Chapter 343: Behold
“Is half of your guild made up of monsters?” Art asked, his eyes darting around the room. He held a hand over his deck of cards, his fingers twitching as if they couldn’t decide whether he even wanted to try drawing a card or not.
“No,” Arwin said.
It’s probably a little closer to a quarter.
“Is this some sort of joke, then?” Vix asked. She swallowed heavily. Her eyes flicked to Lillia and her features paled as realization gripped her. “That isn’t make-up, is it? It’s your real skin tone. Your imps… the whole damn tavern — the Devil’s Den. Are you making fun of people?”
“Making fun?” Lillia’s lips creased into a frown. “That’s just rude. I do my absolute best to make the best food I can make for everybody that dines at my establishment. The Devil’s Den is far from perfect, but the only thing I’ve ever sought to do since setting it up is make people’s lives just a little bit better.”
“You’re all monsters!” Vix exclaimed. “You made it seem like the tavern was a monster themed building, but—”
“It is monster themed,” Monica said, a slight smile pulling across her wide features. “Rub those brains of yours together, lass. You aren’t stupid. I see it in your eyes. When did we ever say that the members of the Devil’s Den weren’t real monsters? Lillia has never addressed it. Sure, she’s said she wears makeup every once and a while—”
“Which I do,” Lillia added. “On occasion.”
“Well, of course. Nothing wrong with that, is there?” Monica arched an eyebrow at Vix. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, lass. It’s a surprisingly effective way to go about things. I was even more surprised than you when I first got offered the job. But as it turns out, people just think what they want to. If we don’t talk about who we actually are, then they just assume we’re in costume… and they love it.”