Chương 54: Chapter 52 – The Blossoming Typhoon

"No. This is so not fucking fair!" Bea complained loudly enough for half the guild hall to hear.

"She gets a cute little sexy elf slave girl!?"

"Bea!" Chelsea whisper-yelled immediately, looking around in embarrassment as several nearby adventurers turned toward their table.

"You're causing a scene. And she's not a slave. She's an assistant."

"I want one too," Bea whined dramatically, slumping halfway across the table.

"No," Adriane answered without hesitation.

"You don't even have a sexy assistant girl," Bea shot back, pointing accusingly at her older sister without lifting her head from the table.

"And you're Adriane fucking Wixx."

"Not a slave," Ivy corrected weakly, raising one hand.

"And I have a Chelsea," Adriane pointed out calmly. Chelsea turned to her, squinting.

"Am I your slave?" Bea barked out a laugh, sitting up with manic energy.

"You ask her permission before you do anything. You are absolutely her slave." Chelsea dropped into her usual seat with a groan.

"Adriane, why is she still awake?"

"And I am going to stay awake," Bea announced proudly, pointing at herself with both thumbs, "as long as I don't talk about Wixx secrets." The wide grin on her face somehow made the statement more threatening instead of less.

"What would you even do with an assistant?" Chelsea asked suspiciously.

"Torture her when you get bored?"

"That," Bea agreed immediately, "and I'd make her watch while Edgar fu…" Edgar caught her head before it could hit the table. The entire sentence stopped mid-word as Bea went limp in his arms. Chelsea stared. Slowly, very slowly, she turned toward Edgar.

"That wasn't a Wixx secret," she said. Edgar carefully adjusted Bea in her chair as though nothing unusual had happened. Chelsea's eyes widened.

"Edgar! You've been the one putting her to sleep whenever she starts getting…" She gestured vaguely with both hands.

"Like that."

"Surely you are imagining things," Edgar replied politely. Chelsea immediately whipped toward Adriane. The oldest sister was very clearly trying not to smile.

"And you've been taking the blame this entire time!?"

"Leave it to demons and their vivid imaginations to create such elaborate stories," Adriane answered smoothly, then turning her head to hide a smile. Chelsea narrowed her eyes at both of them.

"Oh my gods. You absolutely have."

"Welcome, Miss Ivy, to our little family," Edgar said, gracefully changing the subject.

"You may not be a Wixx by name, but you are certainly close enough in spirit."

"Thank you," Ivy replied, though she still looked completely unsure how serious any conversation at this table actually was.

"Can I ask something?"

"Of course."

"You're a gali, right?" Edgar perked up slightly.

"I am indeed." Ivy straightened a little with genuine interest.

"What piece is your primary?" Chelsea looked between them in confusion.

"Oh," Edgar replied pleasantly, "you know gali lore. That would be the mask."

"And you can manifest a spiritual body?" Ivy asked.

"Mostly," Edgar explained.

"Extremities are difficult. Fingers especially. Toes as well. Having something to fill makes manifestation significantly easier." He lifted one of his white-gloved hands slightly.

"Hence the gloves." Chelsea froze. Her brain very suddenly connected several pieces of information she had apparently been avoiding ever since learning Edgar was a spirit. Manifesting a body. Having something to fill. Her cheeks immediately became hot. Oh… Oh gods! That answered several questions she absolutely did not want answered.

"Are you alright, Chels?" Adriane asked, concern slipping into her voice almost immediately. Chelsea straightened so quickly she nearly hit the table with her knees.

"I'm fine," she answered far too fast. Adriane gave her a suspicious look. Meanwhile, Ivy remained completely oblivious to the crisis happening beside her.

"So what village are you from?" Edgar asked her politely. Chelsea quietly covered the lower half of her face with both hands while trying very hard not to think about spiritual anatomy.

"Leaf. It's a small village in eastern Vallance Kingdom. The closest major city would be the Holy City. The one with the Crystal Cathedral. It's still pretty far from us, though."

"Ivy Leaf," Edgar repeated approvingly.

"A very powerful name indeed." Leaf? How had she never asked her last name? The realization hit her all at once. She didn't know Maggie's last name either. Or Marie's. She considered these people her friends, yet somehow she had never thought to ask something so basic. Chelsea immediately decided she was terrible at friendship. She would fix that later. Right now, something else demanded her attention. Almost absentmindedly, she activated The Eyes on Ivy. Ivy, The Favored Morale Boost.

