‘What happened..?’

I was still disorientated after coming to, but I could hear the hushed sound of two voices. I sat up, and saw that I was under covers.

‘Is this Eve’s room..?’ I felt the pillowy gray-and-pink mattress. It was filled to the brim with plushies on all sides.

‘How do you sleep like this? I get having just one or two of them, but this looks like a mess waiting to be cleaned up every day…’

With the lights being off, the only thing illuminating the room was the door, which was slightly cracked open. I could only make out a few other things; for instance, I could see a few items on her bedside table, which was a slab of marble strung on brass. I saw a picture frame. It was of a woman smiling while pushing an older gentleman on a wheelchair. She looked quite similar to Eve, but had a more… mature(?) air to her; perhaps it was her sister or mother.

Aside from that, there were makeup compacts, delicate brushes, and other palettes of pigments. I also saw a few crystal bottles, which were filled with a clear liquid. I picked one up and sloshed it around; it moved fluidly without much viscosity to it. I opened the bottle and tried to waft it to see what kind of scent it was, but I found that there was no odor in particular that could be garnered from it.

‘Oh, it’s not perfume…’ I closed it, placing it back down. I realized I might be prying too much into her belongings.

‘I heard someone else talking…’ I walked over to the door and was able to make out some of their conversation.

“...And you didn’t find it strange that she kept feeling that tingling the entire time?”

“I didn’t know she wasn’t—”

“It wasn’t life-threatening, so it’s not a massive deal. However, keep in mind that it’s not your life you’re handling… Be more thorough.”

“I understand…”

I pushed the door and walked out into the living area, finding that the other person was Nanik, still in business-wear—and he was reprimanding Eve. She was sulking on a chair with her head nestled down and arms tucked around her knees.

“Sorry, am I interrupting?” I asked somewhat awkwardly. They both looked at me, and I could see relief wash over Eve’s face,

“Tokei..!” She leaped off of the chair, landing on her feet with just a pitter. She clasped her hands together,

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve kept a closer eye on you there! You were out cold for two hours… H-how are you feeling?”

I replied, “Better now that my headache is gone…”

“Just as I said, my Euger took care of her.” Nanik spoke from behind Eve, who pouted,

“I just wanted to be sure—you have a habit of lying, you know!”

“That’s rich. Aren’t you using your powers to make yourself look younger—”

“H-hey! You said you wouldn’t bring that up!!” Eve ran up to Nanik and tried to cover his mouth.

“Slip of tongue.” He swatted her hand away while looking at me,

“Tokei, do you recall what happened after you did the breathing exercise?”

“...I do, but it’s hard to explain… It felt like I was transported into a different world. N-nothing was the same, a-and I couldn’t see Eve anymore,” I thought about how to articulate my next words,

“...But her voice could be seen as disturbances; it seemed like external interactions caused the space there to change.” Nanik and Eve turned and looked at each other for a brief moment before Nanik inquired,

“Anything else?”

“It got about that far before I felt terrible and passed out.” I shook my head.

“…That explains the state of the office,” Nanik sighed.

“Huh? Did something happen there?” I asked.

“Yes. After you fell unconscious, the electricity was cut off from the room, and none of the appliances there are working properly anymore.” He pointed to the ring light, which had now been brought out here,

“That thing keeps fluctuating on and off, so it’s essentially out of commission; The rest of the electronics in the office are in the same state.”

“But I’m sure I didn’t do anything…” I curled my lips, feeling guilty.

“It’s alright, Tokei, I can get the room fixed and replace everything later,” Eve reassured me. I figured that she could replace them, but aren’t they still quite expensive?

“She’s only relaxed now because I told her I’d pay for them,” Nanik added. Eve frowned at Nanik, but he dismissed her glowering and carried on,

“I believe the Sethnine injected into your system didn’t stimulate your mansian, but something entirely different: a Physique.”

‘I haven’t heard about Physiques before. But then again, I don’t know about a lot of things right now…’

“What do you mean by my 'Physique'? And what’s the difference between that and magical abilities?”

