Chương 114: Chapter 110 - Atonement

"That's time," the guildmaster said. Passion had made it surprisingly far in. The guildmaster stood and collected the papers from Chelsea with the same stern efficiency he had shown since entering the room. He did not praise Passion. He did not frown at the answers. He simply gathered everything into a neat stack and held it against his chest.

"I should have both of your results soon. Please follow me and wait in my office." Chelsea rose first. Passion pushed herself out of the chair a bit more slowly, glancing once at the scratch paper she had filled with little figures and counting marks. The paper stayed behind, but Chelsea noticed the way Passion looked at it before leaving. There was irritation there, but also something else. The guildmaster led them down the hall and into his office.

It was a tidy room with shelves full of ledgers, contracts, and carefully labeled boxes. The desk was old, polished, and nearly empty aside from a few writing tools and a stack of sealed papers. Chelsea took one of the chairs in front of it. Passion sat beside her and waited until the door closed behind the guildmaster. Once they were alone, Passion let out a sigh.

"You did that in nine minutes!? Why did you make me take it?" Chelsea rested her hands in her lap. She had known Passion would ask. That was part of why she had brought her here.

"I was going to take the assessment anyways. I had you take it to show you something. Back in Valhalla, you all think I'm Chelsea, this nice little eighteen year old demon girl who is terrified of her own shadow. I brought you here to show you, yes, I am that Chelsea but also highly respected and capable of much more than the Valkyr believe. I am not just a thing to be thrown into the middle of a battlefield as a delete button. Do you know why I chose to become a Valkyr?" Passion shifted in her chair.

"Because it's the Valkyr. Why would you ever…"

"I chose it because it was the lesser of the three evils being offered. One was a reaper of carnage or something. Something about being a class from hell. Next was some class that according to Freya meant I would settle disputes between gods and kill those that refused me. This one mentioned getting to be nice. I didn't even know what a Valkyr was until reading it. If it weren't for you, Suffering and Freya, I'd have bailed on the whole thing.

You all see me as naive while, no offense, I see you as simple-minded and short sighted. That woman I talked to today? The one with the teleportation cards. She will remember that moment. She will remember the kindness extended to her from someone she believed was beyond her. If in the future I ever need something from that woman, she will bend rules to make it happen. And all it took was a smile and a few kind words." Passion stared at her.

"So you manipulate everyone you talk to?" Passion asked in confusion.

"No. Not at all. I mean my words. I mean every single one. Though, today I am finding it hard to actually smile. There's a stupid saying that lots of people make fun of from where I'm from, but I learned it at a young enough age that it stuck with me.

'It costs nothing to be kind.'" Passion let out a quick breath of laughter.

"I know. It's super lame. But in this world, I have found it holds more power than any doctrine the Valkyr holds close to their hearts." The humor left Passion's face quickly. She looked toward the closed office door, then back at Chelsea, lowering her voice even though no one else was in the room.

"Don't say those things when we go back to Valhalla. That could be seen as disrespectful. Freya set up those doctrines." Chelsea smiled.

"Do you think Freya cares about what I do or say?"

"Chelsea!" Passion whisper yelled as if Freya were looking over their shoulder.

"You know she came to us last night? She spoke to us."

"Yeah." Chelsea smiled a wider knowing smile. This time, it was real. It felt good.

"She said she got out of the bath quickly because two very specific Valkyr pissed in the water at hearing her talk." Passion's eyes widened.

"She knew!?" She put both hands over her face.

"Oh gods. What do I do!?"

"She said it didn't get on her. You're good. Hey Passion, you know you're her second favorite of the Valkyr right?" Passion slowly lowered her hands.

"She…she said that?" Passion asked with eyes wide.

"It was the first night I talked to her. Before you all came to collect me. She said she missed having a Havoc to talk to. Passions are great but she prefers Havocs. At the time I didn't know what a Passion was in that context but for some reason those words stuck and when you were revealed it made sen…" The door behind them clicked open. The guildmaster entered with the exam papers in hand.

"Miss Wixx, Miss Passion," he greeted. He walked behind his desk and sat, arranging the papers before him with careful precision. Chelsea straightened in her chair. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Let's start with Miss Passion. You scored well enough to grant you an E rank in the Merchant's Guild." Chelsea turned to Passion at once.

"Whoa! Congratulations!" Her eyes were bright with excitement. She had not expected Passion to pass, let alone make it to E rank in one attempt. The guildmaster looked over the paperwork.

"It would seem that Miss Wixx's tutoring has paid off," he said. Passion's face contorted.

"Tutoring? She hasn't taught me any math. I just did what she said before the test. It helped a lot." His eyes shifted to Chelsea.

"I see." The guildmaster opened the folder in front of him and leaned back with it. His expression did not change much, but Chelsea could feel the attention behind it. He was no longer treating her as a strange young woman with a famous name.

"Miss Wixx, who taught you arithmetic?"

"Uh, self taught," she lied.

"Mm." He flipped through her test page by page. Chelsea sat with her hands folded in her lap and kept her face pleasant.

"You got every single one correct. Am I correct in assuming you scored perfectly on the Junstruce assessment as well?"

"Yes sir," she answered politely.

"Well. Obviously, I want to grant you your S-rank but I'm sure the circumstances were explained to you. This will give you three more stars to your membership. Six star A-rank doesn't really afford you many other liberties more than three aside from bragging rights. Once you hit S-rank is when you unlock more perks. Please hand over your guild card." Chelsea reached into her pouch and passed it across the desk. The guildmaster took it, set it aside, and removed a fresh card from the folder.

The new card had six stars beside her A instead of the three her old card had carried. He handed it to Chelsea, then passed a plain gray card to Passion.

