Chapter 10: Helpful Citizen

When Vivian first arrived in Marn City, her pockets were completely empty.

Even if someone were to flip her upside down and shake her, not a single copper coin would have fallen out. She was in desperate need of some startup capital to sustain her life.

Back then, she had frequently resorted to “fishing” operations in Black Rat Street.

Simply put, Vivian utilized her small, frail appearance as a little girl to deceive those with ill intentions. She would lure them into narrow alleys and then use her fists to reason with them.

By the end of every “conversation,” those thugs would be prostrate on the ground, tears streaming down their faces. They would express a sudden, passionate desire to open their purses and donate money to support Vivian’s livelihood. Vivian would decline repeatedly, but in the end, unable to overcome their overwhelming “generosity,” she was forced to accept their belongings.

Since they weren’t good people to begin with, Vivian felt no guilt about playing them for fools. Besides, the guards didn’t care about such people anyway, so she considered it her own small contribution to the public safety and management of Marn City.

After half a month, the criminals of Marn City all knew Vivian’s name. Now, if those thugs saw a little girl like her, they would either turn and run or immediately drop to their knees and kowtow. They were terrified of offending the little lady and ending up with both their pride and their money gone.

Consequently, that trick no longer worked.

However, Vivian never expected to encounter this familiar scene again today.

‘It really brings back memories…’

A playful smile tugged at the corner of Vivian’s mouth. Some “helpful citizens” had actually come to sponsor her lunch money.

But she wasn’t in a very good mood today and didn’t plan on wasting too much time with them.

“I don’t give a damn who you are! Either give us the money, or leave your life behind!”

The adventurer holding the dagger was clearly lacking patience. Seeing his companion hesitating, an inexplicable surge of irritation rose in his heart. If they were going to rob someone, they should just get on with it—why look for excuses?

He reached out directly, aiming to grab Vivian by the head.

This was exactly what Vivian wanted.

She tilted her head, easily dodging the strike. Then, she reached back and clamped her hand onto the adventurer’s elbow. Her sharp nails extended, and she gave a light swipe.

Five purple flashes sliced through the air.

Bright red blood splattered instantly, hot droplets landing on the faces of all three people. Vivian stuck out her tongue and licked a drop of blood that had landed near the corner of her mouth.

*Gag.* It tasted like smelly socks that had been fermenting in a sewer for a week.

Nauseated, she dry-heaved and immediately spat it out.

“Aaahhh!”

A cry of agonizing pain rang out. The adventurer who had just attacked was now kneeling on the ground, clutching his injured arm. He stared in shock at the hand he had just pulled back.

His entire arm looked as if it had been mauled by a wild beast. The flesh was torn open, leaving five furrows so deep that the white of the bone was visible. Several long strips of shredded muscle hung from the skin near his elbow, swaying gently.

Beside him, his companion’s body went rigid at the sight of the carnage. Then, as if his feet were greased with oil, he turned and bolted without a word, never looking back. He vanished from the mouth of the alley in a cloud of dust.

Vivian didn’t bother to give chase. Instead, she looked at the adventurer collapsed on the ground.

His face was deathly pale, and his calves were trembling uncontrollably. Even if he were beaten to death, he never would have imagined that the frail little girl before him possessed such power.

‘Is she some kind of demon hiding in the city?!’

The adventurer completely lost any thought of resisting. His heart was filled with profound terror. This was it; he was completely finished. He feared that after he died, his soul would be imprisoned and subjected to endless torment, eventually becoming food for some demon. He would never find salvation.

“Look up.”

He jolted in fear and hurriedly looked toward Vivian. He saw her point to the wooden sign hanging around her neck.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

“Th—this… is…”

He spoke tremulously, but couldn’t get a full sentence out for a long time. He didn’t understand what the demon in front of him meant. ‘Is she going to make me sign some evil contract and become a demonic minion?’

Vivian frowned. ‘Does this guy not have any money?’

