of two for regular patrols, researching the weapons we obtained and making what headway we could on repaying the debt. Shiroko and Hoshino patrolled both the populated and deserted areas of the district and Ayane was looking into the confiscated weapons under Nonomi's watchful eye and the protection of her own very big gun. This of course left me to be paired with the girl who distrusted me the most out of the entire squad.

She insisted with an angry glare that she could do her jobs on her own, of course. I acquiesced, because my main contribution here was for making sure she didn't get picked off the street by roving bands of helmetheads. If she wanted to do more work for me, she could be my guest.

That changed when we arrived at the job site. We took a train to one of the more populated areas of Abydos, a market district that had perhaps two hundred or so people wandering the streets. Not very much for a market district, but certainly more than I could expect from Abydos. Sand was still prevalent here and there, but because it was further from the desert it was far more manageable, and there were more people. Because this was Abydos, I saw no students, so I was the only full humanoid there. All around there were cats, dogs and robots of countless shapes and sizes, and it took a conscious effort not to be unsettled by it all. Worse still, merely standing around under the hot sun was taxing, and as someone forcibly conditioned to the cold by many deployments accompanying Valhallan regiments, this was especially unpleasant. It all made for a very trying experience, to say the least. Still, I weathered it in amicable silence, if only to prevent any complaints from my irritable companion.

The job was helping a cream colored cat sell some fish from her stall. Very unusual that she wasn't hoarding that for herself, but I suppose a cat would know quality fish, and I imagine those would be quite a treasure here in the desert regions. Her usual helper was her husband, but he fell sick and her son was the one who was looking after him in the hospital. The lady thus commissioned some help and Serika just happened to pick it up. With how crowded the market was, there was no real place for me to just loiter and relax, so against both of our wills we were forced to work together to help promote the store.

You'd think a two-for-one deal such as that would be a steal for her, but our performance so far proved otherwise. A good number of people were staring at me, unwilling to approach, and I was resigned to the idea of being blamed for scaring away customers and tanking sales. As I was thinking of ways to get out of this, perhaps by hauling some goods behind the store or even desperately resorting to accounting, I was unexpectedly brought out of my thoughts by someone bumping into my chainsword's scabbard.

I snapped my head towards the unusual contact and raised my eyes to see that it was a child who bumped into me. A canine child (pup?) to be exact, with apricot fur, a black nose and tiny ears.

It was surreal to look at him, fully clothed as a human child was. Even as he waggled his head to shake off the impact on my scabbard, he attempted to be polite. "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention, I was-"

When he saw me, he froze. He barely reached my waist, and in order to look at me he had to stare up. I suppose bumping into a large specimen such as myself, one so much bigger than him that I could shade him from the sun, wasn't a pleasant experience. It didn't help that I had the dark colors of the commissar on me. Even divested of the greatcoat, I made for an intimidating figure to many, let alone to a child.

If he cried, this business would be dead on its feet, and my reputation would be buried with it. So despite the fact that this entire situation was incredibly surreal, I knelt down and found myself consoling an abhuman puppy. "No harm done. Are you alright there?"

"Oh, n-no, I'm fine," Probably surprised by the fact that I went down to his level, the idea of crying was suddenly replaced by sheer confusion.

"Well and good," I replied automatically. I looked around to find that the crowd had stopped all activity and were staring at me. When they noticed me staring, they immediately started moving again, though the suspicious amount of silence from neighboring stalls and the amount of time they were spending… well, NOT spending money definitely wasn't fooling me.

"Hey, what's going on there?" Serika checked on me due to my strange actions from her perspective when she noticed the child beside me. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously on me. "Hey, what did you do with the kid?" Truly, the trust between teacher and student was a bond to last the ages.

"He bumped into me," I replied calmly. "Or rather my weapon. I was just making sure he's alright."

"He's not lying!" the little pup joined in, shaking his hands to calm down the feline at my side. "I wasn't paying attention."

"Alright then…" Serika clearly still thought ill of me, but was willing to trust the child at least. She looked around and noticed someone missing. "Hey, are you on your own? Where are your parents?"

The pup put his hands behind has back and looked down in shame. "I lost my mom… I dunno where she is…"

"Dear me, Yuuta, is that you?" Our client suddenly spoke up from behind her counter.

"Auntie, I lost mom," the apparently named Yuuta whimpered. "I dunno where she is…"

"Oh dear, that simply won't do." She stood up and made her way out from the stall. "Kuromi, was it? You come with me and help me find the poor boy's mother. Yuta will stay here with Sensei over there."

"Really? I don't mind helping, but what about the stall?"

"Bah, we weren't making many sales anyway. A few minutes of profit we won't make is worth it for the boy."

