Chapter 178: An Old Acquaintance.

The library. More specifically, The Purgatory Library, was the only library of its kind in the city, at least, officially. There existed smaller bookstores, and perhaps smaller libraries in schools or private establishments. Yet, this library was the only official public library.

It was large, sprawling, and even though this wasn’t my first time here, I still found myself in awe standing before the building. It was built like an old cathedral. The large courtyard leading up to the entrance was filled with people milling about.

Just inside there was a small café, cordoned, separated off from the library proper. Manning the desk was the same man, rather, now knowing what I did, I knew the man was no man, rather a demon. A demon specifically contracted by the actual owners of the library. Those who called themselves The Council of Worms.

Who they were, what they wanted remained mostly a mystery. What was publicly known was their desire for knowledge. Something I only knew due to my chat with the succubus at the hospital.

Not only was the library a center of knowledge. A place where anyone could borrow or read mundane literature, but it was also a place that sold mystical tomes and magical knowledge.

Also, according to Talia, it was also a place where magical girls met.

Being what it was, the library was massive, but it was also possible to schedule private rooms. These rooms, and with the library’s location, made for a perfect neutral ground for magical girls to meet.

On top of that, inside the main library was, apparently, a request board of sorts. A place where the average magical girl could pin requests for certain reagents or items that they need and ask for exchanges or even commissions.

Making it almost a free marketplace for all the city magical girls to engage with.

Independent alchemists exist, brewing from who knows where. Along with smiths and a large variety of different people seeking jobs. With some familiar names, like an advertisement for Lance’s smithing service. Lance being a magical girl I had met and fought with during the third and final event. Though, I did technically meet him during the first event, not that I knew his name at the time.

Here, in a meeting room, I was to be introduced to the person Talia had been speaking of. She’d elaborated on the car ride over. Telling me that this individual would make for a great addition to the team, that they’d fit in with our current group dynamic.

I didn’t argue, but I also withheld my judgement. I simply would have to see for myself if it was worth the trouble.

With it being June, summer was out in full force. People were out in summer attire, with Talia being no different. Wearing a sleeveless tank top, held up by straps that exposed her shoulders. The top long enough to hide the short shorts she wore on her lower body. Her feet clad in sandals that exposed her feet, which were further accentuated by the particular color she chose to color her toenails.

She was very clearly dressed for summer. I, however, was not. Clad in what could be considered casual attire. Which really was just shorts and a shirt I’d had laying about that I usually wore when I was at home. On my feet were worn sneakers that had seen far too much action.

I felt, both severely underdressed, and also completely out of my element. Dressing in a suit would have been a bit overkill, but what I was wearing offered little in the way in proving my competence.

At least, it was better than wearing my usual tracksuit. Especially when it was clear my body wasn’t taking well to the hot temperatures of a summer day. Luckily, the library was air conditioned, and after an iced drink I felt more alive.

Though… it did make me less… imposing when we finally arrived at the meeting room.

Inside, waiting for us was a foreign girl. Not one I’d ever seen. She had sharp features, and severe eyes. In a way, she reminded me of a hawk, or a bird of prey. Her eyes were open wide, taking me in, not letting a single motion escape her gaze.

She was on edge clearly.

“This is her.” Talia offered up on entering.

“Ophelia. That’s my name.” The girl in question said on seeing me. She wasn’t tall, nor was she short. Her hair was short, almost boy-ishly cut. Hair dirty blonde, with grey eyes. She looked fit. Yet, she looked exhausted and tired. With bags under her eyes. And despite her fit frame, it was obvious at a glance that she hadn’t been eating well.

“Prima.” I say calmly. “Talia told me you were looking for work?”

The girl, Ophelia frowns. “What I want, is what she’s got.” She answers back, pointing to Talia.

“And that is?”

“A place to stay, money, the whole package.”

“And what do you offer?” I replied.

“I’m a magical girl obviously, but I’m also a dog, Like her. Actually, we’re colleagues, well, old colleagues.”

“You’re a survivor from the assault?” I say.

“Yes, rather, we actually fought each other before.” Before I could ask what she meant, she transformed.

I go stiff. For good reason. I did know her, had fought her. Clad in a hooded cloak, her face partially obscured by a face mask. Her eyes had taken a silver hue, her hair white as snow. On her arm, a crossbow, rather, a ballista in the shape of crossbow that was attached to her arm. In the other, she casually drew a knife.

An ambush? Unlikely. Talia wouldn’t bring me here just to get me killed. Not now at least.

