~9035 words
The moment Kiyotaka finished drinking the potion, an intense sweetness remained stuck to the back of his throat. It was considerably stronger than the aroma, almost nauseatingly so, yet for the first few seconds there was nothing else unusual about it.
He placed the empty flask back on the desk and waited. However, in the next few seconds, he began feeling it—a gradually intensifying reaction that suddenly took him off-guard.
Not wanting to hurt himself, Kiyotaka stumbled to the couch and laid on his back as he stared at the ceiling.
His heartbeat began accelerating, but something was deeply wrong about it.
The first several beats came from his chest but as the potion spread through his body, the sensation began shifting.
One moment he could feel the pulse beneath his sternum, and the next it seemed to originate somewhere near his shoulder before appearing again along the side of his throat and then in his knees.
Kiyotaka lowered his gaze slightly and saw that his hand had torn through the couch, his hand going through multiple layers of leather and padding materials with ease.
Lifting his hand up to his face, he saw a dark swelling travelling slowly from his wrist towards his elbow. It was too thick to be a vein and too coordinated to be an ordinary muscle spasm.
Another appeared near his collarbone and disappeared almost immediately, after which the outline of his shoulder briefly widened before returning to normal.
The swelling began appearing all over his body as his muscles expanded and contracted while his bones occasionally twisted beneath his skin before snapping back into their original positions.
The couch creaked underneath him as his body grew heavier one moment and strangely lighter the next, while the room around him began losing its proper shape.
His vision distorted as the lamp beside the couch stretched into a thin line of light while its shadow moved in the opposite direction, and even though Kiyotaka knew he was lying still, his body repeatedly gave him the sensation that he was falling sideways.
His thoughts had also begun to distort as the mental command of "stay still" in his mind contorted itself into "roll sideways." However, instead of giving in to the sensation, he controlled himself and pulled his thoughts into coherence.
The sensation of his body gradually vanished until all that remained was a bizarre awareness of countless pieces that somehow belonged to him but not to him at the same time.
Within that confusion, something began forcing itself into his mind. Everything possessed an original meaning, yet that meaning was not absolute as direction could be bent and an action could be interpreted differently.
Strange symbols and information began travelling inside his mind, increasing his comprehension.
Kiyotaka could barely think as his mind was assaulted by the information stream, but one instinct gradually became clearer than everything else.
And that instinct was that he did not need to destroy Order, but rather only needed to make Order serve him. Become its shadow.
The moment he came to this realization, the chaotic sensations began receding as his muscles stopped twisting and the strange swellings beneath his skin disappeared one after another, while the distorted room slowly returned to its original proportions.
After an unknown amount of time, Kiyotaka finally regained awareness of his body.
He brought his hands close to his face once more and sighed when he saw that everything was normal.
He had finally advanced to Sequence 6: Baron of Corruption!
From what he could tell at a glance was that his physical attributes had been enhanced to a stupendous degree. Not only that but his body seemed to be even sturdier than before and the striations of his lean body had become even more prominent.
He had gained two new abilities upon advancement, and this time, even Kiyotaka was quite satisfied with what he had gained. He finally felt as if he was able to let go of his Mystical Item dependency with how nicely his powers seemed to compliment each other.
The first ability that surfaced clearly in his mind was Distortion. It was considerably broader than anything he had possessed before. As long as a loophole already existed within an Order, he could distort the meaning behind words, actions and even intent itself, forcing the resulting interpretation in a direction advantageous to him.
It was not the power to casually rewrite reality. The underlying rules still existed and remained beyond his reach, but anything dependent upon interpretation was considerably more vulnerable.
This Distortion and twisting of 'intent' could be achieved by certain Distortions in one's Body of Heart and Mind. There were many other things which could be Distorted with this ability as well, however, he was unable to Distort things which were the underlying rules of reality. Distortion could also be used to achieve effects of Sealing and Unsealing.
The second new ability he obtained was called 'Corrosion.' It had the ability to turn the hearts of people within 10 meters dark and greedy, making them make irrational choices. Which meant that the longer one fought a Baron of Corruption, the more prone to making mistakes they were.
At this level, a single mistake in front of a skilled Baron of Corruption could lead to one's demise.
Other than this, Kiyotaka also received a massive boost to all of his other abilities. The most noteworthy of this was the boost to 'Connection' where he could connect up to 50 people within a one kilometer range.
Bribe Weaken was now able to allow him to survive bullets and Bribe Charm was now so potent that even enemies will have their desire to fight stripped away from them, unless they really wanted to kill him. If used on a non-Beyonder, it was possible to immediately break one's emotional walls and make a positive influence.
Bribe Emotion could be used in tandem with Corrosion to emulate effects similar to that of a Desire Apostle as well.
He also received a massive boost to his Law Proficiency and Eloquence, allowing him to maneuver around many restrictions and eventually commit almost all kinds of crimes and only Beyonders focused on investigation could find them out.
Kiyotaka's grasp of Law and Order had been enhanced so much that he could now detect weaknesses using smaller things, for example how to bring a wall down using a needle or being able to find out what nature of abilities the other Beyonder have. This also allowed him to parse at a glance if the other person was a Beyonder or not.
Just as he finished comprehending his abilities, he felt the potion begin digesting and a liberating feeling entered his body. Before long, he had digested about 30% of his potion.
Kiyotaka did not need to be surprised over this as he could tell why it happened.
For the past almost four months, since his transmigration, he had already been doing many of the things expected of a Baron of Corruption without consciously realizing it.
Zmanger Gang was the clearest example as he had never destroyed the gang's original structure, routes, manpower or connections, but had instead redirected all of them until an organization once meant for crime and smuggling had become something that served his own interests, even functioning as an evacuation network during the Great Smog.
