Gift of the Goddess

Chapter 88 - Sharpening blades

I sat back in my seat and watched the roaring fire in the middle of the table. Examining the slow roast of my pork, hoping I wasn't gonna burn it.

"When you said barbeque, this isn't exactly what I had in mind," I said and started to poke at my meat.

"Have you never been to a Korean barbecue before?" Penelope asked, and immediately stuffed her face with shrimp. "Mmmm."

"Nope, I've kind of just acquired finances, so places like these are a whole new experience for me." I replied.

I plucked my pork off and set it on the bowl of rice. Then I grabbed a few of the folded eggs and put them in a bowl.

"Did your family go here often?" I asked.

She shook her head and swallowed.

"Nope, it was one of the first places I went to when I would sneak out."

I blinked a few times.

"Why did you sneak out?"

"Well, my parents were always busy with business trips. Plus they didn't like me eating anything that could make me fat, I had to always be perfect for the Balls and such. Plus! I'm technically allowed to cook here!" She giggled and started to eat some of her side salad.

Business trips and Balls? She must've been rich.

"Were you not allowed to cook back home?" I asked and put a steak on the fire.

"Nope, they were scared I'd burn myself, or mess everything up.." She mumbled and set her bowl down.

"I take it they don't know what you're out here doing?"

She shook her head.

"As soon as my gifts came in, I built myself a suit and left." Her chipper tone faded as she spoke.

Her smile faltered and she moved to cook more meat.

"Did you have any friends back home? People who'd miss you?"

She shook her head again.

"I never really had friends. The maids homeschooled me, and the other kids at the ball used to make fun of me for being a geek. So I was on my own a lot."

I flipped my steak over and nodded. It makes sense now why she'd be so quick to join Jormungand.

"Well, I'm glad I can be your friend. You've already shown me to a pretty awesome place."

That put a small smile on her face.

"I'm sorry for...what I did with Jormungand.." She mumbled and started toying with her meat.

"Hey, you're working to atone for that. There's no reason to apologize again. Just keep doing what you're doing."

She smiled and nodded.

"So, tell me about your abilities, what is it you can do exactly?" I asked and flipped my steak over.

She looked back into my eyes, and I could see her body relax a little bit more.

"As you know, I'm a technomancer. I can communicate with technology."

"So what does that mean exactly?"

"Well, think of me as a computer virus."

"You're gonna have to dumb that down for me, I'm tech illiterate."

"Well, A computer virus is a type of computer program that replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. So once I put in my code, it usually grants me mental access to it."