“See?” Ophelia said, taking the chance to take a small spin, showing off that under the cloak she wore a well-fitted bodysuit. Around her waist a single belt, where a holster for her knife sat, along with an odd additional thing on her belt, and a small pouch.

“My weapon’s this, it’s a crossbow, but the bolts are huge. It has a lot of punch. It also came with this.” She twirls the knife in her off hand. “It’s a knife, the sub-weapon. So, I’m good at both ranged combat and melee. I have heightened senses and good dexterity, making me a good scout.”

“And your magic?” I ask as she pauses. She hesitates.

“She’s a beast master. A sub-category of the Synergy type magic. She can bond with beasts, and improve their strength drastically with her magic, and also, she gains affinities based on what her bonded beast’s affinity is.” Talia answers in Ophelia’s stead.

“So, what affinity do you have? Do you have a beast currently?”

Ophelia doesn’t answer. Forcing Talia to once more speak up on her behalf. “About that, she was hoping you’d, well, as a sign on bonus help her get one.”

I frowned, “Is that true?” I ask.

For the first time, Ophelia avoids my gaze. “Yes…” Her voice, quiet. “I’m useful, I swear, I just… I need a companion.”

“And you were never given one?”

She shakes her head. “I was never invested in. My abilities were… they weren’t good enough.”

“Which means, you were in a similar position as Talia?”

Again, she hesitates… “Yes…”

“Alright, and your weapon can you make more bolts, or?”

“I can’t… the weapon can produce them, at about… one a minute?” Seeing my gaze she presses on, “But if I pour magic into it, I can make a bolt every ten seconds! I can also store bolts here, on my belt, by notching them here.”

She points to the one odd addition to her belt.

“Your uniform doesn’t make them though?”

“No… it doesn’t. It does have a passive camouflage added to it. It also muffles the sounds I make and hides my magic signature.” To demonstrate, she pulls her cloak tight and stands against the wall. There was an obvious distortion happening as she stood still. Making it somewhat difficult to discern where she was, well, if I wasn’t standing so close. As it was, she looked like a big blurry blob.

In a word, she was a hybrid type, much like me. Capable of physical and ranged combat, with a focus more on stealth. Perhaps her scouting skills and heightened senses would be useful as well, and yet… I wasn’t very impressed.

Sensing my thoughts, Ophelia spoke up. “Look, I know it’s not great, but… if I had a beast, I swear I’ll be more useful. I’ll do anything, just, please give me a chance.”

I consider… “Why don’t you have a beast? Surely, you could just grab whatever animal and make them your companion?”

“I could, but… their potential is too limited. I’d need to invest way too much into them before they become useful to me. Even then, I don’t have the means to do that, not now.” She said, with a frown, and clear desperation on her face.

“So, what kind of animal do you need?”

“One with magical lineage, I know where to find them, there’s a seller I found some time ago, they stock animals with rare, or at least, rarer bloodlines, but… I don’t have the money.”

“What do you do then Ophelia? What have you done since the blood moon?”

She talked, explained. It wasn’t glamorous by any means. It did, however, give me insight into how other magical girls operate.

Shortly after the blood moon, she found herself picked up by the police and put into the system. Not that she was against it, after all, surviving on the streets here was hard as it is, not mentioning what happens at night.

With her name in the system, she was able to get a job at a convenience store as a cashier, and well… It doesn’t pay very well. The hours were questionable, she mostly ate cup noodles and whatever she could get her hands on for cheap. Sometimes even getting into brawls over heavily discounted premade meals at a nearby grocer.

What broke up this monotony were the occasional delves into the depths, but… without a beast companion her actual value was close to nil. Not to mention, the teams she could work with were usually the type to stick to the upper most layer without ever going in too deep.

The few times she got coins, they were always bronze coins. With not a single silver coin dropping, despite having faced multiple silver ranked before, it always resulted in her team running.

As for what inspired her to fall under my banner, as it were?

Simple, when I’d taken the tunnel into the depths, due to Fathom being too large for the conventional sewer opening, she’d seen Talia, and me. Curious, she’d made a point to investigate and ended up running into Talia during one of her research tours.

The pair had talked, shared experiences and well, Ophelia realized she wanted what Talia had. Even if it meant once more putting herself under someone, and yet…

I couldn’t help but wonder if this was inevitable? After all, she, like Talia was a lesser magical girl.

Still, after hearing her out, I came to a bit of a conundrum. Ophelia’s worth was very much… uncertain. Even if Ophelia knew a place where she could buy a companion, I just knew it wouldn’t be cheap.

Even with her assurance that it would only cost cash, not coins, I still wasn’t sure. And yet…

Talia was willing to vouch for her, and… I did need the extra body. Especially one with her specific set of traits.

