The next morning, Li Fei woke up on a pair of soft thighs.
She was still in the private room.
She rubbed her head, thought for a moment, and the memories came flooding back in a wave of mortification.
Last night, she and Shannina had gotten along famously. Li Fei had, of her own free will, drunk a glass of 'Angel's Feather.'
And then a certain side of her true nature had made itself known.
Such as attempting to discuss [REDACTED] with Shannina. Showing off the [REDACTED] she had honed through years of dedicated rhythm-gaming. And slapping [REDACTED] while declaring something to the effect of "I'm incredibly brave, you know..."
Fortunately, Shannina was a true lady in every sense of the word — which was the only reason a certain girl who had solemnly sworn to hold her moral line did not [REDACTED] on her very first day of work.①
Li Fei had subsequently passed out in Shannina's arms and fallen asleep using her lap as a pillow.
Despite having been thoroughly drunk at the time, Li Fei remembered with perfect clarity the warmth and sense of peace that Shannina's lap had given her.
Shannina was still sleeping soundly. Li Fei stared at that serene, lovely sleeping face for a long moment before finally coming back to herself and glancing around. Her gaze — just a touch guilty — slid past the firmly closed door. Li Fei lightly bit her lower lip, held her breath, leaned in close to Shannina's brow, and quietly pressed two soft, slightly damp kisses there.
The corner of the red-haired beauty's lips curled upward, ever so slightly.
...
Li Fei's Journal:
August 6th — Sunny. First day of work. Commission earnings: two gold coins and three silver coins. Keep it up, Li Fei! Hold on until payday, and you'll be able to buy a full set of good armor and crossbow bolts!
August 7th — Overcast. The mage-sister is dangerously good at flirting. I was blushing from start to finish.
August 8th — Clear. Shannina came again last night.
August 9th — Light rain. The angel-sister is so beautiful!! And very generous with her money. I've decided to allow her to put her arm around my waist.
Addendum: Why did my Morality drop by 1 point?
August 10th — Clear. Last night both Shannina and Lady Gneia told me I've gotten prettier.
August 11th — Cloudy turning clear. Last night's guest was no lady — very handsy... I'll forgive her, considering she ordered two bottles of 'Moonbeam Nectar.' If she'd ordered two more, letting her use my lap as a pillow wouldn't have been entirely out of the question.
Addendum: Morality dropped again.
August 12th — Heavy rain. It seems the 'Depravity' talent does have some effect after all... The guests who've reserved time with me have actually started forming a queue. At this rate, I should be able to afford a decent weapon by the end of the month.
August 13th — Foggy. The 'Language Comprehension' spell is absolutely absurd — it can even translate poetry, and the results are metrically perfect with beautiful rhyme schemes, a genuine triumph of faithfulness, elegance, and fluency. Last night I entertained a young noblewoman from the Eastern Continent, a Miss Qin Zhihua — a few poems moved her to actual tears. She said she wanted to buy out my contract and take me away from the Golden Kumquat Tavern. As if I'd leave a job this good for anything! I was so alarmed I immediately talked her into ordering two more bottles of 'Fairy Honey' and got her properly drunk.
Addendum: Why did my Morality drop by two points all at once?
August 14th — Clear. 'Depravity' is an absolutely godlike talent... Word's been going around the tavern that the new girl, Li Fei, has the makings of a true star courtesan. Though — haven't I forgotten something these past couple of days?
August 15th — Light rain. Last night's guest turned out to be Lady Gneia herself... What is this? The boss drinking on the clock with one of her own employees? Not that I'm complaining.
August 16th — Clear. The priestess-sister is so wonderfully aloof. I want to look down on her. Or have her look down on me.
August 17th — Clear. I just remembered — I've forgotten my morning runs these past few days! Li Fei, oh Li Fei. Skill is built through diligence and dulled by leisure — how could you forget your original purpose just because you've earned a little money? No equipment, however excellent, can make up for personal weakness! Starting tomorrow, I am absolutely getting back to training.
August 18th — Rainy. It's raining. Taking a rest day. Definitely tomorrow.
