Kiru’s House
Reiki turned the phone off as the video he was watching had half a minute left, he passed it to Kanzei who was standing behind the couch as his gaze was on the show on TV. Reiki thought. That was it?... You might as well call those oversized things water dispensers… Kiru increased the volume of the TV and said. “What did you think of the video?” Reiki ate the last thick strip of wyvern meat, he swallowed and said. “Waste of time.” He crumpled the grease paper and pocketed it.
Kiru kept her gaze on the TV, she said. “I know, I fired the one who made it and she tried to flee to a different country.” Reiki stood up from the couch as Kiru reached her hand and grabbed the collar of his shirt. He said. “Thanks for the help, I’ll be-.” Kiru yanked him back down on the couch, she said. “Kanzei, bring out a lot of snacks for our guests and I’ll have my usual breakfast menu.” Kanzei nodded at her and said. “Reiki, what would you prefer?” Reiki turned his head to the side, he said. “I’ll have anything salty or spicy.”
Kanzei gave him a nod as he made his way to one of the doors. Reiki moved his gaze onto Kiru as he gave him an odd look and said. “Breakfast? It’s ten minutes past noon. How long have you been asleep?” Kiru glanced at him from the corner of her eye, she pinched her silk pajamas and slightly tugged on them to show them off. She said. “You do see what I’m wearing, right?” Reiki let out a short sigh and said. “Can you tell me why I’m still here?” Kiru waved her hand at him, she said. “Can you talk a bit softer? I can’t hear the show.”
Reiki slowly leaned on the backrest of the couch, he thought. Oh god, I knew coming here was a mistake… Kiru was absorbed by the show on TV, she said. “A bit late, but do you have a favorite painting?” For a split second Reiki had a look of confusion on his face, he thought. Painting-? Oh. He said. “Nighthawks.” He moved his gaze back to the TV while Kiru placed both her feet on the coffee table and made herself comfortable on the couch. She said. “I wanna talk about magic with you.”
Reiki thought. That’s going to be a short discussion seeing all I can say that it looks cool. He kept his gaze on the TV and said. “I seem to recall that Asami said you’re from a magic institution. You can’t convince me that it doesn’t have a single old geezer that claims they know everything about magic.” Kiru let out a disgusted scoff as she spoke under her breath, she said. “Too many to count, I’m surprised they still haven’t kicked the bucket.” She cleared her throat and continued. “But enough about me.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye as the irises of her eyes started to glow a faint light blue. Kiru observed the mana Reiki was emitting was a smooth and steady flow compared to the first time they met when it was similar to an unstable gushing river. Kiru said. “You, on the other hand, have made visible progress on controlling your unnatural amount of mana.” Reiki started doing mana string with his right hand while watching TV, he said. “It can’t be that drastic.” Kiru’s gaze wandered onto his hand as she watched him casually shape the string from a triangle to a circle.
She thought. Mana string?... I think there are only five books in the library about it… Where did he even learn that? Kiru said. “Mana like yours… Don’t change from rough to smooth in a few days…” She watched the mana circle spin mid-air before slowly running out of power as it slowly faded. Reiki kept on making mana strings with his hand, he said. “I’m a quick learner.” She moved her gaze to the surrounding mana that was constantly expanding and compressing, Kiru said. “This has been bothering me since the moment you walked in.”
Reiki let out a yawn as Kiru watched the mana in the room compress and slowly expand as it followed his breathing. Kiru continued. “The mana in my house has been moving since you came in.” Above Reiki’s palm was a mana circle, he glanced at her and said. “I can always le-.” Kiru cut him off as she playfully tapped on his shoulder, she said. “But, who am I to interrupt someone’s training?” The door opened as Kanzei made his way to the coffee table, Kiru sat up properly on the couch and said. “As always, perfect timing Kanzei.”
Kanzei waved his hands as the coffee table vanished and was replaced with a dining table, he said. “For Ojou-sama, granola with extra yogurt, a Belgian waffle with no powdered sugar, extra whipped cream and fruits, and a mixed fruit bowl with a light drizzle of honey.” From the inside of his breast pocket, he took out eating utensils and continued. “For Reiki, I didn’t know what you would like so I made pasta, burgers, and a chipotle bowl with all the workings. I used some leftover chicken, bison, and some pork, all of them are either spicy or salty.” He passed a pair of eating utensils to Kiru and Reiki.
