“Are you an Archmage as well?” the rookie name Jennings asked a few moments after we both stepped out of the door and I blinked. Great, I thought this walk would be awkward, but if my newfound partner is the conversational type then it takes some pressure off of me.
“I am a superior mage,” I clarified. “Unless the standards of the academy have drastically fallen you should know that archmages are one large step up from that and despite the dog’s empty boasting; nowhere near as common as you may think.” The two of us continued throughout the barren embassy for a few seconds in silence before she once again killed the impending awkwardness.
“So the Dark Lords would be archmagi then?” Jennings asked and I shot her a look at the weird tangent. “I never did get a response to that answer in the class.” It was unsurprising that they didn’t teach that; it was not an easy question to answer.
“Dark Lords are Dark Lords,” I shrugged giving a non-response to the occasionally asked question. “Unfortunately for the sake of knowledge everywhere people generally don’t go out of their way to track them down and interview them. I know what you are thinking and despite recent events you should know that the situation of a Dark Lord popping up is so rare that most people will never directly meet one; usually only once or twice a century. The Rampage was an irregularity never before seen in recorded history. If disasters such as that happened frequently; such as every fifty or a hundred years then the human race would likely have gone extinct thousands of years ago.”
“That is probably true,” she said and for a moment a shadow seemed to fall over her face before she snapped out of it. “I suppose if another disaster like the Rampage happens then that might lead to the whole of Maverice being destroyed.” I internally raised an eyebrow at that. Seriously, Maverice got off easy from the Rampage; there were entire duchies back in the old world that simply ceased to exist as whichever flavour-of-the-day Dark Lord decided to ruin it. Maverice came out stronger overall despite the many men and women that were shipped off to die in droves by the very virtue of the fact that during the Rampage no Dark Lord ever set foot in the new world.
“So, you’re a half-mage?” I stated changing the subject before wincing as I suddenly realised how tactless that might seem. It turned out my guess was both accurate and indelicate because the aforementioned User nodded while suddenly looking downcast.
“Fourth year of it,” she said, that expression faded into a look of worn determination. “I’ll get it soon.” There was a noted lack of confidence in her voice; instead there was a creeping worry that I had experienced once or twice when I was much, much younger. “That looks like a target for interrogation,” she said changing the subject with all the delicacy of a giant turning on its wheels as she pointed towards the second native of the building that I had seen so far, who appeared just in time to derail the awkward conversation.
The young half-mage shot me a look containing a silent request to initiate conversation with the intimidating Youkai and after a short moment of reluctant contemplation I nodded before summoning up my meagre social skills. I wasn’t a diplomat by any stretch of the imagination, but at least I wasn’t a User.
“Excuse me,” I said talking to the weasel-like humanoid that stood barely taller than my knees. “I’m looking for a Moon Rabbit that works here.” If I was correct he was a Kamaitachi, but I had never met his kind before so I couldn’t be sure.
“I just cleans the floor, chief,” the weasel said in what sounded like street Kaminojin to my untrained ear, and I sighed at the utter lack of standard Galmanic. Come on, if you’re going to go to a country you should at least learn a couple sentences. Rubbing my temples I shifted my brain off the well-worn roads of Galmanic and onto the much ricketier paths of my patchy knowledge of Kaminojin.
“Excuse me,” I said, seeing how his ears seemed to perk up immediately at the much more familiar language. “I’m with/from Tower of Bremen. We have Mekurai’s permission/will to engage in an investigation regarding the murder/slaying of Lord Sukumo. We are currently looking for a Moon Rabbit. Can you help us with our investigation?” Gods, my Kaminojin was awful. Honestly, a pox on you for forcing me to speak it.
It was rather interesting to see how his initial interest at being able to interact with us was replaced by a creeping nervousness, even fear as the discussion went on. I wonder if it was due to Mekurai’s own reputation or just a result of being from the Tower. Well, hopefully Jennings makes a better good envoy then I do.
“There’s no need to panic, Sir,” Jennings stated in perfect Kaminojin, although her language to my mind was a touch too deferential for the xenophobes. “All we want is to ask you if you know anything about the girl’s location and then we’ll be gone.”
“Yeah, I knows the girl,” the weasel said after a moment of thought. “There’s only one of those rabbits in this place. Nice girl. She’s a new intern if I’s not mistaken. She goes by the name of Asukara Neposa. She have house in Kami district. Can show you but…” he gestured towards the broom that he held in one hand, pointing towards the duties that he still had to do.
