“Human Resources” Shouldn’t Be This Literal: A PMMM/ProjectMoon Quest

Chapter 124 - The Art Of Networking

As much as you enjoy your time in the Library, you can't stay forever. It certainly is productive, between catching up with your colleagues regarding their new projects and inventions and quizzing them on new abilities shown by Abnormalities now that the Qliphoth Deterrence is no longer in effect, you're learning quite a bit just being here. It's nice, having some time to talk with your old friends again. You haven't run into any of your employees yet, partly through a conscious effort on your part to avoid the very awkward resulting conversations. Maybe in the future, when you don't have so much else to deal with, but not yet. Your relationship with your employees was by its nature more distant than with the Sephirah. They were your subordinates, a certain level of professionalism was necessary when interacting with them. As caring as you hope you were, they weren't family or something ridiculous like that. As such, you're not in a terrible rush to see exactly where you fall with them now when there's so much else to do.

You leave the Library before the sun is up. There's a lot to get done, and you would rather much of it be resolved before your children have to get involved. There are a few important conversations you need to have today, and you'd rather get them all done now instead of having them spread out over the rest of the week. That means using your time as efficiently as possible.

It's when the first trickling rays of sunlight are starting to creep over the city's dark horizon that your first meeting of the day begins. You find yourself waiting on a bench beside a lake near your apartment, measuring the distance between you and decadent hum of Argalia's presence growing shorter and shorter. Leonie's detached mechanical rhythm is also noticeable, but far less obvious than the flamboyant elder distortion.

You're not certain of the exact range limit on your emotion senses. You can distinctly feel Homura's quiet ticking and the flickering light of Kyoko from your seat by the water. The writhing, seething malice of the Adult Who Tells Lies is further away, but shines so violently that missing it is impossible as long as you know what you're looking at. Taking a slightly more concentrated effort, Mami and Yuma are both within your awareness near Kyoko. Madoka and three other similar individuals, presumably her parents, are all near Homura. Sayaka is further off from everyone else, and judging by the more active flow of emotions within her she's actually awake at this hour. The non-distortions have less distinct texture to their emotions, more fluid and changeable. There are still patterns and shapes when you look forward, but they are yet to harden into something that rejects change entirely. It's a curious phenomenon. Perhaps you should consider testing it more in the future if you can find the time.

Argalia arrives mere seconds after you sit down. The blue-clad lunatic's appearance is silent, one moment you are alone and the next he is seated beside you, compass in hand. You don't react to the suddenness of the event externally, though it does bring a rather summary end to your previous chain of thought.

"Morning, Argalia." you greet casually, eyes still on the horizon beyond the lake.

"Good morning, my dear composer." Argalia intones, echoed by Leonie with a more simplistic greeting. "How was your day?"

"Productive." you say. "Some issues I'm trying to resolve are beginning to move forward. It's always satisfying to make progress, isn't it?"

"Ah, I do love the feeling of a good plan coming together." Argalia agrees. "But I doubt you called me here just to talk about that. You're a woman of business, aren't you?"

"I'm pragmatic, that's all." you say with a hint of indignation. It wasn't really a criticism, but it's hardly your fault that after thousands upon thousands of years having absolute efficiency demanded from you that you've got a tendency to focus on productivity. You are trying to work on it, but it's difficult when there's so much that really needs to be done. "But yes, I am here to talk about a few important subjects that involve you."

"Ask away, then. I'm always happy to help a friend out." Argalia responds cheerfully. He reminds you a bit of Chesed, now that you think of it, just significantly more manic.

"Remember what we talked about regarding Leonie before?" Argalia nods. "I was thinking my kids could bring her to school today. It'd give them all an opportunity to interact, and maybe she'd be able to leave her shell a bit around more people her age."

"Oh, that does sound like a fantastic idea. How about it, Leonie darling? Seeing some other Magical Girls again might be just what you need to reawaken that spark inside you!"

