The Pungent City of Woodmills – Part 1

My first impression of Marielle was that the title Savior—which one got after curing someone of an otherwise incurable disease—actually felt a bit too small for her. She was a bit taller than Yzara, with cream-colored hair drooping down over her left shoulder. Her loose, dark-blue dress gave her a gentle vibe, but still revealed with a rather voluptuous body underneath. Her smile was contagious and natural, and to top it all off, her blue eyes were like gemstones. If she had a priestess outfit, she’d be the postcard for what a Cleric should look like.

Guess that Brawleo dude has a good eye for women.

“I apologize for bothering you this late,” the elf said.

“Oh, please, Fianna! No need for any apologies,” Marielle said as she grabbed the elf’s hand. “I was still working, you know. Even if I wasn’t, of course I would give a friend an audience when they specifically asked me for it.”

A friend, huh? I guess these two are closer than Fianna let on.

“Right, I appreciate it,” the elf said curtly. Guess she doesn’t see it that way? “You two. Introduce yourselves.”

“I’ll go first then. I’m Chloe the Holy Magic… Apprentice,” she said, hesitating on her title.

“And I’m Takashi. I don’t have a title yet.”

That made Marielle raise an eyebrow.

“Chloe and Takashi. Welcome to Adaville,” Marielle said. “Fianna, you have some explaining to do. What about these two make them ‘irregular’?”

“Takashi left out an important detail in his introduction. Right?”

“Yeah, I suppose I did. I’m a Hero.”

Marielle instantly flinched after hearing that word. Her eyes went wide, and she stared at me for a good long while. I felt judged, and just as I was about to lose myself in those blue eyes—

“A… a Hero, you say?” The governor said, breaking eye contact. “Fianna, you’re not joking around, are you?”

“Do you think I would joke about this?”

“Ah! Fair enough. The day you crack a joke is the day this world actually comes to an end.” Wow, harsh. “I suppose this conversation might go on a bit longer than I expected. How about some evening tea?”

* * *

During the next few minutes, the three of us explained to Marielle what had happened to get us here—from me meeting “Chloe” to the griffin attack on the Airdrake—as we sip on some delicious herbal tea she offered us. The governor cycled through a variety of emotions, from shock to utter disbelief.

“A Hero for the first time in a century? This… will change the world,” she, still not quite believing us. “We could reactivate old Polis, or even create new ones…”

But when I got to explaining the Debuggun, her mood changed completely, to something closer to stupefaction.

“An item that simulates the use of Restoration Magic? And you used it to restore Luribel? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“But it’s very real,” Fianna quipped. “I can attest to its power myself. It can even cure people from the White Death infection.”

“What? How…?”

“Tanney was infected by a Black Mist Explosion,” Fianna explained. “But Takashi managed to save her. Although her memories were…”

“That’s—that’s astonishing!” Marielle said, clearly completely taken aback.

“It is, but its powers are limited.”

“What are its limitations, then?” Marielle immediately asked.

Her question was quite innocent, and in this scenario, I expected her to ask it. However, I wasn’t about to trust this random lady—even if she was the governor—with such sensitive information like how the Debuggun worked.

“Sorry, but I prefer keeping those to myself for now.”

“Why? Don’t you trust us?”

Her question made me raise an eyebrow. I mean, that’s my reason, but still… “It’s not a matter of trust,” I eventually said. “There are just some things I cannot say.”

“I see. Some sort of contract, I presume.” She sighed. “Very well, I see why you brought them to me, Fianna. This is indeed a very irregular situation. Assuming they are clean, I see no reason not to allow their entry into Adaville. But,” she said as a smile grew on her face, “it would be a shame to let such a powerful item go unused. For example, helping to clear even more land around Adaville, or curing infected persons—”

“I’ll stop you right there,” I said immediately. “I can help you with that, but I don’t intend on being a charity here. I have my own objectives.”

“…Which are?”

“Get my revenge on the White Death.”

“What do you mean?”

“This thing brought me here without my consent, and when things didn’t go its way, it tried to kill me. Sure, this world is much better than my old one—is what I’d say, but it’s now ruined by this stupid thing. So I’ll go there, thank it for bringing me here, and purge it off this world.”

The corner of Marielle’s lips curled upward. The reaction struck me as a bit off somehow, but it dissolved so fast I didn’t have time to linger on it.

“We all want that. But not even the best knights of the strongest kingdoms could get close to the source. Not to disparage you, but a freshly-spawned Hero has no chance.”

“So I’ve heard. But with this… I might stand a chance. I just need to get stronger.”

“I see. But that leaves me in a rather difficult position. While you are getting powered up, the White Death continues to ravage the world and threaten my city. Couldn’t you leave that item with us during your training?”

“Absolutely not,” I said, shooting her down.

Leaving the Debuggun with them could spell disaster. This thing had God-like power—and a God-like origin, too. Look at what happened to Tanney. At best, it would upset the world balance. At worst, it could turn whoever had it into a despotic ruler.

“I see. I thought you’d say that.” Then, with a chuckle, she added,

“I could be tempted to take it from you by force, you know.”

