Volume 8, Chapter 41 – The Drunken Flower of the Kingdom

As Yisi, carrying Tiffany, walked out of the workshop, Tiffany began to accuse her with a pitiful expression.

“Yisi, demon.”

However, Yisi, who was used to Tiffany’s feigned pity, not only did not ask for forgiveness but instead tapped Tiffany on the head even more forcefully.

“If you’re going to talk about demons, isn’t that your middle name, Tiffany?”

“Mmph, Yisi, demon lord.”

Covering her head with both hands, Tiffany puffed out her cheeks in a dissatisfied protest.

“If even I’m a demon, then there are few good people left in the world.” Without being modest at a time like this, Yisi proudly patted her chest. Her level of kindness was definitely above average. “Speaking of which, why didn’t you go to the refugee camp with Mary today, Tiffany? You’re usually so clingy with her.”

“Like, Yisi.”

Tiffany was probably teasing her. Although she knew that Tiffany wasn’t being sincere, Yisi still felt a little happy.

“Hmph, I’m not as easy to fool as Mary. Spit it out, what do you want?”

“A princess carry.”

“No.”

Refusing Tiffany without hesitation, at the same time, Yisi felt a trace of curiosity. Tiffany was the type of little girl who, as long as she wasn’t joking, would directly state what she was thinking. Usually, when she asked Tiffany what she wanted, Tiffany would immediately answer with things like magic power, food, drinks, or sparkling gems. A request like ‘princess carry’ just now was clearly just to tease her. However, Yisi didn’t believe that Tiffany would leave Mary for no reason. She placed her hands on her hips and sighed in resignation.

“Then why have you been following me since this morning? I’m going to study today, not to play. Well, if you want to follow me for good food, it’s only noon now, so there’s still time to find a dessert shop.”

“…Refugee camp, don’t like.”

“Don’t like? Why? Although the smell there is indeed terrible, I think it’s much better than moldy, rotten meat.”

She had once asked Tiffany what she ate when she was wandering in the forest. Tiffany’s answer was that she ate everything, including the animal skeletons left over by other predators or the animal hides that humans couldn’t digest. Tiffany had eaten almost everything that could be eaten, which naturally included moldy, rotten raw meat. If she could tolerate that kind of smell, the smell of the refugee camp shouldn’t be a big problem. Of course, afterward, even though Yisi knew that as a slime, Tiffany had a wide diet, she still couldn’t help but often feed her all sorts of food.

“Atmosphere, don’t like.”

“What atmosphere?”

“Fanatics, faith, Alice.”

Is she saying that the refugees believe in Alice like fanatics?

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Alice often brought food to the refugees and would even risk taking the injured and sick ones into the city. It’s only normal that the refugees would trust her.

Yisi took what Tiffany said about “fanatics” as a feeling of repaying kindness. However, Tiffany shook her head very seriously.

“No, zealous, crazy.”

“…Crazy?”

Even she was starting to not understand Tiffany’s explanation.

Tiffany decided to use a long sentence to emphasize.

“They, are morbid. Continue, will riot.”

“Morbid.”

Thinking in the worst-case scenario, she made some connections. For example, if someone were to insult Alice, the refugees would not just verbally retaliate, but would collectively, in Alice’s name, lynch the insulter. If that were the case, then the atmosphere in the refugee camp was indeed too morbid, to the point of being unsafe.

No wonder Tiffany didn’t want to go. Was it her monster’s intuition warning her?

Yisi tilted her head curiously and looked into Tiffany’s deep green eyes.

“Then why didn’t you say so this morning? If you had, I wouldn’t have let Mary go to the refugee camp. Although Laxy and Camilla are with her, it’s better to have one less trouble.”

“Don’t disturb, Mary.”

Is it because she wasn’t sure of her feeling, and was worried about ruining Mary’s mood if she spoke up, so she didn’t? Mary had just made a friend in Alice. If her words were to make Mary break her promise, Tiffany would feel bad about it.

Understanding Tiffany’s thoughts to some extent, Yisi waved her hand.

“Alright, it’s not easy for you either, Tiffany. There’s a place to eat over there. Do you want to go?”

“Chocolate.”

“Yes, yes, I promise to let you eat your fill.”

The two of them soon arrived at a restaurant.

Like the Blacksmiths’ Association, from the outside, it was just a slightly larger restaurant. But upon entering, one would discover that in this other world, it was already in the category of a five-star luxury hotel. The high and distant ceiling, the spotless, mirror-like floor, the polished dining tables, and even the attitude of the waiters seemed to have been uniformly trained. The first floor, filled with daffodil-yellow light, was exceptionally quiet. Apart from noble banquet halls, this was the first time Yisi had seen such a clean and tidy restaurant in this other world. In her perception, restaurants in this world were all chaotic and noisy places like taverns.

