Volume 3, Chapter 41 – The Sinner’s Mark and Anastasia’s Father

“May I go with you?”

“Of course. You don’t need to ask for my permission for such things, Anastasia. Just say ‘I’m coming too’ like Liti does.”

As her voice fell, Fia very “naturally” took Anastasia’s hand. Anastasia’s hand immediately recoiled like a startled rabbit, but Fia did not give up and continued to pursue and grasp it—Anastasia’s hand was slightly larger than her own, but it was still full of a woman’s slender and accommodating strength. The warm, moist touch was exceptionally comfortable.

Though they were just holding hands, Fia felt as if she could smell Anastasia’s clean fragrance through her palm. Anastasia was probably the type of woman who used perfume, although she had never seen her use any.

As for why Fia had suddenly taken Anastasia’s hand, she was naturally working to eliminate the status barrier between them. Anastasia always referred to herself as a subordinate, a feeling Fia disliked. To make Anastasia realize that she valued her highly and saw her as an older sister, Fia planned to start with intentional and unintentional physical contact in their daily lives. This should have some effect, probably.

Seeing that Fia had no intention of letting go, a blush crept up Anastasia’s neck and cheeks. She stammered.

“Y-Your Highness, what are you…”

“Isn’t it normal for a younger sister to hold her older sister’s hand? Or does Anastasia not like it?”

Although Fia also felt very embarrassed, she tried her best to maintain a playful tone.

Anastasia lowered her head with a look of self-deprecation and loneliness.

“I am a person who bears a sin. How can I be called your sister, Your Highness? Doing so would lower your own status and invite criticism… I know that you value me very much, otherwise you would not have specifically brought me back from the Land of Exile and even let me take the position of captain of the Royal Guard. I am very satisfied with just this. To ask for more…”

I’m afraid that if the dream is too beautiful, I will lose you, Your Highness.

Anastasia did not say the last words out loud.

However, Fia ignored Anastasia’s timid attempt to withdraw her hand. On the contrary, as if to tie Anastasia firmly to her side, she squeezed her hand even tighter and emphasized with extreme force.

“I don’t care what you think, Anastasia. Since you see yourself as a servant, isn’t it normal for a servant to fulfill her master’s wish? I wish for you to no longer belittle yourself. No matter what you think, I will always see you as my older sister.”

Fia’s ruby-like, burning eyes stared into Anastasia’s. The latter only lasted for less than half a second before she was defeated by Fia’s forceful gaze. Her silent gaze wandered over the sand dunes at her feet, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

It should be a success.

Fia sighed in relief in her heart. She maintained her grip on Anastasia’s hand, her gaze falling on the cyan pattern on Anastasia’s left cheek.

When she first saw this strangely patterned cyan mark, Fia had only felt that it added to Anastasia’s beauty, giving her maturity a hint of charm. But after knowing that it was a mark symbolizing a sinner, which made Anastasia unable to hold her head high, Fia felt that it was very much in the way.

“By the way, is the Sinner’s Mark the same as a slave contract?”

Since a slave contract could be transferred and destroyed with magic, then the Sinner’s Mark should be able to as well.

Anastasia instantly understood what Fia wanted to do. Worry and anxiety appeared in her lively blue eyes, and her body leaned forward slightly.

Rеaԁ оո КatReadіոɡСafе

“Th-this is His Majesty’s decree. To tamper with the Sinner’s Mark is to violate the laws of the empire…” Seemingly feeling that this was not enough to make Fia back down, Anastasia added, “The Sinner’s Mark is not a slave contract.”

“Not a slave contract? Then what is it?”

Anastasia’s expression froze. She knew that Fia was asking this to remove the mark, but that was equivalent to violating the empire’s laws. As the Crown Princess, violating the law would cause an uproar. But her position as a servant made it impossible for her not to answer. She was caught in a dilemma.

Fia couldn’t help but frown and pull Anastasia in front of her.

“Anastasia, don’t hide it from me.”

“I…” Anastasia swallowed. It wasn’t until she felt that she couldn’t win against Fia that she said with difficulty, “…It is a type of magic mark, only carved on important criminals who are exiled.”

So it’s something like a tattoo?

Then can’t it be cured with ordinary healing magic? Repair the skin, and then erase the pigment—Fia quickly denied this conjecture. As the captain of the Second Division of the Royal Guard, Anastasia had been injured to some extent in the process of growing from the First to the quasi-Fifth Rank. This meant that she had received healing magic. Since the mark had not disappeared until now, it meant that healing magic could not remove it.

However, it was also possible that the level of the healing magic was not high enough.

Fia pondered.

An Introduction to Alchemy That Even Slimes Say Is Good had mentioned that the level of healing magic and Life Recovery Potions determined the recovery effect. For example, a “Lowest-Grade Life Recovery Potion” could only heal wounds on the surface of the skin. For an injury that reached the internal organs, one had to use a “Low-Grade Life Recovery Potion” to survive. And if the injury was more serious and one wanted to heal it quickly, then only mid-grade potions and above would have the ideal effect.

