Before the explosion of ’62 and the subsequent bloom of the Flower of Ipomoea alba, the city and the bureaucracy laid dormant and peaceful. Most of the day would be filled with different professions’ personnel networking around one another, sustaining the economy of, not only the industry or the city but, the entire country. Amidst the corporations and industrial plants, the underground – “The district where no sane person would dare to approach” – bustles with life and movement. While the norm was set around the 3rd and 4th consumer industry in the capital, the underground was centered on the 1.5, the hybrid of 1st and 2nd production industry. And, even in the part where the authority cannot reach, the redacted and prohibited knowledges are quite a rarity.
Amongst the profanity supporting its life, the underground boasts a variety of services. From cheap labor to things which fulfill a person’s desire, there is not really a limit to what you can find there. Most of the district is a mishmash of new and old, the far and close, people from here and there, almost all of them spoke a common language and had a common identity – of a felon in Germany. As to why they settled in the capital is still a mystery; maybe they wanted to show dominance or, even maybe, they were allowed to stay there.
Back in the kitchen, “So, how has he been?”, asks a tall woman, about the same age as Leo. Eerily calm and happily, “He seems fine; and acts like it too. No different from the Ghost we know and love… Ah~ I guess I will no longer be the manager of this place. Hope you like his softness more than my harshness”, says Alice, going back to the kitchen. “Eh, how are you this calm? I thought you hated him, for all I know. Why didn’t you kill him on sight? Or, did you soften just by seeing him?”, says Alex. Before not too long, a click could be heard from the kitchen. In a single moment, “Do you know why I do not use my name, Swift? Do you know why I am Alice, instead of Switch? Because I can switch everything, Alexia, I have no medium”, says Alice, appeared in front of Alex, wearing a pair of peculiar safety gloves… Catching a knife hurled at her, “Eh? You do not have anything to do with this, Seraphina”, says Alice, as Alex escapes her grasp and hides behind Seraphina.
“Why did you run away from here in the first place, Will”, asks San. Eating his soup, “The short answer is, I needed to go to Hanover – to find you and to live life a bit easier”, says Will. Laughing a little, “And you lived life easy~ Like, your type of easy is, to most people, a hell on earth”, says Johann. Clearing his throat and wiping his mouth, “It was easy. Here, everyday was chaotic and messy, similar to the day before yesterday. Someone bursts in and says something like “the black-hats are here!” and everyone panics and runs away, when, in reality, it is just someone wearing a similar clothing. And, as I do not have any mana signature, some idiot would barge in and challenge me to a fight till death. On some occasions, blokes would come here and ask for service. Managing and protecting 3 people, let alone, girls is quite tiring. I taught them some tricks but I did not have the necessary talents and miracles to teach them more; I asked Yuki to teach them such and… I do not know how well they learned. But I guess they learned enough to protect this place, without me, for 4 years… Ah~ I am already missing my peace”, says Will.
Running out of the kitchen with a trail of faint, golden-yellow afterimage, “Papa! Help!”, exclaims Alex. Chasing her, “Oh, no you don’t”, says Alice. Clasping her hands and separating them the next moment, a knife made just then gets hurled at Alex… The whole room lights up in red similar to cinnabar, symbols of various spherical symmetry appear on the walls of the bar. The knife sets into stasis, stopping in its tracks, in between the kitchen and the cubicle the group sat at. Hidden behind Will, “Now Sera is angry, how about that?”, says Alex. Turning his head to the people back at the cubicle, “Alex is 4 years younger than Alice and Seraphina… Please, bear with me, here”, says Will.
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Opening his palm, “Yuki, could you make some rope for me?”, asks Will, walking towards Alice, who was also set in stasis… “There – now you will amend your actions while sitting in a bind…”, says Will as one very angry Alice sits on the ground, immobilized: her hands, and her body in general, bound by Yuki’s strings. “Sera~!”, calls Will as he pats on Alex’s head.
Standing in front of the table, “As the oldest of the three, Sera, you should put boundaries on what could and could not be done in here. Look at Alice – almost hurt Alex with that knife… Ah~ Well, at least you stopped it before anything bad happened, no?”, says Will, lecturing Seraphina, who is older than him. Pointing to Alex who is sitting where he sat at, “And you, what did you do to get in this situation, Alex? Your quick wits make people act above their cooldown, which is why I said to you to not be like that and think before saying anything”, he scolds. Walking to where she was placed and squatting down beside her, “And you… please be nice to your sisters, Alice. If you do not, I might just stay here and boss everyone around instead of you. There is a reason why I put you in charge of this place, Alice. Not because you cannot cook or the fact that you cannot remember things in quick succession; you are a person of creativity, authority and power. This place is yours: your design, your name and your decision to stay here. So, please, do not act according to others and be the leader you were destined to be, Alice Li Yeva”, says Will. Turning back to the others, “Understood?”, he asks. “Understood!”, sounds the three sisters.
Untying Alice, “I heard you have become quite different since I left you. How so?” asks Will. After his leave, much of the underground sought to fill the gap left by a ghost. Yet, they were rejected of such opportunity, kicked to the shed and forgotten. With their ego shattered, they went to destroy the lasting legacy he left – his safe haven: Ferne Weise. “Some crooks barged in here almost every day for the first year since you left, asked for you and, when I said you were no longer here, they started to act like they owned this place, instead of you. Not to mention this place was still quite new as a bar and as a safe space in the underground, some profanities have been committed… Do you see that sign at the top of the bar-stand – the tally, 5 full and 1 stray, is there to count how many we had to kill…”, says Alice. In quite a caring voice, “I see”, answers Will.
Sitting in between Sera and Alex to finish the set, “It might be a reach above my authority but, could you tell me why have you returned to Berlin?”, asks Alice. Clearing his throat, “Before I answer that, I have to introduce my friends from Hanover to you”, says Will, standing up. Starting from the farthest right, “That is Leo, who you should already know. Next to him is Johann von Alstrom, my baker friend and the group’s back-line defense. Then, there is Li San Hue, Johann’s young apprentice and our group’s trump card; also known as Li the Pyromancer. Now, for the one sitting right of me-”, he says before being interrupted by Alex saying, “The Pyromancer!? I thought he was just a coverup for the government’s wrongdoing… So, you are saying, the terrorist Li, who blew up the Hanover consulate Hanover building, is a 13-year-old?”. Adjusting his voice, “Yes… As I was saying, the person to my right is Cassandra Trie Johannes, my reason for leaving Berlin and our group’s front-line markswoman. You already know Yuki, and most of you copy her move-set, so that is finished on my end”, he continues.
Standing up and walking behind the three sisters, “Friends, these three are of my lineage, just like Yuki. The one on my right is Alex, also known as Swift, in charge of the register and other floor duties. The one in the middle, here, is Alice, also known as Switch, in charge of the whole establishment and its affairs. And the one on my left is Seraphina, also known as Soft, in charge of the kitchen and the pantry. These three have the last name Li Yeva meaning I am their guardian and they are my… children, as you will. To a limited extent, Yuki is also one my children, having that Li Yuki in her name, but it also means that she is a child of San as well”, says Will, grinning.