Asher texted Mei where he would be going.
He weaved through the gridlike layout of the Backstreets, turning often to match the directions of his phone.
On the way there, he snuck into an alleyway shortcut, emerging as Sophie. He was a nobody in his original form, not a criminal or a Fixer. He didn't quite like the fact that her form was more important than his own, but he had no choice but to deal with it.
The knife in his dress pocket rested comfortably on his skin, calming him somewhat.
Closer and closer to the Dawn Office he went, deeper and deeper into the alleys he explored.
Soon, he reached a different part of the Neon Streets, one he had never set foot in before. Blocks and blocks of malls lined the streets. No more corner stores, this was a true shopping district.
The people here all looked well off. They clothed themselves nicely, and many wore concealing masks or headwear covering their faces.
Towering in between two buildings was the Dawn Office, a few stories taller than the others. A stained glass pane near the top depicted a rising sun wreathed in fire, casting glowing rays of dawn onto the pavement below.
Its gray colored walls exuded a professional aura, nothing like Yun's Office.
As he watched the building from afar, people he assumed were customers entered and exited the Office. It seemed like its business was good as well.
Without another moment of hesitation, Asher stepped up to the set of front doors, pulling them open.
The inside of the building was warm and homey. Unlike the sterile tiles of the Hana Association, the floors of Dawn Office were covered in thick but well kept carpet. A glass encased fireplace smoldered in the corner, making the room just the right temperature for his liking.
However, Dawn Office bore a striking resemblance to the Hana Association, much more than Yun's Office.
There was a dedicated reception desk in the front, manned by a blonde teen around Asher's age. The boy shifted his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he flipped through a leather-bound book in his hands.
Asher cleared his throat to catch the boy's attention.
"Hm? Oh, hullo. Welcome to the Dawn Office. How may I be of assistance?" He closed his book, nodding his head toward the girl in front of him.
Asher didn't know what Yun meant when he said 'make connections', but he had to give it a shot.
"I'm Sophie, a Grade 7 Fixer. Is it possible if I meet your Captain? Or not?"
"Sure, I don't think he's doing anything right now. Lily, can you take over for a second while I'm gone?" He called behind him, motioning for Asher to follow as the girl named Lily hummed her consent.
The carpet ceded to wooden floorboards as they climbed up the steps, reaching the top floor in an instant.
Down the hall was a door aptly named 'Captain's Room'. A small placard near the doorway read 'Salvador' in bold font, most likely the Captain's name.
The boy rapped on the door.
"Master Salvador, there's a Fixer wishing to speak to you."
"Hoho, a Fixer? Alright Philip, bring him in!" A voice inside chuckled as Philip swung the door open.
An old man sat behind a large desk, sorting the papers on its surface. His hair was ash-grey, combed smooth. He sported a well-kept handlebar mustache on his face, pristinely curled into two handles.
In front of his desk was a long oval meeting table, surrounded by a dozen chairs.
"Oh? Take a seat over there, young lady. Philip?" Salvador gestured at a chair in front of him for Asher to sit.
"Her name is Sophie, Master. She's a Grade 7." Philip turned to leave.
Asher wondered where he had heard the name Philip name before, then he remembered. The Crying Child, Philip. Was Philip the...? No, he couldn't be. For one, if he was then he wouldn't be a desk boy at an Office. But he was a child, as the title suggested...
Just before the door shut behind them, Salvador coughed dryly, causing Philip to glance back.
"Can you make some ssanghwa-cha for us two? Just tell Lily that you'll be with us for a bit."
Philip nodded, closing the door as he left.
"Captain Salvador, what's ssanghwa-cha?" The foreign word sounded strange to Asher's ears.
Salvador lit up, eager to explain to him.
"It's a type of tea from the upper Sections. To be honest, I didn't know what it was either before young Philip joined us. It's really good, hoho~" He closed his eyes, imagining the taste as he ran his fingers across his mustache.
Salvador's mind wandered for a few seconds, the side effects of his advanced age. But it was not long before he snapped back to attention.
"Ah, yes. Young Sophie. Have you gone to any other Offices before ours? What made you decide to come here?"
He wondered if Yun's Office too small for Salvador to know.
"Er, I went to a place called Yun's Office a few times..."
"Oh," Salvador interrupted. "How is that fellow doing now?"
"He's doing fine. Why, did something happen to him in the past?" Asher was slightly surprised that the man knew Yun, and even sounded close to him.
"A few years ago, his Office took Urban Legend cases, too. Then all his Fixers got wiped in a mission, including his wife. It seems his foster kid, Finn, was the only one left."
Asher tried to console Salvador, but then realized that the man's face was stale and emotionless. Salvador had already put the event behind him; he merely asked because of curiosity.
"He was far too careless back then. The kid should have stuck to Urban Myths. It was clear his team couldn't handle it."
Salvador moved past the off-topic remark, turning back to Asher.
