Chapter 6: Chapter 6 – 203rd Friendship Scheme

Magi Project - Report No. 189

 

It has been many years since the start of the second wave of test subjects and much progress has been made. Of the 8 test subjects, four have died at some point in time due to the process, two have shown little to no results besides basic newfound understandings in some cases, one has been considered a unique anomaly or a partial success, and one, at least as we believe, is a full successful recreation.

 

Going over the deceased subjects, they are as follows: #008, #009, #011, and #013. The ones which did not die however heeded no success in any capacity outside of basic research information are as follows: #010 and #012. This leaves #007 and #014 as the only true results of this second wave, however both have their unique quirks.

 

The one which was ultimately a full recreation of the mage, as many had hoped, was Test Subject #014, created under the supervision of Dr.Shugel. At his insistence, Test Subject #014 has been given the name ‘Tanya.’

 

Test Subject #007 however has heeded strange results, causing her to be considered a partial success in a certain way. As such, the scientists came up with the name ‘Anya’ as an incomplete variation of the name ‘Tanya.’ 

 

Test Subject #007’s tests were primarily about the manipulation of manaflow through the mind in hopes of optimizing the output of mana in a person. Unfortunately, ‘Anya’ cannot cast magic, at least not conventionally. Rather, she seems to have a sort of telepathic ability to read the minds and thoughts of others. Because of this, Test Subjest #007 is being put into a new separate project to study and recreate the mind-reading process and see what else we can do with manipulating mana in the brain. Unfortunately, it seems manipulation of mana flow elsewhere is not easily possible, as shown with Test Subject #008 which perished after an attempt to manipulate mana flow through the heart.

 

Unfortunately it would appear ‘Anya’ is slow to cooperate, highly childish, and stubbornly refuses to study or train her ability. It will likely take some time before Anya is properly ready for any sort of use.

 

Test Subject #014, however, has been its own situation. #014, or ‘Tanya’, is a de facto clone of the Eleventh Goddess, otherwise known as the Devil of the Rhine and by numerous other titles. Her Magical Affinity was recognized early on and continued to develop as hoped. For the first few years, many scientists described Tanya as ‘lifeless’, ‘dull’, ‘expressionless’, and most commonly, ‘soulless.’ Tanya would obey many of our commands without much question and she didn't seem to talk more than was absolutely necessary. When we introduced the Type 95 Computation Jewel to the subject in order to test how well she could use it, a strange effect happened:

 

Suddenly, after wearing the Type 95 for the first time, her personality immediately shifted. What was once considered blind, soulless obedience turned into stubbornness and spite. Even after the Type 95 was taken away, this shift was not undone. When the Type 95 was put on other test subjects, nothing happened still. While Test Subject #007 did have a strange reaction to the Type 95, it did not affect her personality whatsoever and the Jewel was eventually given back to Tanya so further tests could be done.

 

For a while she was still cooperative, however she seemed to have a growing spite for the scientists. As of now her willingness to cooperate has only lowered; and as we’re not quite ready to begin another wave of tests, we’re forced to try and get #014 to cooperate by any means possible. If need be, disciplinary force may be used.

 

We will attempt to start another test tomorrow despite her angered threats. 

---

Plan B of Operation Strix is in effective Jeopardy. What caused Anya to decide that violence was the immediate solution is beyond me but the effects must be undone. Since Tanya managed to stop her part-way through, she got away without punishment. However, her relationship with Damian couldn’t be lower unless she had actually gone through with the punch. Luckily she hadn’t so salvaging it might be possible if she apologizes. 

 

There’s still the possibility of Tanya fulfilling the ‘Friendship Scheme’; After all, saving him from a punch may have caused him to develop some respect or favor towards Tanya, however… Even ignoring my lack of confidence in her social skills with children (her social skills with adults would be on-par with any adult, however, her methods are too mature for 6 year olds), it’s likely Damian’s view on the entire Forger family has been lowered as a result of the incident, even if his view of Tanya is more favorable than his view of her sister.

