Yodaka Area, South 714... Cozal Bel 3211...
There's no mistake, it should be right here...
But there seems to have been a terrible fire.
It is over there?
This is an unusual looking postal sign.
Did the fire damage-
This child... is the letter?
Letter and Letter Bee
I wonder why the sky is brighter than usual?
Mom... It's you, right?
Your hand is always so cold...
What? I can't hear you.
Mom, why are you crying?
Don't cry, Mom!
No... You're not my mother...
Who...
...are you?!
Oh, sorry!
My name is Gauche! Gauche Suede, 18 years old!
I am currently trying to open a can of soup I obtained at a marketplace in Yuusari.
It's mostly broth, but at least it's easy to carry, so...
I apologize. I'm not very skilled at talking.
This here is my dingo, Roda.
"Dingo" is a term used in my line of work.
It means a partner and a friend, Lag Seeing.
Why do you know my name?
Are you working for those creeps who took my mom away to that light?!
That light?
Your mother was taken to the capital, Akatsuki?
Give my mom back!
Give her back!
I do not know what has happened here, but it doesn't seem like your heart has recovered yet.
I confirmed your name on the delivery label attached to your left arm.
Delivery label?
Contents: Person - Albisian. Age: 7. Male. Fragile. Lag Seeing.
I always deliver paper letters, but it seems this time it's a human... you.
Who exactly are you?
You are not familiar with the work of the Bees?
I am a Bee; a member of the Amberground national postal service.
People call us "Letter Bees."
Letter Bee?
We travel from town to town around the countryside
fearless in the face of any danger, delivering the precious letters of the citizens.
That, precisely, is the job of a Letter Bee!
...well, that's what is says in the manual, anyway.
Do you basically understand the situation you're in now?
I have found sufficient postage on your delivery label.
So from now on, I consider you a package to deliver.
Therefore, as it is not necessary for me to know the contents of a letter,
I need know nothing further about you.
Nor am I curious, so please refrain from saying anything.
Then let's be on our way, Lag Seeing.
On toward your addressed destination.
Let me go!
Do not worry. I'm just doing my job.
And who said I was worryin' about you!
Let me go!
Where are you planning on taking me?
The address is Yodaka Area, South 624137-22 Cambel Litus #109.
For a Mrs. Sabrina Mary.
Sabrina? The old lady who lived in our neighborhood?
And the shipper, in other words, the person who sent you, is one Anne Seeing.
Mom?!
That's a lie! There's no way!
Why, you...
You big jerk!
Ouch!
It's those guys!
This is all their doing!
Stop it, Lag Seeing!
As I said before, we Letter Bees mustn't peek at the contents of the letters!
You should wait to tell someone until after you have arrived at your destination-
It's those bad guys...
...that came from where that light is.
There's no way... it could be Mom...
There's no way Mom...
...would send me away...
No way...
Hey, let me down already, sheesh.
Will you walk without giving me trouble?
Starting Point: Coza Bel
Now, we are heading towards Cambel, the southernmost city in Yodaka.
Blue Pumpkin Mountain Range
Jose's White Desert Destination: Cambel Litus
However there's not much data on the route, plus the darkness levels and Gaichuu territories are unclear.
Gaichuu?
They are ferocious and dangerous creatures that inhabit the areas of darkness between towns.
[Note: Gaichuu means armored insect (éŽ§è™«)]
They react to the hearts of humans, instinctualy attacking them.
The heart?
Yes. And they have a body covered in armor harder than steel that can even cause bullets to ricochet off.
Is that one of 'em?
Yes, it is! Right over there!
I-It's huge!
That's the Gaichuu "Daikiri."
This one has grown quite large...
Your dog's in danger!
Do not worry.
Roda and I work as a team.
She acts as a decoy while I aim for the Gaichuu's weak point, the gaps in its joints.
Then hurry up and do something!
She'll be a goner in no time!
This is all part of my job, so please stay quiet for a bit.
If I can't concentrate properly, my bullets are less effective.
But, didn't you just say that guns wouldn't work?
Do not worry. This is a gun used to combat the Gaichuu.
A shindanjuu.
The stone is glowing.
It's coming this way!
Shindan loaded.
Black Needle!
I'm tellin' you, I heard it...
I heard that Gaichuu cry or something...
The scholars in Yuusari assert that Gaichuu do not possess a heart.
Now then, eat your soup.
Blech! This is awful!
Enough out of you!
Stop complaining and start eating!
