Start of Book 3...

  It was now November, the leaves had fully changed over by now. Many fell, filling the streets and gutters with leaves. Nights grew cold, and light flurries of snow became commonplace, dusting the sidewalks and roads. Stores were now selling eggnog, and Christmas decorations were already showing up for purchase.

  October had been chilly, but only now was I sure of the seasons change. It was July, when I had arrived in this city, the city of Purgatory. Since then, I’ve done quite a bit, but at the same time, it felt like so little.

  I’ve taken part in two events, both of which were considered tutorials. One, an extermination type event, and the other was a defense type event. They were supposed to prepare us for the future, which was a worrying prospect. It made me realize just how much more there was to do.

  Last month, was the defense event. It feels weird to say that, knowing the event had happened over the course of a night and yet, a full month had passed inside that single night. I had learned a lot, not just during the event, but during the last month.

  I needed to change, to re-evaluate just what kind of person I was.

  I never claimed to be a saint, but… how I used to operate won’t work now. My methods would need to be adjusted, especially as I continue to climb the ladder… a climb I swore had been cut short, until an unlikely person stepped up out of nowhere.

  Leo, having been chased away by my harsh words, came back a different man. He brought a client, work, and even did his job for once.

  It was strange… Seeing Leo actively lead the division, make calls, and show up at work on time. More than once, I found myself looking at him as he stood at the forefront of our division. Actively coordinating with our new client and Terada.

  “Can’t keep your eyes off him, eh boss?”

  The speaker, Liche, was giving me a knowing smirk. She had sharp features, she almost looked like a delinquent. She was also a user of void magic.

  “Liche, you shouldn’t make jokes like that.” Joan said, squirming in her chair, cheeks blushed. Liche just laughed in response before getting back to work.

  Joan, a girl who had a whole, childhood friend thing going on. She seemed innocent enough, but I was beginning to wonder if that was the whole truth. After all, she was just like me, a rabbit.

  As for Liche? I had a vague understanding of her. She was hungry, hungry like I was, but also fearful. Afraid of that hunger. Did that make her useful, or a detriment? Only time would tell.

  Speaking of…

  “Liche, before I forget.” I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bronze coins. “Repayment for the loan.”

  She took them without any fuss, and I grabbed a few more to hand back to Joan. She made to refuse, but I just thrust it into her hands and went right back to work.

  I earned a good amount of money and coins thanks to the event. Most of which had just gone into repaying what I owed both of them. After all, if not for them, we might not even be here.

  Last month, my mistakes caught up to me. Out of hubris… no, it was both familiarity and annoyance with Leo that pushed me to threaten him like I had. In doing so, I had co-opted the division, taken control, ostracized myself from my fellow workers. Worse, there were now rumors swirling around the company about my involvement with Leo.

  Had I been a man, none of this would have been an issue. Only, I wasn’t anymore.

  In a way, it was as if I had taken a poison apple. All rewards at first, seemingly, but then it all fell apart when the poison struck. Our division rank suddenly tanked, and very nearly brought us to the bottom. I used my savings and all I had, along with what both Liche and Joan offered to pay the deficit. All to motivate the employees to partake a death march for the past thirty days.

  It was all I could do, we could do, to just barely make our quota.

  I had to bow and beg for scraps. Visiting company after company, seeking work, just to make quota. Most kicked me out. Some played petty pranks, others were more malicious.

  Seeing me martyr myself, Leo had confronted me, I had yelled at him. He had run out… Worse… I also confronted Terada, our chief, our leader. With just a few words, I had nearly destroyed the proud man. Even now, he looked more like a shell of himself.

  Still, he threw himself into his work. Even now, he did, despite the subject material. And yet, in spite of it all… I still had no idea where I went wrong exactly.

  Something had happened behind the scenes, something I couldn’t quite grasp.

  Was it because I was a woman? It was a question that needed to be asked and I couldn’t deny, that it had some part in my failure. The blowback from my actions was far too severe. It wasn’t just that the companies had dropped us, no, they’d even gone so far as to pay the price for contract breaches, all to punish us, or more specifically me.

