Chapter 18
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Her character is very different from the original, I know, but what I meant by underutilized was I thought more could be done with her as a non-magic using scientist, especially with her role in the plot. Original Lifa was pretty alright actually, but in my mind her backstory was a bit weird, and didn’t affect her future self much? Maybe it did, I’d have to re-read it. Thankyou for your patience!

 

        Despite her reluctance, Lifa had to admit she was insanely relieved that she was able to get into town. Hiroshi told her to be silent on the carriage ride to not give her voice away, but it was hard not to let out a giggle from sheer excitement as she dropped her bag on the floor with a ‘klunk!’ and sat in the cushioned, moderately wealthy looking seats and swung her legs back and forth. She’d already paid off the cheap ride she took to get here, so she didn’t have to worry about that. The girl sitting across from Lifa and to the side of Hiroshi was a beautiful noble girl of about eleven years old wearing an expensive looking kimono and hair pin. She figured the girl was a Summeragi from her face and small eyes, but she couldn’t ask to confirm it.

         Between her fair skin and well-kept hair, Hiroshi’s covered-up appearance, and my dirty and scrawny figure, this carriage car is pretty diverse, isn’t it? I feel a bit out of place… 

         The young lady asked Hiroshi who she was, to which he only replied ‘The scientist. And yes, she’s older than she looks.’ without divulging Lifa’s name. The noble girl gave a small look of disbelief seeing how short Lifa looked before shaking her head slightly and putting on a polite smile; she probably just didn’t want to look rude, but Lifa appreciated it nonetheless. She wondered if the young lady already knew about how young Lifa looked before the search, since even she had to admit she didn’t exactly have the look of one of the country’s leading minds.

          “Well, hello miss. My name is Erica Summeragi, and I’m so grateful for your decision to help our citizens. This pandemic has taken its toll on everyone, wealthy or struggling, and we could use all the help we can get!”

         “Mhm!”

         Hiroshi gave Lifa the stink eye as she hummed an affirmative to Erica and bowed. This whole operation was looking more legitimate by the minute. If nothing else, impersonating a noble would be a huge crime, though the fact that the nobles she’d met so far both looked like pre-teens was more than a bit strange. 

          “You may drop us off near the plaza and wait. I already have a place in mind for her to settle in.”

          “Of course! We promised not to pry into her identity, so take as many measures to ensure privacy as you like.”

          “I’ll hold you to that. Now you should confirm the contract with her, so she knows that we both have the same intentions.” 

          “Wow, you’re really in business mode aren’t you? You sound a bit like father. I suppose my hopes of getting to know our future partner were in vain, but oh well.”

          Lifa settled down as Erica recited the essential aspects of the contract by heart. This proved that the Sumeragi were aware of Hiroshi’s plan, and Lifa wasn’t a part of some double layered scheme. Around half way through the explanation, Lifa started to blank out as she immersed herself in the rocking of the carriage, and she noticed Hiroshi was staring out the window the whole time. As she took a glance herself, she felt her heart drop a little.

          Lifa’d been wondering why it was taking so long to move; the inner side of the gate to the capital city was five times as crowded as the outside. Sick and poor men and women of all ages were crowding together as the soldiers stood defending the hole in the barricades that had to be opened to let Lifa’s carriage through. She only hadn’t noticed it for so long because some sort of magic material in the carriage was muffling a majority of the noise, including the expensive clear glass windows. 

          All of those people...It really is my job to help them, huh?

          “...”

          “...It’s horrible, isn’t it? Because of our failures, all of these people are suffering… I wish I could apologize to them directly, but father already made a public statement. I can’t speak on behalf of the Sumeragi family so carelessly.”

          “You’re doing what’s within your capabilities. At our age, our range of influence is rather small, not to mention how much illogical misogyny runs through the system.”