Reiki stared at all the food on the table, he said. “You made all of this in that short amount of time?” Kanzei smiled at him and said. “I have a lot of hands-on deck.” Reiki thought. So there are other people here. Kiru was giggling to herself while using a knife and fork to cut her Belgian waffle. Reiki stabbed a large piece of beef using a fork, he said. “What’s so funny?” Kiru shook her head sideways as she cut the waffle into six pieces, she said. “Nothing, just enjoy your meal.” Reiki picked up a burger with his hands, before he could take a bite Kiru continued. “Just a small heads up, I will be taking one of those burgers.”
~Twenty Minutes Later~
While chewing Kiru stared at Reiki who finished off a large bowl of pesto pasta, she thought. He ate about seven to eight thousand calories in one sitting… Reiki placed the fork in the bowl as Kanzei waved his hand as it vanished from the table. Reiki said. “Thanks for making heavy calorie meals, Kanzei.” Kanzei had a hint of disbelief on his face, he thought. Ojou-sama told me to make them calorie-loaded… He said. “Glad to know you’ve eaten your fill.”
Kiru took the last bite of the burger she was holding as Kanzei waved his hand as the last plate along with the dining table vanished as the coffee table returned. Reiki let out a burp as he covered his mouth using his hand, he said. “Excuse me, I’ll never understand how people can eat so much sweets when they just woke up a few minutes ago.” Kiru held out her hand at Kanzei as he snapped his fingers as an empty glass appeared in her palm.
A pitcher of water that had cucumber, lemon, and some mint in it as Kanzei caught it mid-air and poured Kiru into her glass. Kiru took a sip as the pitcher Kanzei was holding vanished, Kiru said. “Eating sweets at breakfast is something intelligent individuals such as I do.” She took another sip of her glass while Reiki let out a chuckle and said. “Not smart enough to spot fake art, that's for sure.” Kiru’s eyes narrowed while the corner of Kanzei’s mouth curled into a slight smile which he tried to hide by faking a cough.
Kiru passed the half-empty glass to Kanzei as he placed it inside his breast pocket. Reiki leaned on the backrest of the couch and said. “Thank you for lunch, why do you want to talk about magic with me?” Kiru picked up the remote on the couch as she lowered the volume of the flatscreen, she said. “Do you know what the four stages of matter are?” Reiki nodded and said. “Solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. But what do these four have anything to do with magic?” Kiru extended her index finger and wagged it sideways at him.
She said. “It has everything to do with magic.” She gathered mana on the tip of her finger and created a solid cube of mana hovering in mid-air. Kiru continued. “With enough training, mages and even some warriors can manipulate the particle called mana to any stage. Solid like this one.” The solid cube started to lose its shape and turned into a round droplet, she slowly moved her index finger from side to side showing the water's viscosity. Kiru said. “Liquid.” The droplet started to turn unstable as it started to bubble.
The droplets burst as it created a light blue steam constantly being emitted by Kiru, she said. “Gas, and lastly it takes a bit of training.” Reiki’s mouth formed into a small smirk, he thought. I think it was like this?...
『Fireball Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 750.』
[System: User has transformed Fireball into Plasma ball.]
Floating above the tip of Kiru’s finger was a light blue dense ball of plasma that was emitting a gentle light, before she could say anything Reiki spoke first. He said. “Plasma.” A few inches above his hand was a suspended fiery orange ball of plasma. He thought. … This was a lot easier compared to that time in elven territory…
Kanzei was staring at Reiki’s ball of plasma with interest, he thought. Pretty good control. The orange ball was roughly the same size as a golf ball as it shone off a warm orange light. The small plasma ball on the tip of Kiru’s index finger vanished, she stared at the orange ball of plasma Reiki made and said. “Now how do you get rid of it?” Reiki stared at it and thought. I did not think this through…
A hint of greed appeared in Kiru’s eyes for a split second and quickly vanished, she said. “Kanzei, if you will.” Kanzei snapped his fingers as the orange plasma ball was confined in a see-through mana box. The box flew toward Kanzei as he pocketed in the inside of his breast pocket before Reiki could say anything Kiru faked a cough and said. “I’ll admit, you know some of the basics. But you should have a few questions about magic.” Reiki shook his head sideways, he said. “Not really.” Kiru was caught off guard by his answer, she quickly regained her composure and said. “Not even what class to pick?”
