Volume 6, Chapter 7 – The Ominous One

“Ugh…”

The taste was quite peculiar.

It was like digging up mud from a swamp and mixing it with a great many spices. The spiciness, bitterness, and a flavor that was hard to describe as either fragrant or foul made one frown. The taste was comparable to the Frost Wolf blood she had drunk before.

Refina, who had also tasted a little, wore a look of discomfort.

“It’s a bit like the monster blood we used to drink, but monster blood has a lingering gamey smell that can’t be removed. And this spiciness isn’t ordinary spiciness, it’s more like… more like the feeling of being exposed to sunlight.”

“It fits the attribute of a priestess. Those people are made of the light element to their core.” Wiping the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, Edith said resentfully, “No wonder no one in the Blood Clan used to sell the blood of priestesses. I thought it was because they were hard to get, but now it seems it’s just that their blood tastes too awful. Refina, clean this up. Don’t let the people outside smell the blood.”

“Yes.”

Refina began to clean the bloodstains with a cloth.

Can magical attributes also affect the taste of blood?

Storing the remaining blood in her inventory, Yisi couldn’t help but wonder.

If that’s the case, could the magical attribute further affect the blood’s effects?

For example, if the blood of many people who specialize in light magic were mixed together, could the resulting mixed blood allow a vampire to gain an affinity for the light element, and thus use light magic? Furthermore, would it be possible to create a mixed blood that would allow an ordinary vampire to walk in the sunlight?

If that’s feasible, Pepe would make me produce dozens of batches, no matter what.

Reаⅾ оn КаtRеαԁіոgСαfе

Creak.

The carriage suddenly came to a stop.

“Master, we’ve arrived at Mitters Bayer. The guard seems to have something to say to you.”

“Ah, leave it to me.”

Mary had not yet learned the language of the Ymir nation and couldn’t communicate with the guards. Patting Mary’s head, Yisi stepped out of the carriage and jumped down. Just as Mary had said, two guards had stopped the carriage about ten meters from the city gate.

Due to the bandits following the carriage, their party had attracted the attention of many passersby and soldiers.

“This is the east gate of Mitters Bayer. State your identity.”

Clearly being treated as special individuals, one of the two soldiers was responsible for questioning while the other took notes. Unlike in the Hels Kingdom, the soldiers of Mitters Bayer were polite and proper, and they didn’t look easy to bribe. Their silver armor, reflecting the sunlight, was very clean, and the goddess seal of the Ymir Church was on their chests. Coupled with the warm early winter sun and the gray-white city walls nearby, the overall environment gave an impression of brightness and neatness.

“We are nobles from the Hels Kingdom. For some reasons, we have come to the Ymir Territory to seek refuge with a distant relative.”

Having learned her lesson from her encounter with Shalu, Yisi naturally wouldn’t limit her location to just Mitters Bayer this time, otherwise, the soldiers could easily expose her lie with further questioning.

As expected, the burly soldier did not dwell on this question, but instead turned his gaze to the dozen or so bandits behind the carriage.

“And those people are?”

Rеαԁ оn КаtRеadingCafе

“They are bandits I caught on the road. They were originally planning to rob a novice priestess of your church, but we happened to encounter them, so we captured them.”

“Oh, no wonder some of them look familiar. So they’re the wanted bastards. Follow me, we will give you gold coins according to the bounty on the bandits.”

Just as Yisi was about to follow the burly soldier who had questioned her, the other soldier who was taking notes spoke up hesitantly.

“Wait, you said you saved a novice priestess from our church. Where is that novice priestess now?”

“She took her carriage and returned to Mitters Bayer ahead of us. She said she had some things to do. Didn’t you meet her?”

The burly soldier who had been questioning her also noticed the problem.

“A novice priestess traveling alone? Were there no other priests?”

“No.”

“According to the rules, novice priestesses are not allowed to go out on missions alone. Besides, how could a novice priestess have a carriage? Did a novice priestess enter the city today…”

Halfway through his words, the two soldiers’ eyes gradually widened as they looked at each other.

Sweat could be clearly seen forming on their foreheads.

“This… S-So it was…”

“You said you saved that novice priestess, is that true?”

Reαd on КαtRеaԁіոɡСаfе

The soldier asked Yisi anxiously. Yisi replied with a straight face.

“I’m not lying. We not only encountered bandits but also a mutated monster.”

“No wonder she was in such a hurry earlier… Alright, it’s nothing. You can come with me to collect the bounty now.”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the burly soldier beckoned Yisi into the guardhouse. For some reason, the soldier’s demeanor changed from his previous impartial manner to one of unusual enthusiasm. First, he had her sit on a chair, then he asked if she needed water or a towel. His attentiveness was such that Yisi even had the illusion that this soldier had taken a fancy to her.

At this moment, another soldier walked into the guardhouse. His gaze first lingered on Yisi’s face for a long while, then he teased the burly soldier with a bantering look.

“Yo, Kit. You were told to guard the city gate, yet you’re here flirting with a young lady. If you don’t buy me a drink today, I’m telling the captain.”

“Tch, what do you know. This young lady met ‘that one’ outside.”

“‘That one’? Which ‘that one’?”

Without speaking, the burly soldier mysteriously mouthed something to the soldier who had just entered. Because his back was turned, Yisi couldn’t see what the burly soldier said, only that the newcomer’s face changed drastically, and he suddenly looked at her with eyes full of pity.

“…So that’s how it is. How pitiful. Kit, treat this young lady well, or the captain will definitely not let you off.” As he spoke, the soldier even took out two copper coins from his pocket and gave them to Yisi. “Go to the west street and buy something to eat. Relieve some stress. To have met that one, you’ve really had bad luck. We’ve all suffered at her hands, so we understand how you feel.”

What are they talking about?

Yisi felt as if she were in a fog.

Rеаⅾ oո КatReαⅾіոɡСafe

“But the west street hasn’t been very safe lately. According to the guys on duty a few days ago, rats have been appearing there again, so it’s best not to go there at night. If you run into any trouble, report it to us at the city gate. I’ll be the first to rush out and sort it out for you, miss.”

“Ah… thank you.”

“Here, this is the reward for eliminating the bandits. Eleven bandits, a total of three gold coins and seven silver coins.”

Taking the reward from the burly soldier’s hand, Yisi stood up and asked.

“Is the ‘that one’ you’re talking about Miss Shalu?”

“Eek! Don’t say that name out loud! Or we’ll be in trouble.” The burly soldier walked up anxiously. “Quickly, go into the city and find an inn to stay at. I know a good inn on the east street. They’re very welcoming to curious people like you.”

“Is that so…”

It seemed she had run into an ominous character.

Without saying more to the soldiers, Yisi went straight back to the carriage. During the time she was away, the bandits had already been taken away by other soldiers.

“Onee-sama, what did those soldiers say to you?”

“We’ll talk after we’ve settled in at an inn. This city isn’t as simple as it looks on the surface.”

Glancing at the Omniscient Map ¹ ugh- that.. , Yisi told Mary to drive the carriage to the east street.