Chelsea's brows furrowed in confusion at what that meant, then she nearly choked. That wasn't a real title. Or at least, not one someone should have. It sounded like some disgusting inside joke made into reality by the system itself. After hearing Ivy describe her brother's behavior earlier, Chelsea suddenly understood exactly where the title probably came from. The thought made her furious. She needed to change it. Like as soon as possible. But she also didn't want to embarrass her in front of everyone.

Chelsea thought quickly before reaching into her pouch and pulling out one of her hearts. She took a large bite, deliberately allowing blood to run down her chin afterward. Then she sat there patiently. It only took a few seconds before Adriane noticed. The older sister cleared her throat and subtly nodded toward Chelsea. Ivy looked over, sighed with a small smile, and stood up.

"Come on," she said gently, grabbing Chelsea lightly by the wrist.

"Let's get you cleaned up."

"Oh," Chelsea replied innocently.

"Okay." Once inside the washroom, Ivy grabbed one of the guild's rough cloth rags and started pumping water over it.

"Your family is actually really nice," she admitted while wetting the cloth.

"A lot less scary than the guild makes them out to be."

"They think we're scary?" Chelsea asked. Ivy stopped mid-motion and stared at her.

"You're joking?" She laughed quietly.

"Chelsea, your oldest sister is The Silver Sword. Your other sister is an insane woman who smiles while threatening people. Edgar is literally an A-ranked masked assassin spirit." She pointed vaguely back toward the hall.

"And then there's the giant einherin who somehow managed to tame the second largest einherin besides him, Fiona the Brutal." Chelsea opened her mouth.

"And then," Ivy continued, now smiling slightly, "there's the demon girl who seems to secretly control the entire family while constantly covered in blood." Ivy laughed as she started wiping the blood from Chelsea's chin. Chelsea let her clean her up for a few seconds before shaking the thought from earlier back into focus.

"There was actually a reason I brought us in here." Ivy stopped wiping immediately and looked at her curiously.

"You did this on purpose?"

"Yes, of course I did," Chelsea replied casually.

"How many titles do you have?" Ivy blinked at the sudden change in subject.

"Three. Why?"

"What's your current active title?"

"Of the Village in the Leaves," she answered slowly, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Chelsea, why are you asking about my titles?" Chelsea reached out and gently grabbed both of her hands, careful not to nick her with her claws.

"Ivy," she said softly, "that's not what your active title says." Her expression changed instantly, expecting Chelsea to say she was joking.

"What?"

"What are all your titles?" Chelsea asked carefully.

"Chelsea," she said quietly, a tremor entering her voice, "you're scaring me." Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Please," Chelsea said gently.

"Just tell me." Ivy swallowed.

"Of the Village in the Leaves. The Elementalist. And…" She hesitated briefly.

"The Specialist. The one everybody gets after specializing their class." Chelsea's grip tightened slightly around her hands.

"That's…" She frowned.

"None of those are what I saw." The color slowly drained from Ivy's face. Chelsea looked directly into her eyes.

"Do you mind if I try to view your actual titles?" she asked softly.

"I've never tried looking directly at someone else's stats before. Honestly, I don't even know if I can."

"Yes," Ivy answered immediately, anxiety creeping fully into her voice now.

"Please." She swallowed hard.

"Chelsea… is it bad?"

"It's bad if you understand the meaning behind it," Chelsea admitted with a small nod. She slowly raised her left hand and pressed the flat of her palm gently against Ivy's temple, mimicking the motion she had seen Bea use several times before. The Eyes activated immediately. New title acquired: The Inspector. Chelsea blinked in surprise before smiling faintly.

"Well. That's ironic. I got a title while trying to check your title." Ivy attempted a smile in return, but it barely held together. She was trying very hard to appear calm for Chelsea's sake, though the tension in her shoulders and the slight tremor in her breathing betrayed her completely. Chelsea removed her hand.

"Hold on," she said.

"Let me assign the new title first. It might make this easier." She swapped her active title over to The Inspector, and immediately felt the shift in her vision as The Eyes sharpened further. Then she placed her hand against Ivy's temple once more. This time the sheet appeared perfectly. Chelsea decided immediately that she was going to read everything aloud exactly as she saw it.

"Okay," she said quietly.

"I'm just going to read it top to bottom but skip the title stuff until the end." Ivy nodded stiffly.

