Several hours away from the outskirts of the beautiful town of Crescent Bay— where the pearly white beaches welcomed the gentle waves of the sea on its shores— Naomi was standing alongside Mayor Bisu Bell with her briefcase in one hand, and her other slid beneath the waistband of her denim jeans. Shifting her blue eyes from side-to-side, the young adventurer within the lawyer was calculating every potential threat around them as they stood on the boarding platform— Naomi expecting the worst from the crowds of well dressed and civilized travelers amongst them.
Having been chattering away about how excited she was for the upcoming Batman movie that she was hoping to catch a showing of when they got back to town, Mayor Bell immediately trailed off of her tangent the moment it finally dawned on her that Naomi wasn't paying attention to her ramblings— having only muttered "uh huh", and "I see", throughout the entire time the lavender-haired had been talking her ear off.
Narrowing her eyelids slightly with a playfully offended expression on her youthful face, Mayor Bell pursed her lips together as she silently leaned forward to stare analytically into the lawyer's blue eyes— watching Naomi's gaze shift from person-to-person, from corner-to-corner. "… You do know that this is an upscale city, right Yoshimura?" Mayor Bell mused with a teasing tone, and continued to lean forward with a playfully pompous grin on her face as Naomi momentarily locked eyes with her.
"Precisely, which is why we need to be even more on guard; we've shaken the hornet's nest, BB; we can't let our guard down until we know we're safe," Naomi said in a low-spoken voice— trying her best not to alert anyone of her suspicions, while only succeeding in amusing the violet-eyed mayor.
"The hornet's nest…? Is that what you consider the Mage's Association to be…? A bunch of shadowy governmental figures who are lurking in the shadows— pulling the strings, and taking anyone out who goes against their agenda…?!" Mayor Bell asked mockingly, with a good natured smile on her face that managed to elicit an amused eye roll from the blue-haired lawyer.
"I may be paranoid, BB, but I'm not a goddamn conspiracy theorist…!" Naomi shot back with a gruff chuckle escaping from her throat, before quickly regaining her alert composure. "No… What I am worried about though is the very real possibility of physical retaliation, coming from "Builders League United"," Naomi explained, so as to justify her on-guard demeanor.
Straightening her back with an intrigued expression replacing the took of amusement she had moments ago on her face, Mayor Bell blinked a few times in silence, before finally speaking up in her usual carefree tone of voice. "… You really think that "BLU" would stoop that low, Yoshimura?" Mayor Bell asked; being genuinely interested in what Naomi had to say about the matter.
Stiffening at scoff at the nativity of the question alone, Naomi flashed a grin before quickly frowning as she looked back toward the gold and cerulean lavished corridor entrance, that led from their art-deco styled boarding platform into the gorgeous and breathing taking oceanic a decorated inside of New Marina's world-class train station. "Absolutely; there's not a doubt in my mind that they would," Naomi muttered, while keeping her stern gaze focused on the only way in-and-out of their indoor, glass-ceiling boarding platform.
Softly nodding her head in response, Mayor Bell quietly smacked her pink lips together before shrugging her slender shoulders. "If that's what you think, then I'll believe it," Mayor Bell said with confidence and assurance in her voice— managing to pull Naomi's gaze back towards her, as she greeted the blue-haired lawyer with a supportive grin. "Your intuition has always never led our home astray; I'd have to be an absolute moron to second guess your judgment, Yoshimura!"
To say that Naomi was surprised by how much confidence and trust the younger woman had in her would have simply been a falsehood; the lawyer had been by the twenty-six year old mayor's side, ever since she took office at the ripe age of eighteen. Even so, it still softened Naomi's heart to hear the compliment. "I appreciate you saying that, BB; thank you for being open to-"
"-Which is why I'll whip this out the moment things go sideways for us, Yoshimura…!" Mayor Bell whispered with a mischievous and daring look of excitement on her face, as she lifted the long flap of her black jacket to show her white stocking-covered thigh to Naomi— pulling up the elastic band off her left stocking with her other hand, before slyfully reaching inside of it to flash the lawyer the grip of her trusty titanium wand. "Just give me the word, and I'll show these BLU sons of bitches why I'm the mayor of Crescent B-"
"Shhh…!" Naomi quietly shushed as calmly as she could, all while quickly pushing Mayor Bell's hand back down, so as to make the younger woman hide her concealed weapon. Turning around while subtly pulling Mayor Bell's the bottom of black long-jacket down back over her thigh for good measure, Naomi's one exposed eye that wasn't covered by her long bangs swept over the right side of her narrowed as she spotted a group of formally dressed men and women exiting the well-illuminated entrance corridor.
Silently gesturing for the mayor to keep alert and to pay attention toward the direction of where she was subtly nodding her, Naomi did her best to remain inconspicuous as she observed the group of suitcase carrying individuals make their way over toward the same waiting area as her.
