"Uhm, could we get more chocolate for Ms Kinoshita please," the minister glanced to one of the guards.
"No," Hotaru waved her hand, "No, no, please, I just…" her eyes snuck to Jotou, "I can't control myself around chocolate…"
"Well… that's news to me… I'm sorry about this."
"No need to apologize Thundering Blade, we can't blame a chocolate lover for coming to Galuvit. Hartamat's chocolate may not be the best in ranking, but it does have that homemade taste."
"I, thought I only took a few, not the… whole plate," she put the dish down, blushing as she kept her hands folded on her lap. "My focus is here, one hundred percent."
'I guess they were out for the taking… Though, she looked so happy and cute when she stopped and realized.' Jotou hid a smirk, "It's okay Hotaru. Back to business?" she faced the minister.
"Of course," Minister Saady moved on.
The redhead composed herself, ears standing up, "If a pass cannot be acquired upon request, then there must be a compensation for the travellers held up here.
Since we are hiring our service by private means and not governmental we have the right to move out and take upon the risks ourselves and not blame Hartamat for it.
I'm not as well-versed in the laws of Cravolta as I am with Kria, but I know the laws change in each province and each settlement; and as minister of Hartamat you're allowed to issue a pass on the ban you yourself made.
So I ask, why are you unable to give us a pass upon request, important visitors or not? I have not heard any word of compensation."
'There she is.'
"Well…" the minister recoiled slightly; those brilliant blue eyes of hers barely blinked. "For the safety of any traveller really. It's true Hartamat cannot be blamed for private transports.
Still, if anything were to happen right out the borders of Hartamat, there is no question where the responsibility would go to in the eyes of the general public."
"You understand this is still illegal then? Whether it is to protect your reputation or not."
"…Okay, we can find a common ground here, compensation can be issued. I was not expecting to get into legal matters with stellar guests all of a sudden," the minister let out a breath facing Jotou.
"Please do not deflect from the subject Minister Saady. I understand if this is coming from a humanitarian perspective even, I do. However, I must request more accurate information on this travel ban and the reasons for it."
"I have the right not to relay this information-"
"It seems there's a lack of information since this is an official ban."
"We must keep the public under safety, which is the reason I neglected to inform the full cause of the ban as mass panic would promote illegal travel-"
"Then the public must be informed in detail, whether or not they accept it is out of the subject. This ban changes the livelihoods of-"
"Hotaru," Jotou put an arm out, "Let the man breathe…" Only then did Hotaru's eyes dart somewhere other than the minister.
"I see why… the Velatos Case was handled so, efficiently," he laid a hand on his chest, taking a breather.
"I assure you," Jotou gazed to Hotaru, "She's quite impressive. Although, by the sounds of things, you are doing something illegal."
Hotaru watched Jotou's arm retract, tail wagging on the sofa to the compliment. Her ears twitched back and forth, snapping out of the memories of being in court.
"It is true," he nodded. The guards around kept watch on him, more so cautious of Hotaru, they stood somewhat straighter. "I can't lie, part of this is to protect my reputation.
If someone were to disappear or die while the ban is up, it may also affect the reputation of Hartamat. Not to mention, I don't wish for anyone's death within this region."
"I understand," Jotou sat up, twisting her body to both of them, "Let's keep this simple, legal and illegal. I'm the Thundering Blade of Kria.
I've had dealings with the Trailon Regime. What can you tell me about this battalion who've set up shop?"
"I can't recall every detail at the moment. What I can remember, is that this battalion had been set up a couple of days ago. Hartamat's Defence Force reported this last night.
Apparently this is a rogue battalion, diverging from the invasion party in the west coast of Galuvit who have minimized Cravolta's borders.
Our Defence Force is set to leave tomorrow to deal with the threat. Since it's a rogue battalion, no mercy has to be taken. So the ban can be lifted once they report back on a victory, three or four days from now."
"And, if we want to move, then there's a risk of encountering Regimian soldiers which we don't know the likelihood of. So, we have no reason to risk that since our 'business' is flexible."
"True," Hotaru rested her shoulders, "Sorry if I came across as rude. Is there any way to expedite the process then? Since no compensation is provided other than safety."
"Actually," the minister raised a finger, "We can give free housing for the stuck travellers as well as a limited food supply."
"That sounds fair," Hotaru nodded.
