Volume 2, Chapter 32 – Honest Conversation

Perhaps because they hadn’t bathed in a long time, the girls took quite a while to finish washing up. In the meantime, Yisi prepared some well-fitting clothes for them. Ready-made garments were rare in this world, as most ordinary families bought fabric and sewed their own clothes. Thus, Yisi had to use teleportation magic to travel all the way to the noble district to purchase them.

Once changed into clean clothes, the former the fallen girls finally came downstairs. Yisi and Camilla had been waiting on the first floor for some time, and breakfast was nearly ready.

“I never expected it to be hot water.”

“Who knew bathing could feel so good?”

“When you first mentioned bathing, I thought you’d make us use cold water to test if we’d catch a chill.”

“And you even prepared clothes made of high-quality fabric—this is Buyaer silk, right? I think only noble formal wear uses this.”

Chattering away, they descended to the first floor. Unlike their disheveled appearance upon arrival, though they hadn’t done much grooming, their feminine charm was now evident. Had Yisi not seen their fallen forms the night before and mentally prepared herself, she might have mistaken them for vengeful spirits when she opened the door that morning.

“Alright, quiet down. Work matters come first,” the red-haired cat-eared girl hushed the others and stepped forward, bowing sincerely to Yisi. “Thank you, Miss Yisi. It’s been so long since any of us last bathed.”

“I should be the one apologizing for making you wash outdoors in winter.”

The tavern’s first floor only had a front hall, kitchen, backyard, and storage room—no dedicated bathroom. So Yisi had to set up a makeshift bathing area in the backyard with curtains. As for hot water, without proper bathing facilities, she resorted to an old method: having the girls draw water from the backyard well and then placing the “Eye of Dusk” into the wooden tub. As a high-tier magical artifact, the Eye of Dusk wouldn’t extinguish even when submerged, and its intense heat quickly warmed the water. Lately, Yisi has been using it primarily as a water-heating tool.

Fran, standing beside Shinku, hastily waved her hands.

“No, no, no! Some of us have never had a hot bath in our lives. For you to treat us so well—how could we dare ask for something as unreasonable as a proper bathroom? We don’t even know how to repay your kindness.”

“Don’t worry… I’m also doing this for the tavern’s sake. As workers or.. helpers here, if you’re well-groomed, customers will prefer a clean environment. So you don’t need to thank me for the hot baths. From now on, I’ll require you to bathe regularly according to the season. Just don’t find it troublesome later.”

Yisi smiled wryly and stepped aside, gesturing for the girls to take their seats.

The hot baths and clean clothes had warmed the girls to Yisi, and they obediently sat at the table, waiting for her to continue.

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“Breakfast will take a little longer, so let’s discuss something else first. But before we get to the main topic, I want to emphasize that my questions aren’t meant to doubt or reject you, Miss Shinku. I just want to avoid potential issues in the future. No matter what you’ve done, I’m willing to accept all of you. So I hope you can give me honest, unvarnished answers.”

As if sensing something, the cat-eared girl named Shinku tensed but didn’t refuse outright. The other three girls, including Fran, shot worried glances at her.

A heavy silence settled over the room.

After a moment of deliberation, Yisi spoke slowly.

“Miss Shinku, Miss Fran… you used to be the fallen, didn’t you?”

The moment the words left her mouth, Yisi felt the table shift slightly, and the girls’ breathing grew ragged. If not for Shinku’s composure, they might have flipped the table and fled right then.

Yisi had anticipated this reaction but didn’t mind. As former fallen individuals, they had been universally despised—discovery often led to curses or expulsion. Their instinct to flee when their identity was exposed was only natural.

When Shinku didn’t respond, Yisi clasped her hands on the table and continued.

“Last night, a… friend of mine informed me of your arrival. Though I don’t hold her in high regard, you are innocent, so I won’t turn you away for being the fallen. Besides, you’re no longer the fallen now, right?”

After a long silence, Shinku finally exhaled deeply.

“If the vampire—if our master has already told you the truth, then there’s no point hiding it. Yes, as you said, we were the fallen. And we still are.”

“Still are?”

But Yisi had already removed their markings.

“Yes. Our master did erase the fallen sigils, but this morning on our way here, we ran into patrolmen. Sera instinctively used her ability, and we all vanished from sight. That’s when we realized we were still the fallen. Later, we also noticed faint markings reappearing on Sera’s back. Our master only erased the existing sigils. Once we use our abilities again, the markings regrow.”

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“Is it the same for all of you?”

Among the group, aside from Sera, the other four had been healed with low-tier potions. The effects might differ based on the treatment method.

Shinku shook her head.

“We don’t know. None of us want to use those abilities again.”