Hmm. She was quite delicate. She was well within her rights to say I lost her those profits, yet she didn't put it to words at all. She patted the little pup on the head. "You stay here and be a brave boy, alright Yuta? The nice man will keep you company."

"'Kay…" he sniffed. So "fighting like cats and dogs" probably isn't a saying in this world. Didn't expect to learn that little tidbit. The cat-lady began walking off and after shooting me one last hesitant look, Serika went with her. Now, it was just me, alone in the middle of a crowd of abhumans with a child in tow.

Somehow I was the weird one here. Where did my life go so wrong? Oh, right, it went pear-shaped all the way back during Desolatia, and then it went wrong again when it ended. Not for the first time I wondered if the Emperor was having a bit too much fun with my life and decided to extend that little prank into my afterlife.

"Uh, mister?"

I looked down to see the boy fidgeting in place, curiosity taking over his body but his mind holding him back. I tilted my head in askance to encourage him. "Yes?"

"What's the thing I bumped into? It was pretty hard."

Well, I suppose if you bumped into something, you'd want to know exactly what it was. Goodness, my chainsword has been doing quite a lot of work as a conversation piece, hasn't it? "It's my chainsword."

"Chain… Sword?" The young boy repeated.

"It's a chainsaw, but it's a sword," I enlightened him with a smile, not a hint of derision in my mind. He was a child. It was no fault of his own if he needed a simple explanation for things not even the adults here would know.

"A chainsaw sword…" Yuuta's eyes shot open. "Wait, auntie called you Sensei, didn't she? You're the Sensei that saved the entire city!"

"I did play my part in it," I answered modestly, as I usually did. I suppose it made sense my chainsword would catch more eyes. My laspistol would be a bit hard to discern in the heat of battle and these people are hardly strangers to firearms but melee combat was another thing entirely. The entire point of the chainsword was to be seen, heard and feared, and ripping through a tank did tend to emphasize all three

"Wow…" For a brief moment, his amazement overcame his glumness of the situation, then segued into more curiosity. "But wait, why are you all the way out here, standing around and working for Auntie?"

Oh little talking puppy, I ask myself questions like that everyday. Despite my internal moanings however, inspiration stirred through my mind. I had to suppress a smile. An opportunity revealed itself, as decisive as an opening in any duel I had before. I just had to seize it.

"You saw that girl who went with your auntie to help look for your mother?" I inclined my head in the direction the pair went. "She's a student of the Abydos Academy. She's taking on plenty of part-time jobs so she can gain money and help pay off a debt." I put on an air of sorrow. "It recently came under siege and she had to fight very hard to protect it alongside her friends, and they called me for help. All that fighting meant she and her friends couldn't get as much money."

"Really?!" The pup looked in the same direction I did, and I could easily picture the wonder on his face. "She's incredible…"

"She is," I mused, and I wasn't putting as much of a show on there. Taking on the impossible duty of trying to protect this district from both the natural and financial threats that looked to destroy it was a pitiful job, but persevering through it took fortitude and a sense of responsibility that would have made even the Adeptus Astartes proud. "They all are. It's impossibly hard, but she and her friends have chosen that path. As a teacher, I have to support them however I can." Not much I can do in that regard, but everyone seems to be deluded into thinking otherwise, so it's up to me to stumble upon a halfway decent solution, however unlikely that may be.

At the very least, I was helping here. Even if they were trying very hard not to show it, and quite a few of them weren't trying very hard at all, I had a captive audience listening to me.

"That really does sound hard… It sounds like they need a lot of help."

"Quite a lot," I thought out loud. Really, the boy had a promising future in advertising or even comedy. His setups were immaculate. "Any little bit they get would mean a lot to them."

"Yuuta!"

The cry alerted us to my companions' success in finding the child's mother. The woman had fairer features and of course was far taller as an adult, but with the exact same fur color and facial shape there was little mistaking her for anyone else.

"Mom!" The young pup was scooped up by his mother and held in her warm embrace.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright." She turned to me and, with her son now safe, any hesitation for talking to me seemed to leave her mind. "You're Cain Sensei, correct? Thank you so much for looking after him. "

"It was nothing," I dissembled myself gracefully. "He merely bumped into me. Our client and my student played a much bigger role in your reunion, and he was great company." Talking to him certainly beat being treated like a circus freak while sweltering under the desert sun, even if he didn't provide the opportunity we needed to change things up.

"Don't think much of it!" Our feline boss said cheerily. "It was no problem at all."

"Well, as long as things worked out." Despite herself, Serika couldn't help but smile at the sight. She looked confused when Yuuta's eyes met her own. The gears in the boy's head began to turn, and then he did everything I hoped for.

