Urgent Matters

While they were walking towards the Contact Center, Caitrin looked at her armor with amazement and said,

"My sword broke so easily, but my armor is still in very good condition."

"The swords of this kingdom aren't the best swords, so it is normal for them to break so easily. We are going to buy a stronger one from another kingdom." Orano replied.

Caitrin then turned to Orano and said,

"Ah! I remembered now! Where are going next?"

"We are going to the fifth kingdom, Faye. My friend and I planned to meet up there even if we find a rift or not. And also it is the kingdom that has the best weapons so we can get you a new sword."

"Wait for a second! We are going to Faye?"

Orano look confused and said,

"Yes, we are. But why did you ask?"

"Before I came here, I was thinking about going to the fifth kingdom. After all, it's the most famous Kingdom, and everyone talks about how great it is. I was sure I could sell the necklace there, so I planned to go there first."

"It's more possible to sell such a necklace there, but don't raise your hopes too much, you can only find a clue there."

She sighed and said

"I think you're right. But we'll have to wait and see."

And after they walked for a couple of minutes, Orano and Caitrin arrived at the Contact Center.

The inside of the Contact Center was 3 times larger than the interior of a normal store and had a comforting atmosphere. It had four lines and four authorized people to take care of the lines. The people there would usually leave after giving their letter or they would sit there to warm up.

And as always, it was crowded.

When Orano and Caitrin got inside, there were about fifteen to twenty people there.

Caitrin looked around amazed and said to herself,

"So this is how they take care of their business."

And when their turn finally came, they got one of the lines. 

Then Orano started talking with the authorized woman,

He said,

"I would like to send a letter."

The woman replied,

"Please specify the place and the person."

"I would like to send this to Ravaryn, Litha, and to Yuma Daisuke."

Then she took the letter and put it in a tube. The tube took the letter and send it somewhere else.

The woman then said,

"Your letter will take a couple of days to arrive, so please wait patiently."

"Okay, I will. Thank you again. Have a good day."

"Have a good day sir."

And when they left there and started walking again, Caitrin looked at Orano and said,

"So "Yuma Daisuke" is the friend that you have been talking about right?

"Yes, and let's hope he gets the letter as soon as possible. We can't lose time here."

"Okay."

But at that moment, when they were talking, someone walked past them. 

Caitrin felt kind of strange, so she looked behind.

A woman with wings throw her a gaze and looked deep into her eyes. She felt nervous and confused. She has never seen a person with wings, and she was looking at her like she was about to do something.

But as soon as, she turned Orano and said,

"Why is that woman looking at us?"

She disappeared.

Orano looked back but saw nothing. But even though he saw nobody, he knew something was going on too.

Then he turned to Caitrin and said,

"Somebody might be following us. So be careful and don't let your guard down."

Caitrin looked at him confused, she said,

"Why? Is somebody after us?"

"I don't know. Let's just be careful for now."

Then they brushed it off and started walking again.

Caitrin said,

"What do have to do now?"

"We have to wait for a reply to our letter. And we will find a place to rest."

When they were talking with each other, they realized a woman walking around. 

She looked so nervous and sad, and she was looking around for somebody or something.

Caitrin said,

"Did something happen to that lady? She looks very worried."

Then the woman saw them and started to approach them at a rapid pace,

Caitrin got confused and said to herself,

*Wait? She is coming towards us?*

And when she approached them enough, she said,

"Excuse me, Are you The Creature Hunter, Orano Tatsumi?"

She had blue long hair, green eyes, and she was five feet tall.

"Yes, I am Orano Tatsumi. But what's wrong? Is there a problem?" Orano replied.

"My name is Mai Makato and I've been looking for you since you got here. Me and my village are in a really tough situation and I really need your help. I will pay you the amount you need but please help for now."

Caitrin then said to herself,

*Even if we are worn out and tired from the creature, it would be bad to leave people like this. *sigh* So this is how Tatsumi deals with his missions. He takes on such responsibilities and acts according to them.*

Orano then looked at the woman and said,

"We'll help. Just show the way."

"Oh thank God. I can't tell you how grateful I am to you." The woman replied.

Then she said,

"Please follow me."

They followed her and started walking again. It took them half an hour to reach a snowy path.

The woman then said,

"Our village is upon this path. It will take about ten minutes for us to reach there."

The snow got thicker, the wind started blowing harder and faster, and it got colder and colder as they walked. But after they walked about for ten minutes, they reached the entrance to a fenced village. 

At the entrance, there was a sign that had letters on it.

It said on the sign,

"Welcome to Frostford Village"

And when they entered the village, the strong wind was gone and the snow was falling slower than usual.

The woman said,

"Follow me, please. I will explain everything at my house."

When they were walking around, the people there looked at them like they didn't want to see a creature hunter there. And they have reached a small house after a short while. 

When they got inside the woman lit the fireplace and started talking again,

"Due to the snowstorms that we have, so many houses got broke down, and it is hard for us to repair them since a few people go to town."

"Why don't they want to go to the town?" Caitrin asked.

"It's a little embarrassing to say, but our village doesn't like to get help from others. Because of our pride, we are dedicated to improving ourselves no matter what. So they may have been a little angry when they saw you."

Then Caitrin thought to herself,

*Like my village, huh?*

Then Caitrin said,

"Is that why your village didn't want any help, Miss Mai?"

"Yes, It is because of their pride."

She then sighed and added,

"I don't want to be disrespectful, I really do respect our pride and I think being strong enough to protect ourselves is alright. But we do need help now and then. And I know we had to do something about our situation, so I started looking for you two as soon as I heard about the big creature. This situation is something serious and we couldn't figure out what to do for weeks."

Then she turned around and said with a more serious tone,

"Anyways. The problem is, There are creatures that are roaming around the village."