Charles Patricius

According to Angelica, Kazu was projecting his own weirdness onto her. She would say something like that, but the rule of majority said she stood no chance of winning now. "You're outnumbered, Ang. Give it up," Kazu insisted. Angie would learn of democracy over time. Perhaps then, Kazu would retain some facts from history class... though that was all but impossible with Saori as his teacher. How anyone with the slightest interest in women paid attention to her lectures, he didn't know. King James Stuart was between one and three people in his memory, and less of a reasonable individual in history than what Kazu as Charlemagne knew thus far. Was it even worthwhile to delve into history lessons from this world? Perhaps... but Kazu's thought process combined with Miko's words produced the idea of a healthy middle ground. "I can attest to that. It's usually better to take things in the other world as a new experience. Besides, it makes the journey more exciting if you don't have a version of the whole story already. Anyway... this one?" he asked at random, holding up a black splash-art shirt with a few pinks, whites, blues and the like in its splatter-like pattern.

Six individuals in this group were born mere hours ago, and a woman who could have been Soma's twin visually was actually his mother. Konomi had to understand this fact. She wasn't having a dream of any sort, as he'd definitely assure. "You're less in a dream now than you were working a dead-end job with no knowledge of magic. And you weren't seduced by me. The idea of trying something that should be impossible took precedence over your sensibilities. That's just human nature, and the type of being I am... feasts on that aspect. I took control a few times, but what you did was something you were going to do regardless. One room over, and you would have been caught-up with those three," Soma said while glancing in the direction of Kazuhiko, Angelica and Miko. "He was almost my father. Almost," he added. "But none of that matters. You made a decision. Now, you have to act on it. Here is your first order: Grow. By any means necessary, you are to develop more as a magical being. Which method will you choose? The choice is yours... basically."

Angelica was apparently outnumbered and she should give up on pushing weirdness onto Kazuhiko. She found herself looking at Miko to confirm this. "Gomennasai, Princess... I think we are all weird," she said with big and imploring eyes. "Hm, this won't be the end," Angelica confirmed making Miko glanced towards Kazuhiko. "You might be digging yourself a hole here Charlie," she warned as any good friend would. Whether Kazuhiko fully understood future implications or not, teaching the strength of numbers when you were on your own in the numbers game was... dangerous. The healthy middle ground about historical figures they could both agree on but for slightly different reasons, "Hai hai, I don't really like spoilers either, but I seem to have a pretty good track record so far... I am trying to maintain my streak," Miko said of her choices in historical or mythological figures. Right now, she'd managed to choose right about Charlemagne, King Solomon, Emperor Qin and Sun Wukong... as far as continuing her choices to interact with them. As for his choice in shirt, "I'm into it," Miko agreed while Angelica nodded. Given this... she could believe in her natural inclinations. While this happened there was a different kind of conversation taking place that tickled Miko's ears a bit.

Soma's understanding of life, technically made more sense knowing that he was only a few hours old. His takes on the nature of her life before were sensible for one who never had to do anything else but what they wanted to with their life. "Yeah, well... doing impulsive, impossible things is human nature. ," she said. Hearing that one dressing room over she would have ended up involved with that other group, she looked at that trio, a cute little brunette, a blonde goddess, and that brunette boy with a dazzling smile... "That doesn't sound like a bad idea..." she murmured. "Wait, no... why did I say that?" she said frowning deeply. Miko's eyes shifted towards the girl and she smiled apologetically. She understood what it was like to try and make her human brain agree with her body and soul. That brown haired male was apparently almost Soma's father, that was as weird thing to here, she found herself looking at Kaguya who smiled at her with similarly glowing red eyes. Maybe she just hadn't noticed exactly how magical this group of teens looked when they'd first entered the shop. She was given an order to grow as a magical being, while Soma spoke of her choices and how they were hers. "Uh, I've seen too much anime for you to talk to me like that. You are talking like a whole villain," she said still pinching the bridge of her nose. Given what everyone else was like, she assumed he wasn't actually a villain but he was definitely acting like one.

Angelica wouldn't be letting this matter go, and Miko believed Kazu was digging a hole for himself. No; he was doing no such thing. "Not happening, Annie. There's a pretty big hole waiting for me, but this isn't it," he said without thinking much about it. Either way, the numbers game remained in his favor as it always did. Kazuhiko, Charlemagne ─ whatever name he went by was never the name of a man operating alone. Regardless, he'd soon be dumping another shirt into his second-largest bag since both girls seemed to approve of it. He'd go on to make a personal choice by adding a pink and black piece to the collection.

