The next morning, the Doctor, upon arriving at the Post Office's medical area, notices that he cannot see the boy anywhere.
"Where's the boy? I haven't seen him anywhere, has anyone seen him?" (Dr. Jace)
One of his nurses, who was nearby carrying some bottles of medicine, stops walking and answers him.
"Oh, that boy left early in the morning accompanied by some soldiers and two delivery men." (Nurse)
The doctor is startled to hear this.
"What happened? Where did they take him?" (Dr. Jace)
"No, they weren't the ones who took him. It was he who took them." (Nurse)
"Which? Where?" (Dr. Jace)
"Well, about that..." (Nurse)
Far from the city, on top of the mountain, in the middle of the snow. It could be seen from above some people walking in the snow. It was the soldiers and couriers along with that boy.
"Hey kid, are you sure it was this way?" (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Really, we've been walking for a long time, right Weston?.. (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"It's right over there by that wall." (Boy)
The boy bends down and touches the ground, picks up some of the snow and squeezes it in his hand.
"This is where I woke up, I have no doubts about that." (Boy)
While looking up the wall towards the top, the two Deliverators who were with them look at each other.
"If he woke up here." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"It could only have been one thing... Isn't it Emmett?" (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"Yeah, I think we thought the same thing, for sure, he fell all the way up here." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"That's what I thought... That's why I wanted the help of Deliverers who know this mountain ie you were the nominees Emmett and Sawyer, and well, the Soldiers are for our protection." (Boy)
The boy smiles as he looks at them, the three soldiers who were looking around, gather close to them.
"So what do you think we're going to do now Weston?" (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Do you think we came here just to see where he woke up?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Oh that would be a really easy job for that pay wouldn't it, Jason?" (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Huh?" (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Huh?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Haha, but of course not, now that your work is really starting." (Boy)
"Truth." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"Don't worry, we'll do our job, we'll keep watching the surroundings, you can rest easy and move on." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"The best route to go up there is through here." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
The delivery man points to the left.
"I agree, the other one is longer besides having to climb at a certain point." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
As soon as they agreed, they started heading in the indicated direction.
And after some time walking, they arrive and see their objective, the top of that wall from which the Boy had supposedly fallen.
"Hey! Are you seeing that?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Hey Silas here! That's..." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
Silas, who has been observing the surroundings, comes to join them.
"The wreckage of a caravan..." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
The boy stops walking and looks surprised, the Deliverators look at him with a serious look.
"We'll be able to find what you're looking for." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"That's right, no need to worry." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"I'm not worried.." (Boy)
"No? So what was it?" (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"I was just surprised that we found it so easy, I thought it would be way more complicated than just going up here.." (Boy)
"Well, that's true." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"Yeah, I thought it would be too, but I guess we got lucky." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"Hey, what are you guys doing standing around, let's go." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Sorry, we're on our way." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
Upon reaching the wreckage, they split up and begin scouring the area in search of anything that can help the Boy.
"So I was traveling in a caravan." (Boy)
"And you were attacked." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Looks like the Deliverators' assumption was right" (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Yeah, they were." (Boy)
"Hey come here! You need to see this!" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"What's it? What did you find?" (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
They go towards the Soldier who was near one of the wreckage of a carriage that was closer to the edge of the mountain, when passing through it they come across something.
"That is!?" (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"A Horned Bear." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"And he's dead..." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"By the wounds on his body it looks like he had a territorial fight." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Or a contest to see who would get the food?" (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Hey don't say that in front of the kid!" (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"The boy's family may be among the victims!" (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"I hadn't thought of that, I'm sorry.." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"It's okay, I already expected something like this, it's not like we're going to find anyone alive.." (Boy)
"Boy..." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"But I was hoping to find at least a few bodies…" (Boy)
The boy looks down in dismay.
"Looks like we're too late.. I should have made that decision to come here faster." (Boy)
Everyone was silent listening to the boy not knowing what to say to him.
The boy looks up.
"Let's keep looking in the wreckage, maybe we can find something that was mine that can help me remember something." (Boy)
"That's right, we've barely begun!" (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Truth!" (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"That!" (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Come on!" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"We ended up forgetting an important point, it has been several days since this attack they suffered." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"And what else is there?" (Soldier 1 - Weston)
They look at the Deliverators confused, not knowing what they are talking about.