August 19th — Clear. My heart belongs to Shannina.
August 20th — Clear. Ah, Miss Qin Zhihua is completely my ideal type... I couldn't help myself and recited a few more poems for her. Morality only dropped by one this time.
I have a theory: perhaps the same action doesn't always produce the same effect on one's stats?
For instance, morning runs for a month raised my Constitution from 3 to 4. But what about a hero whose Constitution is already over a hundred? The same month of morning runs probably wouldn't budge their Constitution at all.
Morality might work the same way. Perhaps a true lady with Morality over a hundred would see her score drop just for saying a single rude word — while a thoroughly wicked person at negative one hundred could commit minor acts of villainy without any further decline, or might even tick up from negative one hundred to negative ninety-nine? Worth observing.
August 21st — Overcast. I entertained a distinguished guest last night. That celebrated adopted daughter of the city lord, the breathtakingly talented Bai Mengtian... I never expected that she, too, was...
August 22nd — Clear. I'll never have to worry about my phone dying again. Wonderful!
August 23rd — Clear. I sneakily plucked one of the angel-sister's feathers, and she actually blushed? Also, why in the world did my Morality drop again? It was just one feather. Seriously, System?
August 24th — Clear. Oh. Apparently angel-folk give feathers to each other as a declaration of love...
August 25th — Clear. Lady Gneia was a little drunk tonight. She said she almost regrets bringing me to work at the tavern — if she'd known I had this much potential, she would have kept me as her personal assistant. Ha. My lady, if I hadn't come to work at the tavern, how would my Morality have dropped? How would my Charisma have risen?
August 26th — Clear. Shannina gave me a flower — the same color as her hair. Very beautiful. I like it very much.
August 27th — Clear. I managed to make the priestess-sister blush. It seems that even without the system's help, I have a natural gift for this sort of thing... Wait — why am I feeling proud of that? Get a grip, Li Fei, get a GRIP—
August 28th — Clear. The mage-sister came again. But I am no longer who I once was — this time, she was the one blushing. Though when she heard I'd been working at the tavern to save money for the Magic Academy, she offered to help me, and even gave me a mage's robe.
August 29th — Clear. A new guest arrived tonight. She's as deep and captivating as the night itself... And her gift was a dagger? Who gives a girl a dagger as a first meeting present... Given that she's the vice-president of the Thieves' Guild, though, we hit it off immediately. I also took the opportunity to commission her to look into a few things for me.
August 30th — Light rain. Payday. Why can't I feel happy about it?
...
Night had fallen. Loxibrook was wrapped in a gauze of drizzling rain, and every leaf in the city glistened with a brilliant, rain-soaked green — yet the soft, ceaseless patter of the drops only made Li Fei feel irritable.
A dwarven round shield. A chainmail hauberk. A crossbow. Armor-piercing bolts. A custom-brewed poison. Fire flasks. Healing potions...
The equipment and supplies she hadn't dared dream of owning a month ago were now laid out in a neat row across the long table, gleaming under the lamplight.
And yet Li Fei found, with a dread she hadn't expected, that she could no longer summon the fighting spirit she'd had a month ago.
She finally understood that old saying: the arms of a beauty are the grave of a hero.
Poverty, exhaustion, pain, fear — none of it had broken her will. But the Golden Kumquat Tavern had let her sink, soft and slow, into comfort.
Now, all she had to do was throw this equipment in the bin and she could lose herself in the tavern's perfumed haze and drifting music for the rest of her days. A few poems recited at the right moment would earn her the admiration and adoration of wealthy young ladies and elegant noblewomen. Every day, a fresh parade of beauties would line up, lavishing money on her just to make her smile. Fine clothes, fine food, warm nights — all of it within easy reach.
If you can win by lying down, why would you fight?
What, Mettis? These days, even marchionesses have to get in line if they want to share a drink with this lady. A mere earl's household? With a few choice words and the right company, I, Li Fei, could wipe them out without lifting a finger.
On one side: a soft, warm paradise.
On the other: a blood-soaked wolf den littered with bones, where she'd have to fight through pain and injury against wolves — and things far worse than wolves.
