Volume 2, Chapter 19 – Shadows (Part 1)

Bypassing the checkpoints set up by the soldiers, Yisi quickly arrived at a nearby tavern.

The two-story stone building looked utterly unremarkable. Perhaps because most people were working during the day, the tavern had only a handful of customers and was quite deserted.

It seemed she had come at the wrong time.

If it were evening, the scene here would be entirely different. Imagining men raising their glasses and drinking heartily, Yisi couldn’t help but feel that this was how a tavern should be. Unfortunately, her goal was to collect blood—otherwise, she could have stayed in her own tavern and listened to the old men boast about their glorious pasts.

Other people’s stories were never boring.

Climbing the two steps at the entrance, Yisi stepped inside. Even though she had come at the wrong time, she couldn’t just leave now. Surveying the prices of various drinks in the tavern was also part of her investigation.

Perhaps the staff were cleaning, as no one was visible behind the waist-high wooden counter. Unlike modern supermarkets or bars, there were no shelves stocked with bottles of alcohol behind the counter—just bare walls. Of course, this might have something to do with fermented liquor being prone to spoilage and glassware being hard to come by. The truth was, glass in this world was not only expensive but also murky in quality. Moreover, due to the limitations of craftsmanship, it was difficult to produce uniform bottles.

“I feel like I should spread some convenient technology. Life right now is so inconvenient in so many ways.”

Muttering to herself, Yisi instinctively pressed her index finger to her chin and began thinking. The principle of glassmaking wasn’t complicated—all it required was mixing quartz sand with an appropriate amount of sodium carbonate and lime before firing it. These processes already existed in this world. Back in the Niru parish, Yisi had seen glass before.

The real challenge was improving the manufacturing process to make glass more transparent and affordable.

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In terms of cost reduction, Yisi knew that plant ash could be used as a substitute for natural soda, with potassium carbonate replacing sodium carbonate to lower expenses. But how to make it transparent? That was beyond her knowledge. Moreover, the reason glass was so expensive was its scarcity—each piece had to be painstakingly crafted by experienced artisans. For it to become cheap enough to be used as bottles, there was almost no alternative to sparking an industrial revolution—unless magic could directly produce glass.

“The industrial revolution… It sounds like an exciting process, but just thinking about it is exhausting.”

She wasn’t some fallen princess or prince—she didn’t need to bother with such troublesome work.

“Ah, a customer! What can I get for you?”

While Yisi was lost in thought, a staff member finally appeared in the front hall. A young woman wiped her hands on her apron before stepping behind the counter.

“I want alcohol—one barrel of each kind. Also, how much does it cost to stay the night?”

“Five copper coins per night. But are you sure you want a barrel of each type? That’d cost at least several silver coins.”

“It’s fine. Do as I say.”

Yisi’s words made the waitress give her an extra glance. But when she caught sight of the short wand deliberately displayed at Yisi’s waist, she immediately averted her gaze. Magic casters were not people of her status could afford to offend—in any place, magic users were highly sought after by nobles.

Precisely because she knew this, Yisi had intentionally displayed her wand to avoid unwanted attention.

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Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside. Yisi naturally turned to look.

It was the same squad of soldiers who had been chasing the Fallen earlier.

Perhaps they had discovered something or were carrying out a new mission. A soldier in armor forcibly dragged a homeowner out of his house, gripping his shoulders to prevent resistance, while the rest of the soldiers filed inside through the open door. Soon, the sound of overturned furniture echoed from within.

Not long after, several soldiers hauled a woman out of the house, their rough handling making it seem as though they were dealing with a criminal.

“Captain, we found one.”

“Take her away.”

“I—I haven’t done anything wrong! Sir, look at my Fallen mark—it’s barely there! I’m definitely not some assassin sneaking into the city!”

The half-naked woman being restrained pleaded desperately, trying to convince the soldiers to let her go, but the captain remained unmoved.

“My orders are to take away all the Fallen. Whether you’re an assassin or not is irrelevant.”

“Sir, please! I swear we’ll leave Celtic City today—please, just—”

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Seemingly trying to protect his wife, the man who had been held back by the soldiers struggled closer to the captain and pulled out a few glittering coins from his pocket, whispering something to the captain with an ingratiating expression. But the captain merely frowned and shoved him away.

“Get lost.”

The man’s expression twisted into something frantic. “How—how can this be? Isn’t this the outer district? Aren’t the Fallen allowed to live here? Why are you suddenly taking her away?!”

“By the lord’s orders.”

The captain’s emotionless declaration left the man in despair. Meanwhile, the woman began struggling violently—only to be punched in the face by a soldier, immediately knocking her limp.

However, what the soldiers didn’t notice was that on the second floor of the building, two children were pushing each other as they climbed out the window, jumping down one after another.

Those kids must be the Fallen too, Yisi thought. As the woman slumped, the soldiers bound her hands with rope. Behind them, about ten Fallen were already tied together in a line.

“Captain, we’ve finished searching this area. No one else.”

“Move to the next house.”

“Yes, sir!”

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It seemed they were conducting a door-to-door sweep.

“Miss, the amount of alcohol you requested is quite large, and the owner isn’t here right now. Could you wait a little while? He should be back soon.”

The waitress who had returned wore an apologetic expression as she bowed slightly.

Yisi turned her attention away from the scene outside and waved a hand.

“It’s fine. Take me to the storage room—I have spatial storage magic.”

“Underst—”

“Hey, hey—where’s the staff here?”

Two rough knocks sounded at the door before a group of men flooded into the tavern.

It was the soldiers who had just been arresting the Fallen.