Pragmatism At Its Best

The wild, hungry flames danced in every corner of the warehouse. Wooden crates, metal pipes, and collapsed bodies were fuel for its embers.

Clouds of smoke filled the air, suffocating it further.

Cough. Cough. Sarai, caught in the rising smoke, couldn't resist coughing.

Here he comes… He stared warily at Enji, feeling his heart tremble at the Flame Sorcerer's slow steps.

Thud. Thud.

After standing facing Sarai, Enji examined the young man for a moment.

“It really is you,” he whispered.

Sarai froze, confused by the words muttered before him.

“W-What? What do you mean…?” Eventually, he was drenched in sweat.

“Quit acting like you don't know me. Let's start with you telling me your name.”

Thud. Thud. Enji’s boots tapped the ground as he began walking in circles around the seated Sarai.

I know him? What…? Is he sent by the orphanage? But he should know my name if that's the case… The filthy ground reflected in his eyes as Sarai stared at it, sinking deeply in thought.

Perhaps it's best if I follow his requests for now, or even ask him questions myself.

He gasped, “It's Sarai.”

“What about you? Who are you?” he stammered, his lips trembling.

Tension thrummed through him, and at some point, Enji's steps echoed sharply in his mind.

Thud.

“Tatsuki Enji. I go by Tatsuhiro Kaito, a spy for a secret agency.”

Thud.

“I see.”

Thud.

“Well, Sarai-kun.”

Thud.

“Yes?”

Thud.

“The sigils on your neck are unfamiliar to me. Those certainly belong to a Faithful, yet I don’t recall seeing them before.”

Suddenly, Sarai felt his shoulders gripped from behind by Enji.

“So, tell me.” Enji leaned closer to Sarai's ear. “What Faith are you bound to?” he whispered, his breath fanning across Sarai's neck.

“Stop!” Sarai shouted.

“What?”

“I will answer your question. Just, please, leave me alone. I don't like men.” A deeply awkward misunderstanding took place between the two.

“Oh, OH! NO NO!” Enji jumped back, away from Sarai. He then faced the young man, and with a sincere bow, apologized, totally breaking his previous composure.

“I’m sorry! I did not mean to do what you were thinking!”

“Huh?”

The hell? Is this the same guy who, minutes ago, massacred an entire Mafia crew?

“You see, I'm a spy and I get to interrogate people sometimes,” Enji exhaled. “But recently, I realized I suck at that. So I'm working on it.”

So instead of getting answers with intimidation, you use sexual assault? Fucking genius.

I don't understand this guy. Well, he seems dumb. I'll get him to help me out of here.

“You asked about my Faith, right?”

“Yes,” replied Enji.

“It's…” Sarai's throat tightened, “The Scorpion.”

Silence.

“The Sco–what? I've never heard of that. Is it some kind of philosophy?” Enji’s words were clearly those of a clueless man.

This is unsettling. Kraus didn't know what a Scorpion is either. In fact, I myself don't clearly grasp it. I can only say it's a deadly entity.

This Enji guy… He does seem friendly, but I don't trust him yet. I'll make it clear to him.

Sarai’s eyes darted away as he muttered, “I refuse to answer this question.”

“Oh, that's rude. I thought saving you was enough to gain your trust.”

“Well, Sarai-kun, there is something I should tell you.” Behind Enji, an arm moved in a crawling motion.

This… They're still alive? Guess it takes more than melting hands for one to die.

Enji stepped back, turned, and approached the crawling man, who had already frozen, pretending to be dead.

“Yesterday, when I was on surveillance, I felt a sudden, sinister presence nearby. It wasn't just me; many Faithful did too.” He crouched down before the collapsed man and grabbed a gun.

“I followed it and found you, about to enter a dark alley.” He reloaded, chambered a round, and pointed the gun at the pathetic target.

Bang!

A halo of blood emerged beneath the now-dead man’s head.

This guy…

“The issue is, despite my years of experience as a spy, you actually saw me.” Enji turned and approached another collapsed man, or to be more precise, a man pretending to be dead—one of many.

Bang!

“You turned and glared at me as if I was prey. At that moment, I surrendered subconsciously.”

At this point, the rest of the handless men forced themselves to stand and rushed away chaotically, like routed hyenas.

Bang!

“Perhaps it was fear.”

Bang!

“Or maybe something is special about you.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Smoke streamed from the gun’s muzzle. The handless men were cleansed like flies, their blood staining the dusty concrete.

Enji turned, stared at Sarai, and approached him. The rhythm of his steps was an intimidating one.

What is he talking about? A dark alley? Sinister presence? I don't even remember seeing him… This is bad. It sounds like he's talking about events that happened after I passed out in the cave—events I have no memory of.

I suppose the alley he's talking about is the one where I woke up. This is similar to what Kraus told me too… This memory loss—there is no way I have another Sarai inside my mind… He was helpless. There was only one clear assumption, which suggests a personality split. Yet, he buried such an unsettling thought in the back of his mind, wishing to forget it.

Enji's pace slowed down. “When I told my boss about you, he insisted I get you to join the agency.”

“We lack strong fighters. After all, spies aren't supposed to get caught, you know,” he muttered, facing Sarai.

