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Kari Wolf     It's not really a 'shop' in the traditional sense. It's more like a small front end for customers to order and pay for things, some seats for when there's more than a few people around. The 'board' above the counter is an electronic screen that shows off the custom shinki and parts, changing between parts every 30 seconds or so. Zarenna is smart enough that there's a localized 'application' for customers with personal digital assistants (or equivalent) to browse the catalog of parts. The whole place is decorated a lot like Zarenna's apartment; a lot of polished white surfaces with black and chrome accents. There's also a shinki-scaled waiting area. It appears the place is not finished yet, as Kari and Harriet are painting colorful accents along the walls of the lobby-ish areas. Zarenna is occupied putting down some kind of paneled wood flooring far from where Kari and Harriet are working.
Taro     Boutique might be the more accurate term. What Zarenna plans to sell is going to be custom and of high quality, not to mention fashionable provided they catch on.
    Taro has let himself in through the back door, and while he isn't deliberately trying to be quiet, depending on how focused the others are, he may very well sneak up on them anyway. He slips through the doorway leading from the back room, then pauses there to take things in. He recognizes the color scheme, and somehow is not overly surprised by it. Not that it's a bad scheme at all. It seems to suit the venture.
    His gaze then shifts to focus on Zarenna, and his brow furrows ever so slightly. "I could have had someone do this for you, you know."
Kari Wolf     Zarenna does have the back door alarmed. At least a chime while she's in the botique. She glances up at Taro. "I'm pretty used to doing things myself." She glances over at Harriet and Kari. "Though I had to tell Kari that we weren't going to paint a space battle mural in here."
    "But it'd be so cool!" Kari says from across the room. Harriet bops Kari with a wet paint roller, making the normally green-armored shinki a pale sky blue.
Taro     Taro's demeanor towards Zarenna has subtly but perceptibly changed, at least in private. In public, he has learned to conceal his true thoughts (which is no doubt helped by his lack of humanlike facial expressions) and treats her little different than before. But for now it is just them and Harriet and Kari, and so he is less guarded. More deferential. Though not less argumentative. "Still, you could spend your time designing new armors if you had a contractor handle the decorating." The corners of his lips hitch up ever so slightly at Kari's suggestion and Harriet's reaction to it. "I think a space battle mural would clash with the rest of the general scheme, unfortunately."
Kari Wolf     Zarenna ehs. "True. But I've still got work to do on the designs that I took with me when the Confederacy Citadel went up." She stands up, looking at the planks put in already. Not going to get much done until Kari and Harriet finish up the other side of the lobby's pale blue stripe. "Does it look like it's coming together, Taro?" She's trying not to abuse the Master/Servant relationship that the Bishop and herself have.
    Kari and Harriet resume their striping. "Master has us to help with tasks, Taro. She also could ask your assistance if she wanted." Harriet says, dipping a paint brush to do the fine edge work.
    "Yeah, she's got family to help!" Kari adds as she uses a paint roller to do the broad strokes.
Taro     The non-abuse is appreciated. At Zarenna's question, Taro looks around again, one hand coming to rest on the service counter. "I think it will look fine once it's finished. However, you may need to dim the lights by a few lumens to reduce glare." He takes a few steps around, idly trailing his fingers along the countertop as he walks. "I realize this," he answers Harriet and Kari. "I still follow SHODAN's example when it comes to delegation, I suppose. Divide the tasks to those suited, creating efficiency."
Kari Wolf     Zarenna hmms. "You're right about the glare." She says as she looks around, noting the glossy black surfaces and the shiny chrome. It would have to be slightly dimmer. She points to the areas that Harriet and Kari are painting. "There will be some holographic displays that come up to the height of the blue stripe. The actual products are kept locked behind the counter. There'll be some machining and fabrication tools back there too for minor modifications and repairs." There's also steps for shinki to get up to the counter as well, Taro might note.
    Kari and Harriet finish up that section of the wall and so Harriet starts helping Kari clean the paint off. Good thing it's acrylic-based. Scrubs right off the ceramics of Kari's armor. "Master was going to hire delivery shinki!"
Taro     "Excellent ideas on all points," Taro agrees. He walks around the counter toward the pair of shinki, drawing a cleaning cloth out of one of his belt pouches along the way. "Here." He holds it out to Harriet. "You might have a little trouble finding couriers, with construction still so much in demand, but I'm sure you'll manage."
    No doubt any shinki good with working in small spaces has found any number of jobs in building the transportation link to the caverns, not to mention the massive geothermal energy project...
    "When do you plan to open, Master Zarenna?" he asks as he casts a glance back at her.
Kari Wolf     Kai sputters as her larger sister forcibly cleans the paint off. "It tickles!"
    "No it doesn't." Harriet says calmly, though Kari continues to act like it does.
    Zarenna nods. "That may be true, but they might want jobs after all that passes, and I'm sure the contractors that employ them will need spare parts." She gestures. "It's not like there are official MMS shops in Neo Arcadia, after all." To the last question. "In about a week and a half."
Taro     Taro cannot help but hint a lopsided smirk at the back and forth between the sisters, though it's mostly vanished by the time he turns around to more properly face Zarenna again. "A good point. I haven't heard of any inquiries from the company about doing business here, and I suspect that I won't. Even if they thought there would be a potential market, the laws here no doubt would give them some pause."
Kari Wolf     Zarenna watches the shinki absently. "We could just mass produce Harriet's frame as a competing product to MMS'."
Taro     "So we could..." Taro muses. His gaze shifts from his master to somewhere behind her as he turns some thoughts over in his neuralnet. "...there would have to be some compromises made. Not on quality, but in simplifying the design to streamline the assembly process..."
Kari Wolf     Zarenna nods quietly. "I've been working on that in my spare time, since I need a foundation to work from for new models." She walks over and tightens down the lid on the paint bucket and helps the shinki clean off the tools. "Okay, that's enough work for today, you two."
    "Did you want to come over for tea, Mister Taro?" Kari asks.
Taro     "If you would like my input, then...?" The words are spoken more as an offer than an outright question. More than likely he will provide his thoughts and assessments regardless, unless she orders him not to, but he's being polite and deferential.
    He looks back to Kari at her question. "If all of you would not mind my company, then yes."