Junta & Wizarding World
#31 Situation of the Association
“How much longer are we up?”
“I think it'll soon”
Zonya answered Kou's question in a dismissive tone.
“Actually we can go anytime Kou, if you feel still can not go, then we can rest in that village for a few more days”
“Nothing brother, I've been feeling better”
Currently Junta, Kou and Zonya are riding a train to the royal capital of Aruf, which is the first city they came to after entering this world.
The total number of days they stayed in the village was 2 days, this was a little faster than what Junta remembered when Kou fell ill at Ratu Rana's palace, therefore the Junta was a little hesitant if they should leave now.
Indeed, Kou's decision to freeze himself could hasten his healing, but Junta did not think that it would speed up his healing so quickly, so in Junta's heart there was still a little doubt whether his sister Kou had really recovered or still needed a few more days' rest.
They are currently on their way to the royal capital of Aruf as Zonya suggests to take their request gift at the place of Maggie, an Association branch receptionist in the city, who is, Zonya suggested this because after she and Junta went to one of the nearby towns of the village, the, the Association Building that was there had no money because it had been used up to fund the large operations that would occur.
The Junta did not understand how the branch building of the Association Maggie was guarding still had money that could be used to pay for the request the Junta had completed, but because Zonya and Maggie have known each other for a long time and Zonya has more experience, Junta chose to follow her and see how it would turn out.
After waiting a little longer, the carriage finally reached the Junta's destination, they got off and thanked the merchant who was willing to give them a ride and then they walked into the city.
The sun was shining brightly today, thus making the weather hotter than usual, plus the atmosphere of the city that Junta felt was more crowded than usual.
Looking closely, the city was filled with people who looked like royal troops in training, it seemed as long as the Junta left this city to complete the request, Queen Rana is planning something, which according to the Junta is a sign that this kingdom is no longer on the edge, although it is in fact that this kingdom is still in a bad situation, he said, but at least the current situation is not as bad as the previous situation.
Because the city was more crowded than usual this made Junta and Kou a little uncomfortable because the atmosphere became hotter than usual, after walking miserably under the hot sun, finally the Junta arrived at the Association branch building.
It turns out that inside the building is also quite crowded, so the atmosphere inside is not much different from the one outside, yes even though inside the building is arguably quite sultry, but the atmosphere inside is not much different, at least the atmosphere inside here is better than the one outside.
After taking a look around, Zonya walked towards Maggie who was standing behind the reception desk.
“Oh, Zonya, you guys are done with the request you took”
“Of course, can we grab our present now?”
Maggie's face turned into a strange smile after hearing Zonya's request.
“How do I explain this, initially there is still quite a lot of money left, but about a moment ago there were people who came to ask for a loan, and the loan ate up almost all that money.”.
“Eh?”
“I didn't expect you guys to finish this request sooner than I expected”
Zonya made an expression like a dizzy person, whereas Junta and Kou could only sigh deeply.
“Sial, then, when can the Association pay for this request Maggie?”
“I don't know Zonya, I heard almost the entire Association building ran out of funds because the Central Association withdrew all funds for the big operation I once told you”
Zonya took a long breath.
“Then, what about the other members of the Association? How does the Association pay them?”
“If it is just a few coins, the Association can still pay them Zonya, besides in this building there are not many high-reward requests like you took yesterday”
“What does that mean I have to go to the main building of the Association just to pick up my gift?”
“That is the best possibility, who knows if the funds are still stored in the building and not used”
“Ugh it is too risky, go there it is far away, if go all the way there then can get the prize then it is okay, but if the funds have been used so that the building is also empty.”.
“I'm sorry This zone is out of my control”
Zonya, Kou and Junta let out a long sigh simultaneously.
“Kakk.. We really have no money left, what should we eat today?”
“Maybe we can go to the nearest forest and find something there..”.
“Oh, I have an idea, then what if the Association compensates you for this late payment?”
Junta looked at Maggie with a slightly bewildered face.
“Do you have the authority to speak like that?”
“Of course Maggie has Junta”
“Association will compensate the lodging cost and food cost you need as long as the payment you have not received, how?”
“Wait a minute”
Kou who was at the very back of it started to step forward in front of the reception desk.
“It was an attractive offer, but will this compensation cut our payment later?”
“Of course not, this compensation is a form of the Association's apology for being late to pay the gift of your request, so take it easy you can still get your gift in full”
“I don't think it's a bad offer, how's Junta? Kou?”
“I have no problem with the offer, after all we have no other choice, what do you think Brother?”