Leading the small organized group of what Naomi counted to be made up of ten personnel was a tall woman dressed in black business attire; her dark blue eyes matching the same color as her long hair, which had been tied into a bun with a white ribbon. Just like Naomi's own sharp and attentive demeanor, the aforementioned woman had a cold and calculating look in her eyes; the brief time that the two exchanged eye contact with one another was all that it took for Naomi to know right then and there that she recognized who she was.
The tall, and well built woman in her black business attire seemed to detect the same wariness from the lawyer, as instead of trying to inconspicuous herself, she and her group of interesting looking colleagues made their way over to where Naomi and Mayor Bell were standing. Tensions between the two groups were high, as the mysterious woman and her posse stood within the same crowd of travelers that the lawyer and mayor had been a part of— prior to their unwanted arrival.
As Naomi expected, the woman who she was now facing toward was now looking back at her— smiling professionally without showing much warmth as she began to speak with a deep, yet elegant voice. "You seem wary of us, ma'am; allow dispel whatever suspicion you have of my men and I," the pale-skinned woman with dark-blue hair said upfront— still barely smiling at Naomi, who in turn didn't even bother to fake any resemblance of a friendly face toward her. "My name is Kiyoko Aura: Chief Constable of the Clock Tower. And these," the woman said, as she gestured toward the like-dressed individuals standing behind her, "are my investigators."
Recognizing the branch they were from, Mayor Bell cut in before Naomi had a chance to say anything abrasive to Kiyoko by saying, "Investigators from the Clock Tower, eh? Considering how bureaucratic the Mage's Association is, I would imagine that you and your colleagues have already been given a memo in regards to what yesterday's verdict was."
Unphased by how sassy Mayor Bell had sounded when she had talked to her, Kiyoko nodded respectfully back at the short statured woman before replying back, "You'd be correct, Mayor: "any and all official operations regarding supernatural phenomena within a one-hundred kilometer radius of Crescent Bay is prohibited until further notice"." Having recited what the higher ups had emailed to her, Kiyoko proceeded to unlatch her suitcase before opening it up to reveal neatly folded clothes, and a small ziplock bag that looked to house a few toiletries.
"We may have been temporarily banned from investigating the matter behind why those crystals being distributed by your townspeople are creating strange holographic projections when light touched them, but nowhere in the verdict did it say that those who were employed through the Mage's Association were to be banned from vacationing to Crescent Bay," Kiyoko argued with a matter-of-fact tone of voice, as she took a moment to examine the visible reactions of disapproval on the faces of Naomi and Mayor Bell, before closing her suitcase back and relatching it shut.
Speaking up with an outraged voice, Naomi was gritting the back of her molars at Kiyoko— her eyes widened with rage— as she snapped back at the older woman, "Bullshit! You're just exploiting a loophole!"
"Which is nonetheless permissible in the eyes of the law. Isn't that correct, ma'am?" Kiyoko countered without any malice in her voice, though Naomi could sense an aura of superiority coming from behind the mask of professionalism the Chief Constable wore. "Besides, looking at this from a business perspective, one would imagine that having external revenue pouring into one's community would be a welcome benefit… Wouldn't you say, Mayor?" Kiyoko mused calmly, as she and her colleagues turned to stare expectantly at the begrudged mayor in question.
Pouting her lips with her eyebrows furrowed, Mayor Bell was humming a low growl as she crossed her sleeves arms over her breasts; feeling extremely conflicted, as her cheeks started to turn red with frustration. "Ngh, guh…! I mean…! Y-Yes, having our economy grow is an important factor in developing more stability in our local businesses! And as mayor, it's my responsibility to ensure that our guests are shown fairness and hospitality…" Mayor Bell admitted, before suddenly extending her arm out to point an accusing finger at the unphased woman.
"Even so, I'm not going to turn a blind eye towards the ulterior motives of the Mage's Association either!" Mayor Bell declared righteously; shamelessly causing more of a scene than they already initiated, as she moved her outstretched arm back to wrap it around the confused lawyer's waist. Pulling Naomi close to her so their hips were bumping, Mayor Bell had a determined look in her violet eyes as she added, "This isn't the first time I've dealt with this sort of intrusive situation: the moment I, or anyone else for that matter, catches you or your investigators conducting anything sort of activities that contradicts the limitations set onto the Mage's Association, then I'll personally take the matter right back to court— I'll turn that two-year temporary ban into a permanent solution! Do I make myself clear, Chief Aura?!"
Naomi had to hand it to Mayor Bell: the young woman might have a carefree and smug demeanor to her, but she was fierce as she was fearless when it came to confronting others. Threatening a high ranking member of the Mage's Association meant that she was risking her career; all Kiyoko had to do was call in a few favors from Pathway's Prime Minister to get Mayor Bell removed from office. Naomi knew how much influence the Mage's Association had with their country's government, which was why she had been fighting her hardest against them for the past week.
Thankfully, Kiyoko didn't seem take any offense to Mayor Bell's threatening words; the same couldn't have been said about the young woman who had been standing beside the Chief Constable— a athletic-built woman, who Naomi couldn't help but to notice just how similar she and her physically resembled one another, with the only difference being that the investigator in question looked to be over a decade younger than the lawyer was.