“I think this takes priority,” I said narrowing my eyes as I regarded the cleaner. “Just mention that you had to show two investigators around, that should be enough of a reason, shouldn’t it.” Besides, I was in front of him and Mekurai was far away. It was obvious who he would defer to. A snake in the grass can beat a dragon in the mountain; or something like that. Cannot really remember how the saying goes.
“Yes, chief,” the weasel said hurriedly nodding before he turned away. “The Kami district is just a twenty minutes away if we hurry. There shouldn’t be too much traffic on the street.”
“There’s no need to worry,” Jennings said. “You can just give us the address and we’ll find it.”
“Pardon but you’ll never find it with just the address,” the weasel said scratching his head. “The buildings over there use a completely different layout to most of the areas in New Bremen. Besides folks there get a little antsy whenever one of the coppers pop over there. Er, no offence chief.”
“Let’s just go,” I said switching back to Galmanic. “I wouldn’t mind a third party to show us around. We’ll follow your lead.” The last words were directed to the weasel who nodded before scampering forward on all fours before looking backwards, as if waiting for us to catch up, with his broom lying abandoned to lean against the wall.
“He seems enthusiastic,” Jennings said smiling as she followed.
“Yeah,” I agreed bringing my hand up to my face allowing White Zurite to form for an instant before I let the spell fade, having neither confirmed nor denied my suspicions. “Ever been to the Kami district?” I asked following after the weasel.
“Once when we were in hot pursuit,” Jennings admitted. “So not really though. I’m interested in Kaminotochi culture but I haven’t lived in New Bremen long. I’m a country girl,” she said providing me with more information than I asked for.
“I haven’t been either,” I admitted. As opposed to her I had lived in New Bremen for the last six years. I just didn’t get out of the house much. All the Kaminotochi food I ordered was delivered to my doorstep; which reminded me. With the exception of my lollipops I haven’t eaten in a while. Maybe I should grab some food while I’m in that neighborhood. I mentally contemplated the short list of options I had compiled over my many years of not cooking.
“So what do you normally do,” Jennings said as we stepped out of the embassy after the janitor whose work we interrupted. “I’ve already met most of our regular consultants and you don’t sound a lot like them.”
“I’m a runic engineer,” I stated, still in thought before realising I may have come off as to blunt. “I work mainly with coding medium and large scale runic systems,” I clarified. “Like an artificer except that we don’t spend months on a tool that you can hold on one hand.” I lifted my bag as I did so. Well it was mass produced but it surely got the point across.
“That’s impressive,” the younger woman flattered me semi-sincerely. “Can I ask how long it took for you to become a mage?” Oh, so that was really bothering her.
“Five months,” I said getting a look of disbelief from the half-mage. “My brother did it in three,” I followed up with and her face hardened, hiding her emotions inexpertly. “We both started training when we were nine,” I continued ratcheting up the pressure causing her face to turn to cold granite. “But that’s the issue with growing up in the Old World. You’re either strong or you’re dead. It’s much nicer here in Maverice. What is the minimum age to start learning magic; thirteen, fourteen?”
“Fifteen,” Jennings stated and I blinked in surprise. That was rather late, but I suppose they want people to be cognizant of the downsides before committing. Still it sounds like one of those things that might be choking our pipeline of Wielders.
“That’s pretty old by Old World standards,” I said. “I guess they must be treating it as an optional extension to a schooling system instead of a replacement. I cannot say I’m the biggest fan of starting it that late, awakening already takes so long that getting it started as soon as possible just seems like the most logical.”
“I agree,” she said letting that expression drop. “But do you…” she floundered not trying to ask the obvious question.
“Do I have a way to help quicken awakening?” I said finishing her sentence. “Are you asking me for something extracurricular?” I paused wondering if I should say anything. “There are techniques to help quicken an awakening but none of them are without some measure of pain or danger. That’s probably the reason why Maverice doesn’t teach or endorse those methods and has the standardized techniques that they do. I’ve got time off so I can give you some quick guidance once we’re done with this whole thing.” It would cost me next to nothing after all. “Realistically speaking, after four years of training you probably only need that one last push to fully awaken and it shouldn’t prove too difficult.” She fell silent hearing that.
“Thank you,” she said speaking up after a while with a sordidly evident undercurrent of hope in her voice. “It would be amazing to finally get into actually casting spells instead of messing around with wands.”
“You get accustomed to it,” I shrugged it off. I had been doing it for over two decades now. “You’ll be cursing the yearly registration soon enough like the rest of us.” I wouldn’t actually know as Kat just registered me each year. Apparently they were quite a hassle, having to update the country on your situation each year. “How long have you been with the Arcane Crimes Unit anyway?” It was quite unusual to see somebody so young in that particular branch that dealt with those who investigated crimes in which Wielders were involved.”
