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Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (2009) - S01 - CR vs Commie

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Commie

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?

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?

Now, we are heading towards Cambel, the southernmost city in Yodaka.

However there's not much data on the route, plus the darkness levels and Gaichuu territories are unclear.

Gaichuu?

[Note: Gaichuu means armored insect (鎧虫)]

They are ferocious and dangerous creatures that inhabit the areas of darkness between towns.

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.

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CR
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?
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?
Now, we are heading towards Cambel, the southernmost city in Yodaka. 
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.
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?
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...
Sylvette...
What was that just now?
Gauche?
Gauche...
Roda...
Gauche...

Hey, what's a "Head Bee?"
You saw something after I shot you with that shindan yesterday, I see.
Just tell me already.
Head Bee is the highest position we Bees can obtain.  
So they're like the captain of the Letter Bees or something?
Captain? Well, perhaps...
They say there is no letter they can't deliver.
Currently there is only a single Bee with that title.
Outside of important government deliveries, the Head only operates in the capital,
so we have not yet met face to face.
It's someone we Letter Bees all look up to, I suppose.
You didn't see anything else, right?
What's with that creepy grin?
That Sylvette girl's pretty cute!
How old is she?
She's 7 years old.
Now that you mention it, she's the same age as you.
Wait, you even saw my little sister?
Gauche, you like that Aria girl, right?
Are you guys dating?
Hey, hey! Have ya smooched yet? Have ya? 
You rubbed her boobies?  
Honestly, this is why children are so hard to handle.
Gauche, you'll make it to Head Bee.
The woman who ran the bread shop used to say it all the time:
"It's the jerks who always get promoted!"  
I think I'm gonna barf...
Please bear with it. I don't have any other food.
I can't stand this disgusting soup anymore!
I suppose it can't be helped. 
Gauche!
Quiet.
Hey, what if you used a shindan?
Sometimes it's important to train the body as well.
Do not worry! Today, finally, I will catch one!
Huh?
Lag!
Huh?
'Night... 
Lag Seeing.
It will be quite cold tonight.
I am not very good in the cold, so would you perhaps sleep together with me tonight?
I don't really mind...
The stars are brighter than I thought they would be.
The rest of this delivery should go smoothly, Lag Seeing.
If we make haste, we might be able to reach Cambel Litus by midday tomorrow.
Tomorrow?
Yes.
Do you have anyone you would like to write a letter to, Lag?
Of course not...
Then, one day, please try writing one.
Why? Who cares about some stupid letters...
Even a single word will do.
As long as there is someone who will shed a tear of happiness when they receive it.
Even just from a single word?
To those people who live apart from one another, a letter contains the heart of the person that wrote it.
It's fluff from the chippa flowers that bloom in Jose's white desert.
It means that we will soon exit the mountain pass.
That light is so far away...
What's a letter anyway?
So what about my mom?
If you can send a letter anywhere, you can send one to my mom!
When we get to Cambel, I'm never gonna see my mom again!
You're gonna start working in Akatsuki after this, right Gauche?
So take me with you to the capital!
Take me to Akatsuki, Gauche!
If I can get to Akatsuki, I can find out who those guys who kidnapped my mom were!
I could find my mom!
Right, Gauche? Why not?
Lag... Unless you are called into service by the government and issued a crossing permit,
those from Yodaka cannot cross the bridge into the Yuusari Area.
And furthermore, only a select few of the upper-class are able to obtain crossing permits into the capital, Akatsuki.
But, if you have one, Gauche...
You did slightly touch my mind and memories from that shindan...
And perhaps that is why you are spouting this nonsense.
But you cannot really understand from just that.
You couldn't hope to understand...
...the burden of carrying this capital crossing permit.
Even I must accumulate more points in order for my own family to enter Akatsuki.
My sister will have to live by herself in Yuusari for a while.
Then why was my mom taken to Akatsuki?
I do not know that.
However if she truly did cross the bridge, perhaps it might not be as bad as you think.
But...
I believe I said this earlier, Lag Seeing...
Your circumstances are none of my concern.
I cannot lend you a hand as if you were my friend.
You're saying that we can't be friends?
I will transport you, a letter, safely and unscathed to Cambel.
That is the entirety of my job.
I hate you!
I hate all of you Letter Bees so much!
I do not need you to like me.
That is not part of my job.
Now, go to sleep.
Tomorrow we will aim to reach Cambel at last.
Rest your body and heart.  
Sylvette...
Lag, Roda?
Oh, no! My gun!
Gauche, you cold-hearted bastard!
Work this, work that...
Your job this, your job that...
I'm an idiot for ever trusting that guy!
I'll go crazy with this weird gun and bust right on through that bridge! 
"The burden of the crossing pass?" Yeah right!
I'm gonna make it to Akatsuki even without somethin' like that!
Don't follow me, Roda!
Wait, did we pass through this way?
A Gaichuu!
What the heck is that?
Gauche!
Roda...
Stay calm, Lag!
That's the Gaichuu "Buckers."
It will take a bit of time for it to shoot again.
Lag, steady the gun!
I will pull the trigger.
Make sure to hold it up properly!
Okay.
What's going on? The power of the spirit amber is rising again...
Loaded!
Black Needle!
Did we get it?
You've got to be kidding me! It didn't work!
It looks like it will be difficult to shoot a shindan into its joints from here.
But if we barge forward carelessly, we'll end up food for those sickles on its head.
It looks like we only have one shot at this. 
We'll jump in at the moment the Buckers shoots the spear from its lower jaw.
There's no way, Gauche!
And you're hurt bad!
Do not worry.
But...
You'll be fine.
I will deliver you to Cambel, no matter what.
Lag, you are a letter. A letter that holds all your feelings and wishes and dreams and heart...
I will risk my life in order to deliver you to Cambel.
Because that is the job of a Letter Bee.
Gauche...
Here it comes!
Lag, if you're a man, then be brave and hold that gun steady!
Shindan loaded!
What is this light?
This can't be...
He has a red spirit amber as an artificial eye?
So the shindanjuu's power rose because it resonated with his eye?
Oh, no!
Lag!
Lag, just shoot!
Lag... Your left eye is a protective charm.
In order for you to live...
Because your life is a gift to me...
It gave me the joy of being your mother. 
I want us to stay like this forever... 
Just like this...
I don't need a dad or a mom or money or anything, so...
I don't care if I can never walk... Just...
Please don't go!
Stay here... by my side...
Brother...
What are you doing?
I'm a letter. I'm heart.
I'm hope... So...
Lag...
You even resonated with my heart.  
Sylvette?
Lag?
Seems like you've finally woken up.
Um, where are we?
The port town of Cambel.
Then...
That's right. This little guy carried you here on his back for who knows how many tens of keels.  
Lag saved your...
Excuse me!
Might you be Mrs. Sabrina Mary?
Yes.
I see!
Then, Mrs. Mary, please stamp or sign this delivery slip first!
Get the hell outta here!
First thing off you ask for my stamp?
You heartless man!
How about thanking Lag first, after he nursed you back to health these past three days?!
This is exactly why you city folk are so unpleasant!
Aunt Sabrina, wait...
Hush, dear!
Run off back to your Yuusari or your Akatsuki!
You stupid Letter Bee!
Look, that's him.
He's that government man from Yuusari... 
Lucky there aren't any ships in port.  
Pardon me, but I'd like some water and some fruit.
Sorry, but we ain't got nothin' today.
Then, those aren't for sale?
Nobody's gonna sell nothin' to you in this town!
It doesn't seem like we are welcome here.
That's because this is an illegal port that harbors pirate ships from the open seas.
They're scared of an outsider learning too much and spreading rumors.
Lag...
Here's water and food.
Aunt Sabrina told me to take it to you.
It's way better than that pukey soup you had, Gauche.
She's a really nice person. She just doesn't know how hard your job is.
She will take great care of my friend, I'm sure.
That's a relief.
Friend?
The delivery is over now.
Lag, you did very well...
You truly got through it...
You and I relied on each other, and we made it through that perilous journey.
You are no longer a letter... You're a man now, Lag Seeing.
So... we're friends now?
Yes.
Friends?
Yes! Roda, too.
Gauche!
Roda, take care.
My red eye is a stone with a mysterious power that my mom told me to always keep safe.
She said it was used to cure a disease I had when I was born.
But she also said not to tell anyone about my eye.
She said only reveal it to people who you trust to the bottom of your heart.
Thank you, Lag.
The power that resides in spirit amber is very valuable.
You must be careful people do not target you for it.
Right.
I will try and look into your mother's whereabouts after I arrive in Akatsuki.
I might be able to find some clue where she was taken.
We have now determined a route to this town.
It will not be too long off when another Letter Bee comes to visit this town carrying someone's precious letter.
Farewell, Lag Seeing.
Farewell, Gauche...
Farewell!
Um... I was thinking...
One day...
One day I wanna be a Letter Bee just like you!
Finally, I may be able to get a little closer to you.
Mom, Gauche... Wait for me!
I'm gonna become a Letter Bee, and go to Akatsuki!

The country of Amberground, surrounded on all sides by the sea,
is composed of three separate, segregated areas.
The capital, Akatsuki, brightly lit by an artificial sun,
where lives only the very highest class of society; a city of the chosen.
The second area for the middle class, Yuusari...
And the third area, Yodoka, where the lowest class of society scrapes out a meager existence.
Only those who have been issued a crossing permit by the government
are allowed to cross the bridges between the three areas.
The small artificial sun exists only to shine down upon the capital,
its light enveloped on all sides by the world's deep darkness.
Oh, there it is!
What's with that horse?
But, who'd think there'd be someone curious enough to join the national postal service from this town...
Not only that, but he was good enough to pass the preliminary examination, so now he's leaving Cambel. 
Next up he's doing an interview in Yuusari!
My knees are shaking just thinking about it!
It's not like you're taking the exam...
Hey! It looks like his ride's almost here!
Right!
Sabrina, they say his ride's almost here.
Is that so?
What's the matter with you?
And where is he anyway?   
I'm sure Lag's at the same place he always is.
Oh, you mean on the top of that cliff?
Sheesh! How can both of you be so easy-going like this?
The Letter Bee is coming to pick him up, you know!
The Letter Bee, huh?
Excuse me!
Excuse me!
Who could it be at this hour?
Excuse me!
Yes, I'm coming.
No need to make such a ruckus, I'm opening the door.
A Letter Bee?
Aunt... Sabrina...
If it isn't Lag?!
And then I was like all, "bam! bam!"
Sit!
I said, sit!
He's really just like your child now.
He's such a handful, I don't know what to do! 
Lag, if you don't go to bed soon, you'll make yourself ill.
Just a little longer.
Do you really want to become a Letter Bee so badly? 
Yeah.
Aunt, Aunt!
I passed the preliminary examination!
You did?
That's great, Lag! Good work.
Honestly, five years passed by so quickly...
It looks like I just barely made it.
Here, this is your herbal medicine, Kopylov-san.
And this is the naughty magazine you requested, Hann-san. 
Shh!
You ordered what?!  
Thanks to you Letter Bees we can get things from Yuusari now.
You're a great help, Connor.
Don't mention it.
To think I'd find the best tasting pizza out in the farthest outskirts of Yodoka...
If I'd known I would have come a long time ago!
Isn't that right, Gus?
Don't blame us if you get even fatter!  
Hey, Lag!
I couldn't get a two horse carriage, but this ain't bad for starting your journey, right?
Thanks, Connor!
Do right and say your goodbyes, Lag.
This is the interview section of the national postal worker entrance examination.
If you get past this, you won't be living here again, see.
Right...
This is our farewell gift.
A gun?
Does that old piece of junk even work?
It's valuable! 
I'll treasure it, Kokesu-san!
We'll miss you, Lag.
Perhaps this is our final parting...
Stop it, everyone.
If I become a Letter Bee, I'll deliver letters to Cambel instead of Connor, so...
Saywha?
Oh? Sabrina isn't here yet.
Hey now, Lag...
Aunt Sabrina, thank you so much for everything...
That Letter Bee you brought with you was wearing one of these, right?
Gauche?
I treated him badly back then.
If you ever meet him again, please tell him that words can't express my gratitude to him.
For the new lease on life he gave this poor old woman...
The gratitude I feel for this precious letter he delivered to me...
I love you!
You're like a second mother to me, Aunt Sabrina! 
Goodness, it seems I've become a crybaby like you!
Do your best to meet Anne, your real mother.
Make sure to become a Letter Bee, Lag Seeing!
Farewell, Aunt Sabrina.
Farewell, Cambel Litus.
What an incredible number of spores.
Those are fluff from the chippa flowers, Connor.
Chippa flowers?
Wait for me, Mom, Gauche!
I'm coming to see you!
I'm gonna become a great Letter Bee, you'll see!
The people in Cambel used to hate Letter Bees, but it seems like they don't feel that way at all anymore.
It's because of the train built in Yodoka that lets a lot more people come back and forth.
Does Gauche know about it?
Does he know there's a train now?
Didn't you ever get a letter from Gauche-san? 
I suppose he is too busy with his job in Akatsuki.
He has to work hard if he wants his sister Sylvette to live in Akatsuki with him.
After all, Gauche wants a promotion to the highest title a Letter Bee can get, Head Bee!
I can see Aithon Coal Mine Station from here.
We've got to hurry, since we don't have much time to spare.
That'll do it!
Thanks for using Rockin' Pony Ballerina Carraige Rental!
Oh yeah, where's your dingo?
Weren't you training a puppy in Cambel?
He wouldn't listen to a thing I said.
He was completely obedient to Aunt Sabrina, though...
You're just too soft hearted, Lag. 
If you're aiming to become a Bee, you'll need to be pretty tough underneath that softness of yours.
Just like me!
Connor...
A Bee's strengths, abilities, and techniques are judged based on what kind of dingo they have!
Please don't say that!
Well, I suppose your kindness is your specialty, Lag.
Enough with the teasing.
I'm just no good with dogs.
Is it okay to have something other than a dog as your dingo?
Anything that can be trained, like a lion or a panther would do.
Or if you have the money, you can hire a mercenary.  
That's not going to help me any...
Um...
Golden hair and sea blue eyes... 
What is it?
Y-You're using the privy! Sorry to bother you! 
No, that's not it.
Isn't that...
She's a package being stored here temporarily at this station.
She's easily frightened, so she ended up hiding herself in a place like this again.
Connor... This girl is a letter?
It seems she got here mixed in with the freight two days ago.
But the postage wasn't nearly sufficient,
the sender's address is unknown, and the delivery slip in too incomplete.
So she can't be recognized as a letter.
You mean she can't be delivered?
Right.
And since she can't be returned either,
she'll be held here for a certain period of time,
and then afterwards destroyed.
Destroyed?!
Don't look at me like that!
All that means is her leg irons will be cut and she'll be let free.
Let free?
And then what happens?
This coal mining town wouldn't have any place to take her in...
I feel sorry about it, but there's nothing I can do for her.
But, that's just...
We've got to get going!
It's almost time for the train to leave.
Let's go, Lag.
There's no need to be afraid.
My name is Lag Seeing.
Will you show me that slip on your arm?  
Right, like that.
The destination is Love Someone Down, in the town of Rent.   
The name of some orphanage, perhaps?
Lag, what are you doing?
Hey, Connor...
Are you sure there's no way she can be delivered?
No way!
Bees cannot be delivering illicit packages!
It's a violation of the rules!
The final departure bell!
It's time to go now, Lag!
We made it somehow.
It's just a straight shot to Kyrie, now.
Hey, Connor...
Rent town is only 30 keels north east of here.
I could probably reach it in only one day.
Yeah, that's about the distance.
Wait, Lag...
In that case, I'd just barely be able to make the interview!
Are you thinking of delivering that girl?
I told you already, it's a violation of-
I'm not a Letter Bee yet, so if I deliver her the regulations don't apply. Right, Connor?
Right?
L-Lag...
She's just like I was that time...
If I had been abandoned by Gauche back then...
When I think about what would have happened...
So, I just can't leave her like that.
L-Lag...
Okay, Connor?
I'm begging you!
Please let me deliver that girl!
The train for Kyrie will be departing shortly.
W-Wait!
Connor, I'm going and that's that!
I got it already, just wait a sec.
If I lend the station master something from my secret library of naughty magazines, I'm sure he'll help you out. 
Connor?
Show this to the station master and you should be fine.
He'll let you take that girl with you.
Connor!
This is the temporary crossing pass with your name on it, Lag.
It will allow you and one dingo to cross the bridge into Yuusari.
But you won't be able to make the train anymore.
You'll have to walk all the way to the post office.  
Thank you, Connor Culh!
You and my Aunt really are the same kind of person!
"Softy" isn't a race, Lag... 
Got it? Make sure to arrive by the day of the interview!
Thanks for everything, Connor!
His kindness is his specialty, huh?
I guess that's not such a bad thing to have.
What is it now, sheesh!
A flier?
"Freak Show - Love Someone Down"
Love Someone Down?
Wasn't that...
My mission is to deliver you to your destination, Love Someone Down.
I'm Lag Seeing.
Won't you tell me your name?
My name?  Maka.
Maka, huh? That's a pretty great name you have there...
Jenny...
Carol...
Susan...
Elizabeth...
Kerry...
Jinmei...
Abbey...
I have many others.
What is your real name?
I don't have one.
You don't have one?
Oh, I see. She must have been transferred from orphanage to orphanage...
Then, is there one you like?
No.
T-Then... Is it okay for me to give you a temporary name?
Um...
Let's see...
Niche...
That's it! How about Niche?
Niche?
It means gap, or a narrow space. 
But it originally meant a special place for statues of the holy mother or decorative flowers!
See, it's like the hollow space where you hid back at the train station...
So, what do you think?
I think it's really...
No way!
It seems a fog is starting to blow in.
As long as we stay on this road from the town, there shouldn't be any dan... ger...
A Gaichuu?
Gun... My gun...
You're... really weak.
I can't believe I got so worked up over some rock snake... How embarrassing.
But...
What's with her strength and reflexes?
Maybe she's really a boy?
A river!
Oh?
You're right! And it's nice and clean, too.
This is perfect. Let's take a break here.
You should wash up a-
...bit...
I g-g-guess s-she really is a g-girl...
Stay still.
Enough already.
No complaining. Just a bit longer.
This is all real hair. That's amazing.
Okay, all cleaned up.
Next is...
Here.
H-Hey!
Put on some underwear!
Don't wanna!
I know they're mine, and they're a little big...
But they're brand new!
I don't need them.
Yes, you do! You really do!
You're a girl, right?
You don't seem like a person that does bad things, but that's going too far.
Bad things?
See, I...
There was a time when I was a letter just like you, and I was delivered to a town I didn't know.
Back then I was so uncertain of everything, I didn't know what to do.
But today, when I left, everyone in town wished me good luck, and saw me off with tears in their eyes!
I'm sure that there's a person out there who'll hold you dear, who'll grow to love you!
I'm just sure of it!
But, no matter how good a girl you are...
If a girl like you makes a first impression like that, they'll get the wrong idea!
And you're actually so beautiful!
Did you just call me beautiful?
Y-Yes, I did...
And your eyes are a really pretty color...
Lag Seeing.
You are the first man who has ever gotten me to wear underwear!
Blood...
Just a tiny bit.
Maybe when you jumped down from so high, a pebble nicked me.
Don't worry about it. This is nothing.
I can't believe how easily you can climb up and jump from a place like that.
You lick places that hurt, too?
Then I've decided.
W-What?
I've decided to use the name you gave me, "Niche."
Call me Niche, Lag.
Then, let's hurry to your destination, Niche!

Rent Town...
This is it!
Love Someone Down...
I thought it would be around here somewhere, but...
Maybe that's it over there?
Um, excuse me!
Who are you?
Um... Well...
Is this Love Someone Down?
Yes, this is it.
I came to deliver a letter that was addressed to here.
A letter, you say?!
Yes!
Wait there.
This is so nerve wracking.
Niche, don't! Niche!
He told us to wait back there...
There's a ton of animals.
If only I had a dingo like one of these...
A dingo?
They work with Letter Bees as their partner and companion.
Like that dog the fat man took with him?
Yeah, although it doesn't have to be a dog.
As long as it can be trained, any animal will do.
It doesn't even have to be an animal.
I hear some of them are strong people, very skilled at martial arts and the like. 
They're all covered in wounds...
I wonder why?
Is someone here?
What do you think you're doing?
S-Sorry!
I was just taking a look, that's all!
You came to steal our animals, didn't you?
You're a thieving little brat!
Hold it!
Impresario!
So you're a Letter Bee?
Um, no. I'm...
You brought this girl here?
Yes.
Then she is...
Let's see here... Show me your hand.
Whoa!
The arms seem to fit.
Ah, thanks so much for coming!
The delivery was so late, I was seriously worried.
There were some things missing on the delivery slip, so I delivered it instead of a Bee...
As long as it got here!
Good work!
Uh... right.
Here's your tip.
Thanks a lot!
Niche...
Thank you.
Lag, farewell.
Niche...
Lag, farewell.
My job was to deliver Niche, and now that's over.
I have to hurry to Yuusari.
The Broccoli Forest up ahead is Gaichuu territory,
but I can take the long way around and just barely make it to Yuusari.
Oh, shoot!
I didn't get them to sign a delivery receipt.
Can I really become a Letter Bee like this?
Perfect, let's ask this guy.
Hey boy, did you come from Rent?
Yes, I did...
There's a freak-show called Love Someone Down set up at the town entrance, right?
A freak show?
Then, that place was...
Ah, so it is there!
Thank goodness!
See, I told you! It's really here!
We walked all the way from the coal mine to see it,
but my brother here was going on about it being fake the whole time!
You're just too positive!
We'll probably end up paying an entrance fee, and then everything inside'll be fake!
That's the way those places work!
Hush you! Stop your whining.
"Freak-show Love Someone Down."
"It's finally arrived!"
"A new attraction!"
"A girl who received the blood of the 'Maka,' an extinct, legendary creature." 
"A child born cursed to bear the 'golden swords' on her body."
This Maka thing is some creature like a dragon.
It has a golden mane and sea-blue eyes, with a violent disposition.
I heard it's revered up in the northern frontier, though.
But I've never heard of anyone actually seeing one!
Where's your sense of adventure, you dunce!
Sorry, I'm borrowing this!
Wait right there, you!
Now, out with them!
Show 'em to me!
Show me those "golden swords!"
Hey!
How's it going?
Impresario, we haven't gotten any response, so...
Then force her!
Are you sure?
Her eyes and claws are just like the rumors, but she might be a normal human with transplanted arms...
You're nuts, she's the real deal!
How much do you think I paid for this brat?
She's a real Maka!
Outta my way!
Now, Maka-chan...
Tomorrow there'll be a lot of customers coming to look at you... 
Won't you show grandpa those golden swords of yours? 
Niche.
What's this?
Niche!
Get it right.
My name is...
Niche!
W-What's with those baggy pants?  
Who the heck put those on her?
How does "baggy pants" fit the image of Maka?
She was wearing them when she got here,
and she wouldn't take them off no matter what I said!
For pity's sake...
Hand me a knife.
Listen up!
When trainin' animals, ya gotta put the fear of death in 'em first!
See, look at that.
It was your hair!
The golden swords were your hair!
Bravo! Yup, she's for real!
Okay! With her we can get 5,000 Rin a head! 
My rare creatures!
Impresario, we have to get out of here!
The tent's...
That's... Niche!
That's... Niche!
I thought we were goners...
My Love Someone Down!
The brat didn't just bust the cages, she broke down the entire tent!
Niche!
Ah, you there, boy!
Where have I seen you before?
My precious rare creatures will run away at this rate!
I'll pay you for it, so round them up!
I'm giving you back your tip!
This is bad... Niche ran away towards Gaichuu territory...
Broccoli forest!
Niche...
Where are you?
Niche!
The Gaichuu Four Roses!
Niche, run!
Lag? Why are you here?
It's no use!
You can't defeat a Gaichuu with normal bullets!
And this gun doesn't have a spot for a spirit amber in the first place.
Niche!
I've got to remember the time when I shot a shindan!
Shindan, loaded!
It's no use.
Damn... Run away, Niche!
What are you doing here, Lag?
So, we meet again?  
It's still moving!
I guess it really is true you can't defeat them without using a shindan.
Niche!
Are you okay, Niche?
Your head was hit?
Damn it!
Lag... I'm glad I was able to see you again...
Shindan loaded!
Go!
Farewell, Lag Seeing.
We'll miss you, Lag.
Perhaps this is our final parting...
Make sure to become a Letter Bee, Lag Seeing!
Farewell, Cambel Litus.
Don't leave me, Mom!
Lag, farewell.
Niche...
Niche?
It's you Niche, right?
Thank goodness...
I was able to meet you again, Niche...
Niche?
Don't move!
It tickles! And you're heavy.
If I lick it, it'll heal faster.
Please stop it already.
I've only ever done this to myself.
Letting me lick places that hurt...
Making me wear underwear...
You're the first to do that, Lag!
If saying goodbye is so sad for you, then I'll stay by your side.
Niche...
Does saying goodbye make you sad?
Yeah... It does...
Really sad.
We finally made it out of the forest.
I'm sure glad we only ran into one of those.
Now it's just a straight shot to Yuusari.
Yuusari?
Right. I'm going there to take a test to become a Letter Bee.
A Letter Bee?
S-Something's coming!
Oh, it's that creature from Love Someone Down.
It looks like he's taken a liking to you, Niche. 
He's called Steak.
Steak?
You mean, that's his name?
But, why name him that?
If you don't cook him, he'll taste bad.
You're planning on eating him?!
That's a joke, right?
I wonder what kind of creature he is...
It does have a charming smile, though.
Be careful. You'll get yourself eaten.
The thing's mostly mouth!
Sorry, Niche.
Even though I wasn't a real Letter Bee, I went and took you to a place like that...
It's always like that.
So, you failed at your job, Lag?
Take a look.
Unknown destination.
And I didn't get a signature of receipt.
Now you're no longer a letter. You're just Niche.
Niche?
Is this Yuusari place over there?
I'm not "just Niche!"
If you're going to become a Letter Bee, then you'll need a dingo, right?
I am now Niche, Lag's dingo!
D-Dingo... You...
Are you saying you'll be my dingo, Niche?
You said anyone who's strong could be a dingo, Lag!
But, that's...
Don't worry!
You're weak, and I'm strong!
Well, that's hard to argue, but... 
Now, let's go, Lag!
Wait!
N-Niche!

That's the town of Kyrie down there.
What a great church they have. 
And with a big bell.
I bet you can hear it all the way over the bridge in Yuusari.
Over that direction is Bifrost, the bridge that connects Yodoka and Yuusari.
But, why?
Aren't you also a Bee, Moc?
Take this letter to Jiggy!
It's an important letter written by my little brother!
"Yuusari, The Bee-Hive"
"To Jiggy Pepper"
You think I'd deliver it just with that?
I can't afford those crazy expensive stamps!
In that case, bring Jiggy here!
Jiggy Pepper travels around from town to town.
He's a Bee who specializes in express deliveries.
If he has a delivery, then he'll be coming here.
Until then, wait.
Wait here in Dead-End.
Waiting's all anyone does here...
Damn it...
I have apples... Apples...
Freshly grown, sweet apples...
Buy some, would ya?
Um, excuse me...
I'm a traveler, so could you please tell me what day it is?
It's the 15th bell on the 30th.  
Thank goodness!
Thank you very much!
Let's go, Niche!
If we get up early tomorrow and cross the bridge, we should actually make it there for the day of the interview!
Okay, let's treat ourselves today and stay at an inn.
An inn?
An inn.
Wait, did you guys just say you were crossing the bridge?
Yes...
You have a crossing pass to get into Yuusari?
Uh... Um... Yes.
A crossing pass! A crossing pass?!
An actual...
You've actually got...
Yeah, right.
You probably got it on the black market, right?
Just give it up.
I hear you'll be sent to the lowest levels of the amber mines if they discover it's a forgery.
It's real!
Although it's just temporary.
A temporary crossing pass, you said?
My name is Lag Seeing.
I'm on my way to Yuusari to take the examination to become a Bee.
This girl is my friend Niche, and that's Steak.
Say "Niche, my dingo!"
Niche, my dingo?
But I'm not a Letter Bee yet, so...
A Bee...
I'm Nelli.
And there's only one inn in Kyrie.
Follow me, I'll show you to it.
Thanks, Nelli.
The town is really quiet.
It's the town right in front of Bifrost, so I thought it'd be a bit more lively.
It's 'cause there's hardly anyone who can cross the bridge.
Without a crossing pass, this is the end of the road.
Kyrie is also known as Dead-End.
The town at the end of the road.
By the way, you got money?
Um, not that much...
Everything's insanely expensive in this town.
Inns are 7000 rin a person.
Welcome to Cold Case Hotel.
7000 rin a person. Cash up front.
Even a dog in the room is gonna count as another person.
It's really just the two of you, right?
Yes. Two... Just the two of us.
Nice hat, missy.
See? He didn't notice a thing.
Hand me your bag. I'll carry it up for you.
Hey boy, your key.
Right.
Wait, Nelli!
Young man.
Where are you from?
Coza Bel.
Although I was raised in the port town of Cambel.
Oh, the one in the far South.
You know of it?
Never been there, however.
This is your first time traveling, isn't it?
Yes.
Your bird looks really tough.
A good friend of mine let me borrow him to keep me safe while traveling alone.
He's Harry, a bird of prey.
I'm returning from a trip to see Love Someone Down in Rent town to the west.
But it was a complete waste of time.
The rare-animal exhibition was shut down for some reason.
And I would have paid anything to have been able to buy it, too...
That "Child of Maka."  
Pardon me!
Whoa, that was a shock.
Why are we running?
Why? That man is trying to buy you, Niche!
I don't know what he'd do if he found out you were the Child of Maka.
I was worried!
Worried of what?
You made me wear underwear, and you let me lick places that hurt.
I'm completely your dingo, Lag.
Niche...
Thanks.
But about this dingo thing, Niche...
I was thinking that if I become a Letter Bee, you should go to Cambel and let my Aunt Sabrina take care of you.
Lag?
No matter what you are, it's just too dangerous for a small girl to be my dingo.
I'm sure you'll be happy living in Cambel, Niche.
You said that saying goodbye is sad, Lag!
It is!
It is, but dingos act as lures to help defeat Gaichuu, and they even get hurt...
I can't let a girl do something that dangerous!
It is not dangerous!
Wait, Niche!
Huh? Where's Nelli? 
Lag, you dummy!
Wait a sec!
Excuse me!
Do you know where that person I was with before, Nelli, went?
Nelli left a second ago. 
Took your bag, too.
If you saw, why didn't you try and stop them?
When in a new town, you need to use your heart to check things out, or...
Some people here never had what you might take for granted.
Best not to judge everything only on the measure of your own experience, boy.
Niche! Where's Niche?
Bag! It was inside my bag!
That Nelli person operates out of the church.
You should be able to catch up if you run.
Thank you very much!
Yes, yes...
Quite the polite one, he is.
Well, it's about time I get ready to go back.
Listen, Steak.
I get hungry when I'm angry.
I'm going to eat you, Steak.
Will you do your best to cook nicely?
What the heck?
I thought it'd be something fancy, but it's just a piece of paper.
It won't be long now, Nello...
Give it back!
That's something really important of mine!
You're a lot faster than you look.
And I didn't even end up taking your money.
My bag... What do you plan on doing with my crossing pass, Nelli?
Don't call me Nelli.
Because starting today, I'm Lag Seeing.
Nelli!
Nelli!
Even if I work in this town my whole life, I'll never get a chance to cross the bridge into Yuusari.
You'll never get this crossing pass from me!
It's your fault for setting foot in a town like this as just a naive kid.
I'm gonna use this to cross Bifrost and go to Yuusari!
Go back home to your mommy!
I can't go back.
I'm going to go to Yuusari and become a Letter Bee!
Do you even know what kind of job Bees do?
Take a look at this, Lag.
This is a letter my little brother struggled through pain and suffering to write to a certain man.
This letter, filled with my brother's heart,
has sat here for two years while I can't even come close to being able to afford those insanely expensive stamps. 
Don't you get it?
Those Bees are people who've sold their souls to the government! 
Hey, listen up everyone!
This guy says he's going to Yuusari to become a Bee!
He had a real crossing pass, but I took it from him!
He said he wants to become one!
He wants to become a damn Bee, just like that bastard Jiggy!
A Bee, you say?
Just like Jiggy...
Jiggy?
A man who abandoned his friends and town and became a Bee.
The traitor, Jiggy Pepper.
He was the leader of Kyrie's Pepper Swandom, and my brother looked up to him.
He idolized Jiggy.
My sickly brother lost his reason to live when Jiggy disappeared.
My brother Nello was killed by that traitor Jiggy.
Lag, thanks to you, I can finally deliver his letter.
My hand will deliver this letter Nello wrote in pain, weeping on his sickbed to Jiggy!
I want to make him read it!
I've wanted to make him regret Nello's death!
To make him regret abandoning us...
And if the words of my brother don't bring at least a tear to his eye...
I'll kill him.
Nelli, you're...
...a girl?
Nelli!
What I remembered most was Jiggy's back.
Even a desolate town like this seemed to sparkle when looking over Jiggy's back.
The day a single star fell, we lost sight of that back.
That Jiggy guy crossed over into Yuusari, I hear.
It seems that man from the government with the glasses found him suitable, and he crossed the bridge.
No way!
I heard it from Moc.
It's the truth.
Jiggy became a Bee.
He abandoned this town, and you.
And there we were, in Dead-End Town without Jiggy.
Nelli, Nelli!
This is mine!
Mine!
Nelli, wake up!
Nelli!
What a place...
So this is Dead-End, the city at the end of the road.
She seems to be deciding something.
In front of those underwear.
She jumped?
But she's got nothing on underneath!
Wait, maybe...
Those are the golden swords!
The Child of Maka?
Article: Child of Maka.
Request Express Delivery Pickup, Kyrie 4400.
Largo Lloyd.
Okay, Harry.
Bring this memo to your master, Jiggy Pepper.
Stop it!
Stop it, everyone!
Niche?
I've got the crossing pass!
Give it back!
In your dreams!
With this thing, I'll finally be a citizen of Yuusari!
Niche!
Don't Niche!
No hurting people, right, Niche?
Hurting humans is not allowed!
Calm... down... this instant...
Niche...
Give it back! I picked it up!
Wait, Nelli!
N-Niche, what are you...
Wrong!
Say "N-Niche, my dingo, what are you..."!
Wha... Huh, Niche?
Say "Wha... Huh, Niche, my dingo?"!
Let's talk about this later, Niche.
We have to get the crossing pass back from Nelli!
If I can't do the interview in Yuusari, I can't become a Letter Bee.
And you can't become a dingo either, Niche!
Letter Bee...
Crossing pass...
Dingo...
And he's even tamed the Child of Maka.
Who in the world is this boy?
Let's go, Niche!
I'm sure Nelli is heading for the bri-
And put on some underwear!
Steak, when did you get here?
Doesn't look like I'll have a chance to discuss buying the Child of Maka.
Sorry, this is my bag.
Nothin' in there worth anythin' anyway.
Take it.
Thank you very much!
Why is he thanking him?
Anyway, the gatekeeper shouldn't let someone pass with just a crossing pass.
It's that Nelli child who's the one in real danger. 
What are you writing, Nello?
You've got to get plenty of sleep.
It's a letter, Sis.
I'm writing to Jiggy.
It won't make a difference if you write something like that.
That guy abandoned everything!
Just hurry up and forget about him already!
Okay...
Sorry, Sis...
I'm heading out now.
To that job building the church again?
Yeah, it'll be finished soon.
You won't have any work again?
Yeah... But the pay is decent, so we should be okay for a while.
It's so big that we can use it for shelter when it's done.
Just between us, but I made a secret space for us to sleep in!
Don't worry.
You just concentrate on getting better. 
I'll protect you.
I'll always be together with you, Nello.
Yeah...
I splurged and bought muffins with loads of honey!
I bet Nello's gonna be so happy!
It pains me...
It pains me so, Jiggy!
Jiggy!
"To Jiggy Pepper in Yuusari's Bee-Hive"
A mere seven days later, Nello was dead.
I'll deliver Nello's suffering heart to the traitor who abandoned him, Jiggy Pepper!

