Another world, Celeste

Chapter Thirteen

After seeing Iris leaves the village, Maya head straight to the sanctuary. Maya casually walks into the entrance, occasionally stopping to observe the monsters in their habitats until she sees the person she's looking for. Luna, the director of the sanctuary is the only elf who would cut her hair short under the pretence of keeping it long gets in the way of her work when in truth she could not be bothered to look proper. A keeper notices Maya quietly waiting at a distance and signals Luna who is in the midst of doing the routine morning examination. The short-haired elf passes her work to the keepers and walks to where Maya is standing with a dishevelled appearance; hays sticking onto her clothes and strands of hair sticking out in odd places.

"When is the last time you slept, Luna?"

Maya voices her concern over her former apprentice.

Luna avoids answering Maya's question and instead says, "Something is causing the monsters' uneasiness since last night. We consulted with the spirits and found the reason. They felt a slight tremor on the ground."

"Where is the tremor coming from?"

"Outside the forest."

"Ah." Maya knows what's the cause. "It should pass in a few days at most."

"I've notified the guards as well."

"We have a day at least before the fiery hail begins. You should get proper sleep until then. The spirits are here to lessen your burden."

Maya says so while taking out a recovery potion from the item bag Iris gifted her.

"I will take my rest after finishing this morning's work," Luna says and gladly receive the potion.

Luna returns to her work after feeling her energy is restoring. Maya enters a rehabilitation building where the critically injured monsters and magical beasts are sheltered. Upon entering, a light wind circles her entire body from the ground to her head. It's a necessary procedure to cleanse her body of any dirt before moving forward. When the wind disappears, a second door opens. The keepers working in the facility are wearing protective gloves and mask. The wind sterilisation at the entrance and the protective wears are enforced by Maya from her earlier years as the director of the sanctuary. Now she is retired from that position, but she occasionally lends her assistance when the keepers are dealing with a potentially hazardous case.

Luna has just finished her work examining the health and behaviour of the tropical zone residents when the head elf is walking around by himself.

"Is Maya here?"

"She should be inside." Luna answers.

Luna head to the facility together with the head elf.

"How is the recovery of the Rhine?" The head elf asks.

Rhine is the species name for the magical beast brought by the Imperial Army soldiers.