“Physiques are what are considered abnormal body states. They’re innate, being dormant within the person since gestation,” he elaborated,

“They can be stimulated through a multitude of stressors. In your case, the refined Sethnine simply acted as a catalyst for your Physique. For sorceras, that would be a cause for rejoice…”

An uneasy feeling crept in me; Nanik was being slow with his words. “But..?”

“Therein lies the question: Your Physique has manifested only now, and yet your mansian still has yet shown any sign of function…”

I felt butterflies in my stomach, “You mean to say…” I faltered.

“You are not a sorcera, Tokei.”

“...” For an aching moment, I could only stare at Nanik in silence. I felt disheartened by his very simply-founded conclusion.

I awoke with a naïve mindset. I had wanted immediate answers—something, anything, to fill the gaps of my past, but I’ve just been a bumbling mess. I’ve pranced about without a clue of what I was accomplishing. I was avoiding reality. Now, I’ve had another door shut in on me.

I lowered my gaze, pursing my lips and balling my hands. “Then… What can I even do?” The words escaped me fleetingly. Tears of frustration beaded at the edges of my eyes. Eve didn’t say a word, only giving me an apologetic look.

Haah~.

Under my silence, Nanik approached me. It was only now that he was in front of me directly that I noticed that he had a tall and imposing gait. He leaned towards me slightly, his near shoulder-length hair swishing, and reached a hand out towards my face. I flinched involuntarily, remembering an earlier moment in the cab. But the stinging pain never came.

Instead, a faint tap~ pushed my head back gently. “You’re making a face again,” he said, chuckling,

“It’s not a good look on you.”

“I know…” He watched as I wiped the edges of my eyes,

“...It’s not necessarily a hindrance that you aren’t drawn to magic.”

“What do you mean?” I’ve experienced first-hand how versatile magic is. So, for him to say that it wasn’t bad… It only felt like he was trying to console me.

“Although your Physique is a different case, there are many others who are not aligned with Sethnine. You’ve seen the cutting-edge technology at Annual Hotel, yes?”

“Yeah,” I slowly nodded.

“That tech is not born from magic; it was forged through innovation and raw ingenuity. Do not attribute your incompatibility to hopelessness,” He said while smiling faintly,

“...If your enigma was a neat present, it would be a giant, multi-layered one… Well-crafted presents are not meant to be opened quickly. Each layer should be peeled off with care—”

“Pffft-hehe~. What are you-sniff~ saying?” I couldn’t help but laugh at his quirky analogy.

“I’m just saying—you shouldn’t fret about it all now. Take everything that comes at you one-by-one, and the pieces will fall together.”

“Thank you. And sorry, I don’t know what came over me…” I scratched my head with some shame.

“No apologies needed.”

“Wow…” Eve was stunned,

“A-are you sure he’s not your dad?”

Nanik shot her a confused look, “And what even gave you that impression?”

“Oh, I don’t know…”

…

“I’m driving this time,” Nanik said.

I was surprised. “You can drive? Also, isn’t this the same exact car that picked you up at the medical center?”

“Of course I can. I have a license. And I’m borrowing this car.”

Nanik and I were in the parking lot of the apartment complex. Eve had to go to a photoshoot—and also find someone to repair the electrical issues that were caused by my Physique’s activation earlier.

I would’ve opted to stay back in Eve’s apartment, but Nanik said he also had something to do. I was concerned that my Physique would be triggered whilst nobody was around, so I asked if I could tag along.

…

Nanik drove us in silence for a few minutes before I couldn’t hold in my curiosity, “…Do you think what I awakened is any good?”

Nanik stared at the road ahead, “As of right now—hard to say. It was first activated by Eve’s Sethnine, but you can’t remain in it for long,” he gave a concise rundown, and then surmised,

“We could attempt the same thing again to see if the activation method’s changed. Replicating it is the best thing you can do for yourself.”

“You mean, like practicing being in that state?”

