Chapter 13

After sleeping for several hours, Iris regained some strength; night was falling quickly. She climbed out of bed and checked her body—her wounds had healed about sixty to seventy percent, an astonishing speed. As she changed clothes, she thought, “This is a good sign.” Rapid recovery meant that whatever she did, she had a higher margin for error. She needn’t worry about losing too much time resting due to injury. For her now, time was life itself.

Iris went to the washroom and splashed cold water on her face. Looking into the mirror at the droplets clinging to her skin, she pressed her index finger to her forehead and said to herself, “...Troubles are never-ending. Keep going.”

Returning to her room, she reviewed her current situation. The Church was her greatest threat, yet during today’s encounters with its members, she had gleaned some information—the Church’s method for identifying the Shadowfolk was not as simple as she had imagined. Ordinary contact seemed unlikely to expose one’s identity.

Edward, the man she had met, was only a team captain. Could higher-ranking Church officials see through her disguise? Or did the Church possess some special way to determine who was truly Shadowfolk? Iris circled this question in her mind. It was crucial; she had to figure it out.

Besides this, two tasks lay before her. One was the system’s call to find ebony wood. Thanks to the system’s proportional reward mechanism, even if incomplete, she would receive rewards proportional to her progress—bringing visible improvements to her strength. The sooner she finished, the better.

The second was the secret code left by a slain Shadowfolk. She suspected this was an internal signal used among them. If she could find other Shadowfolk and exchange information, perhaps she could break free from her current passive position. She prepared herself for setbacks, refusing to expect the uncontacted Shadowfolk to be a harmonious, united family.

After destroying her draft notes, Iris headed to the cafeteria to grab a bite. She had no appetite at noon but was now somewhat hungry.

Miss Jess saw her descend and waved, setting down her teacup. “Little Iris, I have something good for you.”

She seemed in good spirits. When Iris approached, Jess pulled a small envelope from her drawer and handed it over. “Captain Bella came looking for you earlier, but she thought you might still be napping, so she asked me to deliver this. She said it’s consolation money for you.”

Iris felt the envelope—there were at least five coins inside. So many?

Jess continued, “Pastor Edward stopped by this afternoon. He mentioned you.”

“Me?” Iris asked, puzzled.

“He praised you in front of Deacon Brian, saying you faced the cultists calmly and fearlessly, handling that sudden encounter perfectly. Captain Bella was there too and applied for a subsidy on your behalf, which Deacon Brian approved readily.”

Iris smiled. “...I really am lucky.”

She returned to her room and opened the envelope: ten silver coins. She slipped two between the books in her shelf and put the rest into her system backpack.

Very good. Now she had ten silver and thirty copper coins.

Edward’s change in attitude was intriguing—had they inspected the battle scars around? Being noticed by the Church was never a good thing.

***

When Iris reached her destination, Annie was already waiting, waving cheerfully.

This time, because she dressed “appropriately,” no one drove her away.

“Good evening,” Iris greeted with a renewed smile.

She was about to ask if Annie had eaten but, seeing Annie’s nose reddened from the cold wind, changed her question.

“Would you come with me to grab something to eat? We can chat while we eat.”

Iris pointed to a nearby café that served simple, filling food.

Annie glanced at the warm lights inside, then at her own shoes, and nodded.

Iris ordered a coffee, a glass of milk, and two servings of toast.

At first, Annie was restless, but when the fragrant food arrived, her attention shifted. She watched Iris take a bite, then began eating herself, occasionally glancing up at Iris. When she noticed Iris wasn’t looking, she hastened her pace.

After Annie had eaten most of her food, Iris sipped her coffee, and Annie mimicked her, drinking the warm milk in small sips.

By the time they finished, Iris felt a bit too full. She thought, “...If only I hadn’t eaten before coming out.”

Annie cleared the dishes and looked at Iris, seemingly waiting for her to ask something.

Iris had intended to ask Annie to describe the Golden Locust Backstreet area, but considering Annie was just a child, a broad question might be hard to answer.

Though called a “street,” Golden Locust Backstreet was actually a small district.

If ebony wood was truly hidden there, how could she find him?

Iris tried to deduce his behavior—if ebony wood was after money or working for his boss, his targets would be affluent supernaturals, not commoners like Annie.

She decided to start there. “Are there many supernaturals living in Golden Locust Backstreet?”

Annie nodded and then shook her head. “They all gather in the deepest part of Golden Locust Backstreet, near the riverbank. I don’t know if that counts as many... My brother told us to get out of the way if we see supernaturals and not to contact them... I’m not sure.”

Iris asked, “Do those supernaturals wear clothes like yours?”

“They wear clothes like yours, without any patches,” Annie said.

