Cleaning Away the Filth (Part 2)

"Interesting things always happened without anyone noticing..." Eliyi's voice gradually faded away on the wind. The foreign man carrying a greatsword looked up at the church dome. All that remained of the white dome was a broken emblem of the Odons Church.

"Was that... my illusion...?"

Pervi continued toward Canfor's inner city. The once-broad streets were now overgrown with weeds, and most of the formerly magnificent buildings had been replaced by domed churches. Deeper into the city, church after church divided the outer districts where ordinary citizens lived from the inner districts inhabited by high society.

Meanwhile, shopkeepers led by Ou Yanna lived in the cracks between the two. As partners of the Ouston Church, they generally supplied their goods to the church first, whether medicine, timber, clothing, or fabric...

Naturally, the Ouston Church's holy water was also supplied first to these merchants living between the two districts as payment.

"Jingle, jingle—" Oyana's little shop welcomed another new customer.

"May I ask... are you here to buy something... or sell something..." Oyana lifted the hem of her skirt, her gentleness unchanged as ever. "If you're here to buy something, sir... we recently received a batch of excellent magical items..."

Oyana's voice was seductive and enchanting. Who would have thought such a lovely woman was already nearly forty?

"I'm not here to buy anything..." Pervi moved swiftly. In an instant, the dagger in his hand was pressed across Oyana's neck. "I'm here to find someone..."

"Find someone?" Oyana did not panic. She took a draw from her hookah, then spoke unhurriedly. "Two days ago, a boy came into my shop and caused trouble. Oh~ Was that child your son? I have to say, the two of you really do look alike..."

"No... he's my younger brother..." Pervi answered.

"The age difference between you two brothers... is rather large..."

"That's none of your business..." Pervi said coldly. "Where is he now...?"

"In the living room inside my magic array. Though... my apprentice should be questioning him while he's tied to a chair..." Oyana replied. "That girl always likes playing little tricks behind my back..."

"What are you trying to say?" Pervi's expression turned solemn. The muscles in his hand did not relax for even a moment as he pressed the Dragon Tooth Dagger closer to Oyana's throat.

"Mm... nothing..." Oyana lightly braced Pervi's dagger with the mouthpiece of her hookah. "I once had a friend who, like you, came from the Malantasa Plateau. That girl from afar specialized in selling weapons from the Dragon Tooth Clan. Fine weapons like those were priceless here in Canfor..."

"Oh~"

Hearing Oyana's answer, Pervi's hostility seemed to lessen somewhat.

"It was a pity that I did not have enough money back then. I had no way to buy such fine weapons... I hope I'll have such an opportunity now..."

"You want to do business with me?"

"Mm~" Oyana smiled faintly and struck a coquettish pose. She lightly slipped down her thin clothing, then pressed herself against Pervi's chest. "My shop specializes in magical items, but weapons like those of the Dragon Tooth Clan that are immune to magic... I very much want to get my hands on them too..."

"Business requires equal bargaining chips, but you clearly don't have the capital—" Pervi shoved Oyana away with one hand, then twisted her arm behind her back. "Release Lanta, or I'll kill you."

"Ah... what an unromantic... man..." Oyana lightly brushed Pervi's calf with the tip of her foot. Behind the fallen edge of her clothing was her snowy-white shoulder, while the scent of the hookah mixed with nanstone grass invaded Pervi's mind.

"The body truly isn't worth much... so please consider it a complimentary gift for the deal..."

The Dragonblood Ring in Oyana's hand emitted an eerie glow. At that moment, Yaqila stood inside the magic array with a heavy club in hand, glaring at Lanta.

"What are you looking at, brat? Never seen a beautiful woman before?" Yalila viciously brought the club down on Lanta's right little toe.

"Mmph! Mmph!" Lanta's tears streamed down his face from the pain, his mouth gagged. "Mmmph, mmmph, mmmph—"

"What are you trying to say? I can't understand you—" Yalila sneered. "You little bastard... you cut off my finger before, and now... Teacher Oyana has gone to the shop... We can have some fun now~"

"Ugh—ugh—" Lanta shook his head frantically. "Ugh—ugh—"

"Don't worry... I won't hit too hard... Even if I fail to control my strength, you won't die... After all, healing magic is what I'm best at~"

A bright blue halo gradually appeared in Yalila's left palm. "This is healing magic—Forest Goddess's Protection. This spell can form a protected zone on a person's body, ensuring that the organs, blood vessels, and nerves within it are not harmed..." As she spoke, Yalila tossed the blue halo onto Lanta's lower body.

