Esper Story: Long Mian

*ROAR*

Such a beautiful attack posture... wonderful.

Beautiful, truly beautiful, a fine object for my collection.

Bring it back for my collection. We can finish for today.

Yes sir, captain. Yes sir.

And be careful when moving it! I don't want it bumping into anything, particularly on the stairs.

Yes sir, we'll make sure of it!

At last I can finally savor the fruits of my labor. I trust they're all still in mint condition.

Jacob? What are you doing here?

......

Jacob!!!

Eh? Oh, Long Mian, you're back...

Unless I'm very much mistaken, this is my collection room, not your bedroom.

Long Mian, please! I'm sorry, I was just looking for a good place to rest. I haven't touched any of your stuff.

When did you get in here?

I, uh, heard someone was trying to assign me a mission this afternoon and I basically didn't want it.

So I took the opportunity of sleeping here when your subordinate opened the door for that Miramon.

You're rather light-footed, aren't you? Apart from me, no one else dares come near my collection room.

I'd never thought that someone would want to sleep so badly that they would seek out the darkest corners of this room.

Uh... I only came in because I know how much everyone tries to avoid the place.

I just wanted to sleep here for a little while. I didn't count on them locking the door behind me.

Then I realized what a comfortable, quiet place this is for a nap.

Comfortable and quiet?

Yeah! It has to be in my top three places for the occasional snooze for sure!

......

*Cough*... Alright then. Even so, you can't treat it as your own private bedroom.

Sorry...

I'll let you off easy as this is your first offense.

But you may find yourself in the close company of that Miramon for far longer than you had anticipated if there is another.

Oh... You wouldn't dare.

You think you can threaten me?

That snake behind you would make a beautiful specimen for my collection.

!!!

Espers are still just humans. How can I be as interesting as a Miramon?

Miramon are the purest encapsulation of the Miracles' powers, they're its... products.

They're its artworks.

Yes, artworks! And so I hardly think that you would want to freeze and display me as well.

......

Have you seen Jacob anywhere recently?

No. Why?

I just have no idea where he is, and I've searched the whole complex from top to bottom!

!!!

I knew it. Jacob...

(I take it he really does love this place...)

Oh well... It's rare to find anyone else who can appreciate these magnificent works of art...

Good day, Long Mian, sir.

Hello.

Have you seen Mr. Jacob around here by chance?

No...

Another thing, please don't snore so loudly around here. We've received complaints.

(It's unbelievably hot... I wouldn't put myself through this torture if we didn't need that extra specimen.)

(Hopefully, I can add a few more beautiful Miramon today...)

!!!

What an exciting variant. A desert Miramon. Excellent!

Hah! No one is going to beat my Miramon kill count today!

......

Freddy, that was mine.

Ha! I didn't see your name on it! If it really was yours, why did you go so slow?

Go to the other side of the city. Don't get in my way when I'm collecting specimens.

Who do you think you're talking to? There are more Miramon here. Why don't you go over that way? You wanna fight over it?

Ha.

(I've never gone on mission with this one before... I didn't take him for this much of a fighter...)

(This heat is doing me no favors. We've got to finish this up soon...)

Alright, Freddy. You win.

Haha! So you admit it! I'm stronger.

You're stronger. I admit it.

But, anyway, I've finally figured out why you never seem to wipe out as many Miramon as I can.

???

Do you remember how many Miramon we each defeated? How many did you defeat?

About 20.

No, 24.

What? No! I kept count.

I was with you the whole time. You moved whenever I was going for it. I don't forget a thing like that.

Hey, so how many do you think it was?

Eh? Boss, I can't quite remember, I think it was... 24...?

But, boss... why do I have 22?

That's why you're not number one.

I remember! Because I encase each Miramon in ice, which gives me a clear final tally.

(Something's going on here... but I guess it make sense.)

Mm. Okay. How about we try a different method?

Let's lock these Miramon off into their own pen and then wipe them out after we've done a tally.

Boss, how are we supposed to pen them in? We're not Long Mian, we can't just freeze them.

Easy. Dig a hole.

Let me count them... Two, four, six...

Boss, we've got 36 here!

You're incredible, boss! 36 Miramon in just one hour!

Ha ha ha! I am the best.

(There's no way you could've trapped that many without me secretly helping you...)

What do you think?

Hey, Long Mian, it's not bad. I gotta give you that.

Thank you, Long Mian?

Ah, of course! Or... Shall I give you a few of them?

Thank you.

(This saves me from dealing with the rest of the Miramon and I still get my hands on these elegant samples. Not bad.)

These five.

Boss, aren't you gonna stop Long Mian from taking our Miramon?

Don't be so short-sighted.

No one's going to question who kills the most Miramon now!

What do I care for five measly Miramon? Just give them to him. He can have 'em.

You're so smart, boss!

And... he was pretty polite about it too. Those were the worst of the lot.

He's a good guy, this Long Mian.

