Volume 1, Chapter 14 – The Curse Blooming Upon the Flesh

Tch.

It seems there’s no escaping this fight.

She had no intention of harming others, but she wouldn’t allow anyone to harm her either.

Steadying her mind, Fia quietly prepared her magic. Though she wouldn’t resort to a nuclear explosion in the city, hurling a few dozen fireballs was hardly difficult for her. In fact, she had already locked onto about twenty individuals who looked particularly troublesome. If she wished, she could send each fireball precisely into their faces—like a missile launch system. And in essence, that’s exactly what it was.

Normally, such astonishing computational ability would leave people in awe, but Fia didn’t even realize how abnormal it was. To her, it felt like something she had done countless times before—utterly mundane.

However, things didn’t unfold as Fia expected, with both sides clashing in the next moment.

“Ah, Lord Chris, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

Like a pebble dropped into a still pond, Claire’s appearance shattered the tension.

Amid the vast darkness of night, Claire stood like a silver moon descending upon the earth—at least, that’s how Fia saw her. To the soldiers and their commander, however, she seemed more like a terrifying monster. Their bodies stiffened, and the commander’s horse whinnied in fear, backing away uncontrollably.

“You… you are? My apologies, we must have met before, but I can’t recall who you are.”

“Claire. I once healed your broken right arm.”

“Ah, Miss Claire! It’s been too long. I-I’ve been… fine.”

In the span of a single sentence, the once-threatening commander was now sweating profusely, his words stumbling.

His reaction was identical to that of the cat-eared slave when faced with Claire.

Rеαԁ οո KatRеaԁіnɡСαfe

Could this be the “curse” Claire had mentioned?

“I hardly think someone wrapped head to toe in bandages would call themselves ‘fine.’ Were you injured in battle? If you need treatment, Lord Chris, my clinic is always open to you.”

As if oblivious to the fear on their faces, Claire took another step forward. Almost simultaneously, the entire group of soldiers retreated, forming an eerie semicircle around her.

“Thank you for your kindness, Miss Claire, but I must decline. To be honest, my injuries weren’t from battle—they were inflicted by ‘Grey Owls’ outside the city. While escorting prisoners, a swarm of them suddenly emerged from the forest and attacked us without reason.”

“Grey Owls? But they only dwell deep in the forest. Why would they appear on the outskirts? And since they move in groups, a hundred-man squad without a spellcaster would be annihilated. How did you manage to escape, Lord Chris?”

“Well…”

The bandaged commander wiped his sweat again. Fia was beginning to wonder who the real authority figure here was—Claire or the soldiers.

“It seemed the Grey Owls were driven out of the forest by an even stronger monster. When we encountered them, there were only a few, and they bore burn marks. We fought for a long time before repelling them, but even then, we lost thirty percent of our men. Damn it all.”

The commander cursed under his breath, but he clearly had no desire to continue the conversation. With a stiff smile, he added:

“If you’ll excuse us, Miss Claire, we must report to His Eminence the Bishop.” He then glanced at Fia. “Though we’ve heard from other units that the elf princess is still alive. Be careful not to get too close to elves—they’re a cunning lot.”

“Understood. Thank you for the warning, Lord Chris.”

After delivering his “advice,” the commander named Chris returned to his horse and exchanged a few hushed words with his men before leading the procession onward without another glance back.

Notably, as the soldiers passed Claire, every single one of them veered away as if avoiding something inauspicious, warping the formation into a strange, curved line.

Watching the procession disappear around the street corner, Fia quietly exhaled in relief. Though those soldiers likely stood no chance against her, Fia was a minimalist—why invite trouble when it could be avoided? Not to mention, fighting in the streets risked harming innocent bystanders.

Rеαԁ оո КatRеadіոgCafe

Smoothing out her black dress, she turned to Claire, who was also watching the soldiers depart.

“Claire, thank you.”

Even if she could have handled them herself, Claire had still helped her. Gratitude was in order.

“No need. How could I not protect such a lovely girl when I’ve just met her?”

Claire smiled as she replied.

There she went again, calling her cute.