 

Then there’s the situation with the backstory Tanya made up to make the family look better. Tanya seems to understand that this family, at least to an extent, is fabricated, though I highly doubt she knows why. From her perspective I’m probably just a guy who wants to utilize the connections gained through Eden Academy or perhaps to simply be able to say that my child went to Eden. For the most part, she’d be right, though what she thinks the reason for my intentions are is likely inaccurate. Because of this fake family, the biological mother, as the made up story goes, died when Tanya and Anya were younger.

 

I don’t know who Anya and Tanya’s real parents were but Anya seems to not like thinking about it, and Tanya never seems to have a reaction when the prospect is brought up. When she made up this story about ‘Tanya Degurechaff’, I initially believed it to be made up nonsense she used to improve the Forger family’s reputation in Eden, to which I do at the very least appreciate as it helps with my plans. However, as I had Franky fabricate documents to make it appear as if her story was true and that this ‘Tanya Degurechaff’ was their mother, we met a surprising amount of resistance.

 

Apparently, whoever this Degurechaff was, she was a real person and a mage. Not only that, she was apparently the best mage in Imperial History. Of course this isn’t common knowledge. In fact, its partially classified knowledge only recently discovered after every mention of her in old Imperial documents has been replaced with ‘X’s. She was believed to have died in the Nuclear attack on the Empire, however, Tanya knowing about her would suggest she survived. When we tried to go through with the document change anyways, almost the entire Department of Magical Affairs did everything they could to stop it. However apparently, according to Franky, the head of the Department gave a green light to go through with it anyways. If I had to guess, it was probably because Sylvia is friends with the Department head.

 

Nevertheless, apparently Franky was able to see a picture of this Tanya Degurechaff and mentioned the resemblance was ‘uncanny’. If Tanya somehow knew about a mage whose existence was only recently confirmed and is still classified, and even looks very much like her, it must be that this Degurechaff was actually her mother. It explains the old Computation Jewel she carries around, it must’ve been from her mother.

 

Whatever is the case with Tanya and whatever family she had before, I need to focus on Strix, more specifically getting Anya to apologize to the Second Son of the target. If their relationship can be repaired, or at the very least put on good enough terms for Tanya to become close to him, Plan B might still be possible.

 

After sending Anya and Tanya off to school on the bus after making sure Anya knew to apologize to Damian, I headed off for ‘work’ while in reality sneaking into the School in order to watch from afar and make sure Anya fulfills her task.

---

The first day went alright aside from Anya’s attempted ‘assassination’ of Damian Desmond. While that might be an exaggeration, the force she applied in that punch was more than I was anticipating. It would appear that Yor’s training is certainly working if even Anya can punch with such power and speed. If I had the punching force that Yor has, in addition to my body enhancement, I may have been able to punch through the barriers of even some of the highest ranked mages with my bare fists.

 

Nevertheless it seems Loid is insistent on Anya apologizing to Damian, antagonizing one of the most influential kids in school probably isn’t the best choice, after all. Nevertheless it may be best I keep a slight distance away from Anya as to distinguish myself from her, so that if she ever decides to do something to attract negative attention again, I’m not dragged down with her. For now though, aside from some slight rumors, it appears that nobody really seems to know about what she did, or at least the full extent of what she tried, so for the time being her reputation was fine.

 

As I walked through the schoolyard I kept some distance from Anya, who seemed to already have a friend in Becky anyways, so I didn’t have to feel bad about leaving her alone, though I probably wouldn’t have felt too bad regardless. I looked around at the fellow students as I started to consider my course of action. These were still children of course, their friendships were often based solely on minor and seemingly random things, with only a few being made due to the influence of one’s family. Despite that, these friendships oftentimes, if nurtured correctly, could last much of their lives. If I can become friends with the right people, the heirs to some powerful factions, companies, and people, I too can be in a good and potentially powerful position.