“High-class.”

“Mm, it’s probably a place specially for nobles.”

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Although there were not many people in the huge restaurant, everyone’s attire was exceptionally luxurious, and most of them were dressed as noblewomen, seemingly intending to enjoy afternoon tea.

“Hello, only nobles and invited guests are allowed to enter. May I see your invitation?”

“Is it limited to the nobles of the Hels Kingdom?”

“No, nobles from other countries are also allowed, but they must be of at least a baron’s rank,” the waitress sized Yisi up. Since she was out as an apprentice today, Yisi was not wearing overly ornate clothes. “Ah, if you are a noble from a surrounding small country, you must show proof of assets of at least one gem coin.”

I’m being seen as a visitor from a small country.

This was also unavoidable. It was her own fault for not liking to wear dresses like Pepe’s, which required help to put on.

As for the so-called small countries, between the Hels Kingdom and the Balis Kingdom, there were indeed some countries with weak national power. Because their land was barren, the kingdom and the empire did not deign to occupy them. According to Camilla, the nobles of these small countries were often very poor, and their personal qualities were also very low.

Yisi took out the Cardinal’s staff from her storage.

“I understand. I am a Cardinal of the Ymir Church, Yisi Enya. Can this prove my identity?”

“A Cardinal? So young?! Ah, I-I understand. Please, come in.”

Should I say, as expected of a trained staff? The look of surprise only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing. The female staff member quickly led Yisi to a table separated by a screen—it already had the feel of a restaurant back on Earth. Although she had also made a similar design in Margaret, the style was still a far cry from this restaurant.

I’ll have to bring Shinku and Fran to observe this later. I’ll try to build a restaurant like this myself in the future.

And it will bear the name of Margaret.

However, just as Yisi and Tiffany were about to take their seats, a familiar voice came from the side.

“Get me another bottle of Margaret.”

“But Fourth Miss, this is already your third bottle. If you drink any more, the Duke will come looking for trouble with us tomorrow.”

“Do you want to wait until tomorrow, or be fired by me right now? Stop worrying so much and get me the wine!”

“Eek! Yes, ma’am!”

At the drunken voice, a male staff member hurried past Yisi. Tiffany first tugged at Yisi, who was pretending not to see, then pointed to a private room not far away.

“Cynthia.”

“Shh.”

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Yisi immediately made a hushing gesture.

Although Cynthia was a friend of hers, as the Flower of the Kingdom, to be so drunk was too embarrassing to acknowledge her.

However, because the male staff member had not drawn the curtain when he left, Cynthia still spotted Yisi in the restaurant and drunkenly waved at her.

“Ooh! Yisi is here too. Come, come, have a couple of drinks with me.”

I really should get out of here.

…

In the end, Yisi was still caught by Cynthia. The latter forcibly dragged her into the private room and, like a dear friend of many years, pulled her to sit on the luxurious sofa, one arm around her shoulder, the other raising a wine glass to stare at the swirling red liquid against the chandelier—this was the wine Yisi had helplessly switched for Cynthia.

“What’s this? This wine isn’t strong at all. Margaret is still better. You, hah.”

The already drunk Cynthia tilted her head and complained to Yisi. The strong smell of alcohol on her made Yisi frown repeatedly. Although she was the one who had brought Margaret to this world, it didn’t mean she liked to drink it. On the contrary, she could only accept low-alcohol rice wine and fruit wine.

If it weren’t for the pleasant perfume on Cynthia, and the fact that with her arm around her shoulder, the side of her arm would from time to time brush against the giant breasts hidden under the soft fabric, she would have pushed Cynthia away long ago.

Although it was indecent, even if she were called a pervert, she would brazen it out. How could the charm of an older sister be hindered by a mere word like pervert? Unlike Laxy, Cynthia was a genuine older-sister type character.

Gulping down a mouthful of wine, Cynthia, her cheeks flushed, spoke to herself.

“Damn it, why did His Majesty have to get sick at a time like this? If the King’s Tower was still working, I could have driven those damned nobles away. How dare they have designs on Alice? They can all go to hell.”

Designs on Alice? Is she referring to the people who came to propose to Alice? But what does that have to do with the King’s Tower?

“Go for it.”

Tiffany, sitting opposite the table, cheered for Yisi, but her face was filled with insincere ill-concealed delight at her predicament.

