“Nice to meet you, Mr. Gorildo. Can I assume you’re the head of Crows?”

“Yes, so what business do you have with us today? I’m sure you didn’t come here just to visit this old man.”

“I need your organization’s help.”

“You do know the price, right?”

Gin stared down Tom and Tom’s body froze. His body was covered in cold sweat as his entire body was being suppressed by Gin’s presence. If this was an anime then Tom would have believed that the power of a person’s presence was normal but this was real life. How could someone emit their aura like this?

“I-I don’t. Gary didn’t tell me anything about a price.”

“Hahaha, I like you. You’re quite the honest kid.”

Tom could finally relax his body as Gin’s suppressive aura disappeared. Gin was laughing like a jolly old giant.

“Go ahead, what is your request. Since you’re here on the recommendation of the Euctan family, you don’t have to pay anything. The Euctan’s have done a lot to support our organization.”

Tom sighed in relief as he began talking about his request. Gin’s expression changed a few times when Tom talked about the details of Lisa being stuck in Ostempal.

“Can you fulfill my request?”

Gin was silent and didn’t reply back. Tom could see that Gin was thinking about something important so he decided not to interrupt him. More time passed and Tom decided to interrupt Gin.

“Umm, Mr.Gin, can I have your reply to my request.”

“Oh, yes, I’ll contact you if I find anything.”

“Thank you.”

Tom was guided out of the room by a ninja in black. He was worried about Gin’s silence during their discussion but he decided not to worry about it, it wasn’t his place to ask Gin about his matters. Tom was glad that his request was accepted, although he didn’t know when he’ll find out if Lisa was safe or not but with the help of professionals, he was sure they were going to find information on Lisa. All he could do now was wait for any information from Crows.

Tom had left the room but Gin was still silently thinking to himself. From behind the door, another person dressed like a ninja appeared. In his hands were two folders, one bigger than the other.

“Here’s the report on Tom Ray and Lisa Bowell. I’m sorry but we weren’t able to get much information on Lisa Bowell.”

“It’s fine. Tell Tarou that he’s going to Urica on a mission and fill him in on the details.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tom hadn’t sensed it but this entire time, there were people listening to their conversation. In the middle of it, Gin had ordered his men to find any information on Tom Ray and Lisa Bowell. Gin was interested in Tom but he was more interested in Lisa.

“Tom Ray, 22 years old, an eccentric inventor from a very young age. At the age of 10, he created a car with arms, at 12 he created a fridge that could walk, at 15 he was able to harness harmful gases into energy sources but it was inefficient, and at the age of 20 he left Urica for Japon. He joined the Mechanical Bodies for Defense, an organization meant to build robots that would help the military. A few notable achievements but nothing amazing.”

Gin didn’t find Tom’s achievements anything amazing since he knew people who have achieved even more at a younger age. He began looking through Lisa’s files but the information was significantly less than with Tom.

“Lisa Bowell, 21 years old and the girlfriend of Tom Ray. Also one of the most highly anticipated non-professional female MMA fighters. She started gaining fame as she joined the MMA club at her college where she has an undefeated record of 20-0. Professional scouts from all over Urica were ready to sign her into going professional by the end of the year.”

Her record was impressive but other than that, Gin should have had no reason to be interested in her but there was a reason. Lisa was in the same in MMA club as his son, Gorou, and Gin hasn’t been able to contact him for an entire week. The situation was the same as it was for Tom.

“Is it really a coincidence that we both lost contact with them?”

Gin found it too convenient. Both he and Tom lost contact with someone in Ostempal, Urica, and what was the chances of Tom discovering the Crows organization. Only prestigious families should know of them and Tom had the chance of coming upon one.

Gin was suspicious of Tom but he was doubting himself. Tom didn’t seem like he was acting nor being too investigative of the organization. Gin could tell that the only thing Tom cared for was for Lisa and nothing else.

“Maybe it was fate that we met?”

……

“Have you found anything about Lisa?”

“I’m sorry.”