"Name: Ivy Leaf. Class: Elemental Sorcerer. Profession: Adventurer, E-rank. Chosen title..." Chelsea paused briefly, deciding to skip it before continuing smoothly, "…Race: Forest Elf." Ivy frowned slightly at the tiny hesitation but stayed quiet.

"Level: Eleven."

"What!?" Ivy blurted. Chelsea ignored the interruption and continued reading.

"Strength: Five. Dexterity: Nine. Constitution: Five. Stamina: Four. Intelligence: Sixteen." Her eyebrows rose slightly.

"That's really high, by the way." Ivy looked completely stunned already.

"Wisdom: Eleven. Psyche: Four. Charisma: Four. Luck: Seven."

"My Luck is seven?" she repeated weakly. Chelsea looked up from the sheet.

"That's really good too." Ivy stared at her blankly. Chelsea continued.

"Passive abilities: Night Vision, Innate Conduit, Volatile Confluence, Dual Element Resonance: Fire and Wind." Ivy slowly sat down on the small wooden bench against the wall behind her. Chelsea continued reading while trying not to sound too impressed, with her hand following Ivy down to her seated position.

"Usable abilities: Fire Bolt, Scorch, Gale Step, Pressure Shear, Living Flame, Fire of Refusal, Jetflare, Inferno Squall." She stopped for a second.

"Those sound terrifying."

"I thought I only had four spells," Ivy whispered. Chelsea focused back down at the stats.

"No current enhancements. No ailments." She removed her hand from Ivy's temple.

"Okay. I'm changing your active title now."

"Thank you," Ivy said quietly.

"I haven't had someone read my full stat sheet to me since my father did before I left the village." Chelsea blinked.

"Wait. Really?" Ivy nodded.

"Do people not get notifications when they level up or gain titles?" Chelsea asked.

"No." She laughed weakly.

"I thought I was around level six." Chelsea stared at her in disbelief.

"I will absolutely read your stat sheet whenever you wa…" She stopped abruptly. Ivy's face tightened immediately.

"Chelsea? What's wrong?"

"It's not exactly wrong." Chelsea frowned deeply while staring at the sheet.

"It's more that somebody has absolutely been lying to you." Chelsea looked back up at her slowly.

"Ivy… you have twenty-two titles." For a moment she simply stared at Chelsea blankly. Then her brain started to work again.

"Really?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly. The sheer relief in that single word nearly broke Chelsea's heart.

"Yeah," Chelsea said softly.

"You actually have some really cool-sounding ones in here." As she scanned through them, Chelsea slowly realized the titles told the story of Ivy's entire life. The earliest ones reflected her village and upbringing. Then came the travel-related titles. Adventuring titles. Growth. And after that… The abuse. Every cruel interaction. Every humiliation. Every moment someone had reduced her into something lesser. They were all there. And they appeared to be in order. Chelsea's eyes narrowed slightly at the realization.

Maybe titles stayed organized by when they were acquired.

"Chelsea," Ivy said quietly.

"Please tell me what my active title was." She really did not want to say it aloud. Still, Ivy deserved honesty. Chelsea took a slow breath.

"It wasn't the worst one," she admitted carefully.

"But your active title was 'The Favored Morale Boost.'" Ivy closed her eyes.

"Oh." She took a shaky breath through her nose before speaking again.

"I haven't had someone edit my stat sheet in half a year." Her voice trembled slightly now.

"They've been laughing at me for that long." She took a deep breath.

"You said it wasn't the worst one?"

"Ivy…" Chelsea started softly.

"You really don't have to hear them." She stayed silent for several seconds before nodding once. Chelsea wanted to refuse. Instead, she grabbed Ivy's hand again and said quietly, "Just remember something first." Ivy looked at her.

"They can't hurt you anymore. Okay?" Her eyes were already wet, but she nodded. Chelsea swallowed hard and forced herself to continue."' The Perfect Victim.'" Ivy flinched immediately."' The Predator's Prey. The Fool.'" Chelsea's own throat tightened, but she pushed on."' The Whore.'" Ivy broke as tears began falling."' The Favored Morale Boost. The Used. And… The Unloved.'" By the end, Chelsea was crying too. Ivy folded inward like something inside her had finally snapped apart.

She covered her face with both hands as sobs tore out of her hard enough to shake her entire body. Chelsea immediately kneeled in front of her and pulled her against her. The taller elf practically collapsed into the much smaller demon, clinging to her like she was the only stable thing left in the world. The washroom door cracked open slightly as one of the guild workers peeked inside at the noise. Chelsea waved her away without even looking. The door quietly shut again.

