Chapter 6

6.1

"Sir, it's important that I speak with you" I said.

"Of course, come inside".

I followed the chief inside the building. It looked traditional. The building was covered in statues of other men who were likely the previous leaders. I couldn't see this chiefs statue so I'm assuming you either have to be dead or retired as the leader of the village before you get a statue.

We entered a room after a walk through the hallway. The room was the third room on the right. The other rooms had their doors closed except for this room. I wonder what is in the other rooms that would cause them to have them closed and if it was so secretive then they should just have these rooms in the basement.

We took our seats on either side of the table. I tilted my head to the left and saw a painting of an old man. He wore red robes under his uniform. The uniform was similar to the guards outside but it was more flashy and looked heavier. My gaze returned to its original position and saw that the current chief wore no armour. Most likely the village has changed from its roots and became more peaceful. I guess their taking a note from the monk's book.

A woman came in the room and placed a tray on the table. It contained two cups of tea, a teacup, a mug of milk and a plate with biscuits. I picked up the cup of tea and stared at it for a while. I could use my enhanced vision to see if there is any poison or something that could be harmful but I don't want my eyes to start glowing indicating to the chief that I don't trust him.

"It's just a cup of tea" the chief said.

"Sorry, I've never had silver tea before" I replied.

He raised his eyebrows slightly almost as if he didn't believe me. In all honesty it doesn't matter if he believes me. I did just save the lives of the entire village so I don't think he's going to be too upset with me staring at a cup of tea.

I took a sip from the tea and immediately put it down. I think it may have burnt my tongue of. I picked up the milk and poured the entire thing down my mouth. I put the milk down and looked back up to see both people shocked. At the click of my finger, the milk that was dripping on my uniform was gone.

"Sorry, I thought my mouse was on fire" I said.

"I'm very sorry, I should have asked if you would be okay with such a hot drink" The woman said with her head bowed. Her face was turning red.

"It's no big deal" I responded. I tilted my head back to the chief and apologised for the scene I had caused. I just hope that if I get a review on the assignment, this won't be brought up.

"I came here because I need help to find the source of the spirit attack"

"I'm sorry young man, but I can't help you with that but I can try and give you as much information as I can provide"

That's a shame. I was hoping that this assignment would get easier as time went on but that's not the case. It isn't something that I should dwell on. If the chief is able to provide information regarding the latest attacks then that would be helpful enough. The file that I have in my backpack is still around a day old in terms of its information. Plus it wasn't easy for the thronrean intelligence agency to get this information without getting too close to the attacks. Foreign relations is in a rocky place. Apparently Amaterasu believes that the other countries is involved. Her reasoning was that this is the first time this has happened in decades and the last time it happened, it was caused by a rogue Thronrean agent.

"What's the current state of the country?" I asked.

"The country is currently in chaos. Nearly all of the clans are fighting one another. There are dead bodies showing up on the shores of the other clans. Each clan is blaming the other for the deaths. All of the fighting is feeding negative energy into the spirits and making them more powerful." He replied.

This is mostly information that I already know but I should ask more questions to get a better idea on the connections between the clans and how to figure out how to fix the relations between them, in turn reducing the negative energy given to the spirits.

"How can I bring the leaders of the clans to enter a meeting with one another?"

"In order for a meeting with the leaders to be arranged, their representatives must be contacted and they must agree to the meeting."

The representatives of the five clans are the five sons of Amaterasu. They act as ambassadors for each clan. They don't take part in the active running of their clans unless the clan is under attack by an army. When Amaterasu and her sons vowed to oversee the nation, they made a vow to the heavens that they would only guide and not run the nation. The vow prevents them from helping, literally. There body is not allowed to intervene unless the situation is extreme like an invasion.

"How do I get the attention of the five sons?" I asked.

"If you want to get their attention then you could ask their assistants but due to foreign relations, they likely won't allow it." He responded.

It appears that I'll have to use force to get their attention. As long as no one gets hurt they shouldn't be too upset with the result.

"I have tried my best to keep this village neutral but the man in charge of the clan doesn't wasn't that. He wants to bring the clan back to its old warrior roots and for it to become the strongest clan like it was in the past, before the samurais took twenty percent of our land and forced us in the position that we are in now." The chief said.

The samurais took over massive parts of the kioka clan but that was because the former leader of the Kioka clan got too ambitious and underestimated the strength of the samurai clan.

"How comes the Monks are able to remain neutral and your clan can't?" I asked.

"They have always remained neutral, on the other hand there is us who have always engaged in combat resulting in the other clans expecting us to take a side".

That makes sense. I only have one question left to ask. I tilted my head back up and looked the chief in the eye.

"Can I see the Body?"