I'll make him read it...
I'll deliver Nello's suffering heart to the traitor who abandoned him, Jiggy Pepper!
I wonder if Harry has reached Jiggy yet?
That's the gate to Bifrost!
Why?
Where is Bifrost?
Where is the bridge?
The government has in its grasp all information concerning those who cross the bridge. 
I am the gate keeper, Signal.
I verify the identity of each one who crosses this bridge with the smoke from this quartz pipe. 
What are you talking about?
Look!
This is a real crossing pass, right here!
The first puff could not identify you as Lag Seeing. 
Therefore I must take appropriate measures.
Thank you for your understanding.
Nelli!
What is that?
Niche!
Say "Niche, my dingo!"
Niche!
Niche, Steak!
Nelli!
Hurry, run this way!
Lag?
The letter!
Nello's letter!
Lag, you are a letter. A letter that holds all your feelings and wishes and dreams and heart...
I must protect the letter.
I must protect those precious wishes and heart! 
Nelli, being a Bee isn't the kind of job you think it is.
Bees are...
The Letter Bees that I look up to...
T-That's...
...are people that put their lives on the line to deliver those letters!
Something came out?
I shot a shindan... from my hand?
Jiggy.
Nello...
You're my hero, Jiggy.
Nello.
I can't leave you all behind and go to Yuusari by myself.
That's not the Jiggy I know.
The Jiggy I know is a man who chases after his dreams!
A man who tosses away everything from yesterday and lives only for tomorrow!
The man that turned the Dead-End town into the town of beginnings!
And that's our Jiggy Pepper! The coolest guy I know.
Nello...
Stay that cool Jiggy forever.
Forever and ever...
Don't worry, Jiggy...
I'll do my best to get well, and become a man just like you, Jiggy!
And one day, I'll become a man strong enough to protect my sister.
I understand.
Take care of Nelli for me, Nello.
Jiggy, I'm sorry, Jiggy...
I can't keep my promise...
It pains me...
It pains me, Jiggy!
I can't do a thing to protect my sister anymore!
So Jiggy, I beg of you.
Please protect my sister, Nelli.
To my hero, Jiggy Pepper.
Nello wasn't suffering because Jiggy left...
He was suffering because he was dying and wasn't able to become a man who could protect you. 
So he wrote to the one person he could rely on, Jiggy...
It was a letter wishing you happiness from the bottom of his heart...
Nello, you dummy...
Didn't I say that I'd protect you?
That we'd always be together?
That you shouldn't think about anything except getting better?
Didn't I tell you?
But why did a shindan fly out of my hand?
In order to see Nello's heart in that letter...
That's because it was your shindan, I suspect.
Boy...
You're... the traveling rare animal collector!
Rare animal?
Shindan are created using the power that's within Spirit Amber; Heart shaped into a bullet.
The gun is merely a tool used to help form that heart into the proper bullet shape.
You, who have amber in your body, became the gun yourself and shot that shindan.
Then what about the pictures we saw after it hit the letter?
Just as no two humans exist with the same heart,
there are various different types of shindan. 
Perhaps your shindan has the ability to peer into the heart stored within things.
The heart stored within things?
Of course, it probably only works on things stuffed with a lot of this "heart" you are so receptive to. 
The church...
That big church was started to be built right after you left, Jiggy. 
Sis got a job, and we had bread we could eat.
We could even buy medicine.
But I was thinking, Jiggy...
You said once that you wanted to build a big church in this town one day...
Where children could learn how to read, and give them a place to sleep.
You said it was sure to change this town.
Jiggy, could it be that that church is...
So then the person that built that church is Jiggy?
As if he would.
I'm not going to forgive Jiggy for leaving to satisfy his own ambition.
Here, Lag. You can have this back.
Nelli.
Go on to Yuusari already.
You're gonna be a Bee, right Lag?
Sure must be nice to sell your soul for a living.
Just like Jiggy did.
Then let's find out!
Let's find out how Jiggy really feels!
What? Lag, where are we going?
We're leaving, Steak.
You!
Hey, Camus.
Do not call me by my old name.
Not after so long. 
Yes, fine... Gate Keeper Signal.
That boy from before was Lag Seeing, was he not?
I was not informed that he had a Spirit Amber as his left eye.
I did not know, either.
Please make a note of it in your report.
But...
A boy who tamed the Child of Maka; who has a Spirit Amber inside his body...
Will you be returning to the Yuusari Head Post Office, Master Lloyd?
What? You're going to shoot the church?
If Jiggy really did have this church built, then his true feelings should be contained within it.
Let's go!
W-Wait, Lag!
The bullet I shoot is a fragment of my heart.
Shindan, loaded!
Red needle!
Nothing happened.
Red needle?
Well, the shindan of a guy named Gauche was called "black needle,"
so I figured I'd name mine after the color of my amber, too.
Anyway, it seems I can shoot my shindan.
Lag!
Shindan, loaded!
Red needle!
Shindan, loaded!
Red needle!
Red needle!
Red needle!
Red needle!
Red needle!
Red ne-
Red keel over?! 
Lag, hey!
Are you okay?
Don't touch Lag!
I hate you.
The next time you harm Lag, I'll kill you.
Niche...
Niche, you mustn't.
You mustn't hurt people.
And don't use words like that ever again, either.
Lag, you get more exhausted each time you shoot one of those, don't you?
I still can't control it very well.
Then quit it already, this is stupid!
It's not your problem!
What do you care about Jiggy or...
It's because I feel sorry for him...
You feel sorry?
The Letter Bee I met, Gauche, was fighting for his little sister's happiness.
He wanted to cure his sister's paralyzed legs, so he was aiming to become Head Bee.
And though he didn't want to, he left his only sister there, alone.
He traveled to Akatsuki for her sake.
I can't think of Jiggy as a bad person.
I felt Nello's heart.
Gauche felt that way. Jiggy must too! And Nello! 
I'm sure he was trying to fight for those he loved!
To have the very person you want to be happy holding a grudge against you...
To be trapped by your past...
If it were me, how lonely and painful would I feel, I wonder?
If Jiggy's heart is really contained here...
Nelli, I want to deliver it to you.
And for Nello, who wished for your happiness.
The bell.
The materials for the church were mostly sent from Yodoka.
But the bell was transported completed from Yuusari.
The bell...
Shindan, loaded!
Red needle!
This guy's a piece of work!
Make a bell for the largest church in all of Amberground?
Lad, how much do you think that'll cost you, eh?
Even if you're a Bee, you'd be paying for it the rest of your life, get it?
Fine.
Even if that's so, make it.
Look at this! You've got to be crazy trying to transport this thing to Kyrie by horse!
So, Jiggy... Why'd you want this huge thing built anyway?
To draw people's eyes. 
With a bell like this, you can't help but to look up at it, together with the stars.
Even if you try to grab them, you just can't seem to get them in your grasp,
and yet, if you look up at them and simply stretch out your arm, the sins that pollute you are wiped clean.
And one day, my little brother and sister will grab a hold of those stars.
Nelli and Nello, I know they can do it.
Jiggy...
Jiggy!
The medicine!
The medicine is here, Doctor!
He'll be okay now, right?
My little brother will live, right?
Thank goodness!
Thank goodness!
The next city for delivery is Credo.
And I have a pickup from the Master, I see.
But I doubt it's a real job.
Destroy this.
A bell?
Always...
Stay that cool Jiggy forever!
Stay a man that shines like those stars.
And then one day me and Nelli will stand there beside you, shining as well, just you see.
Calm down. I'm not going to do anything to you and Lag anymore.
If someone like you can actually become a Bee, then maybe I shouldn't give up on them, either.
Is it really okay that I don't take that letter to Jiggy?
Yeah. I'm going to work hard and buy the stamps myself.
There's still work in this town, so I'll try my best on my own.
It's annoying that Jiggy gets to hog all the coolness.
And one day I want to shine as brightly as Jiggy does.
Like... you, Lag.
Become a Letter Bee for sure, Lag.
Right!
I will! And then I'll make sure to come see you again, okay?
Farewell!
Farewell, Nelli!
Lag Seeing...
Thank you for delivering that letter.

And, what is that creature on your head?
He's my Steak!
I recognize Lag Seeing, one dingo, and that dingo's live bait.
Please descend these stairs from the tower.
Thank you very much, Mr. Gate Keeper!
The outside!
Niche!
This is the bridge that connects to Yuusari... Bifrost!
The bridge is just barely on the surface of the water.
And now that I look at it, the water's extremely deep.
Wait, Niche!
It looks like it'd be easy to fall off the edge, so let's walk down the middle.
Steak, too.
Say "Wait, Niche, my dingo!"
Say "It looks like it'd be easy to fall off the edge, so let's walk down the middle, Niche, my dingo!"
This again?
You're pretty stubborn, you know that, Niche?
Say "You're pretty stubborn, you know that, Niche, my-"
Enough!
I wouldn't have been able to do anything in Kyrie without you being there for me.
Thank you.
Lag?
Would you help me with my Bee interview examination?
As... Niche, my dingo?
As...
She put them on!
I, your dingo, Niche, will be Niche, your dingo!
We're off, Lag!
Steak!
Huh? Signal-san?
No. I am the gatekeeper on the Yuusari side, Signaless.
Twins?
I recognize Lag Seeing and his dingo. You may pass.
Hey, Lag!
Connor!
You came to pick me up?
I was worried about you because you were so late.
Huh? You look wet.
A little bit, heh...
Let's hurry and head to Central by carriage.
You delivered that letter girl safely, ri-
She's here!
She's here!
Actually, she's now my dingo, so...
Lag...
What is this?
Steak!
Oh, so she was that girl!
The girl with the blood of Maka I'd heard rumors about...
Rumors?
Oh, well, there's a person at the Head Post Office who's into that sort of stuff.
I'm Connor. This is my dingo, Gus.
Nice to meet you again, Niche... Steak.
She's asleep?
The sky is slightly brighter.
The same as I saw in Gauche's heart when I was little.
I've really made it to Yuusari, haven't I?
Can you see it, Lag?
That's the city, Yuusari Central.
The capital of the Yuusari area is located in Central.
This is the main street, Nocturne Hood.
The Head Post Office you'll be taking the Bee examination at is up ahead.
Hey, Connor... Sylvette lives in this city, doesn't she?
Huh? Oh, right...
She's the same age as me, so she must be 12...
I wonder what kind of girl she's become?
I want to talk to her about that adventure.
I want to ask her about herself, and about Gauche in Akatsuki, trying his best to become Head Bee.
We'll go see her after your examination.
Okay, we're here.
That's the Head Post Office for all of Yuusari and Yodaka, but everyone calls it the Bee-Hive.
Lag, hey!
Wait up!
This is the Head Post Office, the Bee-Hive!
How do you do?!
I am Lag Seeing!
I have come from Cambel Litus to take the Bee interview examination!
Along with my dingo, Niche, and Steak!
Thank you very-
That's enough, Big-boxer Bros.
Big-boxer... what?
Cut me some slack here, Lag.
You're way too revved up.
Sorry.
But my Aunt always told me to at least introduce myself properly...
Connor Culh!
What was all that noise just now?
Sub-master!
I brought today's examinee, Lag Seeing, with me, however...
He's not used to things yet...
Lag Seeing?
Aria?
Sorry. I'm Lag Seeing.
I am the sub-master, Aria Link.
I will show you to the master's room.
But before that...
Put on your pants! On the double!
R-Right!
Your shirt, too.
Yes, ma'am!
Pardon me.
I have brought the boy, Lag Seeing.
Welcome to the Bee-Hive.
So we meet again, boy? Maka-girl?
T-The rare animal collector!
Why are you here?
You know him, Master?
A bit...
So you've noticed Niche's identity, haven't you?
But even if you've come all this way to get her, it's no use!
Niche is an important friend of mine, and my dingo!
I won't allow her to be bought and sold like some animal!
Wait... Master?
I am the Bee-Hive Master, Largo Lloyd.
I thought to use the Maka-girl as my dingo on business trips, but that looks to be a bit difficult now.
Oh, so that was it?
Aria.
Yes.
Go to this address at 17 bells.
Yuusari Central, Westend, Marble Blanket Apartments.
We will begin the Bee suitability interview examination there.
Right!
Let me introduce you two.
This is Macky Gee, age 17, and his dingo Resia.
Nice to meet you.
And this is 12 year old Lag Seeing and his dingo Niche.
And Steak!
It's a pleasure to meet you!
You two will do the suitability interview examination today.
What, just the two of us?
This season's examinations started on the tenth month, and currently all 22 people have failed. 
It is no simple task.
That many?
Millerire, Trucal, your letters, if you please. 
Please deliver this.
Thanks.
I don't want this one!
He looks way too incompetent!
Incompetent?
These girls are postal customers.
Instead of paying for stamps, they've agreed to help us in our examination.
To know whether you are suited to be a Bee,
it is important you deliver an actual letter that someone put their heart into writing.
And so, what does the exam consist of?
To deliver the letters you accepted to their destination.
That is the sole task.
The destination of these letters is Raspberry Hill. There is only one route.
The Gaichuu point is shown here.
Gaichuu?
So we have no choice but to go through the Gaichuu point to get there.
That is the case, yes...
Here are a number of shindanjuu and pieces of spirit amber.
Guns?
The only way to defeat a Gaichuu is to resonate heart from within their bodies.
So you also want to see how we can handle weapons.
I get it.
How long do we have to deliver them?
There is no set deadline.
It'd be simple enough to cover this distance in 5 bells...
Are these Gaichuu things really that tough?
In that case...
I'll take this one.
You choose one as well.
Um, I don't need one.
I have my own amber and gun.
Oh, I see.
The examination is extremely dangerous.
In order to ensure a minimal level of safety, it is possible that the proctor may halt the examination,
but do not forget that you will be delivering actual letters, and do you best to make it through to the end.
I pray for your safe return.
Commence delivery!
The destination is exactly the same.
But I sure lucked out.
She said that 22 people all failed.
The Bee examinations continue on until someone passes.
You grew up in Yodoka, right?
Otherwise it'd be unusual for someone like you to take the examination.
Actually I'm from a town on the outskirts of Yuusari.
I came here as a representative from my rural town, so I can't go back like a coward.
Well, let's face the test with all we've got! 
Right!
I'll use a carriage.
What about you?
Since there's no set date, I'll walk.
Well then, take your time!
After I defeat all the Gaichuu, right?
Silver hair and sepia eyes?
Lag Seeing is the same as that person... An Albisian child.
Wasiolka, what is it?
Time for work already?
What a pain.
So that's the town on the address?
This is the start of the Gaichuu point.
No choice but to walk through here, I suppose.
It'll be tough to fight on ground where you can't get proper footing.
Not wasting any time, are you?
Whoa, it showed up quick too!
T-That's...
The Gaichuu, Glen Keith.
Being the exam proctor is such a pain.
Watch over him and make sure he doesn't die, Wasiolka.
Damn it!
How are you supposed to shoot one of these shindan things?
Resia!
Resia?
Resia!
Your dingo's already made a run for it.
This is exactly why we have to watch over these crappy examinees.
There's no way!
No way I can defeat that thing!
Mayor... Mommy!
A shindan?
Sorry!
Coming through!
What's that...
Niche!
Nails?
Niche!
Gaichuu have a weak point. The dingo helps the partner aim for the cracks in the joints.
Steak!
Lag, from above!
Steak!
There?
The bullet I shoot is a fragment of my heart.
Shindan, loaded!
Resonate, Red Needle!
What a ton of mud.
Huh? Niche? Steak?
Right here!
Who're you?!
Looks like the only way to beat it was from above.
I wonder if the other guy ran away?
Sheesh, I'm a mess.
The letter!
What is the meaning of this?
How dare you cover my precious letter with mud!
This isn't some joke, you know!
I'm really sorry!
Quite a difference from the one I received from Mr. Macky Gee earlier.
Ah, that was a nice bath!
Was it?
Anyway, you...
Now, now, Mrs. Morris.
This is the rin and stamp set as our gift of thanks.
We're very sorry, and we appreciate your cooperation.
May I look at the clean letter a moment?
Now then...
Oh, yes. I'm Zazie, the proctor for the Bee examination this time.
You... Try shooting this.
I read that your shindan can see the heart contained within objects in your file.
Here.
Right.
Make sure to hold back, okay?
Um... Right.
Just look at it...
What a mess.
Well, I thought something like this might happen.
What crappy handwriting.
This'll be a cinch to copy.
What a bunch of pointless crap!
I can't believe I'm delivering this...
It's a lie!
He's one of those Yodaka people!
He's lying!
Okay. Exam over.
Please return that shindanjuu immediately.
Train your heart and come try again!
But man, Lag, you were great!
You came this close to beating the all-time record.
Even that Jiggy Pepper guy took two days.
I took a week to get the Glen Keith to retreat.
Connor took a month going slowly, slowly...
Is that so?
The final decision will be made by the people at the top.
I can't guarantee it, but at this level you'll be hired as a full fledged Bee for sure.
Really?
You're a lot like the guy who holds the record for clearing it.
And the record-holder, Gauche Suede, isn't a Bee anymore, so in reality you're on top.
Gauche... is no longer a Bee?

Gauche...
Gauche is no longer a Bee...
What do you mean by that?
I mean his name's been erased from the register of Bees, what else?
You know him or something?
This is all ancient history, though.
Why?
How'd I know?
Zazie!
They say that Gauche was the star at the Bee-Hive, and a candidate for Head Bee.
That he wouldn't allow himself even the tiniest mistake while working in the capital.
He probably couldn't keep it up and had a breakdown or something.
But man, what a fool.
He finally got to live as an elite after all that hard work, then drops everything and runs away from it all.
Stop it.
You're lying.
There's no way that can be.
It's a lie.
There's just no way.
Gauche would never quit being a Bee!
Get your hands off me, Lag Seeing.
Hands off!
It's a lie!
Gauche would never walk away from his job as a Bee.
Gauche, run away? Never!
Gauche was aiming to become Head Bee in Akatsuki, you know?
We're here, Lag.
Sylvette's house is down this lane.  
The second one on your left.
I'll be waiting here.
Lag, I'm sorry for not telling you.
Give Sylvette my best.
He didn't even respond to you.
What's the matter with him?
I knew this would happen.
Gauche-san was Lag's vision of the perfect Bee.
He's the goal that Lag has always been striving for.
He'd say, "Gauche is working hard in the capital for Sylvette's sake, so I can't give up either!"
Lag did his best, always working intently on catching up to Gauche-san as soon as he could...
I couldn't tell him.
Lag believed in Gauche-san from the bottom of his heart.
I... was never able to tell him.
Ow!
Zazie?
Have the rest of my lunch.
Make sure to throw away the wrapper.
Let's go, Wasiolka.
Go? Go where?
The Bee-Hive, obviously, Connor Culh.
But why?
Shouldn't we go back together-
I'm heading back first.
Apologize to him, will you?
Tell him... I'm sorry about... that.
Tell him yourself!
Hello.
Hello!
Is she out?
It's open...
Sure is dark.
Um, hello!
Maybe no one is here.
Wings?
It flew? 
Gotcha!
Hey! Don't climb up!
Trapped?
You guys are really annoying.
If you don't cut it out I'll blast you full of holes!
Full of...
When I get the money from the dolls and clothes I'm making now, I'll pay you back the rin from last month!
Now just keep quiet and wait until the end of the month, you numbskull!
Um, wait... I'm not...
Niche, no! You mustn't!
Y-You're Sylvette?
That's... Gauche's shindanjuu?
He's here?
So then, Gauche came back to this house, right?
Ah, I see.
That's what it was.
It's because he felt he had to come back to you.
Yeah, that's got to be it...
Gauche...
Thank goodness...
Lag... Seeing?
That's you, right?
You're Lag Seeing!
Yes.
Um, Connor said to give you his best.
I see.
Here. It's tea made with milk.
Thank you.
I'm sorry. Niche doesn't drink milk.
Oh, no wonder she's so small.
Then don't blame me if you never grow. 
Niche, are you okay?
I thought a Maka's tongue wasn't able to handle hot drinks...
A Maka's tongue?
Um, well... Sylvette...
I remember what my brother told me about you.
He said he delivered a letter, an Albisian boy like us who was a huge crybaby.
You really haven't changed, Lag.
You're just like the child I imagined.
I'm surprised.
I'm also surprised!
I always thought that you'd be a bit more ca-
A bit more what?
Actually, I've met you before, Sylvette.
During our journey, Gauche shot me with a shindan.
I saw Gauche's memories... Gauche's heart.
You seemed really lonely, and were crying...
Enough.
I suppose I was a crybaby in the past, too.
But, I don't really remember.
Sylvette?
It seems like my brother thought you would show up here in Yuusari one day.
He said you had what it took to become a Bee.
He did?!
Sylvette, so, where's Gauche?
Where is Gauche?
This is his gun, so he came back here, right?
I want to see him soon, Sylvette!
He's not here.
The notice is on top of the hearth.
A letter?
From Gauche?
T-This is...
This is...
It's a notice of employment termination.  
"Gauche Suede has been continually absent without notice from his duties at the Capital Bee-Hive in Akatsuki,"
"and he did not appear at the disciplinary committee hearing."
"Thereafter, his crossing permit was revoked, and his whereabouts unknown."
"It is possible he has temporary insanity, or is lacking in mental capacity."
T-That can't be!
Gauche is...
"As such, the level 2 crossing pass to the Amberground capital Akatsuki
along with the spirit amber and weapon are forfeit, and address reassigned to Yuusari."
"This has been a notice of termination for the National Postal Delivery Serviceman Bee."
Come in.
Pardon me.
You called for me, Master?
Take this to Sylvette Suede.
I'm sorry, but Gauche has been terminated.
But that's...
It must be hard on you.
Would you please deliver this to his sister?
Understood.
I will deliver this to Sylvette.
Coming.
Who might it be?
It's me, Aria.
Aria-san, what's the matter?
Hurry, come on in.
I'll bring a towel.
Wait, Sylvette.
I came today to deliver this.
What is it?
Brother has been fired from the Bees?
No way! This has to be a lie, right?
Tell me this is a lie, Aria-san!
Soon after he crossed into Akatsuki, my brother lost his heart and disappeared.
The delivery is over now.
Lag, you did very well...
You truly got through it...
You and I relied on each other, and we made it through that perilous journey.
You are no longer a letter... You're a man now, Lag Seeing.
Farewell, Gauche...
But, Sylvette, what about the gun?
That's Gauche's...
Before he headed to the capital, he had a new weapon made.
It no longer has a spirit amber set in it.
I now use it as a bluff for self-defense.
I can't believe this...
So then, where's Gauche now?
It's been four and a half years since my brother, who was more dedicated to his job than anyone, discarded the Bees.
I haven't gotten a single letter or report.
So I gave up hope.
My brother is dead.
I cherish the memories I have of him, but that's what I've concluded.
But... But!
Sylvette, he was doing it for you!
He reaped what he sowed!
I didn't want for anything but to have my brother with me.
And yet, he...
He wanted to work in the capital so badly, he'd always push himself to ruin...
He'd even volunteer for the most difficult deliveries.
I don't need a dad or a mom or money or anything, so...
I don't care if I can never walk... Just...
Please don't go!
Stay here... by my side...
Brother...
I have work to do. Please leave.
This must have been tough for you to hear.
I apologize.
I'm glad that we met, Lag Seeing.
But, please, never come back here again.
Farewell... Sylvette.
He hasn't said a thing since he came back.
My brother lost his heart and disappeared.
Lag, where does it hurt?
Do you want me to lick where it hurts?
Thanks, but I'm not hurt.
Oh?
Hey, Niche...
Should I lick it?
No, not that...
Say... Just suppose I lost my heart and forgot about you, Niche.
What would you do?
I'd lick you, and bite you, and drop you, and jump on you, and scratch you, and drop you!
You'd drop me twice?
I'm your dingo, Lag.
Just leave it to me.
But...
Don't worry.
Even if you forget me, Lag...
I'll never forget you, see?
So we'll always be together!
Thank you.
Thank you, Niche.
Connor, stop!
I'm going to see Sylvette again!
Niche, wait.
We should wait here.
You can do it, Lag.
You're all squishy.
You drink milk tea, too?
Do you need nice breasts to be beautiful too, I wonder?
Um, Niche...
L-Little help?
Because I won't forget.
Sylvette gave up hope because it was too sad to bear.
Gauche is alive out there somewhere.
Then l should just search for him, and become Sylvette's hope myself!
Sylvette!

Gauche is alive out there somewhere, for sure!
So I'll just search for him...
I'll become Sylvette's hope myself!
Sylvette...
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!
I didn't need money...
I didn't care if I could never walk...
All I wanted was to be by your side...
What did you accomplish, brother, by setting your ambitions so high that you lost your heart?
Sylvette?
Bro...ther?
Lag...
Sylvette...
I see now. She was waiting all this time, alone, for Gauche to come back.
Sylvette, I'll... I'll look-
What's this?
My spirit amber is charging on its own...
Am I going to shoot...
Lag?
...a shindan from my hand again?
That's it! I'll shoot it into Gauche's gun!
The sound of bells...
My chest fills with its warm, friendly tone...
That's the sound of the bells of Cambel.
I lost my mother when she gave birth to my sister, Lag Seeing.
Therefore, I have no memory of my mother.
But Gauche, if Sylvette is 7 like me, then you would have been, um...
Eleven years old.
See what I mean?
And you still don't remember anything?
Yes. It's a mystery even to me, but the only memories I have of that time are of my sister.
Sylvette has never been able to walk since birth.
The doctors have been unable to determine the cause.
I seek money in order to cure my sister's legs.
In order to accomplish that, I must obtain a position in the capital.
So that's why you're aiming to become Head Bee?
Correct.
So, Lag Seeing, do you remember when I told you that letters are the heart of the people who wrote them?
Sure! They hold people's heart and hope, right?
Yes, and thus there is no weightier, yet more wonderful job possible.  
It is precisely because the job of a Bee is to deliver heart and to connect people's hearts,
that I can have such pride; that I am able to risk my life in this dangerous battle.
This is Gauche's...
The Gaichuu, Jinro! 
Its weak point is... its mouth? 
Shindan loaded!
Black Needle!
It blocked it?
Roda, please stand back.
Shindan loaded!
Black Needle!
Roda... I wonder if Sylvette is in the other room...
I'll make sure to bring Sylvette... happiness...
What's with this letter?
It's completely filthy!
I am sorry.
If your job's done, then go away!
The last thing I want is other villagers suspecting I'm connected with some government worker bee.
It's from Dad!
It's a letter from Dad!
Now, hurry on inside.
Thank you for the letter.
Give you more deliveries?
I do not mind if have less days off.
I will take any job, no matter what the circumstances.
Gauche, why are you in such a hurry?
You already are working far harder than anyone could expect.
And it's important that you rest yourself properly in order to do a good job.
I...
I believe I would like to work in the capital, Akatsuki.
Toward that aim, I need a strong performance record.
Gauche...
Gauche, wait!
You just came back from three days and nights of straight walking, didn't you?
If you don't rest a little, your body...
Thank you for worrying about me, Aria Link.
But I am fine. If there's one thing I'm confident in, it's my stamina.
I'm not just worried about your body.
It's your heart, Gauche...
My heart?
If you keep chasing after work like this, one day you might lose your heart!
I can't help but worry about that...
I am myself, Aria Link.
And nothing will change that.
Niche, want some?
Huh? Hand over the pizza, you say?
Here.
In one bite?!
Are you worried about Lag?
Are you worried about Sylvette?
Lag's kind, so don't worry. 
I'm sure he'll be back soon.
You're his dingo, right, Niche?
I am his dingo. You got that right.
My pizza!
Right... These are the memories in Gauche's shindanjuu.
Your new gun is high-caliber revolver. 
If you load this the same way you used to, you'll use up your entire heart.
I understand, Mr. Gobeni.  
What'll you do with your old shindanjuu?
Nocturne Op. 20, Shindan Custom.  
It's the only one of its kind in the world, a masterpiece of the great craftsman, Frédéric.
I'll pay you well for it.
It'll be a great addition to my collection.
Hey you! Have you baked the muffins we're putting out this afternoon yet?
Shuddap! I'm dealin' with a customer for the weapon shop now!
Get yer ass in the back!
Honestly, how long do you plan on continuing to do that sort of work when it doesn't make any money!
Do you even realize how much our customers look forward to our bread?
Shuddap already! You're gettin' in the way of my work!
What work?
Get outta here!
Now, now you two.
Eat. You haven't eaten yet, right?
Sheesh.
This is the officially sanctioned weapons shop "Sinners" handed down from generation to generation.
But we mostly sell bread now!
Makes a man want to cry...
This is very good.
That's a new recipe! You like it? It's good?
Wait, no, what am I doing?
So, what are you going to do with this Nocturne?
Sorry, but it's important to me.
Too bad, I suppose.
When do you head off to the capital?
This weekend.
I see.
You noticed that someone was following you on the way here, right?
Yes.
I've been hearing rumors here and there
of an anti-government organization who call themselves "Reverse" that aims to reform the country.
I don't know what they're searchin' for, but they say Bees and letters in the capital have been targeted.
It's great you got promoted and all, but be careful out there, Suede.
Remember, the root of humanity is life and heart.  
Sylvette, if a dear friend of mine happens to visit from Yodoka, would you please give him this Nocturne?
I'm stunned.
Someone else made friends with you besides Aria-san? 
That's so mean of you, Sylvette!
Yes, we became friends.
You mean the crybaby boy my age who you told about that time?
Yes.
Sylvette, will you give him the gun?
I am sure it will be of use to him.
His... My dear friend's name is...
Lag Seeing.
Gauche...
Gauche!
Gauche!
Gauche!
Don't cry, Sylvette.
I'm going to find Gauche, no matter what.
For sure...
I'll become a Bee, and travel the world, and head out to search for Gauche!
Even if he's lost his heart, no matter what has happened...
I'll bring him back to you!
I swear I will. 
So don't cry, Sylvette.
Gauche...
Honestly... I've never met...
...a bigger crybaby than myself, until you came...
I'm sorry about not giving it to you before.
This is something you should have.
My brother's shindanjuu, Nocturne Op. 20.
Take it, Lag.
I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Lag.
After I met you, I was scared the memories of my brother would come flooding back.
I've actually...
I've actually... All this time...
I've wanted to meet you, Lag!
Sylvette, don't cry!
Sylvette!
You should talk when you're bawling like a baby!
Lag, it looks like you don't hurt anymore.
Yeah.
Niche?
It still hurts?
No, not that.
Thank you.
I'll be counting on you from now on.
Of course!
Because I'm your dingo, Lag!
Lag, we're almost there.
Zazie?
Were you waiting for us?
Zazie, um...
Get in there now. You're keeping the Master waiting. 
Lag Seeing, age 12. Hometown: Coza Bel in Yodaka.
After considering your results of fifth on the formal government examination, plus the top mark from the examination proctor,
we have decided to hire you as a full-fledged National Postal Service Deliveryman, Bee.
The only other full-time employee from Yodaka is Jiggy Pepper.
Your dreams have come true, my boy.
No.
It is not my dream to become a Bee.
My dream is to deliver many people's precious hearts as a Bee.
There are people I want to meet no matter what.
Very important people to me who are somewhere in this world.
And because I know there must be others like me who have people precious to them, who they want to see so badly...
Because there are sure to be people who wish to send their hearts...
I want to deliver their letters for them!
I want to deliver their precious heart!
Lag, it is said that there is no obstacle in this world which can keep the Head Bee from delivering his letter.
Whether that's true, or just a rumor, I wish to become that kind of Bee.
My dream...
Is the same as Gauche Suede's...
It is to become the greatest of the Letter Bees... Head Bee!

Light...
It's the Empress... 
Her silhouette looks somehow like my mother's...
Huh?
Oh, yeah. This is...
Hey!
Niche, hold it right there!
For goodness sake, everyday it's the same thing!
Fool!
You think you can elude this wheel-chaired leopardess?! 
Now then, Niche...
Brush your teeth!
Don't wanna!
Brush your teeth!
Good morn-
Niche!
Brush your teeth!
Put on some underwear!
You've got to brush your teeth!
Honestly, Niche... You'll only wear the underwear Lag gave you?
Then what about when they're in the wash?
You saw Niche just now, right?
Niche. Here, rinse.
She only listens to you, Lag.
What am I going to do with her?
Thank you, Sylvette.
I don't have the savings or a guarantor to rent my own apartment...
Thank you for taking us into your home.
Well, the Bee-Hive is not far from this house, Cassiopeia Lamp.
And the room rent you'll pay me will really help me out.
That's the only reason...
No one is using my brother's room, after all.
To think I'm sleeping in Gauche's room...
It's all kind of surreal.
But I'll take you up on your offer, Sylvette.
Until the day I find Gauche, and bring him back here.
Thank you, Lag.
But promise me one thing.
Promise?
Promise me that while you live in this house, no matter what may happen...
Promise me you'll come back.
I promise.
It's ready!
Okay, Lag, Niche...
Eat up before your first day of work.
This is my brother's favorite dish...
My original, specially made soup!
Wow, it looks delicious!
Let's eat!
I wonder how it tastes?
Report: It tastes like the disgusting soup in my memories, sir!
Delicious!
Perfect!
Lag, I've got plenty if you want seconds.
A visitor?
Who could it be this early?
Let me go see who it is!
I'll go! I will!
Sure, okay...
Niche, eat your soup.
I wonder if Gauche's mysterious sense of taste is Sylvette's fault?
Good morning, Lag Seeing...
Ari-
Sub-master!
My dream...
Is the same as Gauche Suede's...
It is to become the greatest of the Letter Bees... Head Bee!
How does he know so much?
Aria-san!
It's good to see you again, Sylvette.
Yes...
It's been a while.
Before you start work, I have something I'd like to discuss with you.
Come with me, if you would.
S-Sure!
Put these on.
Right!
Thanks for waiting.
I'm sorry, the hats are one size fits all...
I'll get one tailored for you the next time.
It's okay. I like it this way.
Lag...
Be careful, okay?
Thank you.
Gauche's Nocturne...
And I packed you lunch!
Lunch? You don't mean...
Make haste, Lag Seeing.
R-Right!
Let's go, Niche.
I'm off, Sylvette.
What are these tears for?  
Sylvette?
Niche, Steak...
Do your best to help Lag. 
Go, Lag Seeing, and then come back! 
I'll come back.
Where are we headed?
You'll know when we arrive, Lag Seeing.
Right.
It seems you were once a letter delivered by Gauche Suede, yes?
How did you know?
I looked it up in the delivery records after Connor Culh's report.
So that's why you aspired to become a Bee.
Yes!
Actually, I know you, Sub-master.
During that journey, Gauche shot me with a shindan.
That's how I learned about you, Aria-san.
So it goes that deep...
We're here. This is it.
Amazing! I've never seen the artificial sun's light this close before!
This is the Hill of Prayer.
Hill of Prayer?
The place in Yuusari Central where you can feel closest to the light of the artificial sun.
As you are aware, Amberground is a country founded upon the Empress.
The Empress both rules over the country, and at the same time is whom we worship.
She is the high priestess, as well. 
This hill is a holy place where one prays to the Empress underneath the light.
It is a famous spot throughout Yuusari.
Why did you take me here?
Gauche has loved this hill since we were very little.
Gauche did?
Gauche and I would come here right after we woke up to pray for our safety that day.
That is, until...
...that day.
Twelve years ago, on the 311th day.
On the day know as "The Day of Flicker," Gauche was on this hill as usual...
And lost a precious part of his heart...
Gauche lost a part of his heart?
Aria-san, what is The Day of Flicker?
Where's Gauche?
He went to pray for his mother and for a safe birth... 
Something isn't right with his mother! Call for him, immediately!
Right!
What could have happened so suddenly?
Oh, no! We have to at least save the baby! 
Boil some water!
Aria, hurry!
Right!
What's this?
Ow!
What?
Alone in a sea of stars...
I felt as if I were abandoned.
The artificial sun had gone out, and in an instant, the world was engulfed in darkness.
The horror of having lost the light was such that I even forgot to breathe.
And then...
A government airship fell?
It fell near the town! 
What in the world?
Is Gauche safe?
Gauche!
Gauche, thank goodness!
Light...
The light...
Just now... It flickered...
So many times...
Gauche!
Come with me! Hurry back to your house!
Your mother is in trouble!
My... mother?
What a pity... She never even saw her child's face.
And everything seemed to be going so well.
A girl?
How do you do, Sylvette?
Sylvette, you say?
That's her name.
You...
You intend to give her the same name as your mother's?
Mother?
Gauche, don't you understand?
Your mother, Sylvette Suede, is dead!
Sylvette is my newborn baby sister!
I wonder why her legs are...
It's okay, I'm here for you, Sylvette.
We're family, you and I.
I'll make sure that you're happy...
I'll bring you happiness, Sylvette!
So Gauche watched the flicker of the artificial sun and lost all memories of his mother?
For something like that...
What in the world happened on this Day of Flicker?
The government announced that it was conducting an examination and adjustment of the artificial sun on that day.
An examination?
It was a government examination airship that crashed.
However it was reported that the ship's crash was an accident unrelated to the artificial sun.
Is that true?
That's what the government says.
Did the flicker of the artificial sun have some kind of effect?
I don't know the answer to that question.
But one thing is true:
On that day, Gauche forgot about the mother he held so dear.
And in order to fill that gap in his heart...
He began to pour everything he had into bringing happiness to his little sister.
Because of that, he...
Aria-san...
The capital is full of things we can't see from here.
Let me give you some advice, Lag.
If you get too close to the light, the shadows will grow into a deep darkness.
That's what it means to aim for Head Bee.
Ari-
Hey!
Connor!
Lag, Sub-master!
What's the matter, Connor?
Zazie ran into a ton of Gaichuu while on a delivery...
He said he's having a tough time and requests backup.
Zazie?
Aria-san!
Get to it, Lag Seeing.
Right!
Let's go, Niche, Steak!
Huh, where'd they go?
Niche, Steak, wake up!
Thank you, Aria!
Aria?
You told me about Gauche because you were worried about me, right?
I don't know how you feel about Gauche now, Aria...
But you're the same Aria you were back then!
That same Aria that's always been on Gauche's side...
I understand...
You're the same Aria that Gauche was in love with!
Thank goodness...
Hurry and get going!
Scramble dash, now! 
Right!
Oh yeah, Aria...
I mean, Sub-master!
Actually, it's the same for me.
I was also born on the Day of Flicker, twelve years ago on the 311th day.
I don't know what might lay ahead for me, but in order to meet Gauche, I must travel the same road he did. 
At the end of that road, I'll surely find him...
And my mother, too!
Blue Thorn!
Man... Their gaps are huge and they're weak, but...
Just how many of these buggers are there? 
Wasiolka... Didn't you go to get help?
What power!
A Frederick Nocturne?
That's incredibly rare!
Who could...
Lag?
I just shot one, but my vision's all cloudy...
You put too big a fragment of your heart into a single shot.
Try regulating your power a little, sheesh! 
If you blast out such a powerful shindan, your memories might even fly away and never come back.
My memories might?
Can you help, or are you gonna take a nap up there, rookie?
I can help!
Then get your butt down here.
These guys are perfect targets for your first job.
We'll take 'em on together.
We'll clean them up starting from the one on the left.
Okay, Zazie.
Their weak point are all those holes in their head.
While I draw them to me down below, you shoot then from above!
Let's go, Wasiolka!
Mother, Gauche, our roads are connected... 
...and as a Letter Bee, I start today... 
Let's go! Niche, Steak!
Congrats on your first day!
Show me what you got!
...down that road!! 
Shindan, loaded!
I'll squeeze out all the courage of my heart and walk...
Resound! Red Needle!
...down the road of light! 
Lag!
Let's eat!
Sure!
Wow, it looks delicious.
Preparing such delicious looking soup ahead of time... I guess you have your uses after all.
This was in Lag's canteen.
Huh?
Wait...
What?
I'm starving. Hurry and eat, Lag.
Okay...
Well then...
Let's dig in!
This is disgusting!