All the while, Konomi was continuing to babble about... human nature. If Soma had a bit more equipment handy, he would have already proved multiple points and made some great progress. "It's more than that. It's tied to humanity's ability to evolve beyond all perceived limitations. That was one of the first things I learned before I emerged," he said. Upon looking at the trio who sullied the dressing room right next to them in the previous shop, Konomi finally came out with the truth previously unspoken without prompting. Of course, she then wondered aloud why she'd even mentioned that. Soma had another answer. "You said it because you meant it. The way things are, you're going to have sex with at least one or two of them ─ maybe at the same time. But, you knew the possibility of that before we got here," Soma stated, recalling the random outburst of Kazuhiko upon the woman's arrival. As for the villainesque approach of Soma's previous claim, he had a response that connected directly to the 'truth' Konomi accidentally spewed. "It's the truth. Choice is an illusion. No matter what path you take from here, you'll reach the same end. You're going to be my ultimate mage, and there's going to be a lot more of what you felt earlier, because your soul has already decided it's a necessity. Go; find the one in charge of this group and figure out what you need. I'm about to be busy. You know where to find me when you're ready to report."

According to Kazuhiko he wasn't digging himself a hole, there was another one waiting for him but this wasn't it. Perhaps he was right or perhaps... he would find out what it was like to be properly outnumbered at some point... whatever the case, Miko could only shrug. "If you say so..." she said. Though Miko thought he didn't really know the problematic nature of a group of women with logic and your own words on their side. The shirts being chosen were ones which Miko and Angelica both enjoyed as he picked them another thing would be happening pretty soon.

Konomi was being given weird logic which was far outside of her normal understanding, from a relative infant with an apparently magical beginning. "Not going to point out that evolution of individuals is weird. I can kind of use anime logic to justify that... I was a kid once," she murmured. Ah and more answers were present. She'd said what had fallen out of her mouth simply because she meant it? Well, maybe a little but she wanted to say she had more self-control than that. "I'm pretty sure I'm straight," that was the part she settled on, given her own downfall this day she wasn't sure she would say anything else. She wasn't planning on having sex with anyone today, she wasn't a prude but it'd not been part of her day. She definitely wasn't committing to a threesome with a guy she'd barely had a conversation with nor was she trying to put herself out there like that. Well, that much made her normal she was sure. What was more Soma claimed she was to be his ultimate mage and choice was an illusion as she'd already chosen a path. That sounded ominous, but there was at least time to think. "Uh... I... am going to go talk to some humans," she said walking away. If nothing else, she figured if she needed to, she'd find Soma in a dressing room trying to have more sex in public for reasons she didn't understand. For now she was walking over to Kazuhiko and the two young women he was with and looking between the two brunettes of the group with minor confusion. "Sorry to interrupt," she started in a casually respectful manner. "Is this like an MOD/Supervisor combo, or like is one of you absolutely in charge? I need someone to explain this magical stuff to me in a way that isn't going to make my head explode, including how evolution works, and why Asakura-kun thinks I will be his ultimate mage. Also I keep having crazily invasive thoughts, so like I apologize ahead of time for anything weird that falls out of my mouth in the next few moments," she said laying out the whole of her current issues. To Miko this sounded oddly familiar but while she was in charge of the shopping trip, she wasn't in charge of the group. Angelica took a look at this girl with a raised eyebrow, were all people from this place this weirdly polite and so apologetic over nothing? "Hm, I hadn't thought of this situation like that but it's an accurate human approximation of the dynamic," she mused.

Soma also believed using the logic of anime and the like would help Konomi's situation. As for her situation on a more personal level, the notion of being 'straight' was presented. Soma shrugged, thinking that sort of specification was completely irrelevant for numerous reasons. "Then be straight. That changes nothing about what I just said," he claimed. Konomi would have to find out the truth somehow; his advice was simply to do so from someone else. She agreed to do so, claiming she was off to talk with some humans... as if anyone in that direction could be counted as such. "Good luck with that," Soma said as if he knew something more. Whatever the case, he expected a return relatively soon. Emirie and Anya had been shopping for some time now, so he turned toward the last place he'd seen the pair.