Fia had only recently acquired this female body—such sudden praise was downright embarrassing. No, more than that, it made her want to crawl into a box and hide.

She decided to change the subject. This kind of abrupt flattery left her at a loss for how to respond.

“Claire, do you know what Grey Owls are?”

“They’re small, palm-sized avian monsters with fierce eyes. Individually, they’re weak, but they’re pack creatures. A single Grey Owl usually means hundreds, if not thousands, are nearby. Without a spellcaster, even a well-trained military unit would struggle against them.”

“As for the Grey Owls in the Milcandis Great Forest, their swarms are said to number in the tens of thousands. That’s beyond what a normal army can handle—you’d need the Milcandis Holy Tribunal at the very least. No, perhaps that’s not clear enough. Let me put it this way: if the Grey Owls in the Great Forest launched an all-out assault on Aurora City, the only thing people could do would be to pray the aerial barrier holds long enough for reinforcements to arrive.”

Claire delivered this terrifying statement with unsettling calm.

“The real problem with Grey Owls is their flight. They’re small, fast, and hard to hit with arrows. Without magic, people are utterly helpless against them. Have you heard of the Spellcaster’s Guild, Fia? There, a Grey Owl swarm is classified as a monster with a threat level exceeding 150—equivalent to half a dragon. Successfully exterminating them would earn you a bounty of a thousand Milcandis Holy Gold Coins at the Adventurer’s Guild, along with an honorary knighthood from the Archbishop of Aurora.”

“A thousand gold coins…”

Read oո KаtRеαⅾіnɡСαfе

Fia couldn’t help but gulp.

In this world, while each nation minted its own currency, the general exchange rate was:

gold coin = 10 silver coins = 100 iron coins = 10,000 low-grade coins.

Beyond gold, there were even more valuable currencies—platinum coins and gem coins—things most people would never even touch in their lifetime.

Among the various gold coins, the Milcandis Holy Gold Coin held relatively high value. In the Holy Kingdom’s economy, a single gold coin could sustain a family of five for a month if they lived frugally—or comfortably for a family of three.

To be clear, Fia wasn’t salivating over the money. It was because the Grey Owls Claire described were the very same owls Fia had obliterated with her triple explosion.

Though Fia had already guessed from The Secret History of Witches that her combat prowess was considerable, she hadn’t realized it was this high. The remnants of the Grey Owl swarm alone had decimated those knights—imagine how terrifying the full force would have been.

And yet, she had dismissed them as weak monsters back then.

No—it wasn’t that they were weak. She was just too strong.

Fia nodded solemnly in her heart.

“Fia, are you short on money?”

“Huh?”

When Fia snapped back to reality, Claire’s flawless face was right in front of her. The sudden proximity made her jolt in surprise.

“N-No.”

Reαԁ on KαtReadingCafе

“Good. Don’t go doing anything reckless just because you’re desperate for coins. Grey Owl swarms aren’t something ordinary people can handle. If you ever need money, I can lend you some—though with a small bit of interest, of course.”

With a meaningful smile, Claire pinched her thumb and forefinger together, emphasizing the word “small.”

If Fia were the elven prince instead of the princess, she might have misinterpreted that as something… indecent, blushing at the implication. But reality wasn’t so kind. Claire was definitely referring to something else, and Fia didn’t get the sense that Claire was the type to “devour” people in that way.

…Not that she hadn’t entertained the thought.

Fia waved her hand dismissively, feigning composure.

“Got it, got it. I’ll come find you if I ever need money—wait, do you live in Aurora City?”

“Just across this street. Ask anyone about the clinic nearby, and they’ll point you to my place. Hmm… You’re welcome to visit even if you’re not short on money. If you’re bored or just want company, my door is always open.”

With a radiant smile, Claire waved farewell. “This time, I really am leaving. Goodbye, little Fia.”

“Ah—I’ll take you up on that. Goodbye.”

Standing on the street, Fia watched Claire’s moonlit figure gradually fade into the darkness.

Unconsciously, the corners of her lips curled upward.

“What a wonderful night.”

She couldn’t help but murmur it to herself.