Tom was confused. It’s only been two days since he’s requested for their help but they had already contacted him. He was hopeful that they may have found something but looking at the situation, it didn’t seem that way. The person in front of him wasn’t Gin or the ninja in black but another person.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to Lisa?”

Various thoughts were rushing through Tom’s mind but the person in front of him was silent. Tom calmed himself down and gave the man time to explain the situation.

“I’m sorry, please explain.”

“I’m sorry to say this but we lost contact with the man we sent to Urica.”

“What do you mean? Can’t you send another person?”

“That’s the problem. Japon has decided to isolate itself so we can’t send anyone outside of the country.”

“Wait, what do you mean Japon has isolated itself!?”

Tom stood up in shock, he hadn’t heard any news of Japon isolating itself. The man turned on the TV and the news channel was on. Tom continued to watch and his face turned pale. The news was reporting the isolation of Japon.

“Early this morning, Japon has decided to shut itself from the world. We will not allow anyone to leave or enter the country. If these rules are not followed then we will use military force if necessary.”

“T-this is crazy!”

Tom couldn’t believe it. How could Japon decide to isolate itself out of the blue? Not even a decent explanation was given out why isolation was occurring.

“W-what about my request? Are you still able to find Lisa.”

“Please don’t worry. Even if we have lost contact with our man in Urica, they will be sure to accomplish their mission.”

Tom rubbed his temples before calming himself. All he could do was depend on Crows.

“I might be overstepping my boundaries but can I ask why Japon has isolated itself. It seems like you guys know more than the average citizen.”

“I won’t go into details but I’ll inform you of the overall situation, it’s the least we can do to compensate you. Have you seen or heard of the monsters appearing around the world?”

“Yes.”

“Good, then I won’t have to explain that to you. Japon has decided to isolate itself in fear of these monsters coming from other countries.”

“Wait, aren’t monsters easily recognizable, why does Japon need to hide. Wouldn’t it be better to get help from other countries.”

“No, your understanding of monsters is too simple. Monsters can come in all shapes and forms, they can be giants or even the size of a shoe. We don’t have a sure way of detecting these monsters so the government is afraid of letting in monsters from overseas. Besides, we have our own problems to deal with.”

The person in front of him didn’t elaborate but looking at the context clues, Tom assumed that monsters were already appearing within Japon and it seemed like dealing with them wasn’t easy. Having nothing else to talk about, the person whose name he didn’t know left his house and Tom was left to think to himself.

Tom didn’t know what to do now, he could try to escape Japon but that wasn’t feasible considering the situation. He didn’t have any contact with Lisa so he could only hope that she was safe. Tom sighed to himself as he made a decision. If there were really monsters appearing all over Japon then he needed to hurry and create his giant robot. If he was going to reunite with Lisa then he needed to find a way to survive when facing these monsters.

|......|

“That’s the situation, young master. I’m afraid I lost contact with the organization two weeks ago. I’m just glad that I was able to find you and Ms.Lisa.”

Gorou folded his arms as he listened to the situation from Tarin, no, Tarou. Gorou suspected that his father had already sent the Crows to come and find him but he hadn’t met any of them within Ostempal which showed how secretive Ostempal was. Crows was an organization that had its reach all over the world but even Tarou wasn’t able to truly learn about the situation in Ostemapl.

“Good job, Tarou. Now that you’re done with your mission, I want you to go back to Japon and check on the situation.”

“Yes, young master.”

“I also want you to go talk to Lisa about Tom’s situation. If she wants to go to Japon then I want you to escort her with your life and if she doesn’t then I’ll handle it.”

Both Tarou and Gorou went back to the others. Tarou took Lisa to talk and begin revealing about Tom had hired him to find her. Lisa’s body shook at finally getting some information on Tom’s situation but she calmed herself since Tarou wasn’t done talking yet.

“I’ve lost contact with them but since I’ve found you, would you like to go back to Japon with me?”

“I…”

Lisa couldn’t clearly speak as she couldn’t make a decision. She wanted to stay with her new friends but she also wanted to see if Tom was safe.

“It’s fine, just give me an answer by the end of the day.”

The two of them finished talking and Lisa was left with a dilemma.