I Built This City Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Read chapter 36 of I Built This City by ThePudding on NovelPedia.

Merchant Ellen The warmth of the fire was a welcome change from the dreary cold outside. Winter was approaching like a charging bull, and it was one more thing to worry about. Gaining access to the Settlement Interface had been humbling, as it made Ellen realize exactly how ambitious their plan to winter alone in the ruins in secrecy had been. Now, with their new Classes, it was possible. Probably. Barely. But she wanted to have a backup plan. She rubbed her hands together briskly as Village Ellen settled into a seat beside her. The smile that her other self gave was reassuring, calming. The light pat of a warm hand on hers was a little strange, but it felt nice and steadying. Ellen hadn’t gotten the chance to ask what Village Ellen’s Class choice had been, but she was pretty sure it was something focused on hospitality. “Now I hope this isn’t bad news,” Lauren said as she dropped into the chair across from the two redheads. Despite working less thanks to Village Ellen’s presence, Lauren had lost a little weight since that first time Ellen had seen her. The middle-aged woman was still what one might affectionately call ‘pleasantly plump’ in some areas, but she looked less overweight and more had the appearance of a woman who was simply living well. Tobias joined the table a moment later, his brow creased in worry. “Has something happened?” This was why what she was doing was so hard. Ellen couldn’t help but feel guilty at how pleasant and helpful these two were. No wonder Village Ellen enjoyed it here. Ellen looked to her other self, who nodded slightly. “We haven’t been completely honest with you,” Ellen began. “About our situation, I mean. You’ve both been—the entire village, really—so helpful and friendly to us, we really want to come clean. It’s nothing terrible that will get you in trouble… we think.” “I won’t let it make trouble.” Village Ellen cut in with a firm tap on the table. “You two deserve better.” The resolve in her tone made Ellen give her supposedly more delicate self an odd look. I’m really going to need to ask what her Class is , she thought to herself. Lauren sighed, “Oh, you two. I know you likely ran away from home.” She placed her hands on her lap. “I have my thoughts about that and your parents, but I didn’t want to jump into your business until you felt ready to tell me.” Ellen looked at her other self and cleared her throat. Village Ellen shrugged back. “That isn’t… exactly wrong,” Ellen admitted. “I did run away because dad didn’t want me to be an adventurer. With how my luck has been… maybe he has a point.” “Definitely,” Village Ellen grumbled. Gesturing to her villager counterpart, Ellen continued. “The big difference from what you’re expecting is that she isn’t my sister at all. She’s um… me.” “You know, technically I’m older, so wouldn’t it be better to say you’re me, not the other way around?” Village Ellen cupped her chin in her hand as if just now considering this angle. Ellen waved the objection away. “Maybe. Doesn’t matter.” “Hold on,” Tobias interrupted. He placed his hands down on the table, edge down, as if holding a box. “This isn’t making any sense. You’re saying you aren’t twins, you’re both Bea, and there’s two of you? I’m not sure I understand the difference.” Lauren’s face had a look of concern on it, but she let her husband do the talking. Letting out a deep sigh, Ellen tried to answer. “We’re the same person. A girl who goes by Ellen Tember. Even that isn’t our real name but um… that’s for later. We went to kill a goblin and something strange happened, and there were two of us, so we decided to pose as twins and work here while we figured out what to do. That’s when you met us.” “We didn’t like lying even from the start,” Village Ellen hurried to assure. “But it sounds pretty unbelievable, right? So we thought we should make up a story like that.” Lauren frowned and leaned forward, clasping her hands together atop the table. “Girls… that is a very difficult thing to believe. I don