Starlight (II)

"Ahem, well..." Conrad began, clearing his throat.

"We've confirmed your story, and it checks out. The red tablets we found on their persons are the new Nectar drug being distributed by shady organizations. The drug is still in their system, so we'll be analyzing their blood samples to gather more data on it. As for this place..." He glanced around, surveying the small, broken park that seemed on the verge of splitting open.

"...we should have it back to normal within a few days at most."

"A few days?" Angelica parroted the phrase and cocked her head to don an astounded look.

"The city has a recovery unit for things like this." Cyril said, responding to her unspoken question. She turned towards him out of reflex, her eyes practically begging him for more exposition.

Thrilled to oblige, he continued.

"There," Cyril pointed at a group of people wearing matching white uniforms, blending with the deep black of armed men in special ops gear. "Those people are part of the city's recovery unit, they're called 'tinkerers'. To sum it up, they're basically a cleanup crew that uses their powers to repair damage caused by deviant activity in the city."

"Oh, so they've prepared for situations like this," Angelica murmured aloud, her eyes tracking the members in white uniforms as they worked. "I thought there would be some kind of fine or penalty for this kind of thing."

"No, not really," Conrad interrupted. "This city houses more than ninety-five percent of the country's deviants, and the rest are people admitted to schools or facilities here. There's bound to be some friction at some point, so the administrative board created the recovery units to deal with property damage alongside technology. The dungeon economy here covers the cost, so most of these cases don't usually warrant any fines."

"I see...that is very generous of them."

It didn't take much to understand the logic behind such a bold decision. Babylon's main appeal lay in its ability to control dungeon formation and the dungeon economy that grew from that reputation. Compared to the occasional dungeon break, the destruction caused by clashes between individuals was relatively tame and usually resolved within a few days. These conflicts were typically exempt from property damage fines, as they were seen as a minor issue for the administrative board.

While reckless displays of power weren't entirely without consequences, as long as no civilians were injured, the repercussions were mostly focused on the individuals involved rather than society as a whole. The approach, 'ingenious' as they called it, supposedly made the city all the more attractive to deviants.

"In any case, I'm glad to see you're enjoying your stay here, little miss. To avoid more incidents like this, I'd suggest either picking up a secondary artifact to carry around or using runes to mask the ambient mana leaking off that one. Outside Babylon it might not be a big deal, but around here, deviants can easily gauge a weapon's power just from that kind of signature."

"Will do lieutenant." Angelica signaled her compliance with a nod before raising her rapier to examine it up close. "So that's what Ginny meant back there..."

"Anyway, that should be about it for this little conundrum—a bit of an exciting way to kick off the month, but the situation is being dealt with in short order." Conrad stuffed the mobile device somewhere underneath his long coat and picked out a pack of cigarettes from his inner pocket.

"This matter is settled for now. I still have some work to do here, but if my guess is correct, someone should swing by to pick you up soon. Feel free to stick around until then, it's not in the best of conditions right now but this park is a pretty good spot for stargazing."

"You're right, the view from here is lovely," agreed Angelica. Even before Conrad made the suggestion, she had been stealing brief glances at the dazzling open view above them."

"Who would have thought?"

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Cyril did the same, mirroring her reaction and staring off into the glittery canvas.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. There's still a bit of work for me to do over here," Conrad declared in the midst of his slow wave. His gesture was returned shortly, and with that, the lieutenant jammed the head of a cigar into the corner of his jaw and moved away.

Cyril and Angelica, watching him go from behind, immediately took note of the white, cloudy puffs billowing up in front of him.

"By the way, Cyril..." Angelica's voice grew oddly gelid as she began. Cyril instinctually sensed the difference, and upon creaking his head around, immediately took note of the brown spots on her clothes—the ones she alluded to with an inordinate amount of grace, standing up to highlight them by lifting the hem of her skirt.

"Did that happen because..."

"...Because you so thoughtfully sent all that dust flying earlier."

He felt a thorny pressure clamp down on his heart. Angelica's smile hadn't changed in the slightest—in fact, it was growing deeper by the second—but it carried no trace of her usual affability, simply because her eyes weren't smiling.

"W-well, Angelica, you see... that was a mistake."

"You're absolutely right, it was," she agreed, releasing her skirt hem and patting the fabric a few times. "It was a little inconvenient, but it's nothing to fuss about, not after what we've just been through. In light of that, I'll let you off the hook for today. Take it as my thanks for being such a good tour guide."

"Did I really do that good of a job?" Cyril returned, taking hold of her hand as she pulled him to his feet.

"Well, let's put it like this—I certainly won't be losing my way around here after all we've done."

"Happy to be of service, young miss." Cyril gave a final bow to relinquish his brief role as her chaperone, but again, the girl simply chuckled at the sight of him attempting to mimic the formality.

"There's no need for that Cyril, our high-five from earlier will do just fine."

"I'll get it eventually, just watch." he said, refusing to be swayed.

The two of them got up from the bench with no actual destination in mind. Since the chaperone had yet to arrive, Cyril and Angelica spent the time walking around the small patch of land that was left untouched by the battle.

The conversation seemed longer than it actually was to them both, but nothing of any particular importance was said—it was little more than banter beneath the nighttime canopy.

"Cyril, allow me to thank you for everything you've done today. Honestly, it's been a lot of fun. From our sparring session to the district tour, and even the fight just now—it's all helped me regain my resolve. I'm truly grateful." Angelica gathered the hem of her skirt between her fingers and dipped into a graceful curtsy—effortless and refined, like something lifted straight from a textbook.

Impressive. So she can pull off all these formalities, huh? Cyril thought to himself, taken slightly off guard.

The elegance of her gesture, executed with such polished courtesy, left a simple high schooler like Cyril unsure of how to respond. "Angelica, it's fine, really. You don't need to do all of that. I was just helping out, alright?"

"I was simply expressing my gratitude, so I took the opportunity to show you what real etiquette looks like." She said, hammering the word with emphasis. "Would you rather I not do that?"

"Uh, well, I'm not really used to all this formality. Our high-five earlier pretty much sealed the deal for me. Plus, seeing you act so formal all of a sudden kind of throws me off. That's not—"

He caught himself just before his words could spill out.

"Not what?" Angelica pressed; her voice laced with a hint of suspicion.

She took a step closer, still wearing that polite, yet somewhat insincere smile, but she only made it halfway toward him before something else caught their attention.

A soft, resonant honk echoed in the air, drawing their focus back to the main road.

A luxury vehicle, draped in noir, rolled to a stop, its sleek design gleaming in the soft light. One of the tinted black windows smoothly slid open. The steel-grey pupils glinting in the drivers seat were unmistakable.

"Yelena!" Angelica called, dishing out a wave as she moved off.

"Saved again..." Cyril exhaled a heavy breath, thick with tension. He wasn't sure what would have happened had Yelena not arrived, but her timely intervention certainly saved him from finishing that awkward interaction.

"Cyril! What are you standing around for? Come on let's go." Before he'd even realized it, Angelica had long since hopped in the back seat. With no reason to refuse—especially when considering the distance between Ravenspurn and Dunwich— he moved towards the opulent vehicle without delay.

"I'll take you up on that."

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