Volume 2, Chapter 20 – Shadows (Part 2)

The man called “captain” had a cold, hard look about him—judging by appearance alone, he seemed even harder to deal with than the count’s eldest daughter.

The female shop clerk’s expression first showed disgust, but she quickly replaced it with a professional smile and stepped forward.

“May I ask what business brings you gentlemen here?”

“We’re here to check for the Fallen. This is the lord of the city’s order. Cooperate, and you won’t have to suffer.”

“I don’t mind, but there are still some guests sleeping upstairs. If we wake them up, it’ll affect future business…”

“Then my men will wake them up.” The captain, his hair falling low enough to cover his eyes, swept a gaze around the shop as if warning the patrons, then patted the sword at his waist. “Bare your backs. Otherwise, we’ll have to use force.”

The customers in the shop hesitated for a moment, then silently removed their clothes. The soldiers behind the captain stepped up one by one to inspect them.

Only the clerk and Yisi stood motionless in front of the captain.

Perhaps mindful of the difference between men and women, the captain inclined his head slightly toward them and apologized in a low voice.

“Sorry, we didn’t bring any female members this time. But this is official duty. Could I trouble you two to come into a back room for the inspection? I promise nothing will happen to harm your reputation.”

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He seemed a very earnest sort, but Yisi was still reluctant. Perhaps realizing this, the captain’s gaze suddenly hardened as he locked eyes with her, giving her the feeling of being stared at by a poisonous snake.

Not nearly enough to be intimidating.

The captain’s level was only 9—if she didn’t care about exposing her “Yisi” identity, she could leave whenever she wanted.

Deliberately taking on the haughty demeanor of a noblewoman, Yisi tilted her chin slightly, meeting his sharp gaze with one no less intense, and tapped the magic staff at her waist with her fingertips.

“Damage to my reputation? If word got out that I undressed under the threat of a mere soldier, I’d have no face to live.”

The captain’s gaze fell to the staff at her waist, and his expression darkened.

“So you’re a magic caster. May I have your name? If you live here in Celtic City, I should know about it.”

“Yisi, daughter of a wealthy merchant from the Niru Diocese.”

“I can’t accept such a claim on words alone. This inspection is the lord’s order. As you said, I’m just a soldier—I can’t disobey my superiors. I hope you understand.”

What a hassle.

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Yisi frowned openly. From what she’d seen so far, bribery wouldn’t work on this captain, and she didn’t want to use force against soldiers right after buying the tavern. Besides, they were just following the city lord’s orders. After pausing a moment, she let her irritation fade and instead pulled a golden emblem from her pocket.

It was something Owen had given her during their negotiations.

“I’m a cleric recognized by Owen, Vice-High Priest of the Niru Diocese of the Ymir Church. That should be proof enough of my identity, shouldn’t it? The Church has always rejected the temptations of the Fallen.”

The captain took the emblem and examined it front and back. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen such an item. Celtic City was the closest city in the Hels Kingdom to the Niru Diocese and was arguably the most influenced by the Church in the entire kingdom. Moreover, after the recent “Divine Judgment” that had taken place over the Niru Diocese, the city had seen an influx of church believers.

Even so, the captain couldn’t just accept her claim. If she’d declared herself a cleric from the start—or if her appearance were more approachable—he wouldn’t risk offending the Church. But there was always a faint scent of blood about her, like a shadow clinging to her, so he had no intention of letting her off easily.

The more suspicious a person, the greater the danger.

“So you’re a cleric. Forgive my rudeness. But you understand, I have to check everyone in the city. Honestly, even the nobles aren’t exempt this time. If you don’t want me to inspect you, you can come with us, and after the mission is done and we return to the garrison, I’ll have a female clerk there conduct the inspection.”

Too persistent.

A sudden, inexplicable anger welled up in Yisi—an urge to just punch this captain through a wall. But like a gust of wind, the feeling passed quickly, leaving her momentarily taken aback by the speed of the change.

The captain’s proposal wasn’t unreasonable. She wasn’t one of the Fallen, and the only reason she didn’t want to be inspected was that she didn’t want to undress in public. If it was a female official, there was no problem. Realizing this, the violent impulse from earlier felt suspicious.

Her intuition told her this wasn’t just normal moodiness—something was influencing her.

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Probably the count’s eldest daughter’s memories.

She shrugged inwardly. After seeing the count’s eldest daughter’s memories, she had indeed changed in many ways—her tolerance for cruel scenes had increased, and her thinking had become more mature—but her emotions had also been affected.

Still, it was harmless enough.

“Fine. But I’ll demand compensation for delaying my schedule. A cleric’s daily work is far more than it seems.”

“Of course.”

Her words made the captain sigh in relief.

But events never go as expected.

“Guh—!”

From outside came a soldier’s scream, followed by the clash of metal and panicked shouts. Yisi instinctively looked toward the tavern door.

A group of people in black cloaks had smashed through the soldiers’ checkpoint with brute force. The omniscient map told her they were all the Fallen—eight in total.

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Maybe the same ones she’d seen earlier.

“What happened?”

“Captain! It’s the Fallen we were chasing earlier! They’re headed for the city gates!”

“Tch—they’re trying to escape! After them!”

The captain’s face tightened, and without another glance at Yisi, he and his soldiers rushed out of the tavern, leaving her and the shop clerk staring at each other.

“What a troublesome bunch. Well, will you still sell me that wine?”

“Ah, ah… thank you for your help. Otherwise, when the owner returned, I’m sure he’d have thrown me out. Please, Cleric, come with me.”

“Mm…”

Led by the clerk, Yisi bought five barrels of wine for seven silver coins, stored them in the warehouse, then abandoned her plan to continue scouting and quickly left the tavern.

With the citywide inspection underway, she needed to get back quickly—lest something happen to Camilla and Mary.