"Although the organs within the protected zone won't be harmed, they'll... still hurt... So... enjoy!" Yalila picked up the wooden club from the ground and swung it at Lanta's most vulnerable spot.

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"Mmph—mmph—mmph!!!" Lanta twisted his body wildly.

"Yalila... what are you doing?" Oyana's voice suddenly rang out.

"Oh no! Teacher Oyana is coming back..." In her panic, Yalila hid the wooden club beneath her skirt.

"She isn't coming back... she's already back..." Oyana looked sternly at Yaqila. Behind Oyana stood a foreign man, tall and powerfully built, clad in leather armor made from dragon scales. A greatsword rested on his back, and he was staring murderously at Yalila.

"Is this how I taught you to treat guests—" Oyana's tone was calm and emotionless. Then she viciously slapped Yalila across the face. The entire process was brief and natural, as though it were something she did all the time. Slap after slap landed on Yalila's face until she could not even speak.

"Are you all right, Lanta?" Pervi ignored Oyana's family matter and walked straight to Lanta, cutting apart the magical rings binding his brother with a single slash.

"Brother, I'm fine, but that Forest Elf..." Even Lanta could not bear to watch Oyana's violence. The righteous young man shouted at Oyana, "You witch over there, haven't you hit her enough—?"

"Hmph—" Oyana snorted, then said gently, "That naughty girl neglected a guest so badly. How could I let her off so easily? It would be bad for my shop's reputation if word got out~"

Oyana wore a smile throughout, as if she were not the one abusing Yalila.

Slap—slap— Two more handprints appeared on Yalila's face.

"Hey—" Seeing that Oyana refused to stop, Lanta rushed forward, grabbed her hand, and shouted, "Even if this elf is your apprentice, you should stop now! Do you really want to beat her to death?"

"Why not?" Oyana's answer, like her smile, was chilling to the bone.

"Save... save me..." Yalila, her lovely face battered beyond recognition, clung to Lanta's calf. "I won't dare... won't dare... do bad things again..."

"Is that so~" Oyana bent down, grabbed Yalila by the hair, and said, "Tell me, then. What bad things did you do?"

"I... I..." Yalila sobbed. "I shouldn't have kept the things that bandit Tiadam gave me for myself... I should have handed them over to Teacher Oyana for safekeeping."

"Mm-hm..." Oyana said with a smile. "Well said, but that isn't the point..."

"I... I... shouldn't have gone to the slums outside the city to meet... Tiadam..."

"Mm-hm..." Oyana nodded. "Anything else...?"

"Enough! That's enough—" Even Pervi could no longer stand Oyana's behavior. "My brother has forgiven her, so you should stop too!"

Only after Pervi spoke did Oyana withdraw her hand. Beneath her gentle, alluring face lay a heart covered in thorns. She pulled back her hand, then picked up her beloved hookah as usual, as though nothing had happened.

"Yalila, take Lanta to the shop and let him have a look... Whatever he likes, give it to him. I have important business to discuss alone with Mr. Pervi..."

"Y-yes... Teacher..." Yalila shakily rose from the floor. "Mr. Lanta... please come with me..."

"Are you all right..." Lanta's voice was heavy. "I have some medicine with me. If you need it..."

"Yalila—"

Before he could finish speaking, Oyana slowly exhaled hookah smoke. A pair of transparent claws seized Yalila's long hair and dragged her away from Lanta by her pointed ears, pulling her before Oyana.

"I forgot to tell you just now..." Oyana blew smoke into Yalila's face. "Don't talk carelessly. I'm always watching you..."

"Y-yes... Teacher Oyana..."

At that moment, in Yalila's eyes, the woman she had lived with day and night for over a decade was not her teacher or mother at all, but a terrifying slave master. Hatred and rebellion took root in her heart.

"All right... now that that brat has left, we can discuss our business..." Oyana removed the Dragonblood Ring from her hand and placed it on the pearwood table in the living room. "This ring was refined from the blood of an Elemental Dragon, specifically the subspecies of the Ralierman Dragon—the Masharta Fire Dragon. Its black-market value is four thousand to five thousand Clarimaya gold coins. How many Dragon Tooth Clan weapons do you intend to trade for it?"

"One."

As he spoke, Pervi tore the amulet from around his neck. It had been crafted from the eye of a Lulolinge Divine Dragon of the purest bloodline, and the ancient incantations carved upon it granted the amulet boundless magical power.

"The Eye of the Holy Dragon, recorded only in ancient books... so this is what it looks like..." Oyana, who recognized its value, said with delight.

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