Inside us all, heart lies foremost. 
Heart is thy Lord, 
and thou art created from heart. 
Your shindanjuu, Nocturne Op. 20.
Thanks.
And don't forget this!
It's the original gross-out soup!
T-Thanks...
Be careful, Lag.
It's a short trip suitable for a trainee, but that doesn't change the fact that it's dangerous.
And...
Thanks, Sylvette.
But, I'll be fine.
I'm living under this roof, so I won't break my promise.
No matter what happens, I'll come back to this house.
So don't worry while you're waiting, Sylvette... 
Lag...
I'm off!
N-Niche?
W-What's with that underwear?
What happened to my baggy ones?
That Sylvette lady washed them! 
Washed them?
If I wore these instead, she said she wouldn't make that awful soup for three days, so I did.
Does that make you happy, Lag?
Thank you! Thank you so much!
But these feel strange!
They get caught in my butt and are tight around my crotch! 
O-Oh?
So, don't you forget, Lag!
You are the only one who can make me wear underwear!
It's as your dingo that I feel this tightness! 
T-Thanks?
I haven't really met many other Bees yet since they're always out on deliveries.
The ones I know are Connor and Zazie.
And then there's the express delivery Bee, Jiggy-san, but I've never met him.
Are you going on a delivery, too?
Yup.
Today we'll be picking up a letter in Black Milk Hood and delivering it to the northeast of Yuusari.
The address for pickup should be up ahead...
Look! That's a Letter Bee uniform, right?
Um... Sorry to bother you during a delivery!
You're a Bee, right?
Yeah.
I'm Lag Seeing, and I've just become a Bee!
Lag?
Yes!
It's a pleasure to meet you!
This girl is my dingo, Niche and-
Steak. If you grill him he's tasty-
That looks like some bad-tasting bait. 
Really?
I know about you. The country boy from out in Yodaka.
The newbie with the spirit-amber eye that's the talk of the Bee-Hive.
Your shindan is able to perceive the heart contained within objects, yes?
Uh... Yes!
I question whether someone like you should become a Bee.
Why is that?
Why?
Does a Bee need the power to look at the contents of people's letters?
That's "Letters Through Door," country boy.
As long as the letter passes beyond the door of its address,
concerning yourself with anything more is a mistake.
For a Bee, letters are only something to be delivered.
Letters are the same as people's hearts for me!
That's what Gauche Suede taught me!
Gauche? Who's that?
I'm Moc Sullivan. 
Lang, was it?
Lob, perhaps? 
Good luck then.
Not like I care, really.
My name is Lag Seeing!
Moc Sullivan...
Good day! Mr. Vincent Alcott?
I'm the Bee, Lag Seeing.
I've come to pick up your letter.
Come in!
Oh, you're early.
I haven't finished writing it yet.
Will you hang over there and wait for a bit?
Sure.
And don't touch those books over there, got it?!
I'll lose track of where everything is.
R-Right!
That's it!
Hey, you...
Can you think of something to brag about?
A brag?
It doesn't matter what.
Anything, like you ate something really good, or went and hung out somewhere, or had fun doing something...
I'm begging you! Lag, was it?
I've totally run out of fun sounding lies to write in these letters...
What am I to do?
Lies?
Why are you writing lies?
Are you dense?
Look at me! Look!
And this room, it's covered in dust and the roof leaks!
There're bugs...
I can't sell my stories, and half of what I eat is rotten beans.
There's no way I could worry my mother out in the country by sending a letter with what's really happening.
Lying... to your mother?
You mustn't!!
Pipe down!
Lying is bad!
Letters are the heart of the people who write them, Mr. Alcott!
I can write whatever I damn well please!
Just shut up and deliver it.
It's none of your business.
But...
Letters are only something to be delivered.
If you're going to keep on about it, then wait outside.
Let's see...
The book I wrote was such a sensation, at a cafe... No.
I was made Bee-Hive Master for a day!
Hmm, maybe that's too much.
Oh, whatever...
And then...
Pickup, complete!
The letter is addressed to a small village in the far north-east of Yuusari, Breath Mint Gelato.
The Gaichuu territory around there is quite large, so it's a matter of timing whether we get in a battle.
But we should be able to get there and back in a day!
Okay, let's...
I can't believe I'm delivering a letter filled with bragging lies. 
I feel like I'm doing a bad thing to his mother...
Even a single word will do.
To those people who live apart from one another, a letter contains the heart of the person that wrote it.
Gauche...
I wonder...
I wonder if even a letter of lies holds heart?
Sure. If you're looking for Mrs. Alcott's house, it's across Gale Bridge.
There's only one house beyond the rope bridge, so you can't miss it.
Rope bridge?
I have to cross... this?
Niche, stop that! Please, stop that!
You can do it, Lag!
It's so far down, you can't see the bottom!
Niche, you're not helping...
Just please, stop that already!
Good day!
Huh?
Hello...
Hello.
You're a Letter Bee, right?
There's only one house across this bridge, so could you be, perhaps, looking for me?
Are you Mrs. Louisa Alcott?
Yes.
L-L-Letter for you, Ma'am!
Um, here. This is a letter from your son, Mr. Vincent Alcott.
From my son?
Lag, above you!
The Gaichuu, Duvel?!
Oh no! The bridge is about to collapse!
Niche, carry Mrs. Alcott off the bridge! 
But my crotch feels tight!
Just do it! And hurry!
The Gaichuu leaped from the bottom of the gorge.
It'll come again.
Oh, no! 
Vincent-san's letter!
Am I really going to go out on a collapsing rope bridge?
I don't know whether it contains any heart...
Will I risk my life for a letter of lies?
I wonder what kind of letter I was like for Gauche?
I will risk my life in order to deliver you to Cambel.
Because that is the job of a Letter Bee.
I have to risk it.
Because that's...
...the job of a Letter Bee!
The letter!
Niche?
Niche, watch out! Behind you!
Niche...
Gaps...
The bullet I shoot is a fragment of my heart.
Shindan loaded.
Red Needle!
Resound within you, my heart!
Are you folks all right?
Yes! Somehow or another!
How about you, Mrs. Alcott?
Don't worry about me and climb up, hurry!
Again... Again!
No matter how many I submit, they won't even read them!
A fantasy novel written from the perspective of a young boy?
And this one is a flight-of-fancy adventure? 
These type of things are no good!
There ain't nobody that's gonna read these tales!
And in the first place, we're a newspaper!
This is Vincent-san's heart?
I guess my shindan must have hit the letter.
W-Wait, then these are his real memories?!
Don't look!
Here, this!
What's written in the letter is what your son really...
Damn it!
Damn it!
Vincent!
Does a Bee need the power to look at the contents of people's letters? 
It's just as he said...
What that Moc person said was exactly right...
I'm sorry, Mrs. Alcott!
I-
Thank goodness.
He's trying his best! He hasn't given up!
Mrs. Alcott?
Ever since my son left home saying, "I'll become an author!" he's never wanted to worry me.
So he's only ever sent letters putting on a good face.
Even though his letters have only made me worry all the more...
So, Vincent-san always writes lies in his letters?
Yes.
He has a very good imagination but is a terrible liar.
Ironic, yes?
But what's important isn't what is written inside.
It brings me happiness just knowing that he would make the effort to write such letters.
These obvious lies about how well he's doing...
It's almost like these letters are my son himself.
I'm sorry, Mother.
Even though you went so far as to sell your home to put me through school...
For me to leave you alone like this...
I...
Damn it!
It doesn't matter how many I tear up and throw away...
I'm never going to give up, never! 
I'm going to write an amazing masterpiece, just you wait!
A tale that will resonate with anyone's heart...
I'll write it, for sure!
I promise, Mother!
I'm sure my boy will come back one day.
He'll change all those lies into reality, and come home with pride!
Yes, that's what I believe.
The letter you delivered to me is special, you cute little Letter Bee.
You delivered my son's heart...
And the hope I need to live on for tomorrow...
Thank you!
So, Niche... What kind of book do you think Vincent-san will write?
I bet it'll be a kind story.
I hope I can read it.
Like this?
What's that?
I picked it up in that guy's house!
Picked up?
A letter? But there're no stamps.
It's addressed to... Mrs. Alcott's house!
But, why is it so beat up?
There's no way I could worry my mother out in the country by sending a letter with what's really happening.
I have to give this back.
I have to give this back to Vincent-san!
Now look here, you can't just go around taking-
N-N-Niche! W-What happened to your underwear?
S-Steak?
Lag, I've had enough of Sylvette's weird, tight underwear!
But... Those are Sylvette's, right?
And they are kind of distracting to me, too...
That's it!
When I get my first paycheck, let's buy you some baggy underwear, Niche!
The same kind as you, Lag?
If that's what you want.
But, until then...
Put on your underwear!

Man, sure is cold.
No, I have my hands full with Wasiolka.
Sorry.
Oh, fine... Have it your way.
Now, everyone.
We will be doing the Holy Night delivery. 
You will collect the packages from here.
Understood?
It's that season again.
Um, what's this "Holy Night?"
This is your first time, isn't it, Lag Seeing?
Holy Night is a holiday that came from up north.
It's held every year at this time to honor the Empress.
You can stuff yourself with turkey and cake and all kinds of stuff!
Sounds pretty fun.
Of course, the meaning of the Holy Night is more than that.
It's also a day to pray for everyone to live happier lives.
Every year the Bee-Hive collects presents from charity organizations,
and delivers them to needy children in the northern area.
So now you know.
Put your heart into it, and don't crush their dreams, okay?
What a pain in the...
Oh yes. Would you pair with Lag this year?
Teach him the ropes as his senior, okay?
We're counting on you.
I'll do my best!
Here.
What are these clothes?
They're the outfits of the Holy Night Messengers.
Two old men bring children presents on the Holy Night.
And then the Holy Night Messengers have to grant them a single wish.
Really?
Oh, it's a real pain every year.
Like "Become a sheep and do what I say," or "I wish you'd would grant me 100 more wishes!" etc...
Well, it's okay to refuse if it's something really horrible.
Nowadays nobody believes in the Holy Night Messengers.
Man, I dread this night every year.
This freaky outfit...
Bright red is so uncool.
The whole thing sucks.
But it looks good on you!
Like hell it does!
Now, now...
I hate this type of job worse than anything.
Let's get this over with quick.
Jewel Snow Mountain, huh?
What kind of place is it?
I've heard it's a place covered in snow.
There's a gaichuu point near the mountain top, too.
Seems like a pretty conservative area, but I've never been there before myself.
I'm gonna take a nap.
You conserve your energy too.
Goodnight.
Is Niche doing okay?
Why is Lag going on a delivery with Zazie?
This time the delivery is special.
Even if it's special, me and Lag should be together!
I am Lag's dingo, right?
Well, I know how you feel, but...
Hey, say something to her, will you?
As a Letter Bee, Lag is learning how to do different kinds of deliveries.
Sometimes he'll be delivering things without his dingo.
That is also important experience. 
For experience...
Wasiolka is waiting patiently, see?
My fellow dingo, I understand. This is a time we wait.
You'd think they could at least shovel the snow!
I suppose not many people come by here.
Here.
Thanks.
Be careful, would you?
There are plenty of places like this you'll have to deliver to-
Are you okay?
Of course I'm okay!
Let's get on with it!
Ms. Sonja Malmöla, a delivery for you. 
Coming!
The Holy Night Messengers!
Wow!
This is the first time you've come to my house!
You're kind of shorter than I expected.
Your red clothes are wonderful!
Here, your present.
Wow!
It's a Monsieur Criesalot picture book! 
Thank you so much!
So, you get a wish, remember?
We'll grant one thing, whatever you want.
A wish?
I don't really have one.
Anything'll do. Like "pretend to be a sheep and do what I say," or something.
Lag!
Then how about you stay for dinner?
Tonight is the Holy Night, right?
Everything'll taste better if we eat it together!
Right?
Sonja really seems like a good girl.
Cheerful, and...
You think?
She's just a kid with no worries.
But it looks like she does everything herself.
Maybe she doesn't have any parents?
Who knows? It's not so rare these days.
You, me, and Sylvette don't have any parents either.
Well, true, but...
Is she okay? Maybe I should help her.
Leave her be.
She told us to wait here and have some snacks...
But...
Our job is to eat dinner with her.
By the way, you interfere far too much with the addressees. 
It's not something for us to worry about.
You're hopeless...
I'll help you.
I can't do it all at once by myself.
Thank you, Mr. Holy Night Messenger!
Call me Lag.
Lag? That's a nice name!
And the other messenger?
He's Zazie. He has more experience than me.
I see. So the older ones teach the new ones?  
Something like that.
Oh yeah... I have to go buy ingredients for dinner.
Zazie, Sonja tells me she wants to go shopping.
Would you mind going with her?
Huh? Why me?
She'd have a hard time carrying it all by herself, and I'll finish shoveling the snow.
I'll handle the shoveling, so you go.
She also said that she wants to talk with the other messenger.
Hey, why'd you become a messenger, Zazie?
I'm not a messenger.
You don't actually believe in that stuff, do you?
You're not? Then what are you?
I'm a Letter Bee.
I see! You're Letter Bees!
So that's why you go and deliver presents?
I guess so.
Why did you become a Letter Bee?
It's not really important.
Come on, tell me.
Grouch.
Grouch? 
It's the village!
Thanks, as always!
If you're finished here, leave and go home!
Okay!
Um... There's the turkey, and then... I have to buy vegetables!
Look, it's that girl...
Oh no... I wish she wouldn't come down here... 
Zazie, I'm gonna go buy vegetables, so wait here and hold this, okay?
Sure.
You're a Holy Night Messenger Letter Bee, right?
Right.
Let me warn you.
Don't get too close to that girl.
Thanks for waiting!
What's the matter?
Let's head to the next store!
Wow, this looks amazingly delicious!
Since there are three of us tonight, I made a bunch!
Have as much as you'd like.
Thanks for the food!
If you're finished here, leave and go home!
Let me warn you.
Don't get too close to that girl.
Zazie?
Oh, nothing...
Thanks for the food.
It doesn't look like it will let up any time soon.
How about you rest here until it does?
Are you sure?
Thanks a lot! That'll be a great help.
Right, Zazie?
Then, in return...
Monsieur became the Mustache King... And in the end...
And in the end...
In the end...
I'm crying so much I can't read the end!
You guys are such crybabies.
Didn't you cry when you read it, Zazie?
Sure I cried, but I was a little kid.
And even then, it wasn't that sad.
But...
But!
Sheesh, you guys are a pain.
I want to be able to write a picture book just like that.
Picture book?
Oh yeah, that picture...
I drew that.
One day I want to draw books like this one that lots of people will read.
Thank you.
You granted my wish, and I couldn't be happier.
Sure...
The snow's let up.
I'm sure you'll be able to return tomorrow.
Seems like it.
Um, hey...
Well, you're all alone up here in the mountains?
Why not live in the village?
You heard the people in the village, right?
My mom and dad were killed by gaichuu.
So now the people in the village don't like me.
They say that children whose parents were killed by gaichuu might draw gaichuu to them.
You know that's not true!
But that's what they believe!
I can't tell them to stop believing.
So it's better for me not to go to the village.
And anyway, this house has all my memories of my mom and dad.
So I'm not lonely.
Anyway, it's time for bed.
Goodnight.
My mom and dad were killed by gaichuu.
Soup?
He always prepares it so that he can feed it to them when they regain consciousness.
Even though their eyes are open. 
So that's what happens when you get done in by a gaichuu...
But, that boy... He never cried even once.
Why'd you become a Letter Bee?
Why did I?
Thank you for everything!
Giving me a hand with the housework really helped me out!
And thank you as well for the wonderful meal.
Your cooking was delicious.
I'm glad to hear it.
Sonja, you see...
Hey! You're Letter Bees, right?
Come down to the village, quick!
A gaichuu has shown up!
That's...
It came down from the gaichuu point?
This is your fault!
It's because you came down to the village yesterday!
You're wrong!
Her parents being killed by gaichuu has nothing to do with it! 
B-But...
Look! I promise I'll bring it down!
Then you ain't got nothin' to complain about, right? 
Let's go, Lag!
That's the gaichuu, Cointreau!
It has the same weak point as a Glen Keith!
So, it's in its head, right?
Right.
Lag, get its attention and stun it with a shindan.
I'll aim for its head from above!
Got it.
Shindan, loaded!
Red Needle!
The shells I shoot are fragments of my hatred! 
Resound, my malice!
Blue Thorn!
Zazie!
Gaichuu are attracted by heart.
Perhaps it reacted to all the presents that were delivered to the village.
This was not Sonja's fault!
If a gaichuu appears again, call me!
I'll defeat them, as many times as it takes!
As many times as it takes!
Zazie...
Here, take this.
What is this?
You really helped me a lot.  This is to say thanks.
Thank you, we'll treasure it.
Yes, we will.
Zazie, thank you.
Yeah. Stay well, okay?
Sure!
Man, sure is cold.
Here.

Hey, watch where you're going!
Ah...
S-Sorry!
Um...
Yes?
My name is Promessa Prometas!
Right...
W-Will you... Will you give me back my letter?
A letter you sent yesterday, huh?
That letter's already heading to its destination.
W-What did you say?
T-Then... who is the person doing the delivery?
Um... Lag Seeing.
A lad who just became a Letter Bee.
Maybe I left a little early.
Lag, can a delivery be early?
Yeah...
This is a fixed delivery-date letter...
So if we get there too early, then...
You can't get there early for a fish delivery-date?
Fixed delivery-date....
I have to deliver it on the day the sender requested.
And it's really quite sealed up.
I wonder what's inside?
I can't! I can't!
The job of a Letter Bee is to make sure to deliver the letter!
Only a newbie would be interested in what's inside, got it?
Newbie!
We're going to deliver this letter to Ms. Pistis tomorrow.
That's our job!
Now let's go, Niche!
Get out of here, now!
My, oh my...
I see we're in quite a bad mood today.
I will come again, my darling Pistis.
Never show your face here again, you cretin!
Perhaps I should hold my tongue,
but is there some reason you remain so hard-hearted to my courtship?
Reason?
You still can't forget about him, can you?
About Promessa, who left you.
Who cares about that guy...
The problem is you!
I hate you, Galador!
Not this again...
Pistis, be honest with yourself and-
Blah, blah, blah... Shut up!
Get outta here!
Hyaa!
Oh, dear, quite a glare you have.
Oh, Crania...
Isn't that Galador a rich celebrity around here?
I'd think it'd be quite the fairy tale...
I hate that sort of fake affection.
And if I got married, he'd start pestering me about stupid things like developing my land and profiting off it...
Development?
You think I'd let this become some casino?
Pistis, I'm sorry.
I don't mean to pry, but...
Maybe you still... about Promessa...
You're joking...
That guy's probably already gone off and died somewhere.
Oww...
She is one strong-willed woman.
I'm sure there are so many women who want to be near you, you'd have to turn them away, Master.
What I really want is her land.
But the Pistis family only has that one house, right?
See, this is why you're so naive.
It's near the intersection of a number of main roads, right?
If we build a casino there where travelers can stop by...
Big profits!
But no matter how much money I offer, she won't part with that land.
So if money's no good...
I just have to use my charm, right?
Yup!
So if Master and Pistis get married, the land and rights become yours!
Well, if that doesn't work either, then I just steal it.
No matter what it takes...
The destination is just a bit farther ahead.
We didn't run into any gaichuu, so everything's gone well, but...
What am I going to do? This isn't any good...
No good!
I told you, it's a fixed delivery-date, remember?
Sixed delivery-dates are no good?
Yeah... At this rate I'll reach there a day early.
In the nick of time...
You idiot! You have a death wish, you brat?
Walkin' in the middle of the road like...
Niche?
W-W-What?
Niche, stop!
Um, I'm sorry!
Who the heck are you?
I'm the Letter Bee, Lag Seeing.
Letter Bee?
Yes.
I'm in the middle of delivering this letter to a Ms. Pistis.
To Pistis?
Hey, let me see that letter!
What?
This was sent by Promessa?
I might be able to use this...
You know her?
Yes, that's correct.
Pistis and I have quite a close relationship!
Oh, that's it!
How about I deliver the letter to Pistis instead of you?
You needn't thank me.
After all, Pistis's house and land will soon be mine, so...
I'm happy for the offer, but I can't do that.
It's the job of a Letter Bee to be responsible for the letter until it reaches its destination.
Hey, brat!
After Mr. Galador went out of his way to...
How rude of me.
I said something very inconsiderate to you, you responsible young lad.
No, it's okay...
I want to apologize for my rudeness somehow...
You don't have to apologize...
Master, how cruel!
Heyho!
It's a pittance, I know, but on such short notice...
Please, eat up!
I can't accept this wonderful food after destroying your carriage...
Lag, my boy...
Your dedication to your job has moved me deeply!
Not to brag about myself, but I'm quite the important person around this area.
Treating someone who came all the way to this back-country land to deliver someone's precious letter...
It's almost an obligation of mine!
So don't hold back! Please!
Okay...
I'm supposed to deliver the letter tomorrow, so...
I guess this is okay.
Okay then. Thank you for the food.
Whoa, whoa!
Hey! Wake up!
When did I fall asleep...?
You're Lag Seeing, right?
That's right, and...
Hand over that letter you're carrying!
What? It's a robbery!
No, no! I'm the person who sent that letter you're carrying.
The sender?
I can't give the letter back to you.
But I'm the one who sent it!
I don't have any proof that you are the sender.
Then please, stop the delivery.
I can't do that. It's my responsibility to make sure the letter is delivered.
But...
Um, would you mind explaining to me what the problem is?
That letter is addressed to my fiancée, Pistis.
Five years ago I made a promise to her.
I wanted her to wait to get married until I could fulfill that promise.
So I left her and went to Yuusari Central.
And finally, the day I fulfilled my promise had come!
But...
I thought that if I went to see her now, I might just cause her trouble...
So I sent a letter instead of seeing her directly.
"If you've been waiting for me all this time,
I'd like for you to plant the flower seeds inside this envelope," is what I wrote.
Flower seeds?
The letter has flower seeds in it?
Yes.
But after I sent the letter I began to regret it more and more...
Regret?
Maybe Pistis doesn't care about me anymore?
What if she doesn't plant the seeds?
When I thought of that, I figured maybe I shouldn't have sent the letter!
So that's why you want this letter back.
It's gone!
Your letter is gone, Mr. Promessa!
Wonderful...
I'm glad you like it.
And...
Here.
What a cute flower!
Sorry, I only have this one.
No, thank you. It's wonderful.
Pistis, I'm going to become a great scholar.
And on your birthday, I'll make a ton of flowers bloom in the fields as your present!
If I do that...
If I do that... Would you...
Hey, Pistis.
Knock at least, would you?
A letter?
It must be something important,
to be sealed up this tightly, don't you think?
This letter from Promessa!
Promessa?
I wonder what could be inside?
H-How would I know?
I haven't gotten a single letter from that guy since he left!
Anyway, hand that letter over to me. It's mine.
Whoa there...
I'll hand it over, under one condition.
Condition?
What's that?
Some form?
It's a contract where you give up this land to me, Galador!
Lag, you didn't drop anything that way!
What have I done?! Losing a letter makes me a failure as a Letter Bee!
I'm so sorry, Mr. Promessa!
I'll find that letter, I promise!
It's okay, Lag.
I came here to take it back anyway.
Steak, that's not the letter! That's Galador's food!
Galador, you said?
You guys know Galador?
And then, before I knew it, I fell asleep.
Galador is a big land-owner with a terrible reputation.
You guys were put to sleep with some sleeping drug of his, I bet.
So he could steal the letter?
But, why would he...
That's what I want to know!
Anyway, did Galador say anything?
Now that you mention it, he said something about Ms. Pistis's land becoming his...
You've got to be kidding me!
Pistis would never give up that land!
I can't let this stand.
Mr. Promessa!
So you really were just after this land.
I'll give this letter back if you sign the contract.
Don't be silly!
You think I'd trade this land for a letter from a man who ran off?
Oh, I get it.
Then I guess I should just burn it.
Sure. Suit yourself.
Idiot.
Why now, of all times?
Looks like she's okay with it.
Heyho!
Wait!
Promessa!
H-Hey, Pistis...
It's you! Why are you here?
To take back... To take back my letter!
Why, you...
What do you think you're doing to the master?
Promessa!
Mr. Galador!
P-Please give that letter back!
Give back the letter!
Out of my way!
Lag!
Niche...
Get the letter!
The letter!
I'll give it back! I will!
Just, spare us!
Miss...
Here, the letter...
Um...
What?
Ms. Pistis Falsetto.
I have a letter for you from Mr. Promessa Prometas.
But it was torn, and the contents...
I can't accept that.
Get the hell out of here and take this man with you!
But!
Why did you have to stroll back into my life now?
How do you think I've felt all this time?
Ms. Pistis...
It's okay, Lag.
I'm the one at fault here, for everything.
Let's go.
So you'll just let those five years go to waste?!
It's five years of Pistis's life I wasted, not mine.
I'm really sorry, Pistis.
Why?
How can you say that now?!
Pistis!
Come with me!
I want Ms. Pistis to know how you truly feel!
Even if you do that, it's too late...
H-Hey! What do you think you're...
Hurry!
Lag, there's lots of flowers.
Yeah.
I-It was a success.
A success?
Yeah!
I bred those flowers so they would grow extremely quickly when exposed to air.
They're a special breed!
I see!
So that's why the letter was sealed so tightly.
Anyway, I'm glad you made it today.
'Cause it's a sixed delivery-fate!
Um, Mr. Promessa, today is...
My birthday!
Pistis!
Promessa, you still remember that promise?
You fool...
In the end I wasn't confident that these flowers would really work.
I'm really sorry.
Then I guess it's my turn to keep our promise.
Will you marry me?
Yes!
Lag?
This place was once wilderness.
But it's now known by travelers as a place where they can rest their weary souls beside large flower gardens...

That smell...
What could it be?
That's the Bee-Hive's Corpse Doctor.
They say that inside that leather bag is a mountain of bugs and dead animals to be dissected.
Just be glad that it's not a human in there today, Madam. 
Enough already! You're making me ill...
He's coming this way!
Do you have some business with us?
That was under the bench?
A migrating ratbird from northwest Yodoka, umigase family.
No outward signs of infection...
I must check for viruses.
Good morning!
Good morning!
Good morning!
Good morning!
Good morning!
Good morning!
Good morning!
What's up, Lag?
Niche, Steak, good morning!
Good mornin...
Good mornin...
Mood gornin...
Hey, Lag!
Oh, Zazie?
What do you mean, "Oh?"
Connor's here, too...
What's the matter, Lag?
Sorry... I just spaced out there for a bit...
You okay?
You seem pale-
Whoa, Lag, look at the bags under your eyes!
You're exhausted.
Have you been in for a checkup?
Checkup?
If you shoot too many shindans, it can affect your health.
You should let the medical team in the Bee-Hive take a look at you periodically.
Although the head doctor is nothing but a no-good freak.
Steak?
Speak of the devil.
I'm astounded at this creature!
Dr. Thunderland Jr.!
That's the doctor?
He's the Bee-Hive doctor and a professor of biology.
His father's the head doctor of the National Science Team.
The both of 'em are a bunch of freaks!
Freaks?
You there! Under what circumstances did you manage to capture such a creature?
Um, we didn't catch him.
He followed us from a freak show.
A freak show, say you?
"Say you?"
This creature is a Kapellmeister!
A species which had a symbiotic relationship with the spirit insects during ancient times!
They were thought to be extinct...
I never dreamed I could meet one here.
Steak is...? 
Exactly!
This specimen may very well be a Kapellmeister Prince, beloved by the Spirits!
S-Steak, a prince?
Sorry about that... I got carried away there.
Anyway, it's definitely a rare creature.
I must investigate how it functions...
Every connection between its different parts...
Now, let's reveal your secrets!
The secrets of your body!
Dissection! Dissection! Dissection!
Dissection!
Wait, Doctor!
What's he mean, dissection?
That's a joke, right?
A doctor wouldn't...
Huh?
The other job of the medical team...
Dr. Thunderland's team is more accurately called the Third Bioscience Advisory Panel of AG division. 
It's a division that develops new medical techniques and medicines by studying all kinds of organisms.
In addition to studying gaichuu, they identify the exact cause of each disease,
be it from water or soil, plants or animals...
Sometimes they have to perform autopsies on human corpses.
That's why he's called, "The Corpse Doctor."
Corpse Doctor?
Nasty, huh?
And his laboratory is locked behind two heavy-duty doors.
It's a secret room that nobody but his own staff can enter!
And it is called...
The Corpse Doctor's Hell's Kitchen!
But, Steak's still alive!
Didn't you hear me?
That guy probably loves dissecting things more than anyone else in the world...
Niche, we've got to save Steak!
If we don't hurry, he'll get dissected!
Dis-hectic?
It means that Steak might end up steak for real!
He's trying to steal my food?!!
Niche, wait!
Lag's dingo is quite the handful.
Will Lag be okay?
He doesn't look so well.
All right then! We're going too, Wasiolka!
Wait, Zazie!
Get off me already, Gus!
Who was that clear-voiced boy?
A new recruit?
That hair... He was Albisian.
And quite a resemblance as well. 
What the...
Impossible!
The door...
The door to my private laboratory...
It's hardness was 1300 Stella! 
Hair of golden swords...
So it really exists?
The legendary creature, Maka!
There's a human with its blood in her veins!
I won't let you eat my food!
I cannot believe this!
The door is made from polycrystalline Diamort Rods as hard as the shell of a gaichuu!
She cut through it like it was cheese! 
So the golden swords have a hardness even greater than that?
The records of the Maka from the far northern glacier of Blue Notes Blues
state that the blade of the golden swords can surpass any sword.
Amazing...
I must...
...dissect you!
Are you okay, Doctor?
Oh, no!
Wait, Doctor!
Steak is our precious friend!
Well to me he's a corpse I could only dream about!
He's not dead yet!
Go no further, my boy!
Beyond this door is my personal laboratory.
Entry is strictly forbidden.
Even for a Bee!
You can't!
I won't let you take Steak into Hell's Kitchen!
Hell?
Zazie?
Outta my way, Lag!
He's mine!
Why?
That's...
I was wondering why I hadn't seen that stray cat I've been feeding lately...
Looks like this freaky doctor's gone and dissected it!
Oh, those cats?
Now I can settle the score!
And say it was all because of Lag!
Wait, Zazie! Don't!
If you shoot a person with a shindan, then...
Shoot a person...
If you shoot... Wait? What happens?
When Gauche shot me it was to restore my heart...
I can't shoot that kind.
But just watch!
The bullet I shoot is a fragment of my hatred!
Hatred?
Fall into the pits of despair, Thunderland Jr.!
Blue Thorn!
Bastard, you won't get away!
I can't let you! Shooting-People-Is-Not-Allowed Chop!
Shindan loaded...
Maybe I can just aim for the cage?
His eye is Spirit Amber?
Red Needle!
Niche, Steak! Thank goodness...
So this is... Hell's Kitchen?
He's like some grim reaper...
How disgusting...
They say he used to be one of those Capital elites riding on airships...
What a stench...
The memories of the birdcage?
It's because he lives among corpses.
That's the smell of death.
Doctor?
I've detected a new species of attenuated bacteria in this afrorat corpse. 
Put together a team to create an antibiotic as soon as possible. 
Right away!
You have a new friend.
I hope you'll all get along.
Gauche Suede...
Wait, the door...
How did you...
It was open, so...
A letter for you, Doctor.
This is a problem...
Access to this room is supposed to be restricted out of quarantine concerns.
Handmade memorials?
Unexpectedly sentimental, aren't you? 
That isn't it...
It's funny, you know?
These corpses are more use to the world than any of that bunch running around in their fancy clothes.
Thanks to you, the Corpse Doctor.
Suede, stop it...
I'm not used... to being complimented.
Gauche...
Gau...
Lag!
Hey, Lag, are you okay?
Gauche, where are you?
I did it...
I've wanted to do the same job as you ever since we met.
I wanted to become just like you.
I... became a Letter Bee!
Gauche...
And I'm going to find you someday...
I will...
He's exhausted from shooting too many shindans.
Looks like he used a bit too much heart.
Dr. Thunderland?
I think Suede's gun might be a bit too powerful for this boy.
Until you get used to it, you'd better hold back, or...
Where's Niche and Steak?
Zazie, what's with those cats?
Oh, these?
There was a disease spreading among the strays in his neighborhood.
Until I can isolate the source of the infection, I'm keeping them quarantined.
But today has just been full of surprises.
A Kapellmeister, a girl with the blood of Maka, and you...
The boy with a piece of spirit amber implanted within his body, Lag Seeing!
Your case is a first for me.
I'd love to dissect all three of you!
Sub-Master?
Dr. Thunderland, if you'll pardon me, I have some business with him.
Me?
It's the sub-master's spirit-restoring shindan. 
Orchestral Suite No. 3, Air on the G String.
It's so healing...
Yeah...
And that newbie's right next to her!
Get back to work, you guys.
It's a beautiful melody.
I can tell, even as a scientist far removed from the arts.
It's beautiful, and yet...
There's a sadness...
A melody searching through memories of someone out of reach. 
As Aria-san's heart reached me, her feelings for Gauche welled up inside of me.
As I thought, Aria-san still feels the same way she once did about Gauche...
Aria-san's heart is so warm...
I'm so jealous, Lag!
It's really rare for someone to get shot with the sub-master's restoration shindan!
I'm so jealous...
Yeah... I feel so healed and refreshed.
My body's light as a feather!
I'm so jealous!
I've never gotten to do it!
There really are a bunch of different ways to use shindans, just like Gauche said.
I'm so jealous!
Shut up already!
Lag Seeing!
Doctor!
One day, I will dissect you.
One day?
I heard about what happened with you and Gauche Suede.
Seeing... It's nothing to brag of, but I have no one I call a friend nor any need of one.
However, five years ago there was a single comrade who I felt understood. 
And that was...
Your dear friend, the man named Gauche Suede.
Doctor...
Lag Seeing...
Perhaps I can entrust that someone out of reach... to you.

Hey, Niche...
Behold Amberground's number one performing artist:
The Great Pissarro's Fire Juggling!
Keeps those eyeballs fixed right here, folks!
Niche!
Niche!
Is there a delivery?
Hey, you there! Don't look away in the middle of my performance! You'll miss out!
Delivery!
Let's go on the delivery after he's done...
Niche!
Lag, what about the delivery?
Oh, I've already finished it.
Niche?
You lied to me!
Niche?
Young man...
That friend of yours went out the window there.
You having a fight or something?
No, we're not really...
Then why was she in such a foul mood?
Oh hush, dear.
I lied to her.
Oh? One shouldn't lie.
Isn't that right, Bonny? 
You should listen to Moss, kid.
Y-Yeah...
But why would a state-employed Bee take a girl with him on the job? 
She's got to be the trainer for his dingo.
That strange creature on her head was your dingo, isn't that right?
Hey, Niche...
I'm sorry I lied to you, okay?
I love you!
So you've just got to take me there, okay? 
R-Right...
Of course!
That's exactly why we got our hands on these.
What's this strange feeling?
I love you, Moss.
W-We mustn't look!
Does that man's lips hurt?
Uh, no. That's not...
Then why is she licking them?
Well you see, uh...
That woman said she... "loved" him, you know?
And that's, like, proof that she loves him or something...
Do you also want proof that I love you, Lag?
N-No, that's...
Well I'm angry, so no way!
What's that?   
Stop that carriage at once!
It's the gang.
So this is it... 
Get a move on!
Faster!
I can't push 'em any harder!
Go faster! Now!
Bonny!
Quiet, you!
Now, hurry!
I gotcha!
You think you can outrun us?!
Don't worry. I'm sure we can escape...
Yeah...
Um, are you being chased?
The leader of that gang is a bastard named Frank.
He was madly in love with me and asked me to marry him.
But I wanted to be with this man!
Bonny...
So I turned him down.
And now that bastard Frank is trying to kill him!
How awful...
I want to be with this man, forever!
I'm eloping with him!
Erobing? 
Eloping, my dear.
It means getting to be together with the person you love. 
Together with the person you love?
Bonny! I've finally caught up to you!
I-It's no use!
Don't give up!
Don't get in the way of...
What's this?
...erobing!
Niche, you mustn't attack people!
Niche, you mustn't... attack people!
I'll never let you get away! You'll see!
Thank you.
I didn't do anything, so...
So this girl is your dingo...
What mysterious hair you have.
But why would you help complete strangers like us?
Niche probably...
Don't get in the way of erobing!
...just wanted to help you two be happy.
You shouldn't have...  
I just know we'll be!
My bag!
N-Niche!
Damn it all! Who's responsible for this?
I told y'all I'd never let you get away, remember?
How'd you manage to get ahead of us?
You forget? My line of work means there ain't no one who knows Gunrock Pass better than me! 
Now I'll be taking back the merchandise from you.
What're you talking about? 
Trying to play dumb?
The merchandise?
Bonny...
You're hiding 'em there?
There they are.  
Spirit amber? 
So that feeling I had back then was from that...
A Bee, huh?
Then I'll take this opportunity to take your amber as well!
The amber that's given to Bees is different than the ones we collect...
They're worth a heck of a lot more, you see.
Worth a... What are you talking about?
These guys are black market spirit amber miners.  
I'm pretty sure that's illegal!
I don't wanna hear that from an accomplice to these thieves!
Thieves?
You didn't know?
Those two ran off with the amber we worked so hard to get!
So, the story about you pressuring her to marry you is...
Who the heck would want to marry her?
She's a notorious con-woman!
Is that true?
It's true. He's only after us to get back the amber we took from him.
And that's that.
Damn it! If we only had those, we could be together!
Damn it...
Damn it...
Give back the amber!
In your dreams! So sleep, boy!  
I... I need them...
You're startin' to annoy me!
Give them back!
I didn't want to have to take your life,
but if that's the only way, so be it!
S-Stop it!
Don't...
...get in way of erobing!
It's her again!
Don't hold back!
Kill her!
Niche!
W-Wait, you guys!
I'll be taking these back.
Like hell you...
...will?
You'll regret this! 
With these we'll be able to be together!
Yeah...
Thank you, mysterious little girl.
Wait, please!
That spirit amber was stolen, wasn't it?
But that has nothing to do with you.
They're illegal goods anyway.
It's not like Frank could report a theft.
Young man, I realize that stealing is wrong. 
But we need the money.
In order to cross into the capital, Akatsuki.
Cross over to Akatsuki?
I'm going to sell this spirit amber for money and go to Akatsuki.
And then we'll be together!
You can go to Akatsuki if you have money?
I never heard of that...
There isn't anything that can't be accomplished if you have enough money!
T-That's right, my lad. 
Let's go, Moss.
Thanks for everything, young man.
This just isn't right!
Give those back!
I want you two to be happy!
Bonny...
Don't worry. I'm just scaring him a little.
But, I was thinking that it's wrong to try to be together using something you stole.
Please, reconsider!
I'm sure that Niche agrees too!
We don't have time to listen to you preach to us, you brat!
I won't let... anyone else... get in my way...
Please!
It'll protect you.
Clyde...  
I'm going to cross over to Akatsuki and become a success, I promise.
And then I'll call for you.
W-What is this?
Don't you love me?
Do you really have to ask me that?
Look, I even got this tattoo of you...
Then you'll work with me on this, yes?
The memories of... the gun?
Clyde, I got the spirit amber.
With these I'll be able to go to Akatsuki.
And then...
...let's be together...
Yes, we'll be together all right.
Me and Clyde, that is.
What? What is this?
Lies! This is all a fake!
I wouldn't dare do anything like...
I see.
Moss?
You wanted to cross into Akatsuki to meet a lover who you lost contact with.
That's why you tricked me.
Moss...
S-Stop, please!
I love you!
I love you!
Really, it's you I love!
Moss, I knew you loved me!
I knew...
I knew that a pretty woman like you would never love a poor guy from the country like me...
That's not true!
What are you saying, Moss?
I knew...
I knew that you were lying to me...
This is all your fault!
If you hadn't butted in, I'd have crossed over to Akatsuki!
You told a lie.
Damn you, damn you, damn you!
Damn! Damn! Damn! 
Thank you, young Bee, for letting me see what was really in her heart.
But...
I suppose... it's better than continuing to live... a lie...

