"Hello... Zika." (I)

  I can just barely stop myself from growling at her, as I have to mind not to be too threatening, or this talk is quickly going to deteriorate again, and this while we are in our classroom.

  "Ah, hello again. It seems like you have something to address." (Z)

  "Where did you suddenly go to yesterday?" (I)

  "I switched locations. The place not being all that important, as the main point was being anywhere but next to you." (Z)

  "So you did this on purpose?!" (I)

  "Of course. At first, I wasn't sure, but the supernatural ripple effects were stacking. A minor being wouldn't ever be so stupid as to claim a spot in your dwelling. That left only the big players who were going to challenge you. And by every dimension's hell, I wasn't going to stick around for this." (Z)

  So she truly could tell that something big was coming there.

  "You could have warned me." (I)

  "To what effect? As if that would truly help if something of what I expected to come there is coming at you. No amount of preparation is going to help you with this." (Z)

  "So instead, you abandoned me!" (I)

  Maybe I snapped here a little, but in general, I maintained my composure, and Zika doesn't seem all that shaken.

  "Look, if you want me to apologize, I'll have to let you down, as I regret nothing." (Z)

  "Not cool, Zika!" (C)

  "Hey, at least I didn't stab her with a sword." (Z)

  That might be a point for her.

  But not really a good one.

  "Is that what I can expect from you? That you'll be gone whenever it gets bad?" (I)

  "That's about it. But given that you are just appearing here as usual, it can't possibly have been that bad." (Z)

  "Not that bad? Not that bad?! This crazy picked a fight with me, and believe it or not, I lost!" (I)

  Well, I didn't lose against Veo in particular, even though I'm not quite sure about her limits.

  Something's telling me she was still playing with me, the way she wasn't the slightest bit bothered by my actions.

  "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! You lost? Like for real? What in this forsaken multiverse could probably best you in a fight?" (Z)

  "A goddamned water angel." (I)

  At least, it quite felt so, as if they were damned by their god.

  "Water angel? Water angel... Water angel!?! You're telling me a real agent of order visited here, and this hemisphere of the world still exists? Or the solar system? Heck, we can be glad that they didn't take the sun and wield it as a weapon! And you wanted me to get between the fronts?!" (Z)

  Okay, Zika looks panicked.

  A mix of trembling and sweating buckets.

  Well, she isn't quite capable of doing so, but the general notion goes through.

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  "Well, yeah. She kept the release of her powers contained, she said. Didn't seem like the world-destroying kind, to be honest." (I)

  "Then you apparently got a lenient one. A very lenient one. You have no idea. The only reason why gods don't call the regulators is that they're the over-divine equivalent of a nuke. No! Worse than a nuke. A nuke is at least straightforward in what it's going to do. An agent, they can go off in all directions if they feel like it. And that always at a cosmic scale. Well, if they feel like it." (Z)

  "It's not like they didn't fight me. They actually hit quite hard. I've been blown into shreds several times." (I)

  "As if that counts with you. Seriously, I can't possibly tell how it came they let you off." (Z)

  "Duh, they didn't? I had to sign some stupid one-sided contract that basically serves as an electronic cuff that goes off whenever I'm even remotely about to go against the terms." (I)

  "And you want to argue that this is bad for you? Like, are you barred from traveling? Do they control your actions now? Did they limit your maximum growth?" (Z)

  "No, it's just the alarm. Also, I guess I can still at least travel. Just not do too much if I go anywhere." (I)

  "Then why are you overreacting so hard about this?!! You are a goddamned threat to the multiverse, and the entities responsible for eradicating said kind of threats gave you a free pass! This is a godsend! The mere fact that an agent sees your case as closed is everything and more than you could've asked for!" (Z)

  "See, Iori? I said it could've been worse!" (C)

  Why are those two opening up a common front against me?

  "Fine, but leaving me alone was still not a nice move." (I)

  "Yeah, sure. If next time there isn't a literal paranormal tsunami heading our way, I won't bail out." (Z)

  She might have a point, but I'm still not a fan.

