Chapter 2: The Naked and the Afraid
Arnold kept staring at the naked Amazon before him, both allured and terrified, unable even to form a coherent sentence due to his conflicting emotions. Just like during his first date in high school, only this one was even stranger. Eleonora seemed to notice this and, oddly enough, simply put her hands on her knees and waited until the clerk calmed down.
"Thanks," she said with annoyance, but not sarcastically, "my form is known to be remarkable, you're free to watch as long as you want. But don't think that being polite will save you. You were with them, weren't you?"
Arnold tried explaining that he was tricked by Sungoods just like the countess and didn't mean any harm, but words barely came out of his throat. Still, the blonde seemed to understand at least some of it and toned down the anger.
"Clearly, you weren't the brain in this scheme," she said with a hint of sympathy, "but you still helped them, so you'll have to pay. Now, tell me everything you know about my cousin, you kidnapper!"
"What? Which cousin?" Arnold suddenly came to his senses.
"The one your pathetic world stole from my family! Ugh, I knew that signing the Cooperation Act was wrong. You weaklings simply waited for us to put down our guard, didn't you?" Leo furrowed her brow once more.
Before he could answer, the blondie got up and ranted about how Sanflaria shouldn't have trusted a planet that pollutes its own air with fossil fuels, measures power with money, and, worst of all, forces their females to wear clothing and hide their natural beauty. She then repeated her question and grabbed Arnold by his coat, ready to interrogate him. Some would fantasize about this scenario, but the clerk had enough new experiences for today and so told the naked lady everything he knew.
"I might help through my ICA contacts, but I don't even know whom you are talking about, I swear."
"Milran of the Kir'ador Province, sent to your Nevada Province a few days ago to discuss financial matters regarding the new portal. Does that ring a bell?" Eleonora threw an eager gaze at him, clearly expecting that an interworld agency employee would know at least something.
And Arnold remembered. Why wouldn't he? Milran was the same noble their higher-ups wouldn't shut up about for the entire week.
"That's your cousin? But he's supposed to be fine, we provided the best accomodations..."
"Lies! You robbed and wrongfully imprisoned him!" Leo put her hands across her boobs, making them seem even bigger and distracting the clerk from her furious words.
When Arnold managed to reply, he could only ask why she'd even think that.
"Don't play dumb. I know this because several days ago he sent me a message. Milran said that he was forced to give your people all of his money and was being held in some kind of palace with no exit. He also asked me to find a way to send him more money because his captors demand it! Did you truly expect me to simply let your people hold my kin for ransom?!"
Between dodging Leo's emotional gestures and staring at her jiggling tits, Arnold barely managed to perceive what she was saying. And even if he did, he doubted it'd make sense. ICA surely would keep an eye on an otherworldly nobleman, making sure nobody could hurt him. Arnold even wanted to ask whether the blonde had the device with the message on her but realized how dumb this question would sound.
"I'm sorry, I truly don't know what you're talking about, but like I said, I can check through the database," the clerk tried reassuring the naked woman, "all of this must be one big misunderstanding."
She doubted Arnold's words at first, but something in his anxious demeanor convinced her that even if he was lying, he didn't know about it, so she agreed.
"Let's not waste any time then. Lead me to your agency, and don't even think about running away or pulling something. If something happens to me, my house will know!"
"What about them?" Arnold asked quietly, pointing at the unconscious smugglers.
"Sure. We indeed have to ensure they won't come after us!" With these words, the naked girl jumped to Sungoods and began tying him up with loose wires.
Then she did the same thing to his companion, who now looked especially silly lying on the floor only clad in wires and a mask. Then, Eleonora got up and casually walked to the entrance. Meanwhile, Arnold checked on his former "buddy" and saw that his vest took the bullet, and he probably just fainted from shock. So much for a fearless criminal. The clerk considered taking one of the six shooters but realized it'd not look right if he got caught with it.
"So, uh, you've planned for this all along? I thought you were happy to come here! With your hearts and all," Arnold asked, still a bit confused by Leo's cold behavior.
"Hearts?"
"Well, yeah, when you wrote him that's you're coming..."
"Those were not hearts. I sent you pikes, showing that whoever is responsible for my cousin's peril will suffer! That's why I told you to prepare," she humphed.
Arnold wanted to blame Sungoods for misreading this girl's intentions so poorly but couldn't since he fell into the same trap. So he simply followed his new naked friend, still shaking his head to make sure all of this was real. But then they reached the stairs. Arnold saw her majestic ass up close and realized that those questions were meaningless. Testosterone kicked in again, and the clerk's main priority became helping this naked girl out. After all, wasn't it what he wanted from the beginning?
The two left the house and walked into the desert. Leo continued to freely go forward, not caring about the cold winds or the rough dirt beneath her tender feet. It truly seemed like she was determined to walk right up to the ICA headquarters. There was a problem though; one Arnold only dared to voice once they reached the road.
"Um, the office doesn't work at night. We'll have to wait until morning."
"Hm, I hope it's not some trick of yours," the blonde stared into the distance.
"Not at all," Arnold hurried, "although my administrator says the same thing when I remind her that the workday's over."
The joke didn't land, and the clerk fell silent again. This didn't go according to plan at all, the only thing left was to improvise. The two discussed what to do next since they were in the middle of nowhere and Arnold's home was in miles. Leo tried looking strong at first, but eventually yawned and confessed that she didn't have an easy day either, so some rest would be appreciated.
"Don't you have one of those dirty smoke vehicles of yours? Cars?" The blonde asked with pressure.
"I... Actually got here by bus, and the last one was about an hour ago."
The girl humphed with disappointment. Indeed, just like in high school. But there was no time for drama, so the duo went toward the town, with Leo commanding the clerk to come up with some ideas along the way. Then she suddenly pulled Arnold closer and began walking arm in arm with him.
"What are you..." The clerk's cheeks got rosy again.
"Making sure you won't just run away and abandon me here," she explained.
Arnold didn't protest. Mostly because of Leo's dominant attitude, but also because it just felt nice to walk with a naked girl like that. They didn't know where they were going at first, but then settled on a 24/7 diner nearby, lured by its flickering neon burger. There was only one patron inside, some old man eating either his dinner or breakfast.
An elderly woman was cleaning a colorful counter while a waitress was dozing off nearby. The clerk became anxious imagining these three seeing the naked countess, but this thought also felt oddly enjoyable, like he's got a front row seat on one of those public nudity videos. The blonde herself didn't seem to mind at all, confident and proud of her nakedness.
"Wow girl, you go!" A raspy voice said with a whistle even before the duo walked in.
It turned out to be a homeless guy ogling Leo from across the street. The noble smiled while Arnold hurried to get into the diner. He could only imagine how much ruckus the girl's nudity will cause when she'll have no one, but dozens of spectators. The old woman gasped in surprise when Arnold and his new companion walked up the the counter.
"Uh, hello, we're just here for a late night snack, pay us no mind."
"That's right, we're here for your food!" Leo said like it was a threat.