"Oh! But of course how could I have forgotten something so obvious..." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"Snow right?" (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"It is clear! It's been several days, so even if there was a body left that wasn't devoured by some animal or monster..." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Would he be covered by snow!?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Exactly!" (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"So if we do a search through the snow maybe we can find someone yet." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Let's split up and start looking." (Boy)
"Right!" (All)
They then separate and begin walking through the snow, driving wooden sticks into the snow looking for bodies that could be covered in snow.
After some time looking.
"I found a!" (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"I found one too!" (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
It didn't take long for them to find what they thought were all the bodies left behind by the monsters and animals.
"So there were 8 in total?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"That's all we found." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"There may even be others a little further away from here, but it's not worth risking moving too far away." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"It is true." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"It would be too dangerous, it wouldn't be worth taking that risk." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
They place all the bodies they find in a row in the snow.
"What do you think? Do you recognize any Boys?" (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
The boy calmly looks at each of them and starts circling them one by one. He crouches down next to them, to get a closer look at their faces.
He does this to everyone one by one, taking his time.
And when he gets to the last one he takes a deep breath and shakes his head and stands up.
"I don't recognize any of them, nothing comes to mind, I don't think I was close to any of them." (Boy)
"So it's likely I was just traveling with them, I shouldn't have met any of them." (Boy)
One of the Soldiers puts his hand on the boy's shoulder with a sad look.
"I'm very sorry." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"No, it's okay, I didn't think it would be that easy, my case is a complicated situation after all." (Boy)
"But what shall we do then? Let's go back?" (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"No, let's burn them." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"It's true, they deserve a dignified ceremony at least." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"I agree." (Boy)
"Then let's gather what we can from the wreckage of the carriages and build a fire." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"Understood." (All)
Walking back and forth, they gather what they could carry of what was left of the carriages that could be used to burn.
After a while they manage to make a big bonfire, and start bringing the bodies to it.
"In the end we found nothing." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"For him it was a total waste of time and money." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"Really?" (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"What do you mean by that?" (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"Look at his face." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
Despite looking a little sad, the boy showed a small smile, he appeared to be satisfied.
"This was the last body." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Yea." (Boy)
The other Private Jason was bringing more wood and other things he could find to the fire as they talked. At some point Private Jason comes across something and is stopped for some time, he puts something in his pocket and goes back to work.
Back at the bonfire, when he gets there, he throws everything he's collected into it.
"I think that's enough." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Yes, that's enough, good work." (Boy)
"Thanks." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
The Soldier reaches into his pocket and takes a book out of it.
"I found this book in one of the wrecks. Do you want to be with him?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"A book?" (Boy)
"What is he about? Did you take a look?" (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Yes, apparently it's a book about fantasy tales, it's quite common nowadays." (Soldier - Jason)
The boy takes the book from the Soldier's hand, opens it and starts to look at it.
"Yeah, it doesn't bring back any kind of memory or feeling of familiarity. I already knew it wouldn't be easy, but still.. This is hard.'' (Boy)
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes and then opens them again.
You were the only thing left behind by them.. Just like me.." (Boy)
The boy smiles and closes the book.
"A book about fantasy tales in? What was the person who liked this book like?" (Boy)
The boy throws the book into the fire.
"At least you won't be left behind abandoned and forgotten like I was." (Boy)
The boy turns and looks at everyone and smiles.
Let's go. Let's go back to the City.
With the sun almost setting, they could already see the entrance to the City.
"It's been a pretty long day hasn't it?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Truth." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"But it's not every day that we have an easy job like this." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Yeah, but it wouldn't have been so easy if we had to face the thing that killed that Horned Bear, you saw those wounds didn't you?" (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Thing? Wasn't it a territorial or food dispute between two horned bears?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"So you thought the same thing as me?" (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"What are you talking about?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"You saw the bodies right? They were in horrible states.." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Yes I saw it, but what about them?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"The wounds." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"The wounds?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"There were claw marks or bite marks." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"More on the Horned Bear there were claw marks too, as well as razor cuts. What's special about it? The blade cuts were probably caused by the mercenaries who were escorting the caravan, right?." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Exactly." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"But what about the claw marks? Did you notice anything different?" (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Something different?" (Soldier 1 - Weston)
The Soldier closed his eyes as he thought and remembered the Horned Bear's body as he continued walking.