Most importantly, none of these potions could restore old wounds or severed limbs. Those were injuries that only a high-grade magic potion could heal.

If Anastasia’s Sinner’s Mark was considered an old wound, then ordinary healing magic would not be able to cure it.

Could the nanomachines restore the wound? Fia’s thoughts wrapped around the Laevateinn at her waist, but she quickly thought again that if she were to act now, Anastasia would surely resist. Not to mention the terrifying thought of “Her Highness was injured for my sake,” just “modifying the Sinner’s Mark would violate the empire’s laws” was enough to make Anastasia panic for a while.

I’ll do it after she falls asleep… no, the root of the problem is in the country.

If only she knew what had happened between Anastasia’s father, the Elf King, and the current First Queen of the elves back then. Fia sighed softly. Realizing this, she couldn’t help but feel at a loss for how to proceed.

Since she had accepted the identity of the elf princess, she naturally couldn’t just accept Liti and Anastasia and ignore her parents.

Not to mention that with the confirmation of the Key of the World Tree, and the fact that everyone who had met the elf princess had said that some of her habits were the same, what if she had really just lost her memory? To fall out with her parents would put her in a very awkward position.

She only knew that the Elf King was a strict, promiscuous, and powerful man. As for the personality of the First Queen of the Elf Kingdom, she knew nothing. She was both her own mother and Anastasia’s mother. Since the Elf King was the later one, the First Queen would probably like Anastasia and distance herself from her own daughter.

I really don’t want to face it.

In the past, in the Human Alliance, she had never had contact with such a thing as family affection. Now, to suddenly have to adapt to it, even she felt that the future was uncertain.

If only they were outsiders, Fia couldn’t help but think. If they were outsiders, she could convince them of anything with her fists.

Rеαd оո ΚаtRеadіnɡСafe

Witnessing the change in Fia’s expression the whole time, the tension in Anastasia’s heart gradually eased. Instead, she asked softly, as if to probe Fia’s inner thoughts.

“Is something on your mind, Your Highness?”

“I suppose so. Do you know where your father is, Anastasia?”

“Father…”

Although Anastasia hadn’t said anything, Fia could already tell from the sudden complexity of her expression and the force with which she squeezed her hand that her father’s situation was not very good.

She remembered Anastasia had said that if not for the elf princess, she and her father would have died in the Land of Exile long ago. Her father should have been rescued as well.

“I don’t know where he went either… Although he was saved by you, he takes the past very seriously. Not only did he not take the sinecure you arranged for him, but he also thought that you were giving him a handout. He sees you as an extension of His Majesty.

After I failed to persuade him one night, he left the royal palace and his whereabouts are unknown. But he broke through to the Fifth Rank a long time ago. Even if he doesn’t stay in the palace, he can live well. You don’t have to worry too much, Your Highness.”

He left the royal palace…

I have a feeling there will be a plot where he comes back for revenge in the future.

I hope I’m just overthinking it.

Fia subconsciously looked at the golden Holy Tree at the end of the northern sky. Its translucent, withered, and dilapidated appearance seemed to foreshadow some kind of ending, which was unsettling.

“Sis—ter—, I… need… a… break.”

Liti, who had finally dealt with all the Fire-striped Frogs, panted as she walked towards Fia, her hands hanging down and her body bent over like a starving person. The one-piece dress magic robe she was wearing was already soaked with sweat, and even her purple hair was matted together.

If not for being spurred on by Milu, Liti would never have worked so hard. But the fact was, even though she had used all her strength, as a Second Rank magic caster, she had still killed fewer frogs than Milu.

Liti’s disheveled appearance made Fia smile. She took out a water bottle from her spatial backpack and handed it to her. Liti’s eyes immediately lit up as she snatched it away. After drinking greedily, she let out a long sigh like an old man ending a day’s work.

“Haah, it’s been a long time since I’ve worked so hard. I’m exhausted—Eh?”

As if seeing an incredible sight, the hunched-over Liti’s mouth fell open, her gaze falling on Fia’s and Anastasia’s joined hands.

“A-A-Ana-sister, you…”

“Ah!” Anastasia instantly reacted. She quickly withdrew her hand and explained stiffly, “It was Her Highness who initiated it, n-not me—”

“No way! I want one too! I was working so hard at the front, it’s not fair that only you get one, Sister Ana!”

“Crying” like this, Liti threw herself into Fia’s arms. Just like the last time she had recharged on “sister mana,” Liti wrapped her arms around Fia’s back and, while rubbing her face against her chest, let out “haa, haa” breaths.

Rеаd oո KαtRеaⅾiոɡСαfе

Because she had just finished fighting, Liti’s forehead was covered in sweat. When she pounced over, Fia could even smell the milky scent in her purple hair. If not for the fact that Liti had really worked hard, Fia would have insisted that she take a bath first—although it was embarrassing, as long as she thought of Liti as just her younger sister, it was fine. Thinking this way, Fia even found Liti’s actions very pleasant.

