Chapter 57: Chapter 57 – Compromises

Following her meeting with Beldon, Scarlett had returned to the mansion after picking up Rosa and Allyssa. Currently, she was in her temporary office there, looking through her red leather journal.

She had been thinking of clearing another dungeon before the Light Fest ended, but as things had ended up a bit more hectic and uncertain than originally planned, she was looking at revising that idea. The dungeon she originally had been thinking of clearing was an underwater cavern that held a decent amount of artifacts that one could sell and a ring that amplified the effects of aeromancy spells. While Fynn technically didn't cast spells, she was pretty sure buffs like that still worked for him so it would have been a good fit. But that dungeon would probably take some time to find, and it was a decent distance away from Elystead, so that idea was being scrapped for now.

Instead, Scarlett was looking over the other dungeons she knew of in the local area. Unfortunately, none of them had anything particularly interesting that she wanted right now. At least not of those that she both felt certain they could handle right now, and whose location was certain enough where it would be easy to locate it with her game knowledge. She might have to be satisfied with just choosing some random mid-level dungeon and clearing it for the easy loot.

That was, if she could find the time for it. As it was, she wasn't entirely sure what her schedule would look like for the coming days. The Light Fest was nearing its end, but that didn't mean there weren't still things to do.

A knock sounded out from the door, and Scarlett looked up.

"Enter," she said after putting her journal away in the [Pouch of Holding] lying on the desk before her. She now reserved the pouch for the more personal things, and the stuff she wanted to have close to her. The rest usually went in the [Bag of Juham].

The door opened and Evelyne walked inside. Scarlett found herself scowling before she even realized it, but quickly managed to temper her expression some.

Ever since their conversation the day before her emotions had fluctuated up and down a lot more than normal when she thought of the younger woman, and she was still working on how to exactly interpret that. Most of the time it was a mix of irritation and...humiliation, maybe? It was hard to put a finger on it. It wasn't just the embarrassment she had felt from her outburst the prior day, at the very least. Her relationship with her real sister had also been complicated at times, but she had never felt quite like this before, so she didn't really have a point of reference on the subject.

What she did know was that it was annoying.

Evelyne stood still near the entrance for several seconds, looking at her, before finally crossing the room and sitting down in the chair opposite Scarlett.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes as she examined Evelyne's face. The woman looked tired. Had Evelyne been like that yesterday as well? Scarlett hadn't thought about it then. But looking closer, she also noticed that Evelyne's normally smooth hair was frayed and jutted out in spots.

Had she gotten any sleep the last few days?

"I've thought over what you said yesterday," Evelyne suddenly said.

Scarlett shifted her gaze to meet Evelyne's. "I see. And have you reached a conclusion?"

Evelyne appeared to hesitate for a moment, but her eyes kept on Scarlett's. "I'm going to be honest. I have a really hard time believing all of what you told me."

Scarlett slowly nodded her head. "I expected as much."

She wasn't sure how she herself would have reacted in a situation like that, but Evelyne's and the original's relationship had never been simple to her knowledge. She couldn't judge Evelyne for being skeptical.

"Despite that," Evelyne continued. "I...I don't think you're lying about having forgotten things. And asking for my help."

Those last few words almost made Scarlett grimace, but she took a moment to relax. "That is good. While the truthfulness of my other claim may be more difficult to attest to at this point, I see no good reason for why I would have lied on those two points."

"Like that has ever stopped you before," Evelyne remarked, though she seemed to regret it immediately after. Scarlett didn't respond, so Evelyne let out a sigh and shook her head. "No, I'm not here today to argue with you again. I'm too tired for any more of that right now."

"I would hope so. It would do neither of us any good if we continued to quarrel in our current situation."

Evelyne gave her a hard look. "It would be nice if you actually tried to suit your actions to your words."

Scarlett frowned. "I do not—"

She paused. She was about to say that she didn't think she said much to cause more arguments, but realized that was just blatantly untrue.

"...I will venture to refrain from speaking in an overly adversarial manner from now on."