  Was it just because I had hurt their pride? I don’t think so. Though, it did make the fallout so much worse. I had to accept that much. As a man, I’m sure I could have swayed some of them back, but the comments they made, the sneers. It was clear none of them saw me as a competitor, or even a threat. Just an uppity secretary, a woman who was going beyond her authority.

  But… there had to be more to it. Why the bounce back? What had caused it, and why? I wasn’t sure, nor did I have the time to consider it.

  On the other hand, there was Leo…

  Leo had a sense of humor, I could tell. He found an independent artist, someone that draws independent comics and such, and convinced them to go with us to animate their works. Leo handled most of the work, but it helped that our client was a devoted fan of Terada’s past work. She was young, and if it were any other man, I would have thought Terada’s wife should be afraid, but I didn’t think Terada was the type to go for young grass, as it were.

  Leo though… The woman was definitely in his strike zone. He didn’t seem to be flirting with the woman, but I’d rather not deal with a scandal, not when it appeared everything was finally panning out. With Leo handling the various companies and liaisons, all I had to do was go over the legal papers and documents.

  I didn’t think there would be an issue, but it always paid to be double, even triple sure. Which meant, between my work and making sure Leo was doing his job, I had to also make sure the proper legal documents were signed, copied in triplicate, and so on…

  It was clear I had been demoted. I had committed a coup d’état, and taken his position, nominally. Though, not officially. Yet, since he had come storming back, like a lion taking his rightful place on his throne, he took charge.

  Which made me his unofficial secretary…

  I wasn’t sure what to think of that. Part of me was proud, seeing him actually doing his job. Growing before my very own eyes. Another part of me seethed. Angry, frustrated that where I failed, he succeeded. Then, there was…

  Something else… A dark thought that tickled at very recesses of my mind. The dark place I kept buried deep below. A thought that asked, was it really just coincidence?

  Leo had proven himself when he’d cornered me after my mutiny. Forcing me to take up violence as an answer, and I knew that wasn’t a victory. Made worse by how similar Leo was to a certain someone. A man I worked for once, a man I treated as a brother, a man I had wholly trusted…

  A man I had killed with my own two hands…

  Shaking my head, I buried my nose in my work. I had a lot to do and dwelling on such thoughts, especially now, was ill advised. We’d only stayed our execution. No different from plugging a hole in the dam with our own finger. The work Leo found us, would only go so far. The dam would crack more, more holes would appear, and before long, we’d drown.

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  Only, what could we even do?

  When work finally clocked out, for the first time in a long time, Terada invited me back to the bar with everyone else. Though, unfortunately…

  “I’m afraid I have plans. My apologies.” I bow.

  “Ah, it’s no problem, perhaps next time?” He replies back, though, it was obvious his heart wasn’t in his response.

  “Perhaps…”

  Noting my non-committal reply, he ups and leaves, our entire division in tow, sans Leo. With a final sigh, I entered his office, where he had opened a bottle of fine liquor.

  “Care for a glass?” He asked, offering me glass filled with amber liquid, not much, but…

  “That would be heavenly…” I took the glass and sipped. He sat in the manager’s chair, his chair. A chair I had occupied for a bit now. All I had to sit on were the simple office chairs he kept in here.

  “Missing it yet?” He said with a smile, lifting his glass.

  “Hardly.” I retort and lift my own glass. “Just annoyed that you couldn’t do your job before I took over. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.”

  “It would have, wouldn’t it?” He mused. Both of us took a moment to sip at our drinks. The heavenly smell of the liquor wafted up my sinuses, I could feel it burning in the back of my throat with just a small waft. The taste, was just right, burning down my throat and into my stomach. All the way down, my body burned in response.

  I exhaled and loosened my tie, just a little as my temperature spiked.

  “This is really good. Probably the best yet.” I say, luxuriating in the taste and sensation.

  “Yup, I paid a pretty penny for this as a celebration.”

  A celebration for what exactly? A dark thought, a voice murmured from the depths… but the burning heat of the quality alcohol was more than enough to keep it quiet.

  “A bit too soon to celebrate” I replied back instead and took another sip of my drink. I had to be careful; the liquor was strong and even just this was enough to get me a little tipsy. Yet, in the same way, I craved it more than ever. Almost as much as I wished for a smoke right this moment.