Right at the heels of that, he also seemed to grasp the acting method for Baron of Corruption, which was quite simple.
Do not destroy an existing Order when it can be corrupted instead. Enter it, understand its rules, and gradually distort those rules until the people following them unknowingly begin serving your interests.
And he had done exactly that... He infiltrated the Zmanger Gang first and then the industrialist circles of Backlund, although the latter did not aid him in digesting the potion.
Feeling satisfied, he threw the flask inside the small bin by his table.
He was about to leave, when he suddenly thought of performing an experiment.
Kiyotaka opened the door and looked outside to find Astrid sitting in the living room while reading a book and sucking on a block of ice that seemed to be covered in some kind of red syrup.
When she felt Kiyotaka looking at him, she turned her head and sucked the block of ice vigorously before winking at him.
"Come inside." Kiyotaka said as she placed the book down and crushed the ice before chewing on it. "As a matter of fact, run towards me."
"Oho~ I saw one of my father's concubines do that. You have strange tastes, but oh well, whatever." Astrid shrugged and ran at a moderate pace towards him.
When she was two paces away from the door, Kiyotaka called out. "As fast as you can."
Astrid smirked and bolted as fast as she could towards Kiyotaka. However, instead of going inside the study room and battering into Kiyotaka's body, she was thrown back out while her leg got tangled in her long dress, causing her to fall down on the floor.
He placed one hand against the frame and examined it with mild interest. He had Distorted the action of 'entering the study' into 'moving away from it,' effectively turning the doorway into a crude seal without actually changing where it led.
Meanwhile Astrid, who stood up and looked back with her face flushed suddenly became aflame with an incandescent white deluge of embers.
*****
A sharp wave of pain through his back woke Kiyotaka up as he twisted underneath the thick blanket.
The sun had risen on a new day and despite the chill in the air and the overcast ambience of the city, many a rays of sun were filtering through the giant window in Kiyotaka's personal room.
He looked to his side, only to find the other half of the bed empty and the blanket had almost entirely been wrapped around himself. Several pieces of crumpled up tissues were spread all over the room.
At the same time, he heard the sound of water sloshing around.
Astrid was taking a bath in the bathroom.
Running his hands through his disheveled hair, Kiyotaka sat up and stretched his hands over his head. Other than the pain in his back, he had almost fully recovered as the rib seemed to have accelerated its healing process.
Kiyotaka breathed out and with a renewed sense of vigor, he jumped down the bed. Bending down, he picked up his trousers and wore them. Next, he picked up his shirt and wore a sweater on top. By the time he was done doing all this, the water had stopped and a few moments later the washroom door opened.
Astrid stepped outside while drying her hair with a towel, wearing nothing except a loose robe that was open at the front. She looked considerably more awake than him, that was for sure. Her attention suddenly moved towards the papers lying on his desk beside the dressing-table. "You were doing paperwork after that?"
"Yes."
"How disappointing. I thought I had exhausted you enough to make you forget about work for one night."
Kiyotaka finished fastening the cuff of his shirt before glancing towards her as Astrid stopped rubbing her hair with the towel and raised a brow before pulling the robe in front of herself.
"Rubbing with a towel is not good for your hair."
"Right, you should take that advice. You are more in need of that." Astrid guffawed and took off her robe as she started to dress.
Kiyotaka did not argue back and turned his attention towards the documents on his table. A lot of them were arranged into a neat pile beside his gold pocket watch, and from underneath these documents, he retrieved a thin leather folder before holding it towards Astrid.
Astrid, who was tightening her bra behind her, leaned over his head and looked at it before raising a brow. "What is this?"
Kiyotaka gently placed his hand on her chest and pushed her away from himself. "The employment you were asking me to give you. For quite a while now."
Astrid finished fastening the hook and then did her dress up before also zipping it up. Once that was done, she took the leather folder from his grasp and opened it.
The first document was an employment agreement with the name "Zmanger Security Services" on top. Beneath the formal name and stamps was her designation which read: Training and Field Operations Supervisor.
Astrid rounded her lips and whistled. "Supervisor?"
"Your combat ability is too valuable to waste on ordinary guard work. You'll assess recruits, supervise their training and accompany field operations when necessary."
Astrid raised her shoulder as she continued reading. The warm water made her cheeks flush, making her freckles appear more prominently.
The salary of £19,23 per week confused her, but after converting it and finding out that it was 48.000 Copets, it seemed to satisfy her. Of course, to her it was still a menial amount given how she was basically a royal in Feysac—a disposal royal family member but still nobility.
As she was reading the contract, the clause concerning property damage made her brow twitch. "You put this here specifically because of me, didn't you?"
"Yes." Kiyotaka began to pick his clothes from the closet as he talked without looking back. "Any deliberate or negligent destruction of company property may be deducted from remuneration.'"
Astrid grunted. "That's discriminatory. Just because I was once a Pyromaniac, doesn't mean I am actually a maniac. I will have you know that my potion is already digested. If it wasn't for you being smarter than me, I would've gotten help in the ritual and ascended by now. I won't deliberately harm anything!"
"Preventative measures are better than nothing."
Astrid blew her lips in a way that it produced a flapping sound. "Boooo!
Seeing as Kiyotaka did not reply, she shook her head and turned the page and found a small rectangular card. It was a card with Loenese legal stamp on it.
Her body suddenly went stiff as she picked the card up and then read the documents underneath.
Right beside her name was something else which seemed to have taken her aback: Astrid Holmes.
The documents underneath the card identified her as a distant relative of Williams J. Holmes, belonging to a branch of the family that had spent several years outside Backlund before recently returning.
There were enough supporting papers beneath it to survive ordinary scrutiny such as a civil registration extract, travel records, birth certificates, hospital records, correspondence and several smaller documents which collectively gave the identity considerably more substance than she had expected.
