Chương 9: [BL] 9. Situation [1]

"I think she tried to change her class earlier."

"Oh? Curious. Truly dear? Do you see the bright light on her?"

"Yes. Why else did she do that? In front of the Treant, no less. Curiosity, I'm sure you're well curious, but try to hold back, yeah? We don't want trouble here. Remember, we have no permanent residence yet."

"Hmm, truth, what a shame. But, yes, I suppose I can wait until she wakes up."

"Even when she wakes up, she will be questioned for hours," the young woman sighed.

"This is not a city. Everyone knows each other, so make sure you remember that before taking her as your patient." The man sounded eloquent and resonant. His raised voice sounded full of self-importance.

"Tela, dear, that's my line. Now, at all times, your street-rat habit cannot come out."

"I haven't stolen anything. I lived that life in the past," the young woman grumbled.

"Anyway, earlier I sneaked—don't give me that look! I was curious and asked the two who had come with her after they were thrown into prison. At first, it was hard to get anything out of them, but I might have seduced the boy a little, and he let slip that she is one of the bright stars." Dammit Josha.

"What do you mean by a little? What did you do?"

"Just some food and a warm smile inside the cold, hard prison. Curiosity, calm down," she said smugly.

"Why, most impressive, dear! If you can do that to the commander—""He is old."

"Is that a problem?"

"You might be a hundred years old, but I'm nowhere near that!" Should she wake up now? How had she fallen asleep in the first place? Willow blinked, but at first, she could barely see anything. She blinked again and realized she was in a room made of dark stone. A single candle sat atop a carved-out ledge that served as a table. Seated beside her on the bed was a young woman with dark hair, wearing a close-fitting tunic.

The other one was a beaked doctor with what looked like a fedora on top, and just like the treant, two large green eyes carved into its mask. The doctor had black fur worn like a mane around his shoulder, running down his heavy cloak. Who are these people?

"She woke up," the young woman stated.

"Mmm, why did she intend to avoid us?" Willow blushed, reaching for the thin blanket around her shoulders and pulling it over her head.

"Who are you two?" The girl brightened. She was a strikingly pretty young woman, her dark hair glistening down past her shoulders. Her face was eager and expressive, and she seemed about to say something when the door opened at exactly the right moment.

"Two outsiders who sought refuge in these harsh, looming apocalyptic times—one of whom is a doctor supposed to look over you," said a middle-aged woman wearing a white robe that extended to her ankles. [Cleric—Level 25] [Rogue—Level 21] [WitchDoctor—Level 43]"Hungry, dear?" The woman smiled kindly with a crease on her cheek. She brought a tray with steaming bread and another steaming cup where the spoon clinked.

The smell of warm milk assaulted Willow's nostrils, and she found herself throwing the blanket off and nodding eagerly.

"I haven't eaten anything since, well…" she admitted sheepishly and eyed them. The girl gave her an eager nod, gesturing for her to go on.

"That can come later," the woman said, placing the tray down beside Willow since the carved-in table was too far away.

"Mistress Evere! Aren't you curious?" The girl complained.

"That's the commander's job," she said simply. Willow gulped the droll building up inside her mouth. There were three breads and a soup that smelled too good to ignore. Whoever made them had put quite a lot of seaweed, and their smell hung in the air along with the yellowish, thin water.

"Eat; you're not a dog," the girl said with crossed arms. Willow dipped one of the breads and took a huge bite. She almost moaned before biting her cheek and primly putting the bread down, thanking the woman.

"It's all right. Please finish it. The commander awaits you. And you two, it's time for both of you to go. Now. You will get the news just like anybody else and the Commander's final decision on the purge." Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Despite the Mistress's kindly voice, Tela—the Rogue did not move. She kicked her feet up and down idly and stared at her with her hair covered wildly across her side face.

There's something serious I don't know about here.

"Mistress," the doctor spoke again. It would take Willow some time to get used to that high, resonant voice.

"The decision on the purge needs to be made today. If the Sheran village fails on its purge and no Imperial legionary is stationed… then Tela and I shall brave the last five days to find another settlement to brace the apocalypse."

"Doctor, I understand—""You seem a well folks enough, Mistress. A sensible well folks. But the commander's decision seems to be entirely different. We're willing to participate in destroying the Throne, yet no intent of attack has been made besides a siege. It makes one question if the village truly has resources to defend against the cycle."

"We do, good doctor. We do," she said soothingly. They talked more, and unfortunately, they were just regurgitating the doctor's point, with the mistress continuing to reassure the doctor and clearly wanting them to stay. A hand poked Willow's shoulder. She looked at the Rogue, who smiled.

"My name is Tela," she said in a whisper.

"Uh, I'm Willow."

"So, you're an outworlder?" The bread paused midway in her mouth. Should she have answered? But she already knew, right? Willow nodded.

"Huh, interesting. You have the Bright Rune like the story told then? Monster-slaying enhancement? Experience boost as well? Also, the Party Enhancement?"

"What a great question for the commander," Mistress clapped, and Tela scowled. The Mistress forcefully ushered both the doctor and Tela out, dragging them by the wrist with surprising strength. The doctor went willingly, but Tela resisted, stubbornly shouting questions at Willow, who was too distracted to finish her meal. When the door closed, it was not until five minutes before the mistress entered again.