“Exactly. Attunement to Physiques can generally be developed through continued training. I would say it’s similar to building muscle or gaining expertise with magical abilities.”

“Hmm…” I looked out the window, recalling how it felt to be in that “world” (if that’s what you would call it). I imagined the empty space, and how surreal my meager moments inside there felt like.

“It was a very existential experience… I’d like to return there and explore it some, but I’m not too keen on the whole pain side-effect.”

“Such is growth; risk and gain are often intercorrelated… Speaking of risks,” Nanik rapped his right hand on the steering wheel,

“How about a bet?”

‘Bet? Is he bored or something? Why all of a sudden..?’ I squinted my eyes at him with skepticism. He didn’t seem to notice my glare, though; he kept looking forward with a poker face.

I shifted in my seat, “Does that have anything to do with where we’re going?”

Nanik relaxed his shoulders and spoke calmly, “We’re meeting with a seller today because I’ve been on the market for a base—a big one. Something more off the radar.”

“Like a house?”

“No. I meant it quite literally.”

“...What do you need something like that for?”

“It’s not technically for me… For my staff,” Nanik added vaguely,

“Space is needed to coordinate more operations and plans. A base would give them room to work without much interference.”

I mulled over his words. ‘He did leave for an “appointment” before, so he does business… I guess that explains it,’ I nodded to myself,

“What’s the bet, then?”

“—Whether or not I can cut the price by at least sixty percent. You think I can pull it off?”

“Uh, what’re the stakes?” I prodded. Although he didn’t voice it, it appeared that he had given the amount some thought before saying it. It made me feel less inclined to be hasty with my decisions.

“It’s very straightforward,” Nanik said while making a left turn at the light, “I win: you give joining my team some consideration; you win… I’ll leave that up to your discretion. Could even be an I.O.U.”

‘Sus… He didn’t even consider the stakes of losing… I would be an idiot to take the bet as is.’

I made an exaggerated smirk, “How about this? Instead, make it at least eighty percent, and you make them think it was their idea all along to sell for cheap.” If Nanik wants to renegotiate, he’d still have to go lower than he originally planned—what an ingenious idea!

“...”

I leaned back, smiling coyly, “It’s alright. You can take your time—”

“Sure.”

“I-what?”

“I said, ‘Sure. ’”

“I heard you the first time, but… you’re not going to deliberate over it?”

“I just did.”

I don’t understand him. ‘Well, that was fast. I thought he’d been properly stunned by my proposition. His mind truly eludes me,’ I sighed internally. Whether or not I was going to regret this was left to be seen.

Our bantering slowly derailed off to me interjecting and asking Nanik about any and every building I found to be remotely intriguing. You couldn’t even blame me; the bustling inner cities of Trizen had way too many eye-catching architectural styles. For instance: one of the buildings we drove by was a building owned by Tretplex, which was apparently one of the largest companies involving web surfing and technology. Its contemporary wavy building style, accompanied by a similarly curved glass façade, made it stand out quite a bit.

…

We pulled into a long, bustling artery of a street. The traffic here was heavily congested. People were honking horns at street lights that seemed to be barely spaced apart, and pedestrians, either wearing formal or just casual wear, scurried along the walks and road crosses.

“This is something you won’t miss about Trizen cities. They’re always like this~,” Nanik breathed out. He put his left arm on the door panel and rested his hand on his chin,

“Any time now…”

Finally, after about five minutes, the traffic opened up for a moment, and Nanik passed through and took a right at the intersection. He slowed the car down as he scanned the left street buildings’ signages, “Tomes & Fables… There.” He flicked his turn signal and, with a quick movement, twisted the wheel. The car weaved in between two others parked alongside the road. After adjusting the car a bit, Nanik pulled the key, shutting off the engine.

I exited cautiously from the passenger side and took in the aforementioned “meeting place”. It was a weathered storefront that sat snugly in between an apartment-alley and a tailor’s atelier; “↞ Tomes & Fables ↠“ it read.