“Listen closely.” Mr. Anthian said, leaning back in his leather chair.
Sitting on the other side of the desk, Okimoto leaned in.
“On New Year's Eve, I expect you to returnhere with the sprite breed halfway to completion.” Mr. Anthian said. “If I'm satisfied with the progress. I'll have all the guilds I'm affiliated with unblacklist you. From then on, I'll also fund the development of the perfected sprite, relieving you of your current financial constraints. We can negotiate the percentage of the profits I'll be receiving from what you generate with the creatures at a later stage. Until then, be sure to avoidtrouble.”
Okimoto knew this was the best he'd get anddidn't argue for more. It was an abysmal arrangement, but he could only expect as much from a banker.
He was already exhausted from having to detail the breeding process and explain that it couldn't be replicated, since it required the breeder to observe the ether of each sprite generation and analyse it for the desired mutations. This was something only Okimoto could do; as far as he knew, no one alive could see raw ether as he could. In history, there were a few people with his ability, but they were long dead.
“Do you even know where you'd be able to buy them?” Crystella asked, driving him backto the city. “You got them from Professor Hespirio originally, right?”
“That was only the first generation,” Okimoto said. “After that, I used my thirty-day subsidy to buy them at a pet shop near the university.”
Crystella nodded. “I see.”
He was smoking, relaxing, as a grey cloud of tobacco slithered out of his mouth and out the half-rolled-down passenger-side window. “What’s the time?”
“Thirty minutes past the twenty-third hour.”She said, yawning. “I’ve got to get back tothe dormitory soon. There's nothing I hate more than having to force myself up andrush to my first lecture of the day.”
“That pet shop’s long closed.” Okimotosighed. “I'm just going to have to go tomorrow.”
Crystella suddenly gasped. “Actually, wait. It's the two hundredth and sixteenth, right? Thank goodness, no school for the next four days. I can finally sleep in. Oh! I'll buy that rainbow peacock-feathered dress I saw earlier today. I'll continue with theshopping that you so rudely cut short.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Okimoto was starting to doze off, his eyesgrowing heavy as he slumped beside her.
He nipped the cigarette bud and rolled upthe window.
“I’ll think I'll buy one of those things myself,” Crystella said. “A sprite, I mean. They're not high maintenance, are they?”
“No,” Okimoto answered. “Just put some flowers in its enclosure, and it'll be fine. Why do you even want one?”
“They look pretty, and I like pretty things.”
Okimoto chuckled. “You seem like a very simple girl.”
“I am,” Crystella said. “Life is about feeling good and having pretty things all to yourself.”
Okimoto yawned. “You study what again?”
“Magical Business and Finance.”
“What's that even about?”
“It's about magical business and finance.”
Laughing lightly, Okimoto fiddled with his chair to recline it. “What kind of career does that lead to?”
“One in magical business and finance, obviously.”
“Sounds soulless. Like, what? Are you going to be an intern at some bank or something? Gonna stack up paperwork and count money that's not yours. That sounds so damn boring.”
“Pretty much.” She giggled.
“I just don't get how people can do stuff like that. There's nothing sexy about it, nothing you'd want to write a story about.”
“But someone's still got to do it,” Crystella sang, teasingly pinching his cheek. “And it would be sexy because I'm doing it.”
“Keep both hands on the steering wheel,” Okimoto said, laughing as he swatted her hand away.
It was now raining beyond the window, and windy too.
People were striding against the wind on the street, umbrellas bent over their heads and coat tails flapping in their trails. A man dove into a pub for shelter, a woman stopped to huddle with a group under a tram stop, a cigarette stand had its roof blown off, and a lifetime’s worth of paraphernalia was sent flying by the sudden storm.
“Just like day, there is night,” Crystella said. “Just like the sun, there is the rain and wind. Just as some people live lives full of thrills and enjoyment, others live lives full of monotony. Not everyone’s blessed with interesting prospects in life. I'd love to hunt monsters and have epic mage battles, but I also have responsibilities. There needs to be people who look after the economy, manage finances, and stop everything from collapsing. Street cleaners, brick layers, architects, doctors, and financiers. These, and many more, are all needed for the world to work. If all anyone cared about was doing epic and awesome things, the world would be a warzone and eventually nothing more than a gallery of mutilated and debilitated people like some weird circus.”
“Fair enough,” Okimoto said, smiling softly.
“As long as I can indulge in pretty things now and then, I'm perfectly happy,” Crystella said.
“I suppose it's hard to be unhappy when your wants in life are so simple.”
They soon arrived, passing under the railway bridge at East Toaddor junction before circling the small park to stop at Aunt Yohanna’s front door.
Crystella offered him a piece of paper before he got out.
“It's my dorm phone number.” She said. “I’ve written down Leroid’s as well.”
“Thank you,” Okimoto said. “I thought I wouldn't get it until I successfully perform the ritual you wanted to try?”
Crystella yawned again. “You need all the opportunities you can get. Making you fuck me for it is in poor taste. That would be coercion, and that's not sexy.”
Laughing out loud, Okimoto took the two phone numbers and said, “Goodnight to you, love.”
Crystella smiled. “Goodnight!”
It had stopped raining, but a strong wind still thundered around.
After Crystella continued around the park and back under the bridge, he turned to look at Aunt Yohanna’s house, seeing that the lights were all off.
He entered the house and shut the door behind him.