  “Care for more?” he asked, and I desperately did, but…

  “Anymore and I’m liable to get drunk.” I said and waved him off. He laughed.

  “You’re quite the lightweight Prima, but… you do know your drinks.”

  I chose not to respond and instead focused on my drink. He wasn’t wrong though, my new body wasn’t exactly good with alcohol, and it didn’t help that my magic, being ice magic was uniquely vulnerable to alcohol.

  Even now, just trying to call up even a bit of magic was difficult.

  Which reminds me… It wasn’t something I ever considered. Sure, I was stronger as I was, and I knew how to fight, at least a bit. That didn’t change that I was willingly making myself vulnerable before someone else, a man no less.

  And someone that could be a threat…

  It was a stupid thought, but… It wasn’t something I ever considered before. Before, when I’d first taken his offer, I hadn’t considered him a threat. A rich playboy, a child way out of his depth. How wrong I was.

  Only, just how wrong was I?

  “You’re looking at me rather intently, something on your mind?” He asked, leaning forward. My frowning face reflected back in his steel eyes. Ever since coming back, Leo had chosen to forgo his sunglasses more and more. A change I wasn’t sure I liked.

  “No…” I reply, perhaps a bit too quickly. “Just worried you might try getting with our client.” I pivot, avoiding my true line of thought.

  “Oh? And why would I do that?” He said, all too innocently. Almost like a child clearly up to no good.

  I had to roll my eyes at that. I leaned back in my chair, folded my legs.

  “She’s clearly your type, what was it you said it so eloquently, a woman with booba.” I even mimed the motion he had made when he explained his preferences to me way back, with a glass in hand.

  “Sounds like your jealous.” He says with a wide smirk.

  “Jealous? Me?” I let out a short laugh, but… it wasn’t a very convincing laugh.

  He gave me a smirk and continued, “Well, you don’t need to worry. I know how to separate work and play. In fact, I’m planning to head to a bar later, see if I can pick up a real woman.”

  “I should have figured… Just make sure you get back to work tomorrow.”

  “You know, if you wanted to be extra sure, you could accompany me? Maybe be my wingman or something.”

  His words took me through a loop for a moment. Me, a wingman? Is he stupid?

  “I’m not your mother Leo, and I’m not going to chaperone you. Go out, have fun, and if you don’t show up, I’ll make sure to give you a piece of my mind.”

  He eyed me for a moment before nodding and finishing his drink in one loud gulp. He put the glass down and stood.

  “Whelp, I’ll be heading out then. Got me a babe to find.”

  “Good hunting.” I reply back, ever so calmly as he exits, leaving me alone in the office. Whatever had been bugging me had faded with that absurd comment he made. Leo was acting like an adult, but really, he was still a child, wasn’t he?

  Then again… No, better not to dwell on that, not now. Still, no harm in keeping an eye out. I won’t be caught blindsided again. Not again.

  Finishing my own drink, I set it down and headed for my next destination.

  Somewhere at the edge of the port district, I had leased out a warehouse. The past month, I hadn’t had the chance to arrive, leaving my sole surviving subordinate alone.

  On entering the cold storage, I witnessed a fun sight. Cobalt was dancing, or rather, practicing. It wasn’t much. Just a simple waltz. He was getting better with every session, stepping on my feet less as we danced when I had some free time.

  It was a bit strange to teach what was essentially an ice golem, to dance, but during the most recent event, Diva, a prospective idol and voice actor, and also a young woman I had met during the very first event, down deep in the depths, alone and scared, lost in absolute darkness. A young woman I had found and saved, in a way. I pulled her with me, and she proved instrumental for getting me my first gold coin.

  That young woman, had made a rather confusing statement. One that had bothered me since.

  In essence, when I made my minions and golems, in the process of animating them, I did so using pieces of my own soul. Nothing dangerous, more like grabbing sparks off a blazing fire, but every minion held a piece of me.

  Diva had posited, rightly so, that my creations could be considered family, or even my children.

  I couldn’t argue with that. She wasn’t wrong and yet… It had me thinking. It wasn’t just out of nowhere that I taught Cobalt how to dance, no, there was another reason.