          “That’s correct. It’s hard to be taken seriously in this country as a female. Father said it’s something to do with Rosaria’s particular view of Desertionism… Ah! I apologize, I didn’t mean it that way-”

          “It’s fine. I think any belief should be open to criticism. It’s also fair to believe that; culture and religion are massive influences on what bullshit people justify in their heads as ‘moral’. If you believe that certain people are sinful heretics, it’s easy to dehumanize them and justify oppression. That’s what happened in the times before Saria and Rosaria’s separation too; the leaders preached that they were educating and uniting the divided masses, when in reality they were just committing blatant cultural genocide.”

          “Right…”

           It was clear that Erica didn’t know what to say to that. Hiroshi seemed to just now realize what he was saying and looked to the side awkwardly; while the church doesn’t have nearly as much influence as it used to, criticism of religion was still a very heavy topic in this country, and wasn't to be taken lightly. If it wasn’t only Erica and Lifa in the car, the conversation would have easily fallen into a downward spiral. 

          …Well, with Hiroshi being a progressive kid, it now made a little more sense why Lifa was so readily accepted as a scientist. Lifa was gradually feeling more comfortable as her contractors seemed to be decent nobles, but logically she wondered if the reason she couldn’t talk was that this whole thing was a scripted conversation to let her guard down. Figuring she should at least test it even if she didn’t believe it, Lifa tapped Hiroshi’s knee and made a writing gesture with her hand. 

           “Oh, that’s right. Here. Just don’t look at the previous papers,”

           Hiroshi readily handed Lifa an open notebook and charcoal pencil from his jacket. After writing down what she wanted to say, she held it up to Erica. 

           I lived with the Celestial church, and they believed good people ascend to a paradise beyond the stars while others’ souls just continually reincarnate here until they break the cycle. I heard it originates somewhere in the east; was it near your home land?

          “Ah, no, Celestism originates more south than Nihann, where my family’s ancestors lived.”

          “Have you ever been to Nihann personally?”

          “Yes I have, and it’s quite lovely, but...Uhm, I’m sorry if you wanted me to ignore this, but… Miss, are you okay?”

          “?”

          Lifa only realized then that her scrawny hands were revealed when she showed the notebook to Erica. Damnit, this is why she usually covers up. She hadn’t before because it was too hot outside, but the carriage had magic cooling so it wasn't nearly as bad. Feeling annoyed, she quickly reassured Erica.

          I’m alright. I’m just naturally skinny, honestly.

          “Ah, well… Really, it’s no big deal! We could stop to eat at the plaza before H-Hiroshi drags you off and works you to death! There is a really nice noodle shop that hasn’t closed down yet that I wanted to show him too!”

           Lifa shook her head and held up her hands in instinctive refusal of the meal. 

           “Erica’s right. I was rushing through things, and I also assumed you would be irritated with my sympathy. I wanted to wait until we had privacy, but right now we’re considerably ahead of schedule so we could have a quick lunch if just the two of us ate it in the carriage so your face isn't seen.”

           Lifa shook her head and wrote ‘I’m not hungry, it’s fine. Leave it.’ Erica seemed to be confused why she was rejecting it so adamantly, and looking at Harold for help.

           “This is a part of my contractual obligation to couture to your needs. It’s also an investment, since your energy levels directly correlate to the level of success you will bring us. And Erica and I are both hungry, so we’re stopping either way.”

           Hearing that, Lifa paused as she wondered why she was refusing in the first place. She didn’t want other people to try to fix her problems, and she was used to it anyways, but weren’t they the ones that asked for Lifa in the first place? Plus, it’d been a long time since she had a really big meal, and a recommendation from Erica was sure to taste amazing. Since Lifa was skipping meals to save money and not take a break from working for a long time, maybe it just became a habit?

            No, this was something else. She’d been skeptical for a long while now, but the sheer chance that this event was a coincidence was unbelievable. Lifa had dismissed all the other signs, but… Was she truly born to help the people of Sumeragi, and advance the science of the world? Was she really just destined to go through all of that, to carry out some sort of godly plan? It was absurd, but suddenly being offered a contract that allowed her to help as many people as possible and lead a science team with her own vision? The nobles being caring and understanding people? Her not getting molested by the creepy carriage driver nor killed by monsters? That’s right. Maybe this food was just one of the first rewards for all of her hard work until now.

            “...Nn!”