“Took up mana studies at fifteen and graduated at eighteen,” she admitted. “I’ve been working at the ACU for six months now. Honestly the only reason why they had me on this case was because it’s very rare to speak Kaminojin in this area.”
“Well the only reason that I was chosen for this was because I was a competent mage,” I shrugged off the self-deprecation. “You’ve done basic detective work at least so you can take point. I’ll just back you up.” I rummaged through my bag before pulling out a lollipop and biting into the hard candy, feeling the satisfying crunch between my teeth. My sugar reserves were low after all this running around and the semi-tricky work of the morning and I kept a small part of my bag dedicated to my collection of candy. “Want some,” I offered my companion pulling out a small selection.
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“No thank you,” Jennings refused my offer. “I’m not a fan of sweets. Besides I ate just right before you arrived.”
“Did we keep you waiting?” I asked unconcernedly as we stepped onto Maine Street. If I remembered correctly the Kaminojin district was pretty close; a testament to the brisk pace we had been maintaining in following behind the weasel.
“Well, yeah I suppose,” she said somewhat uncomfortably. “We got there pretty early in the morning and then had to wait for the Tower to send the two of you over. I suppose you had to deal with the higher ups about the whole situation.”
“Kat maybe,” I admitted easily. “She just called me a couple minutes before to lend some legitimacy to the whole operation.” Apparently I hadn’t said the right thing.
“I…” the half-mage said before closing her mouth creating an awkward silence.
“We’re almost there, chief,” our guide said as he slowed down and we caught him at the gates of the youkai district. “Welcome to the Kaminojin district where most of us Kamino folks live. Now Asukura, I think she lived in the Midnight Lotus. That’s one of the better buildings, there’s also a lovely café opposite the building. We can ask one of the grandmothers sitting around once we get closer.”
“This place looks different,” Jennings piped up looking at the architecture of wood and paper that differed so much from the more clean steel and glass of Maverice. The streets were, well not full of Youkai but there were at least a couple dozen that almost all stopped what they were doing and fixed us with their vision when we passed by. They probably didn’t see many humans over here. There was a very good reason for that.
“Stay close to me,” I said stepping closer towards Jennings. “If they are wise they won’t try anything but wisdom is a premium commodity nowadays.”
“They’re not all criminals,” Jennings said but she nevertheless stepped closer.
“They may not be, but even the weakest Youkai are a danger to a half-mage,” I said. “We’re already in a hostile position with them and if some idiot injures a police officer then we’ll have a lot of war-hungry idiots on our side as well.”
“What?” Jennings said sounding genuinely shocked. I guess the ACU didn’t tell her the harsh implications of the mission. “Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?” I shrugged, choosing not to answer the question. Kat seemed to believe there was a problem and she was a lot better at reading the winds of politics then I was.
“The ambassador was killed in an underhanded manner…” I whispered as we proceeded through the streets ignoring the hostile or curious glances.
“…In the middle of a foreign power. Yeah,” Jennings rebutted quietly. “I know it looks bad but surely there are diplomatic channels to address this type of thing.”
“What do you think that Kat is doing right now,” I pointed out. “I can assure you that she is engaging in proper Youkai diplomacy. If she doesn’t knock out a few teeth by the end of today then I will give up candy.” A peppermint went in my mouth and I reveled in the crunch before I sucked the shattered pieces free of their tasty sugar.
“Then why did they have such a…” she gestured at me and her. “Small team.” Inexperienced, new, untalented. No she was probably pretty talented. They wouldn’t have put her on the case if she didn’t have at least a modicum of talent to go with her knowledge of the language.
“There is in all honesty probably a lot more working behind the scenes,” I said. “I can promise you that corpse is getting worked over right now by the best. The police that they sent to the embassy were just as much as the Youkai allowed.”
“But they only sent us to interview this woman,” Jennings rebutted.
“Which shows just how important they find this line of questioning,” I thought through the reasoning. “Right now nobody has any information and time is of the essence. Let’s solve the case before the rest of them even get started.” I was getting myself slightly fired up now. While I had no investment in the situation I felt mildly curious towards the identity of the murderer.
“You’re not even a detective,” Jennings pointed out.
“You’re not even a mage,” I rebutted immediately.