"Holmes, eh? Just marry me at this point." Astrid lowered the folder slightly.
"No. As for why Holmes, it simplifies several problems. You are living in my house, regularly seen travelling with me and will now hold a senior position inside a company connected to me. A distant cousin attracts considerably less attention than an unidentified woman appearing from nowhere."
Astrid looked back at the papers. "And if someone decides to investigate this cousin?"
"They'll find her. Here."
Astrid slowly turned another page and a rather mischievous grin formed on her face. "How distant are we? In terms of our relationship?"
"Far enough."
"That sounds deliberately vague. Are you trying to imply something?"
"It is vague on purpose, yes. Extra specifics are unideal."
She closed the folder and hugged it loosely against her chest while looking at him. "So, Cousin Williams..."
"No." Kiyotaka raised his finger as he was about to enter the bathroom. "Don't start."
Astrid immediately started laughing as she slapped her own thigh. "God, you look so scared!" She let out another laugh, wheezing while she did.
"Your employment begins today." Ignoring her, Kiyotaka opened the door and walked half inside.
"Already? I didn't even sign the papers though."
"It has your fingerprint on it." Kiyotaka motioned and Astrid turned to the last page, only to see her fingerprint actually engraved there. "You asked for work. I assumed you wanted to actually perform it."
"I did." Astrid looked down at the folder again before her expression softened in a way that was considerably less teasing than before. "I just didn't expect you to have everything prepared this quickly."
"There was little reason to delay it."
Astrid, surprisingly, went silent. Then she slipped the employment papers back inside the folder with considerably more care as she turned her head towards him and smiled, causing her freckled face to appear quite beautiful. "Thank you."
Kiyotaka looked towards her briefly and then entered the bathroom as Astrid finished dressing up and left the room. She stealthily walked up to her room and locked from the inside before coming out thirty minutes later.
By that time Kiyotaka had already taken a bath and already done his breakfast alongside Freya.
As Astrid walked down, she saw the two of them already dressed up and waiting at the main door.
Freya had dressed simply in a dark winter coat over a modest dress while her hair was tied neatly behind her head. She was currently going through her small handbag before handing out a vial to Kiyotaka who drank it.
Daisy was nowhere to be seen since she had already left for school earlier with one of the Zmanger men who had increasingly become Kiyotaka's regular driver.
Red John was his name.
He was given this name because half of John's face had been badly burned years earlier, leaving the skin along his left temple, cheek and jaw permanently red and heavily deformed. Part of his eyebrow had never grown back and the scar tissue pulled slightly whenever he spoke.
Mal had once mentioned that John's elder brother had been responsible for the injury, though Kiyotaka had never asked what circumstances had led one brother to burn another.
What interested him considerably more was John's behaviour.
He was punctual to an almost obsessive degree and possessed a habit of checking reflections in shop windows whenever another carriage remained behind him for too long. He had a naturally suspicious disposition and often appeared crude and scary, however, deep inside, he was quite a soft man.
It was visible in the way he talked and handled Daisy, treating her like a flower-ling.
Once she had descended, Astrid pushed down several pieces of butter lathered bread down her gullet before washing it down with black coffee that had grown cold.
She was wearing a fitted dark dress beneath a long coat.
The change in attire was sufficient to make her appear like the respectable relative described by the papers which were tucked beneath one of her arms, although Kiyotaka suspected that illusion would survive only until she opened her mouth.
Freya, who noticed the shift in her mood and the folder, turned to look at Kiyotaka and then towards Astrid. "What's that?"
Astrid immediately held it against her chest and pressed it tightly. "My employment contract. Where is yours?"
Freya's eyebrows twitched and her hands balled into fists. She turned to face Kiyotaka and her voice raised. "You hired her?!"
Kiyotaka looked at Astrid and sighed. "Do not do that again."
Astrid stuck her tongue out as Freya realized what she had done and placed both her hands on her mouth before mouthing the word 'sorry,' however, Kiyotaka only shook his head. "And yes, I did."
Astrid gave Freya a rather pleased look, however, this time she did not Provoke the little girl. "Training and Field Operations Supervisor."
Freya's gaze returned to her. "Supervisor of what?"
"People."
"That's concerning." She scoffed.
Astrid's smile brightened and was about to say something when Freya turned away from her and pushed the door open. She turned towards Kiyotaka: "John is here. I called him an hour ago."
"Thanks." Kiyotaka moved ahead first, followed by Astrid and lastly Freya who locked the door and then gave the key to another man who was inside John's carriage. He took the key and then sat on one of the chairs in Kiyotaka's lawn.
The carriage was waiting along the curb, with Red John seated at the front and Daisy's abandoned school ribbon still lying near one corner of the passenger seat from earlier that morning.
John turned slightly when the three approached. "Morning, Mr. Holmes."
"John."
John tipped his cap towards Freya. "Hello little one," and then he did the same for Astrid, however, his eyes seemed to stay on her for way longer than he'd loved to admit. "Good morning to you too, Miss Holmes."
Astrid whistled and looked at Kiyotaka. "You told them already?"
"The identity is useless if nobody uses it."
Astrid nodded her head, acting impressed. "Well good morning, John. Nice to see you."
Astrid eventually climbed inside and motioned with her head towards Red John. "I like him."
Freya entered last while Kiyotaka took the opposite seat to both of them. He was a little paranoid about the whole fiasco of someone controlling him and hence was always on high alert.
Once the door closed, Red John flicked the reins and the carriage pulled away from Sørlund Street.
Astrid opened the folder again almost immediately and continued reading her employment agreement, occasionally pausing at individual clauses with increasingly suspicious expressions.
'What a sneaky little fellow. This is basically glorified enslavement.' Astrid thought and smirked while looking at Kiyotaka who was busy looking outside the window.
