It's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing. flowers are blooming. on days like these kids like Mary...... should be in school. But Mary was not enrolled in a public school. Zir tuition started and ended at odd hours and odd days. Sometimes ze would spend all day Sunday bouncing from one teacher to the next, and other times ze would have an entire Wednesday blocked off just for zerself. It all depended on what zer parents wanted for zer. 

And that's how Cthulhya the portal witch was able to investigate some back allies on a school day.

As for the why, well, why not? Pax Septimus was peppered with abandoned warehouses that made excellent hideouts. Shimr was always lit up with requests to exterminate goblins, cultists, or other such paranormal threats. Monster locations were worth money, and both GEMINI and Maverick paid a premium for them. 

But Mary wasn’t the only one walking around back here. A purple haired girl surrounded with butterflies peaked out from behind a wall. [color=e3bbc6]”Well hello there little girl. What might you-”[/color]

[color=9b83de]"Cthulhya is actually a demi-boy, and uses ze and zir pronouns. At least on days where ze dresses in purple."[/color] Danny inhaled, or at least it sounded like he did. [color=9b83de]"I apologize for cutting you off! You were saying?"[/color] 

Sharr hummed, but kept her smile up. [color=e3bbc6]”Right, of course.”[/color] she placed her hands on her hips. [color=e3bbc6]”Just so happens I have the power to make sure something like that never happens again.”[/color]

[color=1462ba]“What do you mean?”[/color] Mary inquired.

[color=e3bbc6]”Interested? I’m an artificer by trade, and I can make adjustments to magical equipment like your grimoire.”[/color] She pointed at her. [color=e3bbc6]”My services do cost a fair bit, but I’m sure you’ll find them affordable. I could add any feature you like. Maybe you’re not happy with your outfit? You can’t seem to decide what you are, but I could make it so that you could be whatever you wished with a snap of your fingers.”[/color] 

[color=1462ba]“Really?”[/color] Mary started to get excited when the puppet popped up again.

[color=9b83de]"Now hold on a second! This almost sounds too good to be true! Who are you even?"[/color]

[color=e3bbc6]”Oh, did I forget to introduce myself?”[/color] The lavender haired girl stepped out from behind the wall and placed her hands on her hips. [color=e3bbc6]”I’m Sharr Webber, an artificer for GEMINI. Long story short, I’ve escaped my captor and am going to join up with GEMINI’s PAx Septimus branch shortly. But I’m not against taking requests for freelancers.”[/color]

[color=1462ba]“So I can just contact you on Shimr if I want to make an appointment?”[/color] 

[color=e3bbc6]”Well, I’m not really supposed to help just anyone, and I don’t presently have an account of my own. But I suppose once I get settle in, you can shoot me a private message.”[/color] Mary seemed to consider the offer, but Sharr had one last thing to add. [color=e3bbc6]”Does Monarch Artificing sound like a nice name for a glamor shop?”[/color]

[color=1462ba]“Um, wha?”[/color]

[hr]

Fritzi was in her office, which wasn’t an uncommon place to find her  She was pushing papers around on her desk. Normally she would delegate this to someone else, but the only person wshe trusted to do it right wasn’t available. Everything her agents did needed to be well documented. On top of that, she was also head of GEMINI’s research. Everything pertaining to the Holy Diver and the mysterious “Hand” group wound up on her desk. She had no secretary. The closest thing she had to that right now was a chime that let her know when someone had entered the premises. And sure enough, that chime sounded. It wasn’t a polite sound either. It was course, and never let her know who was coming into her office. With a sigh, she adjusted her coat and waited for them to walk through the door. But she would hear them before she could see them. 

[color=baddab]”It’s just me!”[/color] Before long, Binky walked past the threshold of the door and saluted Fritzi. She still looked a little banged up, but the swelling had gone down, and she just had a few bandages on the bottom of her chin. [color=baddab]”It kind of hurts to talk, but I think I can return to service.”[/color]

[color=#bd71e8]"Cereza and Cerise were able to patch you up pretty good then?"[/color] Fritzi was referring to two GEMINI espers outside of the Pax Septimus branch. They had fought together in the past, but their stations had been shifted around quite a bit. Fritzi and MBinky became researchers while Cereza and Cerise supported GEMINI efforts by managing equipment distribution. They were also revered healers, not that melodies were especially effective on humans.