The scales within her kept swaying. Li Fei, in this moment, was like a lazy dog who swears after some setback that she'll work hard and show everyone — only to sit down at her desk and find her eyes glued to her phone, unable to look away. Even the humiliation, the pain, the fear she had suffered were slowly dissolving, fading away in the fragrant warmth the beauties around her radiated.
Li Fei's expression flickered.
Fine. Work first.
Li Fei sighed, picked up a pale-pink paper parasol, and walked across the street to the Golden Kumquat Tavern.
She stepped onto the soft carpet and climbed the entrance steps. Two tall, graceful elven attendants pulled the doors open for her, and a melody of elegant, lilting music drifted out from within.
A simply dressed greeter girl stepped forward and took the parasol from Li Fei's hands with a small, well-mannered bow, folding it carefully.
"Look — Li Fei."
"Oh? The rising star... ahem, the courtesan?"
A few of the patrons had caught sight of her, and a wave of hushed whispers rippled through the hall. The beautiful, well-heeled guests set down their glasses, turning toward the entrance with looks ranging from eager anticipation to casual curiosity.
In the Golden Kumquat Tavern — a place that was never short on stunning women — there was one newcomer who had been the talk of the house. In barely more than twenty days since her debut, she had swept through like a force of nature, bringing beauty after beauty to their knees. She was well on her way to becoming the tavern's reigning star. Who hadn't heard of her?
Every eye in the tavern turned toward the door as Li Fei walked in.
She did not disappoint the ladies and noblewomen who had been waiting.
Her thick, dark hair had been loosely gathered with a slender cord of grass, resting softly over her delicate shoulders. That exquisite oval face was framed by gently arched brows like brushstrokes of ink, and her dark, liquid eyes were as clear and guileless as a newborn deer's — yet they carried a trace of languid melancholy that called to mind a dark forest from a fairy tale, beautiful and quietly devastating.
Below her pale, fine-boned collarbone, a simple white dress fell in clean, understated lines, hinting at a slender waist and soft curves beneath — enough to invite imagination, at once reserved and faintly suggestive.
The unconscious way she pressed her lips together, the slight furrow of her brow — it lent her an air of quiet sorrow and weary grace that, far from diminishing her allure, added a wistful, fragile beauty that made every woman in the room want to take care of her.
The entire hall of guests held its breath. They seemed to see a rose in full bloom slowly shedding its petals — the forbidden fruit rolling down to rest at Eve's feet — a ripe peach in an oil painting, vivid almost to the point of excess. It was innocence that made you want to leave a mark on it. A beautiful, aching ruin of a thing that made you want to fall alongside it.
The high school girl who, just two months ago, had been fretting over never seeing the prettiest girl in the neighboring class again after graduation — who had buried herself under her blanket and kicked her feet in frustration — could never have imagined how completely she would transform in those two short months. She had become something elegant and dangerous, something fatal in its beauty.
All it had cost her was a slight, flexible adjustment to her moral baseline.
Depravity: When Morality decreases, Charisma increases. (Irreversible)
Charisma: 142
Morality: -4
...
"Hiss... the reputation is well-earned."
"I'm done for."
"I recall there's a phrase in the East — 'a beauty that could topple nations.' There is no better description."
"Lady Gneia, I want to make a reservation!"
"I want a full month, exclusive!"
Bathed in the gazes of ladies and young women of every variety, Li Fei smiled her practiced smile, gracefully lifted the hem of her skirt, bent her knees, and offered a one-handed curtsy that wasn't quite textbook — which somehow only made her look more charming.
Then she walked, unhurried, toward Lady Gneia and offered a greeting:
"Good evening, my lady."
Gneia exhaled a curl of smoke, her expression complex. "Fei, you've become even more popular."
"It's the dress you gave me, my lady. It suits me well."
"I personally prefer purple... but clearly, only white could do justice to someone like you."
"I actually like pink."
Li Fei smiled with easy composure, reached into her pocket, and produced the box of ladies' cigarettes that Bai Mengtian had given her. She slipped one between her lips.
Strike.
