Work continued as usual. Marking the second week since Leo had taken charge. I hated to admit it, but… he was doing a good job. Sure, I was still doing the paperwork behind the scenes, but it was all going surprisingly well.

  Monday, I worked out and went home. Tuesday evening, I made a point to visit Cobalt, while also plotting out where I was going to place the new arrays that éclair had taught me.

  Wednesday though, was a bit different. Leo continued to take charge, progress was being made. That much wasn’t any different. What changed was that around lunch, Samantha approached me. Surprising considering how our last meeting went.

  “Prima, do you think we could talk? She asked, which led to the both of us inside the women’s bathroom.

  “Did something happen?” I asked, once we were inside, the door shut. Leaving just us inside the bathroom.

  “Well…” She hesitated. “I wanted to apologize.”

  “Apologize? For what?”

  “For… not doing more to help you. I should have helped you, or at least, put in a good word or two in. That and… you know?”

  Was she talking about last month then? Samantha was the team lead for the music and sound. She, Kenta, and Tom were the three separate leads under Terada. Had she thrown her hat into the ring, supported last month’s death march, I might have been able to push for one additional month.

  However…

  “You don’t need to apologize.” I state calmly. “You did nothing wrong, we’re just co-workers after all, right? And you were just doing your job.”

  She blinks. “Co-workers, yeah… Of course, right. I just, I didn’t think it was right of me to simply stand by, especially when it was obvious that you were doing your best…”

  She trails off. I could immediately tell that the atmosphere was strange, awkward even. Had I said something wrong? No, I don’t think I did. The only reason Samantha approached me was because of Terada, and not because we were friends. I wasn’t dumb. Her helping me with makeup and other such things, was primarily so that she could keep an eye on me.

  I knew as much, and she should be aware of it too, so why was she looking at me like that?

  Still, leaving it like this would leave a sour taste in my mouth, so I might as well extend an olive branch. I had enough enemies already.

  “Say, Samantha… do you have kids?” I asked.

  “Kids?”

  “Yeah, kids, not to be rude, but you seem the type.”

  She chuckles. “That could be a bit rude to just say that out of the blue, but Mm, I have children, three boys.”

  “Oh? Just boys?”

  “Yup, my eldest started working for another, smaller company not long ago. My second eldest will be graduating from high school this year, and my youngest will be graduating from middle school this year as well…”

  Well… that wasn’t entirely expected. “You look far too young to have such old children.”

  She smiled at that. “Right? I make an effort to keep up on my beauty routine.”

  “It definitely works for you, and honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do if you hadn’t taught me.”

  “Well, we’re nowhere near done. There are a lot of nuances to makeup and all. I almost can’t wait until we get to perfumes and fashion.” She said, eyes glittering.

  “Well, I’d be interested in that too, if you’d be willing to continue teaching me.”

  “You would?” She said, almost doing a double-take in the process. Like, what I said was that absurd.

  “Yes, I mean, we may be co-workers, but…” I paused a bit. Rather, I definitely trailed off there. She was looking at me expectantly, waiting for my next words. The problem was, do I say it? Should I say it?

  I wasn’t above lying, but I did have a code… Or, rather, I had a code. My entire job revolved around me doing quite a bit. More often than not, it would result in me getting my hands dirty.

  Samantha, she wasn’t my enemy. Not really. An acquaintance, perhaps. A co-worker, obviously. We talked, I learned from her. I’d thought she was just doing it because Terada told her to keep an eye on me.

  The only reason I even bothered asking her in the first place. Was because it would make her job easier and would get Terada off my back. A win-win. I never thought of Samantha as anything beyond a co-worker. So, when she stayed back, or didn’t get involved when I through my coup, well, I wasn’t upset. It only made sense.

  Now though? How exactly do I handle this? It would be simple to just call her a friend, but… did I ever have a friend? Did I even deserve a friend?

  In my youth, I was surrounded by tutors and servants. The closest thing to a friend I ever had there, was the maid that took care of me… and knowing what I did about the incident, I couldn’t even be sure if even that relationship was as simple as it seemed.

  Alex was my girlfriend, and even if it has friend in the name, it was anything but. We dated, and lived together, but inevitably I left her.