Currently he was not carrying any Mystical Item. He had used Gloom, Cyst and Rime as 'personal belongings' to seal Hubris and he gave away Ember and Scourge to Hyde. While the body he parasitized was that of a Sequence 7, the Pathway itself was quite underwhelming and did not have the capabilities that other Pathways had.
Meanwhile, Freya who was sitting beside her, turned her eyes to look at the contract.
"Interested?" Astrid whispered.
"No." Freya denied outright. But after a few seconds, she frowned and turned towards her, whispering in a low volume. "What is your pay?"
"OH! YOU WANT TO KNOW MY SALARY? OH LET'S SEE!" Astrid raised her voice, causing Freya to immediately look away in embarrassment. Her cheeks had flushed with shame and every fiber of her being wanted to swing at Astrid and punch her face in. However, even she knew that Astrid was in a league of her own.
Freya looked towards Kiyotaka, trying to parse his reaction, however, she noticed that he had closed his eyes while leaning his head to the side on the glass window.
"Well, dear Freya, my salary is a private matter."
Freya gave her an unimpressed and furious look.
Astrid only smiled and returned to reading the contract, evidently pleased with herself. For the next several minutes, she occasionally made a sound of approval or disapproval whenever she encountered another clause, while Freya sat beside her with her arms crossed and attempted rather unsuccessfully to pretend that she had lost all interest in the document.
The faint vibration of the carriage against the road was soothing enough that Kiyotaka kept his eyes closed, although he was not asleep.
After last night he could tell that his strength and endurance had improved by leaps and bounds, but he would need to properly test his physical limits later. For now, there were considerably more mundane matters requiring his attention.
The carriage began slowing down roughly twenty minutes after leaving the house, and Kiyotaka opened his eyes before either of the women noticed that they had almost arrived at their destination.
Outside the window, the buildings had become smaller and considerably less maintained. Shops were standing beneath the apartments with soot-darkened brickwork while men in work clothes moved through the streets alongside delivery carts and heavily loaded wagons.
Red John pulled the carriage towards the side of the road and then turned towards the carriage, sliding the wooden divider. "We're here, Mr. Holmes."
Kiyotaka looked outside as his eyes landed on the first thing that entered his view.
The building was located at the corner and was three storeys tall. It had been renovated recently but its brickwork still appeared quite old.
The entrance seemed to be reinforced with steelwork while a large black sign was installed above it that read: ZSS
Underneath those three letters was the considerably less subtle: ZMANGER SECURITY SERVICES LIMITED
Outside the steelwork entrance was a long line of laborers who seemed to be outraged and were constantly throwing profanities.
Astrid leaned towards the window until one side of her face almost touched the glass. "Zmanger?"
There were more than forty people waiting outside the building, with the line extending from the entrance and curling partially around the wall. Most of them were men and very few appeared particularly prosperous.
Astrid slowly looked back towards Kiyotaka. "You actually called it Zmanger Security Services. Wait, how am I noticing it just now... You named the company after a gang?"
Kiyotaka turned towards her and moved his head a little. "Yes."
Saying that, he got out of the carriage as Astrid let out an exasperated sigh. Freya did not wait and got out immediately as well.
Zmanger Gang had not disappeared simply because a legal company now shared its name. The extortion, smuggling and various other activities taking place underneath Mal's supervision continued much as they had before.
ZSS did not replace that structure, nor had Kiyotaka intended for it to. Instead, it gave the legitimate parts of the organization somewhere to exist.
Men who previously stood outside warehouses because Mal ordered them to could now be formally employed as security guards. Uniforms, equipment and vehicles could be purchased under a company name and clients could hire manpower through ordinary contracts while wages could be recorded openly instead of every payment passing between hands without explanation.
Even the men themselves now had an answer when someone asked what they did for a living.
Kiyotaka had just legitimized the illegal protection business. It occurred to him that this was another rather appropriate example of the acting principle he had understood yesterday.
"So," Astrid began as she stepped beside him, still staring at the applicants. "What exactly am I doing here?"
Kiyotaka reached inside his coat and removed a folded piece of paper. "You wanted employment. This is the first part of it."
Astrid took the piece of paper from his grasp and opened it. It was a long list with checkmarks made in front of them.
These checkmarks included itemized listing of requirements such as previous employment, experience with weapons, physical injuries which could interfere with work, whether they were willing to work nights, whether they were willing to travel outside Backlund, whether they are going to give something as collateral due to the nature of the business, any previous criminal convictions serious enough to create problems with licensing or clients—the list went on.
At the bottom, Kiyotaka had written several additional instructions concerning physical assessments and obvious reasons to reject someone.
Astrid read the entire thing before raising her eyes. "You want me to interview all of them?"
"Not personally. There are three men inside who will handle most of the paperwork. You will make the final assessment."
"What am I assessing?"
"Whether they're physically capable of doing the job, whether they're likely to become a liability and whether they're worth training. The starting wage for an untrained guard is nine soli per week. Anyone with useful experience can receive more."
Astrid glanced at several of the applicants again and made a preliminary judgement. "That isn't much."
"It isn't intended to be. Besides, it is higher than the minimum wage of a lot of employees."
Freya frowned as she walked behind the two. She looked at Kiyotaka's back which somehow appeared broader than before. She had something to say, but bit her lips and refrained from doing so.
She was hoping that Kiyotaka would reward her too. After all, she had survived the night, which meant she had advanced to Beast Tamer. But it appeared as if she had entirely disappeared ever since Astrid came to the house and began 'tainting' Kiyotaka with her promiscuous deeds.
Meanwhile, Kiyotaka began explaining as they entered the building through the back entrance. "The company is providing uniforms and will eventually provide meals during longer shifts once we are six months into 20% profit margins. These are entry-level positions requiring almost no education or experience. If someone proves useful, their wages can increase."