Reiki bluntly said. “Nope.” He thought. I already have someone to ask questions, albeit sparsely. Kiru placed her hand on the armrest of the couch, she tapped on it a couple of times and said. “Really?” Reiki glanced at the TV to take a peek at the show and said. “Really.” Kiru thought for a moment, she said. “Not even a question for me?” Reiki pretended to think, he said. “How long have you and Asami known each other?” Kiru’s eyes slightly narrowed, she said. “I’ve known her since I was six so, twelve years.”
Reiki stood up from the couch and said. “There, we had a conversation about magic. I need to go somewhere.” Kiru smiled at him, she said. “Are you sure? Kanzei is going to use some dragon meat for dinner.” Reiki glanced at Kanzei who was standing behind the couch while watching the show on TV. Reiki said. “It’s fine, I don’t want to add more work to Kanzei’s already busy schedule-.” Before he could finish Kiru’s lips curled into a small smirk, she said. “Asami sent me some dragon meat since she had some extra for some reason.”
Reiki sat back down on the couch and said. “Why don’t you tell me more about yourself?” He thought. Asami also gave her a share of dragon meat?... It makes me wonder how big her dragon farm is. Kiru’s lips were curled into a slight smirk, she thought. To make him wag his tail, all I need to do is offer him food. Kanzei’s attention was on the show, he said. “Ojou-sama, what’s the title of this show again?” Kiru watched the show for a few seconds and said. “I don’t know, Reiki was the one who found it. And when you went out to… Shop… But it is in English so there’s that.”
________________________________________________________________________________
Break Room
Ketsueki took a big gulp of a green tea bottle in her hand while Namida was on her laptop browsing the internet. The door opened as Sachi walked toward where her friends were, she said. “I’m here, did I miss anything?” With a wave of her hand, the door behind her closed itself as she sat down on the empty seat around the round table. Namida kept her eyes on the laptop, she adjusted her glasses and said. “Nope, today’s just another slow day.”
Ketsueki put the cap back on her drink, she said. “You two can stop pretending to be hard workers, none of us here want to work for this forsaken company.” She placed the bottle of tea on the table as it made a soft thud. Sachi took out her phone from her pocket while Namida was using the touchpad on her laptop. Namida said. “Did the captain ever tell you what happened to the woman who turned out to be related to one of the board members?” Sachi tapped on the screen of her smartphone a couple of times and said. “And to the guy who raped her?”
Ketsueki placed her index finger on the cap of her drink as she tilted it sideways, she said. “Girl went into hiding, turns out she was lying when she said he raped her.” Namida started typing on her laptop again, she said. “I never liked Himari anyway, she was stuck up for my taste.” Sachi moved her gaze onto her friend as she gave her an odd look and said. “That’s not her name.” Namida had a look of confusion on her face, she said. “Whose name?” Sachi exhaled from her nose, she said. “How many times do we have to-. I’ve gotten tired of saying the same thing every time she does this. What happened to the guy?”
Namida's mouth curled into a cat-like smile while Ketsueki moved her hand away from her drink as it balanced itself while tilted. Ketsueki said. “Dead, his body was reported on the morning news. Quickly covered up as usual.” Namida stretched her arms up while in her seat, she said. “When this topic was brought up I thought it would be more interesting.” Ketsueki placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on the palm of her hand, she said. “There should be rumors circulating tomorrow or the day after.”
Sachi and Namida’s ears perked up when they heard the word rumor. Sachi placed her phone on the table face down while Namida moved her gaze onto Ketsueki. Sachi said. “What kind of rumors?” Ketsueki glanced around the room, with a wave of her hand the three of them were caged in a cube of mana. She said. “Word is one of the board members is going to get replaced before the weekend.” Namida’s eyes widened in surprise, she closed her laptop and said. “Is that information reliable?”
