Cinq East Section 3: Don Quixote's Story

Mm~ Prithee, dost thou truly find this acceptable? For I am in midst of a meal...

Well, we both know how busy you Association Fixers are. Actually, I hope I'm not taking up too much of your lunchtime.

Pah, worry thee not! Only the most heartless few shall refuse thee in spite of thy manners!

The child fixed her grip on the chopsticks as she reassured the interviewer.

Then, she grabbed a large bundle of noodles and veggies with her chopsticks and raised them before her excited eyes...

Get your ass back here!

... all the while chairs, utensils, and all kinds of miscellaneous sundries were being flung about in the background.

Hm. Meal is a meal indeed, yet I worry that thou mayest be putting thyself in unnecessary risk in this kezhan - that is, a tavern.

Eh, don't worry about it. It's not the rarest sight for interviewers like me.

I worked out a lot at the Association gym when I was growing up, so I'm not really unfamiliar with this kinda stuff.

Oho... thou'rt quite the brave one. Ah! Watch thy head!

Whoops. Phew, thanks for the heads-up.

Good, good... Very good! I shall answer earnestly to whatever question thou wouldst like to ask. Proceed!

To a passing viewer, who might only catch a glimpse of the child's composed discussion with the reporter, this may appear to be nothing more than a peaceful interview over lunch...

... but the pair of them were surrounded by utter destruction wrought by an ongoing tavern brawl, regardless of their seeming lack of involvement.

... If they weren't moving out of the way from unfortunate projectiles, one could almost forget that the entire kezhan was embroiled in violent fisticuffs.

So, our magazine's trying to run a special on the Cinq Association...

... and we intend to focus on comparing the Cinq Association branches to one another.

Mmhm! 'Tis true, 'tis true that the Cinq of the west and the south have gained certain notoriety among the press.

Ah, I see that you always try to keep up-to-date with the news?

Forsooth! 'Tis an indispensable quality of a true Fixer to remain acutely aware of the goings-on of the world.

The child thought for a moment about mentioning how she only reads the sections discussing Fixer businesses, but... she did not feel it necessary to mention that.

She's had enough worldly experience to know that sometimes, some things were better left unsaid.

So cool... Now, let's get to the questions, shall we?

I heard that Cinq west, which is where your headquarters is, and Cinq east, the branch you work for, operate very differently. What differences might there be?

Hm~ while I was never availed the opportunity to visit the Association headquarters, I have indeed heard much.

It is said that they always carry a sword with them. Verily, it appeared that they were bound by countless rules such as traditions on how one must wield their bladed instrument.

In contrast, I might say that our eastern branch is relatively free to do as we will. We may, indeed, wield weapons should we choose to do so; yet we are free all the same to not. Ah, of course, 'tis true that we prefer a much more intimate distance than the one that might be availed by the use of swords.

With that, the child raised her wrist.

She was wearing a thick luminescent bangle or a bracelet of sorts there; it appeared as though it had been carved straight from solid jade.

Ahh...! So that's what you guys call... virescent pyrojade, right?

Ah, so thou'rt a learned one! Verily, this bangle is what superheats my gloves; most material melts simply before its heat.

So that's why you don't throw your gloves...

Aha, thou must be speaking of the tradition by which my colleagues in the headquarters declare an intent to duel?

Indeed, the east operates differently in that matter as well. Instead of chucking an object, we prefer to politely state one's name and affiliation afore engaging in combat.

Hm, yeah. I've seen a lot more of that around here, now that I think about it.

Yet, forsooth, I do find a certain charm in the methods of the west or the south...

... So this isn't exactly relevant, but...

Hyaah... What a delicacy this is... Hm? Do speak thy mind.

You've been shaking your leg like, a lot this entire time... Is there something wrong?

Thou asketh if aught is wrong? N-nay, verily! Ha ha, 'tis but an unshakable habit of mine!

You're looking a bit... anxious...

Ah... ahaha, ahem...

The child was indeed anxious.

Perhaps it was frustration, not anxiety.

The fight she had no choice but to sit on her hands and watch was rather one-sided...

... Were she free to do as her heart commands, she would not hesitate a moment to enact her version of 'justice' and leap into the fray in defense of the losing side.

But the core of the Cinq Association was to be a proxy in duels, nothing more.

W-well... I had thought that I should be contracted to duel in their stead about now...

It... uh. This particular client appeareth quite delayed in making a request...

... What?

Ah, allow me to put it this way. To be in audience of such an unfairly one-sided battle maketh one's blood boil, no?

Ohh... You can't wait to duke it out with that guy, huh?

Fie! Thou shan't speak so lightly of this matter; there is no justice to be found in battles without balance.

Yet... as a member of the Association, I cannot act in lieu of a contract...

The child's voice crawls to a stop.

And in her words, the interviewer senses a familiar story from long past.

Huh, you're reminding me of another story from a few years ago, where a complete newcomer to the Cinq Association went around making a ruckus like she was some kind of vigilante...

Ahem, ahemm! Ahhem! V-verily, thou mustn't compare my present self to that naive past!

For I am a changed person! I leap not into the fray at the first sight of injustice, and I have learned the art of pah-patience!

Clang!

This was no less a mistake than it was when the brawler accidentally flung a household item in her direction.

The brawler, now certain of his victory, had unsheathed his blade... and tripped on an errant piece of wood on the ground.

Unfortunately for him, he began to fall toward the child...

Aha, now behold mine utter impeccable poise and nonchalance in this circumstance that is, by all accounts, quite pointy!

... and the child grabbed the sword in a practiced motion.

What the - Huh?! A C-Cinq Fixer...!

The virescent pyrojade emits a bright glow, and the blade melts like candy on a hot day.

Now that I have thine attention - indeed I am!

The spectacle was more than sufficient to have every patron recognize her presence; the man who was on the losing side of this heavily skewed battle quickly ran up to the child and pleaded.

L-lady of the Cinq! Please, accept my contract!

Mhm! Very well. Yet I must warn thee - we are behooved to take double the fee for 'emergency contracts', such as the one thou requireth from me now.

I'll pay you triple as long as you can take care of that -

SAY NO MORE!! Consider it done! We shall discuss the matters of coin later.

The child jumped from her seat with the look of someone who just found out that they were to receive a Christmas gift.

I hail from the third Section of the Cinq Association in the east!

I, Don Quixote, hereupon inherit this duel!