"Uh, mom…" he hesitated at first but forged on. "I think I want fish today."

The mother chuckled at her son's poorly disguised attempt at gratitude and took it in good spirit. "But of course dear. Whatever you want." She turned to our client. "What would you recommend?"

"Well, we got ourselves a fine shipment of salmon and tuna if you're willing to spend the money, but we've got good haddock and cod to keep your wallet heavier too…"

"I think I'd like some!"

"I feel like it too!"

Where before people were avoiding the shop because I was there, my little display with the pup guilt tripped them into supporting us. As people lined up to receive orders, Serika was utterly flabbergasted by the complete reversal of our circumstances.

"What did you do while I was gone?" She asked with incredulity instead of suspicion this time.

"I kept a lost young boy company," I replied with a smile. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

We became the hottest store in the district and sold out in three hours. Due to her good mood and her pride at depleting her inventory, our client gave us a bonus and fattened our wallets with a fine 30000 yen.

In my humble opinion, we made out like bandits, and I patted myself on the back for our effort. Despite that, Serika didn't talk to me much on the train ride back, focusing on counting the money and keeping it safe. Or so she would have me believe, and once again I noted the dazed stares she was giving me.

She didn't know what to think of me. That was fine. She didn't need to like me anyway.

The main district was quite different my second time there. Because there were no gangs, there were a handful of people roaming the streets and shops were opening up to provide services to the few customers that came. I checked the time and noted that it was 1:00pm, a good time for a late lunch. I pointed this out to Serika and she merely scoffed at me.

"Are you kidding me? Now's a great time to work service jobs. I'm not giving this one up. I can eat later."

I suppose she had a point. "So where are you going to be working?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Why do you want to know? You can eat lunch on your own somewhere else."

I gave her the gimlet eye. "Because I remember agreeing that we needed to be paired up."

She flinched at my point, and since she was a girl of her word she sighed. "Fine… But don't tell anyone else about it." I raised a dubious eye at her proposition. Considering that if an emergency happened I would be putting her location on full blast, this didn't really sound feasible, but I inclined my head forward in acknowledgement, neither assenting to or denying her request.

She seemed to accept that, and she wordlessly led me on through the sandy roads until we ended up at her work place. When I looked at its name, I had to suppress the instinct for my eyes to twitch when I saw it.

Oh dear.

"This is Shiba Seki Ramen," she began, completely oblivious to the inner turmoil I was feeling. "I had a job here for a bit before the siege happened, and the Master was happy to take me back the moment I was ready."

Well, that explained a few things. "I see," was all I told her.

"It'll be weird if you just sit around, but maybe you can patrol the area and just stay nearby. People might be wary if you just come in on your own." She then glared at me. "Do NOT tell this to the others, got it?"

"I guarantee they won't hear it from me." I rarely did this, but I said this to her from the bottom of my heart. Taken by my honesty, she nodded and went inside.

Once she was out of sight, I couldn't help but finally release the smirk I'd be holding in as I took out my smartphone and checked the message I got from Hoshino. Notably, instead of sending it to our group chat for the Foreclosure Task Force, she sent me a personal message. In it, she revealed her plans for lunch.

Yo Sensei! Since it's gonna be lunch soon, I think it'll be fun if we all eat together. There's this neat place I found called Shiba Seki Ramen that's near the school. We should try it out!

Oh, and don't tell Serika ;)

I sent back my reply, the smile never leaving my face. Whatever happened during lunch, it was going to be absolutely priceless.

—-

"Welcome to Shiba Seki Ramen, how many are in your party?"

"Five," I answered with a straight face.

"Alright then, right this wa-"

I'll give this place some credit: They knew how to pick the help. The waitress was prompt in attending to us and greeted us with a polite smile. Though perhaps I was biased.

Any place that could make Serika unironically greet me with cheer and brightness was worth something in my book. That they could then follow that with making her react with abject horror at the fact that she was serving me, accompanied by all her friends in the FTF, was a feat worthy of an Imperial commendation.

"Yallo, Serika, lookin' good!"

"Hey there, Serika-chan!"

"Haha, hello Serika…"

"Hey."

"What the HELL are you doing here?!" she all but screamed through grinding teeth. Her rage turned to me, glaring at me as though she could incinerate me through sheer force of anger.

"Hello, Serika," I beamed at her magnanimously. "We're here to support you in your work."

"I TOLD you not to tell them!" she grinded out through her teeth.

"I did no such thing, as promised," I told her, never changing my smile. I held up my smartphone, the damning text message sent by Hoshino displayed for all to see. She stared at it and her face fell, shame and embarrassment overcoming her.

"I can't believe you found out… This is the worst…"

"It'll be far worse for you if you don't bring them to their seats."