Sachi used her index finger to tap on the back of her phone a couple of times, she said. “I wish the one who gets replaced is that sack of flesh that keeps molesting every girl he sees.” Namida crossed her arms and said. “I’ve never seen that sumo wrestler molest a girl-.” Before she could finish Sachi interrupted her, she said. “That’s because you have connections.” She pointed at Ketuskei who emptied her bottle of green tea and continued. “She on the other hand is powerful enough to destroy this company from the ground up, think he has the guts to even walk near it?”
While twisting the cap back on the bottle, Ketsueki’s brows furrowed. She said. “Did you just call me it?” Sachi lazily waved her hand at her while Namida moved her gaze onto Ketsueki and said. “When do you think the company is going to start looking for a replacement?” Ketsueki thought for a bit, she said. “Commander texted me this yesterday so…About an hour after everyone starts going home. Why are you so curious about it?” Namida opened her laptop and said. “My family might be interested in getting someone on the board.”
Sachi picked up her phone on the table, she said. “Why? Doesn’t your family already have connections almost everywhere?” Namida swiped a couple of times on the touchpad of her laptop, she said. “I said might, mom wanted someone to keep a close eye on this company's odd jobs.” Ketsueki threw the empty bottle of green tea toward the trash as it went straight in, she said. “Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper to have a group of people get in like you did?” Namida started typing as she nodded and said. “It would be easier, but there’s a high chance they’ll die within the week or so.”
Ketsueki let out a small yawn as she covered her mouth using her hand, she said. “That’s true, seeing how the current head of your family hoards talents like money. I’m surprised she even let you apply for this job.” Namida's lips curled into a smirk, she gave herself a pat on the shoulder a couple of times and said. “That’s because I’m a rare talent and they let me do everything I want.” Sachi’s gaze wandered onto her friend's flat chest, she said. “The only rare thing about you is that washboard chest of yours.”
Ketsueki turned her head to the side as she covered the smile on her face using her hand. Sachi started browsing on her phone as she ignored Namida staring at her. Namida said. “Ah yes, humor based on someone else's pain. At least in our merry group of three, you're the only one that gets compared to cow tits over there.” From her pocket, she took out a tall can of beer while Sachi glanced at Ketsueki from the corner of her eye and saw that her large chest was shaking from her trying to suppress her laughter.
Sachi spoke with a hint of coldness in her voice, she said. “Just let it out, I think it’s more hurtful if you hold back.” Ketsueki started laughing as the sound of her voice filled the room. Namida opened her can of beer letting out the carbonation, she had a smile on her face as she took a sip. Sachi placed her phone on the table, she said. “That was low.” Namida let out a satisfied sigh, she glanced at her from the corner of her eye and said. “And you using my flat chest as a joke is old.”
Ketsueki’s laughter suddenly came to a halt as she let out a soft sigh and properly sat up straight in her seat. The barrier around them dissipated as a door opened revealing Ahma wearing a kimono, she said. “How is my favorite group doing?” She made her way to the table and waved her hand as another chair appeared. Ahma sat down on the seat and continued. “Aw, Suki. What happened to your laughter? I could hear it all the way down the hall.” Ketsueki kept a straight expression, she said. “Do you have anything for us? Commander?”
Namida closed her laptop while Sachi pocketed her phone. Ahma shook her head sideways and said. “Nothing, even if there was. You three already hit quota.” Namida was staring at her neatly trimmed nails, she said. “That’s because all the rest of the groups are terrible.” She moved her gaze onto Ahma and continued. “Captain, can you tell me why we three are in the same group? Sachi and I meet the requirements to be in her position.” She nodded at Ketsueki while Sachi had a hint of uncertainty on her face. Sachi said. “You do, me on the other hand is debatable.”
Ketsueki glanced at her friend from the corner of her eye and said. “I can see you leading a group that specializes in torture.” Namida took another sip of her can of beer while Sachi tapped on the table a couple of times. Sachi said. “That’s plausible, but all groups are capable of combat. I don’t see the company distributing resources to specific talents.” Namida placed her can on the table, tapped on her laptop a couple of times and vanished. Ahma placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on the palm of her hand, she said. “Yeah, Sachi has a point. The company is only going to make excuses why they can’t make more groups.”