Moments later, Konomi was approaching the trio as Kazu stuffed another shirt into his bag. "Not too sure about this one, but... eh?" His thought process came to a halt as another voice entered the fray. Their newest addition from the previous stop was seeking the attention of their leader, was she? He didn't really catch the notion of managers and supervisors in their functional system, but he knew one thing for sure: he didn't want either title. "It's her," he said, pointing one finger at Angelica. Soon after, he heard the blue-haired woman's reason for the initial question. It seemed she hadn't been given the proper introduction to their strange version of life. "Oh. Is that all? Nexus brain might come in handy then. I can give you the rundown of that, easy. Don't actually take Angie's advice; she's weird. What do you have for starters on magic mumbo jumbo?"

According to this man, her being straight changed nothing about what he'd just said. Did he not know the meaning of the term? Two of the three people she was being pointed in the direction of were women... there was no way she was having sex with multiple members of this group while having a fixed sexuality. A sigh escaped her but it wasn't worth arguing as she was wished luck she held her hand up in the air and waved as she headed over to the group. At the same time, Anya and Emirie were looking at accessories. Wallets with chains, belts and other such items to spruce up the wardrobe already assembled. They had sweats, jeans, and even cargo pants for the young man along with a package of maroon colored A-shirts, and an over the shoulder backpack, they were placing items into. Anya for her part in this was pulling on Emirie's shoulder as she could hear the wandering mind of Konomi going elsewhere and knew that Soma was now unoccupied. Emirie cut her eyes to the smaller girl when she was tapped but fully acknowledged the movements of Soma. "Asakura-kun, welcome back," she said as she looked up to a beaming Anya.

Meanwhile, Konomi was now meeting with the group which had humans present by her own approximation. "I think it's got a moment, maybe you just haven't gotten to it yet," Miko said of that shirt choice. She didn't actually think anything would look bad on Kazuhiko at all, Angelica was in much the same boat, but soon they were being approached by the blue haired girl from the lingerie shop. Here and now, she was looking for the leader and comparing it to something called an MOD. "What is an MOD?" Angelica asked. Which Koonomi's eyes widen. When it was pointed out that this one was the leader, she simply shook her head in disbelief. It was soon cleared up though and she was advised not to take the words of 'Angie' as she was being called. "I am not weird!" Angelica mentioned. "I am also not in charge though... so whatever," she said turning up her nose. "Yeah, I am going to skip past that part, because I definitely assume the person in charge is one or both of you... " she said pointing between Miko and Kazuhiko. Still since Kazuhiko had offered her information she'd see what she could total up her understanding to, "Magic exists and I am supposed to accept that. That kids who are physically only a couple of years younger than me physically were born this morning... and I can apparently evolve magically whatever that means," she said immediately pinching the bridge of her nose. "In all honesty I am still just trying to wrap my head around the fact that I impulsively quit my job today and I am a college student tossed into some weird reverse isekai situation," she said. All the while Miko had taken to listening to this girl, she understood how she felt, she'd felt much the same way even in her other form a short while ago, she'd see how far the conversation got into magic, and explain the fun aspects of this new life from the girl's perspective when the timing was right.

Once Konomi separated herself from him, Soma had plenty of attention to share with Anya and Emirie. The latter female being his most recent acquisition was particularly worth keeping tabs on, as it seemed she was shifting toward a new understanding. He had a glance at the items they'd chosen and bagged for him, not disapproving of anything he could see thus far. "You two have been busy enough, unless one of you plans to become busier," he said coyly, eyes shifting toward Emirie specifically. Soma could somewhat feel the results of his earlier session with Chika, and had taken to wondering what a more directly-formed connection would be like. "Either way, I'll take the bag. It's time to try things on," he concluded, an air of mystique in his tone that would make his intentions clear to mind-readers and sharp-witted individuals alike.

If Kazuhiko ever wanted to assign Angelica a position of power in this world, it wasn't likely to work. It had taken only seconds for her to question a human phrase, discrediting Kazu's claim immediately. "Right. Never gonna work. M.O.D. is an acronym for manager on duty. It's the person in charge of a work shift," he explained quickly. "And yes you are," he added for Angelica's sake. Moving on, he did intend to be helpful to someone else randomly thrown into this magical reality. While waiting for Konomi's full explanation of her understanding thus far, Kazu gestured toward a rest bench that he proceeded to sit upon, gesturing for the woman to join him. He didn't think it strange that she thought Miko was in charge initially, but did find strangeness in her assumption that he was; he did try to avoid that.

