"Nothing. But let me just inform you that I am a student of the Bluestone Sect. killing me will only result in your inevitable death. In fact, telling this to you is another reason I decided to come here. If the chief is indeed responsible, he will likely come to you to take care of me; most likely not telling you who exactly I am to not scare you away from the job. Anyways, I suppose we are done with this nonsense. I will begin asking my questions. What do you know about the situation?"
The other side of the door remained oddly silent for a good two minutes, during which time Kai took a good look around and memorised everything in case he had to make a break for it, to fight against the hunter inside.
He knew that this was a slightly risky method, however, he needed to get as many mana crystals as he possibly could in as little time as possible in order to begin his plans of amassing potions to increase his Spiritual Energy.
A few seconds later, the door was opened from the inside, and a rather large figure emerged. A beast of a person had just walked out with a quiver of wooden arrows and a bow made of some regular-looking wood.
The only thing was, it was not a man with an unkempt beard, but a lady. Well, not that Kai had anything against female huntsmen, however, he was just assuming it was a man based on the voice and was rather taken aback to see a female with a toned body leaving the house.
However, he quickly collected himself and restored his surprised look with a neutral one and waited for the huntress to answer.
"Well… how did it all start…? Oh yes! It all started 5 years ago, when Mrs Gren had died of natural causes, however, her husband killed himself… or was it the other way around? Not sure, but they both ended up dying and their child, who was 15 at the time, just vanished into thin air."
"Right… We had searched for him for a good month until we assumed he died in the snow somewhere. However, over the next year, we never found his body. In the end, we assumed it should have already become part of the land so we gave up search for the body as well."
"Anyways, about a year since the disappearance of Mrs Gren's child, another child vanished. This time, however, only the 7-year-old child vanished. Or was it 8-year-old… Not quite sure. My memory is a little foggy."
"For the next 4 years, every 5 months or so another child went missing, and it started to become a little concerning. However, recently, every 2 months a child goes missing, never to be found again. This has become a serious problem… for the village chief and the villages. Not that it concerns me, since I don't have any kids. In fact, I'm not even married yet, so none of this matters to me." The huntress shrugged, accidentally loosening the cloth she used to tie her hair in a bun, letting the fiery red hair fall onto her shoulders and back.
"I see. Have you seen anyone suspicious?" Kai asked.
"Hmm… I have not. However, a few of the villages claim to have seen a hooded figure in blood-red robes scampering across the forest a few nights ago. Everyone's been calling it the Blood Devil."
"Oh…" Kai exclaimed in a low voice as he finally understood the intonations of the child he had just met as soon as he entered the village, and he did not like it one bit. Being called a blood-crazy devil who kidnaps and murdered small children for the past few years was not something he wanted to experience.
It felt as though mud had been thrown at your face even if you were just minding your own business without anyone knowing.
"Alright. Anything else?"
"Yeah… I highly doubt the village chief is involved. After all, the very first child to disappear was his own grandson… Having lost both his daughter and her husband, as well as their child all in one go, I doubt he would have been involved in it." The tall and tanned huntress added on before nodding to herself as she was put into deep thought to remember this.
Kai on the other hand had vastly differing thoughts specifically for the same reasons stated by the huntress. His eyes shone as he began to have an inkling of what might be the true cause. However, he did not immediately tell the huntress about it, and just asked,
"I am Kai. You are?"
"Victoria."
"Well, Ms. Victoria, it was pleasant to make your acquaintance. I will go around doing my investigation for some time now, and hopefully will not have to bother you again."
"Quite the way you have with words for a child like you~" Victoria the huntress mused out loud before shrugging and reaching out her hand.
"To not have to meet again."
"To not have to meet again." Kai shook her hand before walking away in the shallow drizzle.