 

Of course I need to decide who I’m aligning with. Had Anya not likely spoiled my chances, Damian would’ve been a powerful ally, however he seems to understand his own worth, and likely will only befriend those who can be of worth to him. Though the way he antagonizes those who aren’t of use to him will probably come back to harm him one of these days. Becky is the daughter of quite a rich and powerful family, however due to her friendship with Anya, befriending Becky through Anya would be an easy task. All that's left is to analyze the worth, power, and influence the families of many of these children have, and then figure out how much of it these kids will inherit once they become adults. 

 

From there I’ll build my own ‘friend group’ where I will utilize my academic skills to stand out and raise those around me to an elevated level. Therefore not only will they see me as a friend, but they’ll feel grateful and indebted to me for aiding them through any troubles in school. Eden Academy is intended to be a school for some of the smartest, however in the end these are still 6 year olds, and it will easily be at least 10 years before anything even gives me the slightest challenge, if anything in this school could give me that at all considering I’ve lived two lives already.

 

After a bit of looking I managed to find a class roster, listing all the kids in all the classes, though of course I focused on my own class. I’m not adept in recognizing the last names of powerful families, but remembering these names will make it easier in general. As expected, none of these names ring any bells until I saw one name:

 

Angela Weiss

 

It had to be a coincidence, surely? Though… Even after the Empire’s defeat, it's likely both Ostania and Westalis, being forced to downsize to a much smaller force, would seek only the best officers and soldiers to remain in the army. Weiss I personally trained to be one of the best commanders in the entire Imperial Army. There’s a good chance he had a successful career in the Ostanian military for years after the war, and if his child followed in his footsteps, he could easily be in an influential enough position to send their child to Eden Academy.

 

Even though I’m unsure exactly what Weiss has done to get their grandchild into Eden Academy, if that girl is anything like her father, I can easily shape her into a successful student and a loyal ally, especially should she have potential in a future military career. Having an ally inside the high ranks of the country’s military could prove useful.

 

Thinking about it, I realized I had shaped quite a number of the 203rd’s members into promising men, each of them with the potential to make successful careers both in and out of the military, especially in a war torn nation desperate for experienced men left over from the war. The chances of any of them having a grandchild in Eden at the same time is low, but not impossible. I looked over the list again, now looking for anyone who might be a descendant of a member of the 203rd. While I recognized some of the less impressive and ultimately unnoteworthy members of the 203rd’s last names in some of the other classes, I initially didn’t recognize any in my class until I found yet another one:

 

Matthew Neumann Bingo.

 

Though seeing that last name was quite surprising. Weiss having a family? That was almost inevitable, a successful man entering a post-war environment was bound to find a wife. I have no interest in either gender since coming into a female body, but even I can recognize that Weiss had the looks to back up his skills. Neumann on the other hand though, I’m surprised about. Perhaps it had something to do with his military experience? He was a competent soldier, but I doubted his capabilities in the romance department. Despite the jokes made by his comrades and despite his appearances, he wasn’t actually overweight, it was all actually muscle. If any member of the 203rd got fat, they would’ve faced hell, not that they could’ve considered our rationing back then.

 

Both Neumann and Weiss’ descendents were possible candidates. My position as the daughter of a mage from the great war could be used to help pull upon the honor or respect of their family and their heritage. Heck, Weiss and Neumann might actually still be alive, and I can convince the two of them to stick with me through my “mother’s” ties with them. Though, flaunting around ‘Degurechaff’ might not be the best idea.

 

Either way, neither Neumann or Weiss’ grandchildren seemed to be inherently in any position to be influential. While I don’t yet know the position their parents are in, unfortunately a military position isn’t something that is just inherited by blood, even relatives still have to have decent strategic and military skill. If I can’t entrench that into them, they may fail to be useful. Either way, I can’t take chances trying to persuade others I have a lower chance of recruiting. These first few days are when friend groups form and they are the most essential to my future. By simply aligning those I know I can win over and growing them into people destined for success, I can easily assure my own path to the top with powerful friends and allies.