"I'm so…" Ivy tried to speak between sobs.

"I'm stupid…"

"No," Chelsea said immediately. She reached for one of the cloth rags beside the basin and pumped fresh water onto it before the pressure died again.

"No, you are not stupid." She gently pulled Ivy back just enough to wipe at her face.

"You were hurt and taken advantage of," she said softly.

"There's a difference." Ivy lowered her head again as Chelsea cleaned away tears with slow, careful motions.

"You are safe now," Chelsea continued.

"They cannot hurt you anymore. You have very powerful friends now." A faint smile tugged at her lips despite the tears still in her own eyes.

"Honestly, Edgar would probably be thrilled to make your brother disappear." That earned a weak, broken laugh out of her.

"There," Chelsea said quietly.

"See? That's already better." Ivy sniffed hard and tried to steady herself while Chelsea kept gently wiping her face clean.

"But honestly?" she continued.

"Killing him wouldn't even hurt him as much as this." Ivy looked up slightly.

"You succeeding," Chelsea said softly.

"You thriving. You becoming someone incredible while he watches from a distance knowing he'll never control you again or have your bright future." She folded the damp rag in her claws before setting it aside.

"Those titles are your past," she told her firmly.

"Not your future." Then she gave Ivy's hand another squeeze.

"And besides," she added gently, "those were only seven titles." Ivy blinked at her through reddened eyes.

"You still have fifteen beautiful ones to choose from." The two returned to the others with minimal questioning. Chelsea decided the group had more than earned a round of drinks at the guild hall afterward. Well. Drinks for everyone except her. Ivy, now properly titled Ivy, the Blossoming Typhoon, had become almost embarrassingly attached to her new title. Apparently she had earned it during a storm sometime in the past by pushing her wind magic far beyond its normal limits while fighting through heavy rain.

Surprisingly, Ivy had no issue drinking mead. Chelsea had originally assumed all animal-related products were forbidden to elves, but apparently honey was considered a staple in many elvish kitchens.

"You're really not going to try any?" Ivy asked while lifting her mug slightly. Chelsea recoiled immediately.

"Absolutely not. I'm only eighteen, and I do not want a repeat of the apple incident." She visibly shuddered.

"Feel free to drink mine though."

"You're only eighteen?" Ivy asked in surprise.

"I didn't realize that." She hesitated briefly before carefully glancing toward Adriane, who was watching her with the same stern expression she always seemed to wear around people outside the family.

"So were you the smartest…" She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"The smartest demon from where the Wixx come from?" Chelsea smiled slightly, understanding immediately.

"I got you," she assured her.

"And no. Not even close, honestly. I wasn't even finished with school yet."

"School?" Ivy repeated.

"It's where people go to train to become smarter," Chelsea explained.

"I still had about half a year left before graduation." She leaned back slightly in her chair.

"Though among the people in my year, I was ranked second."

"Second?" Dewey exclaimed far louder than necessary. The table looked at him. The mead had clearly hit him harder than expected.

"Sorry," he whispered loudly, which somehow made it worse.

"Someone was smarter than Little Sister?" Chelsea laughed.

"Smarter? No. She was just better at gaming the system." Nobody at the table looked like they understood that phrase. Chelsea continued anyway.

"I took advanced classes that would help me later at the next level of education. She took the easier route and focused entirely on keeping a perfect GPA." She sighed dramatically.

"I got one B during freshman year and spent the next three years trying to recover from it. If she had slipped up one time in one advanced course, I would've passed her." The table stared at her silently. Chelsea slowly realized absolutely none of that had translated.

"Never mind," she muttered.

"Ivy!" a rough voice suddenly shouted from across the guild hall. Ivy stiffened instantly. Chelsea turned her head slightly and saw the reaction before she even located the source.

"Ignore him," she said calmly. Ivy nodded quickly.

"Ivy!" the voice called again. Chelsea looked over this time and immediately spotted Adair stomping through the hall toward them. His face was red with anger while the group behind him wore matching ugly little smiles. Chelsea turned back toward Ivy.

"He can't hurt you anymore," she reminded her gently. Ivy swallowed hard and nodded again.

"Thank you." Heavy boots pounded across the wooden floor toward their table. Chelsea slowly turned around on the bench seat to face the approaching man.

