Cisca's Return

"Hello, how can I help you?" The man behind the D counter asks as the person in front of us leaves.

"We would like to turn in these yams for the mission," I say.

The staff flips through his booklet and looks up.

"Grassland yams or prairie yams?" He asks.

There is a difference?

I turn to Astra for help.

"We have grassland yams. Prairie yams have four leaves," she says to me.

"Grassland yams? Got it," the man says and reaches under the counter. He pulls up a wicker basket. "Please put them here."

We each drop our yams in there. The man brings the full basket to a table behind him, on it is a balance scale. He quickly weighs the contents.

A second later, he gives the basket to another staff member and comes back over to us.

He opens a drawer under the counter and takes out a pouch.

"You have brought thirteen pounds. The reward will be six copper coins and five iron slabs," he says as he fills it with jingling metal pieces.

"Thanks." I take the pouch off his hands. It's hefty.

"Have a nice day."

We get out of the line to let the people behind us move forward.

"We just got our first payment," Faye says with a smile while we walk toward the door.

"Mhm. What do you guys want to buy?" I ask.

"I think we should save it for now," she says.

"Should we?"

"That would be the wisest choice," Astra says.

"Um… okay."

Saving money was never something I had to consider back on Earth. What was in my consideration all the time was how should I spend my money. I guess things are different now, well, not really. I have that platinum slab from that financier, it's just not a good idea to use it.

As we walk out into the yard, I see a familiar face walking toward the building we just came out of.

"Hey, Owen," I say to the man holding a bunch of squirrels by their tails.

"Oh, hey, Kris." He sees us and stops. "Did you just turn in your mission?"

"Yes. Are you turning yours in now?"

"Yeah, but I didn't complete my mission yet. There are still a few more squirrels I have to kill. I just got hungry and wanted to eat something," Owen says.

"I am hungry, too," Astra says.

I can't deny it, either.

"Is there food anywhere?" I ask.

"There are a few taverns in the shrine. I was thinking about going there, but since we are all here, we can go back to the convent to eat. That way we won't have to spend any money."

"Sure. I am fine with that," I say.

"Alright then. Wait for me at the stable. I will turn in what I have for now."

"Okay."

Owen gives us a wave and heads into the submission building.

"Do you guys want to come back after, or you've had enough for today?" I turn to the girls and ask.

Faye shrugs.

"I don't want to come back," Astra says, "I am kinda tired from working on the field for so long."

That's somewhat my fault.

"Sure. Let's just stay at the convent for the rest of the day, then," I say.

"Wow, Kris. When did you suddenly become so caring for your sister?" Faye asks.

"Wha- I… Never mind. Let's just go."

Astra and Faye chuckle together as we head to the stable.

…

Before we knew it, we arrived back at the convent. Owen was telling us about awesome his day was. Apparently, he saw a small dragon fly over his head when he was out in the Pitted Woods hunting squirrels.

I asked him about the dangers of the forest, he explained that the closer someone is, the safer they are, since most of the pits are deep in the center, and the ogres don't usually wander far before being killed by a crusader.

He then asked us about our assessment. He said that his divinity level was pretty bad. I told him Lohikaarmi and I got D-, and Faye got an A. As I expected, he was blown out of his mind. Faye humbly denied its impressiveness, but Owen was not to be persuaded.

Owen said Faye had the potential of becoming a dragon crusader, which is apparently a group of crusaders who specialize in hunting dragons, and they are the most revered within the shrine.

Faye, of course, said she has no intention of doing so and wanted to stick with us.

After that, we had a quick lunch and went back up to our rooms.

Faye wanted to test out her affinities, as the assessment was the first time she learned that she could do so many things. I told Lohikaarmi to go with her, and they headed out.

Astra told me bestowing the blessing onto me drained her, and she needed a nap to recover, so that's what she is currently doing: snoring away on the bed beside me.

I am sitting on my bed and fidgeting with the Exosuit amulet while thinking about the potential loophole within the shrine, but it's not as easily exploited as I had originally thought.

I hear a beeping sound and see a text appear on the bottom of my vision. "INCOMING CALL," it reads.

Huh, I guess whatever storm Cisca was in has blown over. Speaking of, I think she might be able to help with my exploit.

"Accept," I say.

The familiar video feed pops up.

Cisca, the same as always, is pacing around in front of her camera in her bedroom. She is tapping her fingers together, and her face is lined with stress. After I connect, she turns to the camera and sits down in her chair.

"Hey, Kris," she says.

"What's up, Cisca. Is the investigation over?" I ask.

She shakes her head, flailing around her twin-tails.

"No. In fact, the police found out the guy from F&S has been involved in some shady stuff. It's unrelated to us, but it only increased the suspicion for foul play. The investigation doesn't look like it will end anytime soon," Cisca says.

"Then should you be calling me?"

"That's what I am here to tell you. I managed to find a way to hold these calls undetected, but the duration can't be long, or else it will appear on their radar. You will be able to call me, but each time I can only stay on for under five minutes. I will also need you to wait an hour between each call just to be safe."

"Oh, that's… good?"

"No, not really. The investigation is getting serious. There are talks about flipping the entire F&S Electronics upside down to find connections to Kaplan Corp. My hands are getting more tied by the day."

"I see."

Cisca looks at the watch on her wrist.

"That's all I have. I hope things are going well on your end," she says.

"Yeah, they are, but before you go, I want to ask if something is possible."

"What is it?"