Good morning, Sylvette.
Oh! Good morning, Lag, Niche.
What a lovely morning.
That song is just the thing when you're waking up.
It's performed by a female pianist named Mathilda Rein.
I'm a big fan of her's.
Bigfon?
It means that Sylvette really loves the pieces of music she plays.
This is it, Niche.
On today's delivery, we're picking up a letter from this cotton mill.
President? The Bee is here to see you.
Come in.
President.
Good morning. I have come to collect the letter.
Thanks for coming.
This is the letter I'd like you to deliver.
I'll take good care of it.
Let's see...
It's addressed to... Mathilda Rein? That pianist?
You know of her?
Yes. A housemate of mine has her records. 
Oh, your housemate has good taste. 
I'm also a really big fan of hers.
That's a fan letter, see.
I see.
Um, President, sir? About tomorrow's meeting...
Sorry, but cancel that would you?
I forgot I promised to have dinner with Melany...
Another new girlfriend?
Oh, she's not that kind of girlfriend... 
Handle it, 'kay? 
I'll treat you to lunch next time.
Fine. If I must. 
But only just this once.
Sorry about that.
Here's the postage.
Thank you.
Um, actually...
You only wrote your name on the letter.
Ah, don't worry about it.
I'm just her number one fan, cheering her on from the shadows.
Oh...
Lag.
That person also said he was a bigfon.
Yeah, he did...
Then why wasn't he listening to music?
Because that was his workplace.
Although...
He didn't seem the kind who would let that stop him...
Ms. Mathilda, delivery!
I'm here to deliver you a letter!
It's just a fan letter from one of those creepy stalkers, I'm sure.
Sorry, but please send it back.
Um, the person who sent it is a Mr. Joey.
Joey?! Why didn't you tell me that in the first place?
Ms. Mathil-
On a sleepless night, the sounds of your tantalizing,
tender piano fills my breast with warmth and guides me to dreamland... 
Oh, Joey... You're such a poet.
Ms. Mathilda!
I need your signature on the delivery receipt!
Sorry about that.
Thank you.
I don't know what he's like, but this Joey person understands my music better than anyone.
When I was feeling down or in a slump, it's amazing how much his letters helped me get over it.
He's surely a man blessed with intelligence and delicacy.
Okay, sure... I'll leave the schedule adjustments to you.
I wonder about that...
He smells like liquor!
My manager, Belushi.
Nice to meet you.
How many times have I told you to knock before coming into my house.
Whatever... Have you come up with a new piece yet, Mathilda?
I can't work that fast.
It takes time for me to write a good piece.
That's just an excuse people with no talent make!
How dare you! What the hell?
Hit close to home? Then finish it this week!
Um, my delivery is over so I'm going back now...
Ms. Mathilda, I know you can handle it. Right Ms. Mathilda? 
Hey, wait a second!
I want to say thanks to Joey in person.
Would you tell me where he lives?
I'm very sorry, but I can't do that.
Isn't there some way?
I cannot.
I'm not allowed to tell you the address of the sender without their permission.
Then would you bring a letter to him, at least?
Huh? A letter?
I see. So she sent me this...
Yes. She'd love to meet you once and express her thanks.
All right! My plan was a complete success!
You did great, Lag Seeing!
Huh?
You see, I've been waiting for those words.
What do you mean?
Well, not to brag, but as you can see I'm handsome, rich, and popular with women.
But I wanted Mathilda to know what I truly felt without considering my outward appearance or position.
I see.
I predicted this moment would come and have prepared a response.
Lag. Please take this letter to Mathilda.
Okay?
What am I going to do?
He wants to go out for drinks this Sunday?
This is... asking me out on a date, isn't it?
Oh, this is a problem... What am I to do?
Lag, it's weird.
What is?
If it's a problem, why is she smiling?
She probably just said that to hide her embarrassment.
Hide-her-embarrassment?
In other words, she's happy but also embarrassed, or...
Hey...
Might I ask you for another favor?
Um, why did you want me to come?
Actually I'm quite shy.
Would you stay here with me, at least in the beginning?
You can speak normally with Mr. Belushi, though...
Well, he's a business partner.
And he's been completely shameless ever since I met him.
Man, I feel sorry for this piano.
Played by a disgruntled pianist like this, there's no way it could sound any good.
Even if I played seriously, I couldn't get anyone in this run-down bar to lend an ear.
Only someone who actually tries her best has the right to say that.
Try playing as if you want every customer in the place to turn around and listen.
After that, he told me he'd make me the number one pianist in Yuusari.
I've teamed up with Belushi ever since, and we've been together so long we don't hold anything back.
Lately it's been nothing but fights...
Why is that?
Adults aren't that straightforward.
Lag, thanks for waiting.
Oh, Mr. Joey!
I'm Joey. Nice to meet you.
That sounds out of place, doesn't it?
I've enjoyed listening to your performances all this time.
N-Nice to meet you...
She's like a different person...
Aw, dang...
Mr. Belushi, are you okay?
Hey...
That's a whole lot of mail...
I was thinking of doing some direct mail to sell Mathilda's new work.
How is Ms. Mathilda doing since then?
Both her public and private life are going great.
She's going on another date with him today, the little vixen... 
See you later.
Lag, he forgot one.
Look at that...
I'll go take it to him.
These characters...
That damn Mathilda... After spending all this money, if it doesn't get any results there'll be hell to pay. 
Mr. Belushi!
You dropped this.
Oh, thank you.
This handwriting is the same as the letters from Mr. Joey to Ms. Mathilda.
It's just a coincidence.
Um, maybe...
Me and Joey have been friends since we were kids.
Half a year ago, I invited him to one of Mathilda's performances.
He fell in love with Mathilda right then and there.
At first I thought it was just him being his usual frivolous self, but this time was different.
I told him to send a fan letter first and test the waters.
But then, why did you write them?
I'm the one that understands Mathilda's music more than anyone, after all.
Ms. Mathilda said the same thing!
She also said that they really helped her get out of slumps.
Strange...
I'm too embarrassed to say it to her face, but I can be honest in the letters.
But it's what you truly feel, right?
Yeah, I suppose.
So Lag, I hope you don't mind, but please keep this all to yourself, okay?
Why?
In the end, those two hit it off.
We don't want to pour cold water on it, right?
But that was lying to Ms. Mathilda, and...
There are times when you need lies to make someone happy.
I knew you'd be here.
So how did today's date go?
...proposed...
Huh?
He... proposed to me.
He asked me to marry him.
Is that really for the best?
You're quitting being my manager?
I found me a new pianist, see...
I'm thinking this kid's gonna hit the big time.
Then who is going to manage me?
What am I going to do?
You've got yourself a really nice sponsor now, don't you? 
You always had the talent.
All that's left is for your fiancé to roll out the red carpet for you. 
Later.
Mr. Belushi!
Is it true that you're leaving the city?
I don't see how that concerns you.
I asked you here to pick up a letter, if I recall.
Take this record to Mathilda.
This is...
It's her latest album.  A true masterpiece.
You are Mathilda's dingo.
And yet you are running away?
He left without even saying a word...
That's so like him.
What an irresponsible jerk.
After these three long years of hard work together...
Ms. Mathilda, please give me back this record!
Um, actually, it's a package that Mr. Belushi requested be sent, but he didn't write the name of the recipient.
What are you talking about?
He told you to bring it to me, right?
Uh... Maybe he said something like that, and maybe he didn't...
Who would he send this record to other than me?
Then, please let me double check!
What is this?
W-What did you say?
I said that Mathilda girl's quite the looker. 
Oh, give her up already, man.
That woman's a piece of work! She don't think of anything except playing the piano!
Sounds refreshing. Nothing like the type of women around me.
Well look, Joey...
I've made up my mind.
I'm gonna attack her straight on.
Belushi, help me write the letters.
What?
You know her personality and what makes her music great better than anyone, right?
Are you... serious about this?
Joey...
Yeah?
I have something to say to you.
If you do anything to make her cry, I'll beat the crap out of you.
So those fan letters were...
Mr. Belushi told me that he could only say what he really felt in those letters.
That fool.
Hey, Mathilda...
Joey, I have a piece of advice for you.
Even if you lack confidence writing letters, you should still write them yourself!
But, thanks...
Sorry...
Um, I'm sorry!
Ms. Mathilda...
I'm such a fool.
I lost sight of what was most important to me.
It was so close to me that I completely overlooked it.  
Ms. Mathilda...
Lag!
Belushi?
Mr. Belushi, why are you here?
Um, I kind of... got on the wrong carriage.
I had to come back, unfortunately.
You-
Don't go away again, Belushi!
Mathilda...
Was it a lie when you promised to make me the number one pianist in Yuusari?
That was...
Yeah...
I'm your partner. And partners shouldn't run away.
Belushi!
Okay, Mathilda.
Let's go back and make plans for a concert right away.
Hey! We finally had a moment there, and you talk about work?
You're the one who said you wanted to be the number one pianist in Yuusari, right?
You can't pamper me a bit, even just for today?
No!
You have any idea how much advertising I've done for you?
You are such a boar.
Without me you'd have been stuck in that bar your whole life!
If I hadn't partnered with you, then...
I'm kind of worried now...
Man, those two were a lot of trouble.
Mr. Joey!
I actually asked Belushi to write those fan letters on purpose.
What do you mean?
You've seen how he is.
He'd never just come out and say, "I love you."
So as his best friend, I put on a little show.
Wait, then you did it all for his sake?
All? Well, I wouldn't go that far... 
As I was playing the role, it became more and more for real.
What a pity... 
Lag, let's go out for some booze, my treat!
What? But I'm still a minor...
Then I'll go!
You can't go either, Niche!

Ew!
What's that smell?
A dog? Maybe a raccoon?
It collapsed in the street?
Isn't it dead?
Hey... It's been a while. 
I'd like you to take that small package to a woman named Elena Bran.
The ravine town, Silencio, Dacquoise Bluffs, in front of Walrus Cliff?
That's not a very a specific address. 
The sender is... the Master?
I-I'm sorry!
You're from Yodaka, and you have experience.
Can I count on you, Lag Seeing?
O-Of course!
I'll do my best!
Always so polite, you are.
The contents are a pair of pendants...
Um, isn't the postage a little high for such a small package?
Well, let's just say it's something very important.
Isn't that right, Aria-kun?
There are various reasons.
The route this time is quite dangerous, so we have assigned you a veteran guide.
A guide?
They said the guide always hangs around this place, but which person is Darwin-san?
Excuse me!
Might you be Darwin-san?
No, that's not me.
Then, are you?
Us? No.
He's supposed to always be around here...
Is it dead?
We could cook it, but it'd taste bad.
Excuse me!
I'm taking a letter to a Ms. Elena Bran at Dacquoise Bluffs in the ravine town of Silencio!
Darwin-san, are you here?
That's strange...
A dog? A raccoon?
Lag! It looked dead and bad-tasting, but now it's alive! 
A name tag?
It says "Darwin..."
Darling?
DarWin, Niche.
Wait, you're...
Darwin?
I think it's telling us to follow him.
I was quite shocked when he asked about the postage.
It was because the postage included the rate for a second package.
Well, I've failed so many times before.
Darwin's a smart fellow...
If he knew he was the letter, he'd give up the trip and return to the Olympia river before long.
When Lag shoots a shindan at a gaichuu, Darwin might see Lag's heart.
That's why he can't lie, right?
No matter how senile Darwin might be, he still has his pride.
As "Elena Bran's dingo."
So to keep the plan from Darwin,
we have to hide the truth from Lag, and tell him Darwin is a guide.
I think it's a pretty good idea, myself.
I hope it works.
Yeah...
What's the matter, Niche?
I'm angry...
I'm your dingo, Lag!
So why is he acting like your dingo, too?
You only have one dingo, me, and I'm angry!
He doesn't look tasty, but I'm gonna make him steak before I make steak of Steak! 
Don't worry!
You're my only dingo, Niche!
Darwin is just a guide, okay?
Connor Culh, delivery complete!
Largo Lloyd, delivery complete!
Fast as usual, Largo.
Elena Bran, finished with her delivery! 
I win again.
And I was so close this time!
I suppose my natural talent made the difference.
Are you saying I don't have any talent?
I didn't say that.
Just that my talents are far superior.
Good work, Darwin!
Darwin!
You two are more like friends than partners.
Well, that's true.
The name Darwin means "faithful friend," after all.
Isn't that right, Darwin?
Hey, Largo... Why don't you have your own dingo?
Even without my own personal dingo, I can still get the job done.
You really don't get it, do you Largo?
Our goal is Dacquoise Bluffs... It should be around 50 keels west?
Lag!
D-Darwin!
It's milk. To warm you up.
Thank you very much, Reverend Weller.
Sorry for causing you all this trouble.
He must be over 100 in human years.
First, we let him rest.
There's nothing else to be done.
No, I just remembered something.
It's already been ten years since then.
There was a great rainstorm like before,
and a Letter Bee not unlike you fell to her death on the Dacquoise Bluffs up ahead.
A Letter Bee?
Her name was Elena Bran, and she was from the town of Silencio.
Elena...
It couldn't be... The one the letter's addressed to?
I gave her a proper burial and erected a grave where she died.
However, there was no need to go past such a dangerous bluff on her way back from Silencio...
Did she take a detour there for some reason?
The earth of the bluff up ahead is loose and collapses easily.
You be careful, okay?
Thanks.
Please take care of Darwin.
Wait! His eyes are open!
We have to go on the delivery. Get some rest, okay?
We'll make sure to come back here on our way back.
So, will you wait for us, Darwin?
I'll be back before you know it.
Wait for me, Darwin.
Darwin?
Thank you very much, Reverend Weller.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Darwin, go a little slower...
Dacquoise Bluff's Walrus cliff?
That's it...
Lag!
The path's gone!
There's been a landslide from the rain yesterday.
I guess we'll have to go back and try to get there from the other direction.
Darwin, that's a cliff!
It's dangerous!
A cave?
Are you saying we can get through that hole?
Lag!
It's the gaichuu, Absynt! 
Thanks, Niche.
Why is there an Absynt here?
Did it leave its territory because of the landslide?
Darwin!
Damn it!
Darwin, wake up! 
Snap out of it! 
That's it! Elena-san was suddenly attacked by this gaichuu, just like me!
Niche!
You can do it, Niche!
Lag, I'll be there soon!
I'm going to protect Lag!
As his dingo!!
Darwin?
Steak's found the gap.
If I aim for his voice from here, then...
Darwin, can you hold on?
Thank you, Darwin!
I'm going to deliver Elena-san's important package!
Shindan loaded...
Resound, Red Needle!
This is...
Darwin's memories?
No... It's the name tag's memories...
So, Darwin was Elena-san's...
Silencio is my hometown, so I know the route well.
I'll go by myself.
You heal those wounds you got from that last battle.
I'll come right back, don't worry.
Wait for me, Darwin.
If you do that, then when I come back we'll play in the water of the Olympia river, okay?
After that we'll go on more deliveries!
Because you protect me so well.
You stay here now, so you can always be by my side protecting me in the future.
Darwin, that's enough.
You needn't wait.
She's...
The Bee you protect... is gone.
Darwin?
Darwin...
This is Elena-san's... grave?
How do you like it?
The name Darwin means faithful friend.
Darwin. You were Elena-san's dingo...
Thank you for saving me...
I'm sure any Bee would feel safe to have a dingo like you by their side!
You're going on another journey with Elena-san, right?
Make sure to protect Elena-san, okay, Darwin?
Farewell!
And a job well done!
I'm glad you stopped by here again.
After that, I remembered that Elena had something with her when she died.
Something with her?
It only had a name written on it and no postage.
Maybe it was for a friend of hers?
Largo Lloyd...
It's for the Master...
Good job.
What is it?
That charm...
It's a pendant of the Empress.
That's nice.
I won't give it to you, Elena. 
I don't want yours, Largo Stupid Lloyd!
I'll buy my own! 
And a matching one for Darwin! 
H-Hey!
I-I'm sorry... I'll buy you a new one.
They don't sell them around here.
I bought it from a craftsman around Cerca village.
Cerca? You mean the village over the mountains from Silencio?
You know of it?
I'm from Silencio, after all.
My next delivery is over there, so I'll go and buy it.
Don't worry about it. It's not something that expensive.
But, it's my fault!
So wait for me, Largo Lloyd.
U-Um...
What is it?
It's just... Elena-san was a Letter Bee, right?
And Darwin was also...
Yeah.
They were really one fine team of dingo and Letter Bee.

Ladies and gentlemen!
The speed battle of the century is about to begin!
Straight from the Bee-Hive, taking the reins of Rocking Pony Dancer, 
I present to you the Blue Comets of the Nation, the Letter Bees!
You can do it, Lag!
Yeah! We're not gonna lose!
And next, straight from who-knows-where,
steering Rose the Speranza, the White Doves of Happiness...   
Why is everyone so quiet?
Depressing... 
Are they ignoring us?
It's only natural since no one knows who we are.
But we'll be the ones who get the last laugh.
Me. Laugh.
You're challenging us?
Yes. Accept the challenge immediately.
A tattoo...
Hey, I came here to give you this.
But...
My name is Rose, a white carrier pigeon who bears letters of happiness.
A Letter Pigeon.
A L-Letter Pid-
Fly?
Letter Fly!?
Not a Letter Fly, a Letter Pigeon!
What's this? You know 'em?
Nope. Never heard that name before.
Well, that's not surprising.
Today is our first delivery.
We came here to introduce ourselves as fellow postmen.
Yes. Introductions.
Then why are you challenging us?
We don't like you people for charging so much to do something as simple as delivering letters.
What did you say!?
Letter Bees deliver the letters that people put their hearts into writing!
It's a very important job, and it's not something that just anyone can do.
That's my point! So let's have a race to see if it's really a job only a Letter Bee could do!
Hmph! This is ridiculous.
Let's go, everyone.
Wait right there, gutless-boy. 
What did you call me?
Scared, right?
Because if we win in front of the citizens of Yuusari and make a name for ourselves,
no one's gonna have any work for Letter Bees anymore!
Zazie!
Calm down, Zazie.
That sounds fun.
M-Master!
It's not like you three have any work now.
Take them on.
Huh? Really?
Now, let me explain the rules. 
This is a 3-on-3 contest between the Bees and the Letter Pigeons, fair and square. 
In other words, dingos will be on the sidelines today.
The battle will be won by the first one to pick up their designated letter and return to the Bee-Hive.
Here are maps to the pickup location.
There is only one path.
It's a route through wilderness, mountains, and deserts.
It's almost time! Is everyone ready?
Yeah, of course!
We'll show you what we can do.
Letter Fly!
Not Letter Fly, Letter Pigeon!
On your marks...
Fellow dingo, all we can do now is believe in them and wait.
Connor, after being so into this, why are we losing already?
Don't worry, I've got a secret up my sleeve.
There!
As promised, my secret trick! The "Carrot Right in Front of You!"
C-Connor!
Bye, Bee! 
Why those...
Connor, what are you doing?
They're gonna get there before us!
But it's shorter this way.
Hmph! That showed them.
We're gonna save time by going around.
We investigated the back roads around here. 
I'm counting on you, Brito.
Leave it to me.
No one's better at handling the reins than me!
Hey, Connor!
Stop eating and do something!
No need to make a fuss. This roadblock is lifted during the half hour at lunchtime.
Connor, are you sure about this?
Just watch.
Anyway, want a slice?
Connor!
My stomach is telling me it's lunchtime.
All right, lunchtime!
See?
Wow, you're right.
Hey, for lunch there's a place with some good take-out chicken...
You're going to eat again?
But you just ate a second ago!
That was breakfast.
What the...
What are you doing? They're ahead of us!
But you're the one who said to use the back roads...
Well, I guess they're not so bad after all.
We'll just have to go full speed ahead and blow them away!
Blow away!
Persistent bee-bastards.
Mac, Mission One!
O-Okay.
Take this!
What's that?
It's caltrops!
Leave this to me.
Blue Thorn!
See that? That's my anti-thorn thorn technique!
Hey, Brito, they knocked them back just like that!
If that didn't work, then Mission Two!
Later, Letter Flies!
Letter Pigeons!
When we get past here, then we're at the pickup point.
Brito, make sure to get pay back!  
Okay!
The Speranza's Mission Three!
Extra Bird Attack!
Take some birdlime!
That was close... 
Bye-Bye, Bee!  
Damn it! They play dirty!  
This is the pickup point?  
It's not specified on the delivery map.
Hurry. We don't have time to waste.
Hello! We're Letter Bees, and we've come to pick up your letter!
Good day.
Misters, are you really Letter Bees?
Yes. Did those Letter Pigeon people come?
Rose and the others already left a while ago.
Damn it! Hurry and give us the letter!
As if!
Say what?
Please forgive them.
It's been a long time since these children have seen outsiders.
What do you mean?
This used to be a very lively Spirit Amber mining town, but once that disappeared, so did all the people.
All that's left are these orphaned children in this church. 
It's a city where Letter Bees hardly ever come.
There're places like this even in Yuusari?
What else can you do? If there aren't any people, there aren't going to be many requests for letters.
But we're here today!
Please feel free to call us anytime!
Do you have a letter for us?
Kyle, please hand it to them.
Here.
It looks like we've got a pretty big lead.
Easier than we thought, huh?
But, we can't let our guard down.
It's gaichuu territory up ahead. 
There they are!
Brito, it's time for the "Escape is Victory" plan!
Got it!
Doing that right away!
Stay away! 
It don't work!
This is a gaichuu?! 
Looks like they've got a pretty big lead.
Connor, are you listening?
I'm out of pizza! 
Look at that!
A gaichuu?
Rose and the others are in danger!
Hurry!
Watch out, Rose!
Run for it, Rose!
Complete newbs.
Rose'll get there first, and it'll be our victory!
Win, win!
Why would you guys go so far...
We don't have time for chit-chat.
Let's clean them up quick!
Lag, Connor!
Their weak point is the joints in their neck.
You two split up and get their attention.
Then I'll get 'em!
Understood!
Take this! Blue Thorn!
Lag, that's enough. Leave things here to me.
You head to the Bee-Hive! 
Right.
That's...
Watch out!
Shindan loaded.
Resound, Red Needle!
This is...
There's no need to worry. All of the children living here are orphans, the same as you.
From now on, we're all family.
That's a cute pigeon.
Its name is Speranza.
It carries letters from my Dad.
Oh, so you actually have a Dad, Abeli...
That's wonderful.
Speranza?
Look, Rose!  Speranza brought me a letter from my Dad!
It really did! Speranza is like your bird of happiness, you know that? 
Yeah!
Rose! Speranza's dead! Now I can't trade letters with Dad anymore! 
Abeli...
What is that?
A reminder of my vow.
If you have money, the Letter Bees will deliver things whenever you want.
But there are poor people everywhere like Abeli who want to send their daily letters!
We will deliver those people's letters.
I will become Abeli's new Speranza.
Yes, I will become a Letter Pigeon!
I'll start a private delivery service called the Letter Pigeons,
and deliver the hopes of forgotten people like us.
So that's why...
Now, before long the battle of the century will be decided!
Why are you bringing me?
Letters are heart. They're hope.
I am not a letter.
No, you are a letter. That little girl put her heart into you.
So...
I don't want to cross the goal looking like this.
Letters aren't about winning or losing.
Delivering the heartfelt letters of the people...
That's the job of a Letter Bee.
We lost.
It is true that the job of a Letter Bee cannot be done by just anyone.
We may have lost today, but that doesn't mean we're giving up.
Anyway, thank you.
Later, Letter Pigeons!
Not Letter Pigeons!
Letter Flies...! Wait...
Rose-san...
Let's go to the next delivery!
Wait, I'm hungry!
Let's take a break.
No way! Everyone's waiting for these letters.

Hey, you!
Hold it right there!
Eat your carrots!
No!
Eat them!
They make my teeth gross!
No, they don't!
If you don't eat your carrots, you won't grow up big and strong!
I hate being forced!
Hold it!
Lag hasn't finished his either.
You're right.
That's no good! You have to finish it.
Lag?
I don't... have much of an appetite...
Thanks for the food...
Huh?
Lag!
He's hot!
Oh, no!
It seems you've caught a cold.
This is because you went on that delivery in the pouring rain...
Rest quietly here for today.
I'll send a sick-leave note to the Bee-Hive later.
Thanks, you're a life-saver...
Lag, does it hurt?
That tickles...
Don't lick him...
He'll heal if you lick him.
No, he won't.
He's ill, so we have to nurse him. 
Nurse?
That's right.
We do various things to take care of him so that he gets better. 
Nurse... Take care of him...
I will nurse Lag and care for him!
Let's do it, Steak!
Okay, thanks for the help.
I'm making an icepack.
It's too heavy to place on his head with the ice in big chunks, so we have to break it into pieces.
Then leave that to me!
How's that?
To prevent his body from getting chilled, we wipe off his sweat with warm water.
Is that so?
You don't have to go to the trouble...
I'm not really sweating much...
What are you saying? You have to get better quick!
See? You're covered in sweat.
I'm gonna nurse and care!
Lag, does this make you happy? 
Yeah, thanks. It feels good. 
'Cause I'm your dingo! 
Hey, wait...
That tickles!
His fever will get worse if you make him laugh!
Now, it's important to get nourishment when you're sick.
Perfect, as usual!
Your super disgusting soup is no good!
Lag will die!
How rude!
I added my own special flavoring to this canned soup!
It has lots of nourishment! 
Special flavoring?
It's something I came up with all by myself. 
I've thought up my own nourishment!
For Lag's sake, I will cook you!
Wait, Steak! 
Be a good boy and let me cook you!
What's the matter?
This is for you, Lag!
Niche! 
For pity's sake... 
It looks like he's finally calmed down. 
Is the nursing over?
He'll get tired out if we don't let him rest a bit.
I see.
And anyway, I don't think you're cut out for nursing, Niche.
Now, I have to send in that sick-leave note...
Let me do it!
I go to the Bee-Hive every day!
But...
As his dingo!
Then, I'll leave it up to you.
Let's go, Steak!
Will she be okay?
Maybe I can't be his nurse, but I can be his dingo!  
Hey Missy, looking for something?
Like this?
Whoa there... We're not gonna give it to you for free.
Hand over 10,000 rin!
I don't have money.
What?
Oh, okay. Then come with us.
We'll give it to you after. 
You mustn't attack humans!
If you be a good girl, we won't hurt you.
Unhand her this instant! 
Give back that envelope!
You were late, so I got worried.
I'm glad I came.
I almost feel like your dingo today, Niche.
Let's go.
I see.
Lag Seeing has a fever.
Understood. I will report this to the Master.
Thank you very much.
That maka girl sure is something.
I wonder if he would let me borrow her for a bit now?
I don't think so.
She seems difficult to control, however.
I'm sure Sylvette can handle her.
Now then... We have to buy some medicine.
Huh?
Pretty, yes? It's a fine article I obtained from Akatsuki...
Just by looking at this vase you'll feel better.
Can it cure people who are sick? 
Yes, it can cure them!
Hurry along now!
Lag'll feel better if he sees that!
No, he will not!
Honestly, I can't take my eyes off you for a second.
Listen, don't go off on your own again.
We're going to buy Lag some medicine now, okay?
I want to feed this to Lag!
Will Lag get better?
Now, now...
I want to show Lag!
I said, no!
Sheesh, I told you not to go off on your own, remember?
It was for Lag's sake!
You say that, but you just wanted to see them yourself!
What'll I do if you get lost?
Please, don't go off on your own.
No!
You might get caught by some shady people.
No, I won't!
That's enough! All you ever do is talk back to me!
You won't even eat your carrots!
You force me to!
Eating carrots, wearing underwear... You force me!
If I can't nurse right, at least I can be his dingo!
With me as his dingo, Lag is free!
I let him do what he wants! I don't force anything!
But...
You aren't my dingo, Sylvette! I am free!
I'm going to search for my own special medicine!
Gracious...
Let's go.
My own special medicine...
My own...
My own medicine... 
You force me to!
Oh, nothing.
Anyway, let's buy that medicine!
What? You're out?
The last dose just went out the door.
It will take another 3-4 days for the next shipment from Akatsuki...
I see...
If I had some medicinal herbs, I could prepare some myself.
Um, where do these medicinal herbs grow?
Huh? But...
Don't worry. I may not look like it, but I'm a wheelchair leopardess!
At a place outside of Yuusari Central, Peanuts Field...
There it is!
Let's go!
Huh?
No... No way!
Steak!
Steak!
Steak...
My special medicine... Boil up nice and tasty, okay?
It's important that you get nourishment when you're sick.
Nourishment? What's the difference between medicine and nourishment?
Sylvette isn't a dingo, but she knows about nursing...
Let's boil you, Steak!
It's... no use...
Sylvette!
Niche!
Niche... But, why?
Steak told me!
But, you were angry at me.
Lag won't get better without you.
Oh, right! The medicinal herbs!
Medicinal herbs?
I came here to get medicine for Lag.
I have special medicine!
I gathered them for Lag!
But, is medicine different than nourishment?
I'm not any good at nursing, but you can do it, Sylvette.
Oh, Niche...
Can it cure people who are sick?
I want to feed this to Lag!
That really was all for Lag's sake...
I'm sorry... I didn't understand you at all, Niche.
I'll stop being such a nag, I promise.
We're home!
Oh, welcome back.
You're late. Where have you been?
Pardon the intrusion.
What are you two doing here?
We came to pay a visit to the sick kid, obviously.
We brought lots of get-well gifts.
Lag, are you still sick?
Oh, I'm fine, pretty much.
I think the medicine that Zazie brought me is working.
Medicine?
Medicine?
Look! I got the last bottle.
Wait a sec...
That was you?
Do you have any idea what I went through...
Wh... Wait, what's going on?
Ow!
The wheels!
The mud!
Hold it right there!
Drink your milk!
No!
You won't grow up big and strong!
You said you wouldn't nag me any more!
You heard me?
Liar!
I wasn't lying!
Liar!
Lag, eat your soup!
Oh, no! I'm going to be late!
I'll finish it when I get back!
Thanks for the food!
Honestly, what am I to do with those two?
See you later!
Have a nice day!

Dear!
The baguettes have finished rising!
Hey, you!
You listening to me?
I said hold it!
I'm with a customer right now!
And he's a customer for the weapons shop.
These are great! Just great!
Oh, you're here, Zazie?
Yo!
Lemme borrow the old man a bit, 'kay?
So you're the customer? Oh, well.
That's right.
Zazie is Sinners Weapons Shop's most valued customer, after all.
Say what?
This is Sinners Bread and Weapons Shop!
Whatever.
I'll bake the baguettes myself.
Yeah, sorry about this.
Shindanjuu, Tempest Op. 3.
I only service it, and it sure is a nice gun.
But you're overusing it, as usual.
Too bad. 'Cause I'm up against a bunch of bastards who can't be killed unless I overuse it.
I heard all about how you concentrated too much on fighting gaichuu
and ended up getting the letters you're delivering dirty!
How many times has it been now?
Who cares...
It's not like you couldn't read 'em anymore.
Ow!
What was that for?
The reason I sell you Letter Bees weapons is so that you can do your job safely.
Defeating gaichuu is part of our job, you know.
Yeah, it's a part... 
A part of your job delivering letters. 
You know, Pops!  
You know why I became a Letter Bee.
Soup?
He always has it ready to feed them the moment they regain consciousness.
Even though their eyes are open...
So that's what happens when you're done in by the gaichuu...
But, that boy... He never cried even once.
So I can get vengeance... 
Oh yeah, I've been coming up with a new creation.
A new creation?
Bread!
A new bread.
When your next job, er, delivery is over, come and try it out, okay?
Here. Maintenance is all finished.
Okay. I'll be happy to make sure this new bread of yours won't poison people.
Do you ever run out of that snark?
I'll hold you to that.
Yup, it's a promise.
Finally made it back to the Bee-Hive.
I'm hungry!
After I report that I've finished, we'll hurry straight home.
Did something happen?
Lag!
A gaichuu got Zazie!
Zazie!
Don't give me that look, man!
It's just a scratch, as you can see-ow!
Just a scratch, you were saying?
That hurt, damn it!
You crappy doctor!
Who's a crappy doctor, you say?!
You, obviously!
Where are you touching, you perv!
Who's a perv again?
Maybe you'd rather I dissect you...
Zazie...
You crossed the Hart Desert again?
It's my choice.
The Hart Desert is here in front of Graysteel City, right?
Right.
However it's recommended that you take the long way around through Shura canyon.
Basically passing through the Hart Desert is like a shortcut.
A shortcut? But it's not recommended?
The Hart Desert is spotted with gaichuu territories.
And thanks to the shifting sands, those territories are constantly moving.
So despite that, Zazie always takes the dangerous route through the Hart Desert to Graysteel City?
Yeah...
Why?
Okay!
I've finished my special soup for you!
Now put away the map.
T-This is...
That super disgusting...
Yup.
I-I have some things I need to do.
I'll have your soup some other time, Sylvette!
Connor!
Good night!
Right! Sleep tight!
The reason that Zazie always crosses the Hart Desert?
Yeah. Yesterday you didn't get a chance to tell me. 
I'm not sure I'm the one to say...
It's simple.
Moc Sullivan.
I suppose it's not a surprise that the newcomer wouldn't know.
That guy prefers killing gaichuu over delivering letters. 
Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to throw away those letters in order to escape from that gaichuu. 
Throw away letters?
Seems that's why he's still alive.
But, that's...
Zazie wouldn't...
A Letter Bee who throws away letters...
Lag!
Lag, Niche!
Zazie, answer me.
I want you to tell me why you lost those letters.
Lost letters?
Fine, then I'll change the question.
What was the gaichuu that injured you?
Letter Bees are public servants.
To maintain the public trust, we must retrieve those letters to Graysteel City without delay, and finish the delivery.
I said I'll do it already!
I can't rely on you injured like this.
I was planning on dispatching someone else, but to do that I need to know about the gaichuu...
Ow...
It's you!
I'll recover those letters and finish the delivery!
Zazie, will you still refuse to talk about the gaichuu?
It was an Absynt.
An Absynt?
Lag, can I count on you?
Yes.
I've defeated Absynts before, together with Niche.
I wish I could go with you, but I have another delivery, unfortunately.
I'll be fine. Later!
Wait... Why couldn't Zazie handle a gaichuu the level of an Absynt?
It looks like Steak found the letters.
The letters are up there?
Leave this to me!
W-What?
It's the gaichuu, Absynt!
Absynt's gap is...
There!
Red Needle!
All right!
What's wrong, Niche?
This gaichuu isn't defeated yet.
The Red Needle's heart didn't resonate?
Steak?
It has two gaps?!
What in the world?
It's time to change your bandages.
And I was just kidding about the dissection thing...
Master?
If you're looking for that kid, he left.
You saw, but didn't stop him?  
Do you always do that?
I tried to stop him... 
But it seemed like he had a reason that drove him to go.
Lag!
Uh, oh!
T-That's...
Zazie!
Sorry for being late.
Why?
We'll talk after we finish this guy!
Right!
Bastard... Don't think you can escape!
Zazie, now's our chance! Let's get away from here!
Stop kiddin' around!
I've got a bone to pick with that Absynt!
You think I'm gonna run away and let this guy free?
But we've got back the letters...
But I've still got a job to finish.
That guy prefers killing gaichuu over delivering letters. 
It's true that exterminating gaichuu is part of our job, but we have a duty that's more important than that!
Delivering letters.
The reason I sell you Letter Bees weapons is so that you can do your job safely.
Defeating gaichuu is part of our job, you know.
Yeah, it's a part...
A part of your job delivering letters.
You're sounding a lot like Pops.
What?
I know already, okay?
Then you didn't actually throw away the letters to get away from the gaichuu, did you?
What?!
Red Needle!
My shindan doesn't work on this guy!
One more time!
Thanks, Wasiolka... 
The letters!
Wait, the letters...
I have to deliver...
...those letters!
I promised...
Zazie!
What are you doing?
I knew it!
I knew you'd never throw away letters to run away!
You got hurt because you cared so much about delivering the letters.
Well, duh. 
Lag, I need your help. 
That Absynt's got two gaps, it's some mutant...
If you shoot a single shindan into one of the gaps, it'll spit it out the other one.
So that's why it wouldn't resonate inside of it.
But, if we shoot shindans into both gaps at the same time, what do you think will happen?
Let's go, Lag!
Yeah!
Niche, I'm counting on you... 
Leave it to me!
Unfurl your wings, damn it! Blue Thorn!
There!
Shindanjuu Tempest Op. 3!
Shindanjuu Nocturne Op. 20!
The bullet I shoot is a fragment of my heart!
The shells I shoot are fragments of my malice!
Shindan loaded!
Shindan loaded!
Resound, Blue Thorn!
Resound, Red Needle!
I said resound! Resound! 
We got it!
Yeah, thanks to you.
Don't worry about it. I'll finish the delivery to Graysteel City...
Nope, I'm going too.
But, you're injured!
I told you already, it's just a scratch.
And delivering these letters was my job in the first place.
Well not anymore. Aria-san asked me to deliver them, so...
Why wouldn't you report this to Aria-san?
About how this Absynt had two gaps so you couldn't beat it by yourself...
And if I had?
She'd have sent two other Letter Bees than me.
But...
Then I wouldn't have been able to get revenge.
So you purposefully...
Yeah, so I could bring that guy down.
Zazie...
All so I could make sure the letters were delivered safely.
And I promised...
What?!
You haven't finished your new bread yet?
Oh yeah, sorry...
And after I went through all that trouble to keep my promise.
Promise?
What promise?
Something wrong?
Here, have some. You haven't eaten yet, right?
Don't mind if I do!
Did you say something?
If I hadn't made that promise to you, then...
Thanks for waiting!
I might have made him cry about now...
What's that supposed to mean?

