"Interesting things always happened without anyone noticing..." Eliyi's voice gradually faded away on the wind. The foreign man carrying a greatsword looked toward the church dome. All that remained of the white dome now was a broken Odons Church emblem.
"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 The once-broad streets were now overgrown with weeds, and most of the formerly magnificent buildings had been replaced by domed churches. Further into the city, church after church divided the outer districts where ordinary citizens lived from the inner districts inhabited by the upper class.
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, in return, the Ouston Church's holy water was also supplied first to these merchants living in the gaps.
"Ding-a-ling—" Oyana's little shop welcomed another new customer.
"May I ask... are you here to buy something... or sell something..." Oyana lifted her skirt, her gentleness unchanged as ever. "Sir... if you're here to buy something... we recently received a batch of excellent magical items..."
Oyana's voice was charming and seductive. Who would have thought that such a lovely woman before them was nearly forty?
"I'm not here to buy anything..." Pervi moved swiftly. In an instant, the dagger in his hand was held across Oyana's throat. "I'm here to find someone..."
"Find someone?" Oyana was not flustered. She calmly took a puff from her water pipe, then said 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 replied.
"The age gap between you brothers... is rather large..."
"None of your business..." Pervi said coldly. "Where is he now..."
"In the living room inside my magic array. Though... my apprentice should be tying him to a chair and questioning him by now..." Oyana replied. "You know, that girl always likes playing little tricks behind my back..."
"What are you trying to say?" Pervi's expression turned solemn, and the muscles in his hand did not relax for even a moment. He pressed the Dragon Tooth Dagger closer to Oyana's throat.
"Mm... nothing..." Oyana lightly held the mouthpiece of her water pipe against Pervi's dagger. "I once had a friend who came from Malantasa Plateau, just like you. That girl from afar specialized in selling Dragon Tooth Clan weapons. Those fine weapons were worth a fortune here in Canfor..."
"Oh~"
Hearing Oyana's answer, Pervi's hostility seemed to lessen somewhat.
"Unfortunately, I didn't have enough funds back then, so 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 seductive pose. She gently pulled down her thin clothing, then pressed herself softly against Pervi's chest. "My shop specializes in magical items, but weapons like those of the Dragon Tooth Clan, which 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 restrained her with a backhanded move. "Release Lanta, or I'll kill you."
"Ah... what an unromantic... man..." Oyana lightly brushed Pervi's calf with her toes. Behind the lowered hem of her clothes were her snow-white shoulders, and the scent of the water pipe mixed with Nanstone Grass invaded Pervi's mind.
"The body truly isn't worth much... so please consider it a bonus to the deal..."
The Dragonblood Ring in Oyana's hand emitted an eerie glow. At that moment, Yaqila stood within the magic array, holding a thick club and staring at Lanta.
"What are you looking at, brat? Never seen a beauty before?" Yalila viciously smashed Lanta's right pinky toe with the club.
"Mm! Mm!" Lanta's mouth was gagged, and tears streamed down his face from the pain. "Mmph, mmph—"
"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~"
"Wuu—wuu—" Lanta shook his head wildly. "Wuu—wuu—"
"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 glow gradually appeared in Yalila's left palm. "This is healing magic—Forest Goddess's Protection. This magic can form a protected area on a person's body, ensuring that the organs, blood vessels, and nerves within it will not be harmed..." As she spoke, Yalila threw the blue glow onto Lanta's lower body.
"Though the organs in the protected area won't be harmed... it will still hurt... so... enjoy!" Yalila picked up the wooden club from the ground and swung it toward Lanta's vital area.
Click to view.
"Mm—mm—mm!!!" 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.
"Not coming back... already back..." Oyana stared sternly at Yaqila. Behind Oyana stood a foreign man, tall and powerfully built, dressed in leather armor made of dragon scales. A greatsword rested on his back, and he was glaring murderously at Yalila.
"Is this how I taught you to treat guests?" Oyana's tone was calm and emotionless. Then she fiercely 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 from Oyana left Yalila unable to utter a word.
"Are you all right, Lanta?" Pervi ignored Oyana's family matters and walked straight to Lanta, slicing apart the magical rings binding his brother with one blow.
"Brother, I'm fine, but that Forest Elf..." Even Lanta could not bear to watch Oyana's brutality. The righteous young man shouted at Oyana, "Hey, witch over there, haven't you hit her enough—"
"Hmph—" Oyana snorted, then said gently, "That nasty girl neglected a guest like that. How could I possibly let her off so easily? It wouldn't be good for my shop's reputation if word got out~"
Oyana wore a smile throughout, as if she had not been the one abusing Yalila.
"Smack—smack—" 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 was as chilling as her smile.
"Save... save me..." Yalila, her beauty ruined by the beating, clutched Lanta's calf. "I won't dare... I won't dare... do bad things again..."
"Is that so~" Oyana bent down, grabbed Yalila by the hair, and said, "Then tell me, 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. "Very good, but that's not the main 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 already forgiven her, so you should stop too!"
Only after Pervi spoke did Oyana withdraw her hand. Beneath her gentle, seductive face lay a heart covered in thorns. She withdrew her hand, then picked up her beloved water pipe as usual, acting as though nothing had happened.
"Yalila, take Lanta to have a look around the shop... Whatever he likes, give it to him. Mr. Pervi and I have important business to discuss in private..."
"Y-yes... Master..." Yalila shakily rose from the floor. "Mr. Lanta... please follow me..."
"Are you all right..." Lanta's voice was heavy. "I have some medicine on me. If you need it..."
"Yalila—"
As soon as he spoke, Oyana slowly exhaled smoke from her water pipe. A pair of transparent claws seized Yalila's long hair, grabbed her pointed ear, and dragged her from Lanta's side to Oyana's front.
"I forgot to tell you earlier..." Oyana blew smoke into Yalila's face. "Don't talk recklessly, okay? I'm always watching you..."
"Yes... yes... Teacher Oyana..."
At this moment, in Yalila's eyes, the woman she had lived with day and night for more than a decade was not her teacher or mother at all, but a terrifying slave owner. Hatred and rebellion took root in her heart.
"All right... now that that nasty girl is gone, 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 is a ring refined from the blood of an Elemental Dragon. The Dragon Blood used was from a subspecies of the Ralierman Dragon—the Masharta Fire Dragon. Its black-market value is four to five thousand Kralimaya 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 engraved upon it gave 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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