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Dialogue
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Mm~ Prithee, dost thou truly find this acceptable? For I am in midst of a meal…
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??? Interviewer
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Well, we both know how busy you Association Fixers are. Actually, I hope I'm not taking up too much of your lunchtime.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Pah, worry thee not! Only the most heartless few shall refuse thee in spite of thy manners!
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The child fixed her grip on the chopsticks as she reassured the interviewer.
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Then, she grabbed a large bundle of noodles and veggies with her chopsticks and raised them before her excited eyes…
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??? ???
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Get your ass back here!
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… all the while chairs, utensils, and all kinds of miscellaneous sundries were being flung about in the background.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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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.
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??? Interviewer
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Eh, don't worry about it. It's not the rarest sight for interviewers like me.
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??? Interviewer
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I worked out a lot at the Association gym when I was growing up, so I'm not really unfamiliar with this kinda stuff.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Oho… thou'rt quite the brave one. Ah! Watch thy head!
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??? Interviewer
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Whoops. Phew, thanks for the heads-up.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Good, good… Very good! I shall answer earnestly to whatever question thou wouldst like to ask. Proceed!
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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…
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… but the pair of them were surrounded by utter destruction wrought by an ongoing tavern brawl, regardless of their seeming lack of involvement.
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… 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.
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??? Interviewer
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So, our magazine's trying to run a special on the Cinq Association…
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??? Interviewer
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… and we intend to focus on comparing the Cinq Association branches to one another.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Mmhm! 'Tis true, 'tis true that the Cinq of the west and the south have gained certain notoriety among the press.
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??? Interviewer
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Ah, I see that you always try to keep up-to-date with the news?
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Forsooth! 'Tis an indispensable quality of a true Fixer to remain acutely aware of the goings-on of the world.
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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.
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She's had enough worldly experience to know that sometimes, some things were better left unsaid.
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??? Interviewer
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So cool… Now, let's get to the questions, shall we?
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??? Interviewer
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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?
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Hm~ while I was never availed the opportunity to visit the Association headquarters, I have indeed heard much.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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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.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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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.
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With that, the child raised her wrist.
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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.
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??? Interviewer
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Ahh…! So that's what you guys call… virescent pyrojade, right?
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Ah, so thou'rt a learned one! Verily, this bangle is what superheats my gloves; most material melts simply before its heat.
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??? Interviewer
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So that's why you don't throw your gloves…
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Aha, thou must be speaking of the tradition by which my colleagues in the headquarters declare an intent to duel?
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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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.
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??? Interviewer
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Hm, yeah. I've seen a lot more of that around here, now that I think about it.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Yet, forsooth, I do find a certain charm in the methods of the west or the south…
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??? Interviewer
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… So this isn't exactly relevant, but…
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Hyaah… What a delicacy this is… Hm? Do speak thy mind.
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??? Interviewer
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You've been shaking your leg like, a lot this entire time… Is there something wrong?
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Thou asketh if aught is wrong? N-nay, verily! Ha ha, 'tis but an unshakable habit of mine!
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??? Interviewer
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You're looking a bit… anxious…
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Ah… ahaha, ahem…
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The child was indeed anxious.
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Perhaps it was frustration, not anxiety.
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The fight she had no choice but to sit on her hands and watch was rather one-sided…
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… 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.
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But the core of the Cinq Association was to be a proxy in duels, nothing more.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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W-well… I had thought that I should be contracted to duel in their stead about now…
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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It… uh. This particular client appeareth quite delayed in making a request…
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??? Interviewer
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… What?
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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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?
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??? Interviewer
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Ohh… You can't wait to duke it out with that guy, huh?
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Fie! Thou shan't speak so lightly of this matter; there is no justice to be found in battles without balance.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Yet… as a member of the Association, I cannot act in lieu of a contract…
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The child's voice crawls to a stop.
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And in her words, the interviewer senses a familiar story from long past.
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??? Interviewer
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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…
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Ahem, ahemm! Ahhem! V-verily, thou mustn't compare my present self to that naive past!
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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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!
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Clang!
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This was no less a mistake than it was when the brawler accidentally flung a household item in her direction.
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The brawler, now certain of his victory, had unsheathed his blade… and tripped on an errant piece of wood on the ground.
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Unfortunately for him, he began to fall toward the child…
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Aha, now behold mine utter impeccable poise and nonchalance in this circumstance that is, by all accounts, quite pointy!
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… and the child grabbed the sword in a practiced motion.
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??? ???
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What the— Huh?! A C-Cinq Fixer…!
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The virescent pyrojade emits a bright glow, and the blade melts like candy on a hot day.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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Now that I have thine attention— indeed I am!
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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.
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??? ???
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L-lady of the Cinq! Please, accept my contract!
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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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.
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??? ???
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I'll pay you triple as long as you can take care of that—
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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SAY NO MORE!! Consider it done! We shall discuss the matters of coin later.
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The child jumped from her seat with the look of someone who just found out that they were to receive a Christmas gift.
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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I hail from the third Section of the Cinq Association in the east!
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Cinq East Section 3 Don Quixote
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I, Don Quixote, hereupon inherit this duel!
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