Finished... All finished...
You seem pretty tired, Zazie.
That delivery was 200 keels round trip, you know.
Lately all of mine have been like that.
Isn't that punishment for running off to attack that gaichuu before?
Now that you mention it...
Aria-san sure was angry.
Well, I think I've had enough exterminating gaichuu for now.
Oh, yeah! How about we go to the therapy room? 
Syrupy room? 
No, no... Therapy.
It's a new rest and relaxation lounge here in the Bee-Hive.
Oh? They have something like that?
I heard it was some project by Dr. Thunderland Jr.
That corpse doctor?!
Welcome, my little Letter Bees!
Tonight let loose your soul and fall deep into slumber... 
And while you sleep...
I will dissect you!
No! I'm not going! Let me go! I don't wanna!
Therapy, huh? Sounds interesting.
I bet there'll be something that'll surprise us.
Hell if I'm going to that dissection freak's room!
Absolutely no way! I said let me go! Let me go! Let me go, damn it!
What a nice smell...
Welcome to the therapy room.
Are you Bees?
Y-Yes! After hearing of this place, we decided to come.
My name is Mana Jones. I'm the caretaker of this room.
Nice to meet you.
Ooh, soft...
The cushions are poofy...
I made the potpourri here with various herbs and flowers.
The helenseed is especially effective at relieving tension and lowering stress.
It's true... It's like all the energy in my body is slipping away...
That was fast! They're already asleep...
They must have been really tuckered out. 
Lag, since we're here and all, why don't we take a nap too?
Lag!
Could you be... Lag Seeing?
How did you know my name?
Long ago, you see...
I heard from Gauche about your journey together.
Y-You know about Gauche?
Of course.
It's because of him and Dr. Thunderland Jr. that I was able to continue this research.
I'm sorry!
Shall I carry half of them, Mana Jones?
No, thank you. I'll carry them myself.
Are you okay?
Watch where you're going, please! 
I'm sorry.
I think I will carry half after all. Now, let us go.
Here.
Thank you very much.
This is delicious.
Really?
It's like all the exhaustion in my body is slipping away... 
It has an ingredient in it called pinewoods that I'm currently researching to relieve muscle fatigue.
But proving its effectiveness medically is difficult.
And I haven't figured out how to put it to use exactly yet...
That which is easily obtained has little value. 
I am aiming to become Head Bee.
Head Bee?
There are some who laugh at such an outrageous dream.
But if I complete one delivery, then the next, no matter how difficult,
one day those paths will connect to my goal.
I am sorry. I was trying to cheer you up, but I ended up talking about myself.
This is rare, Mana.
Inviting someone into this room?
He simply helped carry the flowers.
But as usual, it's nothing that interests me.
Well that's because you specialize in living things, Doctor.
Plants and flowers are also living things, yes?
Well their internal structure is completely different!
Did you need something?
I hear you have repeatedly done all-night research.
Make sure to get some sleep.
Your brain can't function properly while sleep deprived.
I'm fine! Unlike you, Doctor, I'm still young!
Relying on your youth? You have much to learn.
Arguing with the Doctor? You have a lot of courage.
It's just me pushing back a little.
The Doctor won't accept the value of my research. 
So I want to get results quick and show him good!
Aria Link!
Gauche!
What condition is Mana in?
Aria...
Her life isn't in danger.
Really?
Yeah...
Thank goodness...
But...
She's blind... She'll probably be blind in both eyes.
According to our investigation,
we have determined that Mana Jones has violated the code of conduct for the Amberground Bioscience Advisory Panel.
Continuing research through the night is commonplace for us.
Your personal practices are irrelevant.
The problem is that she is clearly responsible for an accident. 
If all you do is go by the book, you'll never get results.
And yet according to the data I am looking at,
I can't find any practical results from her studies of vegetation so far.
What will... What will Mana's punishment be?
The final decision will be handed down in a week, but I'm afraid she may be terminated.
But...
She's still-
Don't you think you're misunderstanding something here?
She herself wishes her job to be terminated.
She has expressed her desire to quit her research in the Bee-Hive.
That idiot!
Hey, where are you going?
To Mana's hospital room. 
You won't be able to persuade her!
Persuade her?
Is that what you think I plan to do?
What the heck is with that man?
It's been a while since I've seen him that angry. 
Chairman?
I'll be curious to see if he is able to persuade her.
Yes?
Doctor!
You recognized me by the smell of my lab coat?
That's quite impressive.
So it seems you're abandoning your research into the aroma of plants.
How do you expect me to continue research like this?
I see.
Then, would you volunteer to be my guinea pig?
Give your body to me! I will dissect it,
and you will be useful to me in my biological research!
Hey, are you completely daft?
Think about how she feels!
Sympathy is not one of my failings! 
Hey, let go!
Open up!
Hey, did you hear?
Seems Dr. Thunderland Jr. barged into Mana's hospital room.
Yeah, I heard.
And he yelled out about her not being any use and cutting her up into pieces, right?
Sheesh, that's so like him.
Um...
I was hoping you could tell me...
I knew you would be here.
Suede...
I heard from your staff.
You were the one who demanded Mana pass her interview
even when she had no actual results and looked like she would fail.
You shouldn't have butted in.
You really had high expectations from her.
Quite the miscalculation, it was.
It was her sense of smell, yes?
Of course, that was part of it.
But she had something even more important for a scientist.
Something more important?
Curiosity.
Her curiosity was far beyond most people.
She would lock herself up in this room all day long, doing research. 
When I looked at her, it was like looking at myself.
And so because of that, you...
She still has her sense of smell, and yet...
How about you try to persuade her once again?
It's no use.
There's no way she'd actually listen to what I have to say.
But you are the only one who believes she still has a future.
Doctor, you are the only one who can save her.
Doctor?
I know! That's it!
Doctor!
Why am I doing this?
Sympathy is not one of my failings!
Found it.
Coming!
Who could it be so early?
Brother!
Sylvette!
There's a weird person outside!
Doctor?
Sorry about being so early.
This is?
A letter to Mana.
I wish I could deliver it myself...
But I doubt that she would see me now.
Suede... Will you take it to her for me?
Yes?
Hello.
Gauche?
Did you come to visit me?
Yes. That's part of it. I also have a delivery for you.
A delivery?
It's a letter to you from the Doctor.
I don't want it!
Send it back to him!
How could he be so insensitive after what happened to my eyes?!
Please wait.
It may be simple to reject it, but at least open the envelope.
But...
Don't worry. It's a letter you will understand.
This is helenseed... 
Why did the doctor send me...
She has zero experience and yet came to interview for our Amberground Bioscience Advisory Panel?
Surprising... 
More like reckless.
What is in that little bottle?
Uh, right! It's a flower called helenseed!
You hardly ever find it. It's rare and quite valuable!
Open it up.
Okay!
That's a nice smell.
It's believed that helenseed has a stress relieving effect.
When someone in the village was worried about not getting enough sleep, they'd take this and sleep like a baby-
And yet you have no scientific proof.
W-Well...
Do you have the ability to uncover that proof? 
I believe it is possible, and not just for a select few. 
Talk is cheap. 
Then test me!
Give me a chance!
No matter how tough it is, I'll succeed!
He was reminding me of that...
He said to me...
...that you still have an amazing sense of smell.
Mana Jones, it is true that you have lost your sight.
But perhaps there is a person you should take another look at... with your heart's eye.
Now we will announce the punishment for Mana Jones.
Please wait!
Thunderland Jr.! You cannot cover for your staff's lack of motivation any longer!
Please wait!
Mana!
Doctor...
I'm sorry.
I misunderstood you, Doctor.
It took you long enough.
Please!
Please let me work at the Bee-Hive again!
But you can no longer...
I may not be able to see, but I still have my sense of smell!
I ask you this as well.
Please allow her another chance.
Mana Jones.
Yes.
Your forward-looking attitude does much to mitigate your responsibility for the fire. 
However!
Are you really confident you are able to contribute to our Amberground Bioscience Advisory Panel?
It's not like you have produced any results so far.
And now you've lost your vision.
W-Well...
Chairman!
Why don't you be straight with her, everyone?
Tell her we have no intention of employing people who produce no results.
Mana Jones, I recognize your motivation.
But that's the reality of this panel.
So I have a proposal to make.
I would like you to prove that your research has value to us.
However you only have one week.
If you can't convince us to our satisfaction by then, get out.
That's impossible!
Just one week?
That's as lenient as I intend to be, Thunderland Jr.
I have given you a chance.
Now what will you do, my friends?

What's this?
It is a notebook of mine from before I joined the Amberground Bioscience Advisory Panel...
I wrote down all the characteristics and effects of flowers and herbs I studied.
Wow... You wrote it all down so thoroughly!
But there was no scientific basis to anything written in there.
Back then, I didn't have the knowledge to prove my claims.
Still, those two didn't give up on me.
They never gave up, and led me to the missing link to my dreams... 
I would have never thought she'd show her face here again...
It's quite the surprise.
And I thought we'd finally be able to cut the budget for her research.
But thanks to the Chairman, we still have a pretext to fire her.
It's impossible to demonstrate the value of her research in just a week, after all. 
This simply gives her time to accept the bad news. 
I should have expected this.
It's a waste of money for them to employ me if I don't produce any results...
Mana Jones...
Doctor, is there nothing we can do?
Is there no way we can save her?
There is a way. It is not impossible.
Dr. Whitman?
Dr. Whitman is the foremost researcher into plants and vegetation.
The same research as Mana Jones?
Yes. He was once a part of the Amberground Bioscience Advisory Panel,
and due to his achievements, he was given an honorary Doctorate.
He's an authority on the subject.
Although he is no longer active in his research.
It is true that Mana's research lacks scientific basis.
But if Dr. Whitman recognizes Mana's research and provides a recommendation...
The council would have no choice but to accept it!
We should try going immediately to Dr. Whitman...
Impossible.
Why?
Dr. Whitman currently lives in the town on the Southernmost point of Yuusari, Sahara.
No matter how fast you travel, it will take ten days to get there and back. 
The council only deferred their decision for one week.
There is simply not enough time.
I will go.
Please write the request to Dr. Whitman.
I will deliver it along with Mana's notebook. 
Even for you, it's not possible!
And Dr. Whitman is famously ill-tempered.
I cannot know whether he will recognize Mana's research...
Then why did you tell me this?
Because...
You thought that I might be able to do it, yes?
Doctor, let me go. 
Suede...
Why?
Why would Gauche go to such lengths for me?
Because that's the kind of man Gauche Suede is.
If I can make it over this cliff, I'll be able to cut the distance considerably...
I'm okay, Roda...
I mustn't!
Let us go, Roda...
The gaichuu, Bookers!
Shindan loaded! Black Needle!
Who is it? Is someone there?
Who are you?!
Letter...
I have come to deliver you... a letter...
This is some highly caffeinated herb tea.
It should wake you right up.
Oh, thank you very much.
Excuse me, but how long have I been sleeping?
About a bell... 
Thank goodness...
Attempting to cross from the Bee-Hive to out here in Sahara and back in only a week?
You must be out of your mind.
I apologize for causing you trouble.
I have read the letter from Thunderland Jr. and the notebook of this Mana girl...
Thank you very much!
And so... your impressions?
I have never seen such unscientific, ill-proven research before!
It is true that Mana Jones never had a proper scientific education.
But she is more passionate and has more potential than anyone!
So that is why... I want to help her accomplish her dream.
And I also want to help Dr. Thunderland Jr... 
You did this for Junior? 
Just as I left the Bee-Hive, I asked him...
I really can do nothing, can I?
Doctor?
I can do nothing for my staff when they're in trouble.
And because of that, I have placed a great risk on your shoulders.
Doctor, may I ask you something?
Why are you going to such lengths for Mana?
She hates to lose, see.
The more I yelled at her, the harder her resolve would become.
It was a lot of fun to watch.
That's why?
Suddenly I feel my motivation lacking...
Also, Mana's research will be of greatest use for the Bees.
For us?
Being able to heal the body and heart quickly after an exhausting delivery, you know?
I'd like to be able to, but it's not something I can do.
And that is why you attempted such an insane delivery?
Yes.
Doctor, I may not understand the science.
But Thunderland Jr. is a dependable person.
I believe in him.
Please! Give Mana Jones another chance!
And when exactly did I say I would not?
It is true that her research lacks any scientific proof.
But the contents display an incredible curiosity.
Performing such research on her own is quite impressive.
Just as you said, I can feel her limitless possibility.
Really?
I wish I could mentor her myself!
I am certain that she would be overjoyed to hear you say that. 
But you only have three days left.
Are you sure you can return to the Bee-Hive in time?
Of course.
Then I request you link my dreams to hers...  
Doctor, how much time is left?
Only half a bell.
He won't make it after all...
Believe in Suede.
He took on this delivery knowing it was impossible.
Believe in him until the very end. Is it not the least we can do?
Doctor...
Suede!
Gauche?
Sorry to make you wait.
And the letter?
Did you deliver it safely?
That is the job of a Letter Bee.
This is the response from Dr. Whitman.
Mana, we're summoning the committee again!
Then...
Suede, thank you!
Mana, let's go.
Roda, let me rest for a bit.
"There is great potential held within Mana's research."
"To crush such dreams would be an embarrassing loss for the Amberground Bioscience Advisory Panel."
- Dr. Whitman.
So what is the decision of this committee?
We cannot disregard the opinion of Dr. Whitman on the matter of Mana Jones's employment.
Of course not! We'd never consider doing something so outlandish!
Then Mana's termination will be overturned?
We have little choice in the matter.
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much!
Gauche, thank you!
Thanks to you I can continue to work in the Bee-Hive!
Gauche?
Mana...
Yes?
Prepare a potpourri that will wake him up feeling refreshed
and an herb tea to help him recover his stamina.   
After that, I studied under Dr. Whitman and finally completed this room.
So this room is like a gift Gauche left us after he crossed over into Akatsuki...
If you ever meet Gauche, I'd like you to tell him that I've fulfilled my dream thanks to him.
I am more grateful to Gauche than anyone else...
Well, what a coincidence that we're all talking about Suede...
Doctor!
Lag Seeing... We might be able to find a clue to what happened to Suede.
Really?
You see, five years ago, I heard this from Suede...
Doctor, do you know of a town named Honey Waters?
No, I don't.
Many people there do not follow the Empress. 
It may be a small town, but many people come in and out,
and there are many unpleasant rumors...
Oh, you mean the anti-government activists?
I've heard about them.
On a delivery to that town, I met a strange man.
That man called himself "one unable to become Spirit." 
"One unable to become Spirit?"
I would normally laugh at such madman's drivel,
but after Suede went missing, it began to bug me... 
I asked Jiggy Pepper to search around if he had the chance.
Jiggy Pepper?
It seems like that person really is in that town.
The "one unable to become Spirit."
Seeing... Your shindan can allow you to see the memories of objects.
You might be able to find a clue to Suede's disappearance,
even after these five years without a trace.
I would like you to deliver the letter I will write.
To the "one unable to become Spirit" in Honey Waters.
Sheesh! The town's right up ahead!
Hurry up, Connor!
Wait!
This path is steep!
Why did it have to be closed to the carriage? 
You're hopeless...
Come on! You can do it.
W-Water, please!
I don't have any left!
Lag!
Water is spurting out.
It's spring water!
Ooh, this water looks lovely... 
I wonder if there's some honey in it?
Lag!
Don't drink that water!
Why?
The water around here may be called "honey water,"
but drinking it directly is dangerous.
There's poison in it that could paralyze a person for hours after drinking one glass... 
N-Niche, don't drink it!
Trinket? 
Thank goodness...
About five years ago Honey Waters became a town off the delivery routes.
There are many anti-government activists, and the nasty rumors persist without end.
Will they be okay?
Both of them have quite reliable dingos, so...
What bothers me more is the clue about Suede.
I don't care how small it is... as long as we obtain some information.
A clue about Gauche, somewhere in this town...
I heard that people come and go through this town a lot, but it's very quiet... 
Connor, look...
What's that? Look at all the people gathered...
Master Hunt used to be a civil servant, but thanks to a government plot,
he was sacrificed as a human guinea pig, and his body was warped into the sad state you see now. 
These evil experiments, the "Artificial Spirit Project,"
were attempting to create a man-made body with the energy of the ancients!
Claws!
But the project ended in failure.
And the government tried to cover up the evidence. They plotted to get rid of Master Hunt!
However my husband and I escaped from the capital Akatsuki in the nick of time!
And we survived!
As ones unable to become Spirit! 
Wait, those two...
Mistress Sarah!
Give us your blessing!
I've come from the next town!
Mistress Sarah, take this!
Then, this way...
What's going on here?
The jewel in which resides Spirit Energy!
Spirit Amber!
Black...
A black... Spirit Amber?
That's...
That's Gauche's...

The jewel in which resides Spirit Energy!
Spirit Amber!
A black... Spirit Amber?
That's Gauche's...
Be healed.
Heart regeneration.
Shindan Loaded!
Black Needle!
But, that's...
Why?
Hey, you!
It's a Bee!
There are Bees here!
Government dogs are mixing into our gathering!
Lag, this doesn't look good at all...
Why?
Why do you have Gauche Suede's Spirit Amber?
Boy... What might you be talking about?
And besides, this town should have long been off the delivery routes of the Bees.
Perhaps I should ask you what business you boys have coming here?
Lag, my friend... I think, for now, we'd better...
Mach Scramble Dash! Gus, run for it!
Don't let them get away! Catch them!
Sarah...
Can't we stop this already? How long do you plan to...
Can't you finally resign yourself to it?!  
There's no turning back now.
What the...
Niche!
You can't! Don't cut people!
It's an attacking-people-is-not-allowed chop.
Niche...
You remembered!
You damn government worker bees!
Owww!
Connor!
Niche! Save Connor, and let's get out of here! 
Get out of here.
Here she comes!
Niche?
La...g...
Niche, Steak!
Could Niche and Steak have drank that honey water?
Niche!
Please escape.
You're...
Shh.
Damn, where'd the other one go?
He ran that way.
R-Right, Master Hunt!
Hey! This guy's heavy! Help me out here!
Niche, Steak...
Connor...
Please come with me.
Who are you people?
Don't misunderstand me.
I'm not a believer in them.
But if you want to leave this town safely, you will help me, Bee.
You will deliver our letters.
Mistress Sarah, Mistress Sarah!
What is it?
This child's arms are almost like...
Claws, just like Master Hunt's!
You two are dismissed.
Uh, right...
I hope Lag got away.
I'm counting on you, Gus!
What's your name?
Lag Seeing.
Um, how far down are we going to go?
Not much further.
This is...?
It's an underground passageway that was used long ago.
Only the oldest residents know of it, so we're safe here.
My name is Ann. Ann Grado.
How old are you?
Um, I'm 12.
You are one shrimpy little Letter Bee, that's for sure.
I'm 14.
We're only 2 years apart, though...
2 years is a whole lot!
Being 14 makes you a lot more grown up in different ways!
Not like some 12 year old!
There.
Those are?
Those are the letters that the people of this town have written.
This many?
But, why?
I thought that Honey Waters had long since turned down letter delivery...
The ones unable to become Spirit. 
It's their fault.
Five years ago they appeared in this city.
They gained approval among the dissatisfied youth who live here.
They gathered believers to them and grew powerful in the town.
And as a protest against the government, they stopped allowing Letter Bees into the city.
I collected and hid these letters from the old residents to keep them out of sight.
Why didn't the people of the town try delivering the letters themselves?
It was impossible.
The moment someone tried to carry bags of letters outside the town...
He was attacked by gaichuu... 
We quickly rescued him and the letters, but...
He woke up, but it was like his soul was gone, and he never spoke again.
He died.
Ann... That person who was part of the "Artificial Spirit" experiment...
The one unable to become Spirit.
Are those people telling the truth?
They said it was a government plot, but is that really...
Wouldn't you know that better yourself?
You're the ones who devote your lives to working for the government, right?
I haven't been told much about the government or the capital.
And I don't do this for the government.
I put my life out there as a Letter Bee to deliver people's important letters.
W-Well I don't know if they're actually for real or not either!
But their sermons are full of lies.
Like how the government created the gaichuu, and how Letter Bees lead them around... 
I can't believe that.
Because the gaichuu are attracted to people's hearts.
and the letters which hold such strong amounts of heart.
People don't encounter gaichuu around this area much.
What else could I think when he was attacked so quickly after trying to carry the letters?
I see!
Letters are no different than people's hearts.
In that case, perhaps they are attracted to the heart contained within them.
The gaichuu didn't come after you?
If its territory moved since then...
I hear rumblings from underground...
There shouldn't be any volcanic activity near here...
We don't have time!
We have to hurry and deliver the letters immediately!
Lag, help me!
This child's beast arms...
They are far more skillfully grafted than yours, Hunt.
How pitiful.
I bet she was part of some freak-show somewhere.
Perhaps she'll follow in our footsteps.
Her mysterious hair is nice as well... She could make a bundle in a side-show.
This is strange... She doesn't have any scars from the operation!
Sarah!
She's...
She couldn't be... She's a true "one unable to become Spirit?"
I knew it! You were fakes.
Oh, my!
We've picked up something quite wonderful, Hunt!
If we raise this girl as our daughter, we could increase our offerings...
No, even better... If we offer her to them, we might actually be able to join Reverse!
I've heard that if you're a member, you can live the good life in the capital!
I don't wish for the good life.
If we continue this, we'll hurt more people.
I know it's painful, but can't we go back to living the way we used to?
For me, as long as you are with me, Sarah...
Well you might not want it, but I do!
You think a man with paralyzed, monster arms and a mask like you can live normally in a town like this? 
Sarah!
This is... the only way for us.
Their lookouts are on the watch.
Let's find an opening and sneak outside.
Right!
Niche has the blood of some creature called a Maka in her. She doesn't have anything to do with the government.
Is that mixture a medicine?
I ground together night-weed 26 with cocoa tobacco.
It's an ointment to leach out the honey water.
It will ease the pain, and help her heal.
If you're awake, then you heard everything, didn't you?
I'm sorry. But I understand now.
That Spirit Amber is also fake, isn't it?
Lag was all hot-blooded and didn't notice, but the way the light flashed was totally different.
Correct.
It's a jewel called a "Black Jack." It creates sparks if you rub two together.
It has an effect of counteracting the toxin in this town, so it is of benefit to the people here.
You sure know a lot. Almost like a scientist.
My own studies.
I thought it might be helpful to people one day.
Hunt-san!
I know that you don't have evil in your heart!
So then, why?
If you really have the knowledge to help,
why do you keep deceiving people?
I want Sarah to be happy as well.
But...
That's not happiness, that's my butt!
Huh? My butt?
My butt! My butt! Stop the tickling!
There's something under my butt!
Gus, you came to save me?
That's my dingo for you!
Hurry, Lag!
Wait a second!
What is it now?
I can't just go like this.
I have to save Niche and the others!
How can a weakling like you seriously think of rescue...
We don't have time.
It's coming closer.
It?
W-What's that?
Hunt, look outside!
That's...
The gaichuu, Cidre!
It's territory should have been farther to the East!
Why is it in the town? 
Nail down the gates!
Make a barricade!
Right, Mistress Sarah!
Don't just stand there!
Let's go, Gus!
The Bees brought the gaichuu with them!
Damn them! They play dirty!
That boy...
Shindan loaded...
Red Needle!
It didn't even flinch.
I've got to find the gaps first, or...
Red Needle!
Ann, get someplace safe!
Ann!
It came all this way searching for these letters...
This is all there is to be done.
I should have done it from the start!
If I had done this in the first place, then...
My dad wouldn't have been killed!
Ann!
The person that was attacked was your...
Your dad, knowing the dangers, tried to deliver these letters.
I think he understood the importance of letters.
Don't waste his sacrifice!
I will deliver those letters!
And your father's heart, too!
I will deliver them, no matter what!
Lag!
Connor, Gus!
Thank goodness, you're safe.
How's Niche and Steak?
They're still in those people's safe house.
Why is a Cidre here?
Are those letters that she has?
I'll explain later.
I can't find the gaps anywhere...
Okay, Lag. You be the decoy and get its attention.
Gotcha.
Let's turn this guy upside down.
Not with a shindanjuu, but with shinjirai and Spirit Amber!
Let's do it, Gus!
Shinjirai, set!
Shinjirai, set!
Shinjirai, set...
Shinjirai, set...
Connor!
Good, Lag! Stand back!
Don't lolly-gag!
R-Right!
The land mines I bury are fragments of my hunger!
Resound! Yes, Yellow Explosion!
Look, Lag! The gaps are in its rear-end! Shoot it with a Red Needle!
Lag?
So if you shoot the gaichuu in its butt with this gun, that'll stop it?
That seems like even I could do it.
Please let me go!
You did sure did an impressive job training that monster!
But without that gun of yours, would the gaichuu realize you're its master?
What are you talking about?
Mistress Sarah!
We should feed this one to the gaichuu as a warning to the government!
That's right!
That'll show the damn government!
Do it, do it!
You...
Stop this, you fools!
Quit believeing all that rubbish I spouted!
Who but a Bee can defeat that monster?
Sorry 'bout this.
Let me go!
This is also for Mistress Sarah's sake...
Master Hunt!
I regret what happened to your father.
It's over.
Sarah! The lies end now!
Hunt...
Man...
Look at you pitiful fools...
Connor...
Lag...
We're gonna clean this up right now!

Man...
Look at you pitiful fools...
Lag...
Connor...
We're gonna clean this up right now!
Zazie!
I'd feel even more confident if Zazie were here too, Connor.
Wha?!
Lag!
Is it a gaichuu?
No, it's not, Niche.
I see.
Teams are formed for dangerous deliveries.
But it's all about having the right men for the job.
Zazie can be really single-minded about exterminating gaichuu,
but he's not particularly interested in any other kind of delivery.
I doubt he'd be any use today.
Does that have anything to do with what that Moc Sullivan person said once?
Wha?!
Lag! Is it a gaichuu?
No, it's not that, Niche...
I see.
Moc said that Zazie focuses more on exterminating gaichuu than on delivering letters...
Zazie lost his parents when he was little after they were attacked by a gaichuu.
Lag!
Everything's fine, Niche!
I see.
Connor.
Zazie became a Bee to get revenge on the gaichuu.
So that's why I think he prefers deliveries where he can wipe out gaichuu.
Zazie just wants to find that enemy gaichuu and defeat it. The title of Head Bee means nothing to him.
Hey, Connor...
How do gaichuu... kill people?
I've never seen it happen myself.
But I hear that they eat your heart.
People who have their hearts eaten can't speak or eat.
They become frail and die.
So, Zazie...
...watched that happen before his eyes...
You little brat!
Zazie!
Postal Delivery is a National Service.
If you interfere with a Bee's delivery,
I will eliminate you along with the gaichuu.
W-What are you...
Shut up!
Don't get cocky, buddy!
Don't think I'm a pushover like those other Bees!
Zazie!
The Cidre went underground again!
Zazie...
I figured I'd see how you guys were doing on the way back from a delivery.
I can't count on you guys for anything. 
Yup. Without me...
Lag, are those all letters?
Yeah.
It was only a few of the people here that wanted to stop deliveries.
And the girl?
Her name is Ann.
Ann's father tried to carry the letters out of the town,
but his heart was eaten by that gaichuu.
Zazie?
Cidre's weak point is in their butt.
It's a gaichuu that attacks from the ground without exposing its weakness.
They're pretty tough.
Wasiolka will sense its movements from above ground.
Connor, you corner it with land mines and force it above ground.
I'll keep it from moving with a Blue Thorn.
And when I do, Lag...
You resonate a Red Needle right into it!
Let loose a resonance as great as that girl's loss!
Let's go!
Right!
All right!
Shinjirai, set!
Shinjirai, set!
Shinjirai, set!
Shinjirai, set...
Shinjirai... set.
When this delivery is over, I'm having a feast! 
The land mines I bury are fragments of my hunger!
Here it comes!
Yes! Yellow Explosion!
Great work, Connor!
Blue Thorn!
Lag, now!
Right!
Shindan loaded!
The ground collapsed?
I can't see the Cidre...
Lag!
The letters!
Lag!
Lag!
The underground passages?
That's...
Damn it!
T-This is bad!
The Cidre is trying to eat her heart!
Stop it!!
Riding on my father's back...
My mother's chili hot-tomato soup I once loved...
The terrible singing of my father after he'd had too much to drink...
Walking back from Mother's funeral service...
Together with Dad, the Honey River...
His large, shaking hand...
I'm so glad...
...that you are here for me, Ann...
Thank goodness...
The first time seeing my Dad in a state of weakness...
Running an errand, getting lost and coming home late...
Seeing home on a far away hill...
The silhouette of Dad waving...
Breaking into a run...
My dad's hand, more chilled than mine.
The warm fireplace...
No...
Don't!
No, no! Don't take them away!
They're my precious...
They're all my precious memories!
Don't take them!
Don't take my heart!
Father... save me...
Father?
Father...
...who?
Hunt!
That masked guy's pretty good!
Damn it...
Zazie!
You might eat them, but they won't become your heart!
You hollow bastards!
'Cause you damn gaichuu's don't have any heart!
Getting angry isn't going to help, Zazie!
We can't defeat it without shooting its weak point!
Resound, my malice!
Oh, no... He's using too much heart...
I said resound, damn you!
Blue Thorn!!
Soup?
They say he always has it ready for them to eat when they wake up.
But their eyes are open...
So that's what it's like being done in by a gaichuu...
But that boy never cried even once.
Zazie!
Hunt!
Hunt!
Sarah...
This beast is the headliner for our next show!
It's more important than debt-ridden trash like you!
I told you to look after it!
Stop punishing Hunt alone!
We both took care of it.
Whip me too!
Wish I could.
But I don't damage my goods for sale.
Sarah...
You're beautiful, Sarah...
Farewell?
What do you mean, Sarah?
It seems there's a buyer for me at the next show stop.
A buyer?
I met him once before... He's a horrible man.
If I'm forced to work for him...
I just know... I'll be killed...
I'd rather stay here at this crappy little traveling side-show.
Because you're here, Hunt.
Sarah?
But, Hunt...
I'm more worried about you.
Your body's big, but you're timid.
I wish we could have payed our debts off together,
and gotten out of here...
Together... Together with you, Hunt!
I wish we could have gotten away from here...
You were kind to me, Sarah.
You were my only friend.
Sarah deserved a happier life...
Damn!
What is the meaning of this?
Our headliner's dead!
Maybe it started out weak. And that's why it was sold from show-to-show.
I'll kill that middleman!
What are we going to do, Impresario!
How can we have a show like this?
Don't be stupid! The location's already paid for!
We've got to make that money back!
Hey!
We'll cut off your arms and sew the beast's onto yours!
Huh? What did you say?
People ain't gonna come in to see a corpse!
I told you to become a beast man!
No!
Calm down!
Let go!
If the show is a success, I'll pay you plenty.
You'll have enough cash to live anyway you like for a while.
No way!
Money?
You'll pay money?
How much will you pay?
If you replace my arms with those clawed hands...
Will you please not sell Sarah?!
The masked boy with beast hands would also be a good draw.
Fine then! If you let us replace your arms, then the woman is yours!
Impresario, about this promise...
Please keep it a secret from Sarah.
Sarah...
As long as you find happiness...
That's all I desire...
Hunt!
Where did Lag go?
Damn it... I can't move...
A road beneath the flagstones...
There was an underground passage?
That's... Lag!
Resound, fragment of my heart!
Red Needle!
He did it! Lag really did it!
The hearts that were eaten are returning!
That's...
Roda, to the right! 
Shindan loaded!
Gauche...

Red Needle!
That's...
Roda, to the right!
Gauche...
Hunt!
No one's gonna come to see you anymore.
Get outta here, wherever you please.
Being thrown out with a body like this...
What should we do now?
Hunt, I can see a town!
Honey Waters?
What's that supposed to mean?
What is this?
It's the projection from the shindan Lag shot.
The memories of heart.
Heart?
This is the memory... of when we arrived at this town...
Sarah, it's a gaichuu!
They respond to people's hearts and attack!
Sarah!
You are interfering with my delivery.
Please leave this area immediately.
Roda, to the right!
A Bee? And his dingo is here, too.
Thank goodness.
He should be able to defeat the gaichuu.
Defeat it? How can someone defeat that monster?
Shindan loaded...
That shining stone, it's Spirit Amber!
This is the first time I've seen one.
Using the power of that stone, you can use your heart as a bullet.
Heart... as a bullet?
Black Needle!
The light! Did he get the gaichuu?
I can't see it very well, but I think so.
That's some power you have there, Gauche Suede.
Don't use too much and lose it...
Your heart, that is.
I hear you will be transferring to the capital.
Congratulations.
I'd expect nothing less from the Bee-Hive's Ace.
How do you know that?
We pay close attention to, and have high expectations for, superior Bees such as yourself.
We? Who are you?
One of the Team known as "Reverse." 
Or perhaps you would call me, "One unable to become Spirit?"
Reverse... Spirit?
One unable to become Spirit?
Gauche really met him?
The anti-government activists?
We do nothing more than investigate the government of Amberground.
I have no interest in your ideology.
So this group, Reverse, has been observing me?
Correct, Gauche Suede.
I have been following you for many years now.
I know it all, Gauche.
You have a reason to fight the government of Amberground.
You are a man who should be working together with Reverse.
Trying to recruit me?
I do not know what it is you base that claim on.
But I have no intention of relinquishing my pride as a Letter Bee, entrusted with the hearts of the people.
The reason that your dear sister, Sylvette, cannot move her legs.
What if I told you I knew what it was?
I can't hear... The wind is too loud.
What in the world?
I won't give up, Gauche Suede.
One day, you will be mine.
Until we meet again, Gauche.
Who was that guy?
He wasn't your average fellow, that's for sure.
Amazing... This is a real gaichuu exoskeleton!
Think we can sell it?
You people defeated it?
It would be really bad if the thing got any closer.
Did you really defeat it?
Those clothes... Are you pilgrims?
How in the world did you...
My god, your arms!
Are you a monster too?
These are...
Don't move, monster!
Please, wait!
Lower those weapons, you fools!
How dare you show such insolence to the one who saved your town from this incoming gaichuu!
We are on a journey to save the people by informing them of government's evil plot!
The ones unable to become Spirit!
Spirit... The ones everyone's heard about?
Then please come to our town, Honey Waters!
Mistress Sarah!
Master Hunt!
Don't let Bees into the town?
Then what about the resident's letters?
It will be a grand protest against the government!
This is our chance to spread our message far and wide!
Let's do it!
We should!
So everything Mistress Sarah said was a lie?
It's...
The gaichuu buried itself!
Everyone, quickly! Carry the letters to the underground passages!
Dad!
Dad!
Dad!
Our lies have murdered people.
I am sorry.
I am so sorry...
Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!
Hunt!
S-Sarah...
Connor-san?
I made it...
Connor, you make a nice fat-cushion!
Fat?
S-Sarah-san...
Hunt-san had those beast arms attached and played along with your "spirit" con-game all for your sake.
I know.
I knew!
I knew that you gave your arms to the impresario.
If you replace my arms with those clawed hands...
Will you please not sell Sarah?!
I heard it from outside the carriage.
But I couldn't say it...
I couldn't tell you not to do it, Hunt!
Because I wanted to be together with you!
Because I wanted to be together with you... forever!
Impostors!
Frauds!
You tricked us from the very beginning!
You cheated us out of our money!
Why those little...
Little one...
Looks like the government dog's siding with the swindlers!
Little one...
All the money we collected is underneath the alter!
I haven't spent even a single rin!
Do whatever you want with it!
She said it was under the alter!
Wait up! Me, too!
Sarah...
Look at all the money!
Now that we've purged the fakes,
today we're going to start our activities anew!
We're going to really "reverse" the Amberground government!
Doesn't look like this town is going to change.
But you know, Ann.
At least you won't have to worry about your letters.
I'll come and do pickups here.
Your name was Zazie, wasn't it?
How old are you?
F-Fourteen.
The same age as me.
Well, better than Lag, anyway.
Ann!
Everyone!
The original residents?
Well, guess we'd better get out of here quick.
Before we start being pelted with rocks by those people.
Um... Excuse me...
I'm...
I'm okay now.
I must thank you.
For stopping me from being caught up in such foolishness again...
Thank you, little one!
Thank you, Bees!
N-Niche!
Lag!
Y-Yes!
I was worried about you, Niche...
It's okay. Everything's over now.
My job here is... finished.
Bee... You promised you'd come back here, right?
I got it already. I have to go on my next delivery, so...
Hunt-san and Sarah-san will ride in the carriage.
Sure. We'll be fine walking back ourselves.
Then...
Bye.
Are you sure about taking people like us to the Bee-Hive?
Dr. Thunderland said to make sure to capture any rare-looking creature I find, after all.
Capture?
And while you're there, he can look at your arms.
Hunt...
Do you think we can start over again?
We have that chance now. Let us grab it.
And one day we will save that town and that girl.
Just as these Letter Bees saved us and gave us this chance.
I'll dedicate my life to that.
Fluff...
Reverse, huh?
They must have something to do with Gauche's disappearance.
We didn't manage to meet the real "One unable to become Spirit."
So this delivery was a failure.
However, we did find a bit of a clue to where Gauche went.
Lag, there's a river in this direction!
In the other direction there's nothing!
Lag?
Are you not a dingo employed by your master to protect him?
You carelessly drank dangerous water, leaving you unable to help him at a critical moment.
You're a failure as a dingo.
I am the dingo of a certain individual.
My name is Roda.
Let us spend a brief time together.
The delivery is over now.
Lag... You and I relied on each other, and we made it through that perilous journey.
You are no longer a letter... You're a man now, Lag Seeing.
Gauche, farewell...
Um... I was thinking...
One day...
One day, I wanna be a Letter Bee just like you!
Gau...che...
Gauche!
I am not a failure as a dingo!
I became Lag's dingo, Niche!
Lag has only one dingo, me!
I do not understand you.
Roda...
Wait, Gauche!
It's me, Lag Seeing!
You carried me as a letter five years ago!
Lag Seeing!
Gauche...
I'm angry... I'll get you!
You are very quick, but you rely on brute strength.
Is that all the power that lies in the blood of Maka?
That isn't all!
Just you wait!
You'll leave your master undefened?
Protecting one's master is everything for a dingo.
It seems you have mistaken me for someone else, little Letter Bee.
I am what is known as a Marauder.
My name is Noir.
You really are a failure as a dingo.
Lag!
Gauche... Roda...
Farewell, Lag Seeing.
Don't take her... away!
Give her back!
Give her back...
No...
Don't... go!
No more...
...goodbyes...

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Commie
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?
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?
Now, we are heading towards Cambel, the southernmost city in Yodaka. 
However there's not much data on the route, plus the darkness levels and Gaichuu territories are unclear.
Gaichuu?
[Note: Gaichuu means armored insect (鎧虫)]
They are ferocious and dangerous creatures that inhabit the areas of darkness between towns.
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?
In other words, the bullets loaded into this gun are fragments of my very heart, Lag Seeing.
[Note: Shindanjuu means heart-bullet gun (心弾銃)]
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...
Sylvette...
What was that just now?
Gauche?
Gauche...
Roda...
Gauche...