Astrid folded the paper once. "So basically you're looking for desperate people."
"I'm looking for people whose current alternatives are worse."
Astrid chuckled. "That's one way to put it, I guess."
"The interviews will start now." One of the Zmanger men shouted as the outrage amongst the workers who had come to give an interview 4 hours ago began to die out. "I will call you inside, one by one. No pushing! And no fucking fighting! Understood? Start any kind of shitty stuff here and you will be rewarded!"
The Zmanger man paused and loaded his gun. "With a bullet to your fucking heads. I will repeat myself. No fucking fighting! No fucking breaking the queue. No fucking begging after rejection!"
With that said, the doors opened and the three of them were suddenly visible to the crowd outside. Like hungry Hyenas, several eyes landed on Astrid and refused to peel away from her.
Astrid smiled and turned towards Kiyotaka. "I think I'll enjoy this."
"Do not sleep around with every successful applicant."
"Do you think I am some kind of slut?" Astrid placed her hand on her heart, acting hurt.
Kiyotaka raised both his brows and nodded.
"Hey!" Astrid smacked his shoulder as Kiyotaka turned towards the other girl.
"Freya."
"Yes?"
"How comfortable are you with basic mathematics?"
Her eyebrows pulled together slightly at the unexpected question. "I can do it. Addition, subtraction, division... percentages too, if that is what you mean."
Kiyotaka held her thin arms and pushed some envelopes into them. The weight surprised her enough that she had to adjust her grip and avoid herself from falling down.
Once Freya put them aside and opened them, she saw that there were blank pay-slip templates, invoices, attendance sheets, copies of employment records and several completed examples inside that Kiyotaka had prepared beforehand.
Freya slowly pulled one of them out. "You want me to do accounts?"
"I want you to begin learning them."
She looked at the documents and then towards him. Unlike Astrid, whose amusement appeared to increase whenever Kiyotaka gave her something unfamiliar, Freya visibly became more cautious when she did not know what was expected of her. "I've never done this before."
"I know."
"Then what if I calculate something wrong?"
"Nothing happens. You aren't authorizing payments, after all. Start by comparing the attendance records against the payroll list, calculate what each person should receive and place a mark beside anything you're uncertain about. Afterwards, there are several supplier invoices. Match them against the payments already recorded."
Freya looked down at the papers again, this time actually reading them rather than simply seeing unfamiliar forms.
"When you're finished, I'll check the work myself this evening. If something is wrong, I'll show you where."
That seemed to relieve most of the tension in her shoulders.
Astrid leaned closer to inspect one of the invoices. "How come she gets to sit in an office while I'm interviewing forty poor and smelly people?"
Freya immediately snatched the paper away from her eyes. "I can remember you complaining about paperwork."
"I can dislike paperwork and still resent preferential treatment."
"It isn't preferential treatment!"
Astrid placed a hand against her chest as though offended. "She's being trained to manage money while I'm being told not to hurt people. You clearly trust her more."
Freya's fist tightened around the envelopes as Astrid looked down at her and smirked. Kiyotaka stepped between them before the matter developed any further and pointed towards the entrance. "Go."
Astrid let out a tired groan. "So demanding. My back still hurts so can someone else do it?"
"I'll put Mal in charge of both of you."
Astrid's entire body suddenly bristled. She felt akin to a cat whose hair had risen up so much that they felt like needles. Clearing her throat, Astrid shook her head. "Oh please, I don't need anyone. I-I can do it myself."
With that said, she left immediately.
Freya watched her leave before turning her head towards Kiyotaka. "Who's Mal?"
"You have met him before." Kiyotaka answered. When Freya only tilted her head in confusion, he waved his hand. "Nevermind."
Then, he placed his hand over her head and gently moved her hair sideways. "Be good."
Freya smiled and nodded slightly. "I will."
*****
The carriage had travelled several streets before Kiyotaka slid open the small wooden panel separating the passenger compartment from the driver's seat. Red John's scarred face became partially visible through the opening.
"John."
"Yes sir?"
"How's Daisy?"
Red John smiled in a warm manner, however, the lift of his melted skin made him look rather ghastly. "Better than yesterday. Complained about the cold for nine minutes, asked whether horses could get frostbite and then spent the rest of the journey trying to convince me you should buy her one."
Kiyotaka looked at the back of his head. "A horse?"
"Yes." Red John chuckled slightly, as if reminiscing over a fond memory. John gave the reins a light movement as the carriage turned onto another street. "Other than that, we arrived at the school eight minutes early and she went in without trouble."
Kiyotaka noticed how he remembered the exact time. Red John rarely approximated anything if he could provide the exact answer instead and his observational ability was unusually good for an ordinary criminal—assuming he was ordinary.
At that time, Kiyotaka used Distortion in a rather crude manner, releasing it in a way that it was not weaponized. By using his proficiency in Law and Order and through the feedback he gained from it, he could immediately tell that Red John was a Beyonder, albeit very weak in comparison to him.
He assumed that the man was around Sequence 9, or perhaps even half a Sequence 9, given how weak the feedback was.
Kiyotaka rested one arm against the edge of the opening as he began conversing casually with the driver. "You mentioned having children before."
John's posture suddenly shifted. "Yes, yes... Two girls."
"How old?"
"Six and eight." There was a brief pause, as if John was in some kind of deep thought. "Oldest turns nine in sixteen days. They're why I took the gang work and now driving when Malakhi offered it. Used to be gone half the night and most of the morning just to buy some bread for the little ones."
John laughed quietly. "Now I get to wear a coat, drive around a rich man and get paid on the same day every week. My youngest thinks I've become respectable."
Kiyotaka did not shut the divider but placed his back against the seat. "Have you?"