Don't just sit there when they come, okay? We're here to negotiate and form an alliance.

Instead of worrying about me, why don't you try reining in that famous temper of yours?

......

This heat is unbearable! And, to top it all off, they gave us hot tea!

I'll order some takeaway. What do you want?

No need. I'm fine.

!!!

Where did you get those ice cubes? ...I didn't realize you could do that.

From my powers, of course.

Uh... Are they clean? Can I just eat them directly?

What are you implying?

The ice is obviously as clean as you could possibly get. But, if you feel otherwise, you're welcome to avoid them.

That's not what I meant! If you choose to misinterpret everything I say, then you can talk to yourself.

Long Mian, Long Mian, I finally found you!

Yes, what's going on?

Long Mian, can you make ice cubes in different shapes?

Why do you want to know?

I'm just curious about the limits of your ice cube-making powers.

I've seen you freezing large Miramon, but that was just you cooling down something that already exists.

You conjured up some ice cubes yesterday, yes, but they were just normal-sized.

Normal-sized?

Easy.

They're beautiful!

Please. I'm eating.

Just a second. I have one more question!

You're not a researcher. What's with all the questions?

Please. Last question.

......

How many of these sculptures can you create at one time?

As many as I want.

I believe I've answered all your queries. That will be all.

Alright. No more questions!

Shaved ice Miramon! Shaved ice Miramon! Don't miss out!

This is great, Bonnie! Another please.

Bonnie, what's going on?

Oh, Long Mian! Please, try one of my new Miramon snow cones. For you, it's free.

I didn't come here to eat, I came to ask you what you're doing with my sculptures?

Is that why you asked me those strange questions?

Don't get worked up! It took a lot of work.

I made models out of all your sculptures and then prepped them for mass production.

Now I've got more than 20 unique Miramon designs to sell. It's all part of my plan to become the Shadow Decree's "dessert maker du jour".

I didn't make these for money.

I know you're not focused on money, but aren't you excited at the thought of others learning to appreciate the beauty of the Miramon, just like you do?

Now people will be able to say "Oh, how adorable is this Miramon?"

Isn't that what you've always wanted?

Uh... No...

What do you think? Tasty, right?

Not bad. But the molds used to make these Miramon are terribly unrefined.

What could I do? Your sculptures may have been formed by Esper power, but they still melt.

Mm. I'm aware of that. And so I suggest you don't use these crude imitations any longer.

......

I will provide the correct molds next time.

Long Mian, can I entrust something to you?

What is it?

Little Tweety who I've been raising... it fell ill and passed away...

Tweety?

Uh, I mean my bird... I had it with me for many years.

I would like to make a coffin for it, but it'll take a few days and until then I would really appreciate it if you could freeze it in ice.

......

I know this is a bit presumptuous of me, but it would be really lovely to keep it from decomposing.

You'd like me to preserve it?

It will soon, I mean it's going to rot...

I don't want it to turn into something else before the little coffin is ready.

If you want to keep it in its current state, I have an even better suggestion.

Really? What's that?

I can add it to my collection. What do you say?

As a specimen... And you'll keep it exactly as it is now?

Of course.

Alright then... I'll leave it to you.

It won't be a problem. Oh, by the way, could you please provide some photos of how it was?

Sure, I have a few here.

Long Mian, can I ask you something: how is my little Tweety doing?

Very well. You can have a look.

Tweety!

I took a good look at the photographs. I noticed how often it tilts its head in your direction. Thus, my choice of position.

......

You don't like it...?

I like it very much. Thank you, Long Mian.

I knew that you're very good at freezing Miramon. I didn't realize you are so skilled with other creatures too.

It's almost as if... my little birdie was still alive... I could have sworn it was about to fly over here.

It's nothing special. I learned how to prepare specimens from a young age.

There are others? Can I take a look?

Okay...

Wow...

I had no idea you prepared a special display cabinet for each exhibit.

Of course, I treasure each one.

They're so beautiful. So lifelike. You must have poured so much effort into this.

Yes...

Ah? Look at this... Notice anything different?

Nowhere near as perfect as the other specimens?

Oh... No, and there's a special glass casing over it...

This puppy seems a little commonplace for your collection, its not at all like these other, rarer creatures.

......

Because it was my very first specimen.

He was once my greatest friend and, unfortunately, time took him after only ten short years.

I'm... sorry for bringing up such a painful memory.

It's fine.

So then... is that why you enjoy the process of making and collecting specimens, because of him?

Yes. Life is extremely precious, but also fragile and weak.

I could not preserve its life, but wished to forever preserve its life-likeness...

He always loved sleeping at my feet.

No wonder you're willing to help me preserve my little Tweety as one of your specimens. Thank you, Long Mian.

......

Well, I'm glad to say that Tweety is very well-preserved. You've had a good look at my specimens now. I must get back to work.

......

Life is beautiful and fragile, isn't it?

Long Mian, what a gentleman you can be.