That Tiffany…

“Alice has already given so much for the kingdom. Why are they coming after her again? When things are good, they dislike her for being one of the Fallen and exclude her. As soon as there’s trouble, they come knocking. Do they think I, as her older sister, have no temper? Father too, he’s only harsh with his own family. As soon as it’s ‘for the sake of the kingdom,’ he becomes as wishy-washy as a woman. If it were me, I would have long since taken a club and whacked those dukes and marquises out the door one by one… Another glass!”

They come knocking as soon as there’s trouble?

Unable to suppress her curiosity, and for the sake of the story to come, Yisi refilled Cynthia’s glass.

Cynthia let out a long sigh.

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“Hah, if only I were the one who had become one of the Fallen. I would have definitely taken those damned nobles with me to the grave. Anyway, running away would implicate my family… no, since I’ve already decided to take them with me, I might as well just destroy this country along with them. I’ll become the new queen. That way, there won’t be any problems, haha.”

Has this girl lost her mind? If this weren’t a private room, with what she just said, Cynthia could very well be charged with treason.

Although she felt that Cynthia was very drunk and that it would be difficult to get a serious answer even if she asked, Yisi still tried.

“You said ‘those nobles are coming after Alice again.’ Has the kingdom run into some trouble that requires Alice’s help again?”

Alice, as a Fallen with dual abilities, one of which was to release a pure and large amount of magic power, was a perfect match for weapons like magic cannons that required a large amount of magic to be filled. A magic cannon that normally took five minutes to fill could be filled in less than thirty seconds in Alice’s hands. The reason Alice’s Fallen markings had covered her entire body by the age of 12 was because Duke Wozwahl had had her join the army and frequently use her ability.

But from her previous conversation with Duke Wozwahl, it was clear that the frequent monster appearances in the kingdom had now been wiped out, and there was no need for Alice to go on another expedition. And the look in Duke Wozwahl’s eyes at that time had also told Yisi that he would not sacrifice Alice for any reason again. Therefore, in Yisi’s view, Cynthia’s drunken words seemed to make no sense.

“Huh?” Cynthia’s tone rose a pitch. “You don’t know? I thought that as a Cardinal, you would have already known about this. Fine, then I’ll tell you just to show you how shameless those nobles are.”

With a thump, Cynthia slammed her wine glass on the table. The movement was so violent that a lot of the wine spilled out. However, because the table was already a mess, the spilled wine only made it look even messier.

Cynthia hugged Yisi even tighter, pressing her close.

“The sealing barrier on the Dragon’s Spine Mountains has loosened, causing this heavy rain. You know that, right?”

“Mm, I know. The methods to repair the barrier, besides having the court magic chanters use their magical knowledge to repair it, is to use the King’s Tower to fill the sealing barrier with a large amount of magic power.”

“That’s right. But those good-for-nothing court magic chanters still haven’t figured out the structure of the barrier, and His Majesty is in a coma now. And then… and then those nobles set their sights on Alice again. They want her to use her Fallen ability to fill the barrier. Do they even know what they’re saying?! Although I don’t know anything about magic, I’ve asked the court magic chanters. Only by making a Fallen’s ability go berserk can the large amount of magic power needed to fill the barrier be released. The nobles want Alice to die! Damn it, what are these people thinking!”

I see.

Although she had vaguely guessed that Alice could deal with the loosened barrier, she had personally investigated the amount of magic power needed to fill it. Without knowing where the problem was, to forcibly fill the magic formation with magic power would require an amount so vast that even she in her third form couldn’t fill it in one go. Therefore, to use Alice to fill the sealing barrier was simply wishful thinking.

“No matter how many times these trash nobles come, I will drive them away. Even if that cowardly father of mine gives in at His Majesty’s request, I will never hand Alice over, unless I’m dead! No, even if I die! I will become an undead! I will gather all those who have been oppressed by the nobles and completely destroy this corrupt country!”

What a terrifying obsession.

If that were to happen, with such an obsession, Cynthia might really become an undead. The stronger one’s obsession in life, the more terrifying their strength and madness as an undead after death.

However, since Alice and Mary were good friends, she had no intention of watching the Wozwahl family break with the kingdom, and Cynthia break with Duke Wozwahl. If things really were to develop to that point, she would have to think of a way to deal with the barrier. Although she couldn’t repair the barrier, to uproot it was not impossible. Of course, it was undeniable that such a powerful magical collision would surely destroy the ley lines around the capital. But that was still better than Cynthia gathering an army and starting a war.

If only I could find a solution that works for everyone.

I need someone who knows barrier magic very well.

Gently laying down the now-calm Cynthia, who had vented her emotions, Yisi silently calculated.