Chapter 173: Altered History.

I received a lot of strange glances and looks. Even Terada was giving me a look. I didn’t try to explain myself, instead I dragged her off to my, well, Leo’s office. Leo shared an odd look too, only his was more sympathetic as I shoved him out, leaving me alone with Liu Lian.

“Did you really have to make such a commotion?” I groaned, and in response Liu Lian nearly brained herself on the desk as she swung herself forward in a full ninety-degree bow.

“My apologies!” She announced again.

Another groan left my lips. After I had seen her name on the list of new hires, I’d figured bringing her in would be useful. That, and I figured it would be funny to see how she would react on seeing me again… Well, jokes on me, I guess.

Instead of taking a seat at my, well, Leo’s chair, I opted instead to sit down on the desk and take in the girl. She had dark hair that trailed behind her, dark eyes, and overall, she still held an air of nobility around her. What was missing was her previous arrogance. Replaced instead with a bone-deep fear.

Even bowing, she was shivering. Knees practically knocking on each other. Her eyes were looking at everything but me. Clearly, our last little bout had done more than simply put her back in her place. The girl was terrified of me, which wasn’t a good look. Although, at least this way, she wouldn’t be a pain to deal with, hopefully…

“So, Lian, you don’t mind if I call you that, do you?” I ask.

“No, I don’t mind at all!”

“Great.” I say with a smile that had her shivering. “Now, tell me Lian, how have you been since we separated?” I asked.

She worked her jaw, eyes darting about. Eventually though, she mustered the courage to give me an answer. “Well! I’ve been doing well!”

“And your grandfather?” I continued.

“He’s doing well too! We were able to find a nice place to stay, and grandfather even managed to open a small tea shop!” She continued, still speaking at the top of her lungs.

“A tea shop?” I questioned aloud. “Why would he do that?”

At this, she actually froze and went still. Her eyes fell on me, as if what I’d said was absurd.

“We, uh… needed money?” She says, almost questioningly. Honestly, she was acting like I’d just beat her down for no reason.

“How so? Can you explain what happened after the event?”

“Event?” She asked again, confused.

“I suppose to you it wasn’t just an event.” I state, “But how did you handle the aftermath?”

“Aftermath?” She repeated again, dumbly.

I narrowed my eyes. Was she messing with me? It was possible she was still out of it after my beating, but she should know what happened after Sheep took them away, or… was it possible she didn’t?

As I was thinking, Lian suddenly perked up. “You’re talking about after what happened, right? With the whole family feud?”

“Family… feud?” I replied back, knowing full well I was now the one that sounded like an idiot.

Lian nodded rapidly. “Yes, you and your friends came to visit us at our estate and helped us out with our family feud. Our family, the Liu family was a subordinate family of the Xiao family.”

I nod along.

“The leader of the Xiao family went on a bit of a rampage. He wildly spent our fortunes and worked to eliminate any other member with any chance of usurping him. We were bound to lose everything and then you and your friends came, and not only did you put him in his place, but you also sparred with me and the family guard… Do you not remember?” She asked, tilted her head.

It was… a very loose interpretation of what happened. A few more pointed questions later and I had my confirmation. She didn’t remember what happened. Rather, what happened to her was something normal, anything special or supernatural was changed to be ordinary. Questions on Entropy, the end of the world, her realm’s collapse. All of it just returned blank stares.

Which answered a lot of questions and yet, left many more.

Notably, Lian no longer had magic. She was no longer empowered and the very mention of that had her blankly staring at me in confusion. Yes, she still trained in her martial arts, but they were no longer special in any way. Nor was she too pleased with the idea of sparring with me. Not that I blamed her, not after what I had done to her.

Her Grandfather was much the same, based on what she said. What was left of their family’s wealth went into opening a small tea shop. Whose staff were their former servants and guards. As for the other clan leaders and their families, Lian wasn’t too sure, but she heard they might have moved in as well. Not that I really cared about them.

Instead of working for her grandfather, Lian had hoped to make it on her own. Which is why she applied here, at Taurus. It was a longshot, but she thought she’d give it a go.