“Alright, let’s make this quick then. We can sign the contract here, but only under the clause that we find you a beast today. If you don’t find anything, no deal.”

She frowns, but inevitably, she agrees. A quick and dirty contract was made and secured. Though, it was mostly for formalities, I also knew it would be helpful to have. With the paper signed and the ink still wet, I gave Ophelia her first order.

“I hope you have nothing better to do today Ophelia, since we’re going to head right out and see if we can get you a beast.”

“I don’t, I made sure my schedule was clear!” She announced.

“Good then let’s go.”

On the car ride over to our destination, Ophelia gave me more direct information. About herself, her situation, her magic, and more importantly, how other magical girls went about their business.

There was a thriving market for commissions, with the library acting as both a meeting area and a drop-off point for goods and services. That much I was clued into, but what was interesting was just how important the library was.

Plenty of dogs ran businesses and sold exclusively to other magical girls. In many ways, it replicated the marketplace in the lower district, only here it was a lot more focused. The typical magical girl group earned about a bronze coin a week. Which wasn’t a lot, but it was what contributed to the commission market.

Most teams rarely, if ever got silver coins meaning there was a huge demand for magical items regardless of their rank or tier. Which is how Talia has been making money on the side, without my knowledge. Not that I cared, using the chance to hone her skills, while also earning her own pay was perfectly fine.

Though, admittedly, I knew some employers would frown on that. Demanding instead that her work be solely for the benefit of her betters. Luckily, I wasn’t like that. If anything, I encouraged it.

As the conversation wound down, we finally arrived. The area was surprisingly familiar. A lonely lot at the edge of the Commercial District, leading into a tight alley of smaller shops and bars. It was claustrophobic, and the sun’s light didn’t quite reach into the nooks and crannies. Which made for a bad combination, which only made the place look worse than it should have been.

That, and with the recent drop in public order, it was clear, this area was not exactly on the up and up. People eyed us as we went. Some whispered, some moved. None of them bothered us, but it felt like I was back in the lower district. Like I was being watched by hungry predators.

As we closed on our destination, I couldn’t help but glance over in a certain direction. Noting just how familiar it felt. Yet, I said nothing as we stepped before a set of stairs that were hidden in an alcove that led to a deep darkness into the earth.

I eyed Ophelia, “This is the place.” She confirmed eyeing the area.

It was suspicious for sure. Yet, I wasn’t entirely a stranger to such locales. Making sure I was presentable, or as presentable as I could be dressed as I was, and led the way down, Talia and Ophelia behind me. At the bottom of the stairs, a dim light did its best to expel the darkness. Only barely illuminating the top of an iron door with an eye slot.

At my urging, Ophelia stepped forward and banged on the door. The sound was hefty; the door was anything but hollow and clearly made of quality steel by the sounds of it. After a few seconds, the eye slot slid open, and from within I saw a pair of gleaming eyes. They looked at Ophelia first and grunted, the sound rough.

Other than that, he said nothing until he took Tali and I in. When his eyes focused on me however, there was a shift.

“You buying?” He asked, something in his tone. Ophelia sent me a glance, confused.

“Depends.” I answer back. “There anything worth buying?”

He laughs. “Why don’t you come in and take a look for yourself then?” At those words, I heard heavy locks and latches come undone. The door creaked open, revealing a giant of a man.

He beckoned us in, and while Ophelia and Talia hesitated, I went past the threshold without a care. Walking right by the man. He smelled of animal, that was the best way I could describe it. His body was scarred, his face especially so, forcing him in a perpetual grimace. The scars were a mix of cuts and what looked like bites. One of his ears was missing a chunk, his fingers were calloused, worn, with one finger missing the tip.

He didn’t feel dangerous. Not immediately, but there was a sense of weight about him. A presence that wasn’t completely ignorable. Once we were in, he shut the door and led us further into the building.

The interior was dark, nearly pitch black. The walls were old brickwork, coated in moisture, making the air damp. Further in, a thick velvet door barred the way, the man stopped a step short.

“The boss is right inside, he’ll get you set up.” The gruff man said and left us, going back to his post. It was all kinds of strange, though, again, not that strange.

I sent a look in Ophelia’s direction, “You know him?”

“That… yeah. I told him I’d be back when I had money, or well, a buyer.” Was her response, but I could tell that wasn’t everything. Not that I cared enough to pry.

“Anything else I should know?” Was my follow-up.

“I don’t know, I’ve never been this far in.”

I sighed. Yet, I didn’t hesitate to step forward and open the door.