  "Okay, but, argh, it's just so frustrating." (I)

  "As it should be, when the bigger fish finally shows up. Yet, as I said, you got off lightly. Given their cosmic standards, you got literally all the time in the multiverse to do as you please now." (Z)

  "Fine, I get it. But now to something different. There's something I wanted to do this week, and I could need some help." (I)

  "If it already starts like this... What do you have in mind?" (Z)

  "I wanted to finally get started with our ghost protocol." (I)

  "You mean to sow the new rumors? What do you need that would require my assistance?" (Z)

  "Well, basically, what we planned on. I mean, we need to convince the influential kids of the new rumors, right? So we need to be convincing." (I)

  "Stop beating around the bush. What do you want from me?" (Z)

  Okay, here goes nothing.

  "I wanted to turn the school into a big haunted house. With all the ghosts making their appearance in a non-deadly manner. They may still do bad things, but nothing permanently harmful." (I)

  "Hmm, giving some party people the scare of their life? While bothersome, this just in equal measure sounds awfully tempting." (Z)

  Not like I would've left her the choice.

  After all this hassle to get everyone to this point, I certainly won't let one of the wonders bail out.

  "Yay! This sounds really fun! I still haven't forgiven them for what they said to you. Count me in!" (C)

  "Ehm, Chiaki, how exactly did you plan on contributing? We already have six wonders, and you, well, you aren't exactly a convincing horror ghost." (I)

  "Boooooooh, booooohooooooohoooooooooh!" (C)

  "Chiaki, people are looking." (I)

  "Just so you know, I can be scary." (C)

  Sigh.

  Sometimes she can be quite exhausting to deal with.

  "Just as a general question, how exactly are you going to entice your chosen audience to attend?" (Z)

  "Well, I sent some instructions to the occultism club. They're supposed to spread the rumors as well as they can this week. Then, once the rumors get to the popular kids, we'd entice them to a dare." (I)

  "If you say entice, what exactly are you referring to?" (Z)

  "Well, tell them, and make them come. Uh, if nothing else helps, some supernatural convincing might be necessary." (I)

  "See, and this is where I don't get you. If you already go this far, could you not just program them to spread the news?" (Z)

  Zika is as extreme as ever.

  "You know I won't do this. It would be simply wrong to completely control their minds, and I need to have boundaries I abide by, or nothing holds meaning anymore. All I want is to get them along with the plan. If possible, I'd prefer to convince them without any mind magic." (I)

  "So you're saying. However, how exactly is manipulating their actions different from manipulating their minds? It's both featuring you as the great puppetmaster, isn't it?" (Z)

  I really don't like how Zika is making me question all my morals here.

  Worse, in some way, she's making me question freedom of action itself.

  If convincing someone about something counts as manipulation, aren't then all forms of interaction also some kind of manipulation?

  Now we are getting into chaos theory, but it's possible to influence others through any action and induce a concrete result if you know all the variables.

  Argh, this eldritch mind of mine is acting up here.

  No, I need to believe in some form of the sanctity of the mind.

  "It's different to me, okay? I need to believe that. I need to believe that it's important that they at least were able to make a choice." (I)

  "I get you, Iori. I also think so. Well, maybe not quite the same. The way I see it, people are as they are. If you make them behave differently from how they are, they aren't. So if they are who they are, they should be allowed to act as they are the way they are, right?" (C)

  "I... guess so?" (I)

  "Okay, okay, I get it. Just stop doing that... whatever this is. If you do me that favor, and no, that isn't actually me calling upon one of the various you owe me, if you do that, I'd be willing to offer you a feasible strategy." (Z)

  "A strategy? What do you mean?" (I)

  "What would I mean?! Of course, a way to convince those kiddos. A pretty surefire way to go about this that won't involve any mindmagic." (Z)

  "Wow! You can really do that?!" (C)

  "You should trust my expertise. I have experience in that field." (Z)

  That I believe her unchecked.

  "Okay. Then out with it. What is that great strategy?" (I)

  "Mhm. You really won't like the next part." (Z)

  Oh no, if Zika already starts like this.

  I really feel I should never get her together with my demon generals.