 

In a way, it's like I’m recreating the 203rd. Though it's far less of a battalion and more of a trio. Aligning those already with influence would still be the better option, but I must accept the fact that someone coming from a relatively un-influential family isn’t going to properly enter their sphere of friendship, so I must forge my own.

 

Since I had spent much of the pre-class time analyzing the class roster I didn’t have time to hunt them down before class, and while I have located where the two sat, both either coincidentally or intentionally sitting next to each other, I deduced it would be better to have first contact in a time when I could talk to them without the interruption of class about to start.

 

Going through the morning classes was easy, aside from the fact everything I’m going to be taught is far below anything I would struggle with, the class was easy as it was mostly introductions and first assignments, though Anya seemed to be partially struggling with that. Perhaps she’s simply stressed with trying to find a way to apologize to Damian. That Becky kid she’s with isn’t helping her much either. Regardless I have my own goal, I’ll help Anya out if I have time, but I can’t let myself fall behind.

 

Finally it became lunch as I let Anya and Becky go out and do their own thing as I located my targets. The matter now is just how to approach them. They aren’t adults, so a formal introduction might only incite confusion and misinterpretation. Besides, if they turn out to be more on the childish side, it would be further difficult to persuade them to be my friend if I introduce myself so formally. If that’s the case then perhaps a balance could work…-

 

As my mind began to debate numerous ways to optimally approach a child with the maximum chance of success, especially considering I’ve spent the last 10 years suckering up to military officials, all of which were full grown adults, I had barely realized that my ‘targets’ had approached me first.

 

The girl stood closer, the one I had deduced was Angela Weiss, Weiss’ (suspected) granddaughter. I could still be wrong about it all, but either way, an ally is an ally, and considering the trend with my class (which me and Anya seem to be the exception to), all of the children have families of some influence. Behind the girl was a boy, Matthew Neumann, who while not having the same ‘proportions’ of his supposed grandfather, was still fairly athletic in his build despite his age.

 

The girl leaned forwards with her face lit up as she spoke, “You’re the daughter of that mage right? Our grandfathers were mages and told us a whole lot about them! They have all sorts of mage stuff from the war! What you’re wearing is a computation jewel right? I saw my grandfather’s and a few others, but I haven’t seen one like that!”

 

I was startled to see that they had approached me first, was I that incompetent at communicating with children? No, I just thought too much about it, next time I should probably just go with whatever feels right. Even the brightest, most mature children at this stage are still simple minded in truth. It doesn’t matter of course, the fact they engaged me first might turn out to be more beneficial.

 

“That’s because there’s only a few of these in existence. It’s the Elenium Type 95 Computation Jewel. My mother proved to be the only one capable of using it, so they never produced it on the same scale as the other Computation Jewels.”

 

Angela seemed in awe whereas Matthew seemed confused at the girl’s excitement, shaking his head and folding his arms while Angela continued to speak with an excited voice, “Ooh! I think my grandfather once mentioned one like that, but he never went into much detail. Oh yeah, my name is Angela Weiss, my grandfather Matheus Weiss served in the Great War under a mage battalion, the same battalion that his grandfather also served under.”

 

Matthew shook his head again and spoke, “My name is Matthew Neumann. My grandfather served under the same battalion her grandfather did. They also served together in the military afterwards. They hung out together a lot so when they both ended up having children, their children quickly became friends as well. Those children were our parents, and they even went so far as to coordinate our births so that we would likely be in the same class and could continue our families’ generational friendship. Anyways, sorry about Angela, she’s a bit of a fanatic when it comes to the Great War, especially mages. I understand her excitement, but I just can’t really find interest in a form of warfare which doesn’t even exist anymore.”

 

Angela seemed upset at his later remark, “Mages won’t be gone forever! Eventually magic will come back and I’ll serve as one of the best mages in the world!”