Kiru’s House
Reiki turned the phone off as the video he was watching had half a minute left, he passed it to Kanzei who was standing behind the couch as his gaze was on the show on TV. Reiki thought. That was it?... You might as well call those oversized things water dispensers… Kiru increased the volume of the TV and said. “What did you think of the video?” Reiki ate the last thick strip of wyvern meat, he swallowed and said. “Waste of time.” He crumpled the grease paper and pocketed it.
Kiru kept her gaze on the TV, she said. “I know, I fired the one who made it and she tried to flee to a different country.” Reiki stood up from the couch as Kiru reached her hand and grabbed the collar of his shirt. He said. “Thanks for the help, I’ll be-.” Kiru yanked him back down on the couch, she said. “Kanzei, bring out a lot of snacks for our guests and I’ll have my usual breakfast menu.” Kanzei nodded at her and said. “Reiki, what would you prefer?” Reiki turned his head to the side, he said. “I’ll have anything salty or spicy.”
Kanzei gave him a nod as he made his way to one of the doors. Reiki moved his gaze onto Kiru as he gave him an odd look and said. “Breakfast? It’s ten minutes past noon. How long have you been asleep?” Kiru glanced at him from the corner of her eye, she pinched her silk pajamas and slightly tugged on them to show them off. She said. “You do see what I’m wearing, right?” Reiki let out a short sigh and said. “Can you tell me why I’m still here?” Kiru waved her hand at him, she said. “Can you talk a bit softer? I can’t hear the show.”
Reiki slowly leaned on the backrest of the couch, he thought. Oh god, I knew coming here was a mistake… Kiru was absorbed by the show on TV, she said. “A bit late, but do you have a favorite painting?” For a split second Reiki had a look of confusion on his face, he thought. Painting-? Oh. He said. “Nighthawks.” He moved his gaze back to the TV while Kiru placed both her feet on the coffee table and made herself comfortable on the couch. She said. “I wanna talk about magic with you.”
Reiki thought. That’s going to be a short discussion seeing all I can say that it looks cool. He kept his gaze on the TV and said. “I seem to recall that Asami said you’re from a magic institution. You can’t convince me that it doesn’t have a single old geezer that claims they know everything about magic.” Kiru let out a disgusted scoff as she spoke under her breath, she said. “Too many to count, I’m surprised they still haven’t kicked the bucket.” She cleared her throat and continued. “But enough about me.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye as the irises of her eyes started to glow a faint light blue. Kiru observed the mana Reiki was emitting was a smooth and steady flow compared to the first time they met when it was similar to an unstable gushing river. Kiru said. “You, on the other hand, have made visible progress on controlling your unnatural amount of mana.” Reiki started doing mana string with his right hand while watching TV, he said. “It can’t be that drastic.” Kiru’s gaze wandered onto his hand as she watched him casually shape the string from a triangle to a circle.
She thought. Mana string?... I think there are only five books in the library about it… Where did he even learn that? Kiru said. “Mana like yours… Don’t change from rough to smooth in a few days…” She watched the mana circle spin mid-air before slowly running out of power as it slowly faded. Reiki kept on making mana strings with his hand, he said. “I’m a quick learner.” She moved her gaze to the surrounding mana that was constantly expanding and compressing, Kiru said. “This has been bothering me since the moment you walked in.”
Reiki let out a yawn as Kiru watched the mana in the room compress and slowly expand as it followed his breathing. Kiru continued. “The mana in my house has been moving since you came in.” Above Reiki’s palm was a mana circle, he glanced at her and said. “I can always le-.” Kiru cut him off as she playfully tapped on his shoulder, she said. “But, who am I to interrupt someone’s training?” The door opened as Kanzei made his way to the coffee table, Kiru sat up properly on the couch and said. “As always, perfect timing Kanzei.”
Kanzei waved his hands as the coffee table vanished and was replaced with a dining table, he said. “For Ojou-sama, granola with extra yogurt, a Belgian waffle with no powdered sugar, extra whipped cream and fruits, and a mixed fruit bowl with a light drizzle of honey.” From the inside of his breast pocket, he took out eating utensils and continued. “For Reiki, I didn’t know what you would like so I made pasta, burgers, and a chipotle bowl with all the workings. I used some leftover chicken, bison, and some pork, all of them are either spicy or salty.” He passed a pair of eating utensils to Kiru and Reiki.
