Soon enough they finished their breakfast. Once a table filled to the brim with heaps of flavorful cuisine was now decorated with empty plates and barren bowls.

The six of them sat there, stomachs full, another bite would put them at death's door.

“Ahhhhh”, Mia exhaled, “Hikaru, never stop cooking… Ever. I don’t think I can ever go back to just eating bread”. She reached her hand up and wiped her mouth, crumbs fell to the ground as she shifted her body.

“Well, we’re done eating, i’d say it’s time you three head out”, Alli rested her hand to her side and rose to her feet. “Since Mia’s done with her training y'all have no more reason to stay. Gurren, treat her well, and keep your perversions to yourself”.

“Ah, I’ll ignore your rude comment, but I-, no, we, we will treat her well. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Mia, you’re now and always will be a member of division two. Anyways, Alli’s right. We’ll be leaving as soon as possible, we have to get to Seiren soon… Especially for me, I have to file my report on Ako”. He gritted his teeth and a droplet of sweat rolled down his brow. “The old man’s really gonna chew me out for being this late on heading back”.

Hikaru stood up and adjusted his belt, “Actually Captain, the twins and I have already packed up most of what we’ll need. All that’s left is a few things we can pick up at the market while we head out of town. And of course it’ll be paid on your dollar”.

“Of course it will be”. Captain Yakusuke had a tear of despair fall down his face, but wiped it instantly.

For the next few minutes the Captain, Mia, and Hikaru gathered a few items they wanted to keep on their person. For each of them it was various items, the Captain saved a bit of food and put it in a bag. Mia, like her Captain, bagged a few cuts of meat, and some sauce to accompany it. Hikaru initially wanted to keep some things on his person, but decided to store most of their supplies in his blutklinge.

“Oh Mia! I almost forgot”. Captain Yakusuke turned to her with his hand reaching out, on it was a small silver ring. It was the same ring he mentioned earlier, one used to hold a huntsman's blutklinge inside it.

Mia put her hand out and he plopped it into her palm. “Put it on your finger, we don’t want to scare any civilians so it’s best to keep our weapons hidden”.

She picked up the ring and looked at it, it twinkled in the light. Mia then continued to put it on her left middle finger. “How do I activate it?” She asked.

“When you’re going to fight just jolt it back, then the blade will release and you can draw your blood and ultimately your blutklinge with it”. Hikaru said as he began walking out of the room.

They began to leave, Hikaru walking out first and making his way to the staircase leading to the surface.

Before Mia left she realized something, “Alli, Where did the twins go? I knew they ate with us but they suddenly disappeared”.

“Ah yes, they aren’t big on goodbyes, in fact I had to force them to eat with us. Don’t worry though, they will miss you, even if they aren’t here to tell you it directly”.

“Thank you Alli, for everything, because of you I was able to become a huntsman, to become strong”. Mia smiled and then left the room, Alli waved as she watched Mia leave.

“Gurren, take care of them, and also… Take care of yourself. Don’t get killed by no beasts… Or secret division thugs. Also regarding the secret division, keep me in touch, I suspect they’ll be on the move soon”.

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“Ah, I’ll see you too, Alli, I'll keep that stuff in mind, but for your information I don’t plan on dying anytime soon…” He left and followed after the others.

The room fell quiet.

“Did they leave?” A small hatch on the floor swinged open, revealing the twins huddled in a small chamber.

“Yeah they’re gone…” Alli looked down to the twins, “alright, let’s wish them luck, they’ll need it for the future they’re heading towards”.

-

The streets were filled with people, each doing their daily acts, each living their lives in peace. The people of Indra rarely faced attacks from beasts, due to this they had lives of pleasure and happiness.

Mia looked around as she walked with the Captain and Hikaru, “crazy to think there are places this big… Everything is so incredibly different”, she thought. “In Ako, the houses weren’t in great shape and the streets were dirty and undeveloped. Here everything is different, buildings of stone and tile roofs, paved streets”. She looked around in awe, her eyes wide and her mouth dropped.

They walked for at least ten minutes until Captain Yakusuke stopped.

“Sir?” Hikaru and Mia said at once.

He stayed silent for a moment, “Let’s go in there before we head to pick up the last of our supplies… I have a hunch”. He pointed his finger to a pub.

The building was two stories tall, and was rather fancy. It had a white foundation with dark wooden accents and small awnings over each window.

“I guess I’ll see more buildings like these from now on”, Mia thought as she admired its architecture.

“The Sparkling Pony”, a rather odd name for a pub, Hikaru responded.

“Sir… I’m undera- wait, nevermind I’m eighteen now”.

The two followed Captain Yakusuke into The Sparkling Pony, both curious as to why he’d want to go drinking so soon.

They walked in, Ting! A small brass bell rang as they opened the door and went inside.

“Welcome! Welcome!” The barkeep said as he waved at them. Mia looked at him, noting his black and white suit, but most notably his black bowler hat and large scruffy beard.

Captain Yakusuke walked to the counter, “hello barkeep, i’ll take four shots of your finest drink”. He licked his lips, his inner scumbag slowly coming to the surface.

“Right away sir”.

Mia walked to the counter and sat down, past the bar was a wide variety of drinks, each bottle looked as if it cost a fortune. She looked to her right at a bowl of finely assorted nuts and reached out to pick some.

…

“Hey did you hear the news?” Some men were whispering to Mia’s right, they were in perfect range for her to hear every word. In normal cases it’d be rude to eavesdrop but she had a feeling that whatever they were discussing would be important.

“Apparently there's some monsters controlling that small village east of here”.

“No way. It’s unheard of for monsters to be this far out… I bet it’s because of the disappearances recently. You think we’re gonna be safe?”

“I dunno but I’m sure as hell getting out of Indra. I don’t plan on getting eaten by no damn monsters”.

Their chattering continued, Mia, having heard every word, widened her eyes.

“Ca-”

“I know, Hikaru, were you listening as well?” Captain Yakusuke said as he looked back.

“Yes sir, while you and Mia were sitting down I overheard it from another group of drunkards in the corner”. He shifted his glasses up, “It seems that getting supplies may have to wait a bit”.

“Ah damn! And here I was hoping we would have a nice enjoyable trip back to Seiren. Ahhhh, the life of a huntsman knows little rest”. He sighed as he took his shots.

“Captain, If there are beasts in that village do you think anyone would be still there? Those guys said that the beasts are controlling the village. Wouldn’t they just kill everyone then leave?” Mia asked in confusion, her lack of knowledge caused her to be mostly in the dark regarding beasts, after all, her Captain has yet to tell her much about them.