Evelyne blinked, staring at her. Then she turned her eyes down and shook her head with a light chuckle. "That's right. You are different."

"I am," Scarlett agreed.

Evelyne stayed quiet for a moment, then looked up at her. "You said you had visions?"

"Not—"

"Right. Not visions," Evelyne interrupted her, and Scarlett had to hold back from biting her tongue.

Was it just her, or was Evelyne a lot more forward today than before?

"Memories, revelations of the future, and predictions of what might happen. That's what you said, wasn't it?"

"...In simple terms, yes."

Evelyne nodded her head. "I don't think—" she paused, and shook her head. "I don't know if I believe any of that. But I'll trust that you're not lying about forgetting things. And, even though I know how stupid it is of me, I'll trust that you actually want to make up for some of the stuff that you've done. That you're aware of it."

"That is the truth."

"Even if it is, don't expect to get any forgiveness just like that."

Scarlett stayed quiet. She honestly didn't care much for forgiveness for things she personally hadn't done, but saying that now probably wasn't the best idea.

Evelyne put her palm up to her temples. "I...Never mind. Right now, we have other things to worry about. Things have been on the decline for years now, and what happened at the Proclamation definitely didn't help. If I'm being honest, I really hope that whatever this 'knowledge' is that you have, it will continue being useful to us. Because we'll be needing it."

"I can assure you it will continue to be quite beneficial," Scarlett said. "In fact, while I have yet to inform you of it, I procured several new artifacts during my latest excursion before the Proclamation. Amongst those are two artifacts of epic quality."

Evelyne gave her a confused look. "Epic?"

Scarlett went silent. Right. Of course they wouldn't use terms like that.

"That is to say, they are quite rare and powerful. I believe they hold considerable value."

"Really? That's good then."

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"There is also some equipment that I traded earlier today for over thirty thousand solars."

Evelyne looked slightly surprised at that. Leaning forward, the woman took on a much more serious expression, staying quiet for a moment before she spoke. "Exactly how much do you know? How many more items and artifacts like this would you be able to find?"

Scarlett's eyes shifted to the side as she mentally went over the number of dungeons written down in her notes, mindlessly tapping away at the desk. "It is difficult to determine a specific number. I know of a vast amount of locations that could hold worth to us, but oftentimes my insight is vague and lacks detail. However, there would be, at minimum, a few dozen that I feel certain enough to locate without too much difficulty."

Evelyne looked at her. "A few dozen...what? Are we talking places like those Zuverian ruins you found?"

"Amongst others, yes. It varies, but many of the sites I know of are old caves, abandoned temples, and other such locations that have not been visited by people for a long time, but still house relics that hold value today."

"So you do know of even more Zuverian ruins? Because the amount of interest we got from the different towers and other mage organizations was a lot larger than what we can satisfy with what we have."

"I do, yes. However, that is hardly the most valuable information I hold."

Evelyne stared at her with a disbelieving expression.

"You're serious?"

"I have not lied once during this conversation."

The younger woman went quiet again, seemingly studying Scarlett's face. "If what you're saying really is true, then I might have to reconsider what I said before about our situation. I was thinking we might be able to repay all our debts, but this might mean we would be able to do a lot more than just that."

"I would hope so," Scarlett said. "I have been working under the assumption those issues would be dealt with soon anyhow. Our financial woes are not where our current issues lie."

Evelyne knitted her forehead, and Scarlett continued. "Can I interpret your words as a recognition of you lending me your aid? I am willing to forget any previous disputes between us in order to cooperate on these matters."

"That might fit you well and all that, but I'm not planning on 'forgetting' anything. Nor will I ask for forgiveness for doing what I considered necessary," Evelyne said, but then let out a long sigh. "...But right now, if I don't want our house to fall to ruin, I don't have much choice but to help you."

"I do not believe you will regret it, if that abates some of your worries," Scarlett said.

"That means a lot coming from you."

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "I believe it was you who earlier pointed out my inimical conduct."

Evelyne's eyes widened. "...That's true. I'm sorry. Let's continue onto the main point I wanted to talk about today."