Regardless, Konomi alleged a very basic understanding of what was going on. He could work with that. "Sou ka. Alright. Magic does exist. It's pretty jarring, I know, but... if you're this far, you've already got reason to believe, right? Keep that belief for now. You're not weird for freaking out about it, though ─ trust me. It feels like such a dream at first, but you've got the light end of it. You know that franchise Age of Eternity by Industrial Illusions? There's a parallel world out there somewhere, and a lot of people fell right into the isekai life over there. Life is long, there's magic instead of technology, and you might even find yourself being a historical figure with a whole different perspective. The most confusing part might be the grown children though, huh? Well..." Kazu took a long pause, sighing deeply before continuing. "That part's really new to most of us too. The way people work in the magical way is how we, from this world, would see characters in a game ─ not just video games, but card games, tabletops, the whole shebang. Those kids are all so old because... well, they were born in their primes. Souls and mana are everything. You put a lot in, you get a lot out is basically how that part works. As for the evolution thing... that's where the game mechanics come in. Apparently you can make a kid or another version of yourself, like making a character, as long as you've got enough stuff to work with. Making sense so far? Interim questions?"

The appearance of Soma near Emirie and Anya was exciting for the youngest of the group and something expected by Emirie herself. The coy statement of Soma hadn't gone unnoticed either, but Emirie wasn't exactly the kind of bite at such a provocation. No, her standards were a bit different at present, and based in logic. "You and I both know that we are far too magical for you to nudge me towards completion with timing like this," she stated clearly. "Also I've figured out what is going on with this one," she said pointing at Anya. "She's an interesting choice, but likely a great long term investment..." Emirie mentioned aloud. While Anya's eyes widened immediately as she realized that her older sister had figured out she could read minds. "Whoa!" Anya said looking between the two. Both of them had very complex minds, ones she wouldn't purposefully try to read, but she'd not picked up on Emirie figuring out how her abilities worked.

Passing Angelica off as the leader of this group would have never worked, she was also a bit too out of normal experiences to pass as human. Even someone like Konomi realized that in an instant given that she didn't know what an MOD was. According to Kazuhiko, Angelica was weird, but she got an explanation. "I've never managed anything before, but that doesn't mean I couldn't be good at it," she said turning her nose up in the air. Of course she felt that way... but that would only cement for Konomi the oddity of that individual. "And just like that, next outing organization on you, Princess~" Miko said firmly. In all honesty she found being in charge a bit stressful, but found the alternative to be more stressful. Oh well, Konomi was busy getting a crash course in magical world mumbo jumbo.

"Finally someone is talking sense," she said the pressure between her eyes finally relieving. Ah, there was magic, and another world based on that game AoE which everyone in this world was playing right now. Well, except for her but she was busy with work and school. Making characters, powering up, gaming logic, all things she could get behind and understand. He even explained why babies were born at such a ridiculous age, and the isekai scenario. "Okay, okay... I get this... i think. But you said long life? Like how long? And like this other world, like what's that like besides the magic not tech? Asakura-kun seems to think I'd make a good mage, that does sound fun but like that's the kind of thing you give up on once you become a teenager to avoid being weird. I haven't thought about it much until now..." she asked wondering about the specifics. Beyond that point, putting a lot in, getting a lot out, made more than reasonable sense. She could understand this logic and be able to work with it.

"Ho?" Soma replied when Emirie presented her logic. There may have been some sense to her thought process ─ he assumed there was. On the other hand, Soma had yet to be entirely forthcoming about what he brought tot he table. Perhaps a casual mention of something would lead to more thought. First though, Emirie revealed her discovery about Anya. A sly grin appeared on Soma's face in that moment. "Commanding the strongest requires a lot of care. Power of any sort can come with, or from, ambition. Clashing ambitions and different beliefs bring treachery. I intend to cover all my bases," he stated. Holding a hand out to receive his bag of clothes, Soma blurted out the notion he'd been holding since Emirie's earlier clause. "By the way... my type is Synergist ─ Class Talker," he whispered.

