Growth is Inevitable [Alastair, Sophie]

"Ma'am. Preparations are almost complete for demolition. By your calculations we should be able to have the block restructured and expanded by the end of the day with the team, are you sure about Holtn though? His scores for his reishi construction were quite low. I do not understand the process for selecting him for this task."

Sophie looked up from the paperwork in her hand to give her attention to her subordinate, she was not a harsh administrator. Far from it, really. She appreciated when people spoke their mind, even if it did question her logic. A lack of willingness to accept criticism was the end of critical thought, after all.

"Correct, Domino. I am quite sure, you are focusing too much on the negative criticism he received. Holtn's skills at construction from nothing were subpar, if you look in the next paragraph more closely it emphisises his abilities working with already established materials. He is not intended to be using the raw reishi, I am intending for him to utilise his skills after the others have created the basics."

"Ah, I see."

He was a little sheepish at his getting caught up in the idea that Sophie had intended to select a group of people that excelled at all fields. She did not follow that idea though, a cohesive team like the one she had assembled for this administrative matter of work was very much intending to play off their specialties.

"It's okay. Oh, that reminds me. Did you remember to inform Eisfluch of the Sternritter I wished to meet with him?"

"Yes. About what?"

"Not relevant for you, Domino."

He nodded, she was fairly transparent as a person but when she said something wasn't important for someone to know her second in command was good about listening to her. In hindsight, it was pretty hypocritical to expect that when she had a problematic curiousity when she wasn't an administrator. Funny.

Turning her attention away from Domino and back to assessing the empty district of the Vandenreich headquarters. The organisation had grown since the city was made, it was essential that the city grow to accomodate it. Hence why someone that could manage resources and manpower within the beaurocratic sector was perfectly fit for the role.

She tilted her head to the side and stretched, she was tired. It could hardly be good for her complexion and looks with all the time she spent working. She didn't want to look like an old hag when she reached her thirties at this rate. She ougbt to take care of her skin more as well.

Oh right, he was here now. Sophie waited for him to actually arrive while waving her hand to tell Domino to continue with the demolition, it was important they don't delay if she wanted to see the work done by the end of the day. A whole week of planning had been put into the project to make it viable.

"Oh, hello Mr. Eisfluch. How do you do today?"

Her greeting was chirpy while she sipped another mouthful of coffee, white and sweet, just how she liked it. Sophie was by no means uptight or too professional. It was when it needed to be that she was.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"Mhm. It's quite nice for a day."

Still as chirpy as she was with the greeting, Sophie carried it towards the day. When things were going in a way she liked to see how could she complain?

She gestured to a seat opposite of her while grabbing a cup out of her desk and make the coffee to his request. It wouldn't be any trouble to get a subordinate to do it and bring it in but to her own little quirk she had offered the coffee and therefore she would make said coffee. It was both a matter of her own nature to view things that way and also that it spared wasting her own resources to bother someone else doing it for her.

A bottle of water on her desk being poured in to fill the glass and mixed application of her own reishi manipulation and familial trait to heat up the liquid until it was nice and hot. It would've been more effort if he asked for white coffee, black was easy.

"Right. All settled in? I'm not keeping you from something am I?"

"Eheheahaha."

She started giggling before it broke out into laughter, it wasn't making fun of him. It just was really charming, cute even that he jumped to the conclusion of her request to meet with her meant she wanted something from him. She had to wonder if it was a hint towards a more cynical side to him. He did look like he might be gloomy in the right circumstances.

"I'm sorry, I guess it might've looked like I had intended to drag you to me for some request, order or favour. Please take it easy knowing it is not the case rather that I am only calling you here to appraise you of some circumstances that have arisen."

Sophie took another sip of coffee to settle herself and pluck her more professional attitude back from the small amusement she had found in the situation.

"Anyway, as of recently we have noticed some resources missing. Particularly soul synthesised silver which is important for the construction of... Nevermind, you know if you do and it's not relevant anyway, back to my point. It has become apparent our numbers aren't adding up, this was traced back to your section and evidence was found that put suspicion on you."

The Administrator took another sip while waiting for his reaction, she wasn't a sadist to leave him stewing for a moment out of wanting to see if he reacted or not. Just a curious cat.

"Of course, before Todgestalten intervened and much to a certain coordinator's dismay at my nosey nature I stuck my nose into the investigation and provided evidence to suggest you were a scapegoat. They are pursuing other leads now and I have no more reason to be involved, though it is my nature to like to know where our resources are going."

She let it all sink in while sipping again. Gosh, she was such a pain for arrogant people who didn't like a nosey girl with her position, it's not like her Grandmaster can get upset though if she is ensuring results though and sparing innocent people misfortune. Now that she thought about it, Cyrus had personally recruited this man. Hadn't he?

All the more to ponder while sipping her coffee.

There it was and he spluttered his coffee. Well, she supposed it was only appropriate that he would get taken aback at such news.

"Oh dear, you've got coffee on your uniform. Here."

She muttered an incantation to herself while casting her spell. It was like bringing a gun to a sword fight though, usage of Reinwelt for something as simple as cleaning a stain from someone's clothes was an unnecessary usage of advanced spells when she had created it for far greater means. It didn't matter to her though.

"No you're not, why would I expect you to be in my debt? You know, when you share a name with my brother and his hair I didn't expect you to say something so similar to him too. Hehe."

Still as carefree as she had started, Sophie found it endearingly cute that he jumped to that conclusion. She didn't intend to hold a favour over him like some great curse or anything, that did beg the question of why. People did tend to only do things like this because they wanted something in return.

"Why? I guess I just don't like it when things are don't wrong. Sure, I could've done nothing and let them take you in but an ignorant scapegoat would only muddy the waters even more. It's hardly the first time something like this has happened. Resources have a habit of disappearing every now and again, it's quite a bother."

The whole thing was said nonchalantly, did she want to explain her methods? It was something she wondered while taking another sip.

"Well, if you really are so interested. Our little coordinator whom doesn't require to be named for the sake of his own pride is very triggerhappy. Traces of Soul-Made Silver were found in your quarters but it is peculiar that your section which has nothing to do with transport of precious goods would manifest some of this material. The quantites itself weren't anything particularly special either, compared to what went missing that is... and sure enough, a greater lead did appear when that focus was shifted to other sections within the Sternritter. It's a pretty shoddy of a framing job, in my opinion. You were too disconnected to reasonably manifest some of this evidence in a manner which made sense."

She had assumed he was picked because of some petty attempt to get back at him for something. Maybe he just annoyed someone for whatever reason. It didn't matter, she had washed her hands of it and could now could let people who were actually relevant to the matter pursue it.