Chapter 5: we have A Problem
(East Coast of Givnu Island, Samuh Kingdom)
Vibho was sitting at one of the tables, sulking with a hungry face, waiting for Hina and Mira. (He still didn't know Hina was already home.)
In front of him, at another table, sat an elderly woman in orange clothes, writing something in a diary. Vibho was just about to go and check what she was writing but stopped when he heard a voice from behind.
"Food is ready. Want to eat?" Hina said, smiling.
Vibho looked back at the food. "Yes, thank you, Hina," he said in a hungry tone and immediately started eating.
Hina gave him the food, then asked, "What was that man asking you?" Her voice was laced with concern.
"Oh, he was just telling me Shunya will be here in three days and that all the money from defeating Serbhij has been transferred to my account. Nothing important, I think," he mumbled, half-chewing, half-speaking.
Hina laughed lightly at Vibho's voice and facial expressions. "Haha... Oh, is that so? Fine, then eat up and tell me if you need more."
Then she walked towards the elderly woman and asked, "What would you like to eat today, Grandma? Wait, weren't you going to the main market with Mira today to buy new boats or something?"
"Yes, I was, but on the way, I saw Karnol coming towards here, so I thought it was some emergency." Her voice was soft and trembling.
"Why was Karnol here? I didn't see him anywhlre when I came. Did he tell you anything? Is there some problam? Wait, he didn't go with Mira, did he?" she asked hurriedly, her panic causing her to mispronounce words. Her face slowly began to pale, and she was on the verge of crying.
"No, he didn't. Before he could enter, he saw that man in black clothes and must have remembered some work, so he ran in the opposite direction of the Port. And Mira is with Valmo, checking and buying new boats in the market right now. I already told Valmo to look after her, so you can calm down," she said gently, stroking the hina's head and back and helping her sit down in one of the empty chairs.
"Hey, Hina, why are you crying?" Vibho asked with a little concern, though he was still eating.
"No, I'm not crying. I just got emotional thinking about the old days when there was nothing we needed to fear. That's all. Nothing serious," she said, wiping away the tears still in her eyes. "Anyway, what did he ask you, Grandma?"
"He just asked me some questions related to tax and who collects it. He also wanted to meet Karnol, so I gave him the address. Who was he, anyway? I didn't see him here before," she said in a gentle tone.
"He was a messenger from the Hunter Association. He told me it was some work notice and a report he needed to give to Vibho, and some work from the Association, but he got delayed because Vibho wasn't waking up. Hahaha..." she said and laughed a little.
"A messenger, huh? I haven't seen one for more than 30 years. They used to wear white and blue clothes and talk strictly, like soldiers, but now they're all in black, and he was gentle and polite. Did you ask him about the Association Exam for Mira?" Grandma asked.
"No, I didn't ask. He was in a hurry, and Vibho told me his brother will be here in three days and can help us. Even the Association members know about him, so I think if I ask him, it'll be better," Hina said, then stood up and started walking towards the bottle shelf in the bartender's corner.
"Is that so? Then it's fine." She looked towards Vibho, who was still eating, and said, "Thank you for saving Mira and helping both of them." She smiled.
"You're her grandmother, so it's fine," Vibho mumbled, his mouth full of food.
"Quite an eater, aren't you? Hahahaha... If you need anything, you can come to my house. It's near the post office, on the left side of the food supply shop," she said and stood up to leave.
Vibho finished all the food, then waved his hand in a gesture of goodbye.
"I need to go and complete some more orders, so you can play by yourself or go on a round nearby," Hina said, opening a bottle and starting to mix some drinks.
"Okay, so I'll go on a round. Shunya isn't coming today, so I can go," Vibho said, smiling widely. He stood up from the chair and started going outside.
Just then, a group of thirteen men and elderly men entered the restaurant, all wearing the same type of orange clothes and cowboy caps. They sat down and said, "Hina, got something today? Anything strong will do fine," an elderly man said while stroking his beard.
"Yes, Grandpa," Hina replied.