"No." John considered his reply for a while before speaking again. "But I'm getting closer. All thanks to you!"
His thumb briefly touched the scarred portion of his cheek. "People see this and decide they assume all kinds of things. But Mal didn't care much. And then you came around, and changed a lot of our lives. Strange how quickly a man's life can improve when someone starts putting things on paper."
Red John seemed to fall into deep thought. "I would give anything for things to stay like this. Anything... so thank you. Now when my girls ask what their father does, I can tell them I drive for ZSS and Mr. Holmes."
There was no attempt at flattery in his voice as Kiyotaka hummed.
Kiyotaka was about to close the panel when John's head tilted slightly. The movement was so small that Kiyotaka almost missed it as he mumbled. "The rear-left shoe is loosening again."
"Is it?"
"Yes. The balance of the carriage is off, a little. Been like that since we passed St. Hierländ Street. I'll have to go and fix it once I drop you. How long are you going to stay there?"
"Long enough. You can go and repair it, and note the expense down."
"Will do that boss!"
Kiyotaka slid the panel shut. Perhaps he would ask Mal a few more questions about Red John later.
The carriage continued for another fifteen minutes before the surrounding streets gradually changed again. The buildings became cleaner, storefronts larger and the number of factory workers on foot was replaced by clerks, businessmen and carriages moving between commercial properties.
Eventually, they slowed to a stop as Kiyotaka looked outside.
Much like ZSS, there was a line of people, however, instead of huddling them outside, all of them were standing inside the establishment.
There were perhaps twelve people in total, most of them considerably better dressed and several carrying folders, notebooks or rolled technical drawings beneath their arms. The diversity in gender was also quite apparent as ZSS hosted only men, meanwhile the rows of people here were half men and half of them were women
Kiyotaka stepped out of the carriage and adjusted his coat.
*****
The moment Kiyotaka entered Prometheus Motors, he was greeted by the sight of Leppard standing several meters away from the entrance with both of his hands buried inside his hair as he pulled at them.
His normally combed brown hair had been pulled in so many different directions that several strands were sticking upwards, while the waistcoat underneath his open coat was missing one button near the top.
There were three different stacks of documents pressed tightly against his chest and another much larger pile was sitting on the reception desk beside him. When he noticed Kiyotaka entering with his hands inside his pants pockets, his expression immediately changed.
"Thank God... Oh thank God! Thank God!" Leppard stood up and ran towards Kiyotaka before thrusting the packets of documents in his hands. "There are too many, way too many. I am going to lose my head!"
Kiyotaka looked around.
There were twelve applicants waiting inside the main lobby, most of whom immediately became quieter after recognizing him.
A few stood from their seats while others straightened their backs, and at least three people whom Kiyotaka did not recognize gave him a confident smile.
"Twelve isn't that many."
"Those are today's final twelve." Leppard pointed towards the papers Kiyotaka was now holding.
"I've already gone through another twenty-seven. Half of these people have recommendations from someone important. One has a letter from a Viscount. Another one's uncle owns a steelworks we purchase from. That man over there is apparently the son of someone in the Ministry of Transportation, and I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do if he's an idiot."
"Reject him."
Leppard stared in a dumbfounded manner at Kiyotaka. "His father will have my head on a spike! I can't do it... No, I can't... Please save me."
Kiyotaka began walking beside Leppard and started reading the era-equivalent of a curriculum vitae. "His son being employed here doesn't make his father more useful. Besides, he is not doing charity work. We can always shift to another vendor."
"That's easy for you to say."
Kiyotaka stopped near the reception desk and finally looked at him properly.
Leppard's eyes were slightly red around the edges and there was a faint stain of ink along the side of his thumb, indicating that he had probably spent most of the morning reading applications and making notes without taking much of a break.
"Sit down."
"Why? Where? What happened?" Leppard almost looked as if he had lost his mind.
"Because you're making the applicants nervous."
Leppard looked around. Several people immediately looked away when he caught them staring and he lowered his hands from his hair. "I am?" He whispered.
"Yes."
Kiyotaka placed the stack of documents on the reception counter and began going through them.
Unlike the people outside ZSS, almost everyone here possessed some form of formal education. Several had studied mechanical engineering or metallurgy, while others had apprenticed under established manufacturers before applying.
There were recommendation letters, academic records, descriptions of previous employment and, in one particularly enthusiastic case, fourteen pages containing diagrams of a steam pressure regulator the applicant had designed while still at university.
Kiyotaka spent less than ten seconds on most of them and began to tick off quite a lot of them.
He picked up a sheet that detailed one applicant who had excellent marks but had changed employers four times within three years and blamed every departure on someone else's incompetence.
"Rejected." Kiyotaka crumpled the paper and threw it to the side.
Another had an impressive recommendation from a noble family but almost no practical experience beyond assisting with household machinery.
"Rejected."
Another boy who had respectable grades, though nearly every technical project listed beneath his name had been completed as part of a group.
"Rejected."
Leppard almost felt like going unconscious.
Eventually, the twenty applications gradually became eight and eight became six, then four. He picked up the remaining documents and looked towards Leppard. "Call these."
"What about the others?"
"Send them home."
Leppard stared at him for another moment before shaking his head and walking towards the applicants while Kiyotaka entered his office.
By the time he had removed his coat, arranged several papers on his desk and taken his seat, the four selected applicants were brought inside.
These were three men and one woman.
The oldest looked to be somewhere in his early thirties, dressed in an expensive dark suit whose cuffs had been recently tailored.
Beside him was a thinner man wearing round spectacles, followed by another whose hands were noticeably rough despite the otherwise respectable clothes he wore.
The woman was younger than the others by several years.