  College? No friends, if anything, I was ostracized due to my close connection with my professor. Mainly, again, because of me. My master? Our relationship barely even qualified as master and teacher. Hell, he never even called me his student. We were more like a pair of guys that went to alcohols anonymous that decided to work together through their issues.

  As for real friends? He could count, my previous boss. I trusted him, even if I found a lot of his actions reprehensible. I believed in him, and yet, in the end, didn’t he betray me? Didn’t I betray him?

  As for magical girls, my time in this city? All I’ve done was make enemies or force people to follow me like Joan or Liche. éclair had a reason for teaching me, and her callous attitude towards the training made me think it wasn’t out of any personal feelings. Worst of all was Grim. She didn’t really care for me, not really. She just saw me as another case to follow. No more, no less.

  Samantha though? How could I define her? A co-worker, sent to keep tabs on me by my boss. Why? Because I was trouble. That same co-worker was now approaching me, even making apologies when she didn’t have to and I doubt Terada cares enough to keep tabs on me, not after everything that has happened.

  So, what did she see from our relationship? I asked her why she had kids for a reason. She was a mother, of three sons. No daughters. One of which was probably around my age. Marriage prospect? Get me hitched with her son? Unlikely.

  Projection? Possible. At first, maybe she was okay with just watching me, but did she get attached? Did she see me as the daughter she never had?

  If so, that was an odd thought. It was also something I’d never have taken advantage of, not before. As for now?

  I’ve already abandoned my code. So, even if I was lying through my teeth, what was the worst thing that could happen?

  Thus, with my decision made, I spoke.

  “How about we be friends? Officially speaking.” I ended up saying. It sounded a bit too business like, and she smiled, like what I had just said was the most precious thing she had ever heard.

  “I’d love to be your friend Prima!” She almost shouted and walked closer, arms held wide. It was a hug. Not knowing how to immediately respond, I found myself wrapped up in her arms. Hesitantly, cautiously, I hugged her back.

  “Mm, I know!” She said, now full of energy. “How about, tomorrow we do nails? I don’t think we’ve done those yet.”

  “I don’t think we have either.” I replied back, as she extricated herself. She was beaming. Absolutely happy, thrilled even.

  “Then, tomorrow, oh, and…” A thoughtful look crosses her face. “You should join us for dinner sometime.”

  “Do you think they’d even want me there? I mean, with the rumors and all…”

  She shakes her head. “Trust me, nobody in the division cares about those rumors, not one bit. Sure, there were some worries at first, but with how you took charge last month, well, it went a long way to secure their trust. Everyone considers you one of us, and if anything, those rumors have just brought us even closer together.” She said, still brimming with energy despite her age.

  “Really? Then, I’ll have to plan on it, maybe tomorrow, if the day goes well.”

  “That sounds wonderful! I’m sure everyone would love to see you again!”

  “I hope your right… though, it would be nice to know who is spreading the rumors.”

  She goes quiet at that. “Well, I might know, or at least, I’ve heard rumors.”

  Rumors on a rumor? That sounded uniquely unreliable, but still… “Have you?”

  She nods. “Yes, remember when we last talked in here, when I said I would talk with Terada?”

  “Vaguely.”

  “Well, I asked around while I was at it, the rumors have gotten fairly wild, but…” She trails off.

  “But?” I ask, seeing as she wasn’t answering.

  “Oh, I don’t know, it sounds crazy and… I’d rather not gossip about our team members.”

  “We’re this far in, aren’t we?” I ask, getting a bit annoyed. Something was better than nothing. “I mean, clearly, it was Kenta, right?” I ask, just to be sure. Really, just like throwing darts blindly at the target.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “That’s the odd thing, I don’t think it is him, in fact… I think it might be Tom.”

  “Tom? Really?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Why would he go around spreading rumors about me and Leo?”

  “Well, see, if you didn’t know, Tom has been with Terada since the beginning, he and, well, the man that had your position before.”

  I didn’t know that, but I just nodded along.

  “So, rumor is, Tom has been Terada’s editor since he first started out. Thick as thieves those three were, best friends, apparently.”