“We’re here, chief,” the janitor weasel said bringing our discussions to an end. The Midnight Lotus was a squat building of wood looking vaguely gourd like. It was painted a dark blue and seemed somewhat out of place among the more cheap looking buildings. “Nice place isn’t it. I wonder how much dough you hafta pay to get into somewhere like that.” More than an intern’s pay was something that he didn’t say, but certainly implied. “I’m gonna go quickly check with the old folk and see where our intern sups her noodles.”
I watched him go before I stowed my sweets in my bag and swung it onto my shoulder. “You can do the talking with the rabbit. My Kaminojin is a bit weak,” I said switching back to Galmanic as I spoke to the only person who was actually part of the police force.
“Don’t worry I’m trained in these matters,” Jennings said. “I can handle talking to the witness if you can keep an eye out for anything unusual.”
“Sure,” I said somewhat relieved that I wouldn’t have to speak to a member of the Rabbit Clan. It’s not that I hated them, but they always felt like they were more exuberant than strictly necessary.
“They say she lives on the fifth floor, Chief,” the weasel said bounding back after a short while. “They haven’t seen her out and about today, though.” That was disappointing, but not unexpected. I would be shocked if she was still there in the first place.
“Well she was up late last night apparently,” Jennings said. “Let’s go knock on the door. You don’t have to show us around anymore. Thank you for the help you have given.”
“Honestly chief, my house is just down the street and my shift should be over by now. I’ve got nothing else to do and you might need a guide around the part of the city.”
“We will gladly accept,” I cut off Jennings rebuttal. “It would be more… symbolic, no, representative having a Youkai among us.” Jennings shot me a look but ultimately nodded. There was a suspicious look towards the janitor that I approved of. She had good instincts, a bit more experience and she would make a good cop. “Lead on.”
Still showing no reaction to my mangled Kaminojin he did lead on; taking us up to the over waxed floors and past paper doors until we found ourselves on the fifth floor which was also the top floor of the building and somehow also the fourth floor for some reason; probably cultural. A small bell sat next to the paper doors and the janitor rang it before waiting for a response; a response that never came.
“Maybe she’s out,” Jennings volunteered before seeing the weasel give her a blank look. “Maybe she’s out,” she repeated again; somewhat unnecessarily, but if I was correct there was no way that any mistake would be made.
“Maybe,” I said trying to peer through the paper before pressing my hand against the door. There was a thin barrier around the door, most likely powered by a runic-tuner crystal hybrid system inside the room; it would only open up when presented with the correct frequency key or when confronted by sufficient force.
“What are you doing,” Jenning said leaping back as my fist coated in mana tore through the barrier and shredded the paper of the door. The weasel didn’t yell out but he also flinched in alarm that looked oddly natural.
“Disabling a shoddy security system,” I said feeling a slight fatigue from the sudden motion of mana. It always came whenever I hadn’t really performed any sizeable exertions of magic for a while. It usually takes me a while to properly warm up. Taking a desk job had not been easy on me.
“You can’t just break into somebody’s home,” Jennings hissed furiously. “You need to request a warrant before you can do something like this. If we don’t uphold the law then soon people will start questioning whether there are any differences between us and the criminals we arrest.” That was an admirable stance, at least to me. Fortunately there was another thing that separated me from any criminals.
“Kat asked me to take the case,” I defended myself lazily feeling my stagnant mana start to slightly stir again before it settled down. “As an archmage associated with the Towers she has the authority to issue a warrant at her own discretion. As I am empowered by her with regards to this investigation I have been issued a blanket warrant in kind. Right now I am declaring that we have sufficient reason to believe that Asukara Neposa may be involved at least tangentially in the murder of Lord Sukumo and thus we need to get inside her house.”
“Is any of that actually true?” Jennings said after a short while giving me a scrutinizing look. Yes, a bit more practice and she would make a fine detective. Now if she could only be a decent mage then she might earn her spot in the ACU.
“Probably,” I admitted lightly. “You get broad powers as a member of the Towers and Kat did basically tell me to investigate. Realistically after this is done she’ll simply sign and backdate a warrant once the job is done.”
“That’s very…” Jennings wanted to retort before she lowered her head. “I can’t agree with this, but I don’t really think I have a choice here.”
“Knowing what you can and can’t change is a vital part of being an adult,” I said before inwardly wincing at how condescending I sounded. Gods, I nearly sounded like my own father for a bit. Shaking off the unwanted nostalgia I gave the half-mage a warning that I had unfortunately had to hear from my own family. “Wait until you become a proper member of the Towers and understand the structures that underpin our society before you try to subvert them.”
