Chapter 52: The Helpless Devil
What? 200 Tulas?
Jinn almost blurted his thoughts out loud. Even though the price of 100 Tulas was high, he could have paid it because he was in dire need of the blood of gods.
But 200 Tulas for a single drop. That was simple extortion, and even Raul knew it, but the man did not care.
A single Tula could let a small family go through a year without worrying about a meal. Someone could even buy a plot of land or even some small village for 100 Tulas.
"So, what would it be? Will you buy it or not?" Raul asked coldly.
Jinn could not prove it, but he knew for a fact that the man was enjoying himself even though he did not show it on his face.
Even if he could prove it, what would it accomplish? Jinn had no one else but himself to blame.
He was the one who wanted a few changes for himself, and now he had to pay such an exorbitant price.
’Guess this is not a place you can negotiate in.’ Jinn had no choice but to reach out for a bag of coins from his robes and place it on the counter.
He pulled out twenty stacks of neatly wrapped coins in the cover of a paper and passed it to the shopkeeper.
"What an interesting way of keeping coins." Raul said with an amused tone as he checked each stack of ten gold coins.
"Who has the patience to spend hours counting all of them each time?" Jinn grumbled in annoyance, still not over the fact that he had to pay so much for just a drop of diluted blood.
Raul caught his expression and looked down at the pile of twenty paper towers filled with golden shine. He raised his head and pushed three stacks back towards Jinn.
Surprised, the boy looked back at the shopkeeper.
"Your suggestion inspired me; consider this as compensation for that idea." After all, at Raul’s, everything is fair and just." His voice trailed on as the rest of the coins disappeared from the table.
Jinn was not going to deny the discount; he hurriedly put them back in the bag before hiding it inside his robes, afraid that the shopkeeper might change his mind.
As he looked up, Jinn was not shocked to see that the man was no longer there.
This happened the last time he came as well.
"Now, leave if you do not have something else to buy."
As expected, the faint growl trailed to his ears from the distance.
Jinn snapped out of his daze and pocketed the vial of blood left on the table. Upon closer check, there was only a single drop inside, as if the rest of the liquid had magically disappeared from it.
Then he sped to the door, not willing to stay in the dark dungeon even for a second more than needed.
Once Jinn left the store, its owner stepped out of the shadows, staring towards the closed door in deep thought.
He said nothing but kept staring intently for a second before disappearing once more.
A second later, his voice drifted to the roof, echoing a little.
"I need to poop..."
***
Jinn returned to the academy through one of his secret passages.
First thing he did upon return was to take out the stash he had hidden from the day he awakened.
After he was sure that he had everything he needed for the ritual, Jinn returned to the secret room under the chapel.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Agnes stepped out of her hiding place and looked at Jinn’s bag in curiosity.
"Yeah, but it cost me more than I expected." Jinn replied with a defeated smile.
Agnes saw through his worries and smiled warmly. She made him sit on the ground before her and brushed his hair with care and love while whispering, "Jinn, I have no use of money for now. I can always get more. Besides, I was already planning on giving you half of my savings for your academy."
Jinn was surprised, not just by her actions but by her words too.
"But it’s your money." He said that, to which the woman replied with a chuckle, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
"But you are my family."
Jinn was stunned; he never thought about taking a single Tula of her money, not to mention half of it. But just hearing her say it made him sink back in her embrace.
Jinn closed his eyes and let go of all of his calculations and wariness, even if it was for a second.
Agnes smiled brightly and kept brushing his hair.
"I have already hidden your money in a safe place outside the orphanage." Jinn straightened up and said seriously. "You may think you won’t need money after this, but I assure you, you’ll need all you can get."
He turned around only to see a complicated look on her face.
"What?"
Agnes shook off her thoughts when she heard his question. But then she hesitated a little before finally asking.
"How long have you been thinking like that? Planning like this? Keeping everything in control?"
"Since the day I could think properly." Jinn understood her thoughts. ’And I could always think properly since I was born.’
"Must be hard to always be on the edge. To feel that you might get discovered one day some way or by someone."
A trace of pity and sadness flashed before her eyes before she erased it, replacing it with a smile.
"But now, you don’t have to face it all alone. I am here to shoulder the burden with you."
Jinn just smiled back at her, without offering a reply. ’Despite what you think, you will never be fine with what I do. This is the darkness only I, a devil, can carry.’
Standing up from the ground, he opened the bag full of materials he had purchased and said, "It is about time you were awakened."