They didn’t seem like refugees—more likely some supernaturals engaged in shady work.

“Annie, what do your mother and brother do for work?”

“My mom mends clothes and makes matchboxes. My brother does odd jobs for people,” Annie said. “But my brother says that if he gets selected by a factory, he won’t have to do odd jobs anymore.”

“Selected by a factory?”

Annie nodded. “It’s a noble’s factory. My brother said they pay twenty silver coins a month with room and board. A few months ago, someone came to recruit workers here, but my brother was too late to join.”

Iris felt uneasy.

A twenty-silver-coin monthly wage with food and lodging? She’d seen factory ads in newspapers—most paid fifteen, some eighteen silver coins per month. Twenty silver coins was an exceptionally generous offer; such jobs would be in high demand everywhere.

Frankly, such a good deal seemed unlikely for people from Golden Locust Backstreet.

“Are they recruiting again soon?” Iris asked. “This pay is better than many other factories. Doesn’t your brother find it suspicious?”

Annie thought for a moment. “He didn’t go the first time either. He said no one believed such a good thing existed. But the first group who worked full-time came back recently.”

“All of them? How many were recruited?”

“Twenty... or thirty,” Annie hesitated, afraid to be wrong. “Half of them finished the four months and came back. Two were kicked out early for stealing, but the noble was kind and didn’t press charges; he still paid them.”

The situation was not as Iris had imagined.

She took a sip of coffee and asked, “What about those who didn’t return?”

“They were kept because they worked fast. The factory wanted them to continue and promised that if they did well, they could transfer to another, better factory owned by the same noble, with higher pay. If I were older, I could apply— I heard they’ll recruit female workers later!”

Iris saw yearning on Annie’s face, reddened by the warmth indoors.

Though this story sounded suspicious, it might not be related to the ebony wood she sought.

Iris’s silence was taken by Annie as tacit agreement.

Annie didn’t know if her information was helpful but said everything she could think of:

“At the last recruitment, many who weren’t selected registered with Mr. Walnut. They said next time he’d prioritize those on the list.”

The name Walnut made Iris’s heart tighten.

Was he connected to Ebony Wood? Did they work for the same employer?

Kai had previously speculated about a “boss” behind Walnut. Could this boss be the noble recruiting workers?

Iris asked, “Are they still recruiting? Who should I contact to register?”

“Mr. Walnut. He’s tall, with black hair and a small mustache,” Annie described, tracing a tiny mustache on her face.

“There’s an abandoned granary on the west side of Golden Locust Backstreet. It’s a temporary recruitment site. The granary is large, with a red brick pointed roof—easy to find.”

Iris asked, “Have you heard of someone named Ebony Wood?”

After a brief hesitation, Annie shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t know.”

“No need to apologize,” Iris said gently. “You’ve helped me a lot. Thank you, Annie.”

She also asked Annie about the home addresses of workers who had returned after finishing their jobs, hoping to gather more information.

In the neighborhood, this was no secret; Annie shared freely.

After bidding Annie farewell, Iris didn’t return home immediately.

Sitting on a bench by the street, she let the cold wind through her hair sharpen her senses. She looked up at the bright moon, savoring a rare moment of tranquility.

Annie’s information had saved her much time and clarified her search.

She would visit Golden Locust Backstreet herself to inquire further but avoid involving Annie to spare her unnecessary trouble.

Iris entered a general store that sold not only common potions but also consumables and mysterious items frequently used by supernaturals. The owner, reading in a chair, glanced up and said, “Pick whatever you want. Pay at the counter,” then returned to his book.

Iris scanned the shelves and bought three bottles of mana replenishment potions, two transformation potions, and a single-use charm that temporarily enhanced sight and hearing, leaving her with five silver coins.

Watching half her money vanish, she sighed—no matter the world, money was always hard to keep.

By the time she returned to her dormitory, it was nine o’clock at night. After washing up, she sat back on her bed.

There was no entertainment here; she would have to sleep early.

Just as she prepared to close her eyes, her magic mirror received a new message:

[Fallen Morningstar: Everyone, don’t you think using animals and complicated rituals to deliver items and letters is outdated? In this day and age, it’s cumbersome, severely limited, and unsafe for our followers.]

[Pale Messenger: I don’t think so. Raven messengers are good.]

[Crimson Despair: Definitely outdated, though I don’t use animals.]

[Pale Messenger: ?]

[Fallen Morningstar: Of course, I’m not criticizing anyone’s divine beliefs.]

[Mysterious Mother Lady has developed a new method. She’s bred a new dog breed capable of traversing space, moving between the real world and the hidden realm. It’s safer and more efficient than traditional messengers.]

[Fallen Morningstar: So, who wants to try this latest, trendiest way of sending messages?]