The moon shines brightly tonight.
A single flower that is blooming earnestly under this moonlight is begging people to be plucked out from the soil that holds its roots. It has a slight hue of blue petals, and a white center with silvery stem and leaves. Some called it moondrops, considering it only blooms under a full moon and it looks like something that has been dropped by the moon itself.
But what makes it so special is not just about that fact alone. There's a legend that says a moondrop will never wither if it is gifted to your soulmate. Maybe Chilve is just curious if there's any hint of magic involved with this legend, that right now he is right in front of a blooming moondrop. Bending down, he caresses the petals carefully and he instantly feels some mana running through the little plant, "ah, so there might be some truth to a legend after all."
Carefully, he digs the soil around, hoping to keep the roots intact in case the legend will not work without it. After brushing off the dirt from the roots, he holds it carefully and starts walking, where he hopes the receptionist of the adventurers guild is still there. He wants to fulfil this request as soon as possible, since the pay is good and he needs some money for some clothes and necessities. Food is in abundance, considering he can hunt himself. Anything that is carved out from the magical beasts he defeated can be sold, but sometimes it's not enough since they are not exactly rare graded.
He reaches the outskirts of the town, where the guild building can be seen. It's a little worn and torn from age and fights that occured once in a while when the adventurers were in disagreements, but it still holds. Besides, who needs to worry about it collapsing when Chilve can just run out super fast in his wolf form? Pushing through the doors, he looks around to see that the receptionist is not in her usual spot, but is checking something on the quest boards.
"Hey Jane," she turns to see Chilve who is holding a flower staring at her and she smiles when recognition hits her, "Chilve! Are you here for some requests?"
"Actually, I'm here to pass the moondrop for that one request that needs moondrop."
She scans through the board and sees that particular request, and she takes the pin out to read if she doesn't miss anything, "yes, this one! Please wait while I get a chest that can keep it fresh until the requester comes to collect it in these few days."
Once he closes the chest that Jane gets out from the back after placing the moondrop carefully in it, Jane gives him the upfront payment and she bows a little, "the rest will be paid once the requester comes to collect it."
"So Jane," the brunette looks up from the counter when she hears her name being called, "do you believe in that legend?"
"What legend?"
"The legend of the moondrop," she looks like there's some hesitation, until she answers, "let's just say I do believe it, but I never get the chance to witness it myself since moondrops are often requested for its medicinal properties. Why the sudden question?"
Without answering her, Chilve waves his hand and exits the adventurer guild, and when he realizes that the shops around town are closed, he will have to come back during daylight. He walks past a shop that has display cases, and that's when he spotted some blinking accessories, where someone immediately comes to his mind and he shakes his head to shake off the thoughts of her, "pfft, I acted as if I need to please her or surprise her, she's not my mate, just a brat."
So why is he back here right now in bright daylight?
The shopkeeper keeps trying to sell the items to him, trying to talk about how rare the materials are to make each of the hairpins that are on display, and when nothing catches his eyes, he knows that there's nothing else more special than the moondrop he fetched last night.
'So why did I do that quest? It's not like I'm very short on money.'
He exits the shop hastily and when he is wondering if he should take back that moondrop from the guild, a huge crowd is gathering around the streets, possibly to listen to a speech by someone higher up. His ears perked up when he heard the word princess, and he thinks it's something related to Lune since yesterday, she did say something about some matters to attend to, "I wonder why they need to announce it to the people, just do whatever they want after they decided about it."
Soon a carriage that looks very extravagant can be seen coming through the road, and the crowd starts making a line for it to move along. While Chilve is trying not to be seen and hides behind, he can see a familiar looking face peeking out from the carriage and is pulled back inside soon. When they reach the public square of the city, it stops and three people alight, where one of them is Lune herself. Once the king is standing where he thinks he should, he raises both his arms and starts talking, "to my beloved citizens, I have grave news to all of you. It seems someone has been challenging the peace of our kingdom by bombing villages all around us. We will show that we will not succumb to threats like this, and to quell war by fighting them head to head!"
The crowd keeps quiet and the king continues, "and during my absence while getting the win in the frontlines, my children will manage the kingdom with the help of my ministers in the meantime. Please show them your support as how you have shown it to me," and when the crowd is clapping to the king who is waving his hand, Lune's eyes seem to be staring straight at Chilve, and he quickly averts his eyes and leaves the city square.