Chapter 56: The Gift
"Didn’t you pledge your allegiance to me, so why is it that you need those souls for anything at all?" Jinn narrowed his eyes; his voice turned a bit colder. Had he not been in possession of those near ten thousand human souls, they would have gotten caught.
The imp trembled, feeling the edge in his voice, and flew before his eyes, dispersing the smoke as it slammed into it. "We imps are special creatures of the void. We can contact each other and exchange our items and services while maintaining the anonymity."
The imp explained everything in a breath with such haste that even Jinn could sense the need in his voice to make things clear to him.
"Let me guess, you use souls gathered by your masters in exchange for these things."
The imp nodded frenetically, looking very serious as he said, "No matter what happens, you can count on my services and loyalty till the end of our contract."
Jinn hummed and closed his eyes before leaning in the chair. The contract he talked about ended in the event of the death of either party.
Jinn may not have believed the words of creatures made to serve devils—beings who thrived on lies—but he did believe the words of the contract that bound them with their lives and deaths.
"How many souls did I earn ever since I was reborn in this world?"
The imp snapped its fingers, causing a new set of numbers to appear before his eyes.
"Since Agnes did not sign a contract before she killed Torus, you did not get his soul." The Imp spoke from the side.
The number before him surprised Jinn. Even though he had only counted 3 souls thinking of the janitor, Mr. Clark/the teacher, and finally Geralt, the number that appeared before him was...
[102]
"How—" Just as Jinn uttered the first word, a soft voice broke him off.
"Jinn, why are you whispering to yourself?" Sally was now standing on the other side of his bed, looking at him with worry.
Seeing her pitiful gaze, Jinn felt the corner of his lips twitch. "I am fine, just revising a few things before I have to leave for the new academy."
"Oh, are they still going to accept you even though..." Sally suddenly paused, realizing what she was about to say.
The letter of application from the Nightshade Academy was given to him by the matron, and now that she was a wanted fugitive, Sally was concerned that they might not take him in.
Jinn also understood her worries and shook his head. "They did not want to take me in at first, but after father Augustus sent them a letter in the name of the order, they had to accept my application."
"That is great!" Sally exclaimed happily, surprising everyone in the room. Never had they seen her being so cheery in front of them.
Not to mention she was being happy for Jinn, the boy she claimed to hate the most.
"W-what?" As if feeling their gaze, she swept her proud gaze across the room. The others looked away, but Jinn still stared at her with narrowed eyes.
"Nothing. did you need something from me?" Jinn did not pry. He turned his gaze back to the book, moving his hand to flip the page.
"Yeah, since you are leaving this place forever, I wanted to gift you something." Her words, no matter how well intended, only managed to increase Jinn’s suspicion.
"What gift?" Jinn asked with narrowed eyes, his hand stopped in the middle of turning a page.
"I have no idea what gift to give you, so you will come with me to choose one together." Sally stammered at first, but then she blurted everything in one breath.
The room turned so silent that only Jinn could hear his breathing.
"There is no need for a gift—" Jinn wanted to decline, but the girl climbed over his bed without taking off her slippers, which made his brows twitch.
"I won’t take no for an answer. If not a gift, I will take you to eat outside." This time Sally spoke with conviction, looming over Jinn.
The devil closed the book and thought, ’This might be a chance to look for an escape route from the city we can later use.’
"Sure."
"I said— wait.. What?" Sally herself did not expect him to say yes, but hearing his response left her speechless for a moment.
Jinn did not wait for her to react and stood up. Placing the book on the table, he covered himself with an overcoat and a muffler.
"Are you coming or not?"
Seeing her still in shock, Jinn snapped his finger before her eyes.
"Ah, wait." Sally finally snapped out of her daze and rushed back to her bed. She covered herself well while Jinn waited for her.
Seeing that Jinn had some free time, the imp answered his last question: "Sire, the value of each soul is different. If someone had enough power, fame, luck, and fate, their soul could be far more important and valuable than a normal person who had accomplished nothing in their lives."
Saying those words, the imp disappeared, leaving Jinn with a lot to think about.
"I am ready." Dressed in a red dress and matching scarf, Sally popped before Jinn while clutching the edges of her muffler. Her thick scarf covered her face up to the nose, making her voice muffled.
Jinn nodded and turned to leave first, while Sally followed after him.
"Do you think the market would be open at this time?"
"It was your idea; don’t tell me you made it on a whim."
As the two of them walked out of the room, everyone else exchanged nervous glances and let out a long sigh.
Kyle stared at the closed door with a teary look on his face. ’big sister, you were supposed to teach me...’
***
It was eight in the morning when Jinn and Sally left in search of Jinn’s gift.
While walking, Jinn suddenly paused, thinking of something. Seeing him stop, Sally turned to face him with a confused look on her face.
"Where did you even get the money to buy me a gift? Are you expecting me to pay? Let me tell you, I am broke. I have no money."