Marielle’s words seemed to freeze the air. The walls themselves started collapsing inwards, as if the room was imploding. Her laugher wasn’t just a casual chuckle—it was sharp and mocking. Not just Marielle—Yzara and Fianna, too. Their eyes weren’t meeting mine. Inside, all of them were all snickering at my expense.

I’m surrounded by enemies.

When I noticed, by heart was beating twice as fast, and my skin was flush and hot.

What was I thinking, trusting these random people I’ve never met? They weren’t my friends, or companions, or even someone I was using to survive. No, they were all using me. All they wanted was the Debuggun. I had no other use for them.

They probably were all in this together from the start. It’s all happening again. I’m surrounded by enemies. Shit, how am I going to—

But then I felt a hand rest on my arm. As if it was a signal, that single gesture woke me up from my trance. When I looked, I saw Chloe—no, Yzara—look at me with concern.

Concern. Not snicker or laugher. Her expression was genuine—or at least, as genuine as a Demon Queen could be.

“What’s with that look?” When I turned, I saw Marielle, too, look at me with some concern. “It was only a joke, you know. I won’t actually steal it from you.”

“I—”

I took a deep breath, letting my rational mind take the driver’s seat.

Yeah, it’s almost impossible they’re conspiring together.

If Fianna or Yzara wanted the Debuggun, they had plenty of opportunities to take it from me already. I was still pathetically weak compared to all of them. Why go through some elaborate plot to get me into the governor’s house? If anything, Marielle was the only one who had some incentive to do something like that.

So I’d better stay in her good graces.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about the best way to approach this,” I said, hoping they hadn’t caught on to the slight crackling of my voice. “I still won’t leave it with you, for personal reasons. Sorry.”

Marielle shot me a pleasant smile. “I see. So how about this? I’ll give you special permission to take on Restoration quests at the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Restoration quests?”

“Cities like Adaville are constantly fighting against the White Death,” Fianna explained. “Plus, expanding the territory of the city is necessary to collect resources. That’s why the city creates special quests for clearing the White Death of certain areas outside the city walls.”

“Normally, only Clerics with Restoration Magic can take on the Restoration quests,” Marielle added. “But Chloe is only a Holy Mage II, right?”

“That’s right. I can’t use Restoration Magic yet.”

“So, I guess we’ll do something like this. I’ll have you registered with the Adventurer’s Guild. Usually, you need to go to the Diviner and get a Skill Scroll to prove you can take on certain quests. However, I’ll write you a letter of recommendation saying you’re allowed to take on those quests. These quests pay well, if I do say so myself, so you’ll be able to get money and power yourself up. It’s a win-win for both of us.”

Using the governor’s authority to bypass guild requirements? Eh, turns out this world is as corrupt as Earth.

“Sure. That sounds great to me.”

“Great!” She said, extending her hand to me. “We have deal.”

We shook hands, sealing the “deal”. Immediately after, Marielle got up. “I’ll go right ahead and write that letter for you. Fianna, do you mind coming with me?” The elf raised an eyebrow, but Marielle added, “I’d like a word with you in private.”

“Sure.”

The two women left the room together, leaving Yzara and I alone in the conference room.

“I don’t like her,” Yzara said quietly the moment we were alone.

“Really? I thought she was nice. She was even willing to help us out with the quests and everything.”

“So ya trust any beautiful woman ya meet? Sigh. Yer a lost cause.”

“Hey! What’s all this vitriol about? Is it because she’s a High Cleric?”

“Of course not, ya idiot.” I expected Yzara to go on a rampage, but she went quiet for a good while. “Ya know, I’ve met a lot of people in the past,” she eventually said. “Humans and other so-called ‘civilized races’ alike. I have a knack for sussin’ out someone’s vibes from the first meeting. And I’m usually right.”

“Of course you are. Then what’s her deal?”

“That’s what leaves me so unsettled. I… dunno. Her vibes are off.”

“You, unsettled?”

“I know, right? Pretty crazy.”

“Huh.”

Maybe that feeling I got wasn’t so unfounded, after all?

“But yeah, all I can say is to keep an eye on her. I don’t think she’s out to get us or anythin’. Let’s focus on gettin’ money by clearin’ the White Death.” She paused, then narrowed her eyes with that expression again—concern. “Now, about what happened earlier—”

Yzara stopped, interrupted by the sound of the door to the room opening.

“Here you are. Special permission from the Governor to stay in Adaville and take on Restoration quests. After registering yourselves at the Guild, show them this, and you should be good to go. You’ll still need a Skill Scroll, though.”

“Thank you so much, Governor!” Chloe said, putting on so much niceness that it made me cringe.

“No problems. It’s my pleasure. I’m sorry I couldn’t help more.”

“No, this is good enough,” I added. “You’re already making an exception just for us.”

After we were done with the pleasantries, Marielle led us to the front door herself, sending us off with a final smile and a wave.

She’s so nice…! Yzara is imagining things, surely.

“Well then, are we free to go?” I asked Fianna.

“Not yet,” she said. “The Temple of the Seven might be closed at this hour, but the Guild is still open.”

“Are we registering now? But we don’t have—”

“No, not for that,” she said with a smirk. “I want my payment for the ‘ferry service’.”