Reiki stared at all the food on the table, he said. “You made all of this in that short amount of time?” Kanzei smiled at him and said. “I have a lot of hands-on deck.” Reiki thought. So there are other people here. Kiru was giggling to herself while using a knife and fork to cut her Belgian waffle. Reiki stabbed a large piece of beef using a fork, he said. “What’s so funny?” Kiru shook her head sideways as she cut the waffle into six pieces, she said. “Nothing, just enjoy your meal.” Reiki picked up a burger with his hands, before he could take a bite Kiru continued. “Just a small heads up, I will be taking one of those burgers.”
~Twenty Minutes Later~
While chewing Kiru stared at Reiki who finished off a large bowl of pesto pasta, she thought. He ate about seven to eight thousand calories in one sitting… Reiki placed the fork in the bowl as Kanzei waved his hand as it vanished from the table. Reiki said. “Thanks for making heavy calorie meals, Kanzei.” Kanzei had a hint of disbelief on his face, he thought. Ojou-sama told me to make them calorie-loaded… He said. “Glad to know you’ve eaten your fill.”
Kiru took the last bite of the burger she was holding as Kanzei waved his hand as the last plate along with the dining table vanished as the coffee table returned. Reiki let out a burp as he covered his mouth using his hand, he said. “Excuse me, I’ll never understand how people can eat so much sweets when they just woke up a few minutes ago.” Kiru held out her hand at Kanzei as he snapped his fingers as an empty glass appeared in her palm.
A pitcher of water that had cucumber, lemon, and some mint in it as Kanzei caught it mid-air and poured Kiru into her glass. Kiru took a sip as the pitcher Kanzei was holding vanished, Kiru said. “Eating sweets at breakfast is something intelligent individuals such as I do.” She took another sip of her glass while Reiki let out a chuckle and said. “Not smart enough to spot fake art, that's for sure.” Kiru’s eyes narrowed while the corner of Kanzei’s mouth curled into a slight smile which he tried to hide by faking a cough.
Kiru passed the half-empty glass to Kanzei as he placed it inside his breast pocket. Reiki leaned on the backrest of the couch and said. “Thank you for lunch, why do you want to talk about magic with me?” Kiru picked up the remote on the couch as she lowered the volume of the flatscreen, she said. “Do you know what the four stages of matter are?” Reiki nodded and said. “Solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. But what do these four have anything to do with magic?” Kiru extended her index finger and wagged it sideways at him.
She said. “It has everything to do with magic.” She gathered mana on the tip of her finger and created a solid cube of mana hovering in mid-air. Kiru continued. “With enough training, mages and even some warriors can manipulate the particle called mana to any stage. Solid like this one.” The solid cube started to lose its shape and turned into a round droplet, she slowly moved her index finger from side to side showing the water's viscosity. Kiru said. “Liquid.” The droplet started to turn unstable as it started to bubble.
The droplets burst as it created a light blue steam constantly being emitted by Kiru, she said. “Gas, and lastly it takes a bit of training.” Reiki’s mouth formed into a small smirk, he thought. I think it was like this?...
『Fireball Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 750.』
[System: User has transformed Fireball into Plasma ball.]
Floating above the tip of Kiru’s finger was a light blue dense ball of plasma that was emitting a gentle light, before she could say anything Reiki spoke first. He said. “Plasma.” A few inches above his hand was a suspended fiery orange ball of plasma. He thought. … This was a lot easier compared to that time in elven territory…
Kanzei was staring at Reiki’s ball of plasma with interest, he thought. Pretty good control. The orange ball was roughly the same size as a golf ball as it shone off a warm orange light. The small plasma ball on the tip of Kiru’s index finger vanished, she stared at the orange ball of plasma Reiki made and said. “Now how do you get rid of it?” Reiki stared at it and thought. I did not think this through…
A hint of greed appeared in Kiru’s eyes for a split second and quickly vanished, she said. “Kanzei, if you will.” Kanzei snapped his fingers as the orange plasma ball was confined in a see-through mana box. The box flew toward Kanzei as he pocketed in the inside of his breast pocket before Reiki could say anything Kiru faked a cough and said. “I’ll admit, you know some of the basics. But you should have a few questions about magic.” Reiki shook his head sideways, he said. “Not really.” Kiru was caught off guard by his answer, she quickly regained her composure and said. “Not even what class to pick?”
