Volume 10, Chapter 13 – Mary’s Determination and the Symbolism of Purple Eyes

“Master, I have a request.”

Just as the carriage was about to arrive at Wilfred City, and the salty smell of the sea was already in the air, Mary abruptly stood up and walked in front of Yisi, a hesitant look on her face.

“What request? If it’s about wanting more allowance, Mary doesn’t need to request it, you can just go ask Camilla directly.”

“Hmph, favoritism.”

Tiffany pouted unhappily. Because Tiffany lacked a concept of money and would immediately spend any allowance she got, Yisi had placed strict restrictions on Tiffany’s allowance, telling Camilla not to casually give Tiffany extra. As a side note, Mary and Tiffany’s current allowance was about one to two gold coins per month, enough for a family of three to live quite comfortably for a month.

“When Tiffany develops a habit of saving money, then you can talk to me about increasing your allowance.”

“These.”

Accompanied by the sound of mucus, Tiffany opened her hand to Yisi, revealing several sparkling gems and various gold accessories.

“These aren’t gold coins at all!”

It was all the rewards Pepe had given to Tiffany.

“Mmph.”

“If Tiffany can save up two gold coins, I’ll have Camilla increase Tiffany’s allowance—and Tiffany, you’re not allowed to use Mary’s allowance to make up the number.”

Because she couldn’t use storage magic, and the storage item on her body was only just big enough for her shield, Mary’s many personal belongings were kept inside Tiffany for convenience.

Tiffany pressed a finger to her chin, thinking for a moment, then shook her head, her light green pigtails swinging back and forth. Then, full of confidence, she held out her little finger to Yisi.

“It’s a promise.”

“Mhm, it’s a promise. So, what was Mary about to say?”

“Ah…” Fear surfaced in her purple right eye. Mary’s hands were clasped nervously in front of her. “Master, I… I want to take the bandages off my eye…”

“Isn’t that a wonderful thing? Mary doesn’t need to ask me to take off the bandages. But Mary, you can start by just taking them off in front of people you know. Unfastening them in front of everyone right away would be too difficult for you.”

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Due to her childhood experiences, Mary had always kept her left red eye wrapped in a white bandage to prevent herself from unwittingly activating her Fallen ability, turning her left eye into a cat-like vertical pupil and reading the other person’s remaining lifespan. Although Yisi had praised Mary’s eyes as being very pretty in front of her and explained that there were many people with heterochromia in this world so she didn’t need to worry so much, and that she wouldn’t abuse Mary like her former master did after seeing her cat’s eye, this encouragement hadn’t been enough to pull Mary out of her past trauma. Even after being with Yisi for almost two years, Mary still maintained the habit of bandaging her left eye.

As for why she suddenly changed her mind today, she had probably finally let go of the apprehension in her heart. Yisi didn’t ask Mary her reason for removing the bandage, but Mary quickly explained it herself. The latter firmly shook her head, a rare refusal of Yisi.

“No. I want to let everyone see my eye.”

“Can Mary already control her Fallen ability?”

Yisi didn’t quite know how to phrase it. If Mary couldn’t control her Fallen ability and let people who didn’t know the truth see the red vertical pupil, it was very likely that ignorant people would mock Mary to her face, calling her a monster. If she pointed this out, the confidence Mary had just managed to build up might be snuffed out, and she might never entertain the idea of removing the bandage again. But on the contrary, if she didn’t point it out now, Mary would be just as hurt when she truly encountered people’s ridicule.

Very troubled, Mary averted her gaze from Yisi. Twisting a strand of her chestnut hair, she explained haltingly.

“I think… I can…”

“What if you can’t control it? Aren’t you afraid of others mocking you?”

Camilla frowned slightly. She hadn’t forgotten how, when Yisi had just found Mary, Mary had been terrified of her red left eye. That look of bitterly begging others not to blind her eye was truly heart-wrenching.

“Whoever dares to laugh at Mary, I will visit divine retribution upon them. Mary is a child protected by an angel.”

“Mhm. Protect Mary.”

Following Laxy’s sharp declaration, Tiffany very seriously stood up and hugged Mary tightly, though she looked less like she was protecting her and more like she was not allowing anyone to take her treasure away.

Twisting her body shyly, something resembling resolve gradually appeared on Mary’s face. After taking a deep breath, she told Yisi her reason.