  “Uh-huh, and?” I respond back.

  “Well, you know Kenta, right? He’s the youngest member of the team, right?”

  Again, I nod. Wondering where this was going.

  “Truth is, Kenta is Terada’s successor, of a sort.”

  “Is he?”

  “Yes, he is, I even confirmed it with Terada. Rumor is, when Terada eventually retires, which may be sooner than later, considering recent events…”

  Oh… Seeing my look, she speaks up. “Nothing wrong with what you did dear, he really did need that talking to, we’re just ashamed we couldn’t work up the courage to give him a piece of our mind before you did.”

  I figured as much, but still… It wasn’t pleasant to have it stated out like this. “Still, I might have been a bit too harsh.” I say.

  “I think, and everyone else thinks you gave him just the right amount of dressing down. Now, either way, what was I saying? Right, so, when Terada retires, rumor is, he’s handing over his position to Kenta, so that he can manage the team and all.”

  “That’s a big responsibility.”

  “It is, and rumor also says, that Tom wants the position.”

  “Okay, and how does this correlate with Tom spreading rumors about me?”

  “See, Tom is spreading rumors about you, saying it was Kenta, a known gossip.”

  That… that sounded like a very dumb plan. Someone saw me and Leo in the office, but I doubt he’d be the one to spread the rumor. Even if he told a close friend or two, they’d know to keep their mouth shut, right?

  Kenta was a known gossip, sure, but… huh… the more I thought about it, the clues kind of linked up. Kenta was the obvious choice, but why would Tom?

  “I mean…” I finally say, upon seeing that she was waiting for my answer. “It sounds, sound enough, I suppose, but… me and Tom, we have a bit of an agreement.”

  “I know, and everyone knows. In fact, doesn’t that make him more suspicious? Clearly, he has some kind of agreement with you, which means you won’t question him. And anybody with sense would know to keep their mouth shut, since a rumor like that wouldn’t just affect you, but the company as a whole.”

  “That just…” I trail off. She wasn’t wrong, frustratingly enough. It would be stupid to just randomly spread the rumor and taint not only my name, but Leo, and the company’s name all at once. I’d say nobody is dumb enough to do that, except… It wasn’t like this was the first time I’ve seen such stupid plots occur. I mean, among the people I’ve met in all my life, I’ve realized politicians and businessmen can be amongst the dumbest people alive.

  “I’ll have to keep an eye out…” I finally say.

  “You do that, and I’ll be keeping an ear out for more gossip.”

  “Yeah, thanks Samantha, and I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, for nails, right?”

  “Yes, of course!”

  Like that… I went back to work. All throughout the day, I couldn’t help but glance over at Tom. Every single time, he made a point to look away from me. And when work ended, I tried to confront him, but he practically scurried out the door along with Terada and company.

  Was he really guilty? Was I missing out on something here? With how prevalent the rumors were, I might as well have been a leper at this point. Nobody outside the division talked to me, and they went to extreme lengths to avoid even being near me.

  Were people really so childish?

  I felt, that I really didn’t want to know the answer to that question…

  With work done, I visited a café, grabbed some food and met back up with éclair. Same as last time, and the time before, we met in the same alley and like last time, we moved to her home.

  I showed off my progress with my magic cycling, which was surprisingly easy to do once I got the hang of it. Part of the reason it was progressing so fast, was due to how early I was doing it and, also, due to her brute force method. As annoying as it was to admit that.

  Most magical girls only picked up the technique much later in their career. And with more free flowing magic, the harder it becomes to wrangle and diffuse it into the bloodstream. As it was, I wouldn’t take very long to master it and not just because of what éclair made me do.

  As for other lessons. Well, I had éclair show me some alchemy.

  “So, alchemy is simple, in practice. See, take this cardboard. It’s just cardboard, right?” She handed me a square piece of cardboard.

  I felt it up, and, yep, it was cardboard. After handing it back, she started drawing a circle on the ground with chalk, followed by various sigils and such. By the end, she had an array.

