Crumbs on the Table [Erchanhardt, Himiko]

For the Holy Roman Emperor, there was a great deal of work which needed be done. His own lands had been mostly put into order, any significant unrest brought to heel through policy or through his own two fists. But, even if peace was present within his borders, that did not lessen the potential dangers from without. As such, Erchanhardt had taken something of a diplomatic journey, entering into Italy in the hopes that he might find some form of centralized authority.

He had, of course, not actually been expecting such a thing. Even if the government was nominally in place, the significant loss of infrastructure following Shadow Fall's disappearance meant that it was, at most, made up of smaller townships. That, however, was ultimately preferable for Erchanhardt. It of course made diplomacy far easier, if these lands had no immediate greater authority which needed appeasing. But, there was a second reason for his preference, one far more personal.

Really, it simply reminded him of his younger days, those times when Europe had seemed so very large.

Of course, those times were over now, and Erchanhardt found himself overlooking the Italian countryside with a cup of coffee in hand. The mug almost seemed undersized in his hand, but the comedy of that particular comparison tended to be lost on him. This was all simply a pleasant little day off, to enjoy whatever this country had to offer.

"Hm? Yes, I do suppose that I am."

That was certainly a method of greeting that Erchanhardt was not immediately used to, though it was also an observation that he was all too familiar with at this point in his life. Glancing over to the woman who had said it, he was a tad surprised to see several things. The first, quite obviously, would have been the ears and the tail that stuck out as quite peculiar. However, just as quickly he noticed that despite her commentary on his size, she was not exactly a woman of small stature herself.

"By all means, feel free."

Moving his assorted newspapers and the like closer to his own side of the table, Erchanhardt stood to pull out the other chair for her. It was honestly probably unnecessary, but that sort of etiquette wasn't something one simply forgot about over time, even if it had proven to be drastically less popular with the younger generations. If a woman looked to take a seat, you offered it to her. That was just basic courtesy.

"Ah, I am Erchanhardt. Might I ask the name of my company?"

He could have given her his full name and titleage, of course, but that wasn't immediately pertinent, and he wasn't the sort to offer it simply on the grounds that he could. This was a simple lunch, after all, and he would enjoy it as such.

"That is an unusual surname, though pleasant on the ears. What are the kanji used in it?"

He was fairly used to asking questions like that when he heard a Japanese name. After all, given how the language worked, Erchanhardt knew there was no reason to even attempt guessing the spelling, particularly of a name he'd not heard before.

"Ah, just here on a bit of business. Ensuring smooth international relations and the like, keeping an eye on the situation here."

It wasn't in his nature to immediately reveal the scope of his intentions here in Italy, of course, nor to make it clear just how much weight his decisions actually carried. Erchanhardt naturally was one to keep all options close, but more pressingly, this was just a peaceful conversation with a friendly young woman. He had no reason to inundate her with all of that.

"With the Gotei? I had not realized they were so active in this region of Europe, though I would certainly call that a blessing."

Though he naturally understood the fact that the word had exceptionally different connotations in the modern age than it had centuries prior, to say nothing of its meaning in his own youth, that nevertheless made Erchanhardt take a very brief moment of pause to collect himself. A date? That was certainly brazen of her, though he supposed that what she ultimately sought out of this lunch was not especially different from his own aims. With a slight chuckle at how he had taken the matter, Erchanhardt gave her a short nod in response.

"Very well. Then it is a date, I suppose."

"How responsible of you."

Her simple and lighthearted introductions were rather basic, though there was a certain charm to them that Erchanhardt rather liked. It seemed a fitting sort of conversation, given the simplicity of the small venue in which it was being held.

"I am from Konigsberg, in the north of Germany. I've not put much thought into my favorite color, though I suppose a deep read is rather appealing. My favorite food... Now that is a rather difficult question to ask. A good, hardy stew, I think."

Despite his position, Erchanhardt was a fairly simple man himself. He was not one for the extravagant feasts of the nobility, and in general, it was those meals he shared with his subjects that he found the most enjoyable.

"What do you do to fill your spare hours? I would hope that the Gotei does not have you working all day and night, after all."