Seeing her displeasure, he opened his trembling lips and spoke hurriedly. “G—Great… Master, I… I’m illiterate. I can’t read what’s written on there.”

Vivian clicked her tongue. He was an uneducated fool.

“Give me 50 copper coins, and I will heal you and let you go.”

‘Ah, I can actually leave?’

He felt as if he had grasped a life-saving straw, not pausing to consider if this was just a demon’s cruel joke. He hurriedly used his remaining hand to pull out a coin pouch and offered the whole thing up.

After Vivian took the pouch, she opened the drawstring and counted out 50 copper coins. She tossed the rest back into his lap. Then, she condensed a ball of red light in her palm and pressed it against his injured arm.

Under his terrified gaze, the arm gradually returned to its original state.

“You can go.”

The man didn’t even have time to say thank you before he scrambled away, disappearing from Vivian’s sight. He swore… he would never rob anyone again in his life.

—

Finally, it was quiet.

Vivian smoothed out her skirt and sat back down on the original steps. Leaning against the wall, she took small bites of the bread she had just bought. She enjoyed a leisurely lunch break.

After finishing the bread, she planned to take a nap in the shade against the wall. For a vampire, active duty during the day was still too exhausting. If she didn’t take a nap, she wouldn’t even have the energy to earn money and support her family.

***

The sun began to dip toward the west; it was now afternoon.

A bird carrying a dry twig for its nest flew over the alley. Suddenly, it was buffeted by a violent wind from out of nowhere, leaving it unsteady in the air. The twig slipped from its talons and fell.

*Clang.* It landed right on the head of the sleeping, black-haired girl.

“Mm~”

Vivian stretched her supple body and let out a long yawn. It was time for activity again. Time to work hard and earn money.

Vivian hung her sign back up, opened her parasol, and walked out of the alley. She began to wander the streets as she usually did.

Perhaps her luck was bad, or perhaps the city’s security was simply too good. She waited until evening, but Vivian didn’t earn a single copper coin.

Seeing that it was almost dark, she could only give up and head home. She transformed the umbrella back into blood and retracted it into her palm. Then, she flipped the wooden sign on her chest.

The back said “Closed for the day.”

Today’s work was over…

However, this time, she didn’t go straight home. Instead, she walked toward the cathedral.

—

The ruins of the Glimmer Cathedral.

From a distance, Vivian spotted Priest Derick’s figure. He was directing a team of workers to clear the rubble.

“Priest Derick, where is Nolan?” Vivian stepped forward and asked.

“There, in the open space behind the cathedral,” Derick said, pointing toward the back.

Vivian passed through the collapsed walls of the cathedral and reached the clearing. Under the glow of the setting sun, two black silhouettes—one small and one large—stood in the open space.

The smaller one held a wooden sword, swinging it tirelessly. The larger one stood beside him, occasionally offering a few words of advice. Nolan was teaching a knight’s squire.

Vivian watched from the side for a while, wondering if she could learn anything. Before long, she was yawning from boredom. Thinking it was quite dull, she stepped forward and took Nolan’s hand.

“It’s about time to go home.”

Nolan saw his wife clinging to him like that. He didn’t refuse her; instead, he smiled and bid farewell to the little knight-in-training.

The two of them walked hand-in-hand to Priest Derick. Derick looked at the couple acting all lovey-dovey and chuckled.

“I know what you’re after.”

With that, he took out a metal card and handed it to Vivian.

“Your identification. Please take good care of it… just like how you take care of your husband!”

As he finished, Priest Derick suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly amidst the ruins of the cathedral.

Vivian rolled her eyes. She had long since witnessed this old man’s inexplicable bouts of madness. He did everything with a cheerful, eccentric attitude; she was used to it by now.

At that moment, as if suddenly remembering something, Vivian quickly pulled Nolan behind her.

‘Stay away from him; don’t let my husband catch whatever madness he has.’

In her heart, she silently complained that Priest Derick was a bit improper. But on the surface, she put on a smile and thanked him. Then, she quickly pulled Nolan away from the cathedral and set off on the road home.