"If you say so, then I'll try." the girl in question says, sounding more resigned than anything else. It's not exactly what you or Argalia are hoping for, but about what was expected. Leonie's apathy is absolute when it comes to her decision-making.

"Good to hear." you say, marking off that issue as concluded positively and deciding to move on to the next. "I'll probably keep checking in on you for the next few days. Sometime around the end of the week, we're going to be raiding Kamihama."

"Why then? It's rather soon, but not immediate." the former Color fixer asks.

"I want to get everyone in as good a shape as possible before the attack. Put simply, the kids aren't ready yet. But at the same time, the longer we wait the more difficult it's gonna be. The Adult's shoring up her defenses, and at a certain point it's just gonna be impossible to make a dent in what she's built up. So we're striking as soon as I can get everyone in a good enough shape." you explain. Argalia considers for a moment, then nods.

"A wise choice, especially considering our enemy's tendency towards reclusion. Whatever reason there is for that fanciful magician to be hiding behind their walls instead of facing us directly, it leaves us to control the pace of the performance." Argalia agrees in his usual flowery manner.

A thought occurs to you. "Speaking of, can't Carmen spy on the Adult's territory and report what she sees to us? We know some of the Adult's people have made contact with the Light because, well," you gesture to Leonie. "So can't she use them to tell what's going on?"

"While that would no doubt be helpful, it is not our dear friend's purpose to give such aid. She is a guide, shepherding humanity towards happiness. Such an act would be outside her purview." Arglia says, much like a teacher might explain to a very young child why their parents can't stay with them all day.

"But telling people where I am or how to meet you is fair, apparently." you say derisively. Argalia doesn't seem to register the mockery, nodding enthusiastically at your assertion.

"Well, there's always the other Light-dweller, but seeing what's going on with him would take a trip to the Library and I don't think Angela or Roland would be okay with that." you continue. Argalia's jovial demeanor sours noticeably at the mere mention of his brother-in-law, though he recovers just as quickly.

"For what reason? Roland is a brute who can't let things go as always, but I never held any animosity towards your sister." Argalia says, appearing at least somewhat genuinely perplexed.

"You were the one to break it to her that she was indirectly responsible for getting Roland's wife killed and that he was planning to betray her. That doesn't exactly leave a great impression." you point out. "Besides, my sister's actually pretty impressionable. She picked a lot of things up from Roland."

"Ah," Argalia says with a mildly disgusted tone. "So my brother-in-law sinks his hooks into another woman he doesn't deserve. How distasteful."

Ignoring the level of pettiness there, you decide to move things along. "There's nobody good enough to deserve my sister, but that's beside the point. We're not going in blind, but the enemy territory will be mostly unknown in all but the broad strokes and there will absolutely have been changes made since you were last there."

"A daunting task indeed. But we have seen victory over worse odds, haven't we?" Argalia declares. He's not wrong, but there's no need to let your guard down. You didn't succeed in the past by not taking every advantage you can get.

"Speaking of our victories, what've you been up to? Anything outstanding since we last talked?" you ask. You are curious as to what it is he spends his days (and nights, apparently) doing. Only for a little longer, though. The sun's starting to come up, and you need to be home before your kids are awake.

—————————

After being debriefed on Argalia's so-far unsuccessful search for more new distortions, you take Leonie and go on your way.

"I'd invite you over to see my house, but I'm afraid it's not really in a presentable state right now. I have to go buy more furniture later today." you say, slightly embarrassed.

Argalia laughs. "I wouldn't shame a friend for their place of living, you know. We all live within our means, after all."

"It was literally on fire just yesterday."

"Even so."

In the end, you manage to convince him not to invite himself over. What a strange person.

Well, no time to think about that now. You have to cook breakfast.

———————————————

Breakfast
[] Write-in.

———————————————

Der Freischütz's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Schadenfreude's Sapling - Observation Level 1/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED

Filler vote is filler. Here was have what is no doubt the most important vote of the entire Quest. This alone shall determine if you reach the Good Ending or languish for eternity.