 

Matthew rolled his eyes, “Keep dreaming, Choco”

 

Now Angela was angry, albeit her anger seemed to be more like the anger generated from two friends bickering rather than genuine rage, “You keep mentioning the choco…”

 

Matthew looked over at me again and smirked, “Ah you don’t know what I’m talking about do you… I’ll explain why I called her ‘Choco’”

 

Angela looked more angry now, “You will not!”

 

Matthew smirked, “I’m gonna tell em’”

 

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Angela was now trying to stop him from saying anything, pulling on his arm as he pulled back, “Don’t listen to a word he says! It’s all lies!”

 

Matthew just kept grinning as he spoke regardless of Angela’s resistance, “So you see, one valentines day she didn’t know how it worked so when one kid told her to bow down with her hands out and beg for chocolate, she did it!” Matthew began to laugh at his own story, “You should’ve seen it! It was amazing. The looks on their faces too! And she kept on asking!”

 

Angela was now red with embarrassment and rage, “Matthew… the second you step off this campus… You’re dead!”

 

“Haha… Yeah I don’t doubt it. Well then, if I don’t show up tomorrow, you know why.”

 

That story that he told… Why do I feel like Weiss would do the same exact thing?

 

Angela sighed and calmed herself, the whole thing was mostly friendly bickering and one friend embarrassing another. I wasn’t proficient with communicating with immature children, but even I could recognize their dynamic. Angela again spoke, “Sorry about that. You better not mention that story to anyone.”

 

I nodded, “My lips are sealed… Choco.”

 

Matthew smirked.

 

Angela's hand was placed on her face as she sighed, “I swear to god now there’s two of them…”

 

If I want this whole situation to work optimally I must be seen as an equal member of their friendship duo, or rather their soon to be trio if I can succeed. Matching their comedic energy is essential to making them feel like I’m truly part of the group. To an extent I did that with the 203rd, though that was mostly to keep their morale high.

 

“What did you say your name was again?” Angela asked, her hand lowering from her head.

 

“My name is Tanya Forger, my biological mother as I mentioned was Tanya von Degurechaff who served in the Great War as a veteran mage.”

 

I’m not confident about whether or not I want Weiss or Neumann to know about that fact, however I had already revealed it, so there was likely no avoiding it. I’m curious if they’re still even alive. If they are, I might consider visiting them at some point, though there's no way I can tell them I somehow was reborn.

 

Either way, I’ve seemingly worked my way into being accepted as one of their friends. From what I can tell, both of them have some promise, but whether or not I’m right or wrong on that assumption remains to be seen.

 

It's a strange reincarnation of it, but the 203rd is back from the dead… For better or for worse.

---

“It doesn’t make sense.”

 

“None of it does.”

 

“In hindsight it shouldn’t have made sense from the start but…”

 

“She should’ve been dead…”

 

‘No, she WAS dead.”

 

“Tanya von Degurechaff died in that nuclear blast, all documentation of her vanished, even documents from her old orphanage were seemingly censored with ‘Xs’. Despite that… How could she have a child? How could she get married, let alone under her name. There’s no documentation of her prior to a few years ago. There’s no way Degurechaff would suddenly just appear out of thin air. There was something going on with the Forger family. Something wasn’t right, it had to be fake, untrue, forgery….”

 

“Wait… Did they really just-”

 

“Whatever… There’s something very wrong with this family. Looking at the documents at face value, nothing seems to be wrong. Even digging deeper you’d fail to find anything. If you were to stop there, like I’d imagine most in the government or in Eden would, that would be it. But dig deep enough, look in the right places, and you find it. His time in the General Staff taught him exactly where to look for this kind of information. From what he could tell, Tanya Degurechaff never married Loid Forger. She never married anyone at all. She died in that nuclear blast and vanished from history. Then suddenly documents supposedly appear from a few years back detailing her marriage. It’s all cleanly and discreetly done, it all looks authentic, but I can prove it’s not by digging in the right places.”