“That's why…” He raised the gun.

Well, no worries about that. I'm dying. It's all good… I wish I had lived a better one though… Sarai tightly shut his eyes.

A nearby THUMP echoed.

Huh? He opened his right eye.

Enji was bowing after having dropped the gun.

“PLEASE! Join my agency!”

For fuck’s sake.

Suddenly, Enji stumbled to him and seized his shoulders.

“I've been working for this agency for years now, yet I have never recruited a single member!” he shouted. “All the ladies just slap me and run away!”

Yep, this is what happens when you use sexual assault. Feelin’ bad for this guy’s boss. Sarai mocked silently.

“If you don't join us, the boss will kick my ass!” Enji cried out in a raw voice.

Getting shot would have been better than hearing this…

“Are you serious? You're gonna invite a stranger to your agency?” Sarai couldn't stay silent anymore.

“Yes, trust me, my boss is that scary.”

“How am I supposed to trust you? Actually, why do you even trust me?”

“I just saved your life. If I wanted to kill you, there ain't anything stopping me while you're all tied up.” Enji shrugged.

He makes a point. Actually, this might be my chance to get myself out of here and find that library. I wanna learn more about Magic and this Scorpion… It might be related to the mind split.

Sarai paused, chewing on his lower lip.

“There is something you should know first,” he said.

“The things you told me about yesterday and how you found me… I have no memory of them.”

This is crucial. Although it might make me appear vulnerable, I need help with it.

“Seriously? No memory at all?” Enji rubbed his chin.

“That's strange. But I think it could be explained.” He smiled.

Good.

“So, you came all the way here just to save me?”

“Yes, in the world of Faith and Magic, only saving one's life is capable of gaining their trust,” Enji smirked. “Trust me, I learned that the hard way.”

Sarai grinned. “What if I refuse? What would you do?”

“I'll just dismember you and sell you to some lunatic cult or something.” Enji reached into his pocket for the black whip.

This asshole… I totally see why he's a loser at recruiting members. Nobody is taking his bullshit.

“You’re worse than that violent bastard.” Sarai’s gaze focused on Kraus’s ash-choked corpse.

“Well, I don't fully trust you.” His eyes narrowed.

“But there is a place I need to go to. If you help with that, I'll consider your request.”

“Hell yeah! Deal!” Enji jumped with joy.

“Let's shake hands like professionals!” He extended his hand.

“Untie me first, dumbass…”

…

Sarai stood, rubbing his itchy wrists. He raised his head and glanced at the smiling Enji before him.

“So, what's the place?”

“Kakogawa Municipal Services Building. A friend told me I can acquire information from a library there.”

Yeah, I won't tell him any details. I myself have no idea who left me that stupid letter…

Enji stared at Sarai bluntly for almost a minute.

“That's literally the building where I work.” His fiery expression turned pale, perhaps from too much excitement.

“You work there? Aren't you a spy?” asked Sarai.

“Most Faithful organizations work under cover. The municipal building you mentioned is our base cover,” replied Enji.

“Our agency’s main business is selling information to other organizations or individuals, so it's not crazy that this friend of yours suggested it to you.” He brushed his blouse and coat.

“But wouldn't having your location known cause trouble? I mean, someone might threaten you by telling the authorities.” Sarai, who had mostly decided to join by now, was concerned for his safety with the agency.

“There is no need to worry about that. In most cases, we deliver information. For trustworthy customers, they get to leave their requests secretly in the library.”

“The price is high. They could do what you mentioned to pressure us to lower it, but authentic information is very rare in this city.”

“They could be our guests and find another authentic agency.” Enji shrugged.

“Basically, losing us would be a big blow to the Faithful circles in Osaka and Kyoto.”

And I thought Faithful society was screwed since the cleansing operations… This is a whole economy.

“What matters for you is that members get access to lots of information for free.” He winked, pointing his finger at Sarai.

“That's why you better join!”

Pragmatism at its best… But to be fair, I haven't been invited to join a place before… It feels kind of warm. Sarai subconsciously smiled.

“Count me in,” he said with a thumbs up.

“One more thing,” Enji pulled two peculiar, tiny glass vials from his inside pocket. “I saw you drink a mana suppressant this morning.”

“The effect usually lasts for an entire day, which means it's still active for you.” He handed one of the vials to Sarai.

“Just keep this one with you in case. It's quite expensive, but hopefully it helps you trust me more.” Enji's teeth shone in a genuine smile.

It's the same potion I found in that envelope… Mana suppressant? This is new to me. Sarai stared at the vial's contents.

“Thank you,” he nodded politely.

Such stuff is supposed to be common sense. I'll learn more about it eventually.

Enji drank the potion in a swift motion, signs of dizziness were obvious on him for seconds. 

“That settles it! Let's move out of here. The flames will attract attention.” Enji patted Sarai’s shoulder and began walking toward the entrance.

Sarai followed him, before abruptly pausing near Kraus’s seared, collapsing corpse and kicking its skull into ash.

Now I feel satisfied.

The two left the ash-choked warehouse, took a secret route to the closest bus station, and headed back to Osaka.