             Lifa nodded her head with stars in her eyes as her leg started to swing again. Be it destiny or chance, it was finally time for Lifa’s life to actually be put to good use! She might as well give herself a pat on the back for coming this far. If her livelihood was in the hands of these kids, she could only imagine a pleasant future awaiting her, too! Probably. They were still only kids, and she shouldn’t be reckless and leave all the work to the gods to protect her.

 

             *** 

 

             After the meal, Lifa was dragged away by Hiroshi into a confusing mess of turns and circles through the streets until they finally arrived at a furniture shop named Rain for Strong Trees, written in broken Inlish. The owner was a middle aged man that seemed to be just barely nearing the end of his prime, and he spoke in a heavy Nihann accent. Hiroshi then whispered the password into Lifa’s ear, which was just a strange jumble of syllables that sounded like ‘Oh-pen Cesami.’ 

            “What kind of password is that!?”

            “It is the most optimal password. It would be a crime punishable by execution to use anything else.”

            “You’re just shitting me…”

            Maybe it’s some kind of foreign chant language? Lifa tried to get him to change it, but he remained annoyingly adamant, and refused to budge. Regardless, the basement of the store was nothing short of a treasure trove! All kinds of tools, materials, and glass flasks were just sitting there, waiting for her to fiddle with them and make some stuff explode! Well, hopefully not enough to give her scars this time.

             “So, this is your personal playroom, but I really suggest you try to work with the rest of the team at least once a week, rather than just handing them illegible reports on your progress once a month.”

             “Of course! I’m sure we’ll all have really long and pleasant conversations about the weather when I’m taking ten seconds to write a sentence.”

             Hiroshi laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

             “That's just in front of Erica and the others. It’s not like the team can emulate your voice like some kind of yokai, you have to keep wearing a disguise though.”

             “What’s a yokai…?”

            “Ah, just another word for a demon.” 

            After that, Lifa emptied all of her own equipment from her backpack onto the floor, and was led up to her room the floor above the storefront, where she would be staying for three days until she decided whether to sign the contract or not. It was a modest place the size of a living room, and it was already stocked with silverware and toiletries, so the only thing Lifa needed to buy was clothes and food. 

            Hiroshi convinced her to buy clean clothes before taking a bath and led her around the district, familiarizing her with the placements of important shops and craftsmen should she ever need anything. When they got back, Lifa took the most relaxing and well-deserved bath in her entire life. It’d been days of traveling on a cheap carriage, and she didn’t feel remotely comfortable sleeping near the coachman, so she always opted to sleep in her makeshift tent. The sore muscles, the stress and fear from leaving her home and family behind, it all melted away until the only thing left was hunger. Which was good, since when Lifa got dressed in her new clean clothes, brushed her hair, and stepped out into the main room, she saw that Hiroshi already had a meal hot and ready for her.

            “Jeez, I knew my life would turn upside down from then on, but…”

            “Did you say something?”

            “No, it’s nothing.”

            Lifa had never had a place that she could call her own, let alone a bath that she could soak in for as long as she wanted. Well, that technically wasn’t true; the bathhouses would allow it for enough money, but even then she was surrounded by strangers, and it was sort of expensive so Lifa mostly never bothered to go there.

            As she got to eating, Hiroshi started to drink out of a bottle with a slight grimace with every swig. He promised it wasn’t alcohol, so Lifa just figured it was some kind of medicine that Hiroshi needed an empty stomach to digest. As she shoved the food down her throat, Hiroshi asked about what kinds of things she’d learned or taught herself about back home. When she explained her favorite subjects, she was surprised to find he was actually genuinely curious about the technical sides of magic tools, alchemy and chemistry, unlike most of the kids who thought it was a headache or just uninteresting in general. Even so, it wasn’t just like he was a normal curious kid… 

            “So, astral bodies aren’t just about the ego and emotion affecting your body and creating magic; all matter has an astral body, and alchemy interacts with the metaphysical parts of matter to create magic effects.”