A deep baritone caught our attention, and I had to hold back a double take at who owned it. It was a canine of a breed I'd never seen in the Imperium, with two-tone fur of yellow and white. It was strange, despite being shorter than all of us, with me probably being nearly twice his height, he had an aura of maturity and experience that commanded respect. He was a mere chef clothed in a blue robe and white apron and a towel over his head, but the scars crossed on his cheek and over his right eye, his straight posture and the unflinching gaze of his black orbs lent him the air of a dignified warrior. This was only cemented when his said orbs fell upon me and seemed to recognize something when they did, before he turned back to his part-timer. "These are your classmates and your Sensei, Serika? Cut the chit-chat and sit them down, as you would any other customer."

"Y-yes Master Shiba." I noted that she specifically said Master in Gothic. Interesting. Despite herself, Serika forced herself to recover and acted as a server once more, bowing and gesturing to our tables. "Right this way, everyone, I'll take you to your seats." The change in demeanor was only emphasized more by her change in outfit. Her hair was unchanged, but to prevent it from falling into the food, it was held in place by a white towel, which was the first thing to catch my eye. Gone was the uniform of Abydos. Her shoes were the same, but her jacket was replaced by a simple black dress tied with a blue ribbon, the waist covered by a blue skirt bearing the establishment's logo, secured by a white cloth. Her customized Beretta AR-70/223 "Sincerity", (certainly an ironic name from this confused feline) was nowhere to be seen, likely because it would be difficult to take orders and give meals with an autogun strapped to her shoulders. Instead, a black pouch on her waist held a simple white stub pistol, although how effective that would be against the citizens here was questionable. Then again, there weren't any students, so perhaps it would suffice.

Making our way to the tables, I took note of the restaurant. While the walls seemed to be made of painted cement, the rest of it was constructed with wood. The floors, the support beams, the counter and even windows and furniture were all made with different types of wood, which combined with the bulbous red lanterns gave the restaurant a traditional atmosphere whose simplicity invited people to keep coming back again. The centerpiece was what seemed to be the bar, which had chairs and a counter with enough space for food. Behind the counter was the kitchen, with a sink, stoves and gigantic pots, the few traces of metal I could see in the store. I couldn't see what the bowls and pots held, they smelled appetizing enough. Indeed, the pleasant aroma of street food wafted through the restaurant, and I meant that in the best way possible. The noble may swear by their prohibitively expensive gourmet tastes, and I have indulged in such things, but sometimes a hole-in-the-wall could match even the highest class of fine dining.

The place wasn't full, but there were three other tables with multiple people eating at them plus five at the bar counter, so it seemed to be doing well enough. The customers did stop eating when they heard the commotion and regarded me in particular among the girls, but hunger overtook curiosity and they went back to their meals. I noted the sound of slurping around the tables, and wondered if everyone here was a messy eater like Jurgen was.

We were taken to one of the booths, with two wooden benches enclosing a table. On the wall beside it were racks capable of holding all our weapons except for Nonomi's, who gave her rotor cannon over to Serika for safekeeping in the back. Shiroko and Hoshino placed their weapons on the wall while I hung my chainsword by its scabbard. I sat closest to the aisle with Shiroko beside me and Hoshino on the other end, while Nonomi and Ayane sat opposite to Hoshino and me.

"Gotta say Serika, I didn't think you were into this stuff!" Hoshino eyed her embarrassed prey with a thin-lidded stare and a teasing voice that made her more cat-like than her first year junior ever did. "Came here just because of the uniform?"

"N-no I didn't!" Serika crossed her arms over herself defensively. "It's because we're regulars here and Master allowed me to come back here and work!"

"Well, Master is pretty cool," Hoshino acknowledged. Naturally, that brief respite was followed by even more playing around with Serika. "Helps that he gave you a pretty cute uniform though! Bet I could make a pretty penny if I sold pictures of you in that getup!"

"Just shut up and ORDER ALREADY!" Serika raged at her senior, who took the outburst without flinching and merely leaned forward.

"I think what you mean to say is 'May I have your order, customers?'" For all her laziness, Hoshino took making herself an annoyance down to an art. Those waggling eyebrows would be trying enough to anger saints.

"Hoshino, please… Just spare her," Ayane chastised her senior, an ineffective request when she herself was smiling.

Serika's eye twitched as she handed us each a blue clipboard that held the menu, then brandished a pencil and notepad. "So, may I have your order, customers?" she said with courtesy that did not, to her credit, sound forced at all.

"I'll have chashu!"

"I'll have shio."

"Miso ramen, please."

"Gimme a special miso with extra chashu!"

