Okay so you all head over to the shopping/business district, it's a bit of a walk, though not too far by bus and you aren't getting attacked by electrical appliances at least.
You come to an intersection on the main street.
In the corner, sleek and futuristic is Mirai Systems. Plastic white and obsidian black juxtaposed, decorative lights adding a splash of color. If you went off the name and logo, you'd think it's a tech company, and it is, technically. The white section is a fast food outlet popular for its "spring rolls", and while it does serve traditional spring rolls, most of its menu consist of dishes miniaturized into the form of wraps of similar size and appearance, the most popular ones being the kebab, the peking duck, the curry & naan, and the burrito. Unsurprisingly, its convenience makes it very popular amongst students, businesspeople, and anyone else eating lunch in a hurry. The black section is a substantially classier bar, priding itself on personalized service with each booth having its own entertainment screen and served by its own "technician", a bartender of sorts who mixes up a variety of sample "tasters" and custom drinks from a variety of synthesized fluids which offer a lot more freedom and control over what they can make, the computation required to devise said fluids apparently being quite hefty. It also offers more expensive private rooms with their own music and karaoke if anyone's up for it.
Now all of this, as one may imagine would be prohibitively expensive. Would be, were it not subsidized. The takeaway containers, the entertainment screens, the monitors lining where people queue up, they've all got ads. And the more they subsidize the costs, the more they cheapen everything, the more people come, and the more people come, the more they rake in from selling those ad slots. Add to that close ties and friendly relations with many of the startups here, ties and relations that pay in mutual discounts and benefits, and you start getting an idea of how it makes its profit.
And of course, magic. They have connections to the Awakened community after all, and while magic isn't something they count on, it certainly doesn't hurt their profit margins. As such it isn't too bad a place to meet with contacts or hear of recent happenings.
Down the street from Mirai Systems is the safehouse. Strictly speaking it isn't yours. It's a facility under the control of some particularly vicious Godslayer-affiliated Mononoke. You're more tenants, guests under their protection because the owners owe Winter for services rendered. Like most safehouses it manifests as a pocket dimension entered by walking down the street and accessing it through spirit energy manipulation. To an outside observer, you'll have just vanished into the crowds.
This one in particular takes the form of the upper floors of several shopping buildings which are in surprisingly pristine condition seeing as plants are growing over them in parts, with vines crawling up signs and trees sprouting from parts of the floor. The outer windows have been replaced with walkways over the crystal clear water below, unshielded from the clear sky above, and the soft breeze. The water may look startlingly deep, but, anyone going for a swim will find that it naturally raises them back up to the surface, so drowning isn't much of an issue.
Not too hard on the eyes. Especially not those of anyone on guard duty. Shopping center means cameras, potential ambush locations, rallying points. The clear skies and clear water means nowhere to hide. The plants are wards and sensors, and the breeze is strong enough to carry scents and weak enough as to not steal away sounds. Deep, deep below in the submerged depths lies the control center. You do not have access to it. That is why the water brings you back.
You have access to the upper floors, the few above the water's surface. You've a few rooms to stay in if you wish, fully furnished, the separated from the rest of the facility with heavy warding. You've got company in the form of the Mononoke, though unless you like listening to a bunch of plushies squeek out "KILL.", you'd best bring your own.
Enn and Winter are waiting for you in the allocated rooms.
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Topic: Tengoku no Owari SI IC: Yuki Is (Not) Fine (Read 222678 times)