            “Not magic. Magic is using your mind to control your astral body and create a phenomenon. Alchemy is about Refining normal matter to…’activate’… their astral bodies, and then interacting with them to create a phenomenon. Chemistry is about mixing Unrefined chemicals. There’s also two broad categories of alchemy; living and nonliving.” 

            “But what about dead things like wood, or ‘fossilized’ remains like coal? Or things like ‘ammonia’ or acid that are created from living things. Pure ‘oxygen’ comes from organisms that use ‘photosynthesis’, but it’s not natural in the atmosphere, so would that be a pure nonliving, or moderately organic in nature?”

            “Well, living just basically means organic like wood; you don’t…usually…experiment on actual living things. But what’s ‘Oxeyjen?’ and those other words too.”

            What really caught her off guard was that while he had only the basics of alchemy down, his scientific knowledge was actually larger than her own at parts! The town next to Lifas’ was famous for the founding of a temple with troves of hidden knowledge inside of it, and a lot of the research on the temple hadn’t spread that far yet, and was nearly exclusive to her own town library. But not even that much could beat noble education, she supposed.

           “Oh, well fossilization just means when dead bodies basically get stuck underground for millions of years, but I can’t actually explain those other parts. I got carried away, so I just started talking about some of my father's research; he’d be lecturing my ears off if he were here right now.”

           “Ah come on, you can’t just tempt me like that!”

           “Humph! My lips are contractually sealed!”

           Hiroshi leaned back and somehow managed to grin smugly with only his eyes; even now, he was drinking through the side of his bandana and turning away from Lifa, so she never saw his full face.

           “Wait, hold on, just how old are you again?”

           “...Thirteen.”

           “That explains way too much…!”

           With his declaration, Lifa’s mindset toward Hiroshi immediately shifted. Thirteen made a lot more sense with all the responsibilities he seemingly had, and his matter of speech. Lifa supposed even with blood alone, some people are just cursed to remain shorties for life. It was also possible he had an unfortunately late puberty, since his voice sounded like a late eleven year old’s at best. It also made a lot more sense now that Hiroshi hadn’t judged Lifa by her height, and not even unconsciously like Erica had. 

           “Yes, I’ve been on the rather unfortunate end of the gene pool…” 

           “Ayy, I actually know that one! That’s the stuff in our blood that makes us who we are, right?”

           “It’s amusing you say that, since… well that’s too much. Almost every… Sigh, I don’t know how much I can say…”

           Hiroshi furrowed his brows as he tried to explain genes without giving away his father’s research. Lifa was similarly frustrated, but since he was working hard to keep her identity a secret, she supposed it would be unfair to try and get him to spill others’ secrets.

           “I can tell you’re really knowledgeable either way. I’m guessing you take after your father in that regard?”

           “Hm? Ah…”

           That seemed like a complicated question. Damn, just how many secrets does this kid have to keep? Were all nobles like this, being forced to live double or even triple lives just to navigate the cogs of aristocratic society?

           “Well, you don’t have to-”

           “No, no, you’re right…I really do take after him, don’t I…?”

           The thought that he was similar to his father made Hiroshi smile and look down at his bottle; it was immediately obvious that he looked up to his dad. Lifa never had a good father, but she wondered if their relationship was similar to hers and Garf’s, the librarian down her street.

           “Mother was the one who fostered most of that later on though. I wouldn’t be nearly the same person without her.”

           Even if he was smiling, the way Hiroshi was speaking had an nostalgic, bittersweet tone to it that made Lifa instinctively reach over and pat him on the shoulder reassuringly. 

           “Ah…Thanks.” 

           “No problem, boss!”

            Hiroshi laughed at that as Lifa took her hand away. With this, she understood that there were a lot of complicated factors that went into creating this miracle for her, and it only strengthened Lifa’s resolve to pay it forward and save the city. Maybe in the process, she’d even make up for her previous worthlessness! Thinking so, Lifa made Hiroshi an offer.

          “Well, I’m not your boss yet.”

          “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” 

          “Hm?”

          Hiroshi looked at her quizzically with his mouth full of medicine. Seeing that she confused him successfully, Lifa let out a laugh of her own.

          “You know, I wouldn’t mind signing up for just a couple weeks of work…”

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