As soon as Yona arrived at the Mage Community, she snagged a room at the Inn.
Meanwhile, Alex and Kaiyak stayed behind at the Inn, leaving Yona to venture to the Mage Tower all on her own.
It seemed like Alebians had been waiting for her, as they were already in the lobby of the Mage Tower and headed straight to her room together.
Once the teacup was in her hand, Alebians said this:
“I think we need to go to the Church Region, pretty lady.”
“Church Region?”
Seeing Yona’s face wrinkle up, Alebians slurped their tea.
To be honest, they weren’t too happy about it either.
Not only had they agreed to meet Ceres at the Church Region, but deep down, they really didn’t like the idea of Yona meeting Ceres at all.
However, Alebians had no choice but to go along with it for now.
They were still too weak to execute their plan and figured it was better to let things flow as Ceres intended before jumping in halfway…
“What, why are you being quiet?”
Yona’s sharp voice jolted Alebians back to reality.
They often got lost in thought every time they looked at Yona, which apparently left them unable to answer her questions.
“Uh, yeah, yeah… pretty lady, we’ve agreed to meet Ceres at the Church Region.”
“When are we even going to the Church Region…?”
Yona scratched her nose with a frown still plastered on her face.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t an impossible journey.
They had gone that way once before, and most importantly, the Medial Plain was free of monsters, so they could go just for fun, right?
“Alright. So we just need to head to the Church Region, right?”
“Yep. I’m guessing Ceres might already be there.”
Alebians pondered whether it would be wise to tag along but decided against it.
Of course, they wanted to join Yona, but going to the Church Region was a whole different story.
Who knows what chaos might ensue if they bumped into Ceres there? Alebians had a low tolerance for drama, and Ceres was known for pushing all the right buttons.
“Got it. I’ll tidy up and we’ll set off day after tomorrow.”
Yona placed her teacup down and got up from her seat.
Alebians watched her quietly.
They always felt guilty towards Yona.
Even though she was blissfully unaware, that only made them more determined to look out for her.
Alebians had to watch over Yona, who would face daunting paths ahead.
“Have you heard any news about the Hero’s party?”
With that sudden question from Alebians, Yona, standing and smoothing out her dark blue wrinkled skirt, glanced at Alebians.
Dressed in a thick white linen shirt and a dark gray padded vest, Yona silently stared at Alebians with an unspoken look.
“…Nothing.”
In a world that wasn’t equipped with phones, and where they could only exchange news through letters or messengers, how was she supposed to know the whereabouts of Ludvik and Priest Vigrind’s group?
On top of that, it’s not like Yona had a clear residence to send and receive letters. Even if she did, they weren’t exactly on friendly terms to exchange messages.
“I heard they’re heading to Kapatia Port.”
“To Kapatia Port? Why?”
It wasn’t something she was particularly curious about. Whether they were going to Kapatia Port or the Katus Empire, it was none of Yona’s business, but since Alebians said so, she asked out of courtesy.
Alebians sipped from her teacup, set it down on the saucer, and let out a small sigh.
“They found traces of the Dark Association in Evian.”
“…Dark Association?”
At those words, Yona’s eyes lit up.
Those were the guys who kidnapped Rubina at Kapatia Port.
And those same guys who were trying to sacrifice Rubina to summon Vervaria.
Ultimately, the ones responsible for Vervaria settling in her left arm.
The fact that those creeps were hiding out in Evian was not something she could ignore.
“Right. The catacomb in Evian, remember? That’s where the tattoo got engraved on your right arm.”
“I remember. How could I forget that place?”
“They say something bizarre happened there. That the Hero and the Saint resolved it, and somehow found traces of the Dark Association from that incident.”
Yona slumped back down onto the sofa.
Whatever the Hero’s group did was of no concern to her now. They were outsiders, and had nothing to do with her goals.
Saving the world or whatever— that was their job, not hers. She tried to convince herself that it probably had nothing to do with Vervaria nestled in her left arm either…
“Thanks to that, there’s been tracking of the Dark Association in Evian… Apparently, it was connected to the back alleys. It seems like they got information that people hiding in the alleys came from Kapatia.”
“…Freaky said that? Oh right, is Freaky still alive?”
It had been ages since she last saw Freaky, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he had kicked the bucket in the meantime.
“Yeah. Freaky is still alive. But I didn’t hear it from him. I heard it through Mary.”