Given the speed at which they gave their orders, the other four were clearly regulars here, and waiting for the menu was little more than a formality and an opportunity for Hoshino to tick her off. Nonomi got a pork dish, Shiroko got a dish based on salt, Ayane ordered one based on that delicious miso that I often partook of and Hoshino helped herself to an extravagant combination. When they noticed that I was still going over the menu, Hoshino patted me on the back. "You can order whatever looks good to you Sensei! Shiba Seki Ramen is one of the few good restaurants left in Abydos, and you'll get your money's worth no matter what!"

"I should hope so, given that I'm paying," I joked. Serika once favored me with a skeptical look.

"You're paying for all this?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Why shouldn't I? I have money to spare." I'll give the President credit, she made sure I wouldn't be living in squalor while I was here. Between the funds set aside for SCHALE, my own stipend and the initial reward money gained from saving the city, the profits gained from the services provided by the building and the fact that I was still earning passive income from said services even now, I had a sizable budget. Certainly not enough to solve the debt even if I threw all of it at their money-grubbing loan sharks, but enough that I could easily live comfortably so long as I did my job and didn't waste it on luxuries. "Unless you're saying that it would be fine if I made any of you cover the bill on my behalf." Oh yes, the new teacher on the block, responsible for heading his own extrajudicial organization, had his tab picked up by the students of the school in horrific amounts of debt. What a shining addition to my resume that would be.

"I guess so…" Serika grudgingly acknowledged. "So what are you having?"

I looked down at the menu again. It had no pictures, merely giving names and prices to whatever dish they had.

"Man, these look so appetizing!" The childish voice echoed in my head. "Can I have some?!"

"... If it tastes good." I groaned in my mind. I'd have to pretend to like whatever I get here, because it'll be a little difficult justifying repeat orders if I looked like I hated the food. Let's just hope I'll like what I'll eat. Out loud, I looked to Serika once more. "I'll be honest, I'm still not sure. Do you have any recommendations as a regular?"

She didn't expect me to rely on her expertise, taken aback as she was from my question. "Well…"

"I knew it."

A ragged voice came in from behind Serika, the shop's Master walking over to me and looking me in the eye.

"Master?" Serika said in Gothic once more. Probably a cultural tradition.

"You've never had ramen before, have you?"

As one, the girls all turned to me in surprise. I had to admit, I certainly shared their expression. This canine abhuman had me pegged. "Quite so," I admitted. I wondered if he was this observant on all things or if it had to do with his occupation. I dearly hoped it was the latter. "I've never had it, never even heard of it."

"Really Sensei?!" Hoshino looked at me in shock. "Where the heck are you from that you've never even heard of ramen?!"

"Not from Kivotos," I answered smoothly.

"Bah, that's not what I meant and you know it…" whined the lazy pink hair.

"Start you off with the basics then," the Master declared. "Tonkotsu for you. You ever used chopsticks before?"

"I have not," I admitted once again, though I was less hesitant about this little secret since our meal would have revealed that anyway. Said utensils, a pair of blunt wooden sticks longer than my finger, came free with my convenience store meals, though they also offered spoons and forks if you so desired, an option which I favored every time. It still didn't stop the girls from being shocked though.

"Oh man, you definitely aren't anywhere near here…"

"Try it out then. Guarantee it'll taste better with chopsticks than a spoon and fork." Well, I certainly couldn't deny a suggestion like that, not with such a commanding tone of an expert chef. Or a "master" chef, as it were. He looked to the rest of the girls. "Anything else to go with your orders?"

"Uhhh…" They all looked to me, and then back to the master. "Gyoza, for appetizers."

The dog nodded approvingly. "A good start. Water for you all, since you'll be working this afternoon?" The man definitely knew his customers, I'll give him that, and none of us denied his assertion. "As I expected." He turned his piercing gaze to his part-timer. "You took this all down, right?"

Serika flinched at the order and immediately did as the Master asked, her pen barely visible as it flew across the notepad . "S-Sorry Master! Adding one tonkotsu, a round of gyoza and five orders of water."

"Good. I'll be back in twenty minutes. Serika, bring up the rest of the orders."

"Yes!"

The two went to the counter-kitchen, leaving me to deal with the incredibly interested mob staring at me with naked anticipation.

"Well, well, well, this lunch just got a lot more interesting!" Hoshino grinned as she cupped her chin in her hand. "I wonder what we should ask of our mysterious Sensei?"

"Oh dear, what indeed?" I rolled my eyes good-naturedly, as if amused at their inquisitiveness, but I was nowhere near such pleasantness in my mind. I didn't want to reveal anything about the Imperium if I had my way. From what I could glean so far they had satellite technology due to the networks that aided phones and the internet, but I saw no evidence of even dedicated space travel. Enlightening them of the advanced technology of the Imperium, or really anything about my "home", was a prospect I was hesitant to consider, and certainly not in the middle of so public a place as a restaurant.