Before he could speak again, the door creaked open.
"Oh, Philip! Join us for a chat, take a seat!"
The boy walked in with two bowls of liquid, setting it deftly beside both of them.
Asher looked into his bowl. A dark brown fluid, reminiscent of herbal medicine, swirled in the wide cup. Floating on top were small berries and nuts. Despite its unappetizing appearance, it smelled pleasant, like a forest in the spring.
Suddenly, he heard a crack of an egg above Salvador's bowl. Philip had procured two pale eggs out of nowhere, plopping one yolk into the bowl raw. The white of the egg was skillfully separated and thrown away along with its shell.
Philip approached him wordlessly.
"S-Sure?" Asher stammered as he cracked an egg into his bowl as well.
"Now you should stir it with this. Follow Master Salvador's lead." Asher saw the Captain stirring the yolk into the drink. He hesitantly did the same with a spoon that Philip handed to him.
The color of the yolk blended with the cold tea, like milk with coffee, turning it creamier.
He took a tentative sip from the bowl as Salvador sighed with contentment.
"Hm?" It was slightly bitter, and it slid down his throat with slimy ease, facilitated by the yolk.
To put it in a positive tone, it was... an acquired taste.
Asher thought it tasted mediocre at best, but continued to drink it because he was thirsty. It seemed to quench his thirst well, as the slime from the yolk stuck along his throat like lubricant. It wasn't necessarily a pleasant sensation, but it was somewhat satisfying.
"Master, why did you tell me to join you?"
Philip took a seat directly opposite of Asher beside the meeting table.
"Ho, aren't you even a bit curious about a young girl of your age and grade? You're the youngest of us all, you should be curious about matters like this." Salvador took a sip from his ssanghwa-cha.
So it turned out that Philip was Grade 7 too. He wondered what grade the Captain of Dawn Office would be, perhaps Grade 5?
"...I should?" Philip's gaze wandered, eventually landing on the girl in front of him.
Philip examined Asher's clothes and appearance, expression unchanging.
"Even while I was gone, you didn't find out why she is here?"
Disappointment tinged the boy's voice, but Salvador merely laughed in response.
"It's called small talk, my boy! So Sophie, why did you decide to come to our Office specifically? Did Yun mention mine by name?"
"No, someone else told me. I came here because they said this Office took Urban Plagues."
*Knock Knock*
They turned their attention to the door as it swung open again.
Behind the doorway stood a pale woman with a large metal cello case strapped onto her back. She wore a long gray coat with a white blouse underneath, and had silver gauntlets wrapped around both of her arms.
She ran her fingers through her cyan hair as she groaned and stretched her limbs.
"Ugh, smells like ssanghwa-cha in here. Hey Philip, hey Salvador. Who's-"
"Sophie." Asher helpfully provided the name of his Synchronization.
"Right. Old man, the request about the 'Thousand Needles' have been taken care of." She sat down beside Philip, setting her cello case against the wall. It rattled with machinery as she carefully placed the case on its side.
Philip chimed in, his voice tinged with admiration.
"Wow, that's impressive, Yuna. You solved an Urban Legend-class request on your own."
Compared to Yuna, Yun had to ask for his help just to solve an Urban Myth case. Asher smiled. He had come to the right place; this Office was a good place to start with his true Fixer 'career', if anyone called it that.
"Thanks, kid. It got kinda dangerous at the end though. The flesh all started melting together through some sort of resonator. Needles kept pouring out like crazy; people struck by the needles started exploding and creating chaos - it was awful. And the culprit behind that-"
"Was it Yesterday's Promise as expected?" Salvador's words caused Asher to flinch. Yesterday's Promise was one of the names in the list the System gave him.
Asher realized he had never actually searched the Hana app for those names. Perhaps he would do that later.
"That seemed to be the case? Still, I have no choice but to believe in the fact that 'ruinous magic', as you call it, exists. Strange symbols and stuff were carved on each needle, unlike anything I've seen before."
Before Yuna continued, she glanced around her, as if only now noticing the two eavesdroppers on her conversation.
"Ah, yes. Little Philip, dear Sophie, do you mind stepping out for a moment? Philip, try to make at least one friend your age, okay?" Salvador called out behind Asher and Philip as Yuna ushered them out of the room.
They stood in the hallway awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
"So, should I show you around or something?" Finally, Philip spoke, unable to stand the small girl's uncomfortable fidgeting.
"Okay. Where to?"
"Er, mind coming to the training room with me? I always get treated like a kid here because my grade's so low compared to all the other people, so um... I want to see what someone in my own grade's like, that's all. Maybe a spar?"
The boy's words surprised him. A Grade 7, the weakest in the whole Office? Asher's curiosity was piqued, so he decided to humor Philip's request.
A ghost of a smile touched Philip's lips as the girl in front of him shrugged, allowing him to take the lead down the stairwell.