Reiki bluntly said. “Nope.” He thought. I already have someone to ask questions, albeit sparsely. Kiru placed her hand on the armrest of the couch, she tapped on it a couple of times and said. “Really?” Reiki glanced at the TV to take a peek at the show and said. “Really.” Kiru thought for a moment, she said. “Not even a question for me?” Reiki pretended to think, he said. “How long have you and Asami known each other?” Kiru’s eyes slightly narrowed, she said. “I’ve known her since I was six so, twelve years.”
Reiki stood up from the couch and said. “There, we had a conversation about magic. I need to go somewhere.” Kiru smiled at him, she said. “Are you sure? Kanzei is going to use some dragon meat for dinner.” Reiki glanced at Kanzei who was standing behind the couch while watching the show on TV. Reiki said. “It’s fine, I don’t want to add more work to Kanzei’s already busy schedule-.” Before he could finish Kiru’s lips curled into a small smirk, she said. “Asami sent me some dragon meat since she had some extra for some reason.”
Reiki sat back down on the couch and said. “Why don’t you tell me more about yourself?” He thought. Asami also gave her a share of dragon meat?... It makes me wonder how big her dragon farm is. Kiru’s lips were curled into a slight smirk, she thought. To make him wag his tail, all I need to do is offer him food. Kanzei’s attention was on the show, he said. “Ojou-sama, what’s the title of this show again?” Kiru watched the show for a few seconds and said. “I don’t know, Reiki was the one who found it. And when you went out to… Shop… But it is in English so there’s that.”
________________________________________________________________________________
Break Room
Ketsueki took a big gulp of a green tea bottle in her hand while Namida was on her laptop browsing the internet. The door opened as Sachi walked toward where her friends were, she said. “I’m here, did I miss anything?” With a wave of her hand, the door behind her closed itself as she sat down on the empty seat around the round table. Namida kept her eyes on the laptop, she adjusted her glasses and said. “Nope, today’s just another slow day.”
Ketsueki put the cap back on her drink, she said. “You two can stop pretending to be hard workers, none of us here want to work for this forsaken company.” She placed the bottle of tea on the table as it made a soft thud. Sachi took out her phone from her pocket while Namida was using the touchpad on her laptop. Namida said. “Did the captain ever tell you what happened to the woman who turned out to be related to one of the board members?” Sachi tapped on the screen of her smartphone a couple of times and said. “And to the guy who raped her?”
Ketsueki placed her index finger on the cap of her drink as she tilted it sideways, she said. “Girl went into hiding, turns out she was lying when she said he raped her.” Namida started typing on her laptop again, she said. “I never liked Himari anyway, she was stuck up for my taste.” Sachi moved her gaze onto her friend as she gave her an odd look and said. “That’s not her name.” Namida had a look of confusion on her face, she said. “Whose name?” Sachi exhaled from her nose, she said. “How many times do we have to-. I’ve gotten tired of saying the same thing every time she does this. What happened to the guy?”
Namida's mouth curled into a cat-like smile while Ketsueki moved her hand away from her drink as it balanced itself while tilted. Ketsueki said. “Dead, his body was reported on the morning news. Quickly covered up as usual.” Namida stretched her arms up while in her seat, she said. “When this topic was brought up I thought it would be more interesting.” Ketsueki placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on the palm of her hand, she said. “There should be rumors circulating tomorrow or the day after.”
Sachi and Namida’s ears perked up when they heard the word rumor. Sachi placed her phone on the table face down while Namida moved her gaze onto Ketsueki. Sachi said. “What kind of rumors?” Ketsueki glanced around the room, with a wave of her hand the three of them were caged in a cube of mana. She said. “Word is one of the board members is going to get replaced before the weekend.” Namida’s eyes widened in surprise, she closed her laptop and said. “Is that information reliable?”