"They were different!" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"That's right! The marks on the horned bear's body were the three claw mark, a horn bear has five claws." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Whatever killed him was as big as he was and strong enough to rip his body apart like that." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"That's why you were so alert and watching your surroundings after seeing the Horned Bear's body." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"I hadn't noticed anything." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Don't mind it, we've both worked many more years than you, it's normal to have more experience in this kind of thing." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"But if they knew that, why didn't they say anything?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"We didn't want to cause unnecessary panic." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"And the boy deserved to know what happened there, after all he doesn't remember anything, so at least we wanted to help a little bit to find a clue if possible." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Ehh? I thought you only cared about the money." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"This is important too! Hahaha" (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"But, I can't even imagine the despair of waking up alone and not remembering anything, not even your own name." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"Yeah, I don't know if I could." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"I see..." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
One of the Deliverators looks back towards the Soldiers.
"Thanks for your consideration, but despite that we had also noticed this and told the Boy as well." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"Since when?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Since we saw the body, hasn't it?" (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"Yeah.." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"Only I didn't know then..." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Don't wait... Did you want to stay there even though you knew that boy?" (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"Well, they told me there was a good chance he would come back to devour the rest of the bodies left when he got hungry… But I wanted to take that risk, after all it was the only clue I had." (Boy)
"You're braver than you look... I'm actually more surprised that the Deliverators didn't leave when they noticed this..." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"I told them they wouldn't get the other half of their pay if they left before they finished the job." (Boy)
"That was one of the reasons why we didn't leave, but the other was that it was more dangerous for us to try to go back alone than to wait there with you, since there were three soldiers, if the Monster came back you would at least be able to distract him and win. some time to escape." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"And as Couriers we always choose the option with the highest chance of survival." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"Now I remember why I don't like you… You couriers really suck.. " (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"That's the way it is, don't mind them." (Soldier 1 - Weston)
"Yeah, we can't blame them for thinking that way, you know that." (Soldier 3 - Silas)
"I know.. But I still don't like to hear it directly from their mouths..." (Soldier 2 - Jason)
"And you Boy, never forget our motto, it will help you more than you can imagine." (Deliverer 1 - Emmett)
"Truth." (Deliverer 2 - Sawyer)
"I'll keep that in mind." (Boy)
Later, at night, the boy arrives at the Post Office and on his way to his room. Someone was waiting for him on the way, sitting at a table in the recreation area of the rooms on the second floor.
The doctor was there, waiting for his return.
"We need to talk." (Dr. Jace)
The boy gets a serious look when he sees the doctor.
"Sure, let's go to the library. I have to return a book, so we can talk over there." (Boy)
The doctor sits at a table in front of the bookshelf where the boy was putting back one of the books he borrowed from the library.
"Because? Why did you become a Deliverator? And on top of that taking a job as risky as your first delivery…" (Dr. Jace)
"I had no choice." (Boy)
Earlier that day.
At the reception of the Post Office. The boy walked over to one of the several receptionists who were there.
"I want to become a Deliverator." (Boy)
"Very well, you can accompany me" (Receptionist)
They head to a room.
Soon after, the Mage who works at the Post Office comes to meet them.
The receptionist takes a sheet and starts talking.
"I will read the terms of the Post Office to you, in case you accept and agree to all of them, you will be accepted as a Deliverator." (Receptionist)
"It's all right." (Boy)
By becoming a Deliverer, you are aware that you will always be at risk of life by agreeing to make any delivery, and just as we have no requirement for anyone to join us, anyone can become a Deliverer regardless of who they are, but likewise, we have no responsibility for your life, safety or dangers you will face in any Delivery."
She stops and looks at the boy.
