8.4: Philo

| Philo

The locals have already forgotten when Philo, a flower shop, first appeared on a street conrner.

Tiny, blue, star-like flowers cascade from the third-floor balcony and envelop nearby buildings.

The owner seems to have mysterious friends. On nights with little moonlight, one can often see startlight surrounding the backyard like fireflies.

At midnight, Jeremiah locks the front gate. He carries a withered laurel. He enters the backyard, and with some effort, squeeze past the glass door of a greenhouse.

**********

Out of nowhere, a beam of light bursts through the door behind him, landing next to a cluster of wavyleaf sea lavenders.

Jeremiah: "You-Xavier! You nearly scared me to death... Didn't you promise to use the door like a normal person?!"

As soon as the words leave his lips, a girl peeks out from behind Xavier. She has a apologetic look on her face.

Jeremiah: "What in the..."

He sees the other person's face, and he freezes like a wind-up doll whose batteries just died.

MC: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

The florist, Jeremiah, looks to be around Xavier's age. When he saw me, he only showed two emotions surprise and bewilderment.

MC: "Xavier, your friend is freaking out..."

Holding a small spray bottle, Xavier waters the dying laurel.

Xavier: "He's not young anymore, so he's a bit slow on the uptake now."

MC: "?"

Jeremiah: "Ah! Long time no... I mean, welcome to Philo."

Jeremiah: "Right, Xavier mentioned you before. You're colleagues, I'm pretty sure. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The awkward greeting ends under Xavier's watchful gaze.

Jeremiah looks at the glass wall. It flickers briefly, then returns to normal.

Jeremiah: "Now that we're out of sight, you can talk."

Jeremiah: "Did something happen in the no-hunt zone?"

With how he casually brings up the no-hunt zone, his expression unfazed, it shows he's not just a florist.

Xavier shakes his head.

Xavier: "Are there any unused identities left in the vault? She needs to get into the N109 Xone but lacks a disguise."

MC: "Wait, you're actually going to help me?"

Xavier: "Didn't you say you still need to think of an escape plan?"

Xavier: "Laws don't exist in the N109 Zone, but knowing the right people can come in handy. If your reputation is good enough, even the ones who want to mess with you will think twice."

Jeremiah: "I got it now!"

The glass wall flickers again and becomes a screen. A dazzling array of identities appear on it.

Jeremiah: "Got anything in mind? I can customize it to suit you needs."

I pause and give Xavier a puzzled look.

But all he does is touch his temple, remaining silent as he continues to water the laurel.

MC: "Let me think..."

MC: (Surviving in the N109 Zone isn't enough. What I truly need is in the auction, so...)

MC: "I need to be someone who can negotiate with Onychinus. And when I talk, I don't end up revealing my identity."

Xavier: "Do you have one known for being disgustingly rich?"

MC: "..."

As the rapid clacking of a keyboard fills the room, images gradually come to life on the screen.

|g:\) unFormat g:

Sat. 7-26-03 0:38:41 (1)

Restores the system area of your disk by using the image file created by the MIRROR command.

WARNING: !! WARNING: !!

This command should be used only to recover from the inadvertent use of the FORMAT command or the RECOVER command. Any active use of the UNFORMAT command may cause you to lose data! Files modified since the MIRROR image files was created may be lost.

Searching disk for MIRROR image...|

A young woman, perfectly dressed, is about to step into a black limousine.

Men in suits are by her side along with a group of fully armed guards.

She wears an intricately designed veil. Beneath it is her face-my face.

Jeremiah: "Heiress from the Grand Duchy of Gwarentz. Born with a diamond spoon, your wealth rivals that of nations. What do you think?"

MC: "...Isn't it a bit too much?"

Jeremiah nods and once again gets back to work.

The woman on the screen now wears a black outfit. Everyone else follows suit, their previous attire now sleek, black formal wear with sunglasses.

Jeremiah: "Heiress to a mysterious crime syndicate. Last name isn-well, we should just use yours to keep your story straight."

Jeremiah: "I'll create a comprehensive profile and put it up on the dark web. I can make it convincing enough to the point where even professionals will have a hard time distinguishing fact from fiction."

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MC: "...Do I really need to be that?"

Xavier: "It won't work if it's not intimidating enough."

Jeremiah's gaze flits between the screen and me.

Jeremiah: "Clothes maketh the man. I just need to find an outfit that matches your status-"

The spray bottle that's been aimed at the laurel quickly moves and sprays the gesturing hands trying to eliminate my clothing size.

Xavier: "She can do it herself."

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Jeremiah: The owner of Philo, a flower shop. He's also Xavier's friend. Aside from selling flowers, he has a lot of "skills" such as creating new identities and manipulating data so I could enter the N109 Zone... Where did Xavier meet such a friend?