“I agree with Kou, we have no other option”
“Then my brother and I will sit there, and can you give me any food it's Maggie?”
“Of course Kou, wait at your desk and one of the waiters will deliver your order”
Junta and Kou walked away from the receptionist towards their table which was in the corner.
Zonya chose not to go with Junta and Kou, she chose to remain standing in front of that table to ask a few things.
“I've heard at a glance about this big operation, but can you re-explain Maggie?”
Maggie looked left and right, as if she was making sure the situation was safe.
“Because you are a class 5, then I will tell you, but I only tell you based on what I know, the Association seems to have found an ancient monster that is considered very dangerous, that was why the Association summoned all 5th classes to kill that monster”
“That's it? Where will this operation run?”
“I don't know Zonya, I heard the Association is still planning how this operation goes, maybe this operation will be run near the village where your request was”
“The village? Why is it there?”
“That was the last location I received his information about the whereabouts of that monster”
The Zonya seemed to be thinking of something.
“Are you sure you don't want to participate in this operation Zonya? The prize is 50 gold coins for each person participating”
“50 gold coins is indeed a very attractive offer, and it reminds me of something”
His zone reached into the pocket under his cloak and pulled out an eyeball.
“This.?”
“This is a monster that was killed in the process of settling the request, I have never seen this monster before so can you help me to identify it?”
“Wait a minute”
Maggie rushed to open the door behind her and went inside.
While waiting for Maggie, Zonya looked around her, and she saw Junta and Kou eating a meal placed on their table full of various dishes.
Kou looked at Zonya who was staring at them and finally waved, Zonya replied by raising her hand in the air.
After waiting for a while, Maggie walked out of the room with a very serious face.
“Zonya, you said you were this monster killed during the process of completing your request right? Where exactly?”
“Near the village of course, what is it?”
“You remember that ancient monster I said earlier? This is the ancient monster!”
“You mean this eyeball belongs to an ancient monster that is now the Association's concern?”
“Fast! If indeed this monster is near that village, then I have to pass this information to the center”
“Wait a while Maggie, the monster is only 1 there, I don't see any other monsters”
“At least this information can be used as a reference for Zonya, after all, how can you kill this monster? This monster is categorized as class 6 in the Association!”
“Woah, class 6? I have never heard of any monster being categorized as more than 5” class
“That's because you've just become a Class 5 Zone, there are some monsters that are categorized as being in class 6 or even class 7 as far as I'm in charge, therefore the Association collected all 5th class because from the beginning this monster could not be defeated by one 5th class person only”
“If you ask me how to kill him.. From the beginning the monster did not fight Maggie”
“Not fight?”
“Yes, when he was attacked, he did not respond, I prefer to call him that he looks like he was being controlled, and indeed when we wanted to kill him, there was someone who came to protect that monster”
“You mean that guy who controls his monsters?”
Maggie seemed to think for a moment.
“And you know what's interesting? The one protecting the monster seemed to be one of the 10 Fingers”
Maggie was shocked to hear Zonya's statement.
“Maybe…. Could The Fingers be the mastermind behind this? Could it be The Fingers who control this ancient monster?”
“That could be a possibility, considering that the organization is not an organization that we can underestimate, but there is also the possibility that there is a much stronger organization than The Fingers.”.
“It means.. The Fingers teamed up with an organization that was much stronger than them?”
“To be exact, and if indeed that hinders us from killing the monster it is one of 10 Fingers”
“Then the task of The Fingers is to keep the monster”
“As for others controlling his monsters”
Maggie seemed to understand the situation and the look on her face turned to panic and worry.
“If indeed your guess is right Zonya, then we are dealing with something dangerous”
“I don't know if there's a more terrible organization than The Fingers, but since I never know how this dark side of the world works, then it might just be”
“It's more serious than I thought, it's possible. It could be a trap”.
“Trap?”
“If The Fingers are involved in this situation, what do you think?”
Zonya seemed to think for a moment, then she seemed to understand something.
“Don't tell me that The Fingers want to finish off all 5 classes?”
“This monster is an ancient monster of class 6, not at all a monster that can be underestimated, it is possible that The Fingers used this monster to lure the Association into collecting all 5 classes to kill this monster”
“And after all class 5 was up, then The Fingers will finish class 5 that is there along with the help of the monster”
“I know this sounds crazy Zonya, but what do you think?”
The Zonya seemed to be thinking very seriously.