Miko thought it best to put Angelica in charge of their next outing. Though he believed it would be absolute chaos incarnate, Kazuhiko agreed simply because he thought Angelica would enjoy the freedom. "That'll be a wild adventure. Dibs on helmsman," he said swiftly. As for Konomi's understanding of things, it seemed she'd finally located some sense. Kazu understood exactly where she was coming from. She did have questions, though. That was fine; he had answers aplenty. He'd start by addressing the length of a life. "It varies, but it's usually a lot longer than lives here. I've been around for over a thousand years. That's another thing determined by soul strength and all that. As for the magic without tech... well, it's not too different depending on how you look at it. You won't see cars, but you will see carriages moved by horse-sized chickens. Instead of a supercar, you'll probably see someone riding a Pegasus or a Hippogriff ─ or using teleportation devices. The world itself isn't too different. Before we left, we were basically walking around in the magical version of old Kyoto. The weird thing is, you'll see a lot of places really scattered. Like... three different parts of Japan, but in three different corners of the world," he explained. "And yeah, you'd probably make an awesome mage. There's a thing that's always been said about witches and hair. Besides that... there's the part people from here aren't so comfortable with right away. Remember earlier when you bent over, and I was all like 'Woah!'?"

Emirie knew her logic was sound, though not the aggressive awaking version of a consciousness that Soma had been, she'd been with her mother for a couple of days. She knew the magical implications of sex between two existences that were closer to even than not. She also mentally had some understanding the fun of the situation and as such she knew that a quick romp in a dressing room wasn't the sort of thing she was going for. If a connection of the sort he spoke about was being established it would be done in the way that Emirie found most beneficial to her own potential. Still, she handed this young man his bag and smiled as he reached for it. Emirie's understanding of Anya's powers was apparently appreciated, maybe... Anya couldn't be sure she looked to Soma for a surface level reaction, wondering if there was something there. At the same time, Soma spoke of covering his bases, "Hai, wakarimashita. Honestly, I don't think many would expect that outcome," Emirie agreed. The ambitions of many were his concern, after all, he'd asked her about her own. She also was given more information, about the classing and type of Soma. Such information was to be shared, she'd yet to determine those things for herself, but she was sure he realized that already. "Sou ka," she said to those whispered words. There were several implications of that combination of class and type. There was a high likelihood of them not coming with built in physicality and instead higher end mental and magical abilities. Though many of those sorts of things could be worked around by various other things. It gave her a lot to consider. Especially given his desire to have her along his his adventure.

Meanwhile, Angelica had basically just volunteered herself to be in charge and Kazuhiko wanted to be part of that overall head of the group in the next situation. Miko raised her hands and grinned. "Hai hai... I will gladly just be one of the crowd in such a situation," Miko said while Angelica turned her nose up. "It'll be great, you'll see!" she said not faltering at all from the potential challenge. Being student council president she'd gotten used to be in charge of her friends. With them present, she'd fallen back into that sort of organization but she'd be happy to see the chaos of a shut-in making group decisions. Meanwhile, Konomi was getting a crash course in isekai life. She was gawking, the brown haired lad had been alive for over a thousand years according to his words and she had no reason to think he was a liar. Apparently magic did wonderful things for you. Magic without technology lead to some interesting comparisons. Instead of super cars he claimed special magical beasts would be ridden by those who could afford them, presumably by the magic or other necessary skill cost. "Actually, that is a really good comparison. I actually rode in a supercar for the first time the other day and it's like a like a hippogriff," she murmured, having had a ride on two fronts before. With the general geography of the place being spread out by a lot but some places still seeming familiar Konomi could at least understand the comparisons. "Okay, I can work with that, kids born at prime. Strong magical bodies stopped around there... that seems useful. It's manageable as expectations. I could live a long time, see some random magical beasts... and see places like home that aren't exactly that, anime style scenarios are easy enough to understand," she mused making sense of things after that first explanation.

Beyond that point she'd apparently make a good mage, because of her hair. Soma had said something similiar but given he was only born today she figured it had to be left over magical world information or something. Witches and their hair were mentioned and she supposed even this world had some understanding of that sort of thing if media was to be believed that. "Okay, I can work with that I guess..." she said there was a certain comfort that came from the idea of actually being able to live up to expectations. He mentioned his earlier outburst and paired it with the idea that something was coming that she wouldn't be comfortable with, she looked at him directly clever enough to assume it had something to do with what Soma was saying about mana and all of that so she'd keep her ears open. "Hai, i do remember that," she mentioned almost skeptically.