Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 400: Black Angmar Company (5)

In truth, I had long harbored a question about the existence of imps.

Who exactly named the imps, and by what rules were those names decided?

Marmar and Narnar. The similarity yet difference between those two names made it possible to guess that there might be some causal link behind them.

“It is Narnar! Chestnut-tail Narnar! Your tail’s all spiky like a chestnut burr! I was really surprised at first since your appearance changed so much, but... that tail—it’s definitely Narnar!”

Marmar spun in circles around the woman being referred to as the headmistress of the monastery.

Her wide eyes, full of joy and curiosity, were fixed on the tail protruding from the headmistress’s backside.

The tip of that tail, bristling with spines like a sea urchin or a chestnut burr, was quite striking. While the imp tails I’d seen so far had each had their own peculiarities, I’d never seen one so sharply pointed before.

“A tail all spiky and prickly, just like Narnar’s!”

Could Marmar be identifying someone based on their tail?

Now that I think about it, Mormor of the star-tail once said something similar. That when her faraway master returned, they would recognize her by her star-shaped tail.

Perhaps, for imps, the tail is their very identity.

They grow out of flowerpots, after all...

I suddenly recalled the heart-shaped tail wand that Marmar had once coiled around my wrist. What would happen if I planted that in a flowerpot? Would another Marmar be born?

Swish.

Just then, the chestnut-burr tail lifted into the air—

—and came down on Marmar’s head like a flick to the forehead.

Whap!

Marmar let out a pitiful little shriek, “Hiiiek...!” after being struck out of nowhere. I was flustered to see her getting attacked, and at that moment, the headmistress of the monastery spoke.

“Please be quiet while inside the monastery.”

“Hnnnng...”

Clutching her head, Marmar let out a sniffle and a tear. But the headmistress paid her no mind and added in a cold, composed voice:

“And when you address me, you will refer to me as Headmistress, not by name.”

“H-Headmistress...”

“Well then, let’s go inside.”

Whoosh.

Turning her head, the headmistress disappeared into the crowd. The others, who had been nervously watching the exchange, quickly followed after her into the building, leaving no trace behind.

Left behind, I turned to Marmar, who was still rubbing her head, and asked:

“You okay?”

“Y-yeah. It sounded really loud, but it actually didn’t hurt that much. Just startled me, is all. Seems like the rules haven’t changed at all—keeping quiet in the monastery after sundown...”

Marmar gave a small but plucky response, as if shaking off the fact that she’d been smacked.

“That Narnar became the headmistress... That really surprised me. Of course, she was the smartest and most mature of us all, and people even called her the top imp...”

“For all that, Marmar, she was pretty harsh on you.”

“Narnar was always like that.”

Was she an imp who knew how to separate public from private?

She was tall and big for an imp.

It was honestly hard to believe Marmar and Narnar were of the same imp species.

I wondered why there was such a difference in physical development, but now didn’t seem like the time to ask. I swallowed the question back down.

Marmar said, “Then let’s head inside too! If the layout is still the same as I remember, I can show you all around!”

With that, she marched cheerfully into the building. But just before stepping inside, she seemed to remember something and turned to us.

“Oh right! During dinner time, everyone does silent meditation, so don’t make noise or talk. If you do, the Headmistress or one of the other nuns will scold you real bad.”

“Got it.”

So that’s why Marmar got whacked with a tail earlier.

It made sense. A monastery was originally a place for discipline. Having a rule like “Be quiet after evening” didn’t seem strange at all.

***

In one of the monastery’s rooms was a long dining table.

There were several candles on the table, but it was darker than expected, so much so that it felt like your eyesight might deteriorate just from sitting there.

Still, given that the place served as both an orphanage and a monastery, everyone seemed used to a frugal and minimalist lifestyle.

Now that I looked closer, their clothes glimmering faintly in the candlelight were mostly patched and mended, looking like they had been worn for years. The tableware on the table was also all worn down.

Even the headmistress sitting in the place of honor was no exception.

I hadn’t noticed outside earlier because of the commotion, but her nun’s habit was full of stitches and worn-out patches.

The odd cling of the garment—was that because it had been downsized to conserve fabric? Soon, the headmistress clapped her hands together and spoke.

“Let us offer a prayer of gratitude to the Father who provides our daily bread, and to our patrons who support this monastery.”

Swish.

Everyone folded their hands and bowed their heads.

Many of the children looked to be no older than five, and some around ten. And yet they all sat still and adopted a prayerful posture without fuss, which stirred something familiar in me.

It reminded me of my own childhood.

Finally, the headmistress said, “Now then, let us begin the meal.”

Soon, nuns appeared from somewhere, setting down baskets of bread in front of everyone.

To call it bread was generous—it wasn’t the soft, fluffy kind I usually ate. It was hard, the kind of bread that could probably kill someone if you threw it at them. If I ate this every day, my gums and palate would be in constant pain.

Swish.

Professor Balan picked up her share and examined it curiously.

“Bread made without yeast... It feels like the civilization here is about three centuries behind. Not a single mana lamp in sight. Everything’s so outdated...”

Her words weren’t wrong.

Having experienced the comforts of 21st-century civilization, my life at Angmar’s royal castle might’ve broadly fallen under the umbrella of “medieval,” but truth be told, a lot of it wasn’t even that.

There were mana-powered light crystals shining everywhere, advanced social gatherings, elegant dinners in lavish dresses, comfortable bathrooms with all sorts of conveniences, plumbing and waste systems...

