—1—
17 years after The War ended…. in The Free City of Pei Jin
The clinking of beer glasses echoed in harmony with the joyful cries and dances of adventurers from various nations. With confidence, the musicians played tunes that made hearts race. The rabbit wenches hurriedly carried trays filled with beer glasses and platters of food, trying to keep up with the impatient patrons. And there she was, a simple witch, mesmerized by the unusual scene.
“Whoa, quite a crowd! And a lot of outsiders, what the hell happened here,” She asked, taking a seat in front of the chubby gray cat with its adorable short fingers, sorting gold and silver coins. This plump cat was the owner of this tavern and also the leader of the Adventurer's Guild, Master Desmond.
"Well, well, what do we have here? The infamous Ma Dame Clair herself,” the plump cat answered with a grin, “You jest, right? A well-connected woman like you would heard that The Black Death came to our town.”
The woman laughed and gave the cat a pouch of gold coins, “Cat lies as he breathes.”
“Aiya, you don’t believe Desmond? You see that,” the cat answered, gesturing at the bounty on the guild. There was a portrait of a woman with silver hair and a red robe hanging there.
The woman gasped, “Oh my Goodness. 6 months after I left the town and now the townfolk's IQ decreased by 10 points? Ara, only idiots believe in the Black Death. He was just a myth!”
The cat laughed out loud, “Typical Ma Dame Clair,” The cat then gave the woman a portion of the coins, “Anyway, our agreement is 10 gold coins, why do you give Desmond more?”
Clair shook her head and pushed the extra coins back to Master. “Nah, no need. I could make them in just a night. The coins are better used for the adventurer hospital bills than me.”
The Cat sighed, “The ever kind Clair, eh? How many times should Desmond remind you? Pei Jin has no use of good people. Only the strongest, smartest and the richest survive here,” he reprimanded the witch, but still accepting the coins.
“Nah, I’m just flexing,” the woman brushed it off and then slapped the table, “More than that, where is it!? The goods!”
Carefully, the chubby cat placed a full sack on the table. His small fingers skillfully untied the sack, revealing five giant dragon rib bones that had crystallized. In addition, Desmond retrieved 20 tightly sealed, red vials from the magic refrigerator inside the bar and placed them beside the bones.
"Araa, it's so beautiful!" Clair exclaimed as she took the dragon rib crystal, admiring every detail of the bluish crystals that protruded from the fossilized stone. It was a fossil from a Demon born once every ten thousand years, The Puella Dragonica.
"Ma Dame Clair, please, don't ask for things this difficult again. You have no idea how hard it was for my adventurers to find these bones. They had to go to the Olympus Mountain crater, cross scorching hot magma, and fend off dozens of fierce monsters. On top of that, they had to slay the Great Blighted Dragon to have this!” Master grumbled.
“As long as they survived, it's not a problem,” Clair mused while looking at the chemical vials. In the roots submerged in the red liquid, Clair could see fine white spots growing around them. Magebane, a fungus that had gone extinct seventy years ago. “Well, well, take a look at these!” she continued.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Master's eyes studied the witch intently, and he stroked his long whiskers as he asked, "Truly, Desmond is curious from the start. Why did Ma Dame Clair ask for something rare like this?”
After packing up all the items on the table, Clair removed her round hat and placed the two large sacks inside it. "A woman is allowed to have one or two secrets, right?" I said, winking and teasing the cat. Playfully, she stroked its chin until the cat got annoyed.
"Oh, Ma Dame, it's not just one or two, but a bunch of secrets. I don't know where you came from, but ten years ago, you found Aether, which revolutionized Alchemy overnight!” Desmond pointed to a translucent flower on the ceiling. The flower shone brightly, illuminating the adventurer's tavern. Bunga Lentera, they called. A flower that grew on the Kalabendu Tree.
“With that, we could finally fend off the darkness of the world,” he continued.
Clair laughed, waving my hand to dismiss Desmond's words. "No, no, I'm just an ordinary mother, who wanted all the best for her daughter, trying to raise her as a proper mage," she said and then started laughing, “But then one day, that brat just shouted that she likes money more than magic. Geez!”
Desmond couldn’t help but laugh, “Well, like mother like daughter, both of you are shrewd and opportunist, great traits for a merchant. Too damn good actually.”
“Ara, jelly?”
Desmond shrugged, “Not at all. At least Desmond didn't catch the attention of The High Court. That could bring fortune.. and also disaster.”
Clair brushed her hair awkwardly, “Aaahahaha, p-perhaps it’s time for me to retire somewhere but not here?”
Master Desmond just shook his head, observing Clair’s antics. Perhaps he found it amusing that a woman of her age was acting like a teenager. Even so, that childish single mother was also the youngest millionaire in the world. "What am I going to do with you, Ma Dame Clair," he said.
Clair’s eyes wandered to the parchment displayed on the Adventurer's Guild board. It depicted a beautiful Daemon with the name Black Death. Unlike her name, the Daemon had long silver hair that draped over her pale white skin. Two beautiful red garnet eyes served as a sweet contrast.
Clair gently twirled her jet-black hair. “The Black Death. If I'm not mistaken, the rumor is that before erecting the Kalabendu, she was a vampire capable of curing any ailment with a drop of her blood, right?" she said, resting her chin on her hand, "Hmm, why would such a powerful vampire come to Pei Jin City?"
Desmond immediately answered, "Oh, yes, Ma Dame hasn't been in this city for six months, so you wouldn't know. You see, six months ago, Ma Dame Fan allowed human refugees to settle in the city, and an unusual epidemic emerged.”
Scenting a money-making opportunity, Clair’s hair antennae immediately perked up. "An epidemic?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes! They call it Nyght, named after the Goddess of Death. They say that once you contract the disease, your skin will bleed non-stop. In the end, within two weeks, your body will convulse, then suddenly vomit blood and die!”
Clair gasped, ”Oh my, how terrifying. So the Black Death has come to the city to cure this disease? Yikes, not only she end the war, but now she wants to cure people too? What a busybody,” I asked.
Master Desmond nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, yes! They say that a month ago, a demon doctor from Kinje opened a clinic in the human refugee area. Just like Black Death, he doesn't want money or anything else as payment but a small vial of blood," he said.
A Demon doctor from the Kingdom of Kinje? As far as Clair knew, the Kinje kingdom heavily discriminated against Demons. They believed that only humans were chosen by the gods to rule the world. It was highly unlikely that a Daemon could attend school there, let alone become a doctor.
"So, how does this 'Black Death' cure the Nyght disease?" She asked, curious.
"Of course, with a medicine called Mutterbeweisen, the Panacea of the Legends!”
Mutterbeweisen, huh? The Elixir was described in ancient scripture, as capable of curing any disease and prolonging life. The lure of the wonder drug had driven many alchemists mad for many years. And now, that plump chubby cat just said, a doctor had it? Interesting, indeed. Clair thought while stroking her hair.
"Eiiii, that smile, Ma Dame Clair, you must be planning something, right?" Master Desmond asked.
"Ssst, questions like that make you unpopular with women, Master," Clair replied, standing up and putting on her witch's hat.
"Don't cause trouble again, Ma Dame. Remember that you have the High Court's attention!” Master reminded Clair.
“Can’t you see, trouble is my middle name, Master!” Clair said with a smug.
The Witch then left the Guild, blending into the crowded district. Her blood was boiling, her claws sharpened. If the round hat didn’t cover her face, everyone would surely be frightened by her sharp fangs when she smiled.