"Cain Sensei didn't seem to want to talk about where he's from Hoshino," Shiroko pointed out from beside me. "We can't force him if he doesn't want to."

"It would be a poor way to repay how much he's done for us," Ayane joined her.

Inwardly, I thanked the two for their consideration, and the sigh coming from Hoshino's mouth meant she was forced to let it go. "Man, of course you'd take his side… Taking my little juniors away so quickly, you're pretty dangerous Sensei."

"Why don't we ask him something else then?" Nonomi suggested. "Ooh, I know! Since he doesn't know about ramen, why don't we ask him about the food he ate instead?"

Simple enough. That topic ought to be less of a minefield if I didn't talk about any species and just gave general dishes. "Well, I ate dishes like steaks, meat pies, pastries, stews, vegetables…"

"Ohhhh, so that's what you eat," Hoshino leaned back on her part of the booth, hands behind her head. "That sounds pretty normal. I was almost expecting to learn that you eat like an alien!"

"Well, I imagine being taught by one would be interesting," I joined in her ribbing, trying to move away from that technically accurate statement. Emperor, these girls could make me sweat without even trying.

"Did you do your own cooking or did you have someone else do it for you?" Nonomi wondered next.

"Generally someone else," I began. "I did have a personal aide who did most of my cooking, and if I was meeting with others I would leave the cooking to them." I shrugged in embarrassment. Rather ironic really, Jurgen was generally a planet or two away from the concept of personal hygiene, but he was quite good in the kitchen and could make a mean bowl of tanna (which I sorely, desperately missed). He washed before he cooked and didn't touch anybody else's utensils, so that was good enough. "My own talent for cooking is… less than adequate." More of a scavenger really, what with military campaigns and being a hiver. Life scavenging in an underhive demanded that you knew how to at least purify whatever unmentionables you had to subsist on, so I could work the kitchen well enough to boil a pot. I knew the basics, but I would not consider myself a chef in the slightest.

"Sounds like you were living the high life," Hoshino mused. "Were you someone big?"

"I suppose you could say that." An understatement, but I'd prefer to keep it that way. "I was a commissar. A political officer. I was assigned to various regiments of soldiers in order to keep discipline and order, bolster morale and generally help in keeping things running smoothly." Also give traitors and heretics a taste of the Emperor's wrath, but as so many were kept in the dark about the particulars of that duty back in the Imperium, so would I do the same here. I already told the high-ranking students in other schools that information, so this wouldn't exactly rank among my deepest, darkest secrets, though ironically, common knowledge in the Imperium did now.

"Regiments?! You looked after so many people!" Ayane's eyes boggled in disbelief.

"I generally wasn't assigned to so many people at once," I corrected her. "Either we were assigned to a particular regiment over a period of time, or we would be given specific missions to deal with that would have us aid in the forces already assigned there." All with the common thread of bringing me to the edge of death, increasing my reputation when I survived, and throwing me into ever more dangerous adventures afterwards. Repeat the cycle ad nauseum until I somehow died of old age instead… And ended up in this den of anarchy where I have to do it all over again.

I have STILL not taken my "chaos theory" out of consideration.

"So how many people did you usually deal with, Cain Sensei?"

"On average?" Given that I served with the 597th the longest… "About a thousand, give or take a few hundred or so."

That number certainly surprised the rest of the table, with various expressions of awe and surprise at the figure. "Wow! You looked after so many people Sensei! Just dealing with us must be a walk in the park!"

Oh, if only Nonomi. Given that I barely had a reputation here, I was facing two citywide crises and my only support was five incredibly (to be extremely generous) eccentric students of questionable sanity? It was easier facing the Orks in Perlia.

"How could you deal with them all?" Poor Ayane pleaded with me, knowing of the difficulty far too well. I could certainly see why she was so interested in that particular duty. By virtue of her restraint, herding this nest of headless chickens was her job.

"I gave a good first impression, focused everyone on the task at hand and made an example of myself." Which basically translated to letting my reputation do the heavy lifting and then having my enemies do the rest by showing the price of failure, all while pretending to be the model commissar that people thought I was. It was only hard the first few times, then later years made the simple task of surviving another day while keeping my image pristine a task difficult enough to make up for it.

"Oh, I see." Ayane tried (and failed) to not show her disappointment, but that was one thing I couldn't help her with. Sorry to disillusion you little pointy-eared operator, but your clubmates are a different beast entirely. I'm a fake Hero, not a miracle worker.

"So how did you go from being a commissar to a teacher?" Shiroko asked me.

