Volume 2, Chapter 52 – The Church’s Visit

A lonely night.

Auston sat alone at the bar, drinking.

This was a new model recently introduced by Margaret Tavern. Customers could either drink at the tables in the middle of the tavern as before or do what Auston was doing now—using the counter as a table for drinking. Since Yisi called this counter a “bar counter,” the term gradually spread.

After downing a cup of fragrant Margaret, Auston slammed the glass onto the bar counter with a clink and slumped over like a pile of mud.

“Fran… another one.”

“Mr. Auston, do you want to be carried back by your servants again? That wouldn’t be very noble of you.”

Fran, a staff member in charge of handling payments with flaxen hair and a white headscarf, gently admonished him. As a regular who was infatuated with Yisi, Auston had grown familiar with Fran. Since he often sent gifts to Yisi through Fran and Fran was understanding and insightful about matters of the heart, she had essentially become Auston’s love advisor.

Still sprawled on the counter, Auston weakly waved his glass at Fran, clearly already drunk.

“Mmm… one more, Fran. Just one more.”

“If Miss Yisi sees you like this, it’ll lower her opinion of you. Are you really okay with that?”

“Urk.”

Like a wind-up toy, Auston immediately lifted his drunken face, first hesitating, then revealing a complicated expression, as if troubled by something.

This was the first time Fran had seen Auston with such a gloomy expression. In fact, it was rare to see him drunk at all—the last time he was this wasted was when he first tried the special Margaret.

Glancing at the lively tavern, Fran leaned slightly forward and tilted her head to look at Auston with concern. After all these days of interaction, Auston had come to feel almost like a younger brother to her.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“I… I’m in love…” Still slurring his words, Auston let out a long sigh. “Not just Miss Yisi… but also a vam—hic—a vampire…”

“A vampire?” Fran raised an eyebrow, looking at him as if he were an idiot. “You’re so drunk you’re hallucinating now.”

“No, I’m not hallucinating. Hic… It happened a few days ago, the day those thugs came to cause trouble for you.”

“What happened that day?”

Fran’s question made Auston grit his teeth, and the alcohol gave him the courage to blurt it all out.

“That day, I happened to run into Miss Yisi at the slave merchant’s—”

“You mean you were stalking Miss Yisi, right?”

Rеαⅾ оn ΚαtReаdiոɡСafе

“…Let me finish.”

Auston rolled his eyes.

“After Miss Yisi left the slave merchant, I followed her shortly after. But then I saw her being harassed by some bandits. You know, as a gentleman, I can’t stand men bullying women—especially when it’s Miss Yisi. So I—hic—”

“So you tried to play the hero and save the damsel in distress?”

Fran giggled teasingly.

Instead of denying it, Auston flushed red and emphasized,

“Every man dreams of showing off his bravery in front of the woman he loves!”

“Sure, sure. But what does this have to do with a vampire?”

Auston’s voice immediately grew quieter.

“I… I couldn’t beat those bandits… Instead, they beat me up.”

“No wonder you didn’t come here the past couple of days. Were you recovering? What happened next?”

“After that… I was saved by a vampire I’d always looked down on. Just as I was about to lose consciousness from the beating, a vampire lady appeared—like an angel.”

“Vampires can’t be angels, can they?”

“But she was an angel!”

Auston’s face filled with reverence and longing.

“Beautiful white ponytail, a silver mask and cloak, but you could still see the curves of her figure through her clothes. Her voice was so commanding and cold, like God delivering judgment. She took down all the bandits in just a few moves… and even gave me a precious healing potion for my injuries…”

“Wait—was her cloak black? A pureblood vampire?”

Fran suddenly pressed urgently, her tone sharp. Auston, as if sobering up slightly, looked up at Fran with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“You know her?”

“No, just a guess.”

“I see… I really want to see that vampire lady again. A kind and beautiful angel…”

Meanwhile, behind the screen partition, Yisi couldn’t hold back and spat out her water.

“Pfft—cough cough cough.”

Rеаd оn KαtReаԁinɡСаfe

“Onee-sama, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine.”

Taking the handkerchief from Camilla, Yisi wiped her mouth.

Of course, the conversation between Auston and Fran wasn’t over yet. For some reason, Fran’s usually gentle tone now carried a hint of irritation.

“So, who do you actually like—Miss Yisi or that vampire lady?”

“That’s…” Auston frowned deeply, clearly stumped by the question. But soon, his expression relaxed, and he spread his arms with shameless honesty. “Both! I want to pursue both ladies!”

“Go die.”

With a thunk of something wooden hitting flesh, Auston immediately fell silent. Probably Fran had smacked him on the head with a serving tray. Though commoners striking nobles was punishable by death, that rule didn’t apply in Margaret Tavern—or so Yisi thought.

Across from Yisi, Camilla wasn’t paying attention to the outside world. Frowning in thought, she moved a piece to G4, then reluctantly looked up at Yisi.

“The chess game you invented isn’t easy to master, Onee-sama…”

“You’ve only just started learning, of course it’s hard. But this is actually one of the simpler variants.”