As for running into me, that hadn’t been the plan. Yet, when I explained that I was the one to accept her application, the girl just about fell over. That is, until she realized that I didn’t just recruit her to be my punching bag.

“Why did you hire me then?” She asked after a long moment of contemplation, interrupting my own thoughts.

“I figured you’d acclimate well enough. Your talented, and you do good work when you’re focused.” She perked at my praise, “The only flaw you have, is your wildly arrogant. So, do keep that in check.”

She flushed, but, “I will and thank you for this opportunity!”

“Yes, yes…” I said waving her off. “I’ll have Liche work with you through the onboarding process. I’ll have you working to assist her, and slowly work you round the stations.”

“I’ll do my best!” She announced and with my dismissal she left, with her head held high.

Before I could do much else, Leo slinked in. “So, that girl, you beat her into submission as well?” He asked with that typical look on his face.

I didn’t even answer and he laughed.

“Thought so. I notice you have a type.” He continues, waggling his eyebrows. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Something told me those two would make fast friends.

“A type?” I drawled back, “Like say, a spoiled brat that needed a good beating?” I press. His smile faltered. His hand reached for his tie, subtle, but…

Just before I could open my mouth, he laughed again, pushing through the awkward moment. “Exactly! Spare the rod and all, right?” He says, giving me a totally fake smile.

I stared. His fake smile stuck through. “Who are you and what have you done with Leo?” I asked back as a way to break the ice. A subtle joke to move us along… However…

His fake smile faltered, he looked bewildered and he howled. Earning him another odd glance as I watched as he bowled over. “W-was that supposed to be a joke?” He says between laughs. “Oh, my ribs…” He mutters and wheezes.

And honestly, the more I looked at him, the more he laughed. It took him far too long to collect himself. Even longer to look at me without breaking into small fits.

Eventually, after calming himself down, he said, while giving me his biggest smile yet. “I didn’t know you cared.”

I blinked. Something in my look must have given something away as his smile widened.

“Right, is there a reason you’re bothering me?” I bite back.

He just keeps smiling though. “Nope, I just wanted to make sure our newest hire wasn’t being bullied!” He exclaims theatrically.

“Then leave me alone, I have work to do.” I say, while shooing him away.

He leaves, but before he goes, he gives a final parting retort. “Sure thing, ‘Boss’.”

I feel a shiver run down my spine. On instinct I grab a nearby ledger and chuck it at him as he closes the door. It was a bit late, impacting the now closed door and scattering papers everywhere. I sigh and cradle my head in my arms, all while Leo’s muffled laugh echoed from outside the office.

I say nothing, and I wait until I hear it stop before, with a groan, I stand and collect the scattered papers. Once that was done, work resumed. Files are once again checked over, and as the day goes by, I make sure to check in with each of the stations.

Everything seemed to go well, but… only time will tell. By the end of the week, I had a proper answer.

“The onboarding for the new hires is going well.” Terada said as we finished up for the week and prepared for the weekend.

“Any concerns, troublemakers?”

“No, none.” He says. “There has, of course, been some friction, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The biggest issue is that the new hires aren’t very talented.”

“But they work?” I ask back.

“They do. They’ve also picked up their roles rather quickly. With another week of training, we should be able to get moving at full force.

“That’s good…” I say, but, “But that isn’t all, is it?” I ask, dreading the answer.

“No, it isn’t. I’ve talked with the others, and we concluded we might have a bit of an issue.”

“And that would be?” I ask back, as Terada gives me an almost embarrassed look.

“Our equipment.” He answers after a moment.

“Our equipment?” I asked back, and I looked over the stations. Yes, these were older computers, less able, slower, just, worse. He wasn’t wrong, but… “How bad?” I followed up with.

“Bad. A lot of us are used to the other setups and are having trouble adjusting. With how we usually work and with how poor these computers are, a lot of us end up having to go back over our work. Especially with us needing to keep up the pace.”

“And your solution?” I asked back, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be bringing this up, not unless he had one in mind.