  Foolishly, I had spent a silver coin to grant me a talent in dance. Had I been of sound mind, I would have never wasted the coin on that. However, Diva’s magic had pushed me out of my shell, so to speak, and with it, unearthed something better off dead.

  Now that I’ve upgraded my talent for dancing, my whole world has opened up, and I was loathe to waste such a resource by never using it. I had half a mind of simply ignoring it, but I still wasn’t exactly sure if there were limits to the number of talents I could get with silver coins.

  Could I become good at everything? It seemed too good to be true, and I’d much rather err on the side of caution. Much like how a bank error in my favor might eventually be corrected, I’d rather not bet on the error remaining unnoticed and find myself in debt, or worse.

  There was so much more I needed to know as well.

  As it was, I had an outlet, or rather, a possible resource. I had already checked in at the library, my silver tier membership had long expired, but it still offered me unlimited access to the mundane library. With that, I looked through various sources and books, to look for what I needed.

  I needed to expand my ability to produce minions, or soldiers. With bronze coins, to an extent, I can exchange them for material goods, how that worked, I wasn’t sure, but still, it opened doors. Those open doors allowed me to avoid certain issues that would arise.

  Specifically… I planned to make my basic infantry, dolls, or mannequins of a sort. Spending the time and effort to sculpt simple ice soldiers just wasn’t worth my time or effort. Even if they had the greatest affinity with me and my magic, and thus, the greatest growth, I couldn’t use them outside of winter.

  Soldiers made of ice would melt under the summer sun, unless I actively kept pumping them with magic to stave off their demise. On the small scale, I could find workarounds, but on the larger scale it simply wasn’t doable. The sole exception being Cobalt, and whatever future knights I make out of ice and infuse with a silver coin.

  Cobalt had no such issues, walking in the heat of summer. He didn’t actively melt, though, he was somewhat weaker. Conversely, in the cold of winter, he was far stronger, able to pull on the surrounding cold to further bolster himself.

  For basic soldiers, I needed something that could be mass produced and easily put together. I didn’t need to waste a day or so making a single soldier, not when I planned to use them as expendable fodder. My time was worth far more than that.

  Which is why I focused on dolls, or mannequins.

  Bronze coins eliminated the need for me to contract a factory to produce my dolls, in theory. Bronze coins should continue to be of help, and my main source for new dolls, up until the point where I can afford a factory to mass produce what I need.

  The issue was, what material were my dolls going to be made out of?

  My magic, being ice, meant that whatever material I used, would likely grow both heavier and more brittle as it absorbed more magic. Most metals and materials tend to weaken when they get cold enough. As it were, perhaps most normal metals would work, but I wasn’t too sure.

  A quick through some basic books on metals and their freezing points had me focus on two particular metals. Aluminum and Titanium. Both did exceptionally well in the cold. Or at least, they survived better. Aluminum, however, was out, for no other reason than the weightage. Aluminum dolls would be too light, and too weak to be of use.

  Titanium, however, was promising. It was less dense than steel, but capable enough. It could handle the cold easily enough, and even if it weighed less than steel, with my ice increasing its density and bolstering it, there might not be much of a difference in the end.

  For the time being it would work, but… it would be costly, if I had to go through normal channels. The city had no direct access to any mines, and thus, most of our metal was imported. How that worked… I still had no idea. Considering the city was in a large dome of a sort, with nothing outside it, as far as anyone knew, apparently…

  Which meant the cost of having something custom made, especially with an already expensive metal, would cost a pretty penny with the import costs tacked on.

  For the time being though, I wasn’t in a rush to get experimenting. For most of the week, including today, I had been teaching Cobalt how to dance and working on limbering up, even getting a gym membership to properly work out.

  I hadn’t realized how much I missed a proper workout, but the real benefit was having the proper equipment to get me back into shape. Even if my body was enhanced to an absurd degree, if I didn’t maintain it, or take care of it, there was no way it would remain in peak condition. Even if it did, I wouldn’t be able to use my body to its fullest regardless.

  That was just a fact…

  For tomorrow though, I had something else planned entirely. No real workout, no visiting the library.

  No.

  Tomorrow, I was going to take advantage of an offer. I was going to meet éclair and see if I can get some answers.

  After all, it felt like it was about time.