“I thought a lot on the way. All this time, because of what happened before, I haven’t dared to show my eye. Even though Master turned the Fallen from monsters into people everyone can accept for my sake, I still didn’t have the courage to show my eye. But I know I can’t go on like this. If I don’t respond to Master’s kindness, Mary won’t be able to forgive herself. Master not only took me in, but also taught me magic and all kinds of knowledge. If it weren’t for Master, I would never have encountered clean handkerchiefs or food without sand in it for my entire life. If I can’t even overcome a small difficulty like showing my eye, I—”

“Alright, alright,” Yisi clapped her hands, interrupting Mary’s speech before she could get too emotional and say the last words. “Mary, you’ve got it wrong. Although you’re part of the reason I cleared the name of the Fallen, I didn’t do it to pressure Mary or force you to take off the bandage. Even if Mary never takes off the bandage, I won’t be angry. ‘Because I changed the status of the Fallen and took Mary in, Mary must take off the bandage’—that logic is wrong, okay? Mary doesn’t need to put such a heavy burden on herself.”

But she never would have thought that the usually innocent and cute Mary, whose smile held no trace of impurity, would have such heavy thoughts.

Yisi didn’t think she could make Mary change her mind with just a few words. Just like a person guilty of a heinous crime only feels redeemed after being punished, she had to come up with a more practical, more acceptable proposal for Mary.

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After thinking for a moment, a lightbulb suddenly lit up over Yisi’s head.

“That’s right! We’re about to reach the coastal Wilfred City. There should be a lot of fishermen there who go out to sea. They might have seen some ‘Children of Fortune.’ If Mary takes off the bandage, more people can see her heterochromia. Although heterochromia isn’t that rare in this world, a half-elf with red and purple heterochromia… there probably isn’t a second one besides Mary. If a fisherman recognizes Mary’s identity, or sees Mary and remembers someone with similar features, then couldn’t we follow that clue to search for Mary’s origins? Mary has always wanted to know who her parents are, right?”

“Eh?”

Mary’s eyes widened blankly.

It seems to have worked.

Pleased with the success of her ploy, Yisi continued.

“But this process will be very hard. My advice is that Mary only takes off the bandage in specific areas with a lot of fishermen. In that case—”

“I-I want to take off the bandage right now!”

In the place Yisi had deliberately paused, Mary managed to voice her inner thoughts.

A good reaction.

As long as Mary realizes that she’s taking off the bandage not for others, but for herself, that heavy “because Master did so much for me, I must take off the bandage” thought will slowly disappear.

As for those who dare to speak ill of Mary, I will use thunderous methods to shut their mouths.

Yisi smiled and lightly patted Mary’s head.

“Mhm. If you’ve prepared your resolve, let’s start now. Laxy, take off the bandage for Mary.”

“Yes.”

Patting Mary’s shoulder to signal her to go to Laxy, Yisi looked to her right at Tina, who had been looking like she wanted to say something for a while.

“What’s wrong?”

As if telling a secret, Tina asked in a low voice that others couldn’t hear.

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“Mary’s eye…?”

Yisi told Tina what was happening in the same low voice.

Although Tina had introduced herself a long time ago, and Yisi had introduced her companions to Tina one by one, due to a lack of opportunity and the fact that Tina spent most of her time with her eyes closed, digesting her inheritance, only Mary, who had known Tina from the beginning and had taught her how to bathe by herself, had more interactions with Tina. Other than that, Yisi usually acted as the middleman, relaying messages for Tina.

“Mhmm, I see,” nodding in understanding, Tina’s gaze landed on Mary’s purple eye. “Speaking of which, did Yisi not know about the eye? This one thought you already knew. Strange. Someone even stronger than a Demon Lord, you should have known by all rights.”

“What riddle is Tina speaking?”

“Well, although it’s not a generalization, and this one has realized after interacting with her that Mary has no evil thoughts, it’s not a good idea to take in someone with purple eyes. As for searching for her origins, Yisi, it’s best if you wait until everything is settled, and you have no regrets left, before you go. Honestly, if possible, this one would like to stop you as much as possible, but this one knows that no matter what this one says, Yisi probably won’t listen. So all this one can do is give you a warning.”

It sounded quite serious. Recalling the words of the demon residing in the Gospel, as well as the sacrificer from before who said, ‘Lord Styx will lead us back to freedom,’ Yisi couldn’t help but ask.

“In the memories Tina received, is there any information about the gods?”

“Of course there is. In fact, it’s a memory all Demon Lords possess. If not for the appearance of the Goddess Ymir and the other major goddesses, we Demon Lords should have had a much wider world. As for what this one just said, ‘Yisi should have known,’ it refers to the meaning behind purple eyes.”

“Children of Fortune?”

Folding her hands over her completely flat chest, Tina raised her head slightly, appearing very much like an elder.