"Do you understand everything so far?" (Receptionist)
"Yea." (Boy)
"So moving on, any Deliverer whether it is an experienced person with years of work or a newbie who has just joined, they can accept any Delivery job, there are no requirements, anyone can take any delivery job anywhere, no matter the difficulty, distance or reward." (Receptionist)
"And when accepting the delivery request, half of the reward is paid in advance as a guarantee for the risk of life that will be faced and also to help with the costs of the trip until the delivery of the same. If you change your mind and want to withdraw from the delivery you accepted, you will need to pay half of the reward that was paid in advance to you, if you do not have the amount in hand, you will be restricted and arrested at the Post Office where you are at the time, and forced to work on the premises of the enclosure without being able to leave the site under any circumstances until having paid the debt." (Receptionist)
"Any questions so far?" (Receptionist)
"No." (Boy)
"Okay, so moving on. Each delivery has a minimum term and a maximum term stipulated taking into account the entire route of the trip and the Post Offices along the route where you must make your stops and check the progress of the delivery. If you do not do this within the maximum period, you will be taxed as a fugitive thief, where you will then be sought and found. And if you cannot prove why you failed to meet the deadline, you will be convicted and imprisoned. Therefore, in cases where you are unable to advance to the next Post Office to attest to the progress of the delivery, you must return to the previous stop or the closest one, even if it is out of your route to report why, for then the delivery time. be recalculated if necessary." (Receptionist)
"I understand. They really are rules with well-crafted countermeasures, I will remember them." (Boy)
"No need, everyone gets a copy of these terms when they become a Deliverator." (Receptionist)
"Oh, that helps a lot haha." (Boy)
"Well, finally, the Code marked on the Deliverers' hand, it serves both to point out your location on a map and to confirm your Vital status, in other words, if you die we know right away. And it's a very simple process actually, the same Code written in your hand is written with the same ink on a white sheet for record, after it is written on the sheet in question it disappears from it, but when you die, it reappears on the sheet in red confirming her death and her Code in red will be visible on this sheet for 24 hours. stored, well, then the registered office of origin of the Courier in question reports to all the other Post Offices that the Courier of such code is dead and to write it off in their record books. This Code is written by the mage at each headquarters, using ink, mana, and the blood of the Deliverator who is registering, so she monitors the individual's vital signs. Quite simple isn't it?" (Receptionist)
"It's actually quite complicated, hahaha, but I managed to understand. In short, you can accept any job no matter its difficulty or reward, but you can't shirk its responsibilities. That's why you don't have criteria for the jobs, because in the end the Deliverator is obliged to pay for what was spent if he can't fulfill it or try even if it's at the cost of his life, anyway the message is very simple like you said: When you accept a job as a Deliverator, you have nowhere to run." (Boy)
The Receptionist smiled at the boy.
"See what I said? Very simple! You got it right. This is how a Deliverator's job works, do you still accept?" (Receptionist)
"Of course I do! That was my only choice from the start." (Boy)
Now the night back to the Postal Headquarters Library.
"Do you know that there are all kinds of monsters all over the roads just waiting for a human to pass through it to be killed?" (Dr. Jace)
"Of course I know." (Boy)
"Then why?" (Dr. Jace)
"It was the only way I could have the resources to travel to other Cities and Villages in search of trying to remember my past. I had had this idea for some time, but I was afraid, after reading all those books I understood very well, the roads, the forests, the mountains, are deadly for ordinary people without combat experience like me, not even the Villages or Cities are safe from these monsters, so there are Guardian Mages in the larger Cities besides the army." (Boy)
"Precisely because you know all this, you should know more than anyone else, you have been attacked before and barely survived and now you don't remember anything because of it, and even then I could help you in your quest, I could provide you the money for these trips of yours for your work with me." (Dr. Jace)
"Dr. Jace, you've already done a lot for me, and even if you wanted to, you couldn't afford to pay me for these trips until I can remember everything, and there's no way you could pay me for them either." (Boy)
"That was the only way I could get the resources to make these trips while visiting different towns and villages along the way." (Boy)
"Still..." (Dr. Jace)
"Don't worry, I already know where I'm going and what I'm going to do, I've even accepted a Delivery far away from here, based on the direction I came from the mountain, I traced a route to go through all the cities and villages to the last coastal city at the end of this Realm's territories, until then I'll find some clue about the memories I've lost." (Boy)
"Boy.. You…" (Dr. Jace)
"Don't worry, you can accompany me on the stops I make at other Post Offices, and whenever I can I'll write you a letter." (Boy)
"Did you really think of everything in? I hope you can get your memories back boy!" (Dr. Jace)
"I will never forget everything you did for me Dr. Jace." (Boy)
The two stand up and shake hands.
"We'll see each other again when I get my memories back Dr. Jace" (Boy)
"I'll be waiting, good luck." (Dr. Jace)
"Yes goodbye." (Boy)
"Up until." (Dr. Jace)