“The chances are not 0 Zonya, but why would they want to finish off an entire class 5? Aren't we the Association only focused on killing monsters and completing requests? I see no reason for a dark organization to antagonize us”
“I can't think of the reason for Zonya either, but clearly the existence of the members of the Class 5 Association is enough to pose a threat to the dark organization, the existence of class 5 could have disrupted their plans or threatened them indirectly”
“So you think they're doing some kind of precautionary measure? Like preventing poisonous plants from growing up?”
“To be exact, they will kill the poisonous plant while it is still small and weak, that is if this situation I speak in mu”
“I guess that possibility is not 0” either
“I will write all this as a report and submit it to central”
“I think more about the possibility of The Fingers cooperating with other organizations that are likely the organization that controls this monster”
”If anyone can control this monster, whoever he is, he is not someone we can ignore, I mean he controls a monster of class 6!”
“Yes.. If he was a monster then it was obvious he was a class 7 or class 8 monster, I can't even imagine how difficult it would be if the entire class 5 fought against that person”
“The question is no longer how difficult it is to touch the category of difficulty equivalent to class 8, but how many die later”
“You are right, class 8 is already 3 levels above class 5, the difficulty may already be we can not handle”
“I will soon write this report so that it can be seen by central”
”Wait, how about the monster eyeballs earlier?”
“If you ask how much reward the Association will give you for killing one of the ancient monsters the Association targets, then I can confirm that the reward is not small, you know the procedure”
“I think so, the Association seems to have just discovered this monster and the level of difficulty has not been ascertained with certainty, it seems like there is no other way but to wait for the Association” decision
“I'm sorry Zonya, you know this is out of my control, by the way if you spare after running this request, can you consider taking part in a big operation this time? You've fought this monster so your experience will definitely be very useful in the battle field”
“I don't know... I still don't want to fight in a big group.”
“So.. I can't force you to Zonya, but I'm just asking to consider it, the Association must be greatly helped by the knowledge you have, you know, and I'm sure your friends will also support you in this”
Zonya was silent for a moment to think of something.
“I.. Maybe I'll try to think about it, how long do I have before this operation starts?”
“Perhaps about 7 or 14 more days calculated starting from today”
“So ya”
The Zonya seemed to be thinking of something.
“Alright, I'll think about it, but don't expect anything from ku”
“Sure, thank you for thinking about this Zonya”
“Then I will go to the inn, you know where you should find me if you need me kan”
“Of course, and also thank you for the information you gave this Zonya”
“No problem”
Zonya walked towards the desk of Junta and Kou with an expression like one who was thinking hard.
“What are you doing there Zonya? You don't want to eat this free food?”
“I only chatted a little with Maggie Kou, after all the food is all finished here...”.
“That's because you took too long”
“I assume you're done here, I want to go to the inn, you guys want to come?”
“Oh sure, why not”
Junta and Kou stood up and walked following his Zonya out of the Association building.
The atmosphere outside was still the same as before, dense with people and the scorching light of the sun made today a hot day.
After walking a few steps, suddenly someone called out to Zonya.
“Hey! Are you the one named Zonya?”
The zoo turned its head back.
The figure was a man who was quite tall, he wore a white general-like shirt, on his left waist there was a long thin sword like a katana, the man had long blonde hair with blue eyes.
“Gal, what do you want?”
“Do not call me by that name”
“We are both class 5, as I recall you do not matter if there is an equivalent person calling you like that”
“You call yourself class 5 but you're not in the operation this time? How disgusting!”
The man looked at his Zonya like a disgusting insect.
“Originally you know, the whole class 5 is in operation this time, except you, if you're a coward you better get down to class 4”
“Can you tell me what your purpose is to meet me here?”
“Don't get me wrong, I came here because I wanted to meet someone who happened to be resting in this city, on the way there, apparently I saw a coward coming out of the Association building, he said, so why don't I give him a little advice? That's what I think”
“I am a class 5 just like you Gal, do not provoke my emotions, I have the right to refuse a solicitation from the Association because that is already the rule”
“Ha!”
The man spat to the left after hearing Zonya's statement.
“And you call yourself Class 5? What kind of Class 5 doesn't want to take part in his first special request operation? And you call yourself equal to me?”
“If you don't want to say anything else you can go”
The man looked at his Zonya with a very condescending look.
“Let me tell you the newcomers of class 5, class 5 is a select group of people whose strength is recognized by the Association, class 5 is very different from class 4 and below, we're a special group that carries a responsibility that can't be measured, if you're screaming that you're a class 5 but when trouble comes you run like a bird that sees danger, so do not call yourself class 5 and do not equate me with a low class like class 4 like mu”
The man turned around and walked away from his Zone with steady steps.
