Chapter Text
"You want WHAT?!"
Seiya nearly slammed the table after hearing the request. Granted, she had signed up for "an extra quest to consider on your international travels", but definitely wasn't expecting anything like that.
"You hadn't heard me the first time?" the lady at the other end sighed, as if she was anticipating that kind of response. "Besides, you've missed the point. This isn't what I want. More so something a higher-up wants. I'm just relaying it, you see. Even still, you were so confident in agreeing to it even after all of my warnings."
"But-- Ma'am-- I thought you started by being all high and mighty about your position!"
The lady sighed. "It's both, Miss Nagano, both is fine. And it's Ms. Mercedes to you. Anyway. Let me run it back one more time. This is in regards to the Hall's duties, which I won't fully be disclosing, but you can see it simply as observing a projection. 'Of what exactly?' you might say. Well, this part is more free-flowing. Think of it as a model of the world."
She produced a piece of paper from a jewel-embedded drawer and set it on the table, face up. On it was a well-copied rendition of what she assumed to be the results of whatever the Ms. had mentioned.
"As you can see, dark spots all over," she pointed with a finger. "Now, it's not like there's any massive continental destruction, no, it's more like pouring over a bucket of paint. As I was saying, the source of all this is what we'd appreciate you working with us to find out. To us, it doesn't matter whether it's a faction war, nature's disturbance or impending doom."
Seiya began to shudder a bit at the thought.
The Ms. assured, "You don't even need to do anything to remedy it, or get in the way of danger. It's not even some kind of forbidden knowledge you'd be killed over if you let it slip. Just keep at your travels be more observant, and send a report back to the Hall every now and then. Simple, isn't it?"
In spite of how sweet a deal it sounded, Seiya continued to hesitate. It was technically what she was planning to do; leaving to travel across the continent to collect thesis research from all of the foreign cities.
Originally, she'd planned to spend the first couple of weeks in Solrine to get all of the preparations sorted at once, and take the rest of the time to work on the first eighth of her research collection. But plans go wrong, and her schedule was messed up by the fact that Solrine's borders just so happened to be closed around the time she was there. Something about being in the middle of sorting out a disaster and the risk of aftershocks, but who knows what kind of elemental disaster would take an entire month to resolve? A real shame when she was counting on the bureau there to get all her visas sorted when the one in her home city didn't exactly have everything.
The backup plan had been to take a quick breather at a border accommodation and make a stop at home before turning to go in a different direction, or sucking it up and trying to get whatever notes she could in the tiny border town. Luckily, she didn't have to choose, not when she came across a courier there carrying a thick letter addressed to her and a sizeable deposit.
After a while, she stammered. "Yes, it- it certainly does, Ma'am."
Ms. Mercedes sighed again. "We aren't quite sure which nations, if any, are responsible for all this hassle. Now, we would've loved to just do all this ourselves, but, you see, we're also a very busy organization, and don't have a lot of time to go running errands every square mile. You're still thinking about how important this must be, right? I'll assure you one more time. We do this quite often, really, sending able-bodied people out to take care of comparatively small matters."
"Please, if you can... settle it yourselves, and the higher-ups-- me included-- will be sure to give you a hefty compensation for saving us a precious year."
Seiya still thought for a moment. Less tense and panicked, but otherwise silent with deliberation.
"Well then, take some hours to mull it over, and wait for me in here once you've decided. If you choose to decline, just make sure to leave all of this confidential if you don't want to end up on the wrong side of a court. But then again, the other person we asked agreed just a while ago, so perhaps you might find it easier with a companion."
"There's someone else on the job?"
"I didn't mention this earlier? Well, we can't just expect one person to do all the heavy lifting when two of them can do it. He's a pretty good kid, for what it's worth, just that he's really in it for adrenaline and the pay. Says he's a good fighter, too, but who knows what people will say for fifty thousand Leynus a month..." she rambled.
She brightened up immediately after the salary was mentioned. "Well, then... I'll just be leaving to try and prepare for this! I mean, as long as you can wait a bit, with all the things I need to work on at the same time..." she hurriedly left the room trying not to make it obvious.
The Ms. sighed as the door shut.
"Honestly, what do the others see in these kids..."