But here—this place made you feel what a “dark age” really was.

“I’m sure the state of the bathrooms and bedrooms is just as...”

“Shh.”

I shushed the murmuring Professor Balan.

This place was a shelter for the poor and orphaned. It felt wrong to sit here judging the quality of their facilities.

In such rundown surroundings, food wasn’t eaten for its flavor—it was for survival. The mere fact that you could eat at all was a thing to be grateful for.

Munch, munch.

The children were eating the bread in front of them as if it were a delicious feast. Glancing across from me, I saw Marmar nibbling on her hard bread as well.

“This rock-hard bread. It’s been a while. It tastes the same as it did back then. The flavor of memories.”

So it does have some taste, huh?

I was just about to try a bite myself when I sensed someone staring at me.

“......”

“......”

Across the table from me sat a blond boy who looked to be about ten years old. He was staring straight at my bread. Had he already finished his share?

A boy that age would still be growing. One piece of bread probably wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him. And I had eaten a big lunch, so I wasn’t that hungry.

“You can have mine.”

As I offered my bread to the boy, the headmistress, who had been eating quietly beneath her lifted mask, spoke:

“Molly, you already ate your share of bread. And now you’re trying to take a guest’s portion? That’s a violation of the rules. Go stand in the reflection room.”

“B-but, Headmistress, I didn’t even say anything...”

“Now.”

The boy called Molly got up and trudged away to somewhere. I didn’t know the full story, but it seemed like because I offered him my bread, he ended up being punished.

“......”

Now I just felt bad.

***

After the meal, we were invited to the headmistress’s office. I supposed it wouldn’t have been appropriate to leave guests from outside unattended.

Having seen the headmistress’s strict demeanor several times, I found myself growing tense.

Her office was stark and bare, containing only a desk and a bed. It felt more like a prison cell than anything else.

As we sat in the chairs, the headmistress said:

“I’m sorry we have nothing to offer you. Because of an expedition beyond the barrier this year, our patronage has decreased compared to last year.”

Was that fallout from Ayra’s expedition? Her words felt like they were aimed directly at me, and one side of my chest stung like I’d been bitten by an ant.

━Hiooong...!

Bael, that was you, wasn’t it?

Anyway—

The headmistress continued.

“And Marmar, I never imagined I’d see you again. But now that we’ve met like this... I’m really glad. I always believed you must be doing well somewhere...”

Swish.

She removed the veil and mask covering her head.

The face that appeared was far more delicate and graceful than I’d imagined.

With no makeup, her crimson eyes sparkled. And her chic short haircut, like something a modern city woman might wear, gave her an intelligent air.

Marmar raised both hands up excitedly.

“Narnar! Ah—no, I mean, Headmistress...”

Perhaps finding Marmar’s quick switch in tone amusing, the headmistress burst into laughter. She no longer seemed like the stern woman from earlier.

“Come on. It’s just us, Marmar. I was only strict earlier because people were watching.”

“R-Really?”

“Really. But Marmar, you’ve changed a lot. I’m glad you seem to be doing well. You still look like a child though, since you haven’t grown much. Still a little kid.”

“You’re the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) one who grew huge, Narnar! What happened? You used to be the same size as me!”

Marmar seemed deeply curious about how Narnar had grown into an adult-sized woman. And honestly, so was I. But Narnar just said “Well...” and brushed the question aside.

A short silence fell, but Marmar quickly resumed chatting like a flower in bloom, happy to be reunited with an old friend.

She chattered away about how she’d been living and memories from their childhood.

“Narnar was our leader! She always did the hardest and dirtiest jobs herself. She even fought off boys three times her size! I really wanted to be like her!”

It seemed Narnar had been a role model for Marmar. Now I could see where her stubborn determination came from.

Of course, the person in question just looked embarrassed and said, “You’re exaggerating.” Then, as if wanting to change the subject, she asked, “So Marmar, how have you been all this time?”

And thus began Marmar’s dramatic tale.

“So I ended up tied to a cross, about to be burned alive! But this comrade here rescued me! Paid a whole sack of gold for me! Comrade Teo is my lifesaver!”

“Hm, I see. I guess after we all got scattered, we each had our hardships. I went through something similar myself. In my case...”

Narnar started to say something but then fell silent.

For a moment, something flashed in her eyes—something I hadn’t seen in any imp before.

Regret. Maybe hatred.

That foreign light stirred a memory of what I had come here to do.

I’d come to this monastery partly due to Marmar’s curiosity, yes—but more importantly, to investigate this place personally and confirm whether they might be researching Solomon’s spells.

Maybe I should try leaving this area for now.

“Um, sorry to interrupt, but I need to step out briefly.”

With a light performance and gesture, I rose and slipped out of the headmistress’s office. As the door closed behind me, the suffocating feeling lifted a little.

At a glance, the monastery looked ordinary, but the presence of a fully grown imp and the unusually closed-off atmosphere made me stay on guard.

I hoped this place turned out to be harmless...

But if Marmar’s friend was using these abandoned children for some kind of experiment, then I wouldn’t have much of a choice.

━Hey, come quick.

━Shhh...

Just then, faint whispers reached my ears.

Their suspicious tone made me hold my breath and creep toward the source of the voices.

And there I saw the forest keeper, Faru, whom I’d met earlier.

He and several children were slipping out of the building—and I decided to follow them.