“It seems I still have a long way to go before I can defeat you, Onee-sama. By the way, aren’t you doing any experiments today?”

Yisi lightly tapped a piece against the board.

“No, I’m taking a break today. Yesterday, Mary mentioned that Shinku’s been having some trouble—some man keeps pestering her every day. I thought I’d stay downstairs and see what’s going on.”

“Indeed… Shinku has been dealing with some issues lately. But it’s probably not what you’re imagining.”

“Then what is it?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Shinku’s furious voice erupted from the first floor.

“Get out!”

“Shinku, please—I just want to make up for my past actions…”

The man’s voice made Yisi blink.

“That voice sounds familiar. Who is it?”

As if she already knew the answer, Camilla replied without hesitation.

Reaԁ оn КαtRеаԁіոɡСafе

“It’s the captain of the patrol squad.”

“Pfft!”

Once again, Yisi sprayed water everywhere.

“Are you serious, Camilla? Wasn’t that patrol captain not only expressionless but also gave Shinku a hard time? How did those two even cross paths?”

“Apparently, the captain wanted to apologize for mistaking Shinku for the fallen last time.” Halfway through, Camilla’s voice dropped to a whisper, as if afraid of being overheard.

“But Shinku told me in secret that it’s actually because she looks a lot like the captain’s daughter. His daughter died when she was very young, so he wants to adopt Shinku as his foster daughter. She made me promise not to tell anyone.”

Camilla’s conspiratorial expression almost made Yisi laugh, though she managed to keep a straight face.

“I see. But that’s never going to happen. Shinku is a fallen, the captain has his duties, and Shinku would never forgive someone who’s killed her comrades.”

“Right. That’s why the captain gets thrown out every time he comes. But…”

Camilla frowned slightly, as if debating whether to continue.

“But?”

“Onee-sama, this is just my guess… but I think the captain actually enjoys being thrown out by Shinku.”

“…I can kind of understand that.”

After all, Shinku was an adorable cat-eared girl with bright red hair. Combined with her usually serious demeanor, the contrast made her even more charming. Getting to talk to a beautiful girl like that—even if it ended with being kicked out—was probably still thrilling.

Yisi’s response made Camilla bite her lip hesitantly.

“Do you like that kind of thing too, Onee-sama? I can try to change…”

“No, no, Camilla, you’re fine as you are. I like you just the way you are.”

She couldn’t deny that she occasionally had a slight masochistic streak—enjoying being teased by an older sister type. But admitting that outright in front of Camilla would be too shameless.

“Shinku, Shinku, just hear me out—”

“Get lost!”

Yisi could practically hear Shinku kicking the patrol captain. She couldn’t help but wince. Only Shinku would actually lay hands on someone—Yisi still remembered the time Shinku slapped Fran hard enough to leave five finger marks on her face.

Though, to be fair, Fran had asked for it.

Rеαԁ оո KаtRеαdіոɡСаfе

Yisi sighed softly.

“Sigh… As long as Shinku can handle it, that’s fine. Let’s call it a day and head upstairs. For the next few days, Camilla and Mary shouldn’t work. I don’t want either of you collapsing from anemia in the middle of the tavern.”

“Then… Can I sleep with you like before?”

“Mm… sure.”

Since she was the one who caused this whole mess in the first place, she couldn’t exactly refuse Camilla’s request.

Just as the two were about to head upstairs, a commotion broke out in the tavern. Voices murmuring things like “The Church is here” and “Archpriest Daniel” spread through the crowd.

Yisi gave Camilla a reassuring look before stepping out from behind the screen. What she saw was a group of men dressed in priestly robes. The one at the front stood out—his white robes were adorned with a red cross, and the cuffs were embroidered with golden thread. He also carried a white staff topped with a small gemstone.

None of them were above Level 10.

“Who is Yisi?” The man, around thirty years old, demanded. “I am Daniel Ulysses, Archpriest of Celtic City.”

“Hah? What business do you have with Miss Yisi?”

Auston, who had been drinking gloomily at the bar, immediately puffed out his chest. Like dominoes, one noble youth after another stood up from their seats, glaring at the priests.

Archpriest Daniel wasn’t intimidated. Instead, he straightened his posture with righteous authority.

“Miss Yisi, as a cleric of the Ymir Church, is obligated to answer to the local archpriest. This is an internal Church matter—outsiders have no right to interfere.”

“Since when does Miss Yisi have to answer you?”

A noble youth retorted sharply.

Before the conflict could escalate, Yisi quickly stepped forward.

“I’m Yisi. What business do you have with me, Archpriest Daniel?”

“You’re Yisi? A new face… No matter. I’m not here to question you. There’s another matter.”

Another matter?

Curious, Yisi glanced once more at the priests—all below Level 10—and nodded.

“Very well. But the room is small, so it’s best if only you and the necessary guards come upstairs.”

Gesturing for them to follow, Yisi led the way to the second floor. Daniel exchanged a glance with his subordinates before following with two guards in tow.