“Yes, well, I’d like to put an order in for new computers. We can have them delivered by the start of next week and get them setup in a single day.” Terada said. Leaving a lot more unanswered.

I didn’t immediately answer. Terada knew well what our situation was, what our budget was. We’d already eaten into a significant chunk with the work weekend. New computers were… possible. But we’d have to cut corners in other areas…

At least, if we were just going off the budget given to us by the company.

As for the time for setup, if we could receive them early Monday, and if we did spend the whole day just setting them up, we’d still save time. After all, time spent sharpening an axe wasn’t time lost. New computers would save us a lot more time than they would cost us, in theory.

“You’re looking at replicating the setup we had before, yes?” I ask first and foremost.

“Yes, I’d like to get something more modern, but…”

“It would take longer to learn and adapt.” I answered before he could and he nodded. “And I suppose we wouldn’t learn it quickly enough to make a difference?”

He shakes his head and follows up with, “And I can’t guarantee the quality. It could take months to break in a new program and computer.”

Months we didn’t have…

Honestly, it would be cheaper to get all new state-of-the-art computers. Something like what the first division has. What we had before the demotion was a generation or two older. Which would drive up the costs. Not just because they were proven to be reliable, but because they may be being phased out as we speak.

Procuring them, especially enough for a whole division would normally be difficult. Especially on short notice, but Terada wouldn’t be approaching me with this if he didn’t have something lined up…

“Fine.” I said. “Give me the invoice and I’ll have it paid this weekend. Just make sure they are here on Monday morning.”

“I will.” He answered seriously, and with that done, we finished our tasks and separated for the weekend.

The invoice did come, and it was just as expensive as I thought it would be. Still, I paid it out of my own wallet, hoping that if we were successful, that I might make back my invested capital. Though, considering what we had ahead of us, I was beginning to think that wouldn’t be possible.

Over the weekend, I checked in with Talia and Shi. While also continuing to do my own research and work. I even managed to set aside some time to give Éclair a call and give her the rundown of my own situation. Or rather, more specifically, I told her about Liu Lian and what she had told me.

Her response? “Ah, that happens.” She said, almost nonchalantly. “When citizens are taken in, some remain themselves for the most part. You can consider those, named characters in a sense, people with enough importance that the mascots didn’t just reset them.”

I couldn’t help but frown. “I had a feeling, but is that really necessary?” I had to ask.

“Yes, well, I’m not entirely sure to be honest… I do know there is a reason for it, and that if they didn’t it would cause problems. But the reset doesn’t necessarily kill them, or who they were. Instead, they adjust them so they can mesh into city life without having a crisis.”

“But they can awaken? They’re not just empty shells, right?”

“Yeah, it takes some work, but they are still people. Just think of them as horses with blinders on. As the city improves and as we continue to work our way up, those blinders will go away naturally. For now, with our city as it is, yeah, this is what we get.”

I had more questions about that, but… “So, Lian, does that mean she can regain her power?”

“More or less…” Éclair didn’t sound certain though. “I mean, I’m not an expert here. Or a damn encyclopedia so I don’t know that much.”

“But you do know something?” I counter and she sighs.

“Yeah… I’ve never done it myself, but she could. She probably still has her breathing or cultivation methods, so if you put her in an area with enough magical energy, and have her do her thing, she’d slowly regain her power. Maybe even some of her memories.”

“Yet, she won’t be a magical girl, right?”

“No, she’d be a cultivator.”

“And what is a cultivator?” I questioned.

“A cultivator is, essentially a bronze rank human. They focus, at least initially, on strengthening their bodies. Eventually they can turn into gold ranks, but it takes a lot of energy to do so, and not many do it.”

“Are they like magic users then?”

“Magic users are like, silver ranked humans. Different principles entirely. Cultivators refine and strengthen their body, to a point. Magic users do the opposite, strengthening their ability to project magic out, allowing them to cast spells. Which, incidentally, in some cases can be used to strengthen them, but that’s different.” Éclair explained.