“I see.” Yisi’s indifferent reaction eased the girls’ tension. Noticing this, she added, “To be honest, Mary is also the fallen, so you don’t need to be wary of me.”

As she spoke, Yisi smiled. Though Mary was currently in the kitchen preparing breakfast with Sera, the girls surely remembered how well Mary had been treated.

Shinku’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and her stiff expression softened.

“You’re a strange one, Miss Yisi. Most people would’ve chased us out by now, threatening to report us to the patrol. Yet you’re not afraid at all. Don’t you know the fallen can spread their curse?”

“Hmm? I think that’s just a rumor. Have you ever actually seen the curse spread, Shinku?”

To Yisi, the fallen were no different from witches in medieval times. The Church’s persecution of them mirrored the witch hunts of old. From a modern perspective, witches never truly existed—it was just superstition and the Church’s manipulation.

Thus, Yisi dismissed the idea of the fallen contagion outright. It was merely a tool to reinforce religious authority.

But Shinku’s golden eyes flickered with hesitation, and her gaze dropped to the table.

“I… have seen someone get infected.”

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“Shinku, I told you, that was the Empire’s fallen doing it on purpose. They must have someone who can turn others into the fallen.” Fran, her voice soft but insistent, leaned forward to explain to Yisi.

“Before coming here, there were twelve of us. Ten were the fallen, and the other two were my family. But after we encountered the Norta Empire’s fallen and refused their invitation, my family became the fallen too.”

Shinku turned to Fran.

“I don’t believe the fallen can be artificially created.”

“But my family lived with us for so long without turning. Only after meeting the Empire’s fallen did they change. Don’t you find that strange, Shinku? Besides, in all our time fleeing, we’ve never seen an ordinary person become the fallen because of us.”

“Wait.” Seeing Shinku frown, Yisi raised a hand to interject before the discussion escalated. “You mentioned that the Norta Empire’s fallen earlier. This is the northernmost part of the Hearth Kingdom, right? The Norta Empire is in the southern continent.”

Shinku answered this time.

“We don’t know why they’re here either. They seemed to have some goal but didn’t share it with us. Our last encounter was near Celtic Village’s outskirts. We clashed with the Empire’s fallen and Hearth Kingdom soldiers inspecting the village. Out of twelve, we lost four before escaping and eventually made it here.”

“I see.”

A puzzle piece clicked into place for Yisi. Before arriving in Celtic City, she had met a merchant named Nix on the road, fleeing from ice wolves. Nix mentioned his group had stayed overnight in a village where Kingdom soldiers clashed with the fallen, forcing them to flee to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Looking back, the fallen that Nix encountered must have included Shinku’s group.

Moreover, Nix had cautiously warned Yisi not to approach the fallen, as rumors claimed they might be Norta Empire soldiers—further corroborating Shinku’s account.

Camilla, standing behind Yisi, tilted her head.

“Twelve minus four should leave eight. But there are only five of you.”

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Her words made Shinku and the other four girls lower their heads. Finally, the petite Shinku gritted her teeth.

“Golan and the others… were killed by the patrol while protecting us.”

“They? So your group wasn’t all female.”

“Before reaching the Hearth Kingdom, there were fifteen of us. Nine were men. But the stronger ones sacrificed themselves to cover our retreat.”

“My apologies for the insensitive question.”

Camilla gave a slight bow, her innate elegance leaving the girls momentarily stunned.

Fran, a former noblewoman, shook her head.

“No, it’s not your fault. Our companions died because we weren’t strong enough. Aside from Shinku, none of us are suited for combat. My ability is speaking with animals, Shinku can imbue weapons with fire, Sera can make us invisible for a short time—”

“Alright, that’s enough. I’m not interested in your abilities. I just need tavern helpers.” Yisi raised a hand to stop her. “Besides, I assume you’d rather not use them again anyway?”

Gratitude flickered in Shinku’s golden eyes. When Fran began listing their abilities, she had braced herself for Yisi to exploit her and Sera as assassins. But if sacrificing herself and Sera meant securing a safe life for the other three, she wouldn’t complain. A stable home was better than constant flight, and with only five left, surviving in the wild would be impossible.

Confident she’d earned their tentative trust, Yisi slid a stack of contracts toward Shinku.

“Now that I know what I need, let’s get to business. These contracts last six months, meaning you’ll work here for half a year. In return, I’ll provide room and board, plus five Hearth Kingdom silver coins per month.

“Of course, that’s the base pay for regular helpers. As the cook, Sera will earn one gold coin monthly. If any of you take on extra work or earn high praise from customers, your pay will increase. Additionally, if there are no major issues during the six months and you choose to stay on afterward, renewing for another six months will grant a bonus equal to one-third of your total earnings up to that point.”