 

“But that still doesn’t explain her. If she was faking being Degurechaff’s daughter, that’s one thing, but it's not just that. She looks like her, she talks like her, everything about her looks and acts like a younger version of Degurechaff. That’s not something that happens by coincidence. Then there's the name… Degurechaff vanished from history, and still nobody knew her name, Even those who knew her were reluctant to say her name to any sort of historian. There’s no way someone would just know them, or randomly guess it. There are too many coincidences, and the way she looks at me. Those eyes…”

 

“They’re the eyes of a devil. A devil wearing the skin of a little girl.”

 

“Am I going mad? Am I insane? After two wars and just a few years of teaching have I finally lost my mind? Reimagining the trauma of my past, dealing with that psychopath of a mage?! I admit, near the end of the war, in my desperation I sought her help, thought she was the Empire’s last bastion of reason, but that was just that: desperation. Its just not possible… It can’t be…”

 

“No good god would let that demon have a second life.”

 

“Those insane preachers who got kicked out of the church must’ve been right…”

 

“God has left us, and he’s given that devil a second life in his place.”

 

“I need to tell the administration, someone, anyone, the government maybe, who knows what the hell that demon is. Is it actually a demon?! Nobody just comes back to life! I’ll tell someone in the school, they’ll tell me what I should do… I…”

 

Suddenly there was a knock on the door as a woman stepped in, she was old, not quite as old as me, but certainly someone who was alive during the period of the Great War. Judging by their scars and their cracked computation jewel around their neck, they were almost certainly a veteran of it too. I stood still for a few moments as the woman walked in nonchalantly. She definitely wasn’t a part of the school staff, and it amazed me how she managed to sneak in, but what confused me was why she was here.

 

The woman looked up at me and nodded her head, “General Rerugen.”

 

I looked over, staring at her straight in the one eye that seemed to still have sight, “I have not been a General for a long time, Ma’am, it would be disrespectful to continue to call me that.”

 

The woman smiled, “Yes, yes, I understand, of course. I do have a reason for meeting you today.” The woman walked a bit forwards until our backs were facing each other a few feet apart.

 

“I would be very interested to hear why you’ve come into my office at such a time. You cou;d’ve requested a conference if that is what you desire.”

 

“Apologies, my matter is urgent, I’m sure you understand. I heard you became a teacher here recently, congratulations. But I must say, be careful with where you dig your nose.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“We noticed you were looking into places where you probably shouldn’t have. I can’t blame you, of course. That child is a very interesting individual.”

 

“So you’re here about them… So tell me, just what are the-”

 

“I’m afraid I don’t have the answer to that. It’s a question we’re still figuring out ourselves. But I do believe I have the most likely answer. Regardless, I’m going to make a request of you. If it is the answer about her you seek, then you will remain silent about Degurechaff. She is my responsibility. I have already failed her once, I will not again.”

 

I hadn’t realized who it was before, but suddenly I remembered who this person might be, there was only one girl that Degurechaff was associated with, “Wait you’re-”

 

“Who I am does not matter. I believe I’ve made myself clear when I say you will go no further into the affairs of that girl. Your job is being her teacher, nothing more, nothing less. Treat her as you will any other student, and we’ll pretend nothing happened. If you try to reveal anything you shouldn’t though… We have our ways to keep you silenced. Of course, being a teacher, we’d like to avoid doing that if we can, but if you leave us no choice… then so be it. Have I made myself clear, Rerugen.”

 

I nodded, “Y-Yes. Very. I just have one request.”

 

“What is it.”

 

“If you find out what exactly she is… I want you to tell me.”

 

“I suppose I can provide that much, given you don’t say a word about it to anyone else.”

 

“I had no intention to. It would just put my mind at ease, or at least answer a question I have.”

 

“Goodnight, Rerugen.”

 

“Goodnight, Serebryakov.”

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