"Ignitio."
Snap.
Qin Zhihua — a daughter of an old Eastern noble house, every inch the wellborn lady — lit a match and extended it toward her. A green-eyed, golden-haired witch drew her magic wand and murmured a soft incantation, a dancing flame flickering at its tip. The mage-lady clicked her fingers and a small tongue of fire bloomed at her fingertip. And a handful of other women Li Fei didn't know as well also vied to be of service, each demonstrating her own particular grace.
A dozen small flames gathered around Li Fei, flickering and dancing in the darkness of her black eyes.②
Nicole — the scholarly, warm-mannered mage with grey hair worn loose over her shoulders — had been the most generous of them all, so Li Fei accepted the light from her fingertip to ignite her cigarette, then smoothly, gracefully pacified the other eager ladies.
"Then I'll take my leave for now."
With a small dip of her head, Li Fei ascended the tavern's second-floor staircase and pushed open the wooden door of a private room.
Tonight's guest was, once again, Shannina Windsor.
It had to be said — this red-haired beauty was a near-perfect lady in every sense: beautiful, elegant, witty, and generous. She had a gift for making an entire night feel far too short.
Among all the beauties Li Fei had encountered here — and she had fallen a little bit for every single one — Shannina was the one who made her heart flutter most.
"Fei."
Shannina's smile was as warm and radiant as ever. She reached out and gently plucked the cigarette from Li Fei's fingers, dropping it into a water glass. "You're not an adult yet."
"Hmph. I'm only a few months away."
Li Fei tucked her head against Shannina's shoulder, breathing in her warmth and the faint, clean fragrance drifting from her clothes. Her fingertips idly wound a strand of red hair into slow circles. "Didn't you say you had something important to tell me?"
Shannina's smile softened into something more serious. "I'm leaving."
Li Fei's fingers stilled. Her voice came out carefully neutral:
"...Not planning to come back?"
"Unless I die."
"How long?"
"If all goes well — a year, give or take."
"Oh. Then go, I suppose. Why tell me?"
Li Fei turned her head away and reached for the cigarette box, then withdrew her hand.
"To say goodbye."
Shannina took Li Fei's hand in hers.
"Hm?"
Li Fei sat still for a long moment before she came back to herself.
Be sensible, Li Fei. Shannina is just a guest.
You should say goodbye with grace and dignity, like a mature lady...
The high school girl quietly reminded herself of all this in her head — and then said something entirely different out loud:
"You might as well just invite me to come with you."
"This journey isn't safe."
Shannina's eyes held both apology and reluctance.
"Right, of course. You're a Sequence 3 mage. I'd only hold you back."
Li Fei went quiet all at once.
She heard a sound — faint, but unmistakable. Like a weight dropping onto a scale, the arm tilting decisively to one side.
"I'm not feeling well. I'll take my leave."
"I'm sorry..."
The door closed with a heavy thud. Inside, Shannina Windsor lowered her head, a quiet, lingering sadness settling over her.
...
Li Fei said her goodbyes to Lady Gneia, who watched her with faint surprise, took the parasol — and didn't open it. She walked straight out into the rain.
She got back to her room and threw herself facedown onto the mattress. But no matter how much she tossed and turned, sleep wouldn't come. Something in the depths of her chest felt like it was slowly sinking.
She gave up on sleep, climbed out of bed, and leaned against the windowsill. She lit a cigarette. The flame reflected in her pupils, flickering and unsteady.
By the time the last cigarette was gone, the eastern horizon had already turned pale with the first grey light of dawn.
Li Fei let out a soft, self-mocking laugh.
She turned unhurriedly to the table. She kicked off her heels. She shed the white dress. She pulled on the chainmail hauberk, the riding boots — methodically donning each piece of equipment in turn, until finally she shrugged on the mage's robe that Nicole had gifted her. She picked up her sword, pushed open the door, and stepped out into the pale grey light of early morning, her silhouette stretching long and resolute across the ground behind her.
Out of the city. Kill wolves.
①Scene adapted from "The Witch of All People: 1994."
②Scene adapted from "Malèna."
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