  “So…” She starts. “Alchemy at its most basic is like this, this array here, is a magic concentration array. It focuses and concentrates magic in an area, into these nodes, that flow into these channels, that then flow to the center of the array. As for this piece of cardboard.” She shows it off again. “Goes right in the center, then we give it some juice…”

  She proceeds to pump her magic into the circle. The outermost circle crackles with lightning, before it gets converted into normal, unattributed magic energy. The energy flows through the chalk lines and sigils with a slight sizzle and hiss as it gathers towards the piece of cardboard.

  After maybe a half a minute, the operation of the circle stops.

  “So, now we have a piece of cardboard completely saturated with magical energy.” She hands it over; I feel it up. “It feels a bit tougher, right? It also feels a bit tingly in your hands, right?”

  “A bit, yeah…” I agreed and handed it back into her waiting hands.

  “So, this is called the magic saturation process. It’s fairly basic, but as materials get more… outlandish, the amount of magic needed to saturate them gets exponentially more as well. The next step, is… well, it has lots of names. Of note, saturating mundane objects with magical energy tends to wear them out, or break them down over a long period of time. Similar to what happens when you dump something into bleach and leave it for awhile. This is also the cause for certain magical related illnesses, in most cases.”

  This time, she draws another circle beside the first one. This one was a bit more intricate, with circles inside it.

  “What are those for?” I point towards one.

  “Think of them as batteries for the array…” She says as she finishes. “Now, the next step is a bit more involved, but simple in theory. With cardboard, or really, any material saturated with magical energy, you then need to compress the energy. This little array does the job, though, to a point. Most of the arrays and knowledge you learn are low ranked, which means, they’re both simple and inefficient.”

  She states and places the cardboard piece at the center of the circle.

  “What that means, is, in order to do bigger jobs, you need to make a bigger circle. More advanced circles, from what I know, can do more work with less space. But for this, it should be enough. Now, watch.”

  She puts her hand on the array and once again, pumps her magic into it. The lines light up, the little circles she drew also light up, with shimmering energy gathering within. This continues until each circle fills up with a bubbling hiss. Once that’s done, the lines finish glowing and…

  At first, seemingly nothing happens. Then, with a small crack, the array pulses. Magic pushes into the piece of cardboard, for a moment, completely obscuring it from view. Within a minute. The array completely empties and where the cardboard lay, was, cardboard. Only, it seemed smaller, more, compact?

  “Go ahead, pick it up.” éclair offered, so I did.

  Almost immediately, I could tell it was different. It felt far more solid. Less like cardboard and more like a square piece of wood. It felt denser as well. It also weighed more in my hand than it should, almost like how a tungsten cube would.

  “Fascinating, right? Now, let me show you something cool…” She put the piece of cardboard back on the gathering array. She pumped energy into it, up until the enhanced piece of cardboard was once again completely saturated with magic.

  It felt heavier in the hand, sturdier, like it was stuffed full of liquid metal or something. Once I finished my inspection, éclair drew another circle around the compression array, though…

  “What is that?”

  “A barrier.” She mentioned, offhandedly. “Now, help me juice this array up.”

  I had questions, but I chose to keep them quiet, once again, trusting the process though… I began to wonder if I should? The last time I just trusted her, she could have crippled me, or worse…

  Unfortunately, curiosity won the ay over caution. Still, I made sure to keep some ice in reserve to empower and protect my body, just in case.

  With the saturated piece of cardboard at the center, we took opposite ends of the array and began to pump our magic into it. It started out fine, the circle filled up quickly enough, and then it began to suck ever greater magic straight from the source, my body.

  It kicked like a mule, but just before I could feel it rip into me, I felt the flow diminish as éclair sent even more juice into the array. She looked over, gave me a toothy grin and a wink, that seemed to suggest she wouldn’t let anything happen to me…

  But I wasn’t so sure about that…

  Eventually, my eyes drifted back to the piece of cardboard. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but slowly, surely, the piece of cardboard began to visibly take in the energy. It shuddered. It shook. Then… it even began to slightly hover in the air, just barely floating off the ground, it buzzed, sparked, and rapidly it began to fall apart, when! Suddenly!

  *BOOM!