"I do apologize, Mister Leaf," she announced politely before he could speak. The sudden formality caused him to slow slightly.

"But Miss Ivy Leaf is now employed under the Wixx family. Specifically…" She flourished a hand toward herself.

"Me." Several nearby adventurers had already gone quiet enough to listen.

"We will be handling her lodging and meals from this point onward. If you have any concerns regarding her employment, please feel free to direct them toward either the Adventuring Guildmaster or the Merchant's Guildmaster or even the Wixx Family Matriarch." Adair's face darkened immediately.

"I'm taking her home," he snapped.

"Ivy, get over here. Now." Chelsea didn't even blink.

"As I just explained," she replied calmly, "my delightful employee is under the protection of the Wixx family. You will not be using her anymore." Adair stomped the remaining distance forward and reached directly for Ivy, grabbing a fistful of her ponytail. His hand stopped instantly. A white-gloved hand held his wrist perfectly in place. Edgar had not moved otherwise.

"I do apologize, Mister Leaf," Edgar said politely.

"My sweet little sister-in-law has a demeanor that can occasionally make people forget where they are." The mask rotated slowly toward the back of his hood.

"You will release Ivy Leaf," Edgar continued calmly, "before I am forced to spill your blood all over her." Adair immediately let go. The white glove released him just as quickly.

"You can't just steal her from us!" Adair shouted.

"From me!" Chelsea spoke before Ivy even had a chance to shrink back again.

"Miss Leaf is not an object to be stolen," she said sharply.

"She is her own person." Her red eyes locked directly onto Adair's.

"And that person accepted a job offer." Adair began laughing. It was an ugly sound.

"It's fine," he sneered, giving a mock bow.

"Every single coin she earns goes into the Leaf account." He jabbed a thumb into his own chest.

"My account." Ivy visibly shrank at the words. Adair's grin widened as his eyes drifted toward Chelsea.

"Maybe I'll use some of that money to buy you for a night, succubus."

"Oh, that reminds me," she replied conversationally.

"You still owe Ivy five silver. I'm not a succubus."

"Fuck you," he spat immediately. Chelsea rested her chin lightly against one hand.

"Mister Leaf," she said pleasantly, "do you know what a blacklist is?" Adair's smug grin faltered slightly, though he remained silent.

"You see," Chelsea continued sweetly, "a blacklist is a list distributed through the Merchant's Guild identifying individuals merchants are no longer allowed to conduct business with." Several nearby adventurers had gone completely silent now. Chelsea continued calmly, as though discussing the weather.

"The notice gets sent to every guild-affiliated merchant and simply says: do not sell to these people." She tilted her head slightly.

"No weapons. No armor. No repairs. No inns. No food." Adair's smirk disappeared entirely. Chelsea smiled brightly.

"And my favorite part?" She pressed her fingers together dramatically.

"The crème de la crème." She made a tiny chef's kiss gesture.

"It's guild-wide." The surrounding tables were openly listening now.

"That means the list wouldn't just circulate through this kingdom," Chelsea explained pleasantly.

"It would spread to every Merchant's Guild branch in every kingdom." Adair slowly straightened to his full height. For the first time since approaching the table, he looked genuinely uncertain. Chelsea's expression remained warm and friendly.

"So," she finished softly, pulling out her A-rank merchant card and showing it to him.

"If you continue harassing my employee, I would be absolutely delighted to make sure neither you nor your companions can purchase so much as a single apple anywhere civilized." The silence afterward stretched several long seconds. Adair's jaw tightened hard, but he didn't argue. The implications were too severe. No weapons. No gear repairs. No food. No lodging. No escape simply by traveling elsewhere. Without another word, he turned and stalked back toward his friends.

Not one of them looked particularly eager to meet Chelsea's eyes as they quickly followed after him. Chelsea watched them leave before casually turning back toward the table.

"So," she asked brightly, "another round?"

"Definitely," Fiona answered immediately. Dewey nodded enthusiastically despite already looking halfway drunk. Ivy, meanwhile, slowly lowered her head onto her folded arms at the table. Chelsea gently rubbed circles against her back.

"You can actually do that to someone?" Edgar asked after a moment.

"A blacklist?" Chelsea leaned closer to him conspiratorially.

"Nah," she whispered.

"I completely made it up." Edgar's mask stared at her silently. Chelsea grinned.

"But I figured he was too stupid to realize that."