“Huff…”
After leaving the sewers, the fresh air outside made Yuli feel as if she had come back to life.
Huff… She had finally escaped that filthy, stinking sewer.
She couldn’t help but take a few more breaths. However, when she looked down at her clothes, she remembered how she had been forced to tumble into the sewage pit to avoid an attack from an Abyssal creature. Now, all her clothes were practically ruined.
If it were her former self—back when she was still a boy—she probably would have been fine with just washing up. But now, after becoming a girl, her mentality had subtly shifted.
For example, at this very moment, she wanted nothing more than to rush into a bathhouse and thoroughly scrub herself, from head to toe, inside and out, making sure not to miss a single spot. Once her body was spotless, she’d soak in a hot bath and wash away all her exhaustion.
Just imagining it made Yuli restless.
Even though it would cost her a bit, she would much rather pay for a hot bath than keep wearing these sewage-soaked clothes.
But before that, she needed to stop by the Black Market and “deliver” Kaf’s relics to Bror.
First, she’d collect her reward, then head back, change clothes, and take a long, comfortable bath to end the day’s running about.
For now, she’d just have to endure a little longer.
Though her clothes still reeked of the sewers, it wasn’t as unbearable as the stench she’d faced down there. The smell on her now was at least within tolerable limits.
Alright, it was about time to head back.
Folding up a filthy, tattered cloth, Yuli stuffed it into her bag. This was the “relic” she planned to hand over to Bror in a moment.
Of course, it didn’t actually belong to Kaf. After all, that guy had been reduced to ashes, leaving nothing behind. Yuli had no choice but to find a corpse that had died around the same time, cut off a small, sewage-soaked scrap of cloth from its clothing—its original color indistinguishable—and pass it off as Kaf’s relic.
Yuli had considered asking Iris for help.
After all, she’d seen Iris’s abilities in the catacombs—she could control the summoned black mud to mimic things. Maybe she could even recreate the clothing Kaf had worn when alive. But as expected, the moment Yuli brought it up, Iris flatly refused.
“Huh?”
The instant she asked for help, Iris shook her head, folded her arms, and turned her little face away.
“Hmph! Now you remember to come to me for help?”
Iris snorted indignantly, “I’m not helping stingy Yuli-chan. Unless, of course, Yuli-chan lets me borrow your body for a while. Otherwise, forget it!”
Ahaha… Just as expected.
But what surprised her a bit was that Iris also mentioned that ominous longsword.
“And besides, I don’t want to be anywhere near that thing reeking of black energy. Yuli-chan, if you don’t want to die, you’d better stay away from it.”
When Iris brought up the sword, her tone was full of distaste.
The more Iris acted this way, the more curious Yuli became about the sword.
Anything she was forbidden from touching, she wanted to touch even more. She wanted to see for herself whether her own bad luck was stronger, or if the sword’s aura of misfortune was the real deal. Who knew—maybe combining the two negatives would make a positive, and she’d finally get lucky.
But that was just a nice little hope.
She’d find out the truth as soon as she got her hands on it.
Turning back, Yuli took one last look at the sewer entrance. The power of the Abyss had already infiltrated this city. That meant Anvil City was no longer safe. Sooner or later, the Abyss would launch a sudden attack from within.
With the horde of Abyssal beasts already pressing from outside, the city was under siege from both sides. It was just a matter of time before Anvil City fell.
She needed to leave Anvil City as soon as possible.
Bror sat at the counter, polishing a palm-sized compass. From time to time, he glanced outside, as if waiting for someone.
At last, he saw that person return.
A figure dressed in a battered cloak—now sporting even more tears—and wearing a mask approached the counter. From their cloth bag, they produced a filthy, foul-smelling rag and placed it on the counter.
And it wasn’t just the rag. The person’s entire body reeked, as if they’d just rolled through the sewers.
“This is?”
“Found Kaf, but he’s dead. His corpse was bloated in the sewage, couldn’t bring it back, so I just cut off a piece of cloth from his clothes.”
When she finished speaking, a long silence followed.
Yuli had expected Bror to ask questions, to interrogate her. But Bror only sighed softly, his expression still calm.
“I see… Ah, such is fate. In our line of work, you never know when this sort of thing will happen.”
His reaction was oddly flat.
Under her mask, Yuli frowned slightly. This wasn’t how an employer should react to news of an assistant’s death. Even stranger, he didn’t question her at all—didn’t ask what Kaf’s corpse looked like, what he was wearing, why she only brought back a piece of cloth instead of some body part.
She had already prepared answers for all those questions. While she might not have covered every detail, her story was at least plausible. Yet Bror hadn’t even asked—he just believed her.
Far too strange.
A sense of unease welled up in Yuli’s heart.
“Alright, here’s your payment. Thanks for going to the trouble.”
With that, Bror went into the back room. Before long, he returned carrying a wooden box, which he thrust into Yuli’s hands as if he couldn’t wait to be rid of it.
Taking the box, Yuli opened it for a peek. Inside, something long and wrapped in cloth—it had to be the sword.
The longsword said to bring misfortune to its wielder. Judging by Bror’s expression, as if he were looking at a plague god, it was unlikely he’d try to cheat her with a fake.
Having received her reward, it was time for her to leave.
“Thank you.”
She needed to hurry back for a hot bath and wash all the filth off her body. She could hardly wait.
Just as Yuli was about to leave the shop, Bror called out to her.
“Wait. About that sword, there are a few things I need to tell you.”
Oh?
He hadn’t said a word before when talking about the payment, but now, just as she was about to leave, he wanted to give a warning?
Yuli couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding, though she couldn’t pinpoint why.
Fine, she’d listen for a bit.
“Yuli-chan, it’s so lively over there.”
Eh?
Suddenly, Iris’s voice sounded in her ear. What’s so lively? Was something stirring up trouble in the Black Market?
Yuli glanced outside the shop, and the moment she saw what was happening, her heart skipped a beat.
A squad of armored knights were searching the stalls not far away. Some people were already being handcuffed and dragged away by the knights.
Not good.
“Sorry, whatever you need to say will have to wait. I need to go.”
“Hold on, it’s just a routine inspection by the Black Market patrol. They only check the roaming vendors. Don’t worry, they won’t come over here.”
Yuli had never seen the Black Market patrol wearing armor emblazoned with Anvil City’s crest before. No matter how she looked at them, these were clearly the City Lord’s knights.
Worse yet, maybe they were here to search for people like her—a Cursed One.
When Bror tried to stop her, Yuli clutched the box tight and dashed out of the shop without hesitation.
“Sorry.”
She had to get out before the knights noticed her.
However, while other knights were busy checking the stalls, several more knights appeared, clad in gleaming metal armor and brandishing spears, charging directly toward the shop.
And their target—seemed to be her?
“You, stop right there!”
The lead knight barked sharply, rapidly closing the distance.
“Remove your cloak and mask and submit to inspection! If you resist, you’ll face the consequences!”