Her dark brown hair had been tied back simply, and compared with the tailored suits around her, her clothing was considerably more mediocre. The dark jacket was clean but had been worn often enough for the fabric along the sleeves to begin losing some of its original color.
Kiyotaka looked at all four once before gesturing towards the chairs.
"Sit. No need for introductions"
The applicants looked amongst each other before sitting down.
Their names, education and employment histories were already written on the documents in front of him and asking each person to verbally repeat information he had just read would accomplish nothing. Instead, he turned towards the first man.
"An engine begins losing power after operating normally for twenty minutes. Compression remains stable and there is no visible leakage. What do you check first?"
The man barely hesitated but then replied with confidence. "Fuel mixture and temperature around the vaporizer. If the problem emerges only after prolonged operation, I would also inspect whether heat expansion is affecting fuel delivery."
"Why not ignition?"
"Because you said compression remains stable, not combustion."
Kiyotaka nodded and then moved to the second applicant. "If an engine produces greater power after increasing the fuel supply but begins consuming considerably more fuel for a relatively small increase in output, what does that tell you?"
"That the mixture has already passed its efficient ratio. The additional fuel isn't being converted proportionally into useful work."
Then, the third man answered his own question without difficulty.
Finally, Kiyotaka turned towards the young woman. "If two engines of identical construction produce different output despite receiving the same fuel mixture, what variables would you eliminate before assuming a manufacturing defect?"
The girl thought for several seconds, taking enough time that the first man let out a condescending snort. Only when he did that did the woman answer.
"Temperature first. Then ignition timing, friction within the moving components, air intake, fuel pressure and whatever tolerances were permitted when the parts were manufactured. Identical construction doesn't necessarily mean identical assembly."
Kiyotaka nodded his head in amusement. "Good."
Then, he began asking questions again which lasted for fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes of brutal question and answer sessions, each of which was supposed to test their theoretical knowledge.
Kiyotaka deliberately shifted from engines to metallurgy, then from metallurgy to mechanical tolerances and basic thermodynamics.
The first three applicants performed very well but the fourth had been struggling quite a lot.
"Enough." Eventually, Kiyotaka stopped asking questions.
The four applicants suddenly straightened their backs. Kiyotaka opened one of the drawers beneath his desk and recovered a small mechanical assembly roughly the size of both hands placed together.
The device was made primarily from brass and steel, with a narrow fuel chamber attached to one side, a spring-loaded regulator at its center and several small valves connecting it to a manually operated piston.
It had been developed as part of one of Prometheus Motors' attempts to make alcohol delivery more consistent whenever engine speed changed.
Of course, it did not work since Kiyotaka had only given the blueprint to Leppard, not personally worked on it. As Kiyotaka placed it in the center of the desk, he raised his voice. "What's wrong with it?"
All of the applicants leaned forward as the man in the expensive suit answered first.
"The regulating spring is too weak."
The bespectacled applicant shook his head. "No. The tension appears appropriate. The problem is probably the valve diameter which is restricting fuel."
"The linkage is poorly balanced. Once the piston accelerates, it will fail." The third one replied.
However, Kiyotaka did not do or say anything, and instead listened to their theories.
One applicant disagreed with another, and within less than a minute they had progressed into discussing where the fault originated from.
However, amongst all this uproar, the young woman had not yet spoken as she continuously stared at the device.
Suddenly, she stood and placed her hand on it. "May I?"
Kiyotaka gestured towards the mechanism wordlessly as she picked it up.
For several seconds she did nothing except turn it over in her hands. Her thumb pressed the lever once as she brought the device closer to her face and manually moved the piston while watching the regulator.
Her brows suddenly knit together.
"The spring isn't weak. The problem is that this is sitting too far forward."
The man wearing spectacles leaned closer. "That wouldn't account for the irregular feed."
"It would if the valve begins opening before the piston reaches the correct position." Before anyone could answer, she loosened the retaining screw with the small tool lying beside Kiyotaka's papers, shifted the collar backwards by several millimeters and tightened it again.
Then she adjusted the spring's angle. As she did, the fuel entered the small chamber at precisely the point it was supposed to. As the other applicants' eyes widened, she placed the device down. "There."
The first man snorted. "That can't be all that was wrong with it."
"It was." The woman, or rather girl, responded.
"You only changed two simple things. If it was that easy, why would we even be tested on it?"
"Because only two things were wrong. The complexity hardly matters."
"Hmph. You really—"
Before he could say anything, Kiyotaka pointed at the three men and waved his hand. "Thank you for coming." He motioned with his head towards the exit.
"We're... dismissed?"
"Yes." Kiyotaka's voice was flat and his expressions neutral.
"But the theoretical examination—"
"Was satisfactory."
The bespectacled man's expression grew confused. "Then why—"
"The job description mentioned we need someone who can find solutions without my help."
Nobody immediately replied as Kiyotaka gathered their applications and placed them together.
The expensive-suited man stood with visible reluctance. His gaze briefly moved towards the young woman's clothes before returning to Kiyotaka. "You are choosing her?"
"I haven't chosen anyone yet. I am merely dismissing you."
The young woman remained standing beside the desk, looking rather confused whether she had also been dismissed while the three men took their leave.
Once they were gone, Kiyotaka turned towards her and leaned against his table. "Full name?"
"Melissa Moretti."
Kiyotaka suddenly stopped what he was doing and raised his eyes towards her. He had heard the name before, back when he was working as an accountant for Whitethorn Security Company.
Klein Moretti and Old Neil—they had considerably more expense claims than the others. So he could clearly remember that name.
He also came to know that Klein Moretti and Old Neil had passed away.
"You're from Tingen?"
Melissa's expressions suddenly changed. "Yes... How did you know?"
Kiyotaka lowered his eyes towards the application. There was nothing particularly useful to be gained from explaining that he had once read documents connected to her supposedly dead brother.