"Sorry about that, dear." She patted down her robe as she had just finished cleaning a stain.

"You finished. Let's go." That did not sound like a request but an order. Willow nodded and stood. She wore a new tunic instead of the leather armor Mera had worn, and her body felt clean, as if she had recently bathed. As she walked alongside the Mistress down a hallway of stone, brightly lit by candles set into niches carved in the cave walls, she tried to remain calm.

In some ways, this place felt like a prison, especially as they passed guard after guard, each staring at her with a hard expression, even compared to the Lich's cave where she had woken up before. She missed the open sky, the beautiful forest, and the freedom they represented.

"This is the commander's room." She opened a door, revealing a boring room that looked like just a carved-out space, with messy papers strewn in the corner, and a man sitting behind his desk, dipping a quill that let out a heavy, strong smell blowing upon Willow. The sides of the man's hair had been cut, leaving only thinning hair on top that was already graying. [???] What? No information?

"Ah, you're here," he said in a coarse voice, coughing a couple of times.

"Good, good, please be seated. Mistress, you too." The mistress bowed, and Willow was unsure if she should mirror that. She pulled a chair and sat on it, playing with her thumb, avoiding the commander's eye contact.

"I know Mera." Slowly, Willow drew a sharp breath. Of course, she knew she had to deal with this.

"For what it's worth, our village is a big one by normal standards. Not everyone knows each other, so you can expect breathing room."

"Oh, that's nice to hear," Willow said. Why did he assure me of that? It's been on Willow's mind, of course, especially with how she would eventually face Mera's father with her dead daughter's body.

"Josha and Shera told you everything? Uh, sir." The man broke into a fatherly grin.

"Please call me Alfred. You're not our guards yet, so it won't be right for you to address me as 'sir' or commander." Yet?

"Yes, those two fill me in on everything. And on your condition as well," the commander rested his chin on his conjoined hands, and a chill shivered down Willow's spine as the man's gaze peered at her.

"You really did not have it… The Bright Rune."

"You can see my rune?" Willow blinked.

"Ah, if your Sense attribute differs by… a lot, then yes. To answer your next question, yes, you can't see my Class because your Sense is too low."

"He is a level 62 Knight with Honor Rune, dear," Sister Evere said. Willow's mouth gaped open, her jaw about to hit the floor, when the commander's smile twitched, and his mouth turned into a full frown. She turned her head toward the sisters who were still smiling, rubbing her cheek with her gloved hand innocently.

"Evere, that's improper. That's very improper," the commander clarified.

"Don't you think that's improper, lass? For someone to reveal your rune like that?" Why are you asking me?

"Uhh," Willow stammered, spinning her thumb around.

"I guess so? Rune is a limitation added to another limitation, which is one's class. So if your opponent knows about your rune, they can uhh… come up with a countermeasure?" The commander's eyes turned from a glare into a soft one, and a smile bloomed across his face.

"That's right, lass! We Sheran folks are usually not too worried about that, though, since most of what we fight are monsters. Well, there are barbarians, but those savages are too stupid to think of a proper strategy, so you can treat them as monsters in the future."

"I—I will."

"Good, good. Evere, on second thought, you should leave."

"And leaving this pretty girl alone with someone who tried to intimidate her just now? Are you seeing what I just saw, Alfred?"

"And what is that? Please enlighten me." Alfred said, his eyes openly glaring at the sister now.

"What I see is…" Sister Elvere leaned down, her fingertips pushing Alfred's inkpot but just stopping before it tipped over.

"An old man attempting to make a lass feel like she is not worth much by making it clear she did not have the rune of heroes, to pen her into a decision where she had to join the Sheran Guard."

"Dear friend, I did no such thing," Alfred scowled.

"Really, Alfred? Revealing her runes like that is improper, don't you think so? What you just did is no better than peeking a young woman under—" Alfred sputtered a cough and slammed his fist down. The impact shook the table, making Willow almost lurch out of her seat.

"Whoops," Sister Elvere mumbled, steadying the inkpot.

"Why do you always have to overblow things, Elvere?"

"I do? Maybe it's for good reason." Willow peeked at both of them, holding their glares, and both stubbornly refused to back down. As she did, Mera's golden hair coloured the edge of her vision. She clenched the hem of her tunic.

"Look, do you want me to fight for you?" Willow cut their stare down. The commander's eyes shifted to her, and she gulped.

"Sir."

"Not for me, lass. But for Sheran," He huffed and raised both hands in surrender.

"Fine, I might be a bit overexcited to get us a Bright Star. In truth, lass, you have options. Either join us for years to withstand the Apocalypse cycle, or you risk the journey to another village… well, that option is stupid. To another city, then, a place with a tall stone wall where they have thousands of Class Holders. Making it to the capital now will be too late, but you earn interest from the Rogue and the Witchdoctor, don't you?

Given the chance, I think they will gladly take you to Crystal Bridge to be awarded for delivering their city a Bright Star. In doing so, you will take two strong warriors from us and, of course, yourself."