It was an important lesson and to her credit she sighed at that before she nodded. While I was an outsider to the police hierarchy, as a superior mage I heavily outranked her, nobody would blame her for following my lead. I grabbed the frame of the door before summoning more mana into my fingers and after a moment of warm up I gently tore the door off its hinges. I really haven’t exerted myself in quite a while; all the theoretical work had made it hard for me to rouse my mana.
“Hopefully that day will come soon,” Jennings said, her words were not in any way accusatory but they reminded me of my promise to help her out once this was over, a minor challenge that I would not renege on. She stepped through the door and into the apartment and we both got our first look at the apartment. It was fairly spartan with the kind of utilitarian touch favored by the unpretentious. Curtains, mats, furniture and runes/crystals; everything looked fairly well-made but not ostentatious, indicating that the owner of this apartment had at least some knowledge of interior design.
“No dust,” Jennings said seriously. “Most likely the room was occupied recently.”
“The fridge is also fully stocked,” I said opening the silver cuboid and examining the contents. It looked relatively fresh although nothing like my own. I idly took a half-eaten block of chocolate out of the fridge and placed it on the counter by the side. What type of barbarian was this rabbit? Everybody knew you don’t put chocolate in the fridge. Oh she also had Synth Ale. That was not a drink for lightweights; the stuff was almost seventy percent alcohol and could knock a grown man out. Pity it tasted truly vile.
Wordlessly I ignored the kitchen and took stock of the remaining rooms. Besides the fully-stocked kitchen there was a bathroom, toilet, living room, bedroom and study. All the good stuff would be in the last two rooms and I let my mind run as I made a choice. Personal vs professional. Diaries vs documents. Passions of the night or problems of the day.
“I’ll take the bedroom, you can look at the study,” I said decisively walking forward before sliding open the not-trapped bedroom door. The place was rather neat with the pleasant aroma of somebody who had enough time on their hands to perfume their room and few enough hobbies to be able to pack everything away. There was a pair of closets and drawers to one side of the room where clothes were undoubtedly kept. Besides that the only other container was the bedside table, a perfect place to keep incriminating things and review them while in bed.
Eagerly I walked towards the home of diaries everywhere before I paused and slowly tested my steps. Something felt a bit odd about this room and I had an idea of just what it was. A perfect orb of White Zurite formed before I lay it on the ground and watched as it slowly began to roll towards the right side of the room. Okay that was far more interesting than a mere diary and I followed the trail of the white marble before tapping the side wall. A dull knock sounded the first few times before it was replaced by a more hollow sounding noise.
“Perfect,” I whispered to myself before tracing the area of hollow space. Carefully, I placed my bag on the floor before rummaging through one of the side pockets of my bag and after a short while of digging I found my trusty pocket knife; which I never leave home without. Finding the gap between the hollow and non-hollow I inserted the knife into the wooden walls and carved the outline of a door in the painted walls. A false door but it was locked. I ran my fingers over the place where they keyhole should be and was unsurprised to find the distinctive features.
“Behold,” I muttered to myself as I clapped my fingers together before parting them revealing a key made of White Zurite. In anticipation I inserted the false key in the lock turning the k…this key isn’t turning. I jiggled it more and was rewarded with a crisp snapping sound for my efforts and a loss of the structure of the key. I really was out of practice if I couldn’t make fake keys any more. The noise hadn’t drawn the attention of the other two yet so I still had some time to explore unmolested with having to explain my actions.
I poured forth slivers of mana into my knife and it lit up with runes. I had spent an afternoon upgrading this knife until it met my standards for artefacts. With the utmost level restrained destructiveness the knife hit the deadbolt before slicing through it like it was made of delicious taffy. With a flick of the blade the door swung open revealing: a safe.
“Seriously,” I said with disappointment at the delay in gratification. A brief glance was enough to tell me that the safe was much better designed. Brute-forcing the thing would probably just lead to the destruction of the contents. From the looks of it I would need the code to get inside the safe, or at least a couple of minutes before I could identify and decompose the traps that protected the locking mechanism. I knelt down taking a closer look at the door tracing my fingertips gently over the metal as I prepared to___
*Crack* the sound of shattering glass or wood roused me from my state of focus and I sprang to my feet before vaulting towards the door back to the living room where I had left the other two; both of whom were no longer alone. Two masked and hooded individuals stood there clad entirely in loose baggy grey robes that revealing nothing of their features. Meanwhile the weasel janitor had unfortunately attempted to occupy the space where the living room table once stood proudly, now lay splintery, and the fledgling member of the ACU had wand drawn while facing one of the advancing figures in a scenario that would clearly not end well for her.