Scarlett looked at her curiously. "And what was that?"

"Were you planning on attending the Providing Ceremony in two days?"

Scarlett frowned. "The Providing Ceremony? I had not given it much thought."

The Providing Ceremony was an event that was held at the end of the Light Fest, by the Followers of Ittar. She didn't know much about it because it hadn't really played a role in the game, but it had come up briefly in her research.

"I doubt anyone has sent you invites to any banquets or the other gatherings that are going on right now," Evelyne said. "Even most of those who don't care about what happened are probably going to wait until things calm down before openly interacting with you. But they can't stop you from attending the Providing Ceremony."

Scarlett studied Evelyne. "I presume there is a reason you believe I should attend."

Evelyne nodded. "Right now, rumors about you being arrogant are going to go around no matter what we do," she said, pausing briefly as Scarlett let her expression slip for a moment. "...That's what they're going to say in the noble circuits, at least. But what we want to do is stop that from circulating in other circuits. I don't think many nobles will bother to actively try and undermine a mere barony like ours just because of what you did, but as long as people think they might offend someone by doing business with our house it'll affect what we can do."

"And what is it you suggest our response should be?" Scarlett asked.

Evelyne hesitated for a moment. "It's a bit blatant, but to start with, if you donate something that is worth a lot during the Providing Ceremony it could help to improve your reputation somewhat. At least among some of the commoners. There will be nobles that think we're being shameless, but if we can find more Zuverian ruins and other things like you said then we don't have to care about them. We just have to make sure our house's reputation doesn't go any lower than it already has, for now."

She let out a short, almost derisive, laugh. "Your showing in the Empyreal Chronicle a few weeks ago might even help here."

Scarlett crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair as she considered Evelyne's words. "And what would be an appropriate donation, in your opinion?"

"We can't afford to donate enough money to make much of a difference, so our best bet would probably be an artifact. Preferably something valuable enough that the priests make a point of publicly acknowledging it during the ceremony. It would almost have to be, to stand out. But...that might be hard."

"Acknowledge?" Scarlett asked. "Elaborate."

Evelyne glanced at her. "You've forgotten about the Providing Ceremony too?"

"I recall some details, but I cannot recall the minutiae of what occurs during the event, no."

The younger woman studied her with an odd face, then spoke. "The Followers are the ones in charge of the offerings to Ittar and the citizens during the ceremony. Everyone is allowed to donate, but they always publicly recognize those who donate the most and record their names in the Hall of Providers. Father's name is written down there as well."

The more Scarlett heard about this event, the more it sounded like some kind of charity gala where nobles could spend their money to improve their PR. It did make her wonder what the Followers of Ittar did with all that money. They were the kind of organization where it wouldn't surprise her if they actually used it to help people, but at the same time, it was entirely possible that they would just use it for their own gain.

Well, whatever it was, she doubted any of the artifacts she had right now would be worth more than what anyone else would donate. But if she donated both [Moonshadow's Crown (Epic)] and [Pastoral Glade's Bulwark (Epic)] she might get a mention, at least. She didn't have another immediate use for them anyway.

Although...another thought did cross her mind.

"There is no other important event tomorrow, is there?" she asked Evelyne.

Her—interim—sister nodded. "No. Nothing. But the Providing Ceremony starts at midday in two days, if you're planning to disappear somewhere again."

Scarlett did some quick mental arithmetic in her head. She'd already questioned the others in her party regarding the distances to the different dungeon locations she had been thinking of visiting, so she knew roughly how long it would take to reach them. There were a couple that were too far away for her to reach and subsequently return within two days by carriage, so she'd written them off, but...

Fynn could probably make it in time if he was by himself. She knew he had some crazy stamina. He probably wouldn't outrun a horse, but he was definitely faster than a carriage. If it was him, he could probably solo the monster in that place without too much of an issue. And if it was about giving the Followers something they considered valuable...well, it was certainly worth a shot. And she always had the other two artifacts if it didn't pan out.

She smiled at Evelyne. "What do you know of sacred relics?"

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