  I jerked back as the barrier shuddered and cracked, the sound like glass being cracked. The inside of the barrier was pitch black with swirling smoke. When éclair dismissed the barrier, the smoke fled away, revealing what had once been an array. Where the piece of cardboard had been, there was now a small crater in the pavement.

  “Crazy, right? Certain materials can only be upgraded so much before they hit the point of oversaturation. Something about how the magical energy changes the structure of an object makes it so that further changes become impossible, instead, it explodes, like so.”

  “So, is that the furthest cardboard can go then?”

  “On its own, yes, but at this point you start mixing and matching. Like, if I wanted to push this cardboard further, I would need to saturate, compress, and re-saturate other materials, break them down, either with another array, acids, or just about anything to try and create new materials and components. After that, the various components and materials can be mixed into stronger material with higher saturation points, then, rinse and repeat until you’re satisfied. Eventually, you could make just about anything, if you put time and effort into it.”

  “Anything?”

  “Just about, alchemy is weird like that. Though, knowledge in alchemy notably only teaches you the basic methods, it doesn’t teach you any recipes.”

  “No recipes?”

  “Nope, you have to experiment!”

  That… that sounded like hell, and yet… I paused to review my own knowledge. From what she said and showed me… Mm, odd. Making soul shards and soul stones used the same principle as she just stated, only, differently. The parade ground used a similar principle, now that I have an idea of what parts of it do, at least, in theory.

  Back in the second event, the dimensional defense tutorial, I had used the parade ground to mass produce groups of soldiers. It worked by channeling energy to various spots, with one spot marked as a captain for the unit.

  With what I just learned… The parade ground doubled as a gathering and compression array. The captain spot was the core of it, with the normal soldiers being sub-cores. Likely, those sub-cores were used to gather energy, and when they all awaken, immediately funnel the excess energy into the captain to force a rank up.

  The captain would be saturated first, with how the array was made, then, the normal soldiers second. When the soldiers were awakened, what energy that was left over, went over to the captain, and levelled them up… though…

  “Can this be done with golems and such?” I asked.

  “Yup, and as I said, it can be used for just about anything.”

  “Is this how bronze ranks are made then? If I were to saturate a normal golem with magical energy, then compress it, could I make them a bronze rank?”

  “That is exactly how it works. Of course, that would make a low tier golem. In order to level it up to middle tier, you’d have to saturate the golem with magic, and not only further compress it, but add another alloy or magical material to the mix. Depending on what alloy or material you add, you could have wildly different results.”

  “And for silver ranks?” I followed up with.

  “Same thing, even with gold ranks, though, doing so can be costly. Ah, and it is possible to ascend a bronze to silver, silver to bronze, but the cost is, as I said before, expensive.”

  That was a lot to consider, though…

  “I can’t use a bronze coin to directly make a bronze rank, can I?”

  “No, you would need multiple. Frankly, it wouldn’t be worth it, since bronze ranks are fairly easy to make, even if it can be time consuming. However, using silver coins to make silver ranks is almost always worth it, if only because it maximizes whatever material you use.”

  “Can I use silver coins to increase a silver ranks tier?”

  “Yes, but you’ll need to charge them beforehand. The cost also increases by quite a bit as well. Generally, at that point, it’s almost not worth spending the coins. Almost.”

  “Beyond that?”

  “Definitely not. You’re better off further bolstering talents if possible, making more silver rank golems, or making enchanted items.”

  “I can bolster talents further?”

  “You can. As for whether or not it’s worth it, depends on the person…”

  I didn’t immediately reply, I had a notion that I could further improve my sculpting, or double down on dance, but… I’d rather wait and see what comes next.

  “Anyway, it’s getting dark. You should probably get going, next time you show up, I can show you some simpler recipes I figured out for alchemy, and show you how to do the basic stuff, if you want.”

  “Mm, you’re right, it is getting dark… I’m sorry that I took so much of your time, and if you would be willing to teach me, I’d be more than happy to learn.” I said, almost perfunctorily.

  “It’s not a problem; it’s not like I have anything better to do.” She said with a smile and, “I hope to see you again soon, and remember, this weekend.”

  “I’ll remember, don’t worry.” I reply back and collected my things. On my walk home, my mind churned and creaked away.