Seemingly sensing the way her investigator with dark-blue hair covering half of her face was silently glaring daggers at Mayor Bell, Kiyoko switched the hand she had been using to hold her suitcase, so as to reach up and place a reassuring hand on the shorter and younger woman's shoulder. "I would expect no less from a woman whose responsibility it is to protect and serve the members of her community," Kiyoko said to Mayor Bell, all the while seemingly calming the young woman beside her down with what Naomi could tell to be a soft squeeze on her shoulder. "I personally can promise you that neither my investigators nor I will be breaching any boundaries of you, or your townspeople; regardless of what you may think of us, at the end of the day we represent a benevolent group, who only seeks to protect and preserve the interests of the common good."
Scrunching her nose at what she had just heard, Naomi scoffed as she crossed her arms defensively towards Kiyoko. "And what of Builders League United? Correct me if I'm mistaken, but those who the Mage's Association have contracted aren't typically associated with the term "benevolent"," Naomi pointed out with some spite in her voice, as Kiyoko's professional smile wavered slightly.
"The executive decisions made by the Mage's Association are beyond the call of the Clock Tower; my investigators and I will not tolerate any acts of intimidation or retaliation sought out by anyone— especially those who think themselves above the consequences of the law," Kiyoko stated sternly; going beyond Naomi's expectations, by surprisingly agreeing with the point that was meant to counter her claims of benevolence. "Above all else— even above the interests of the rest of the Mage's Association themselves— we are peacekeepers before we are investigators."
Though Kiyoko's words were comforting as they were believable— as not even anything within Naomi's biased paranoia detected any sort of disingenuousness from the Chief Constable— both she and Mayor Bell weren't entirely convinced of the older woman's intentions; the two of them silently agreeing to speak later of the matter, after having giving one another a knowing side eye glance. "That's yet to be determined, Chief Aura; hopefully, what you say proves to be true," Mayor Bell said in a reserved voice— slowly relaxing her shoulders, as she tried to change her defensive demeanor into that of a more friendly one.
"In any case, I'm obligated to welcome you all to our peaceful town; if you or any of your investigators have any questions or concerns, I ask that you approach me personally on the matter— I'll do the best of my ability to ensure that your stay is a pleasant experience," Mayor Bell said with a far less begrudged tone than the one she had been using to speak with Kiyoko. "Speaking of which… Might I ask just how long you and your investigators plan to spend holiday in Crescent Bay?"
"We've all been allotted two years of vacation time, Mayor Bell," Kiyoko responded with zero hesitation in her voice; her professional and no-nonsense demeanor breaking slightly, as she couldn't help but to smirk at the expressions of bewilderment that were plastered onto both Naomi and Mayor Bell's faces. "I suppose you can say that executives of the Mage's Association were feeling rather generous, when they surprised us with this all expenses paid trip to your beautiful town."
"That's… O-One way put it… I-I guess," Mayor Bell stammered out with an exasperated tone in her voice, while Naomi remained slacked jaw as she was mentally contemplating on just how on Earth the Mage's Association managed to legally get away with all of what they were doing. Needless to say, the tension within the boarding platform had shifted; even if Naomi nor Mayor Bell didn't have reason to feel threatened by Kiyoko and her investigators, that still didn't mean that they were happy to have to ride the same train as them.
Author's Note: I wanted to branch out in narrative perspectives, as having Ren/ Goblin Slayer as the only main character of each chapter for the duration of the story seems limiting a bit. Plus, it opens up more for future arcs and whatnot; Ren/ Goblin Slayer is still the main protagonist, it's just I want to give the limelight to other characters as well, but only if they've already been established enough to be immediately recognized by the reader.
Anyways, here's the new character references:
Mayor Bisu Bell/ BB: Without spoiling too much, she's BB from Fate/ EXTRA CC. Long lavender hair that reaches past her butt, has huge breasts that sag a bit for a woman her age, wears red ribbons, white collared shirt, and a short black skirt that makes it easy to see her white panties. Pretty much just Google "BB Fate", and you'll see how she dresses.
Kiyoko Aura: An investigator from "Tokyo Ghoul", who's a high ranking investigator for the Mage's Association in this fanfic.
Touka Kirishima: Hinted to be the young investigator who looks like Naomi Yoshimura/ The Examiner. That's because oddly enough, they actually do look identical if you know the source material.
Haise Sasaki: An investigator that wasn't mentioned yet, but since he's one of my favorite characters of all time, I just had to write about him here. Will later be joining Ren's party, when it comes time for the Adventurer's Guild and the Moon Cell's reality marble to be introduced.
Apologies in advance for this chapter being considerably shorter than the usual length that I write, but considering that it's a break away from Ren's narrative, I figured that the length that it's currently at is sufficient. Anyway, that about does it for now. Thanks for reading this, and hope you have a good rest of your day.