I thought about that, considered the implications… “Are there ways to make mages and cultivators?”

“I mean, probably?” I could almost hear Éclair shrugging. “Like I said, I don’t have any experience with it myself, but the base idea is that to be a cultivator, you need a robust body and constitution at best. To be a magic user, well, they need a foci, and a magical item to use. However, even then, they both have to have something special to them.”

“Special how?”

“Cultivators need what they call a spiritual root. Which, I think, is supposed to represent their cardiovascular system, or their veins, and they need to be able to handle magical power. Otherwise, juicing them up will just, it just won’t work out very well in the long term. At least, from what I’ve heard. There are probably work arounds, like feeding them pills to break down the magic in their bodies and let them slowly build up, but yeah, I wouldn’t know.”

I immediately thought of the gang members I’d fought. Especially that gang leader. They had all been abnormally tough, mutated as well, and they only had retained their sanity, or at least, most of it by taking those pills of theirs. Ignoring my own thoughts, Éclair continued.

“For magic users, beyond a foci, they need specialized channels to interface with magical items. I’ve heard they can be created, but the process is a bit… dangerous. Not just that, but the mage families heavily protect that practice, as they use it to help create magic users, and eventually turn them into proper mages.”

I nod along, though… “Do they have a name for these special channels?”

“Magic circuits, I believe? I’m not too sure on the specifics, but I do know there is a perk to get them.”

“Are they worth it?”

“Not really… they boost your magic capacity by, a lot. They also have a lot of additional benefits, but it’s like getting the perk that pushes magic into your blood.”

“So, they both can be done then without getting the perk?” I asked.

“That… I don’t know about that.”

“You don’t?” I replied in surprise.

“As I said, I’m not an encyclopedia. I know a lot, but that’s just because I’ve been to a lot of places. The blood thing I figured out pretty quick, but only because I was constantly juicing myself. Eventually, everyone kind of works into it.”

“Then, wouldn’t we eventually get these circuits too?” I replied.

Éclair hesitated. “Again, I wouldn’t know. I’ve not seen anything like it.”

“Well…” I went ahead and talked with her about Talia’s initial findings on the differences between silver and bronze ranked familiars.

“Huh…” Was all that left her lips.

“Not just that, but, based on what she’s seen from Shi, it’s possible that reaching gold rank requires them to bridge the gap between the two. With Bronze ranks needing to make these circuits, or something similar and silver ranks needing to get the magic into their blood.” I gave her my, well, Talia’s well formulated conjecture. Though, even if that was true, it wasn’t easy.

As evidenced by when I first started cycling my magical energy into my blood. It only worked out so well because I was already a magical girl, my body was already made for it. Even then, without Éclair’s instruction, it would have taken me some time to even realize it was possible. It’s entirely possible that there are magical girls out there that don’t know about it even after years of existing.

So, there being a next step was only logical… Right?

I waited for Éclair’s response and yet… “You there?” I spoke. Still, no answer. “Did I lose you? Éclair?” I asked again and checked my phone, we were still connected, and my messages were apparently piling up. “Can you hear me?” I asked a final time.

“Yesh…” A voice, barely audible, horribly slurred came over the line.

“Éclair?” I asked again, now worried. “Did something happen?”

“No… Ah…” A groan, and after a few minutes, she came back. “Yeah, I can hear you, sorry about that. I just thought I’d give it a go, and well, yeah. Think I broke something. It’s all good now though.”

I opened my mouth to question, or ask what it is she meant by that, but… well… did I really want to know? Something told me that, no, I didn’t want to know. “Right, well, about Lian, do you think I could make her a magical girl?” I had to ask.

“Huh, oh, yeah, her, I mean, I guess? Just do the same thing to make her a cultivator, only, flood her with tons of magical energy. After that well, she’ll probably naturally turn into one, maybe? That or, she’ll mutate or die horribly.”

“And how confident on that are you?” I asked.

“Not at all. Honestly, I don’t think it’s worth the risk, but you do you.”

I mulled that over… “I have a pair of guns, could those help?” I told her about the pair of guns I had taken from the gang leader not so long ago.