Yeah, right! You can yell all you want; I ain't scared of you!
Look, even Roda thinks it's disgusting.
Roda, too?
Honestly, I just shot a shindan, so could you give me a bit of consideration, Lag Seeing?
Huh? What was with that weird gun before anyway?
Normal weapons will not work against the hard armor covering the Gaichuu.
Therefore the Letter Bees each carry various weapons to oppose the Gaichuu.
Mine is this shindanjuu.
And this is the bullet it shoots.
What's this? It's empty inside...
Correct, it is empty. It is not a physical bullet.
What do you mean?
[Note: Shindanjuu means heart-bullet gun (å¿ƒå¼¾éŠƒ)]
In other words, the bullets loaded into this gun are fragments of my very heart, Lag Seeing.
Fragments of your heart?
The only way to defeat the Gaichuu is to resonate "heart" from within their armor.
But, that's...
Do you know about this black stone set in my shindanjuu?
It was glowing before.
It is hypothesized that the spiritual energy of the land
resided within the bodies of tiny insects in the ancient past.
Those so-called spirit insects were trapped in resin
and turned into amber over the ages that still possesses this energy.
They're called spirit amber, and this is one of those stones.
I can use my own heart as a weapon through the power of this stone in my gun.
However using your heart weakens it.
Almost as if it's being eaten away...
Hey, that's an apple!
Why do only you get an apple?
Like I said, when you shoot a shindan, your heart gets tired, so-
So that's the worst that could happen?
What do you mean?
Like, you Gauche. If your heart was eaten all up, just like this apple...
If one ends up shooting their entire heart...
The body will be all that's left.
The human known as Gauche Suede would surely disappear.
Hey... About this spirit amber thing...
Are there pure red ones, too?
Red, you say? There are various types of colors depending on the insect, but I'm not sure about red.
Wait, I can't be discussing this with an outsider.
I guess I really am a bit tired.
Let us call it a day and get some rest.
If only I'd had a weapon like this...
I could've...
...protected Mom!
Lag!
A shindan's been loaded into the gun!
The amber's power is starting to rise!
Oh, no! Lag, let go of the gun!
Roda, get the gun!
Wait, who are you guys?
Where are you taking Mom?
I see... These are Lag's memories...
A fragment of Lag's heart...
And... This is a memory of his mother?
Lag and his mother always lived alone together.
Lag's mother raised him all by herself.
All by herself...
Give back my mom!
Don't take her... away!
Give her back!
Give her back...
Lag's...
Mom!
Mom...
Roda!
Oh, no!
Don't move, Lag.
You're safe here.
Please rest a little longer.
What... happened?
I don't know what the cause was, exactly.
But the power of the spirit amber overflowed and caused the shindanjuu to lose control.
It's said that there is still undiscovered spirit amber sleeping within Amberground.
Perhaps it resonated with an amber vein in these mountains.
There are various ways to use a shindan.
I shot you with one. A shindan used to aid the recovery of someone's heart.
Actually, I'm not so skilled at that one.
I just hope it works...
Goodnight, Lag. You've used your heart too much.
His mother... So that's what it feels like?
I guess I've been affected by Lag's heart.
Now I've gotten worried.
I want to see you again soon, Sylvette.
I sense something...
After releasing so much heart, almost like fireworks,
it's no wonder that the Gaichuu have been drawn here.
Thanks, Roda, but I'm fine.
This is some serious overtime, but I've got no choice.
I'm just doing my job.
Here, again?
A town colored entirely in twilight...
And so many people...
There's Gauche!
There's that disgusting soup!
20 cans of this soup, please.
I think the ones on the right look like they'd taste better.
Aria... I'm sure the ones on the left are better.
Then here, I'll pay for it.
A first present to celebrate your promotion.
Don't worry, we'll celebrate it properly later.
T-Thank you, Aria Link.
I'll be lonely, but...
You've always been working for this moment, Gauche...
Aria...
Congratulations.
Promotion?
That's right, Sylvette!
After my next delivery is over, I'm being transferred from Yuusari to the capital, Akatsuki!
We won't be able to live together for a bit, but don't worry.
I'll call for you to come real soon.
I won't let you live in poverty ever again.
I, your brother, will definitely go to Akatsuki and become the Head Bee!
If I become the Head Bee, I'm sure I'll find a cure for your legs!
I'll save up a ton of money! I'll work and work and save up a fortune!
Sylvette...
What was that just now?
Gauche?
Gauche...
Roda...
Gauche...
Next: My Friend