[color=baddab]”The real reason they wanted to see us was because top brass decided to give us a little extra help. Apparently they didn’t realize just how bad things were here.”[/color]

[color=#bd71e8]"Why am I not surprised."[/color] She placed her hands together. [color=#bd71e8]"Let me guess, we got access to assist glamors finally?"[/color]

[color=baddab]”I’ve been putting through requests since we arrived here.”[/color] Binky smiled. [color=baddab]”I don’t know if it was the growing vampire problem, Pac-A-Fist’s capture, or what, but they decided to listen. The lab is all fitted up with  them so we can begin distribution among the agents as soon as possible.”[/color]

[color=#bd71e8]"And I would have been content just getting my secretary back."[/color]

[hr]

[color=f03aa1]‘Why is it always so hot?’[/color]

The person speaking was someone dressed up as a witch. A cat witch. Only they weren’t really dressed up as a [url=https://i.imgur.com/eRH8w2I.jpg] witch[/url]. They were wearing their hat, but their robe had been cast over a nearby chair. This left them in their underwear, which was probably only a sensible option if you were working over a giant cauldron and weren’t expecting any customers. There was nothing to sell yet, and there was a closed sign on the door. 

After hearing about Pac-A-Fist’s disappearance, Brittany Todd decided to fly to Pax Septimus as fast as she could to capitalize on what she suspected would be a monster hunting hot spot. Nobody just kidnaps the number one freelancer’s girlfriend and expects him to take it laying down. No, there would be more espers. Freelancers galore, and she didn’t doubt that GEMINI and Maverick Alternative would be trying to get on the Bate’s good side either. But the smartest people in this situation didn’t aim for being the one hero standing above all the losers, they aimed to profit off the lot of them. 

[color=f03aa1]‘There’s a lot of mana here. Two Izu souls have already appeared on my cauldron. ’[/color] It was going to be a good place for business. Even if she didn’t sell them all, Pax Septimus was the perfect place for brewing assist glamors. She couldn’t help but smile thinking about the immense amount of wealth she was going to acquire. It would be simply-

The front door swung open, and Elroy stepped in. [color=c9272c]“Bikini Cat?”[/color] 

[color=f03aa1]‘Kiyah!’[/color] Brittany hugged her ladle against her chest.  [color=f03aa1]‘What are you doing in here myshopisnotopenyeatyouneedtogetoutofhererightnow!’[/color] She inhaled. [color=f03aa1]‘And this is not a bikini!”[/color] 

[color=c9272c]“... Lingerie Cat?”[/color] 

Brittany blinked. [color=f03aa1]‘Im, sorry. I was just startled. You’re right. This is a bikini. Definitely not underwear. Nope.”[/color] She lowered her ladle back into the cauldron. [color=f03aa1]‘The door does say closed for a reason. I have nothing to sell presently. But um, you’re Elroy right?”[/color]

[color=c9272c]“All day every day!”[/color] 

[color=f03aa1]”Good good! You’re actually the main reason I’m here!”[/color] She smiled. [color=f03aa1]”I heard what happened to Patricia, and I just knew-”[/color]

Elroy squinted his eyes. [color=c9272c]“You gettin’ rich off my suffering?”[/color] 

[color=f03aa1]”N-no! What gave you that idea? God, that’s horrible!”[/color] Brittany blushed, but it wasn’t because she felt exposed. Well, not because of her current outfit. [color=f03aa1]”I mean I am here to run a business, but I’m not doing anything more than providing a service! Uhhh! Do you know what assist glamorous are?”[/color]

Elroy didn’t say anything. Asking the number one freelancer if they knew what assist glamorous were was like asking an esper if they knew what a monster was. They were special glamorous that acted as companions to an esper’s grimoire and did not have to be attached directly to it. The caveat was that these special glamors did need to be “tuned” to a grimoire to work, and needed a bit of help to do anything. As an example, Elroy had a glamor that let him use an arcane artifact that Pac-A-Fist made for him. But the glamor was just there to help facilitate his ability to use magic that didn’t belong to him. Others gave espers the ability to keep mundane items on their esper and mundane form, and even trade them between the two. But again, those items had to be acquired elsewhere and were not granted by the glamor itself. 

[color=f03aa1]”...Well I make those! And if you come back tomorrow, I’ll have some wares out!”[/color]

With a shrug, Elroy grabbed a hold of the door knob. [color=c9272c]“ I’ll tell the others you’re here. Thought you were a monster, sorry for barging in.”[/color] 

Brittany nodded, and Elroy closed the door. As awkward as that exchange was, she was just happy that Regina wasn’t with him. It was a shame he was so blue, but that made sense considering what had happened. But none of that mattered! Elroy was going to personally promote her shop! [color=f03aa1]‘Grand Opening of Brittany’s Boutique! Here we come!’[/color]