“No. The so-called Children of Fortune are actually, like the God-Forged Angels, fanatical believers of the gods. They call themselves the ‘Demon Clan’ (Mazoku), and refer to the Goddess Ymir as ‘Demon Lord’ and ‘Your Majesty.’ To this day, we ‘Demon Tribe’ (Akumazoku) still clash with them occasionally.”

At this point, Tina’s eyes suddenly widened, and she paused.

“This one did not have her subordinates participate in this war. The same continent cannot have two absolute rulers at the same time. Tartaros and Styx were both original inhabitants of the Alexia Continent, and their relationship was bad from the very beginning. By this one’s generation, our philosophies are heaven and earth apart. Of course, this also has to do with this one being the most special Tartaros of all generations. This one has no desire to fight. To prevent her subordinates from being sacrificed, I ended the war with the Demon Clan—that’s the Demon Clan, not the Demon Tribe—long ago. The only one who still wants to fight the Demon Clan is probably Styx.”

“Shouldn’t it be that Tina felt she lacked strength, so she was too timid to stir up trouble?”

“How could that be, you idiot! I did it for my subordinates’ sake, for my subordinates! Do you know what those Fallen Angels say to this one all the time? They’re thinking about fighting and war all day long. Even when this one hints to them not to stir up trouble, they still misunderstand it as this one wanting to expand our territory. To stop them, this one—”

“This one?”

Having let it slip in the heat of the moment and lost her dignity as a Demon Lord, Tina’s facial muscles gradually stiffened.

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“Ahem, it’s nothing. Just pretend this one was being controlled by someone just now. You’re not allowed to tell anyone else, not even Mary.”

“I, on the other hand, think Mary already heard you.”

After all, aside from the part about the continent’s secrets, Tina’s last few sentences were emotionally intense, with no sign of her not wanting to be heard.

Yisi shrugged.

To summarize, one of Mary’s parents is likely a fanatic of the gods, and the gods’ fanatics call themselves the Demon Clan. If it were anyone else, they would probably find it incredible that devotees of the gods call themselves the Demon Clan, and even think it absurd. But for Yisi, it was a very strange feeling.

A long time ago, she suspected that Mary was actually of the Demon Clan. Tina didn’t know about the existence of ‘Ragnarøk’, but she did. Just as vampires had bat wings and the need to replenish blood, and elves had pointed ears, in ‘Ragnarøk’, there was a hidden race called the ‘Demon Clan’ (Mazoku), and a characteristic of the Mazoku was that their eyes were always purple.

Therefore, from the first moment she saw Mary, she already felt that Mary might be of the Demon Clan.

Wait, thinking about it carefully, Mary is still unable to use any magic other than attack magic… doesn’t this just prove that Mary is, in fact, of the Demon Clan? The Demon Clan in ‘Ragnarøk’ also couldn’t use magic other than attack magic.

This world is just too crazy.

I feel like Mary’s origins have suddenly become much clearer. Well, I can’t just assume the problem of her origin is solved just because I know Mary is of the Demon Clan. After all, Mary wants to find her parents. Knowing where she came from doesn’t mean the goal is accomplished.

Yisi pinched her chin with her thumb and forefinger, falling into thought.

In other words, do I need to prepare to deal with the Demon Clan…? I wonder what kind of race they are. Hmm, no, wait. Since the Demon Clan are fanatics of the goddess, just like the God-Forged Angels, then the vanished Kingdom of the Gods, could it have actually moved to a place outside the Alexia Continent? Are the gods actually living with the God-Froged Angels?

Yisi couldn’t help but remember the first time she received the [Crest of Holy Revelation], the girl on the crest who winked at her, and the goddess statue inside the Ymir Church’s Genesis Temple. If the goddess was that beautiful, she really couldn’t feel that she was an evil existence. If she looked more like a ‘big sister’ type, it would be even better. In that case, she might even start to believe in the gods.

But according to Tina’s “it’s best to not leave any regrets before going” statement, the Demon Clan of this other world must be difficult to communicate with, and even very dangerous. I should probably travel all over the Alexia Continent first, and wait until my companions’ strength has risen to a considerable level before I go looking for the Demon Clan. Yisi didn’t plan to ask any more about this. If Mary overheard, it would just cause her more worry.

Her thoughts finished, Yisi subconsciously glanced at the [Omniscient Map]. Then, she tilted her head, stood up, and walked to the carriage’s driver’s seat.

“Refina, let me take over driving the carriage.”

The figure of Adonis Eli Gloria had appeared on the [Omniscient Map].