"Thank you so much," Chelsea said, standing up.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you."

"You as well," he replied. They exited his office. Just outside the door, Chelsea grabbed Passion's hands before Passion could tuck the gray card away.

"You made E rank without any proper training or study!" Passion looked down at their joined hands, then at the card in her own.

"Is… is that good?" Passion asked.

"For comparison, the Princess of Junstruce had tutors to help aid her. She made D rank. You're only a single rank below her! It's incredible. Only have a couple of stops to make." Chelsea released her hands and put her helmet back on. Passion looked at the dragon helm, then at the horns hidden beneath it.

"You know you don't need that thing right?" Passion asked.

"Your horns look like a tiara. And I've never seen a demon with white horns and I've killed my fair share." Chelsea paused with one hand still near the edge of the helmet.

"Oh! That's super helpful to know." She stored Pundukarack back in her pouch. Without the helmet, the guild felt different. People still looked at her, but not with the same immediate fear the dragon helm inspired. Her white horns sat bright against her hair, and Chelsea was surprised to realize Passion was probably right. They did not look monstrous. They walked back down the hall and returned to the counter. The man who had sent them to the assessment room looked up quickly when he saw Chelsea approach again.

"Hey, who do I need to speak to about building acquisitions?"

"One moment Miss Wixx, please enjoy the VIP lounge while I have someone come to you. It's right up those stairs." Chelsea curtsied and thanked him. Then she and Passion headed for the stairs. The VIP lounge was opulent, nearly to the point of being gaudy. Thick carpets softened their steps. Polished tables reflected the glow of gold-trimmed lamps. Paintings hung in heavy frames along the walls, and the air smelled faintly of tea.

Near the center of the room, a pair of red velvet couches had been arranged in front of a fireplace with a healthy fire burning inside. Chelsea walked to one of the couches and sat with careful posture. Passion lowered herself onto the other couch with less care, still looking around the room. A woman in her mid forties approached them a moment later. She wore servant's attire and carried a circular tray in both hands.

"Good morning ladies," she said.

"May I please see your guild cards?"

"Oh, certainly." Chelsea reached for her pouch and handed over her new card while Passion was still digging hers out. The woman glanced at the card. Her breath caught.

"M-Miss Wixx, it is a pleasure to serve you this morning. Could I get you ladies something to drink?"

"Oh, I'm just fine unless you guys have started carrying human blood. My associate may want something though." Chelsea said it in the sweetest manner she could manage. She did not want the woman to think she was threatening her. She did not want anyone in this room to think that. Not today. The servant woman's eyes flicked briefly to Chelsea's horns, then to Passion.

"Mead?" Passion asked.

"Very good. I will be right back." The woman dipped her head and left quickly, tray held close. Chelsea turned toward Passion once they were alone again. The couch was soft enough that she sank into it slightly, and the fireplace warmed the side of her face. The whole room felt designed to make rich people forget that other people had problems.

"Passion, I didn't know you drank. Is this a new development?" Chelsea asked.

"It's my usual drink when offered. But typically I stick with water. Mead makes my reflexes slow and muscles tight the next day."

"Wow, lived with you for months and never thought to ask," Chelsea said.

"I kind of feel bad now."

"No don't. You have been extremely preoccupied with your day to day. I don't get how you do it."

"My schedule isn't that crazy," Chelsea replied, confused. Passion stared at her for a moment.

"Chelsea, you get up before me and go train, then we have our reading lessons, then you go back to train, you head to the room to write your letters home. After that you go train with riding your steed followed by the evening training. Then bathe, then go visit Freya." Chelsea leaned slightly closer and lowered her voice.

"It's all fun and don't tell anyone. My training with Bradford? It's just me napping under his tree," she whispered. Passion gasped.

"Everyone thinks you've been training him to do some sort of special maneuvers or something."

"Passion, he's a world tortoise. He has one speed. Not much maneuvering him. Freya usually comes with me. She alerts me if anyone is coming."

"You use my patron goddess as an alarm?" she asked. Timidly, Chelsea answered, "Yes?" Passion put her hand over her face.

"Chelsea," she growled in frustration.

"Are you two like a thing?"

"What!?" Chelsea all but yelled.

"No!" Passion lowered her hand enough to look at her.

"Well, she made me sleep in her room last night which was kind of awesome. It looked exactly like ours except the ceiling looked like the sky of Valhalla. And there were ten servicers."

"Ah, so you had a really good night," Chelsea teased. Passion gave her a look, but before she could answer, a gentleman in business wear approached their couch. He carried a leather folder tucked beneath one arm and moved with the polished confidence of someone accustomed to speaking with wealthy clients.

"Hello," he interrupted.

"Are you Miss Wixx?" Chelsea nodded.

"I was told you were asking about purchasing a building in the city?"

"Yes sir. I need to purchase every orphanage in the city." The man's eyes widened. He looked from Chelsea to Passion, then back again.

"Every…"

"Chelsea…" Passion said in exasperation. The man remained standing with his folder still unopened.

"She has a thing about orphanages," Passion explained.

"M-might I inquire what you plan to do with these orphanages?" he asked. Chelsea rested her hands in her lap. For a moment, the warmth of the fireplace, the velvet couch, and the clean room all felt wrong against her skin. Yesterday tried to rise in her again. The bodies. The men she had not seen as people until it was far too late. She kept her voice as steady as she could.

"Going to remodel all of them and fill their accounts with enough gold the children will be well taken care of. Yester…" Her voice caught. Chelsea stopped and cleared her throat.

"I am just looking to help out," she replied. She wanted to say more. But this man did not need her confession. The children did not need her guilt. Chelsea sat a little straighter. She would atone. She had to.