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SHADE

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Shade didn\'t really know why he even bothered to entertain what was clearly a madwoman the moment she appeared. Granted, she was beautiful, and his immediate reaction was to pay his respects to her, but even that urge was slowly being eroded the more they interacted.

"For the last time, I won\'t pay you for saving your life," he sighed, his usual suave tone starting to falter against a woman whose crazy was just as comparable to her looks.

"But you broke my Null Generator!" the woman yelled aloud, giving no respect for any sort of disruption she could cause with how loud she was being. "It\'s the last of its kind!"

"Then just make another one," Shade promptly replied, his eyes glancing back and forth between the princess and the madwoman. "And for the last time, I won\'t-"

"I demand reparations!"

Shaking his head, Shade let out another sigh before deciding that he had had enough. There was no reasoning with this woman, no matter how much respect she deserved for how beautiful she was. Sidestepping away from her, he-

"No!"

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Of course, she\'d block his path.

"I refuse to let you go without paying me!" the woman cried out in anger, her face turning red in a way that really didn\'t sit well with him. "No running away from responsibilities!"

Taking another glance at the ever retreating form of the Princess and their mechanic, Shade could only hope that Maruki was doing better than expected as he focused his attention on the one person that was preventing him from doing his job. With her white coat still covered in soot and grime, the woman somehow still looked beautiful despite all the dirt that was smeared across her face. It looked like it didn\'t matter to her, however, what with her hair haphazardly bunned up using a clearly used pencil, and even then it still looked like a storm had passed through her.

Shade let out yet another sigh of annoyed resignation. Already, he could hear a few of the bystanders caught in their way gossiping about whatever it was that they were arguing about. He did his best to ignore them, but the constant talks about him somehow shirking responsibility or being a deadbeat made his blood boil in ways that he really didn\'t want happening in his lifetime.

"Well?!" she barked out, her hands on her hips like a domineering mother despite her apparent age. "I\'m waiting!"

"You know what? Come with me," he rolled his eyes in resignation, gesturing for the woman to follow her with a wave of his hand. "If you want payment, then you\'re asking the wrong man. I\'m only following orders."

"Orders, huh... From who?"

"From my... boss?" Shade replied after a moment\'s consideration. "Besides, I don\'t have money on me right now."

"I see," the woman hummed in seeming agreement, her mood sharply shifting to one of clear curiosity. "Very well. Take me to them!"

With her posture straightening, Shade could almost see the graceful and elegant lady that this woman could become should she actually try and do so. Still, the princess was by far more reasonable than this woman even in her worst of moods.

Inwardly sighing, Shade left his stealth mission behind as he promptly made his way to the princess\'s side. If there was anything that could possibly shake this woman off of him, it would be to just give her some money and be done with it.

Hopefully, they hadn\'t spent it all yet.

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???

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Lazily watching by the safety of the rooftops, a rather rotund Academic was happily munching on his snack when a rather shrill voice echoed out from a distance. Somehow, he recognized it to be from a certain wannabe that constantly did her best to join their ranks.

"Huh... I wonder what kind of trouble that kid got up to now..."

Picking himself up, the Academic followed the sound of the kid\'s voice, eventually leading him to her talking to a rather suspicious man with an even more suspicious behavior.

Silently, he observed, listening in on the conversation as he subtly followed whatever it was that the man was looking at. Sure enough, it all lined up with what he was saying to the kid, that whoever it was he was tailing was most likely the boss he was working for.

"A strange character for sure..."

Still, looking over the supposed boss, he didn\'t expect it to be a young woman wearing a set of clothes that were clearly far too foreign to be local. Kattleynan, most likely, perhaps even belonging to a higher class based on the quality of the fabric.

"Curious... A new arrival then?" he wondered aloud. "[Double-Check]..."

With a flick of his wrist, the Academic\'s [Manifest] came to life, information regarding the local area filtering through his self-made wristwatch as his eyes scanned for the pertinent documents.

"Huh... Sellswords, supposedly..."

It made some sense, at least. Port Decim did cater to its fair share of freelancers looking to work for the Intellects. Still, what he was seeing in his [Manifest] didn\'t line up with some of the details.

Apparently, they came in a [Rig] filled to gills with Marquean technology, all while also being mere sellswords. The Portmaster let them through regardless, but something seemed off about all of this...

"The troubles you go through, kid..."

With a sigh, the rotund Academic tore his gaze away from the facts, electing to follow the energetic kid along with her newest acquaintance to meet this so-called leader of their merry band of sellswords. If his hunch was correct, then they might be foreign spies looking to gather information on Marquee. But if he was wrong, then at least his conscience was clear.

At the very least, the City-State wouldn\'t lose yet another budding mind to the greedy clutches of the other two nations.

"The lengths you go for your ambition, Alset," he sighed, taking yet another bite from his delicious sandwich. "If only you actually did your paperwork correctly..."

If anything, Lewis Marc was a patriot. He\'d protect his own, even if they acted a bit stupid at times.

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NICOLE

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While she was screaming and yelling at the man that dared to ruin her work, inwardly, Nicole was already foaming at the mouth at the potential of getting more funding. If she could just spin her words in a way to suck up to this supposed boss, then she\'d have enough money to not only rebuild her Null Generator, but to also add a few additions to it and reinforce her proof of concept. By then, surely the Board would acknowledge her genius.

"And here we are."

Blinking, Nicole barely managed to stop herself from drooling in her daydreams as she came face to face with what looked to be a young woman of her age. She looked rather... rich. Richer than she herself could possibly comprehend just from how her Kattleynan dress looked. She was also dragging along what looked to be a mountain of books and other random doodads, further cementing the lady\'s wealth in her eyes even more so than seeing the kid she was dragging around.

Yes... This was perfect!

"Oh, you\'re back," the woman addressed the man that ruined her work, the faintest frown gracing her elegant features before going back to the smile that it naturally wore. "And who\'s- Oh! I know you!"

Nicole blinked. Recognition?! "A-Ah! My reputation precedes me then!"

She couldn\'t believe it. This random Kattleynan lady recognized her?! The feeling was amazing! She didn\'t think it\'d happen, but it actually did! And it was from someone that was clearly from outside Marquee too?! It made the sheer ecstasy she was feeling all the better!

"You\'re that lady dat was screaming at that one guy from earlier," the kid beside the lady pointed out.

"Oh, that?! That\'s because she wasn\'t respecting my genius!" Nicole quickly puffed up her chest, and from the periphery of her vision, she could see that the kid was doing the same. She was already a fan of hers?! "Ah, I\'m glad that someone actually recognizes me for my achievements..."

"Huh? I don\'t even know your name, lady."

...

....

"Eh?"

Just like that, the feeling of joy in her heart shriveled like it usually did. Looking at this obvious servant, she couldn\'t even tell if they were a boy or a girl. But all of that didn\'t matter. What did was the fact that they addressed her without so much as a hint of respect in their tone!

"Listen here, kid. You\'re talking to the future Academic and soon-to-be member of the Board of Intellects of the Marqeuan City-State!" Nicole proudly declared, her arms splayed out in a pose that could rival even the most flamboyant of models. "Nicole Alset! Inventor extraordinaire!"

...

....

"I see..."

The sound of disappointment in the Kattleynan lady\'s tone brought the wannabe Academic back down to earth as the sheer embarrassment of what she just did finally sank in. With her arms frozen in an awkward position, the judging gazes of the locals bore down on her like a ton of bricks, forcing her to collapse as she sighed.

And of course, her attention all came back to the rich boss that she was supposed to be wooing for cash.

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