"After a while, they decided my skills were put to better use training future commissars rather than being one," I answered easily. Simple enough to do when you were getting on in years. "So I got myself a job teaching commissar cadets. That involved training them in tactics and several other fields, which included taking them into battle if need be."

"Just like you're doing now, huh." Hoshino cupped her chin, seeming strangely inquisitive about the idea. "I guess that's why the President asked for you before she went missing."

I tried to hide my discomfort at Hoshino's sudden curiosity, a feeling that was justified when she followed up with a far more problematic question. "So why did you leave?"

A good question indeed. Why would I leave an easy job teaching cadets to deal with this chaotic city? All people knew was that the President set up SCHALE and left me in charge. What kind of motives would people infer from that sequence of events?

Better to nip this problem in the bud. Through my life I'd deceived, and so would I in my afterlife.

And why not do that by telling the truth?

"I felt like I'd done all I could," I began with an air of melancholy. Hard not to feel when you were dying and most of your old students were cherished commissars already. "I'd taught my little boys and girls everything they needed. The President heard of me and made an offer I couldn't refuse." By virtue of never having heard the damn offer in the first place.

"I was given the chance to help more students again. I couldn't think of anything else to do."

Because what other choice did I have in this damn city anyway?

No questions came after that. I didn't know how long we'd been silent, but we were given a timely interruption of our first orders slamming down hard on the table in front of us.

"Your appetizers. Gyoza for everyone." Serika greeted us with a stiff smile, following up our appetizers with placing napkins and our utensils. "Enjoy."

My interrupted recollection of my circumstances meant that I couldn't read her before she left. All I knew was that she was grumpy, but I didn't know why. Bah. I had more important things to worry about.

I took in the sight of the food in front of me, three pieces of a strange pale dish in the shape of a rough crescent, ridged in the curved area. It smelled of meat, pork if I was smelling it right. It was accompanied by a dark black soy sauce common to other dishes I'd seen back in the convenience store. I was given no spoon or fork, only the chopsticks wrapped together by a thin strip of black paper. Looks like I'd have to learn. As if to emphasize this, all the girls clapped their hands together in a prayer position instead of beginning to eat. "Itadakimasu!"

It seemed to be a pre-meal ritual of giving thanks for the food. Despite me being alone in not participating, they didn't question it, apparently content with the answers I'd given already. Instead of joining their tradition, I merely took off my left glove and placed it in my pocket. I refrained from taking off my right, a fact which escaped no one's notice.

"Sensei, you might get that dirty," Ayane cautioned me.

"True enough," I acknowledged. "But I have an injury here. I'd rather not show anyone." It wouldn't be that much harder to eat either. I'd eaten with my right hand both gloved and unshod at my leisure, with the only deciding factor being the outfit I was wearing and the company I was with. The only protection my gloves offered here was keeping the secret of my augmetic fingers, which, to be fair, was significant enough protection in my book.

"Man, you can't even show us what your hand looks like?" Hoshino stared at my crimson-covered hand like I was keeping a sacred relic from her.

"Consider it another one of my many secrets," I replied with an enigmatic smile.

A smug voice made its unpleasantness known in my head. "Hehe, it's something that I know that they don't!" You don't get to act like that, you literally had to scan my body to find out and you don't even know how or why it happened.

I distracted myself from the bragging by focusing on the table. As I placed my hands on the chopsticks, I heard the familiar soft voice of my usual guide.

"This is how you use chopsticks, Sensei." Shiroko removed the chopsticks from the black paper, revealing that they were somehow stuck together. Perhaps they were cut that way? Whatever the method, she easily split them apart. She then held them in a peculiar manner using her thumb, forefinger and middle finger. She demonstrated how she opened them up and pinched down with them, showing how I was supposed to pick up my food. She then secured a piece of gyoza in between the two sticks, dipped them in the sauce and bit off half of it. She closed her eyes in delight, and I noted her ears twitching in pleasure as well.

I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to that.

"Now why don't you try, Cain Sensei?" Nonomi encouraged me with interest. Despite calling me the Sensei, she sounded more like a mother or a kindergarten teacher watching children eat their first meal.

"Very well." I readied my chopsticks by removing them from the paper and detaching them from each other, and then Shiroko helpfully demonstrated the grip to me again. It was a little difficult trying to get used to it with my glove, but I managed a haphazard imitation eventually. "Thank you," I told her gratefully as I made an attempt on the food. It felt like anything in my grasp would slip if I didn't hurry, so I had to lean down to quickly take a bite before placing the food back in its dish.

I didn't expect it to be quite so delicious. The pork, spices and the vegetables were complimented perfectly by the crust outside. I savored the taste despite my initial swift bite, then endeavored to go for a second round. This time, I dipped it in the provided soy sauce, and despite the near-slip I managed to finagle it in.