Liti’s body was slender but not thin. When she hugged her, even through the silky fabric, she could clearly feel the elasticity of her skin underneath. In addition, the vibrant, girlish aura on Liti made Fia feel that she had also become full of energy.

It would surely be very warm to hug her to sleep in the winter.

But it was summer now.

Just as Fia felt that Liti should know when to stop, she felt another touch behind her, exactly the same as Liti’s, as if someone was hugging her from behind.

“I worked hard too.”

It was Milu.

Milu’s two-handed sword was nowhere to be seen. Like a child who didn’t want her mother to go to work, she hugged Fia tightly from behind. Although her waist-length white hair was slightly messy and her breath was uneven because she had just finished fighting, she was not like Liti, who looked as if she had just been pulled out of the water. Her stamina was clearly superior to Liti’s. At this moment, Milu was looking up, with an expression of waiting for praise.

Sandwiched between two “younger sisters,” with one hand still holding Anastasia’s, Fia couldn’t help but feel both helpless and amused. She gave up on pushing Liti away and instead took turns patting their heads—since Milu was behind her and she couldn’t reach, Fia used her Spatial Hand instead.

“Alright, alright, both of you worked hard. You did great. Hmm… let me see, Liti has broken through to the Third Rank, and Milu has reached the Second. You don’t have to think about raising your ranks for a while. That’s all for today.”

After reaching the Third Rank, Liti could learn the [Flight] spell, which was both simple and complex. And Milu, because her foundation was not solid, had to first receive basic training from Anastasia. Improving one’s strength was not a process that could be accomplished overnight. Having mana without combat skills was useless in a real fight.

Receiving Fia’s praise, Liti let go of her with a satisfied look and instead hugged her other arm.

“Ehehe, if you praise me like this every time, sister, I’ll be tempted to think about training every day.”

“I don’t mind just patting your head.”

“Hmph, this is a pat from you, sister. You have no idea of your own value.”

“Yes, no idea of your value.”

Milu, who had at some point started “sharing” an arm with Liti, also nodded. However, Liti was clearly dissatisfied with having her arm shared. She raised her eyebrows in protest.

“This is mine! There’s a pecking order!”

“Hmph.”

In response, Milu turned her face away.

This feels like they’re dividing up a corpse.

Fia forcefully suppressed the urge to complain. She first let go of Anastasia’s hand, then pushed away their little heads one by one—although Anastasia seemed reluctant, she couldn’t walk back holding her hand. Fia chose to compensate her later.

Reαd οո KαtRеαdiոgСαfе

“It’s about time to go back. It’s too hot here.”

“Aren’t you going to try the new spells you just learned, sister? When little Milu and I were fighting the Fire-striped Frogs, it seemed like you were learning magic.”

“There will be a chance to try them later. There’s no hurry.”

Just as Liti had said, while she and Milu were increasing their mana, Fia was learning magic on the side. Since she was about to arrive in Silvar, Fia planned to complete her collection of elemental magic just in case.

Currently, the main elemental spells Fia had mastered were [Wind Blade], [Fairy Fire], [Ice Bullet], [Torrent], and [Dragon Tooth]. She had mastered the four basic elements and the higher element of water. But she had not touched light, dark, nature, or thunder magic at all. Considering that learning too many spells at once would make it impossible for her to use them with ease in a short time, out of the principle of quality over quantity, Fia decided to learn light and dark magic this time, namely [Light Beam] and [Corrosive Attraction].

[Light Beam] was simply to create a beam of light, usually for illumination. But with the same mana output, the brightness was greater and the light more concentrated. Without enhancement from [Hyper-computation], the difference between the two was like that of a household light bulb and a searchlight.

As for [Corrosive Attraction], it was a spell that attached an attractive force to an object. If Fia used it on a stone, the sand around it would be attracted to it like a magnet. The effective range of the spell was two meters, and it could only attract very light objects like sand and sticks.

Although Fia wanted to try the effect after enhancement from [Hyper-computation], since Liti and Milu were beside her, she was worried about disturbing them and did not try.

There was a training ground in the Witch Hall. She would try it there in a little while.

“Then are we going back now?”

Liti blinked her cute purplish-red eyes, a hint of probing and relief in her voice.

She was probably happy about “not having to fight until sunset,” Fia guessed. When Liti saw her bring out that barrel of magic potion, she had a pitiful look on her face, as if tears were welling up in her eyes.

Fia smiled and patted Liti’s head.

“Yes, we’re going back now.”

“Then I want to sleep with you, sister! Yesterday it was little Milu and Renee, today it should be my and Sister Ana’s turn!”

“No, I’m sleeping alone in one bed.”

“Eh? Is that so?”

“Of course.”

“To ignore two beauties, you’re surprisingly innocent, sister…”

“Innocent my foot!”

Amidst Liti’s chattering, Fia’s group set off on the road back to Byrne City.