Volume 8, Chapter 21 – Persuasion and Refusal

Mary’s body stiffened at Yisi’s words, and she froze on the spot.

“M-Master, why did you suddenly think of this…”

Does she still have trauma?

Sighing inwardly, Yisi switched to a gentle tone and pointed to a few of the Fallen on the street.

“Look at them. Does Mary think there’s anything special about them compared to the people around them?”

Their clothes were patched, their hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in a long time, and their skin was rough and bodies thin, clearly people who did heavy physical labor. Such men were a common sight on the streets of the kingdom. If one were to look for people based on the above criteria, they could fill several rooms in less than a quarter of an hour.

As long as they didn’t take off their clothes, no one would know they were the Fallen. Currently, there was only one way people identified the Fallen, and that was to have them take off their clothes to verify their identity.

Mary observed for a moment, then stood on her tiptoes and whispered in a very small voice.

“They are all the Fallen.”

Eh?

According to the script, shouldn’t Mary have answered “there’s no difference”?

Her prepared words were forcibly stuffed back down her throat by Mary. Yisi awkwardly cleared her throat. “Why? How can Mary tell?”

“There’s something strange about them.”

Is it because the Fallen always feel inferior, and their expressions and actions are furtive, that Mary was able to notice?

Yisi couldn’t help but take another look at these Fallen. Observing the men with that thought in mind, she couldn’t come to the conclusion that they were the Fallen at all. The expressions and walking postures of these men were very normal. It was impossible to think that they were the Fallen based on subtle movements alone.

As if she had guessed Yisi’s thoughts, Mary took out the king-shaped golden pendant from her clothes and held it up in front of Yisi.

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“It told me… There’s something black on those gentlemen. Miss Alice is the same.”

This pendant again?

To this day, she still doesn’t know what this thing was. Even when she used ‘Eye of God’ to appraise it, the result was just a series of question marks. If she could wear this necklace herself, she might be able to figure it out, but whenever she tried to take the pendant off Mary, it would become as heavy as a mountain. Although it wasn’t impossible to use brute force to break it, this was something beneficial to Mary—to this day, it had only ever strengthened Mary. If she broke it, it might lose its effect. Plus, this was Mary’s personal property, not something she had given to Mary, so Yisi had always maintained an observational stance towards this pendant.

Besides long-term strength enhancement, providing a high burst of power in a short time, and increasing the speed of leveling up and learning magic, it can now identify the Fallen?

I understand this pendant less and less. Maybe it really is a treasure left to Mary by a god. At that time, when Julius saw the goddess statue emit a golden light, he had shown a moment of great shock. If Julius were still alive, she could go and ask him what he had thought of. Unfortunately, Julius had already been executed by Evelyn. To get the answer now was impossible. After all, besides God, that is, the Goddess herself, she couldn’t find another existence as omniscient and omnipotent.

Wait, omniscient and omnipotent?

In the information she currently had, there was actually something similar that met the standard of being omniscient and omnipotent.

The Gospel.

If the Gospel truly knew all the elements, then the origin of this pendant would naturally be no problem for it.

Yisi shook her head, dispelling the stray thoughts.

“Then what about when Mary looks at herself? Is there something black too?”

“No. It’s gold, just like Master.”

“Gold? Me? I’m not one of the Fallen.”

Mary must have seen it wrong. Yisi didn’t take it to heart and brought the topic back on track.

“What I’m trying to say is, even if Mary takes off her bandage, no one will be able to discover that you’re one of the Fallen. That red eye is very beautiful. To cover it like this is such a waste. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter even if people find out you’re one of the Fallen now. The Church that persecuted the Fallen has already declared that they are no longer unforgivable sinners. Just as Mary has seen, the Fallen can walk freely on the streets.”

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This was precisely the reason she had worked so hard to bring Julius down. Only by changing the general environment could Mary emerge from the shadows of her past.

“But my ability is different from theirs…” Mary lowered her head timidly, her beautiful purple eyes hidden behind her chestnut hair. “If I accidentally use my ability, my eye will turn into a very scary shape.”

Does she mean the vertical pupil?

Yisi hesitated. She had to admit that when Mary’s red eye turned into a vertical pupil, the blood-like crimson color was very frightening. But Mary should be able to control her ability well now and not let it activate on its own.

Of course, this kind of thing required time to get used to. She couldn’t just have Mary suddenly take off the bandage. If Mary accidentally let her eye turn into a vertical pupil due to nervousness, and then was seen by an uninformed passerby who shouted something nasty like “monster,” all her previous efforts would be in vain, and Mary would revert to a timid little bird.

“Well, Mary can start with just the few of us. How about we try taking off the bandage only in a small room in the temple first?”

“If that is what Master commands…”

A feeling of wanting to both laugh and cry welled up inside her. Yisi flicked Mary’s forehead as if in punishment. As if she had been electrocuted, Mary reflexively covered her head with both hands, a pained expression on her face.