I was rewarded with a simple umami tang that enhanced the flavor immensely, and I would definitely say I was looking forward to the rest.

"Not perfect, but it's good enough,!" Hoshino cheered me on. "So? How was it?"

"Consider myself properly appetized," was my positive reply.

"It's good that you like it, Cain Sensei!" Nonomi continued happily as she started on her own dishes. "Time to eat!"

And eat we did, at a fine pace that left no room for discussion, but clearly accounted for by our master chef. Right when we satisfied ourselves with our first course, our main orders came in by Serika's hands.

"Ramen bowls here. Enjoy."

So they were noodle dishes in soups, with a sundry of toppings to match. My own tonkotsu ramen had eggs, seaweed, and pork meat. The flavors from all our different dishes mingled together in a heavenly aroma, and all of us were eager to dig in.

Since this was already a different beast from simply picking up dishes, I wordlessly deferred to Shiroko once again. She started out with using the now provided spoon, a ceramic crafting that was shorter yet wider than the usual cutlery for the purposes of holding soup, to take a sip of the broth. She then pinched a small helping of noodles and seemingly vacuumed them into her mouth, the slurping sound uncomfortably audible to my ears. She then ended with consuming some of her toppings, chicken meat this time instead of my own pork.

I wondered if that slurp was just Shiroko's occasional carelessness with food when Nonomi spoke up from across the table. "Slurping's an important part of ramen, Sensei! It tells the chef and everyone around you that you're really enjoying it!"

What an unusual cultural convention. I guess such a thing would be a good indicator of satisfaction with your meal. "It also helps cool the noodles as they enter your mouth, so you can try to eat them faster instead of waiting too long for it to cool," Ayane explained. Now that I could wrap my head around. Practicality leading to tradition, the basis for most rules in a polite society. "You could also put the noodles and toppings into the spoon if you want."

A fine suggestion, but I would try it with chopsticks as the master recommended. I tried following Shiroko's example and began with using my spoon to taste the soup. The warm, meaty flavor of pork bone broth invigorated my throat as it went down. It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed to get a small thread of noodles for me to slurp into my mouth, and the firm texture complimented the soup perfectly. I then ended with getting the pork into my mouth, which really put the whole thing together with a full-bodied, meaty finish.

"That explains why people are still here. This place is worth coming to even if the entire district collapsed."

My glowing praise was received fondly by the rest of the members, with Hoshino eagerly reaching for her spoon. "Hehe, Sensei's got the ramen bug now!"

With my initiation into the ways of chopsticks and ramen complete, the rest of the group began partaking of their own bowls. It was a veritable feast, as noisy and disorderly as eating alongside any regiment of guardsmen. Hunger replaced curiosity, the lack of proper meals since the day before combined with our endeavors for the morning leading to a focus on devouring our meals. I even experimented with using my spoon to take in my ramen, and I don't know what scientific principle or immaterial magic explained it, but eating it with chopsticks alone DID make it that noticeable little bit better. I suppose it was the same for those who swore finger foods did taste better when consumed by hand, though I wasn't going to try that theory on these greasy noodles.

Eventually, we were able to hold back from the food and focused on each other once again. This time though, inquiries into my past were exchanged for catching up on our shared present. Stories for the day, what progress we made, even exchanging orders so we could taste each other's meals. For just a little while, these children were able to ease their burdens and enjoy a regular day, eating a meal.

But not all of them.

Out from the corner of my eye, I could notice Serika looking upon us with a blank face, slowing her pace down just a bit. The Master did call her out a few times for that faux pas, quickly pushing her back to work, but from what little I learned of him I knew he'd ride her harder for such an error. He knew what was wrong as well.

Our eyes met. This would need to be addressed.

*Chapter 8: Part Time Problems, END*

So as you can see, our wayward commissar is starting to bond with these students, and they're getting to know him a little better. Different students will learn different things about him, and only by interacting with each other will they be able to form even an incomplete picture of the man.

Cain is also starting to learn a bit more about regular life in Kivotos, as much as there can be a regular "anything" in this chaotic city.

Cain's charisma and his way with words is just as much of a weapon as anything he has on his belt. Probably deadlier too in this city, since lasbolts and chainsword bashes are temporary, but a few words with extrajudcial authority and the bearing of a hero can change and ruin lives.

As for Arona, as I said I generally won't have her interrupt conversations between students, but sometimes, she gets excited. Let's just say our commissar will have a reputation for needing to work out for a (mistaken) reason.

There'll be more action next chapter, don't you worry. But for now, enjoy what little downtime Cain has. As usual, it won't last.