“Is communication possible through magic or something?”
Alebians simply nodded without replying.
Yona, lacking knowledge of the magical world, accepted that for now, but suddenly her mind drifted to a possibility.
Yona, who had no knowledge about it, thought that might be the case, but suddenly a possibility crossed her mind.
“So, they might come too, I mean… Ludvik and Priest Vigrind might come to Church Region?”
“I don’t know. It’s uncertain. Only Ceres definitely said she would go to the Church Region.”
“Well then, that’s fine.”
The Dark Order would be taken care of by Ludvik.
Yona sighed with relief at that answer and got back up from the sofa.
Neither Priest Vigrind nor Ludvik were people you could easily deal with.
To be honest, she didn’t want to come into contact with them any more than necessary.
*
Alex observed Yona keenly as she entered the Inn.
She hadn’t transformed back into a man yet, and judging by Yona’s stiff expression, it seemed there was probably no good news.
As much as Alex hated to say it to Yona, from his perspective, it was better if she didn’t have positive news.
That would mean good news for Alex.
Unable to win against Yona’s stubbornness, he had sent her alone to the Mage Tower while he stayed in the Inn with Kaiyak.
He was nervously waiting for Yona to return, and seeing her now stiff expression upon her return was almost a relief.
“Did you have a good trip?”
“Yeah.”
Not long after Yona sat at the Table, a bowl of stew and a water pot were placed in front of her.
Alex and Kaiyak had already eaten, so this was just for her, and Alex first poured her a glass of water.
“What did they say?”
“I think we need to go to the Church Region.”
“Why the Church Region?”
“Ceres… the Regent said she’d be there. She said we should meet there.”
“The Church Region…”
Alex rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
If they were to walk to the Church Region, it would take a few days. The problem was that there weren’t any significant towns along the way; they would just need to keep walking.
And right now, their party consisted of three people: Yona, Alex, and Kaiyak.
That was the problem.
If they went to the Church Region, there were two things they needed to do.
One was to lift the curse on Alex.
And the other was to lift Yona’s tattoo.
Both were significant tasks.
“So, I’m thinking of setting off for the Church Region the day after tomorrow, what do you think?”
Yona, who took a sip of water before eating the stew, heard Alex pouring her another glass and nodded in agreement.
Following along, Alex nodded his head.
It didn’t matter when they left, but his heart was racing.
Watching Yona eat the stew, Alex fell into thought.
He had made so many promises, yet he hadn’t done anything.
Although they hadn’t had a deep conversation yet, it was clear that Yona still had a strong desire to return to being a man.
Struggling to erase the tattoo was proof enough, wasn’t it?
If she managed to erase the tattoo and returned to the Mage Community, everything would be over.
*
“Phew…”
Returning to the room, Yona flopped onto the bed with a long sigh.
Ceres, Ceres Olkamaine, the regent of Kapatia—
A woman who could perform purification magic similar to personal magic.
If he found her, he could erase the tattoo.
Yona had no doubts about that part.
No, it wasn’t just that; she had no doubts about the woman named Ceres Olkamaine.
Throughout the journey together, she had consistently displayed trustworthy words and actions,
and honestly, she seemed much more reliable than the enigmatic Alebians.
‘Tattoo…’
That’s right.
The tattoo had to go. No matter what happened, it had to disappear.
Lying on the bed, Yona lifted her right arm and released the Sacred Barrier.
As the Sacred Barrier gently unraveled, her skin was revealed.
Her skin was entirely covered with black letters, making it hard to find its true color.
Funny enough, even though it looked negative just seeing it, there was no problem with the flow of divine power,
which was all the more astonishing.
The right arm was a tattoo, so that would be erased.
In fact, it had already faded much more than its original color, and if Ceres was to be believed, it would likely disappear with a full-body purification.
Then there was the problem of the left arm.
That wasn’t a tattoo or anything like that.
More than that, she wondered if she could even enter the Church Region with that left arm.
It was literally a mark of the demon, could she really enter the Church Region with this mark still etched on her?
There were no certainties.
With nothing certain, only anxiety grew.
Restless and anxious.
Before the question of whether she could return to being a man arose, the anomaly that had occurred in her body loomed heavily, and that was the real issue.
– Knock, knock…
Just as Yona was about to let out a long sigh, she looked up at the door.
When there was no answer from her, a voice came again.
– Yona, are you asleep?
It was Alex.
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