The Basilica: The Office of the Isran Inquisition

Moving through the Basilica at his usual hurried jog, Ito skidded to a halt as he nearly ran past his destination. The Office of the Isran Inquisition. This was his first time bringing reports here, most of them went to Naoki but they’d been short on staff and Ito had decided he’d pick up the slack. It was just asking a few extra questions to his normal stops, so it hadn’t been that much trouble. He also had a feeling his regulars would rather him be the one to ask the questions than have some black-robed Inquisitor show up.

People in Port Argentium weren’t necessarily scared of the Inquisitors, but they certainly weren’t a welcome sight. Ito himself wasn’t all that familiar with the ones here in Port Argentium. He knew back in Old Isra they supposedly served to weed out government corruption but he never liked how cozy they were with the Imperial Vizier. Ito had never liked that old hag and had avoided his magic lessons with her as much as possible until his mother finally relented and let him out of them.

Fortunately, all of that was in the past. He was just here to deliver some paperwork… And perhaps nose around. Opening the door to the office cautiously, Ito entered glancing around the building's interior suspiciously. His attention was quickly drawn to the rather large dog right by the door which he prompt offered several pets and pats to before getting down to business.

“I’m here to deliver some information on the productivity of various businesses. I picked up a shift because one of the Inquisitors was out sick.” Ears swiveling as he looked around, Ito pre-emptively unattached two waterproof scroll tubes from his belt. Bouncing them up and down in one hand idly, Ito wondered just what sort of Inquisitor he'd be dealing with today. 

Turning his full attention to Mirela as the woman offered to take the reports, Ito handed them over without complaint. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen this woman around before, he certainly didn’t know her name. He should probably find that out, good to know stuff like that. Given his lack of reaction to her moment of hesitation, it seemed Ito was oblivious to Mirela’s momentary slip-up. Either that or Ito simply wasn’t one to sweat the small stuff.

“Well, everyone needs to do something to keep busy. I know I’d go stir crazy otherwise, Naoki’s son or not.” Pausing to inspect Mirela’s face and especially scars more closely, Ito felt a hint of sadness for the woman. She tried to put on a good face with that smile but having to live with such injuries… He could just tell the smile wasn’t fully genuine. He couldn’t blame her. It must be painful. Considering his own scared wrist, Ito could sympathize to some degree. Although his weren’t nearly as debilitating as the loss of one eye.

“I’m always happy to help out where needed. And I definitely agree about the businesses! If we don’t keep on top of things they won’t get the right stuff they need to keep operating properly. It’s one of the struggles with having Mother run things top down like this, but hopefully, we can get back to normal in a few years…” Ito didn’t know about others, but he certainly would prefer to be able to go back to using coins again to buy things. He knew right now it wasn’t feasible, but neither would the amount of micromanagement needed as the colony grew in size. Not in his estimations at least.

Ear twitching slightly at the mention of the Imperial Vizier, Ito’s expression grew to one those accustomed to him rarely saw. A scowl. “Oh, you mean Grandma… Even Mother doesn’t go by Empress anymore, so I don’t think she’s the Imperial Vizier either.” Brow furrowing, Ito clicked his tongue. “You all seem like you're probably fine folks here at the Inquisition… But I never liked Grandma. She always has an ulterior motive. Not like she has one mostly. Like all the time. I just can't trust someone like that.” Tail flicking back and forth, Ito glanced back down at the dog and offered it a reassuring pat on the head.

“I appreciate the invitation to join, but sorry I wouldn’t want to be working somewhere Grandma has such a heavy hand in. You folks here certainly have a good sense of humor though. I like the name of your dog!” Chuckling Ito continued to pat the dog on the head while emphatically saying “who’s a good cat!” to it, apparently for the sole reason of amusing himself.

“Oh and I meant to ask, I never got your name Inquisitor..?” Ito’s amber eyes stared up curiously at Mirela as he remained crouched on the ground to better pet the office mascot.

An Empress will always be an Empress, no matter what she goes by.

Expression turning to one of confusion, Ito stared at Mirela as if she’d just sprouted two heads. While he understood the sentiment of the statement, surely the Inquisitors of all people didn’t work under such strange logic as this. She'd brought his mother into this to defend Grandma still being the Imperial Vizier… But Ito wholeheartedly disagreed with this explanation! That old hag had been living who knows how long and no doubt went by plenty of titles and even names for that matter. What purpose was there to call people something that didn’t accurately describe their current position? Ito thought creepy old thug would be a better descriptor of her. The Inquisitors definitely wouldn’t appreciate that comment so he’d keep that one to himself.

“I personally think it’s important for titles to describe reality. I’d say my mother agrees with me, hence why she goes by Lady Naoki now instead of Empress. Using them without care devalues them.” Rising from the ground, Ito crossed his arms, a slightly defiant spark in his eyes. “Don’t misunderstand me, Inquisitor Thorne, I don’t doubt my mother’s judgment. I have no doubts Grandma is effective at her role. However, the skills for running the Inquisition and gods know whatever else she does for my mother, well… Let’s say they don’t necessarily overlap with being a person I have any interest in being on friendly terms with.”

Perhaps he was being too hard on Inquisitor Thorne. She was just trying to do her job, defending her employer. Yet it still didn’t sit quite right with Ito. As a direct subordinate to Grandma surely this woman had picked up on the incredibly strange vibes she gave off! Maybe she was scared to say anything negative about her in an open office environment like this? That could be it! Perhaps he’d ask her about this if he ever ran into her at the Buzzed Bee.

“Ah, so that’s why it’s named that!” It seemed even those who were sticklers for the rules had some circumstances in which they would bend them. “To be perfectly honest, I can’t say I really use such tricks. When I was younger I was quite the nightmare for my tutors, but skipping class is hardly a “bureaucratic” trick. And as for when I was a bit older, well I commanded my own unit for overseas operations. Our missions were always far from home and given the covert nature of them I was fortunately free of most normal bureaucratic drivel.” While the nature of such missions had previously been a closely guarded secret, given the current circumstances, Ito didn’t mind bringing them up in small talk. He didn’t really plan to return to that line of work anyway, he liked the low-stress day-to-day of Port Argentium.

Extending a hand, Ito accepted Mirela’s handshake offering her a firm one in return. Judging by the calluses on his hand, Mirela would easily be able to tell Ito used some type of sword and given her familiarity with them, even perhaps deduce it was some manner of scimitar.

“I hope my words about Grandma didn’t make you too uncomfortable, Mirela.” Ito’s voice took on a slightly conciliatory tone as he offered her a half smile. “It must be a difficult job running the day-to-day here at the Inquisitor’s office. If you ever need anyone to talk to I’m always open to meeting up at the Buzzed Bee for a drink. I know given your position lots of folks are a bit on edge around you, which isn’t always fair to you. You're a person too.” Everyone needed someone to talk to, and Ito was beginning to feel a bit bad for Mirela. Working for Grandma sounded like a nightmare and working at an office as misunderstood as the Inquisition must be a thankless job.