“Well, it would make it easier to awaken her as a cultivator. Honestly though, if you really want to make her into a magical girl, you’ll need a gold coin. That I can guarantee, otherwise you should probably stick with making her a cultivator.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, but…” I trailed off, and something came to mind. “You said there are mage families? There have to be cultivator families too, right?”

“Yeah, but our city doesn’t have a martial association, as far as I know.”

“We do have mages though?” I ask back.

She didn’t immediately answer. At first, I was worried she did something again, but before I could repeat my question she spoke up. “Yes and no. We had mage families, but well, not so much anymore. There are some mages still kicking about, but nothing super organized.”

“Why is that?” I had to ask. “Did something happen?”

“Yeah, I did.”

I was about to ask how she did that, when the words caught in my throat. “The incident?” I almost croaked out.

“Yes, just about. When I used the platinum, it returned all the magical girls and citizens, but many of the mage families didn’t fall under what I was asking for and well, they didn’t come back. Which is partly why I’ve never moved to another city.”

“That…” I pause. That actually explains a lot. I had a feeling, but with her confirmation, yeah. It made sense that she was the reason for the upper echelon purge that led to magical girls taking over most of the positions inside the city… Only…

“How is that related to you staying in the city?” I ask.

“Well, and I mean, you’ve probably wondered why I stick with this city despite how strong I am, don’t you?” Éclair asks.

“Admittedly, that was a question I had.” I answer.

“Well, that’s why. Though, I’m sure that doesn’t answer the question, not really, but… do you know how cities come to be?” She asked.

“Don’t the mascots make them?” Was my answer.

“Yes, and well, no. Beyond the first city, the city that acts as the central command, the mascots actually didn’t just make the cities. Rather, the cities are made by using platinum coins. Usually, these coins are gathered by other magical girls, all to add more forces to the front.”

“That is interesting to know, but does that mean they’re connected to the mages in some way?”

“A little, yeah.” Was Éclair’s reply. “See, a lot of groups have a vested interest in keeping reality as we know it going. We act to protect our planet, our world, but our world is one amongst countless, much like there are countless cities. Some of these worlds are capable of chipping in and assisting, essentially investing, or at times, even creating cities to add to the front and further aid the efforts.”

“And the mascots allow this?”

“They encourage it. Surely you know something of the minor factions in the city? How they came to be?”

I thought back to my talk with the therapist. She’d given me a brief overlook of the various factions, but this was new information. “Yeah, I do in fact… So, all these people invested into our future, or rather, the city’s future?”

“Yup, and my little action made me enemy number one to a lot of these groups. I’m safe so long as I stay here, especially since we’re still in the tutorial phase, but the moment I leave, well, that’s when it gets awkward.”

That… explained quite a bit… but there was a lot more I needed to confirm, I had plenty of other questions, but I could tell Éclair was getting distracted. Still, I had one last question.

“How would I find a magic user?”

“A Magic user?” Her voice crackled over the phone’s speakers. “I’d say, give them something magical and see if they can feel anything from it. A simple foci might work, or a silver ranked item with a simple spell. Although, you could probably find an item that detects if they have latent magical potential, but I wouldn’t know. Alternatively people who actively use magic can bypass the protections we have as magical girls.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, and thanks Éclair.”

“No problem, I am curious though. What are you thinking of doing with that girl of yours?”

“I have no idea… I’m more inclined to just leaving her alone at least for now.”

Éclair hummed over the phone. “I imagine that wouldn’t be a bad idea. Let sleeping dogs lie and all.”

“Yeah, anyway, I have work to get to, again, thanks for the information and your time.”

“And again, it’s not a problem.” Éclair said, and with that, we had our final goodbyes and hung up.

I sat in silence, for the moment. Working my jaw as I worked over what she said, the implications. Leo’s dad was a magic user, wasn’t he? Could he become one?

The question was, concerning… However, before I could get into it, my phone buzzed. Reminding me once more, that I had a deluge of messages to work through. So, with a sigh, I pressed on.