"I've seen the surname before. A long time ago."
Melissa seemed to wait for Kiyotaka to say something else, but no words came out. Instead, he motioned towards the engine. "How did you notice this? You do not have specialized education in this."
"The movement didn't make sense." Melissa started. "When the piston moved, the regulator reacted before enough pressure had built inside the chamber." She paused and then continued. "Yes, I do not have formal education, but I have been working with contraptions from a young age."
Kiyotaka nodded his head solemnly.
The answer itself was rather plain, but it was also considerably more satisfactory.
The three men had understood the principles behind the mechanism better than her, at least on paper while Melissa had simply picked it up and fixed it.
There was value in both approaches, but Kiyotaka preferred her over the other three. There was also another reason for it, however, it was not something he was going to ponder over at the moment.
"You're hired."
Melissa, who had been looking at the mechanism again, slowly raised her head.
For several seconds, she seemed to be waiting for him to add something else. When Kiyotaka simply walked around the table and began searching through one of the drawers, her confusion became considerably more obvious. "That's it?"
"What else were you expecting?"
"I don't know." Melissa glanced towards the closed door through which the other applicants had left. "Another interview, perhaps. Or for you to think about it."
"I already did."
Kiyotaka finally found the file he was looking for and placed it on the table as Melissa stared at him in a rather strange manner. 'What an eccentric man.'
The corner of Melissa's lips moved slightly.
"Your theoretical knowledge is behind the others, but that can be corrected." Kiyotaka flipped through several pages while continuing. "The more important problem would've been hiring someone who memorized enough to sound competent but needed permission from a textbook before touching anything unfamiliar."
Melissa looked towards the dismantled mechanism. "I don't usually take things apart without permission."
"Well you did ask, so that is not a problem."
Kiyotaka removed a thick employment contract from the file and placed it between them.
Across the top was the name JANUS ENGINES, followed by several lines of legal text and Melissa's intended designation: Junior Engineer.
Melissa leaned forward and looked at the contract. "Janus Engines?"
"Prometheus Motors sells the finished product. Janus handles most of the engine development and manufacturing. You'll work between both depending on what is required."
Melissa nodded slowly and began reading.
The starting salary was £3 and 15 soli per week, considerably more than Melissa had expected considering she had no university degree.
The workweek consisted of five days, with ten working hours per day, while two days every week were reserved as rest days unless an emergency required otherwise. Lunch would be provided by the company during working days.
Melissa turned to another page which stated that after completing one year of employment, she would become entitled to one full month of paid annual leave.
That alone caused her to reread the clause, given how terms like this were unheard of. Further down was another section which held her attention for even longer.
Janus Engines would cover eighty percent of the tuition fees for any approved university or technical program relevant to her employment, provided Melissa paid the remaining twenty percent herself.
Other than this, Any employee making use of the educational sponsorship would be required to remain with the company for five years after completing the sponsored qualification. If the employee voluntarily resigned before completing those five years, the amount owed to Janus would decrease proportionally according to the period already served.
Dismissal without misconduct would cancel the repayment requirement entirely.
The same applied in cases of severe illness or incapacity preventing continued employment.
There were also clauses regarding confidentiality, company designs and inventions produced using company resources. Any commercially valuable invention developed substantially by an employee could lead to additional compensation through a bonus, royalty arrangement or promotion at the company's discretion.
Employees were also required to report mechanical defects, safety risks and design failures immediately, and doing so could not by itself be treated as misconduct, even if the defect resulted from another employee's work or belonged to a superior's design.
Melissa finally looked up. "If someone finds something wrong with designs made personally by you, then what should one do?"
"They should tell me."
Melissa stared at him and then averted her gaze. There was something distinctly strange about Williams Holmes, not unpleasant, exactly but just really strange. Her previous assessment of Williams being eccentric became more pronounced.
She returned her attention towards the contract. "What happens if I study at university and decide afterward that I want to leave before the five years?"
"You repay the unserved portion. So if you decide to leave after four years then you will pay one-fifth."
Melissa nodded to herself. She reached the signature page but did not immediately touch the fountain pen lying beside it.
Melissa hesitated and then said: "Can I take a copy home first?"
"Why?"
"I live with my brother. He handles most of our household finances, and..." She looked towards the education section once more. "This is considerably more serious than the kind of employment I expected to find. I'd rather discuss it with him before committing to five years after university."
"That's reasonable."
He pulled another copy from the file and handed it to her which had the stamp "SAMPLE" etched on it. "Take this one. If you agree, you can sign the main contract. If you don't, return it anyway."
Melissa accepted it carefully and then slid the copy inside her folder. "Thank you, Mr. Holmes."
Kiyotaka gave a slight nod before reaching for another document, already mentally moving towards the next matter requiring his attention.
"Can I leave now?"
"Yes." Kiyotaka dismissed her.
However, just as Melissa turned and began moving towards the door, it opened from the other side while a tall man dressed in a long black coat stepped into the office.
His face was unfamiliar to Melissa as it was sharp and composed beneath a cold expression while an aura of hostility oozed out of him.
As his eyes landed on Kiyotaka, he almost smirked, but then his smile froze when he looked at Melissa. For a moment, he seemed to have been petrified, but then, using his powers as a clown, he controlled his features and tipped his hat towards her.
Melissa pursed her lips and nodded, giving him a silent greeting before squeezing her way out of the door.
Kiyotaka, who watched all of this, suddenly sunk back into his seat.
'Gehrman Sparrow, Sherlock Moriarty... so both of you are Klein Moretti.'
He thought as he stood up and shook hands with Klein.
*****
Author's Note: In case someone hasn't noticed, I am currently experimenting with one Hyde and one Kiyotaka chapter. Let me know if approach is okay or is it too jarring.