Hey, what's a "Head Bee?"
You saw something after I shot you with that shindan yesterday, I see.
Just tell me already.
Head Bee is the highest position we Bees can obtain.  
So they're like the captain of the Letter Bees or something?
Captain? Well, perhaps...
They say there is no letter they can't deliver.
Currently there is only a single Bee with that title.
Outside of important government deliveries, the Head only operates in the capital,
so we have not yet met face to face.
It's someone we Letter Bees all look up to, I suppose.
You didn't see anything else, right?
What's with that creepy grin?
That Sylvette girl's pretty cute!
How old is she?
She's 7 years old.
Now that you mention it, she's the same age as you.
Wait, you even saw my little sister?
Gauche, you like that Aria girl, right?
Are you guys dating?
Hey, hey! Have ya smooched yet? Have ya? 
You rubbed her boobies?  
Honestly, this is why children are so hard to handle.
Gauche, you'll make it to Head Bee.
The woman who ran the bread shop used to say it all the time:
"It's the jerks who always get promoted!"  
I think I'm gonna barf...
Please bear with it. I don't have any other food.
I can't stand this disgusting soup anymore!
I suppose it can't be helped. 
Gauche!
Quiet.
Hey, what if you used a shindan?
Sometimes it's important to train the body as well.
Do not worry! Finally, I will catch one today!
Huh?
Lag!
Huh?
'Night... 
Lag Seeing.
It will be quite cold tonight.
I am not very good in the cold, so would you perhaps sleep together with me tonight?
I don't really mind...
The stars are brighter than I thought they would be.
The rest of this delivery should go smoothly, Lag Seeing.
If we make haste, we might be able to reach Cambel Litus by midday tomorrow.
Tomorrow?
Yes.
Do you have anyone you would like to write a letter to, Lag?
Of course not...
Then, one day, please try writing one.
Why? Who cares about some stupid letters...
Even a single word will do.
As long as there is someone who will shed a tear of happiness when they receive it.
Even just from a single word?
To those people who live apart from one another, a letter contains the heart of the person that wrote it.
It's fluff from the chippa flowers that bloom in Jose's white desert.
It means that we will soon exit the mountain pass.
That light is so far away...
What's a letter anyway?
So what about my mom?
If you can send a letter anywhere, you can send one to my mom!
When we get to Cambel, I'm never gonna see my mom again!
You're gonna start working in Akatsuki after this, right Gauche?
So take me with you to the capital!
Take me to Akatsuki, Gauche!
If I can get to Akatsuki, I can find out who those guys who kidnapped my mom were!
I could find my mom!
Right, Gauche? Why not?
Lag... Unless you are called into service by the government and issued a crossing permit,
those from Yodaka cannot cross the bridge into the Yuusari Area.
And furthermore, only a select few of the upper-class are able to obtain crossing permits into the capital, Akatsuki.
But, if you have one, Gauche...
You did slightly touch my mind and memories from that shindan...
And perhaps that is why you are spouting this nonsense.
But you cannot really understand from just that.
You couldn't hope to understand...
...the burden of carrying this capital crossing permit.
Even I must accumulate more points in order for my own family to enter Akatsuki.
My sister will have to live by herself in Yuusari for a while.
Then why was my mom taken to Akatsuki?
I do not know that.
However if she truly did cross the bridge, perhaps it might not be as bad as you think.
But...
I believe I said this earlier, Lag Seeing...
Your circumstances are none of my concern.
I cannot lend you a hand as if you were my friend.
You're saying that we can't be friends?
I will transport you, a letter, safely and unscathed to Cambel.
That is the entirety of my job.
I hate you!
I hate all of you Letter Bees so much!
I do not need you to like me.
That is not part of my job.
Now, go to sleep.
Tomorrow we will aim to reach Cambel at last.
Rest your body and heart.  
Sylvette...
Lag, Roda?
Oh, no! My gun!
Gauche, you cold-hearted bastard!
Work this, work that...
Your job this, your job that...
I'm an idiot for ever trusting that guy!
I'll go crazy with this weird gun and bust right on through that bridge! 
"The burden of the crossing pass?" Yeah right!
I'm gonna make it to Akatsuki even without somethin' like that!
Don't follow me, Roda!
Wait, did we pass through this way?
A Gaichuu!
What the heck is that?
Gauche!
Roda...
Stay calm, Lag!
That's the Gaichuu "Buckers."
It will take a bit of time for it to shoot again.
Lag, steady the gun!
I will pull the trigger.
Make sure to hold it up properly!
Okay.
What's going on? The power of the spirit amber is rising again...
Loaded!
Black Needle!
Did we get it?
You've got to be kidding me! It didn't work!
It looks like it will be difficult to shoot a shindan into its joints from here.
But if we barge forward carelessly, we'll end up food for those sickles on its head.
It looks like we only have one shot at this. 
We'll jump in at the moment the Buckers shoots the spear from its lower jaw.
There's no way, Gauche!
And you're hurt bad!
Do not worry.
But...
You'll be fine.
I will deliver you to Cambel, no matter what.
Lag, you are a letter. A letter that holds all your feelings and wishes and dreams and heart...
I will risk my life in order to deliver you to Cambel.
Because that is the job of a Letter Bee.
Gauche...
Here it comes!
Lag, if you're a man, then be brave and hold that gun steady!
Shindan loaded!
What is this light?
This can't be...
He has a red spirit amber as an artificial eye?
So the shindanjuu's power rose because it resonated with his eye?
Oh, no!
Lag!
Lag, just shoot!
Lag... Your left eye is a protective charm.
In order for you to live...
Because your life is a gift to me...
It gave me the joy of being your mother. 
I want us to stay like this forever... 
Just like this...
I don't need a dad or a mom or money or anything, so...
I don't care if I can never walk... Just...
Please don't go!
Stay here... by my side...
Brother...
What are you doing?
I'm a letter. I'm heart.
I'm hope... So...
Lag...
You even resonated with my heart.  
Sylvette?
Lag?
Seems like you've finally woken up.
Um, where are we?
The port town of Cambel.
Then...
That's right. This little guy carried you here on his back for who knows how many tens of keels.  
Lag saved your...
Excuse me!
Might you be Mrs. Sabrina Mary?
Yes.
I see!
Then, Mrs. Mary, please stamp or sign this delivery slip first!
Get the hell outta here!
First thing off you ask for my stamp?
You heartless man!
How about thanking Lag first, after he nursed you back to health these past three days?!
This is exactly why you city folk are so unpleasant!
Aunt Sabrina, wait...
Hush, dear!
Run off back to your Yuusari or your Akatsuki!
You stupid Letter Bee!
Look, that's him.
He's that government man from Yuusari... 
Lucky there aren't any ships in port.  
Pardon me, but I'd like some water and some fruit.
Sorry, but we ain't got nothin' today.
Then, those aren't for sale?
Nobody's gonna sell nothin' to you in this town!
It doesn't seem like we are welcome here.
That's because this is an illegal port that harbors pirate ships from the open seas.
They're scared of an outsider learning too much and spreading rumors.
Lag...
Here's water and food.
Aunt Sabrina told me to take it to you.
It's way better than that pukey soup you had, Gauche.
She's a really nice person. She just doesn't know how hard your job is.
She will take great care of my friend, I'm sure.
That's a relief.
Friend?
The delivery is over now.
Lag, you did very well...
You truly got through it...
You and I relied on each other, and we made it through that perilous journey.
You are no longer a letter... You're a man now, Lag Seeing.
So... we're friends now?
Yes.
Friends?
Yes! Roda, too.
Gauche!
Roda, take care.
My red eye is a stone with a mysterious power that my mom told me to always keep safe.
She said it was used to cure a disease I had when I was born.
But she also said not to tell anyone about my eye.
She said only reveal it to people who you trust to the bottom of your heart.
Thank you, Lag.
The power that resides in spirit amber is very valuable.
You must be careful people do not target you for it.
Right.
I will try and look into your mother's whereabouts after I arrive in Akatsuki.
I might be able to find some clue where she was taken.
We have now determined a route to this town.
It will not be  long before another Letter Bee comes to visit this town carrying someone's precious letter.
Farewell, Lag Seeing.
Farewell, Gauche...
Farewell!
Um... I was thinking...
One day...
One day I wanna be a Letter Bee just like you!
Finally, I may be able to get a little closer to you.
Mom, Gauche... Wait for me!
I'm gonna become a Letter Bee, and go to Akatsuki!

The country of Amberground, surrounded on all sides by the sea,
is composed of three separate, segregated areas.
The capital, Akatsuki, brightly lit by an artificial sun,
where lives only the very highest class of society; a city of the chosen.
The second area for the middle class, Yuusari...
And the third area, Yodoka, where the lowest class of society scrapes out a meager existence.
Only those who have been issued a crossing permit by the government
are allowed to cross the bridges between the three areas.
The small artificial sun exists only to shine down upon the capital,
its light enveloped on all sides by the world's deep darkness.
Oh, there it is!
What's with that horse?
But, who'd think there'd be someone curious enough to join the national postal service from this town...
Not only that, but he was good enough to pass the preliminary examination, so now he's leaving Cambel. 
Next up he's doing an interview in Yuusari!
My knees are shaking just thinking about it!
It's not like you're taking the exam...
Hey! It looks like his ride's almost here!
Right!
Sabrina, they say his ride's almost here.
Is that so?
What's the matter with you?
And where is he anyway?   
I'm sure Lag's at the same place he always is.
Oh, you mean on the top of that cliff?
Sheesh! How can both of you be so easy-going like this?
The Letter Bee is coming to pick him up, you know!
The Letter Bee, huh?
Excuse me!
Excuse me!
Who could it be at this hour?
Excuse me!
Yes, I'm coming.
No need to make such a ruckus, I'm opening the door.
A Letter Bee?
Aunt... Sabrina...
If it isn't Lag?!
And then I was like all, "bam! bam!"
Sit!
I said, sit!
He's really just like your child now.
He's such a handful, I don't know what to do! 
Lag, if you don't go to bed soon, you'll make yourself ill.
Just a little longer.
Do you really want to become a Letter Bee so badly? 
Yeah.
Aunt, Aunt!
I passed the preliminary examination!
You did?
That's great, Lag! Good work.
Honestly, five years passed by so quickly...
It looks like I just barely made it.
Here, this is your herbal medicine, Kopylov-san.
And this is the naughty magazine you requested, Hann-san. 
Shh!
You ordered what?!  
Thanks to you Letter Bees we can get things from Yuusari now.
You're a great help, Connor.
Don't mention it.
To think I'd find the best tasting pizza out in the farthest outskirts of Yodoka...
If I'd known I would have come a long time ago!
Isn't that right, Gus?
Don't blame us if you get even fatter!  
Hey, Lag!
I couldn't get a two horse carriage, but this ain't bad for starting your journey, right?
Thanks, Connor!
Do right and say your goodbyes, Lag.
This is the interview section of the national postal worker entrance examination.
If you get past this, you won't be living here again, see.
Right...
This is our farewell gift.
A gun?
Does that old piece of junk even work?
It's valuable! 
I'll treasure it, Kokesu-san!
We'll miss you, Lag.
Perhaps this is our final parting...
Stop it, everyone.
If I become a Letter Bee, I'll deliver letters to Cambel instead of Connor, so...
Saywha?
Oh? Sabrina isn't here yet.
Hey now, Lag...
Aunt Sabrina, thank you so much for everything...
That Letter Bee you brought with you was wearing one of these, right?
Gauche?
I treated him badly back then.
If you ever meet him again, please tell him that words can't express my gratitude to him.
For the new lease on life he gave this poor old woman...
The gratitude I feel for this precious letter he delivered to me...
I love you!
You're like a second mother to me, Aunt Sabrina! 
Goodness, it seems I've become a crybaby like you!
Do your best to meet Anne, your real mother.
Make sure to become a Letter Bee, Lag Seeing!
Farewell, Aunt Sabrina.
Farewell, Cambel Litus.
What an incredible number of spores.
Those are fluff from the chippa flowers, Connor.
Chippa flowers?
Wait for me, Mom, Gauche!
I'm coming to see you!
I'm gonna become a great Letter Bee, you'll see!
The people in Cambel used to hate Letter Bees, but it seems like they don't feel that way at all anymore.
It's because of the train built in Yodoka that lets a lot more people come back and forth.
Does Gauche know about it?
Does he know there's a train now?
Didn't you ever get a letter from Gauche-san? 
I suppose he is too busy with his job in Akatsuki.
He has to work hard if he wants his sister Sylvette to live in Akatsuki with him.
After all, Gauche wants a promotion to the highest title a Letter Bee can get, Head Bee!
I can see Aithon Coal Mine Station from here.
We've got to hurry, since we don't have much time to spare.
That'll do it!
Thanks for using Rockin' Pony Ballerina Carraige Rental!
Oh yeah, where's your dingo?
Weren't you training a puppy in Cambel?
He wouldn't listen to a thing I said.
He was completely obedient to Aunt Sabrina, though...
You're just too soft hearted, Lag. 
If you're aiming to become a Bee, you'll need to be pretty tough underneath that softness of yours.
Just like me!
Connor...
A Bee's strengths, abilities, and techniques are judged based on what kind of dingo they have!
Please don't say that!
Well, I suppose your kindness is your specialty, Lag.
Enough with the teasing.
I'm just no good with dogs.
Is it okay to have something other than a dog as your dingo?
Anything that can be trained, like a lion or a panther would do.
Or if you have the money, you can hire a mercenary.  
That's not going to help me any...
Um...
Golden hair and sea blue eyes... 
What is it?
Y-You're using the privy! Sorry to bother you! 
No, that's not it.
Isn't that...
She's a package being stored here temporarily at this station.
She's easily frightened, so she ended up hiding herself in a place like this again.
Connor... This girl is a letter?
It seems she got here mixed in with the freight two days ago.
But the postage wasn't nearly sufficient,
the sender's address is unknown, and the delivery slip in too incomplete.
So she can't be recognized as a letter.
You mean she can't be delivered?
Right.
And since she can't be returned either,
she'll be held here for a certain period of time,
and then afterwards destroyed.
Destroyed?!
Don't look at me like that!
All that means is her leg irons will be cut and she'll be let free.
Let free?
And then what happens?
This coal mining town wouldn't have any place to take her in...
I feel sorry about it, but there's nothing I can do for her.
But, that's just...
We've got to get going!
It's almost time for the train to leave.
Let's go, Lag.
There's no need to be afraid.
My name is Lag Seeing.
Will you show me that slip on your arm?  
Right, like that.
The destination is Love Someone Down, in the town of Rent.   
The name of some orphanage, perhaps?
Lag, what are you doing?
Hey, Connor...
Are you sure there's no way she can be delivered?
No way!
Bees cannot be delivering illicit packages!
It's a violation of the rules!
The final departure bell!
It's time to go now, Lag!
We made it somehow.
It's just a straight shot to Kyrie, now.
Hey, Connor...
Rent town is only 30 keels north east of here.
I could probably reach it in only one day.
Yeah, that's about the distance.
Wait, Lag...
In that case, I'd just barely be able to make the interview!
Are you thinking of delivering that girl?
I told you already, it's a violation of-
I'm not a Letter Bee yet, so if I deliver her the regulations don't apply. Right, Connor?
Right?
L-Lag...
She's just like I was that time...
If I had been abandoned by Gauche back then...
When I think about what would have happened...
So, I just can't leave her like that.
L-Lag...
Okay, Connor?
I'm begging you!
Please let me deliver that girl!
The train for Kyrie will be departing shortly.
W-Wait!
Connor, I'm going and that's that!
I got it already, just wait a sec.
If I lend the station master something from my secret library of naughty magazines, I'm sure he'll help you out. 
Connor?
Show this to the station master and you should be fine.
He'll let you take that girl with you.
Connor!
This is the temporary crossing pass with your name on it, Lag.
It will allow you and one dingo to cross the bridge into Yuusari.
But you won't be able to make the train anymore.
You'll have to walk all the way to the post office.  
Thank you, Connor Culh!
You and my Aunt really are the same kind of person!
"Softy" isn't a race, Lag... 
Got it? Make sure to arrive by the day of the interview!
Thanks for everything, Connor!
His kindness is his specialty, huh?
I guess that's not such a bad thing to have.
What is it now, sheesh!
A flier?
"Freak Show - Love Someone Down"
Love Someone Down?
Wasn't that...
My mission is to deliver you to your destination, Love Someone Down.
I'm Lag Seeing.
Won't you tell me your name?
My name?  Maka.
Maka, huh? That's a pretty great name you have there...
Jenny...
Carol...
Susan...
Elizabeth...
Kerry...
Jinmei...
Abbey...
I have many others.
What is your real name?
I don't have one.
You don't have one?
Oh, I see. She must have been transferred from orphanage to orphanage...
Then, is there one you like?
No.
T-Then... Is it okay for me to give you a temporary name?
Um...
Let's see...
Niche...
That's it! How about Niche?
Niche?
It means gap, or a narrow space. 
But it originally meant a special place for statues of the holy mother or decorative flowers!
See, it's like the hollow space where you hid back at the train station...
So, what do you think?
I think it's really...
No way!
It seems a fog is starting to blow in.
As long as we stay on this road from the town, there shouldn't be any dan... ger...
What?!
A Gaichuu?
Gun... My gun...
You're... really weak.
I can't believe I got so worked up over some rock snake... How embarrassing.
But...
What's with her strength and reflexes?
Maybe she's really a boy?
A river!
Oh?
You're right! And it's nice and clean, too.
This is perfect. Let's take a break here.
You should wash up a-
...bit...
I g-g-guess s-she really is a g-girl...
Stay still.
Enough already.
No complaining. Just a bit longer.
This is all real hair. That's amazing.
Okay, all cleaned up.
Next is...
Here.
H-Hey!
Put on some underwear!
Don't wanna!
I know they're mine, and they're a little big...
But they're brand new!
I don't need them.
Yes, you do! You really do!
You're a girl, right?
You don't seem like a person that does bad things, but that's going too far.
Bad things?
See, I...
There was a time when I was a letter just like you, and I was delivered to a town I didn't know.
Back then I was so uncertain of everything, I didn't know what to do.
But today, when I left, everyone in town wished me good luck, and saw me off with tears in their eyes!
I'm sure that there's a person out there who'll hold you dear, who'll grow to love you!
I'm just sure of it!
But, no matter how good a girl you are...
If a girl like you makes a first impression like that, they'll get the wrong idea!
And you're actually so beautiful!
Did you just call me beautiful?
Y-Yes, I did...
And your eyes are a really pretty color...
Lag Seeing.
You are the first man who has ever gotten me to wear underwear!
Blood...
Just a tiny bit.
Maybe when you jumped down from so high, a pebble nicked me.
Don't worry about it. This is nothing.
I can't believe how easily you can climb up and jump from a place like that.
You lick places that hurt, too?
Then I've decided.
W-What?
I've decided to use the name you gave me, "Niche."
Call me Niche, Lag.
Then, let's hurry to your destination, Niche!

Rent Town...
This is it!
Love Someone Down...
I thought it would be around here somewhere, but...
Maybe that's it over there?
Um, excuse me!
Who are you?
Um... Well...
Is this Love Someone Down?
Yes, this is it.
I came to deliver a letter that was addressed to here.
A letter, you say?!
Yes!
Wait there.
This is so nerve racking.
Niche, don't! Niche!
He told us to wait back there...
There's a ton of animals.
If only I had a dingo like one of these...
A dingo?
They work with Letter Bees as their partner and companion.
Like that dog the fat man took with him?
Yeah, although it doesn't have to be a dog.
As long as it can be trained, any animal will do.
It doesn't even have to be an animal.
I hear some of them are strong people, very skilled at martial arts and the like. 
They're all covered in wounds...
I wonder why?
Is someone here?
What do you think you're doing?
S-Sorry!
I was just taking a look, that's all!
You came to steal our animals, didn't you?
You're a thieving little brat!
Hold it!
Impresario!
So you're a Letter Bee?
Um, no. I'm...
You brought this girl here?
Yes.
Then she is...
Let's see here... Show me your hand.
Whoa!
The arms seem to fit.
Ah, thanks so much for coming!
The delivery was so late, I was seriously worried.
There were some things missing on the delivery slip, so I delivered it instead of a Bee...
As long as it got here!
Good work!
Uh... right.
Here's your tip.
Thanks a lot!
Niche...
Thank you.
Lag, farewell.
Niche...
Lag, farewell.
My job was to deliver Niche, and now that's over.
I have to hurry to Yuusari.
The Broccoli Forest up ahead is Gaichuu territory,
but I can take the long way around and just barely make it to Yuusari.
Oh, shoot!
I didn't get them to sign a delivery receipt.
Can I really become a Letter Bee like this?
Perfect, let's ask this guy.
Hey boy, did you come from Rent?
Yes, I did...
There's a freak-show called Love Someone Down set up at the town entrance, right?
A freak show?
Then, that place was...
Ah, so it is there!
Thank goodness!
See, I told you! It's really here!
We walked all the way from the coal mine to see it,
but my brother here was going on about it being fake the whole time!
You're just too positive!
We'll probably end up paying an entrance fee, and then everything inside'll be fake!
That's the way those places work!
Hush you! Stop your whining.
"Freak-show Love Someone Down."
"It's finally arrived!"
"A new attraction!"
"A girl who received the blood of the 'Maka,' an extinct, legendary creature." 
"A child born cursed to bear the 'golden swords' on her body."
This Maka thing is some creature like a dragon.
It has a golden mane and sea-blue eyes, with a violent disposition.
I heard it's revered up in the northern frontier, though.
But I've never heard of anyone actually seeing one!
Niche.
Where's your sense of adventure, you dunce!
Sorry, I'm borrowing this!
Wait right there, you!
Now, out with them!
Show 'em to me!
Show me those "golden swords!"
Hey!
How's it going?
Impresario, we haven't gotten any response, so...
Then force her!
Are you sure?
Her eyes and claws are just like the rumors, but she might be a normal human with transplanted arms...
You're nuts, she's the real deal!
How much do you think I paid for this brat?
She's a real Maka!
Outta my way!
Now, Maka-chan...
Tomorrow there'll be a lot of customers coming to look at you... 
Won't you show grandpa those golden swords of yours? 
Niche.
What's this?
Niche!
Get it right.
My name is...
Niche!
W-What's with those baggy pants?  
Who the heck put those on her?
How does "baggy pants" fit the image of Maka?
She was wearing them when she got here,
and she wouldn't take them off no matter what I said!
For pity's sake...
Hand me a knife.
Listen up!
When trainin' animals, ya gotta put the fear of death in 'em first!
See, look at that.
It was your hair!
The golden swords were your hair!
Bravo! Yup, she's for real!
Okay! With her we can get 5,000 Rin a head! 
My rare creatures!
Impresario, we have to get out of here!
The tent's...
That's... Niche!
That's... Niche!
I thought we were goners...
My Love Someone Down!
The brat didn't just bust the cages, she broke down the entire tent!
Niche!
Ah, you there, boy!
Where have I seen you before?
My precious rare creatures will run away at this rate!
I'll pay you for it, so round them up!
I'm giving you back your tip!
This is bad... Niche ran away towards Gaichuu territory...
Broccoli forest!
Niche...
Where are you?
Niche!
The Gaichuu Four Roses!
Niche, run!
Lag? Why are you here?
It's no use!
You can't defeat a Gaichuu with normal bullets!
And this gun doesn't have a spot for a spirit amber in the first place.
Niche!
I've got to remember the time when I shot a shindan!
Shindan, loaded!
It's no use.
Damn... Run away, Niche!
What are you doing here, Lag?
So, we meet again?  
It's still moving!
I guess it really is true you can't defeat them without using a shindan.
Niche!
Are you okay, Niche?
Your head was hit?
Damn it!
Lag... I'm glad I was able to see you again...
Shindan loaded!
Go!
Farewell, Lag Seeing.
We'll miss you, Lag.
Perhaps this is our final parting...
Make sure to become a Letter Bee, Lag Seeing!
Farewell, Cambel Litus.
Don't leave me, Mom!
Lag, farewell.
Niche...
Niche?
It's you Niche, right?
Thank goodness...
I was able to meet you again, Niche...
Niche?
Don't move!
It tickles! And you're heavy.
If I lick it, it'll heal faster.
Please stop it already.
I've only ever done this to myself.
Letting me lick places that hurt...
Making me wear underwear...
You're the first to do that, Lag!
If saying goodbye is so sad for you, then I'll stay by your side.
Niche...
Does saying goodbye make you sad?
Yeah... It does...
Really sad.
We finally made it out of the forest.
I'm sure glad we only ran into one of those.
Now it's just a straight shot to Yuusari.
Yuusari?
Right. I'm going there to take a test to become a Letter Bee.
A Letter Bee?
S-Something's coming!
Oh, it's that creature from Love Someone Down.
It looks like he's taken a liking to you, Niche. 
He's called Steak.
Steak?
You mean, that's his name?
But, why name him that?
If you don't cook him, he'll taste bad.
You're planning on eating him?!
That's a joke, right?
I wonder what kind of creature he is...
It does have a charming smile, though.
Be careful. You'll get yourself eaten.
The thing's mostly mouth!
Sorry, Niche.
Even though I wasn't a real Letter Bee, I went and took you to a place like that...
It's always like that.
So, you failed at your job, Lag?
Take a look.
Unknown destination.
And I didn't get a signature of receipt.
Now you're no longer a letter. You're just Niche.
Niche?
Is this Yuusari place over there?
I'm not "just Niche!"
If you're going to become a Letter Bee, then you'll need a dingo, right?
I am now Niche, Lag's dingo!
D-Dingo... You...
Are you saying you'll be my dingo, Niche?
You said anyone who's strong could be a dingo, Lag!
But, that's...
Don't worry!
You're weak, and I'm strong!
Well, that's hard to argue, but... 
Now, let's go, Lag!
Wait!
N-Niche!

I'll make him read it...
I'll deliver Nello's suffering heart to the traitor who abandoned him, Jiggy Pepper!
I wonder if Harry has reached Jiggy yet?
That's the gate to Bifrost!
Why?
Where is Bifrost?
Where is the bridge?
The government has in its grasp all information concerning those who cross the bridge. 
I am the gate keeper, Signal.
I verify the identity of each one who crosses this bridge with the smoke from this quartz pipe. 
What are you talking about?
Look!
This is a real crossing pass, right here!
The first puff could not identify you as Lag Seeing. 
Therefore I must take appropriate measures.
Thank you for your understanding.
Nelli!
What is that?
Niche!
Say "Niche, my dingo!"
Niche!
Niche, Steak!
Nelli!
Hurry, run this way!
Lag?
The letter!
Nello's letter!
Lag, you are a letter. A letter that holds all your feelings and wishes and dreams and heart...
I must protect the letter.
I must protect those precious wishes and heart! 
Nelli, being a Bee isn't the kind of job you think it is.
Bees are...
The Letter Bees that I look up to...
T-That's...
...are people that put their lives on the line to deliver those letters!
Something came out?
I shot a shindan... from my hand?
Jiggy.
Nello...
You're my hero, Jiggy.
Nello.
I can't leave you all behind and go to Yuusari by myself.
That's not the Jiggy I know.
The Jiggy I know is a man who chases after his dreams!
A man who tosses away everything from yesterday and lives only for tomorrow!
The man that turned the Dead-End town into the town of beginnings!
And that's our Jiggy Pepper! The coolest guy I know.
Nello...
Stay that cool Jiggy forever.
Forever and ever...
Don't worry, Jiggy...
I'll do my best to get well, and become a man just like you, Jiggy!
And one day, I'll become a man strong enough to protect my sister.
I understand.
Take care of Nelli for me, Nello.
Jiggy, I'm sorry, Jiggy...
I can't keep my promise...
It pains me...
It pains me, Jiggy!
I can't do a thing to protect my sister anymore!
So Jiggy, I beg of you.
Please protect my sister, Nelli.
To my hero, Jiggy Pepper.
Nello wasn't suffering because Jiggy left...
He was suffering because he was dying and wasn't able to become a man who could protect you. 
So he wrote to the one person he could rely on, Jiggy...
It was a letter wishing you happiness from the bottom of his heart...
Nello, you dummy...
Didn't I say that I'd protect you?
That we'd always be together?
That you shouldn't think about anything except getting better?
Didn't I tell you?
But why did a shindan fly out of my hand?
In order to see Nello's heart in that letter...
That's because it was your shindan, I suspect.
Boy...
You're... the traveling rare animal collector!
Rare animal?
Shindan are created using the power that's within Spirit Amber; Heart shaped into a bullet.
The gun is merely a tool used to help form that heart into the proper bullet shape.
You, who have amber in your body, became the gun yourself and shot that shindan.
Then what about the pictures we saw after it hit the letter?
Just as there are no two humans with the same heart,
there are various different types of shindan. 
Perhaps your shindan has the ability to peer into the heart stored within things.
The heart stored within things?
Of course, it probably only works on things stuffed with a lot of this "heart" you are so receptive to. 
The church...
The building of that big church started right after you left, Jiggy. 
Sis got a job, and we had bread we could eat.
We could even buy medicine.
But I was thinking, Jiggy...
You said once that you wanted to build a big church in this town one day...
Where children could learn how to read, and give them a place to sleep.
You said it was sure to change this town.
Jiggy, could it be that that church is...
So then the person that built that church is Jiggy?
As if he would.
I'm not going to forgive Jiggy for leaving to satisfy his own ambition.
Here, Lag. You can have this back.
Nelli.
Go on to Yuusari already.
You're gonna be a Bee, right Lag?
Sure must be nice to sell your soul for a living.
Just like Jiggy did.
Then let's find out!
Let's find out how Jiggy really feels!
What? Lag, where are we going?
We're leaving, Steak.
You!
Hey, Camus.
Do not call me by my old name.
Not after so long. 
Yes, fine... Gate Keeper Signal.
That boy from before was Lag Seeing, was he not?
I was not informed that he had a Spirit Amber as his left eye.
I did not know, either.
Please make a note of it in your report.
But...
A boy who tamed the Child of Maka; who has a Spirit Amber inside his body...
Will you be returning to the Yuusari Head Post Office, Master Lloyd?
What? You're going to shoot the church?
If Jiggy really did have this church built, then his true feelings should be contained within it.
Let's go!
W-Wait, Lag!
The bullet I shoot is a fragment of my heart.
Shindan, loaded!
Red needle!
Nothing happened.
Red needle?
Well, the shindan of a guy named Gauche was called "black needle,"
so I figured I'd name mine after the color of my amber, too.
Anyway, it seems I can shoot my shindan.
Lag!
Shindan, loaded!
Red needle!
Shindan, loaded!
Red needle!
Red needle!
Red needle!
Red needle!
Red needle!
Red ne-
Red keel over?! 
Lag, hey!
Are you okay?
Don't touch Lag!
I hate you.
The next time you harm Lag, I'll kill you.
Niche...
Niche, you mustn't.
You mustn't hurt people.
And don't use words like that ever again, either.
Lag, you get more exhausted each time you shoot one of those, don't you?
I still can't control it very well.
Then quit it already, this is stupid!
It's not your problem!
What do you care about Jiggy or...
It's because I feel sorry for him...
You feel sorry?
The Letter Bee I met, Gauche, was fighting for his little sister's happiness.
He wanted to cure his sister's paralyzed legs, so he was aiming to become Head Bee.
And though he didn't want to, he left his only sister there, alone.
He traveled to Akatsuki for her sake.
I can't think of Jiggy as a bad person.
I felt Nello's heart.
Gauche felt that way. Jiggy must too! And Nello! 
I'm sure he was trying to fight for those he loved!
To have the very person you want to be happy holding a grudge against you...
To be trapped by your past...
I wonder how lonely and painful would I feel if it were me.
If Jiggy's heart is really contained here...
Nelli, I want to deliver it to you.
And for Nello, who wished for your happiness.
The bell.
The materials for the church were mostly sent from Yodoka.
But the bell was transported completed from Yuusari.
The bell...
Shindan, loaded!
Red needle!
This guy's a piece of work!
Make a bell for the largest church in all of Amberground?
Lad, how much do you think that'll cost you, eh?
Even if you're a Bee, you'd be paying for it the rest of your life, get it?
Fine.
Even if that's so, make it.
Look at this! You've got to be crazy trying to transport this thing to Kyrie by horse!
So, Jiggy... Why'd you want this huge thing built anyway?
To draw people's eyes. 
With a bell like this, you can't help but to look up at it, together with the stars.
Even if you try to grab them, you just can't seem to get them in your grasp,
and yet, if you look up at them and simply stretch out your arm, the sins that pollute you are wiped clean.
And one day, my little brother and sister will grab a hold of those stars.
Nelli and Nello, I know they can do it.
Jiggy...
Jiggy!
The medicine!
The medicine is here, Doctor!
He'll be okay now, right?
My little brother will live, right?
Thank goodness!
Thank goodness!
The next city for delivery is Credo.
And I have a pickup from the Master, I see.
But I doubt it's a real job.
Destroy this.
A bell?
Always...
Stay that cool Jiggy forever!
Stay a man that shines like those stars.
And then one day me and Nelli will stand there beside you, shining as well, just you see.
Calm down. I'm not going to do anything to you and Lag anymore.
If someone like you can actually become a Bee, then maybe I shouldn't give up on them, either.
Is it really okay that I don't take that letter to Jiggy?
Yeah. I'm going to work hard and buy the stamps myself.
There's still work in this town, so I'll try my best on my own.
It's annoying that Jiggy gets to hog all the coolness.
And one day I want to shine as brightly as Jiggy does.
Like... you, Lag.
Become a Letter Bee for sure, Lag.
Right!
I will! And then I'll make sure to come see you again, okay?
Farewell!
Farewell, Nelli!
Lag Seeing...
Thank you for delivering that letter.

Inside us all, heart lies foremost. 
Heart is thy Lord, 
and thou art created from heart. 
Your shindanjuu, Nocturne Op. 20.
Thanks.
And don't forget this!
It's the original gross-out soup!
T-Thanks...
Be careful, Lag.
It's a short trip suitable for a trainee, but that doesn't change the fact that it's dangerous.
And...
Thanks, Sylvette.
But, I'll be fine.
I'm living under this roof, so I won't break my promise.
No matter what happens, I'll come back to this house.
So don't worry while you're waiting, Sylvette... 
Lag...
I'm off!
N-Niche?
W-What's with that underwear?
What happened to my baggy ones?
That Sylvette lady washed them! 
Washed them?
If I wore these instead, she said she wouldn't make that awful soup for three days, so I did.
Does that make you happy, Lag?
Thank you! Thank you so much!
But these feel strange!
They get caught in my butt and are tight around my crotch! 
O-Oh?
So, don't you forget, Lag!
You are the only one who can make me wear underwear!
It's as your dingo that I feel this tightness! 
T-Thanks?
I haven't really met many other Bees yet since they're always out on deliveries.
The ones I know are Connor and Zazie.
And then there's the express delivery Bee, Jiggy-san, but I've never met him.
Are you going on a delivery, too?
Yup.
Today we'll be picking up a letter in Black Milk Hood and delivering it to the northeast of Yuusari.
The address for pickup should be up ahead...
Look! That's a Letter Bee uniform, right?
Um... Sorry to bother you during a delivery!
You're a Bee, right?
Yeah.
I'm Lag Seeing, and I've just become a Bee!
Lag?
Yes!
It's a pleasure to meet you!
This girl is my dingo, Niche and-
Steak. If you grill him he's tasty-
That looks like some bad-tasting bait. 
Really?
I know about you. The country boy from out in Yodaka.
The newbie with the spirit-amber eye that's the talk of the Bee-Hive.
Your shindan is able to perceive the heart contained within objects, yes?
Uh... Yes!
I question whether someone like you should become a Bee.
Why is that?
Why?
Does a Bee need the power to look at the contents of people's letters?
That's "Letters Through Door," country boy.
As long as the letter passes beyond the door of its address,
concerning yourself with anything more is a mistake.
For a Bee, letters are only something to be delivered.
Letters are the same as people's hearts for me!
That's what Gauche Suede taught me!
Gauche? Who's that?
I'm Moc Sullivan. 
Lang, was it?
Lob, perhaps? 
Good luck then.
Not like I care, really.
My name is !
Moc Sullivan...
Good day! Mr. Vincent Alcott?
I'm the Bee, Lag Seeing.
I've come to pick up your letter.
Come in!
Oh, you're early.
I haven't finished writing it yet.
Will you hang over there and wait for a bit?
Sure.
And don't touch those books over there, got it?!
I'll lose track of where everything is.
R-Right!
That's it!
Hey, you...
Can you think of something to brag about?
A brag?
It doesn't matter what.
Anything, like you ate something really good, or went and hung out somewhere, or had fun doing something...
I'm begging you! Lag, was it?
I've totally run out of fun sounding lies to write in these letters...
What am I to do?
Lies?
Why are you writing lies?
Are you dense?
Look at me! Look!
And this room, it's covered in dust and the roof leaks!
There're bugs...
I can't sell my stories, and half of what I eat is rotten beans.
There's no way I could worry my mother out in the country by sending a letter with what's really happening.
Lying... to your mother?
You mustn't!!
Pipe down!
Lying is bad!
Letters are the heart of the people who write them, Mr. Alcott!
I can write whatever I damn well please!
Just shut up and deliver it.
It's none of your business.
But...
Letters are only something to be delivered.
If you're going to keep on about it, then wait outside.
Let's see...
The book I wrote was such a sensation, at a cafe... No.
I was made Bee-Hive Master for a day!
Hmm, maybe that's too much.
Oh, whatever...
And then...
Pickup, complete!
The letter is addressed to a small village in the far north-east of Yuusari, Breath Mint Gelato.
The Gaichuu territory around there is quite large, so it's a matter of timing whether we get in a battle.
But we should be able to get there and back in a day!
Okay, let's...
I can't believe I'm delivering a letter filled with bragging lies. 
I feel like I'm doing a bad thing to his mother...
Even a single word will do.
To those people who live apart from one another, a letter contains the heart of the person that wrote it.
Gauche...
I wonder...
I wonder if even a letter of lies holds heart?
Sure. If you're looking for Mrs. Alcott's house, it's across Gale Bridge.
There's only one house beyond the rope bridge, so you can't miss it.
Rope bridge?
I have to cross... this?
Niche, stop that! Please, stop that!
You can do it, Lag!
It's so far down, you can't see the bottom!
Niche, you're not helping...
Just please, stop that already!
Good day!
Huh?
Hello...
Hello.
You're a Letter Bee, right?
There's only one house across this bridge, so could you be, perhaps, looking for me?
Are you Mrs. Louisa Alcott?
Yes.
L-L-Letter for you, Ma'am!
Um, here. This is a letter from your son, Mr. Vincent Alcott.
From my son?
Lag, above you!
The Gaichuu, Duvel?!
Oh no! The bridge is about to collapse!
Niche, carry Mrs. Alcott off the bridge! 
But my crotch feels tight!
Just do it! And hurry!
The Gaichuu leaped from the bottom of the gorge.
It'll come again.
Oh, no! 
Vincent-san's letter!
Am I really going to go out on a collapsing rope bridge?
I don't know whether it contains any heart...
Will I risk my life for a letter of lies?
I wonder what kind of letter I was like for Gauche?
I will risk my life in order to deliver you to Cambel.
Because that is the job of a Letter Bee.
I have to risk it.
Because that's...
...the job of a Letter Bee!
The letter!
Niche?
Niche, watch out! Behind you!
Niche...
Gaps...
The bullet I shoot is a fragment of my heart.
Shindan loaded.
Red Needle!
Resound within you, my heart!
Are you folks all right?
Yes! Somehow or another!
How about you, Mrs. Alcott?
Don't worry about me and climb up, hurry!
Again... Again!
No matter how many I submit, they won't even read them!
A fantasy novel written from the perspective of a young boy?
And this one is a flight-of-fancy adventure? 
These type of things are no good!
There ain't nobody that's gonna read these tales!
And in the first place, we're a newspaper!
This is Vincent-san's heart?
I guess my shindan must have hit the letter.
W-Wait, then these are his real memories?!
Don't look!
Here, this!
What's written in the letter is what your son really...
Damn it!
Damn it!
Vincent!
Does a Bee need the power to look at the contents of people's letters? 
It's just as he said...
What that Moc person said was exactly right...
I'm sorry, Mrs. Alcott!
I-
Thank goodness.
He's trying his best! He hasn't given up!
Mrs. Alcott?
Ever since my son left home saying, "I'll become an author!" he's never wanted to worry me.
So he's only ever sent letters putting on a good face.
Even though his letters have only made me worry all the more...
So, Vincent-san always writes lies in his letters?
Yes.
He has a very good imagination but is a terrible liar.
Ironic, yes?
But what's important isn't what is written inside.
It brings me happiness just knowing that he would make the effort to write such letters.
These obvious lies about how well he's doing...
It's almost like these letters are my son himself.
I'm sorry, Mother.
Even though you went so far as to sell your home to put me through school...
For me to leave you alone like this...
I...
Damn it!
It doesn't matter how many I tear up and throw away...
I'm never going to give up, never! 
I'm going to write an amazing masterpiece, just you wait!
A tale that will resonate with anyone's heart...
I'll write it, for sure!
I promise, Mother!
I'm sure my boy will come back one day.
He'll change all those lies into reality, and come home with pride!
Yes, that's what I believe.
The letter you delivered to me is special, you cute little Letter Bee.
You delivered my son's heart...
And the hope I need to live on for tomorrow...
Thank you!
So, Niche... What kind of book do you think Vincent-san will write?
I bet it'll be a kind story.
I hope I can read it.
Like this?
What's that?
I picked it up in that guy's house!
Picked up?
A letter? But there're no stamps.
It's addressed to... Mrs. Alcott's house!
But, why is it so beat up?
There's no way I could worry my mother out in the country by sending a letter with what's really happening.
I have to give this back.
I have to give this back to Vincent-san!
Now look here, you can't just go around taking-
N-N-Niche! W-What happened to your underwear?
S-Steak?
Lag, I've had enough of Sylvette's weird, tight underwear!
But... Those are Sylvette's, right?
And they are kind of distracting to me, too...
That's it!
When I get my first paycheck, let's buy you some baggy underwear, Niche!
The same kind as you, Lag?
If that's what you want.
But, until then...
Put on your underwear!
Vaguely fading in and out,
these days are like clouds floating in the sky