His finger brushed across his moustache, "If the Thundering Blade would like to join in the defence force's endeavours, this can be resolved much quicker. I've heard of your feats and you have a party? If I'm not mistaken?"
"Yeah?"
"We can commission you and you can leave much sooner. I can talk to Major Schroeder; our forces would be stronger. And I'm willing to offer… twenty armite for a success," he threw his offer with his arms.
Two bubbled eyes, brown and blue took quick glances at each other… "It is a war, rogue battalion or not and there's a lot of danger involved… but," Jotou's head pivoted in a slight shrug of her shoulders, "We'll think about it?"
"We… we can think about it," Hotaru faced back to the minister with a nod, "Give us some time to talk to our party and we'll be back in, half an hour?"
"Fantastic. This issue can resolve much quicker in your capable hands after all," the minister gave one big clap to get up and show his guests out.
On their way to the door, between teeth, "How much did we get for saving Kria?" Jotou whispered on the redhead's shoulder.
"Ten armite and five platinum. The city needed to rebuild and hire more hands and all," Hotaru hushed back.
"And this little battalion battle will get us nearly double?"
"I'm thinking about the same thing Jotou, but a battalion isn't a velatos," Hotaru stepped out the door, alongside Jotou as the guards stood by.
"I mean, I think I can deal with-"
The two paused to the figure in front of them. Asobi wore a silk blouse of whites and blacks, a long skirt of the same make till her feet, leaving her slender midriff exposed.
However, that was the figure in the background, doing parlour tricks for bystanders who would throw a copper piece or two. No, it was the one right in their face, right out the office.
Her hairdo the same, but it was under a giant purple beret—a magenta shirt, collar stiff as cardboard hiding half her face and oversized for her figure.
A purple scarf-coat encased her neck till her lower back and sat behind like a cape that could be unravelled by pulling forward. And two puffy purple pants that ended in shoes that glowed purple.
A stifle. Another stifle. One after the other, Hotaru and Jotou could only hold in their snickering for so long before they began laughing.
"What!?" Fumeko looked up to the two.
"What are you wearing?" Jotou managed to gasp for long enough.
"It, it looks amazing, what do you mean!? I'm not sweating at least!"
"For a clown?" Hotaru held her stomach.
"Grr… I just want my damn normal clothes back! Can we enchant it or something? I want to get to Cravolta City and the nearest Ordinate already!" she stomped the ground.
"We, have some news on that… Phew," Jotou shook her head, then snickered again to her outfit.
"How did you find us?"
"Simple, you said 'through proper channels' which means the nearest police station. We went there, asked for a blonde and a wolf-girl, some nice dude with a tattoo gave directions to the minister's office. So, are we leaving sooner?"
"Kind of," Jotou wiggled her hand, "We can leave sooner if we go take care of the battalion with Hartamat's Defence Force."
Fumeko crossed her arms, "We have to fight an entire battalion so that we can leave a couple of days sooner…?"
"And we're being commissioned for twenty armite if we accept," Hotaru added.
The brunette's pupils turned into gold bars, "We have to accept! Right!?" she stared at Jotou.
Jotou scoffed, "Is there any reason not to!? High risk, high reward, we were gonna go do commissions in Cravolta City anyway weren't we?"
"It's definitely exciting. We are a master level party, especially with our reputation. Most parties beyond master level rarely have to find commissions from a board, the commissions come to them.
If we build a reputation for ourselves, we'll be more likely to be commissioned in the future and for higher prices. The fact that this is happening so soon was not something I planned for," her tail swivelled.
"It's settled then, if we don't accept this, it's our detriment. We'll go accept it and see what comes next. Plus, we get to kick Trailon in the ass a bit more," Jotou smirked.
"Yes!" Fumeko pumped her fist, "Asobi!" Fumeko yelled across.
"Meko!?" Asobi turned, the illusions of sparkles and stars disappearing.
"We're getting money!!!" the brunette screamed with her hands in the air, blinking to the elf.
"WOOO!! To buy what!?"
"FOOD!"
"YAY!"
Hotaru shook her head in a sigh, standing next to Jotou as the other two grouped up. "Things are looking great," Jotou took a deep breath.
Upon confirmation, they accepted the commission. The minister scheduled a meeting for Jotou with the Major tomorrow morning, leaving Jotou to get some warm-up swings, the party to polish their magic and to find better clothes by nightfall.