Sachi used her index finger to tap on the back of her phone a couple of times, she said. “I wish the one who gets replaced is that sack of flesh that keeps molesting every girl he sees.” Namida crossed her arms and said. “I’ve never seen that sumo wrestler molest a girl-.” Before she could finish Sachi interrupted her, she said. “That’s because you have connections.” She pointed at Ketuskei who emptied her bottle of green tea and continued. “She on the other hand is powerful enough to destroy this company from the ground up, think he has the guts to even walk near it?”
While twisting the cap back on the bottle, Ketsueki’s brows furrowed. She said. “Did you just call me it?” Sachi lazily waved her hand at her while Namida moved her gaze onto Ketsueki and said. “When do you think the company is going to start looking for a replacement?” Ketsueki thought for a bit, she said. “Commander texted me this yesterday so…About an hour after everyone starts going home. Why are you so curious about it?” Namida opened her laptop and said. “My family might be interested in getting someone on the board.”
Sachi picked up her phone on the table, she said. “Why? Doesn’t your family already have connections almost everywhere?” Namida swiped a couple of times on the touchpad of her laptop, she said. “I said might, mom wanted someone to keep a close eye on this company's odd jobs.” Ketsueki threw the empty bottle of green tea toward the trash as it went straight in, she said. “Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper to have a group of people get in like you did?” Namida started typing as she nodded and said. “It would be easier, but there’s a high chance they’ll die within the week or so.”
Ketsueki let out a small yawn as she covered her mouth using her hand, she said. “That’s true, seeing how the current head of your family hoards talents like money. I’m surprised she even let you apply for this job.” Namida's lips curled into a smirk, she gave herself a pat on the shoulder a couple of times and said. “That’s because I’m a rare talent and they let me do everything I want.” Sachi’s gaze wandered onto her friend's flat chest, she said. “The only rare thing about you is that washboard chest of yours.”
Ketsueki turned her head to the side as she covered the smile on her face using her hand. Sachi started browsing on her phone as she ignored Namida staring at her. Namida said. “Ah yes, humor based on someone else's pain. At least in our merry group of three, you're the only one that gets compared to cow tits over there.” From her pocket, she took out a tall can of beer while Sachi glanced at Ketsueki from the corner of her eye and saw that her large chest was shaking from her trying to suppress her laughter.
Sachi spoke with a hint of coldness in her voice, she said. “Just let it out, I think it’s more hurtful if you hold back.” Ketsueki started laughing as the sound of her voice filled the room. Namida opened her can of beer letting out the carbonation, she had a smile on her face as she took a sip. Sachi placed her phone on the table, she said. “That was low.” Namida let out a satisfied sigh, she glanced at her from the corner of her eye and said. “And you using my flat chest as a joke is old.”
Ketsueki’s laughter suddenly came to a halt as she let out a soft sigh and properly sat up straight in her seat. The barrier around them dissipated as a door opened revealing Ahma wearing a kimono, she said. “How is my favorite group doing?” She made her way to the table and waved her hand as another chair appeared. Ahma sat down on the seat and continued. “Aw, Suki. What happened to your laughter? I could hear it all the way down the hall.” Ketsueki kept a straight expression, she said. “Do you have anything for us? Commander?”
Namida closed her laptop while Sachi pocketed her phone. Ahma shook her head sideways and said. “Nothing, even if there was. You three already hit quota.” Namida was staring at her neatly trimmed nails, she said. “That’s because all the rest of the groups are terrible.” She moved her gaze onto Ahma and continued. “Captain, can you tell me why we three are in the same group? Sachi and I meet the requirements to be in her position.” She nodded at Ketsueki while Sachi had a hint of uncertainty on her face. Sachi said. “You do, me on the other hand is debatable.”
Ketsueki glanced at her friend from the corner of her eye and said. “I can see you leading a group that specializes in torture.” Namida took another sip of her can of beer while Sachi tapped on the table a couple of times. Sachi said. “That’s plausible, but all groups are capable of combat. I don’t see the company distributing resources to specific talents.” Namida placed her can on the table, tapped on her laptop a couple of times and vanished. Ahma placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on the palm of her hand, she said. “Yeah, Sachi has a point. The company is only going to make excuses why they can’t make more groups.”