Man, sure is cold.
No, I have my hands full with Wasiolka.
Sorry.
Oh, fine... Have it your way.
Now, everyone.
We will be doing the Holy Night delivery. 
You will collect the packages from here.
Understood?
It's that season again.
Um, what's this "Holy Night?"
This is your first time, isn't it, Lag Seeing?
Holy Night is a holiday that came from up north.
It's held every year at this time to honor the Empress.
You can stuff yourself with turkey and cake and all kinds of stuff!
Sounds pretty fun.
Of course, the meaning of the Holy Night is more than that.
It's also a day to pray for everyone to live happier lives.
Every year the Bee-Hive collects presents from charity organizations,
and delivers them to needy children in the northern area.
So now you know.
Put your heart into it, and don't crush their dreams, okay?
What a pain in the...
Oh yes. Would you pair with Lag this year?
Teach him the ropes as his senior, okay?
We're counting on you.
I'll do my best!
Here.
What are these clothes?
They're the outfits of the Holy Night Messengers.
Two old men bring children presents on the Holy Night.
And then the Holy Night Messengers have to grant them a single wish.
Really?
Oh, it's a real pain every year.
Like "Become a sheep and do what I say," or "I wish you'd would grant me 100 more wishes!"
Well, it's okay to refuse if it's something really horrible.
Nowadays nobody believes in the Holy Night Messengers.
Man, I dread this night every year.
This freaky outfit...
Bright red is so uncool.
The whole thing sucks.
But it looks good on you!
Like hell it does!
Now, now...
I hate this type of job worse than anything.
Let's get this over with quick.
Jewel Snow Mountain, huh?
What kind of place is it?
I've heard it's a place covered in snow.
There's a gaichuu point near the mountain top, too.
Seems like a pretty conservative area, but I've never been there before myself.
I'm gonna take a nap.
You conserve your energy too.
Goodnight.
Is Niche doing okay?
Why is Lag going on a delivery with Zazie?
This time the delivery is special.
Even if it's special, me and Lag should be together!
I am Lag's dingo, right?
Well, I know how you feel, but...
Hey, say something to her, will you?
As a Letter Bee, Lag is learning how to do different kinds of deliveries.
Sometimes he'll be delivering things without his dingo.
That is also important experience. 
For experience...
Wasiolka is waiting patiently, see?
My fellow dingo, I understand. This is a time we wait.
You'd think they could at least shovel the snow!
I suppose not many people come by here.
Here.
Thanks.
Be careful, would you?
There are plenty of places like this you'll have to deliver to-
Are you okay?
Of course I'm okay!
Let's get on with it!
Ms. Sonja Malmöla, a delivery for you. 
Coming!
The Holy Night Messengers!
Wow!
This is the first time you've come to my house!
You're kind of shorter than I expected.
Your red clothes are wonderful!
Here, your present.
Wow!
It's a Monsieur Criesalot picture book! 
Thank you so much!
So, you get a wish, remember?
We'll grant one thing, whatever you want.
A wish?
I don't really have one.
Anything'll do. Like "pretend to be a sheep and do what I say," or something.
Lag!
Then how about you stay for dinner?
Tonight is the Holy Night, right?
Everything'll taste better if we eat it together!
Right?
Sonja really seems like a good girl.
Cheerful, and...
You think?
She's just a kid with no worries.
But it looks like she does everything herself.
Maybe she doesn't have any parents?
Who knows? It's not so rare these days.
You, me, and Sylvette don't have any parents either.
Well, true, but...
Is she okay? Maybe I should help her.
Leave her be.
She told us to wait here and have some snacks...
But...
Our job is to eat dinner with her.
By the way, you interfere far too much with the addressees. 
It's not something for us to worry about.
You're hopeless...
I'll help you.
I can't do it all at once by myself.
Thank you, Mr. Holy Night Messenger!
Call me Lag.
Lag? That's a nice name!
And the other messenger?
He's Zazie. He has more experience than me.
I see. So the older ones teach the new ones?  
Something like that.
Oh yeah... I have to go buy ingredients for dinner.
Zazie, Sonja tells me she wants to go shopping.
Would you mind going with her?
Huh? Why me?
She'd have a hard time carrying it all by herself, and I'll finish shoveling the snow.
I'll handle the shoveling, so you go.
She also said that she wants to talk with the other messenger.
Hey, why'd you become a messenger, Zazie?
I'm not a messenger.
You don't actually believe in that stuff, do you?
You're not? Then what are you?
I'm a Letter Bee.
I see! You're Letter Bees!
So that's why you go and deliver presents?
I guess so.
Why did you become a Letter Bee?
It's not really important.
Come on, tell me.
Grouch.
Grouch? 
It's the village!
Thanks, as always!
If you're finished here, leave and go home!
Okay!
Um... There's the turkey, and then... I have to buy vegetables!
Look, it's that girl...
Oh no... I wish she wouldn't come down here... 
Zazie, I'm gonna go buy vegetables, so wait here and hold this, okay?
Sure.
You're a Holy Night Messenger Letter Bee, right?
Right.
Let me warn you.
Don't get too close to that girl.
Thanks for waiting!
What's the matter?
Let's head to the next store!
Wow, this looks amazingly delicious!
Since there are three of us tonight, I made a bunch!
Have as much as you'd like.
Thanks for the food!
If you're finished here, leave and go home!
Let me warn you.
Don't get too close to that girl.
Zazie?
Oh, nothing...
Thanks for the food.
It doesn't look like it will let up any time soon.
How about you rest here until it does?
Are you sure?
Thanks a lot! That'll be a great help.
Right, Zazie?
Then, in return...
Monsieur became the Mustache King... And in the end...
And in the end...
In the end...
I'm crying so much I can't read the end!
You guys are such crybabies.
Didn't you cry when you read it, Zazie?
Sure I cried, but I was a little kid.
And even then, it wasn't that sad.
But...
But!
Sheesh, you guys are a pain.
I want to be able to write a picture book just like that.
Picture book?
Oh yeah, that picture...
I drew that.
One day I want to draw books like this one that lots of people will read.
Thank you.
You granted my wish, and I couldn't be happier.
Sure...
The snow's let up.
I'm sure you'll be able to return tomorrow.
Seems like it.
Um, hey...
Well, you're all alone up here in the mountains?
Why not live in the village?
You heard the people in the village, right?
My mom and dad were killed by gaichuu.
So now the people in the village don't like me.
They say that children whose parents were killed by gaichuu might draw gaichuu to them.
You know that's not true!
But that's what they believe!
I can't tell them to stop believing.
So it's better for me not to go to the village.
And anyway, this house has all my memories of my mom and dad.
So I'm not lonely.
Anyway, it's time for bed.
Goodnight.
My mom and dad were killed by gaichuu.
Soup?
He always prepares it so that he can feed it to them when they regain consciousness.
Even though their eyes are open. 
So that's what happens when you get done in by a gaichuu...
But, that boy... He never cried even once.
Why'd you become a Letter Bee?
Why did I?
Thank you for everything!
Giving me a hand with the housework really helped me out!
And thank you as well for the wonderful meal.
Your cooking was delicious.
I'm glad to hear it.
Sonja, you see...
Hey! You're Letter Bees, right?
Come down to the village, quick!
A gaichuu has shown up!
That's...
It came down from the gaichuu point?
This is your fault!
It's because you came down to the village yesterday!
You're wrong!
Her parents being killed by gaichuu has nothing to do with it! 
B-But...
Look! I promise I'll bring it down!
Then you ain't got nothin' to complain about, right? 
Let's go, Lag!
That's the gaichuu, Cointreau!
It has the same weak point as a Glen Keith!
So, it's in its head, right?
Right.
Lag, get its attention and stun it with a shindan.
I'll aim for its head from above!
Got it.
Shindan, loaded!
Red Needle!
The bullet I shoot is a fragment of my hatred! 
Resound, my malice!
Blue Thorn!
Zazie!
Gaichuu are attracted by heart.
Perhaps it reacted to all the presents that were delivered to the village.
This was not Sonja's fault!
If a gaichuu appears again, call me!
I'll defeat them, as many times as it takes!
As many times as it takes!
Zazie...
Here, take this.
What is this?
You really helped me a lot.  This is to say thanks.
Thank you, we'll treasure it.
Yes, we will.
Zazie, thank you.
Yeah. Stay well, okay?
Sure!
Man, sure is cold.
Here.
Vaguely fading in and out,
these days are like clouds floating in the sky

Hey, watch where you're going!
Ah...
S-Sorry!
Um...
Yes?
My name is Promessa Prometas!
Right...
W-Will you... Will you give me back my letter?
A letter you sent yesterday, huh?
That letter's already heading to its destination.
W-What did you say?
T-Then... who is the person doing the delivery?
Um... Lag Seeing.
A lad who just became a Letter Bee.
Maybe I left a little early.
Lag, can a delivery be early?
Yeah...
This is a fixed delivery-date letter...
So if we get there too early, then...
You can't get there early for a fish delivery-date?
Fixed delivery-date....
I have to deliver it on the day the sender requested.
And it's really quite sealed up.
I wonder what's inside?
I can't! I can't!
The job of a Letter Bee is to make sure to deliver the letter!
Only a newbie would be interested in what's inside, got it?
Newbie!
We're going to deliver this letter to Ms. Pistis tomorrow.
That's our job!
Now let's go, Niche!
Get out of here, now!
My, oh my...
I see we're in quite a bad mood today.
I will come again, my darling Pistis.
Never show your face here again, you cretin! 
Perhaps I should hold my tongue, 
but is there some reason you remain so hard-hearted to my courtship?
Reason?
You still can't forget about him, can you?
About Promessa, who left you.
Who cares about that guy...
The problem is you!
I hate you, Galador!
Not this again...
Pistis, be honest with yourself and-
Blah, blah, blah... Shut up!
Get outta here!
Hyaa! 
Oh, dear, quite a glare you have.
Oh, Crania...
Isn't that Galador a rich celebrity around here?
I'd think it'd be quite the fairy tale...
I hate that sort of fake affection.
And if I got married, he'd start pestering me about stupid things like developing my land and profiting off it...
Development?
You think I'd let this become some casino?
Pistis, I'm sorry.
I don't mean to pry, but... 
Maybe you still... about Promessa...
You're joking...
That guy's probably already gone off and died somewhere.
Oww...
She is one strong-willed woman.
I'm sure there are so many women who want to be near you, you'd have to turn them away, Master.
What I really want is her land.
But the Pistis family only has that one house, right?
See, this is why you're so naive.
It's near the intersection of a number of main roads, right?
If we build a casino there where travelers can stop by...
Big profits!
But no matter how much money I offer, she won't part with that land.
So if money's no good...
I just have to use my charm, right?
Yup!
So if Master and Pistis get married, the land and rights become yours!
Well, if that doesn't work either, then I just steal it.
No matter what it takes...
The destination is just a bit father ahead.
We didn't run into any gaichuu, so everything's gone well, but...
What am I going to do? This isn't any good...
No good!
I told you, it's a fixed delivery-date, remember?
Sixed delivery-dates are no good?
Yeah... At this rate I'll reach there a day early.
In the nick of time...
You idiot! You have a death wish, you brat?
Walkin' in the middle of the road like...
Niche?
W-W-What?
Niche, stop!
Um, I'm sorry!
Who the heck are you?
I'm the Letter Bee, Lag Seeing.
Letter Bee?
Yes.
I'm in the middle of delivering this letter to a Ms. Pistis.
To Pistis?
Hey, let me see that letter!
What?
This was sent by Promessa?
I might be able to use this...
You know her?
Yes, that's correct.
Pistis and I have quite a close relationship!
Oh, that's it!
How about I deliver the letter to Pistis instead of you?
You needn't thank me.
After all, Pistis's house and land will soon be mine, so...
I'm happy for the offer, but I can't do that.
It's the job of a Letter Bee to be responsible for the letter until it reaches its destination.
Hey, brat!
After Mr. Galador went out of his way to...
How rude of me.
I said something very inconsiderate to you, you responsible young lad.
No, it's okay...
I want to apologize for my rudeness somehow...
You don't have to apologize...
Master, how cruel!
Heyho!
It's a pittance, I know, but on such short notice...
Please, eat up!
I can't accept this wonderful food after destroying your carriage...
Lag, my boy...
Your dedication to your job has moved me deeply!
Not to brag about myself, but I'm quite the important person around this area.
Treating someone who came all the way to this back-country land to deliver someone's precious letter...
It's almost an obligation of mine!
So don't hold back! Please!
Okay...
I'm supposed to deliver the letter tomorrow, so...
I guess this is okay.
Okay then. Thank you for the food.
Whoa, whoa!
Hey! Wake up!
When did I fall asleep...?
You're Lag Seeing, right?
That's right, and...
Hand over that letter you're carrying!
What? It's a robbery!
No, no! I'm the person who sent that letter you're carrying.
The sender? 
I can't give the letter back to you.
But I'm the one who sent it!
I don't have any proof that you are the sender.
Then please, stop the delivery.
I can't do that. It's my responsibility to make sure the letter is delivered.
But...
Um, would you mind explaining to me what the problem is?
That letter is addressed to my fiancée, Pistis. 
Five years ago I made a promise to her.
I wanted her to wait to get married until I could fulfill that promise.
So I left her and went to Yuusari Central.
And finally, the day I fulfilled my promise had come!
But...
I thought that if I went to see her now, I might just cause her trouble...
So I sent a letter instead of seeing her directly.
"If you've been waiting for me all this time,
I'd like for you to plant the flower seeds inside this envelope," is what I wrote.
Flower seeds?
The letter has flower seeds in it?
Yes.
But after I sent the letter I began to regret it more and more...
Regret?
Maybe Pistis doesn't care about me anymore?
What if she doesn't plant the seeds?
When I thought of that, I figured maybe I shouldn't have sent the letter!
So that's why you want this letter back.
It's gone!
Your letter is gone, Mr. Promessa!
Wonderful...
I'm glad you like it.
And...
Here.
What a cute flower!
Sorry, I only have this one.
No, thank you. It's wonderful.
Pistis, I'm going to become a great scholar.
And on your birthday, I'll make a ton of flowers bloom in the fields as your present!
If I do that...
If I do that... Would you...
Hey, Pistis.
Knock at least, would you?
A letter?
It must be something important,
to be sealed up this tightly, don't you think?
This letter from Promessa!
Promessa?
I wonder what could be inside?
H-How would I know?
I haven't gotten a single letter from that guy since he left!
Anyway, hand that letter over to me. It's mine.
Whoa there...
I'll hand it over, under one condition.
Condition?
What's that?
Some form?
It's a contract where you give up this land to me, Galador!
Lag, you didn't drop anything that way!
What have I done?! Losing a letter makes me a failure as a Letter Bee!
I'm so sorry, Mr. Promessa!
I'll find that letter, I promise!
It's okay, Lag.
I came here to take it back anyway.
Steak, that's not the letter! That's Galador's food!
Galador, you said?
You guys know Galador?
And then, before I knew it, I fell asleep.
Galador is a big land-owner with a terrible reputation.
You guys were put to sleep with some sleeping drug of his, I bet.
So he could steal the letter?
But, why would he...
That's what I want to know!
Anyway, did Galador say anything?
Now that you mention it, he said something about Ms. Pistis's land becoming his...
You've got to be kidding me!
Pistis would never give up that land!
I can't let this stand.
Mr. Promessa!
So you really were just after this land.
I'll give this letter back if you sign the contract.
Don't be silly!
You think I'd trade this land for a letter from a man who ran off?
Oh, I get it.
Then I guess I should just burn it.
Sure. Suit yourself.
Idiot.
Why now, of all times?
Looks like she's okay with it.
Heyho!
Wait!
Promessa!
H-Hey, Pistis...
It's you! Why are you here?
To take back... To take back my letter!
Why, you...
What do you think you're doing to the master?
Promessa!
Mr. Galador!
P-Please give that letter back!
Give back the letter!
Out of my way!
Lag!
Niche...
Get the letter!
The letter!
I'll give it back! I will!
Just, spare us!
Miss...
Here, the letter...
Um...
What?
Ms. Pistis Falsetto.
I have a letter for you from Mr. Promessa Prometas.
But it was torn, and the contents...
I can't accept that.
Get the hell out of here and take this man with you!
But!
Why did you have to stroll back into my life now?
How do you think I've felt all this time?
Ms. Pistis...
It's okay, Lag.
I'm the one at fault here, for everything.
Let's go.
So you'll just let those five years go to waste?!
It's five years of Pistis's life I wasted, not mine.
I'm really sorry, Pistis.
Why?
How can you say that now?!
Pistis!
Come with me!
I want Ms. Pistis to know how you truly feel!
Even if you do that, it's too late...
H-Hey! What do you think you're...
Hurry!
Lag, there's lots of flowers.
Yeah.
I-It was a success.
A success?
Yeah!
I bred those flowers so they would grow extremely quickly when exposed to air.
They're a special breed!
I see!
So that's why the letter was sealed so tightly.
Anyway, I'm glad you made it today.
'Cause it's a sixed delivery-fate!
Um, Mr. Promessa, today is...
My birthday!
Pistis!
Promessa, you still remember that promise?
You fool...
In the end I wasn't confident that these flowers would really work.
I'm really sorry.
Then I guess it's my turn to keep our promise.
Will you marry me?
Yes!
Lag?
This place was once wilderness.
But it's now known by travellers as a place where they can rest their weary souls beside large flower gardens...
Vaguely fading in and out,
these days are like clouds floating in the sky

Hey, Niche...
Behold Amberground's number one performing artist:
The Great Pissarro's Fire Juggling!
Keeps those eyeballs fixed right here, folks!
Niche!
Niche!
Is there a delivery?
Hey, you there! Don't look away in the middle of my performance! You'll miss out!
Delivery!
Let's go on the delivery after he's done...
Niche!
Lag, what about the delivery?
Oh, I've already finished it.
Niche?
You lied to me!
Niche?
Young man...
That friend of yours went out the window there.
You having a fight or something?
No, we're not really...
Then why was she in such a foul mood?
Oh hush, dear.
I lied to her.
Oh? One shouldn't lie.
Isn't that right, Bonny? 
You should listen to Moss, kid.
Y-Yeah...
But why would a state-employed Bee take a girl with him on the job? 
She's got to be the trainer for his dingo.
That strange creature on her head was your dingo, isn't that right?
Hey, Niche...
I'm sorry I lied to you, okay?
I love you!
So you've just got to take me there, okay? 
R-Right...
Of course!
That's exactly why we got our hands on these.
What's this strange feeling?
I love you, Moss.
W-We mustn't look!
Does that man's lips hurt?
Uh, no. That's not...
Then why is she licking them?
Well you see, uh...
That woman said she... "loved" him, you know?
And that's, like, proof that she loves him or something...
Do you also want proof that I love you, Lag?
N-No, that's...
Well I'm angry, so no way!
What's that?   
Stop that carriage at once!
It's the gang.
So this is it... 
Get a move on!
Faster!
I can't push 'em any harder!
Go faster! Now!
Bonny!
Quiet, you!
Now, hurry!
I gotcha!
You think you can outrun us?!
Don't worry. I'm sure we can escape...
Yeah...
Um, are you being chased?
The leader of that gang is a bastard named Frank.
He was madly in love with me and asked me to marry him.
But I wanted to be with this man!
Bonny...
So I turned him down.
And now that bastard Frank is trying to kill him!
How awful...
I want to be with this man, forever!
I'm eloping with him!
Erobing? 
Eloping, my dear.
It means getting to be together with the person you love. 
Together with the person you love?
Bonny! I've finally caught up to you!
I-It's no use!
Don't give up!
Don't get in the way of...
What's this?
...erobing!
Niche, you mustn't attack people!
Niche, you mustn't... attack people!
I'll never let you get away! You'll see!
Thank you.
I didn't do anything, so...
So this girl is your dingo...
What mysterious hair you have.
But why would you help complete strangers like us?
Niche probably...
Don't get in the way of erobing!
...just wanted to help you two be happy.
You shouldn't have...  
I just know we'll be!
My bag!
N-Niche!
Damn it all! Who's responsible for this?
I told y'all I'd never let you get away, remember?
How'd you manage to get ahead of us?
You forget? My line of work means there ain't no one who knows Gunrock Pass better than me! 
Now I'll be taking back the merchandise from you.
What're you talking about? 
Trying to play dumb?
The merchandise?
Bonny...
You're hiding 'em there?
There they are.  
Spirit amber? 
So that feeling I had back then was from that...
A Bee, huh?
Then I'll take this opportunity to take your amber as well!
The amber that's given to Bees is different than the ones we collect...
They're worth a heck of a lot more, you see.
Worth a... What are you talking about?
These guys are black market spirit amber miners.  
I'm pretty sure that's illegal!
I don't wanna hear that from an accomplice to these thieves!
Thieves?
You didn't know?
Those two ran off with the amber we worked so hard to get!
So, the story about you pressuring her to marry you is...
Who the heck would want to marry her?
She's a notorious con-woman!
Is that true?
It's true. He's only after us to get back the amber we took from him.
And that's that.
Damn it! If we only had those, we could be together!
Damn it...
Damn it...
Give back the amber!
In your dreams! So sleep, boy!  
I... I need them...
You're startin' to annoy me!
Give them back!
I didn't want to have to take your life,
but if that's the only way, so be it!
S-Stop it!
Don't...
...get in way of erobing!
It's her again!
Don't hold back!
Kill her!
Niche!
W-Wait, you guys!
I'll be taking these back.
Like hell you...
...will?
You'll regret this! 
With these we'll be able to be together!
Yeah...
Thank you, mysterious little girl.
Wait, please!
That spirit amber was stolen, wasn't it?
But that has nothing to do with you.
They're illegal goods anyway.
It's not like Frank could report a theft.
Young man, I realize that stealing is wrong. 
But we need the money.
In order to cross into the capital, Akatsuki.
Cross over to Akatsuki?
I'm going to sell this spirit amber for money and go to Akatsuki.
And then we'll be together!
You can go to Akatsuki if you have money?
I never heard of that...
There isn't anything that can't be accomplished if you have enough money!
T-That's right, my lad. 
Let's go, Moss.
Thanks for everything, young man.
This just isn't right!
Give those back!
I want you two to be happy!
Bonny...
Don't worry. I'm just scaring him a little.
But, I was thinking that it's wrong to try to be together using something you stole.
Please, reconsider!
I'm sure that Niche agrees too!
We don't have time to listen to you preach to us, you brat!
I won't let... anyone else... get in my way...
Please!
It'll protect you.
Clyde...  
I'm going to cross over to Akatsuki and become a success, I promise.
And then I'll call for you.
W-What is this?
Don't you love me?
Do you really have to ask me that?
Look, I even got this tattoo of you...
Then you'll work with me on this, yes?
The memories of... the gun?
Clyde, I got the spirit amber.
With these I'll be able to go to Akatsuki.
And then...
...let's be together...
Yes, we'll be together all right.
Me and Clyde, that is.
What? What is this?
Lies! This is all a fake!
I wouldn't dare do anything like...
I see.
Moss?
You wanted to cross into Akatsuki to meet a lover who you lost contact with.
That's why you tricked me.
Moss...
S-Stop, please!
I love you!
I love !
Really, it's you I love!
Moss, I knew you loved me!
I knew...
I knew that a pretty woman like you would never love a poor guy from the country like me...
That's not true!
What are you saying, Moss?
I knew...
I knew that you were lying to me...
This is all your fault!
If you hadn't butted in, I'd have crossed over to Akatsuki!
You told a lie.
Damn you, damn you, damn you!
Damn! Damn! Damn! 
Thank you, young Bee, for letting me see what was really in her heart.
But...
I suppose... it's better than continuing to live... a lie...

Ew!
What's that smell?
A dog? Maybe a raccoon?
It collapsed in the street?
Isn't it dead?
Hey... It's been a while. 
I'd like you to take that small package to a woman named Elena Bran.
The ravine town, Silencio, Dacquoise Bluffs, in front of Walrus Cliff?
That's not a very a specific address. 
The sender is... the Master?
I-I'm sorry!
You're from Yodaka, and you have experience.
Can I count on you, Lag Seeing?
O-Of course!
I'll do my best!
Always so polite, you are.
The contents are a pair of pendants...
Um, isn't the postage a little high for such a small package?
Well, let's just say it's something very important.
Isn't that right, Aria?
There are various reasons.
The route this time is quite dangerous, so we have assigned you a veteran guide.
A guide?
They said the guide always hangs around here, but who of all these people could be Darwin?
Excuse me!
Might you be Darwin?
No, that's not me.
Then, are you?
Us? No.
He's supposed to always be around here...
Is it dead?
We could cook it, but it'd taste bad.
Excuse me!
I'm taking a letter to a Ms. Elena Bran at Dacquoise Bluffs in the ravine town of Silencio!
Darwin, are you here?
That's strange...
A dog? A raccoon?
Lag! It looked dead and bad-tasting, but now it's alive! 
A name tag?
It says "Darwin..."
Darling?
DarWin, Niche.
Wait, you're...
Darwin?
I think it's telling us to follow him.
I was quite shocked when he asked about the postage.
It was because the postage included the rate for a second package.
Well, I've failed so many times before.
Darwin's a smart fellow...
If he knew he was the letter, he'd give up the trip and return to the Olympia river before long.
When Lag shoots a shindan at a gaichuu, Darwin might see Lag's heart.
That's why he can't lie, right?
No matter how senile Darwin might be, he still has his pride.
As "Elena Bran's dingo."
So to keep the plan from Darwin,
we have to hide the truth from Lag, and tell him Darwin is a guide.
I think it's a pretty good idea, myself.
I hope it works.
Yeah...
What's the matter, Niche?
I'm angry...
I'm your dingo, Lag!
So why is he acting like your dingo, too?
You only have one dingo, me, and I'm angry!
He doesn't look tasty, but I'm gonna make him steak before I make steak of Steak! 
Don't worry!
You're my only dingo, Niche!
Darwin is just a guide, okay?
Connor Culh, delivery complete!
Largo Lloyd, delivery complete!
Fast as usual, Largo.
Elena Bran, finished with her delivery! 
I win again.
And I was so close this time!
I suppose my natural talent made the difference.
Are you saying I don't have any talent?
I didn't say that.
Just that my talents are far superior.
Good work, Darwin!
Darwin!
You two are more like friends than partners.
Well, that's true.
The name Darwin means "faithful friend," after all.
Isn't that right, Darwin?
Hey, Largo... Why don't you have your own dingo?
Even without my own personal dingo, I can still get the job done.
You really don't get it, do you Largo?
Our goal is Dacquoise Bluffs... It should be around 50 keels west?
Lag!
D-Darwin!
It's milk. To warm you up.
Thank you very much, Reverend Weller.
Sorry for all this trouble.
He must be over 100 in human years.
First, we let him rest.
There's nothing else to be done.
No, I just remembered something.
It's already been ten years since then.
There was a great rainstorm like before,
and a Letter Bee not unlike you fell to her death on the Dacquoise Bluffs up ahead.
A Letter Bee?
Her name was Elena Bran, and she was from the town of Silencio.
Elena...
It couldn't be... The one the letter's addressed to?
I gave her a proper burial and erected a grave where she died.
However, there was no need to go past such a dangerous bluff on her way back from Silencio...
Did she take a detour there for some reason?
The earth of the bluff up ahead is loose and collapses easily.
You be careful, okay?
Thanks.
Please take care of Darwin.
Wait! His eyes are open!
We have to go on the delivery. Get some rest, okay?
We'll make sure to come back here on our way back.
So, will you wait for us, Darwin?
I'll be back before you know it.
Wait for me, Darwin.
Darwin?
Thank you very much, Reverend Weller.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Darwin, go a little slower...
Dacquoise Bluff's Walrus cliff?
That's it...
Lag!
The path's gone!
There's been a landslide from the rain yesterday.
I guess we'll have to go back and try to get there from the other direction.
Darwin, that's a cliff!
It's dangerous!
A cave?
Are you saying we can get through that hole?
Lag!
It's the gaichuu, Absynt! 
Thanks, Niche.
Why is there an Absynt here?
Did it leave its territory because of the landslide?
Darwin!
Damn it!
Darwin, wake up! 
Snap out of it! 
That's it! Elena was suddenly attacked by this gaichuu, just like me!
Niche!
You can do it, Niche!
Lag, I'll be there soon!
I'm going to protect Lag!
As his dingo!!
Darwin?
Steak's found the gap.
If I aim for his voice from here, then...
Darwin, can you hold on?
Thank you, Darwin!
I'm going to deliver Elena's important package!
Shindan loaded...
Resound, Red Needle!
This is...
Darwin's memories?
No... It's the name tag's memories...
So, Darwin was Elena's...
Silencio is my hometown, so I know the route well.
I'll go by myself.
You heal those wounds you got from that last battle.
I'll come right back, don't worry.
Wait for me, Darwin.
If you do that, then when I come back we'll play in the water of the Olympia river, okay?
After that we'll go on more deliveries!
Because you protect me so well.
You stay here now, so you can always be by my side protecting me in the future.
Darwin, that's enough.
You needn't wait.
She's...
The Bee you protect... is gone.
Darwin?
Darwin...
This is Elena's... grave?
How do you like it?
The name Darwin means faithful friend.
Darwin. You were Elena's dingo...
Thank you for saving me...
I'm sure any Bee would feel safe to have a dingo like you by their side!
You're going on another journey with Elena, right?
Make sure to protect Elena, okay, Darwin?
Farewell!
And a job well done!
I'm glad you stopped by here again.
After that, I remembered that Elena had something with her when she died.
Something with her?
It only had a name written on it and no postage.
Maybe it was for a friend of hers?
Largo Lloyd...
It's for the Master...
Good job.
What is it?
That charm...
It's a pendant of the Empress.
That's nice.
I won't give it to you, Elena. 
I don't want yours, Largo Stupid Lloyd!
I'll buy my own! 
And a matching one for Darwin! 
H-Hey!
I-I'm sorry... I'll buy you a new one.
They don't sell them around here.
I bought it from a craftsman around Cerca village.
Cerca? You mean the village over the mountains from Silencio?
You know of it?
I'm from Silencio, after all.
My next delivery is over there, so I'll go and buy it.
Don't worry about it. It's not something that expensive.
But, it's my fault!
So wait for me, Largo Lloyd.
U-Um...
What is it?
It's just... Elena was a Letter Bee, right?
And Darwin was also...
Yeah.
They were really one fine team of dingo and Letter Bee.

Ladies and gentlemen!
The speed battle of the century is about to begin!
Straight from the Bee-Hive, taking the reins of Rocking Pony Dancer, 
I present to you the Blue Comets of the Nation, the Letter Bees!
You can do it, Lag!
Yeah! We're not gonna lose!
And next, straight from who-knows-where,
steering Rose the Speranza, the White Doves of Happiness...   
Why is everyone so quiet?
Depressing... 
Are they ignoring us?
It's only natural since no one knows who we are.
But we'll be the ones who get the last laugh.
Me. Laugh.
You're challenging us?
Yes. Accept the challenge immediately.
A tattoo...
Hey, I came here to give you this.
But...
My name is Rose, a white carrier pigeon who bears letters of happiness.
A Letter Pigeon.
A L-Letter Pid-
Fly?
Letter Fly!?
Not a Letter Fly, a Letter Pigeon!
What's this? You know 'em?
Nope. Never heard that name before.
Well, that's not surprising.
Today is our first delivery.
We came here to introduce ourselves as fellow postmen.
Yes. Introductions.
Then why are you challenging us?
We don't like you people for charging so much to do something as simple as delivering letters.
What did you say!?
Letter Bees deliver the letters that people put their hearts into writing!
It's a very important job, and it's not something that just anyone can do.
That's my point! So let's have a race to see if it's really a job only a Letter Bee could do!
Hmph! This is ridiculous.
Let's go, everyone.
Wait right there, gutless-boy. 
What did you call me?
Scared, right?
Because if we win in front of the citizens of Yuusari and make a name for ourselves,
no one's gonna have any work for Letter Bees anymore!
Zazie!
Calm down, Zazie.
That sounds fun.
M-Master!
It's not like you three have any work now.
Take them on.
Huh? Really?
Now, let me explain the rules. 
This is a 3-on-3 contest between the Bees and the Letter Pigeons, fair and square. 
In other words, dingos will be on the sidelines today.
The battle will be won by the first one to pick up their designated letter and return to the Bee-Hive.
Here are maps to the pickup location.
There is only one path.
It's a route through wilderness, mountains, and deserts.
It's almost time! Is everyone ready?
Yeah, of course!
We'll show you what we can do.
Letter Fly!
Not Letter Fly, Letter Pigeon!
On your marks...
Fellow dingo, all we can do now is believe in them and wait.
Connor, after being so into this, why are we losing already?
Don't worry, I've got a secret up my sleeve.
There!
As promised, my secret trick! The "Carrot Right in Front of You!"
C-Connor!
Bye, Bee! 
Why those...
Connor, what are you doing?
They're gonna get there before us!
But it's shorter this way.
Hmph! That showed them.
We're gonna save time by going around.
We investigated the back roads around here. 
I'm counting on you, Brito.
Leave it to me.
No one's better at handling the reins than me!
Hey, Connor!
Stop eating and do something!
No need to make a fuss. This roadblock is lifted during the half hour at lunchtime.
Connor, are you sure about this?
Just watch.
Anyway, want a slice?
Connor!
My stomach is telling me it's lunchtime.
All right, lunchtime!
See?
Wow, you're right.
Hey, for lunch there's a place with some good take-out chicken...
You're going to eat again?
But you just ate a second ago!
That was breakfast.
What the...
What are you doing? They're ahead of us!
But you're the one who said to use the back roads...
Well, I guess they're not so bad after all.
We'll just have to go full speed ahead and blow them away!
Blow away!
Persistent bee-bastards.
Mac, Mission One!
O-Okay.
Take this!
What's that?
It's caltrops!
Leave this to me.
Blue Thorn!
See that? That's my anti-thorn thorn technique!
Hey, Brito, they knocked them back just like that!
If that didn't work, then Mission Two!
Later, Letter Flies!
Letter Pigeons!
When we get past here, then we're at the pickup point.
Brito, make sure to get pay back!  
Okay!
The Speranza's Mission Three!
Extra Bird Attack!
Take some birdlime!
That was close... 
Bye-Bye, Bee!  
Damn it! They play dirty!  
This is the pickup point?  
It's not specified on the delivery map.
Hurry. We don't have time to waste.
Hello! We're Letter Bees, and we've come to pick up your letter!
Good day.
Misters, are you really Letter Bees?
Yes. Did those Letter Pigeon people come?
Rose and the others already left a while ago.
Damn it! Hurry and give us the letter!
As if!
Say what?
Please forgive them.
It's been a long time since these children have seen outsiders.
What do you mean?
This used to be a very lively Spirit Amber mining town, but once that disappeared, so did all the people.
All that's left are these orphaned children in this church. 
It's a city where Letter Bees hardly ever come.
There're places like this even in Yuusari?
What else can you do? If there aren't any people, there aren't going to be many requests for letters.
But we're here today!
Please feel free to call us anytime!
Do you have a letter for us?
Kyle, please hand it to them.
Here.
It looks like we've got a pretty big lead.
Easier than we thought, huh?
But, we can't let our guard down.
It's gaichuu territory up ahead. 
There they are!
Brito, it's time for the "Escape is Victory" plan!
Got it!
Doing that right away!
Stay away! 
It won't work!
This is a gaichuu?! 
Looks like they've got a pretty big lead.
Connor, are you listening?
I'm out of pizza! 
Look at that!
A gaichuu?
Rose and the others are in danger!
Hurry!
Watch out, Rose!
Run for it, Rose!
Complete newbs.
Rose'll get there first, and it'll be our victory!
Win, win!
Why would you guys go so far...
We don't have time for chit-chat.
Let's clean them up quick!
Lag, Connor!
Their weak point is the joints in their neck.
You two split up and get their attention.
Then I'll get 'em!
Understood!
Take this! Blue Thorn!
Lag, that's enough. Leave things here to me.
You head to the Bee-Hive! 
Right.
That's...
Watch out!
Shindan loaded.
Resound, Red Needle!
This is...
There's no need to worry. All of the children living here are orphans, the same as you.
From now on, we're all family.
That's a cute pigeon.
Its name is Speranza.
It carries letters from my Dad.
Oh, so you actually have a Dad, Abeli...
That's wonderful.
Speranza?
Look, Rose!  Speranza brought me a letter from my Dad!
It really did! Speranza is like your bird of happiness, you know that? 
Yeah!
Rose! Speranza's dead! Now I can't trade letters with Dad anymore! 
Abeli...
What is that?
A reminder of my vow.
If you have money, the Letter Bees will deliver things whenever you want.
But there are poor people everywhere like Abeli who want to send their daily letters!
We will deliver those people's letters.
I will become Abeli's new Speranza.
Yes, I will become a Letter Pigeon!
I'll start a private delivery service called the Letter Pigeons,
and deliver the hopes of forgotten people like us.
So that's why...
It won't be long before the battle of the century will be decided!
Why are you bringing me?
Letters are heart. They're hope.
I am not a letter.
No, you are a letter. That little girl put her heart into you.
So...
I don't want to cross the goal looking like this.
Letters aren't about winning or losing.
Delivering the heartfelt letters of the people...
That's the job of a Letter Bee.
We lost.
It is true that the job of a Letter Bee cannot be done by just anyone.
We may have lost today, but that doesn't mean we're giving up.
Anyway, thank you.
Later, Letter Pigeons!
Not Letter Pigeons!
Letter Flies...! Wait...
Rose...
Let's go to the next delivery!
Wait, I'm hungry!
Let's take a break.
No way! Everyone's waiting for these letters.