“Ow.”

“Alright, alright, let me rub it,” placing her palm, which was imbued with healing magic, on Mary’s forehead, Yisi sighed helplessly. She was completely powerless against such a cute daughter. “I’m not ordering you, Mary. It’s a suggestion. If you’re willing to try starting small, I’ll be very supportive. If you don’t want to take off the bandage, I won’t force you to. An order and a suggestion are not the same thing, you know?”

“Mmm… I know.”

With that teary-eyed look, does she know or not?

After quickly appeasing Mary with sweets, the two of them arrived at the place they had visited with Cynthia the day before.

The Blacksmiths’ Association.

With the Tears of God as a stepping stone, she had smoothly obtained a letter of recommendation from Duke Wozwahl. The blacksmith Avis, who could forge Crimson Gold-grade weapons, only accepted guests by appointment. But even the earliest slot was scheduled for five years later. Without a recommendation, it would be difficult to get a meeting even if she used her status as a Cardinal. However, if Duke Wozwahl, who was from the military, personally made the introduction, even if Avis was reluctant, he would have to give the Duke a face. These were Duke Wozwahl’s exact words to Yisi.

As long as she had this letter, she could get the formula for the magic liquid for trigger-activated magic weapons. Although having Avis as her mentor would be the best choice, as she could then consult him on any problem at any time, Avis’s time did not seem to be so flexible. So Yisi changed her request to hoping to buy the formulas for various magic liquids from Avis. As long as Avis was willing to name a price, money was not a problem.

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However, when Yisi handed the letter to the guard at the door and asked him to pass it on to Avis, the reply she received was not satisfactory.

Respectfully folding the letter, the guard bowed his head deeply and handed the envelope back to Yisi with both hands.

“My sincerest apologies, esteemed guest. Master Avis is not receiving anyone today.”

“Not even with a recommendation from Duke Wozwahl?”

The guard’s head bowed even lower.

“No.”

“Then tomorrow we…”

“Tomorrow is also not possible. Ever since Master Avis saw off those three guests this morning, he has not come out of his room. Before you, he has already refused several meeting requests. Master Avis also said he would be canceling all his appointments for this month.”

Was he poisoned?

Yisi shifted her gaze to the [Omniscient Map]. The person named Avis had full HP, and there was nothing abnormal in his status bar.

“Then do you know the reason why Master Avis is not seeing guests?”

The guard looked troubled.

“This… we have rules. We cannot spread the secrets of the association.”

Yisi placed a gold coin in the guard’s hand. Feeling the heavy weight in his palm, the guard swallowed.

“I-it was three women in black veils. When they came, they were carrying a sword without a scabbard. Everyone in the whole association was looking at that weapon. It was the first time I’ve seen those arrogant guys with that kind of expression, their eyes so full of envy they were about to fall out.”

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“Get to the point.”

“Y-yes. I heard from those people that the sword is called Durandal, and it was the weapon that appeared at the auction last night. Master Avis has spent his whole life forging swords. To see a weapon that is hailed as a divine artifact, it must be like seeing his first love. I estimate that Master Avis won’t come out of that room until he has figured out that sword. Alas, that’s a weapon passed down from the Age of the Gods. Master Avis is just a mortal, how could he possibly understand the reasons behind it? What a pity. I hope Master Avis can face reality soon. Eh? Where did they go?”

Discovering that the person in front of him had disappeared, the guard hurriedly looked around. But there were only a few pedestrians on the rainy street. The only thing that proved that it wasn’t a hallucination was the single gold coin in his hand.

“What should we do? Master Avis is unwilling to see Master…”

In contrast to Yisi’s calm attitude, Mary frowned, looking exceptionally worried.

Yisi, holding the umbrella, couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s not something for Mary to worry about.”

She had never expected that besides causing trouble for Shinku and Fran, Durandal would also come back to bite her in the foot. Although the solution was simple—just forcibly drag Avis out of his room—a solution was a solution, and being turned away at the door was another matter. Moreover, knowledge seekers like Avis often had extremely strong obsessions. Using violence could easily backfire.

As for directly stating that she was the one who had forged Durandal, Yisi was, on the one hand, worried that Avis wouldn’t believe her. A person who could forge Durandal asking for the formula of a simple weapon was as ridiculous as a person who could run but not walk. On the other hand, she thought it would bring trouble in the future. Just like the reason for hiding her strength in the Taris Marquisate, once she announced that she was the one who had forged Durandal, more and more people would come to her to have weapons made. Even if she refused them one by one, she would gradually lose control of the situation.

As she was thinking, her clothes were suddenly tugged, but it was clearly not from Mary’s direction.

Yisi looked behind her.

A girl in a white gauze dress with long, golden-brown hair, wearing a flower crown.

The Flower of the Kingdom, Cynthia Wozwahl.

She was sizing her up with an expression of watching a good show.

“Yo. You look like you’ve run into some trouble. Need my help?”