The terminal center was a large, imposing building, going all the way up to thirty stories. A massive round-shaped mechanism was built on the roof of the building, allowing this building to send messages to other cities by connecting to a net of satellites far above in the skies. The Net was still a new thing in the Reclamation Army, and while Dynast himself was not against instant messages between civilians, the infrastructure in Ravaged Lands was not up to the task, so they used massive com towers here. One was in the command center, intended for military use. This one was for civilian use, military personnel were forbidden to reveal any secrets, but otherwise were allowed to use it to contact their families in other regions.
Aranea paid a fee for the use of a small room on the twentieth floor. The higher the floor was the better was connection, through trial and error, Aranea figured that this floor served her needs perfectly, there was no need to overpay. She sat in the chair and dialed the number, calling the person from Iterna.
Iterna was a rival country to the state, yet relations between the two countries were stable. The Dynast made it clear that he had no intention of invading it yet, trade was booming between the two sides. According to what Aranea knew, Iterna was the only country to emerge unscathed from the Extinction. Some people claimed that this country had a utopian type of government, one that aimed to provide for each citizen. Others claimed they were demons who forcibly changed people's genders. The state's reporters dismissed the last claim as mere superstition upon investigation.
Warlord Zero confirmed that this rumor was false as well, laughing during the interview when people asked her this question. This swayed the view of the Wolf Tribe about Iterna, for Zero’s hatred toward Iterna was well known. If she actually protected them this time, then clearly this rumor was false. However, in this near-mystical land, many wondrous items could be purchased, including films about the old world, cartoons, and superior medicine, among other things. Aranea had never been to Iterna, but they had something she needed right now. Warlord Martyshkina was the one who gave Aranea this number and transferred funds to them.
"Yes?" asked the pleasant voice of mister Philip.
"It’s Aranea, doctor," Aranea weakly smiled, knowing that he can’t see her, "Sorry for calling you so suddenly, yet…"
"I already told you, miss Aranea, this is not a problem. As my client, you have my permission to call me at any time of day." Iterna had professionals in the field of mental health, something that was still new in the state. Aranea never revealed from where she was calling, omitting certain details. Who knows if an iternian would assist someone from the opposing state?
"I screwed up, doctor." Aranea quickly told Philip what happened today in the field, omitting some details, like combat.
"Sounds like you made some progress," The man said assuredly, "she is no longer afraid to reach for the item in your presence...
"That’s not all," The wolf hag responded in a sad voice and told everything she learned from Kaleb, "As you can see, I have really done it this time. To be honest, I have no idea how to even fix this." She weakly admitted it.
"That..." The man was silent for a moment, processing information, "… is why I am here. To help. But I believe it is time for us to come clean. After our last talk, people from the intelligence division visited me, asking why I was speaking with someone from the Reclamation Army…"
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Aranea felt her blood turn cold.
"… You have nothing to worry about, miss Aranea," The man continued speaking in a calm and soothing voice, "This is not a crime—not for me and certainly not for you. In fact, I was curious, why you even paid me in the first place. Our services are free for the citizens of Iterna. We do accept donations, of course, but the government funds us well enough," He said with good-natured laughter, "This made me curious. Now I am doubly curious. Who are you really? Please understand that I am not asking out of curiosity but to help you. To properly aid you, I need to know more."
"Will… will you keep this secret?" Aranea asked.
"Alas, no. Agents from the Intelligence division are listening even now, but worry not. They will not try to blackmail you or use information against you or your state in any way, shape, or form. They are only listening to our conversation to ensure that you are not blackmailing me." Once again, a hint of humor was in Philip’s voice.
Aranea thought for a moment. The most reasonable thing to do was to end the call. She never spoke about her past with her pack, why should she reveal it to an outsider? And yet... Aranea always learned from her mother that if she did something wrong, she should try to fix it, even if this meant asking for help from others. The wolf hag felt genuine fear, revealing herself was… She took a deep breath. She had a duty before her pack.
"I am a member of the Wolf Tribe." She finally forced herself to say. She expected the man to end the call, but the doctor was still there.
"Ah! Now I am getting a bit of a clearer picture. Some of your responses suggested that you might be one of the abnormals."
"Yes, about it…" Aranea told him everything she remembered. Her childhood, how she became a scout, omitted her encounter with Ravager and how she became a wolf hag.
"That… Please, a moment, miss Aranea," She heard a loud "click" sound, "I turned off the ability of the intelligence division to hear us, I do believe they now have enough information to know that I am safe. Anyway, you no longer have to pay anything to me. Consider my help free from now on."
"Why the sudden generosity?" The wolf hag inquired, suspiciously.
"Because I can," The doctor answered plainly, "The goal of Iterna is to rebuild the world, not to tear it down again. You have problems, I can help you, so I will help you. Back to your problem. I need to consult others and pick up some research books…"
I knew it. Aranea thought in sadness. He too, was unable to help her.
"… Yet I am certain that the problem with your friend lies not in how you treated her, although this was horrible and we will need to work on your problems later as well, with your permission, of course. Nor in the monetary cost of a lost item," The doctor said thoughtfully, "Granted, the best choice would be to bring her to us, but I understand that such a thing may not be possible. No, the issue with miss Kate is something else. I would’ve loved to speak with miss Kate, but based on what I know right now, I can only deduce that she needs this item for something. She greatly worries about something, so much so that it causes her to panic when she loses said item. Could it be that she believes that these beads suppress something? Memories perhaps? Hm. Doubtful. Quite a puzzle!" The man cheerfully said, "Let’s find out how we can help her. When will you be able to contact me again?"
"About that…" She tapped the arm of the chair with her claw, noticing that she only had a few more seconds left for talking, otherwise she would have to pay again. "Probably only in the next month or later. I am not this rich to afford the calls…"
"I can request that Intelligence allocate some funds from my account." The doctor offered.
"No! Spirits, please no! No one needs to know," Aranea felt herself panicking. "You gave me something to work with, now it’s up to me." She hung up the call, before Philip could say anything else. There were two primary reasons for keeping her affair secret. First, she was unsure how the investigation bureau of the Reclamation Army would react. They will definitely be interested in learning why someone in Iterna pays for her calls. Second, Aranea refused to fully trust Iterna.
She forced a smile as she stood up. So Kate has some other mystery behind her. Perhaps making her drunk is not such a bad idea after all…