Hey, you!
Hold it right there!
Eat your carrots!
No!
Eat them!
They make my teeth gross!
No, they don't!
If you don't eat your carrots, you won't grow up big and strong!
I hate being forced!
Hold it!
Lag hasn't finished his either.
You're right.
That's no good! You have to finish it.
Lag?
I don't... have much of an appetite...
Thanks for the food...
Huh?
Lag!
He's hot!
Oh, no!
It seems you've caught a cold.
This is because you went on that delivery in the pouring rain...
Rest quietly here for today.
I'll send a sick-leave note to the Bee-Hive later.
Thanks, you're a life-saver...
Lag, does it hurt?
That tickles...
Don't lick him...
He'll heal if you lick him.
No, he won't.
He's ill, so we have to nurse him. 
Nurse?
That's right.
We do various things to take care of him so that he gets better. 
Nurse... Take care of him...
I will nurse Lag and care for him!
Let's do it, Steak!
Okay, thanks for the help.
I'm making an icepack.
It's too heavy to place on his head with the ice in big chunks, so we have to break it into pieces.
Then leave that to me!
How's that?
To prevent his body from getting chilled, we wipe off his sweat with warm water.
Is that so?
You don't have to go to the trouble...
I'm not really sweating much...
What are you saying? You have to get better quick!
See? You're covered in sweat.
I'm gonna nurse and care!
Lag, does this make you happy? 
Yeah, thanks. It feels good. 
'Cause I'm your dingo! 
Hey, wait...
That tickles!
His fever will get worse if you make him laugh!
Now, it's important to get nourishment when you're sick.
Perfect, as usual!
Your super disgusting soup is no good!
Lag will die!
How rude!
I added my own special flavoring to this canned soup!
It has lots of nourishment! 
Special flavoring?
It's something I came up with all by myself. 
I've thought up my own nourishment!
For Lag's sake, I will cook you!
Wait, Steak! 
Be a good boy and let me cook you!
What's the matter?
This is for you, Lag!
Niche! 
For pity's sake... 
It looks like he's finally calmed down. 
Is the nursing over?
He'll get tired out if we don't let him rest a bit.
I see.
And anyway, I don't think you're cut out for nursing, Niche.
Now, I have to send in that sick-leave note...
Let me do it!
I go to the Bee-Hive every day!
But...
As his dingo!
Then, I'll leave it up to you.
Let's go, Steak!
Will she be okay?
Maybe I can't be his nurse, but I can be his dingo!  
Hey Missy, looking for something?
Like this?
Whoa there... We're not gonna give it to you for free.
Hand over 10,000 rin!
I don't have money.
What?
Oh, okay. Then come with us.
We'll give it to you after. 
You mustn't attack humans!
If you be a good girl, we won't hurt you.
Unhand her this instant! 
Give back that envelope!
You were late, so I got worried.
I'm glad I came.
I almost feel like your dingo today, Niche.
Let's go.
I see.
Lag Seeing has a fever.
Understood. I will report this to the Master.
Thank you very much.
That maka girl sure is something.
I wonder if he would let me borrow her for a bit now?
I don't think so.
She seems difficult to control, however.
I'm sure Sylvette can handle her.
Now then... We have to buy some medicine.
Huh?
Pretty, yes? It's a fine article I obtained from Akatsuki...
Just by looking at this vase you'll feel better.
Can it cure people who are sick? 
Yes, it can cure them!
Hurry along now!
Lag'll feel better if he sees that!
No, he will not!
Honestly, I can't take my eyes off you for a second.
Listen, don't go off on your own again.
We're going to buy Lag some medicine now, okay?
I want to feed this to Lag!
Will Lag get better?
Now, now...
I want to show Lag!
I said, no!
Sheesh, I told you not to go off on your own, remember?
It was for Lag's sake!
You say that, but you just wanted to see them yourself!
What'll I do if you get lost?
Please, don't go off on your own.
No!
You might get caught by some shady people.
No, I won't!
That's enough! All you ever do is talk back to me!
You won't even eat your carrots!
You force me to!
Eating carrots, wearing underwear... You force me!
If I can't nurse right, at least I can be his dingo!
With me as his dingo, Lag is free!
I let him do what he wants! I don't force anything!
But...
You aren't my dingo, Sylvette! I am free!
I'm going to search for my own special medicine!
Gracious...
Let's go.
My own special medicine...
My own...
My own medicine... 
You force me to!
Oh, nothing.
Anyway, let's buy that medicine!
What? You're out?
The last dose just went out the door.
It will take another 3-4 days for the next shipment from Akatsuki...
I see...
If I had some medicinal herbs, I could prepare some myself.
Um, where do these medicinal herbs grow?
Huh? But...
Don't worry. I may not look like it, but I'm a wheelchair leopardess!
At a place outside of Yuusari Central, Peanuts Field...
There it is!
Let's go!
Huh?
No... No way!
Steak!
Steak!
Steak...
My special medicine... Boil up nice and tasty, okay?
It's important that you get nourishment when you're sick.
Nourishment? What's the difference between medicine and nourishment?
Sylvette isn't a dingo, but she knows about nursing...
Let's boil you, Steak!
It's... no use...
Sylvette!
Niche!
Niche... But, why?
Steak told me!
But, you were angry at me.
Lag won't get better without you.
Oh, right! The medicinal herbs!
Medicinal herbs?
I came here to get medicine for Lag.
I have special medicine!
I gathered them for Lag!
But, is medicine different than nourishment?
I'm not any good at nursing, but you can do it, Sylvette.
Oh, Niche...
Can it cure people who are sick?
I want to feed this to Lag!
That really was all for Lag's sake...
I'm sorry... I didn't understand you at all, Niche.
I'll stop being such a nag, I promise.
We're home!
Oh, welcome back.
You're late. Where have you been?
Pardon the intrusion.
What are you two doing here?
We came to pay a visit to the sick kid, obviously.
We brought lots of get-well gifts.
Lag, are you still sick?
Oh, I'm fine, pretty much.
I think the medicine that Zazie brought me is working.
Medicine?
Medicine?
Look! I got the last bottle.
Wait a sec...
That was ?
Do you have any idea what I went through...
Wh... Wait, what's going on?
Ow!
The wheels!
The mud!
Hold it right there!
Drink your milk!
No!
You won't grow up big and strong!
You said you wouldn't nag me any more!
You heard me?
Liar!
I wasn't lying!
Liar!
Lag, eat your soup!
Oh, no! I'm going to be late!
I'll finish it when I get back!
Thanks for the food!
Honestly, what am I to do with those two?
See you later!
Have a nice day!

Dear!
The baguettes have finished rising!
Hey, you!
You listening to me?
I said hold it!
I'm with a customer right now!
And he's a customer for the weapons shop.
These are great! Just great!
Oh, you're here, Zazie?
Yo!
Lemme borrow the old man a bit, 'kay?
So you're the customer? Oh, well.
That's right.
Zazie is Sinners Weapons Shop's most valued customer, after all.
Say what?
This is Sinners Bread and Weapons Shop!
Whatever.
I'll bake the baguettes myself.
Yeah, sorry about this.
Shindanjuu, Tempest Op. 3.
I only service it, and it sure is a nice gun.
But you're overusing it, as usual.
Too bad. 'Cause I'm up against a bunch of bastards who can't be killed unless I overuse it.
I heard all about how you concentrated too much on fighting gaichuu
and ended up getting the letters you're delivering dirty!
How many times has it been now?
Who cares...
It's not like you couldn't read 'em anymore.
Ow!
What was that for?
The reason I sell you Letter Bees weapons is so that you can do your job safely.
Defeating gaichuu is part of our job, you know.
Yeah, it's a part... 
A part of your job delivering letters. 
You know, Pops!  
You know why I became a Letter Bee.
Soup?
He always has it ready to feed them the moment they regain consciousness.
Even though their eyes are open...
So that's what happens when you're done in by the gaichuu...
But, that boy... He never cried even once.
So I can get vengeance... 
Oh yeah, I've been coming up with a new creation.
A new creation?
Bread!
A new bread.
When your next job, er, delivery is over, come and try it out, okay?
Here. Maintenance is all finished.
Okay. I'll be happy to make sure this new bread of yours won't poison people.
Do you ever run out of that snark?
I'll hold you to that.
Yup, it's a promise.
Finally made it back to the Bee-Hive.
I'm hungry!
After I report that I've finished, we'll hurry straight home.
Did something happen?
Lag!
A gaichuu got Zazie!
Zazie!
Don't give me that look, man!
It's just a scratch, as you can see-ow!
Just a scratch, you were saying?
That hurt, damn it!
You crappy doctor!
Who's a crappy doctor, you say?!
You, obviously!
Where are you touching, you perv!
Who's a perv again?
Maybe you'd rather I dissect you...
Zazie...
You crossed the Hart Desert again?
It's my choice.
The Hart Desert is here in front of Graysteel City, right?
Right.
However it's recommended that you take the long way around through Shura canyon.
Basically passing through the Hart Desert is like a shortcut.
A shortcut? But it's not recommended?
The Hart Desert is spotted with gaichuu territories.
And thanks to the shifting sands, those territories are constantly moving.
So despite that, Zazie always takes the dangerous route through the Hart Desert to Graysteel City?
Yeah...
Why?
Okay!
I've finished my special soup for you!
Now put away the map.
T-This is...
That super disgusting...
Yup.
I-I have some things I need to do.
I'll have your soup some other time, Sylvette!
Connor!
Good night!
Right! Sleep tight!
The reason that Zazie always crosses the Hart Desert?
Yeah. Yesterday you didn't get a chance to tell me. 
I'm not sure I'm the one to say...
It's simple.
Moc Sullivan.
I suppose it's not a surprise that the newcomer wouldn't know.
That guy prefers killing gaichuu over delivering letters. 
Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to throw away those letters in order to escape from that gaichuu. 
Throw away letters?
Seems that's why he's still alive.
But, that's...
Zazie wouldn't...
A Letter Bee who throws away letters...
Lag!
Lag, Niche!
Zazie, answer me.
I want you to tell me why you lost those letters.
Lost letters?
Fine, then I'll change the question.
What was the gaichuu that injured you?
Letter Bees are public servants.
To maintain the public's trust, we must retrieve those letters to Graysteel City without delay, and finish the delivery.
I said I'll do it already!
I can't rely on you injured like this.
I was planning on dispatching someone else, but to do that I need to know about the gaichuu...
Ow...
It's you!
I'll recover those letters and finish the delivery!
Zazie, will you still refuse to talk about the gaichuu?
It was an Absynt.
An Absynt?
Lag, can I count on you?
Yes.
I've defeated Absynts before, together with Niche.
I wish I could go with you, but I have another delivery, unfortunately.
I'll be fine. Later!
Wait... Why couldn't Zazie handle a gaichuu the level of an Absynt?
It looks like Steak found the letters.
The letters are up there?
Leave this to me!
W-What?
It's the gaichuu, Absynt!
Absynt's gap is...
There!
Red Needle!
All right!
What's wrong, Niche?
This gaichuu isn't defeated yet.
The Red Needle's heart didn't resonate?
Steak?
It has two gaps?!
What in the world?
It's time to change your bandages.
And I was just kidding about the dissection thing...
Master?
If you're looking for that kid, he left.
You saw, but didn't stop him?  
Do you always do that?
I tried to stop him... 
But it seemed like he had a reason that drove him to go.
Lag!
Uh, oh!
T-That's...
Zazie!
Sorry for being late.
Why?
We'll talk after we finish this guy!
Right!
Bastard... Don't think you can escape!
Zazie, now's our chance! Let's get away from here!
Stop kiddin' around!
I've got a bone to pick with that Absynt!
You think I'm gonna run away and let this guy free?
But we've got back the letters...
But I've still got a job to finish.
That guy prefers killing gaichuu over delivering letters. 
It's true that exterminating gaichuu is part of our job, but we have a duty that's more important than that!
Delivering letters.
The reason I sell you Letter Bees weapons is so that you can do your job safely.
Defeating gaichuu is part of our job, you know.
Yeah, it's a part...
A part of your job delivering letters.
You're sounding a lot like Pops.
What?
I know already, okay?
Then you didn't actually throw away the letters to get away from the gaichuu, did you?
What?!
Red Needle!
My shindan doesn't work on this guy!
One more time!
Thanks, Wasiolka... 
The letters!
Wait, the letters...
I have to deliver...
...those letters!
I promised...
Zazie!
What are you doing?
I knew it!
I knew you'd never throw away letters to run away!
You got hurt because you cared so much about delivering the letters.
Well, duh. 
Lag, I need your help. 
That Absynt's got two gaps, it's some mutant...
If you shoot a single shindan into one of the gaps, it'll spit it out the other one.
So that's why it wouldn't resonate inside of it.
But, if we shoot shindans into both gaps at the same time, what do you think will happen?
Let's go, Lag!
Yeah!
Niche, I'm counting on you... 
Leave it to me!
Unfurl your wings, damn it! Blue Thorn!
There!
Shindanjuu Tempest Op. 3!
Shindanjuu Nocturne Op. 20!
The bullet I shoot is a fragment of my heart!
The shells I shoot are fragments of my malice!
Shindan loaded!
Shindan loaded!
Resound, Blue Thorn!
Resound, Red Needle!
I said resound! Resound! 
We got it!
Yeah, thanks to you.
Don't worry about it. I'll finish the delivery to Graysteel City...
Nope, I'm going too.
But, you're injured!
I told you already, it's just a scratch.
And delivering these letters was my job in the first place.
Well not anymore. Aria asked me to deliver them, so...
Why wouldn't you report this to Aria?
About how this Absynt had two gaps so you couldn't beat it by yourself...
And if I had?
She'd have sent two other Letter Bees than me.
But...
Then I wouldn't have been able to get revenge.
So you purposefully...
Yeah, so I could bring that guy down.
Zazie...
All so I could make sure the letters were delivered safely.
And I promised...
What?!
You haven't finished your new bread yet?
Oh yeah, sorry...
And after I went through all that trouble to keep my promise.
Promise?
What promise?
Something wrong?
Here, have some. You haven't eaten yet, right?
Don't mind if I do!
Did you say something?
If I hadn't made that promise to you, then...
Thanks for waiting!
I might have made him cry about now...
What's that supposed to mean?

What's this?
It is a notebook of mine from before I joined the Amberground Bioscience Advisory Panel...
I wrote down all the characteristics and effects of flowers and herbs I studied.
Wow... You wrote it all down so thoroughly!
But there was no scientific basis to anything written in there.
Back then, I didn't have the knowledge to prove my claims.
Still, those two didn't give up on me.
They never gave up, and led me to the missing link to my dreams... 
I would have never thought she'd show her face here again...
It's quite the surprise.
And I thought we'd finally be able to cut the budget for her research.
But thanks to the Chairman, we still have a pretext to fire her.
It's impossible to demonstrate the value of her research in just a week, after all. 
This simply gives her time to accept the bad news. 
I should have expected this.
It's a waste of money for them to employ me if I don't produce any results...
Mana Jones...
Doctor, is there nothing we can do?
Is there no way we can save her?
There is a way. It is not impossible.
Dr. Whitman?
Dr. Whitman is the foremost researcher into plants and vegetation.
The same research as Mana Jones?
Yes. He was once a part of the Amberground Bioscience Advisory Panel,
and due to his achievements, he was given an honorary Doctorate.
He's an authority on the subject.
Although he is no longer active in his research.
It is true that Mana's research lacks scientific basis.
But if Dr. Whitman recognizes Mana's research and provides a recommendation...
The council would have no choice but to accept it!
We should try going immediately to Dr. Whitman...
Impossible.
Why?
Dr. Whitman currently lives in the town on the Southernmost point of Yuusari, Sahara.
No matter how fast you travel, it will take ten days to get there and back. 
The council only deferred their decision for one week.
There is simply not enough time.
I will go.
Please write the request to Dr. Whitman.
I will deliver it along with Mana's notebook. 
Even for you, it's not possible!
And Dr. Whitman is famously ill-tempered.
I cannot know whether he will recognize Mana's research...
Then why did you tell me this?
Because...
You thought that I might be able to do it, yes?
Doctor, let me go. 
Suede...
Why?
Why would Gauche go to such lengths for me?
Because that's the kind of man Gauche Suede is.
If I can make it over this cliff, I'll be able to cut the distance considerably...
I'm okay, Roda...
I mustn't!
Let us go, Roda...
The gaichuu, Bookers!
Shindan loaded! Black Needle!
Who is it? Is someone there?
Who are you?!
Letter...
I have come to deliver you... a letter...
This is some highly caffeinated herb tea.
It should wake you right up.
Oh, thank you very much.
Excuse me, but how long have I been sleeping?
About a bell...
Quarkboy Secret Note: I recently picked up The Letter Bee Handbook... I didn't realize they'd published a ~200 page guide to the series back in November... It verifies a lot of name spellings (and contradicts a ton of Viz's... :().  More importantly there are a few tidbits of info.  My translation of "goku" as "bells" seems to be a good choice, as they explain the time system in Amberground. Each day consists of 15 bells (so they're more like 2 hours each, maybe?). 1 month is 30 days. 1 year is 10 months, so 300 days exactly.  That explains some of the strange age discrepancies if you do the reverse calculation from the Day of Flicker (note, they translate it as the Day of Blink in the handbook, but I think I'll stick to flicker as that's a far better translation of what actually happened)
Thank goodness...
Attempting to cross from the Bee-Hive to out here in Sahara and back in only a week?
You must be out of your mind.
I apologize for causing you trouble.
I have read the letter from Thunderland Jr. and the notebook of this Mana girl...
Thank you very much!
And so... your impressions?
I have never seen such unscientific, ill-proven research before!
It is true that Mana Jones never had a proper scientific education.
But she is more passionate and has more potential than anyone!
So that is why... I want to help her accomplish her dream.
And I also want to help Dr. Thunderland Jr... 
You did this for Junior? 
Just as I left the Bee-Hive, I asked him...
I really can do nothing, can I?
Doctor?
I can do nothing for my staff when they're in trouble.
And because of that, I have placed a great risk on your shoulders.
Doctor, may I ask you something?
Why are you going to such lengths for Mana?
She hates to lose, see.
The more I yelled at her, the harder her resolve would become.
It was a lot of fun to watch.
That's why?
Suddenly I feel my motivation lacking...
Also, Mana's research will be of greatest use for the Bees.
For us?
Being able to heal the body and heart quickly after an exhausting delivery, you know?
I'd like to be able to, but it's not something I can do.
And that is why you attempted such an insane delivery?
Yes.
Doctor, I may not understand the science.
But Thunderland Jr. is a dependable person.
I believe in him.
Please! Give Mana Jones another chance!
And when exactly did I say I would not?
It is true that her research lacks any scientific proof.
But the contents display an incredible curiosity.
Performing such research on her own is quite impressive.
Just as you said, I can feel her limitless possibility.
Really?
I wish I could mentor her myself!
I am certain that she would be overjoyed to hear you say that. 
But you only have three days left.
Are you sure you can return to the Bee-Hive in time?
Of course.
Then I request you link my dreams to hers...  
Doctor, how much time is left?
Only half a bell.
He won't make it after all...
Believe in Suede.
He took on this delivery knowing it was impossible.
Believe in him until the very end. Is it not the least we can do?
Doctor...
Suede!
Gauche?
Sorry to make you wait.
And the letter?
Did you deliver it safely?
That is the job of a Letter Bee.
This is the response from Dr. Whitman.
Mana, we're summoning the committee again!
Then...
Suede, thank you!
Mana, let's go.
Roda, let me rest for a bit.
"There is great potential held within Mana's research."
"To crush such dreams would be an embarrassing loss for the Amberground Bioscience Advisory Panel."
- Dr. Whitman.
So what is the decision of this committee?
We cannot disregard the opinion of Dr. Whitman on the matter of Mana Jones's employment.
Of course not! We'd never consider doing something so outlandish!
Then Mana's termination will be overturned?
We have little choice in the matter.
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much!
Gauche, thank you!
Thanks to you I can continue to work in the Bee-Hive!
Gauche?
Mana...
Yes?
Prepare a potpourri that will wake him up feeling refreshed
and a herbal tea to help him recover his stamina.    
After that, I studied under Dr. Whitman and finally completed this room.
So this room is like a gift Gauche left us after he crossed over into Akatsuki...
If you ever meet Gauche, I'd like you to tell him that I've fulfilled my dream thanks to him.
I am more grateful to Gauche than anyone else...
Well, what a coincidence that we're all talking about Suede...
Doctor!
Lag Seeing... We might be able to find a clue to what happened to Suede.
Really?
You see, five years ago, I heard this from Suede...
Doctor, do you know of a town named Honey Waters?
No, I don't.
Many people there do not follow the Empress. 
It may be a small town, but many people come in and out,
and there are many unpleasant rumors...
Oh, you mean the anti-government activists?
I've heard about them.
On a delivery to that town, I met a strange man.
That man called himself "one unable to become Spirit." 
"One unable to become Spirit?"
I would normally laugh at such madman's drivel,
but after Suede went missing, it began to bug me... 
I asked Jiggy Pepper to search around if he had the chance.
Jiggy Pepper?
It seems like that person really is in that town.
The "one unable to become Spirit."
Seeing... Your shindan can allow you to see the memories of objects.
You might be able to find a clue to Suede's disappearance,
even after these five years without a trace.
I would like you to deliver the letter I will write.
To the "one unable to become Spirit" in Honey Waters.
Sheesh! The town's right up ahead!
Hurry up, Connor!
Wait!
This path is steep!
Why did it have to be closed to the carriage? 
You're hopeless...
Come on! You can do it.
W-Water, please!
I don't have any left!
Lag!
Water is spurting out.
It's spring water!
Ooh, this water looks lovely... 
I wonder if there's some honey in it?
Lag!
Don't drink that water!
Why?
The water around here may be called "honey water,"
but drinking it directly is dangerous.
There's poison in it that could paralyze a person for hours after drinking one glass... 
N-Niche, don't swallow it!
Marshmallow?  
Thank goodness...
About five years ago Honey Waters became a town off the delivery routes.
There are many anti-government activists, and the nasty rumors persist without end.
Will they be okay?
Both of them have quite reliable dingos, so...
What bothers me more is the clue about Suede.
I don't care how small it is... as long as we obtain some information.
A clue about Gauche, somewhere in this town...
I heard that people come and go through this town a lot, but it's very quiet... 
Connor, look...
What's that? Look at all the people gathered...
Master Hunt used to be a civil servant, but thanks to a government plot,
he was sacrificed as a human guinea pig, and his body was warped into the sad state you see now. 
These evil experiments, the "Artificial Spirit Project,"
were attempting to create a man-made body with the energy of the ancients!
Claws!
But the project ended in failure.
And the government tried to cover up the evidence. They plotted to get rid of Master Hunt!
However my husband and I escaped from the capital Akatsuki in the nick of time!
And we survived!
As ones unable to become Spirit! 
Wait, those two...
Mistress Sarah!
Give us your blessing!
I've come from the next town!
Mistress Sarah, take this!
Then, this way...
What's going on here?
The jewel in which resides Spirit Energy!
Spirit Amber!
Black...
A black... Spirit Amber?
That's...
That's Gauche's...

The jewel in which resides Spirit Energy!
Spirit Amber!
A black... Spirit Amber?
That's Gauche's...
Be healed.
Heart regeneration.
Shindan Loaded!
Black Needle!
But, that's...
Why?
Hey, you!
It's a Bee!
There are Bees here!
Government dogs are mixing into our gathering!
Lag, this doesn't look good at all...
Why?
Why do you have Gauche Suede's Spirit Amber?
Boy... What might you be talking about?
And besides, this town should have long been off the delivery routes of the Bees.
Perhaps I should ask you what business you boys have coming here?
Lag, my friend... I think, for now, we'd better...
Mach Scramble Dash! Gus, run for it!
Don't let them get away! Catch them!
Sarah...
Can't we stop this already? How long do you plan to...
Can't you finally resign yourself to it?!  
There's no turning back now.
What the...
Niche!
You can't! Don't cut people!
It's an attacking-people-is-not-allowed chop.
Niche...
You remembered!
You damn government worker bees!
Owww!
Connor!
Niche! Save Connor, and let's get out of here! 
Get out of here.
Here she comes!
Niche?
La...g...
Niche, Steak!
Could Niche and Steak have drank that honey water?
Niche!
Please escape.
You're...
Shh.
Damn, where'd the other one go?
He ran that way.
R-Right, Master Hunt!
Hey! This guy's heavy! Help me out here!
Niche, Steak...
Connor...
Please come with me.
Who are you people?
Don't misunderstand me.
I'm not a believer in them.
But if you want to leave this town safely, you will help me, Bee.
You will deliver our letters.
Mistress Sarah, Mistress Sarah!
What is it?
This child's arms are almost like...
Claws, just like Master Hunt's!
You two are dismissed.
Uh, right...
I hope Lag got away.
I'm counting on you, Gus!
What's your name?
Lag Seeing.
Um, how far down are we going to go?
Not much further.
This is...?
It's an underground passageway that was used long ago.
Only the oldest residents know of it, so we're safe here.
My name is Ann. Ann Grado.
How old are you?
Um, I'm 12.
You are one shrimpy little Letter Bee, that's for sure.
I'm 14.
We're only 2 years apart, though...
2 years is a whole lot!
Being 14 makes you a lot more grown up in different ways!
Not like some 12 year old!
There.
Those are?
Those are the letters that the people of this town have written.
This many?
But, why?
I thought that Honey Waters had long since turned down letter delivery...
The ones unable to become Spirit. 
It's their fault.
Five years ago they appeared in this city.
They gained approval among the dissatisfied youth who live here.
They gathered believers to them and grew powerful in the town.
And as a protest against the government, they stopped allowing Letter Bees into the city.
I collected and hid these letters from the old residents to keep them out of sight.
Why didn't the people of the town try delivering the letters themselves?
It was impossible.
The moment someone tried to carry bags of letters outside the town...
He was attacked by gaichuu... 
We quickly rescued him and the letters, but...
He woke up, but it was like his soul was gone, and he never spoke again.
He died.
Ann... That person who was part of the "Artificial Spirit" experiment...
The one unable to become Spirit.
Are those people telling the truth?
They said it was a government plot, but is that really...
Wouldn't you know that better yourself?
You're the ones who devote your lives to working for the government, right?
I haven't been told much about the government or the capital.
And I don't do this for the government.
I put my life out there as a Letter Bee to deliver people's important letters.
W-Well I don't know if they're actually for real or not either!
But their sermons are full of lies.
Like how the government created the gaichuu, and how Letter Bees lead them around... 
I can't believe that.
Because the gaichuu are attracted to people's hearts.
and the letters which hold such strong amounts of heart.
People don't encounter gaichuu around this area much.
What else could I think when he was attacked so quickly after trying to carry the letters?
I see!
Letters are no different than people's hearts.
In that case, perhaps they are attracted to the heart contained within them.
The gaichuu didn't come after you?
If its territory moved since then...
I hear rumblings from underground...
There shouldn't be any volcanic activity near here...
We don't have time!
We have to hurry and deliver the letters immediately!
Lag, help me!
This child's beast arms...
They are far more skillfully grafted than yours, Hunt.
How pitiful.
I bet she was part of some freak-show somewhere.
Perhaps she'll follow in our footsteps.
Her mysterious hair is nice as well... She could make a bundle in a side-show.
This is strange... She doesn't have any scars from the operation!
Sarah!
She's...
She couldn't be... She's a true "one unable to become Spirit?"
I knew it! You were fakes.
Oh, my!
We've picked up something quite wonderful, Hunt!
If we raise this girl as our daughter, we could increase our offerings...
No, even better... If we offer her to them, we might actually be able to join Reverse!
I've heard that if you're a member, you can live the good life in the capital!
I don't wish for the good life.
If we continue this, we'll hurt more people.
I know it's painful, but can't we go back to living the way we used to?
For me, as long as you are with me, Sarah...
Well you might not want it, but I do!
You think a man with paralyzed, monster arms and a mask like you can live normally in a town like this? 
Sarah!
This is... the only way for us.
Their lookouts are on the watch.
Let's find an opening and sneak outside.
Right!
Niche has the blood of some creature called a Maka in her. She doesn't have anything to do with the government.
Is that mixture a medicine?
I ground together night-weed 26 with cocoa tobacco.
It's an ointment to leach out the honey water.
It will ease the pain, and help her heal.
If you're awake, then you heard everything, didn't you?
I'm sorry. But I understand now.
That Spirit Amber is also fake, isn't it?
Lag was all hot-blooded and didn't notice, but the way the light flashed was totally different.
Correct.
It's a jewel called a "Black Jack." It creates sparks if you rub two together.
It has an effect of counteracting the toxin in this town, so it is of benefit to the people here.
You sure know a lot. Almost like a scientist.
My own studies.
I thought it might be helpful to people one day.
Hunt!
I know that you don't have evil in your heart!
So then, why?
If you really have the knowledge to help,
why do you keep deceiving people?
I want Sarah to be happy as well.
But...
That's not happiness, that's my butt!
Huh? My butt?
My butt! My butt! Stop the tickling!
There's something under my butt!
Gus, you came to save me?
That's my dingo for you!
Hurry, Lag!
Wait a second!
What is it now?
I can't just go like this.
I have to save Niche and the others!
How can a weakling like you seriously think of rescue...
We don't have time.
It's coming closer.
It?
W-What's that?
Hunt, look outside!
That's...
The gaichuu, Cidre!
It's territory should have been farther to the East!
Why is it in the town? 
Nail down the gates!
Make a barricade!
Right, Mistress Sarah!
Don't just stand there!
Let's go, Gus!
The Bees brought the gaichuu with them!
Damn them! They play dirty!
That boy...
Shindan loaded...
Red Needle!
Lag!
It didn't even flinch.
I've got to find the gaps first, or...
Red Needle!
Ann, get someplace safe!
Ann!
It came all this way searching for these letters...
This is all there is to be done.
I should have done it from the start!
If I had done this in the first place, then...
My dad wouldn't have been killed!
Ann!
The person that was attacked was your...
Your dad, knowing the dangers, tried to deliver these letters.
I think he understood the importance of letters.
Don't waste his sacrifice!
I will deliver those letters!
And your father's heart, too!
I will deliver them, no matter what!
Lag!
Connor, Gus!
Thank goodness, you're safe.
How's Niche and Steak?
They're still in those people's safe house.
Why is a Cidre here?
Are those letters that she has?
I'll explain later.
I can't find the gaps anywhere...
Okay, Lag. You be the decoy and get its attention.
Gotcha.
Let's turn this guy upside down.
Quarkboy Note: Shinjirai = Heart Land Mines
Not with a shindanjuu, but with shinjirai and Spirit Amber!
Let's do it, Gus!
Shinjirai, set!
Shinjirai, set!
Shinjirai, set...
Shinjirai, set...
Connor!
Good, Lag! Stand back!
Don't lolly-gag!
R-Right!
The land mines I bury are fragments of my hunger!
Resound! Yes, Yellow Explosion!
Look, Lag! The gaps are in its rear-end! Shoot it with a Red Needle!
Lag?
So if you shoot the gaichuu in its butt with this gun, that'll stop it?
That seems like even I could do it.
Please let me go!
You did sure did an impressive job training that monster!
But without that gun of yours, would the gaichuu realize you're its master?
What are you talking about?
Mistress Sarah!
We should feed this one to the gaichuu as a warning to the government!
That's right!
That'll show the damn government!
Do it, do it!
You...
Stop this, you fools!
Quit believeing all that rubbish I spouted!
Who but a Bee can defeat that monster?
Sorry 'bout this.
Let me go!
This is also for Mistress Sarah's sake...
Master Hunt!
I regret what happened to your father.
It's over.
Sarah! The lies end now!
Hunt...
Man...
Look at you pitiful fools...
Connor...
Lag...
We're gonna clean this up right now!

Red Needle!
That's...
Roda, to the right!
Gauche...
Hunt!
No one's gonna come to see you any more.
Get outta here, wherever you please.
Being thrown out with a body like this...
What should we do now?
Hunt, I can see a town!
Honey Waters?
What's that supposed to mean?
What is this?
It's the projection from the shindan Lag shot.
The memories of heart.
Heart?
This is the memory... of when we arrived at this town...
Sarah, it's a gaichuu!
They respond to people's hearts and attack!
Sarah!
You are interfering with my delivery.
Please leave this area immediately.
Roda, to the right!
A Bee? And his dingo is here, too.
Thank goodness.
He should be able to defeat the gaichuu.
Defeat it? How can someone defeat that monster?
Shindan loaded...
That shining stone, it's Spirit Amber!
This is the first time I've seen one.
Using the power of that stone, you can use your heart as a bullet.
Heart... as a bullet?
Black Needle!
The light! Did he get the gaichuu?
I can't see it very well, but I think so.
That's some power you have there, Gauche Suede.
Don't use too much and lose it...
Your heart, that is.
I hear you will be transferring to the capital.
Congratulations.
I'd expect nothing less from the Bee-Hive's Ace.
How do you know that?
We pay close attention to, and have high expectations for, superior Bees such as yourself.
We? Who are you?
One of the Team known as "Reverse." 
Or perhaps you would call me, "One unable to become Spirit?"
Reverse... Spirit?
One unable to become Spirit?
Gauche really met him?
The anti-government activists?
We do nothing more than investigate the government of Amberground.
I have no interest in your ideology.
So this group, Reverse, has been observing me?
Correct, Gauche Suede.
I have been following you for many years now.
I know it all, Gauche.
You have a reason to fight the government of Amberground.
You are a man who should be working together with Reverse.
Trying to recruit me?
I do not know what it is you base that claim on.
But I have no intention of relinquishing my pride as a Letter Bee, entrusted with the hearts of the people.
The reason that your dear sister, Sylvette, cannot move her legs.
What if I told you I knew what it was?
I can't hear... The wind is too loud.
What in the world?
I won't give up, Gauche Suede.
One day, you will be mine.
Until we meet again, Gauche.
Who was that guy?
He wasn't your average fellow, that's for sure.
Amazing... This is a real gaichuu exoskeleton!
Think we can sell it?
You people defeated it?
It would be really bad if the thing got any closer.
Did you really defeat it?
Those clothes... Are you pilgrims?
How in the world did you...
My god, your arms!
Are you a monster too?
These are...
Don't move, monster!
Please, wait!
Lower those weapons, you fools!
How dare you show such insolence to the one who saved your town from this incoming gaichuu!
We are on a journey to save the people by informing them of government's evil plot!
The ones unable to become Spirit!
Spirit... The ones everyone's heard about?
Then please come to our town, Honey Waters!
Mistress Sarah!
Master Hunt!
Don't let Bees into the town?
Then what about the resident's letters?
It will be a grand protest against the government!
This is our chance to spread our message far and wide!
Let's do it!
We should!
So everything Mistress Sarah said was a lie?
It's...
The gaichuu buried itself!
Everyone, quickly! Carry the letters to the underground passages!
Dad!
Dad!
Dad!
Our lies have murdered people.
I am sorry.
I am so sorry...
Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!
Hunt!
S-Sarah...
Connor?
I made it...
Connor, you make a nice fat-cushion!
Fat?
S-Sarah...
Hunt had those beast arms attached and played along with your "spirit" con-game all for your sake.
I know.
I knew!
I knew that you gave your arms to the impresario.
If you replace my arms with those clawed hands...
Will you please not sell Sarah?!
I heard it from outside the carriage.
But I couldn't say it...
I couldn't tell you not to do it, Hunt!
Because I wanted to be together with you!
Because I wanted to be together with you... forever!
Impostors!
Frauds!
You tricked us from the very beginning!
You cheated us out of our money!
Why those little...
Little one...
Looks like the government dog's siding with the swindlers!
Little one...
All the money we collected is underneath the alter!
I haven't spent even a single rin!
Do whatever you want with it!
She said it was under the alter!
Wait up! Me, too!
Sarah...
Look at all the money!
Now that we've purged the fakes,
today we're going to start our activities anew!
We're going to really "reverse" the Amberground government!
Doesn't look like this town is going to change.
But you know, Ann.
At least you won't have to worry about your letters.
I'll come and do pickups here.
Your name was Zazie, wasn't it?
How old are you?
F-Fourteen.
The same age as me.
Well, better than Lag, anyway.
Ann!
Everyone!
The original residents?
Well, guess we'd better get out of here quick.
Before we start being pelted with rocks by those people.
Um... Excuse me...
I'm...
I'm okay now.
I must thank you.
For stopping me from being caught up in such foolishness again...
Thank you, little one!
Thank you, Bees!
N-Niche!
Lag!
Y-Yes!
I was worried about you, Niche...
It's okay. Everything's over now.
My job here is... finished.
Bee... You promised you'd come back here, right?
I got it already. I have to go on my next delivery, so...
Hunt and Sarah will ride in the carriage.
Sure. We'll be fine walking back ourselves.
Then...
Bye.
Are you sure about taking people like us to the Bee-Hive?
Dr. Thunderland said to make sure to capture any rare-looking creature I find, after all.
Capture?
And while you're there, he can look at your arms.
Hunt...
Do you think we can start over again?
We have that chance now. Let us grab it.
And one day we will save that town and that girl.
Just as these Letter Bees saved us and gave us this chance.
I'll dedicate my life to that.
Fluff...
Reverse, huh?
They must have something to do with Gauche's disappearance.
We didn't manage to meet the real "One unable to become Spirit."
So this delivery was a failure.
However, we did find a bit of a clue to where Gauche went.
Lag, there's a river in this direction!
In the other direction there's nothing!
Lag?
Are you not a dingo employed by your master to protect him?
You carelessly drank dangerous water, leaving you unable to help him at a critical moment.
You're a failure as a dingo.
I am the dingo of a certain individual.
My name is Roda.
Let us spend a brief time together.
The delivery is over now.
Lag... You and I relied on each other, and we made it through that perilous journey.
You are no longer a letter... You're a man now, Lag Seeing.
Gauche, farewell...
Um... I was thinking...
One day...
One day, I wanna be a Letter Bee just like you!
Gau...che...
Gauche!
I am not a failure as a dingo!
I became Lag's dingo, Niche!
Lag has only one dingo, me!
I do not understand you.
Roda...
Wait, Gauche!
It's me, Lag Seeing!
You carried me as a letter five years ago!
Lag Seeing!
Gauche...
I'm angry... I'll get you!
You are very quick, but you rely on brute strength.
Is that all the power that lies in the blood of Maka?
That isn't all!
Just you wait!
You'll leave your master undefened?
Protecting one's master is everything for a dingo.
It seems you have mistaken me for someone else, little Letter Bee.
I am what is known as a Marauder.
My name is Noir.
You really are a failure as a dingo.
Lag!
Gauche... Roda...
Farewell, Lag Seeing.
Don't take her... away!
Give her back!
Give her back...
No...
Don't... go!
No more...
...goodbyes...

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Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (2009) - S01 - CR vs Commie @keyframes loading-circle-spin { 100% { transform: rotate(360deg); } }

Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (2009) - S01 - CR vs Commie