"Hey, now, we don't come this early to drink, now do we? She wants to tell us something, doesn't she? Ask her," a second elderly man said in a loud voice.
"It's fine, Grandpa Val. It... it's actually good news, but with a bit of tension," Hina said and passed glasses of beer to all of them.
"So what is it that you want to tell us?" a man asked in a straight and strong voice, like a man who was in his prime.
Then Hina told them about the whole incident with Serbhij and the Hunter Association's response—every detail she could tell.
"What? The Hunters want to rob us?" a man said.
"I hope they never return, or I'll beat them to a pulp this time," another man said, slamming the table.
"I wish I had beaten them at least once."
"Yes, I also want to beat them."
All of them started cursing Serbhij and his group.
"Shut up, all of you! It's not time for us to think about him. He's already in jail," Grandpa said, shouting them down. "I know they were suspicious, but they weren't even official Hunters. It's our luck that man saved Mira. If anything had happened to her, no matter how much we beat him, nothing would matter after that. We need to thank him."
All of them went silent as if someone had died.
"Hey, all of you, why are you making it tense? Mira is all right, and we already thanked him, so you all don't need to thank him again. And that's not the reason or the topic of this meeting," Hina said, then started mixing drinks like a professional bartender.
"Yeah, you're right. We need to be more careful next time. So what did you invite us all for?" a man asked.
"I think we can ask the Association to help us get protection from bandits and hunters, so we don't have to worry about them again," Hina said.
"Yes, it's the best solution we can get! If we can get help from the Association, we'll finally be able to take a sigh of relief. We won't have to worry about any betrayal," Grandpa said and laughed.
"Hahahaha haha...."
Then they all started drinking and celebrating.
At the Hunters' Office
At the same time, three men were running in the hallway toward a room.
"Sir, we got all the reports for the messengers, but something is wrong. The tax Givnu pays is more than what Samuh described," ZE1708 said while running through the big hallway.
"But, Sir, we confirmed it more than three times. No one is lying, and this isn't an error. Something is definitely wrong, but what? I think we need to ask the Samuh Kingdom about this," ZE2510 said while running.
"Yes, it seems we need to ask them, but first, we need to tell everything to Sir Riizo. Prepare the documents and evidence. We have a problem—hopefully not a big one," ZE0098 said.
"Yes, Sir," they said in unison.
They stopped in front of a closed door and caught their breath—not because they were out of it, but to prepare themselves for the upcoming discussion. Then 0098 opened the door and entered.
There was a big round table and several chairs. Everyone was sitting silently, and no one was talking. Only the black-eyed man, Sir Riizo, was speaking.
"I need every detail and information about every person connected to it. Send another message to headquarters and ask for information about these men urgently. Go now," he said in a serious tone.
One man stood up and left the room with some documents.
"Sir, we got all the reports about tax collection and the money problem of Givnu and are ready for investigation," 0098 said.
"Hmm... do we have any suspicious person from Vibho's side?" Riizo asked.
"Yes, Sir." 0098 opened a document and started giving his report. "We have a doubt about the tax collector Karnol, but all the villagers say he's a very good man and has been helping them for years. And ZE1526 reports that Karnol gives all collected money to someone named Gilbo, and he submits it to the tax collection office on the mainland. Karnol is strict about rules, so villagers are sometimes afraid of him finding out their ways of dodging them," ZE0098 read from the report.
"Okay, investigate Karnol and Gilbo more. And tell me—why are the villagers dodging rules?" Riizo asked.
"Yes, Sir." 0098 opened another folder and said, "They need to pay tax for the road, gate crossing, and even for buying items from outside. As we know, it's already difficult for them to pay the island tax, so they find legal ways to dodge the rules—like Mira using her pet instead of a ship or boat to dodge the travel tax. There are many more reasons, Sir, but sometimes Karnol also ignores them dodging the rules." He passed the document to Riizo.
"All looks fine here, but we still need to get the report for the Kingdom. Send someone to get it and investigate further. Call me when it's over. I need to complete other matters," he said and left the room.
"Yes, Sir," everyone else replied, then left the room.