Chapter 14: Supernatural

“Aera Ananeosi, the Troposphere Pillar of the Werewolf Hunters,” the woman who led me from the building to this unknown world was Aera. She told me more about herself as we walked toward the mansion they said belonged to their master.

During our conversation, I also learned that Aera is three years younger than I am. This left me stunned, and I quietly respected her for how diligently she worked in the hidden society at such a young age. Her *coworkers*, such as Flegomeno Kitrino, also said who they were. Flego, which is what he asked me to call him, is the Core Thermosphere Pillar. We are of the same age.

One pillar keeps looking around as if it were the first time he had seen the whole area. He looked at the air as though it were full of nothing. And when Flego tried to get his attention back, his eyes almost fell halfway out of their sockets. He moved around like he wasn't on his own until he accidentally bumped into my arm.

“Don’t mind Zath. He's really like that even when he’s still not a pillar,” Aera whispered. We had already gotten to the mansion by this time. In fact, it was huge and full of lush plants and grounds. The building was bigger than the whole town. It may be the only house in the neighborhood that is bigger than the others, but it didn't look much like what I thought a *mansion* would look just like our place.

We all sat down at the rectangle table in the living room when we got there. The rooms were quiet, which made the mood a little awkward, but Zath's appearance made us all pay attention to him.

Zath took the glass of water as slowly as a sloth when Flego gave it to him. I couldn't figure out how he got to be one of the pillars with such a trait. "Oh, the master is here," Aera poked back our attention, looking to the side of the table in the middle where the master sat down after we all bowed to him. I didn't know we should be polite like this—since we don’t have this kind of practice in our community—but just thinking about not doing it here made me feel like I’m dead.

The master gave me a stern look. As soon as the master sent signals, Aera and the pillars fled from the room. After that, all I noticed was the sound of breezes filling my ears. Then the master gave me a wide grin that caused me to creep.

He slid some paper and a writing implement like a needle with a little tube at its center. My brow furrowed at the sight of the pen. After gazing at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds, I glanced up at him and asked, "What's this?"

“Blood contract,” the master replied.

I put my back against the chair and looked at the paper again. I kept looking at it from front to back, which made one of my eyebrows go up, but I couldn't see any words no matter what I did. "But why is it empty?" I pointed out, but I said it in a lower voice at the end thinking I had missed something.

Then, for a split second, the master took my wrist and pinched a sharp but tiny object on my pointy finger. I quickly took my fingers away from him and looked at the blood coming out of the wound. I exclaimed, "What's that for?!" The tips of my fingers started to tingle, and it seemed as if an electric jolt was traveling up my to my chest.

I could not detect any trace of alarm or fright emanating from the master. Instead, he used a small cloth to wipe the tip of the object. He made sure to brush every corner while keeping his shoulders relaxed. A trace amount of the blood made its way to the paper, and I almost fell out of my chair as I saw that the words began to fill the page until the trace amount of blood was no longer visible.

“What’s happening?”

"Make sure you read the contract. Following that, you are free to sign it.”

I looked around. *B-But… There’s no ballpoint here?*

Additionally, the master did not provide me with a bandage or anything else that might treat or stop the bleeding. In light of all that has happened, how can I possibly sign this contract?

“H-How to sign it?”

“Use your blood.”

I stilled. *What?!*

My pupils drew farther apart in surprise. I was startled and immediately froze in my seat as I turned my head to look at him. “H-How?” My voice was shaky as I uttered the question while repeatedly blinking my eyes.

The master scooched his chair inward to have a better view of the table. The next thing he did was check at my cut fingers. “Use your fingertips, young lady,” he answered.

I gulped. “With all due respect,” I paused for a while, gathering my thoughts. “But, are you serious about this? That sounds painful,” I added.

“What do you think is the reason why it’s called a *blood contract*?”

*Ahm, well, he got a point.*

“For fancy purposes?” I mean, I couldn't even fathom that a method like this could still be used in our current day.

The master only glanced at me. It seemed as if he was waiting for me to finish reading and signing the contract since his eyes were following my every move intently. The pressure he put on me with his stare is such that I can't even bring myself to look him in the eyes anymore.

After going through the terms of the agreement and signing it, I looked down at my fingers and saw that the cut had healed on its own. This caused me to let out a long sigh to get my nerves under control. He advised me to get accustomed to the strange occurrences that are taking place now since I am likely to experience a great deal more of them in the future, particularly given the fact that I am now a werewolf hunter.

The master invited me to join the other werewolf hunters for dinner, but the sight of the food that was being prepared on the table caused me to lose my appetite. The meal, even though it looks clean, has an appetizing aroma, and is visually pleasing, seems to have been manufactured in another nation. So I asked the master if there were any restaurants in this place that sold cuisine that was at least *somewhat* comparable to that found in contemporary eateries.

The master told me what to do and drew a simple sketch on paper. He took a long time to answer my question, and he even talked to the pillars about it. I couldn't believe he would have to talk with other people for so long just to answer my question.

"Be safe, Amilita! I hope to see you again soon! Make sure you'll come back here before sunlight!" As I was stepping away from the mansion's front gate, Aera waved her hand at me.