Chapter 104: Owen Valtany

Owen Valtany had no idea about the huge debt he owed.

After arranging his grandfather's funeral, he spent his days playing music to comfort his grieving heart.

The rough loan sharks were the ones who dragged the boy, who had been living a life between melody and tragedy, art and lamentation, back to reality.

Being an artist by trade would always leave you starving.

Claren, the city where such artists gathered, was a place where loan sharks could thrive without any hindrance.

Under the pretext of seeking inspiration, these artists would pour money into drugs, gambling, alcohol, and cigarettes, making it easy for such loan sharks to expand their business.

It was a perfect environment for back alley thugs to become gangsters. This was the dark side of Claren, the city of artists.

Nevertheless.

Owen, who was deeply immersed in loneliness, first learned about his grandfather's debt when he saw the documents the loan sharks possessed.

Upon seeing the enormous debt along with his grandfather's signature, Owen was greatly shocked, as if he had been hit on the head by a hammer.

In the end, all Owen could do was find solace in his piano performances amidst his struggle with debt.

He had tried making money through the street performances organized by the city hall.

Thud!

However, the loan sharks didn't give him enough time to do so.

"Isn't it time for you to pay us the interest?!"

Owen, who was on his way to perform on the rooftop of Furcheni today, was dragged into an alley by the loan sharks and beaten up.

"Cough!"

His face swelled up. The boy, who had never been exposed to violence, had to now endure the blows from the thug's fist, his eyes reddening as he lay on the ground.

It was at that moment that the entire world of this young pianist, who just moments ago had resolved to perform more diligently, began to be tinged with more resentment and tragedy.

"Here, look at this! You know your grandfather owed us money, right? Do you intend to pay it back or not?"

The loan shark continued to kick the boy while waving the loan agreement.

As the foul-mouthed man, who seemed to be the instigator, continued beating the boy, a man with glasses, standing behind him and smoking a cigarette, stepped in to stop him.

Owen's body curled up and trembled uncontrollably. Due to the severe beating, he even found it difficult to breathe.

A brief moment of rest already felt like a handful of mercy.

"Kid, do you think you will be able to pay off the debt if you keep working hard all day like this?"

"......"

"You're only playing in the public performances organized by the city hall, right? There are plenty of performers in Claren. The meager amount you earn can't even pay off the interest."

Huff.

He puffed out the cigarette smoke slowly for some time. Blurred by the foul-smelling smoke enveloping his nose, Owen's consciousness began to fade.

"Let me tell you something good. If you do that, your debt will be settled quickly. And you will finally be able to make enough money to live off."

"Ah......"

What was he talking about?

Does this person want something else from me?

Owen was bewildered as the loan shark kindly smiled, unlike his usual behavior, and reached out his hand.

"Take my hand. If you do, a whole new world will open up for you. After earning enough money, you can go back to playing the music you want to, and that's it."

To be honest, Owen didn't care about such things. All he wanted to do was just get out of this current predicament.

"Ahh."

He stretched out his hand while trembling. However...

Thud!

The foul-mouthed man standing behind Owen went flying past him.

Crash!

The man seemed to have lost consciousness after he rolled on the ground in an unseemly manner.

"Huh? Just one punch?"

She had white hair that was tied up in a ponytail, but strands of hair stuck out as if she was not used to wearing her hair in such a manner.

She wore a shirt and black pants that allowed her to move comfortably.

In addition, she had crimson eyes that emitted a predatory gaze.

The man smoking a cigarette could immediately tell that the woman who just appeared was no ordinary person.

"Findenai, go fetch the documents."

From behind her appeared a man. He had black hair that was a bit long and reached down to his eyes.

The man subtly displayed his noble status with his neat clothes and an aesthetic appearance befitting the city of artists.

Findenai approached the foul-mouthed loan shark who was lying down disgracefully and snatched the loan agreement he had been holding onto.

The other loan shark bit the end of the cigarette in his mouth lightly and spat it out.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Although he initially presented himself with a noble attitude, the loan shark now adopted an aggressive stance, poised to overturn everything and charge in immediately if provoked.

However, Deus ignored the man who was smoking a cigarette and frowned as he examined the documents Findenai brought over.

"Hmph. This is forged."

"...!"

The loan shark's gaze wavered. His eyes, which had previously resembled those of a wild dog ready to pounce, suddenly softened.

"You just used signatures from other documents and altered them using magic."

Occasionally, one would come across fraudsters like this. Hence, it was necessary to double and triple-check any document or even get them verified by experts.

People could also occasionally borrow magic tools from the city hall to verify the authenticity of such documents for free.

However, as a 16-year-old boy who only knew how to play the piano, Owen couldn't possibly know about such things.

"If you have any objections, we can go to the experts right away."

Facing Deus' cold stare, the loan shark felt his heart shrink. Despite the seasons changing to summer, he felt a chill run down his spine.

"N-no. It's just that..."

He changed his behavior from that of a boss to a subordinate. He tried to make excuses. However...

"Findenai."

As Deus calmly called her name, Findenai lunged forward like an unleashed wolf.

Snap!

Her knee directly smashed into the loan shark's face.

Blood splattered and broken teeth scattered everywhere.

She didn't stop there. Findenai grabbed his hair with one hand, applied some force, and threw him into the alley.

The loan shark then fell on top of the other unconscious one; they both let out agonizing screams.

Once again, another hand reached out to Owen.

However, this time, the hand didn't offer a bewitching proposal like the loan shark did a moment ago. It was rather formal and unfriendly.

"Time to go."

However, Owen could feel an inexplicable sense of trust surged within him, so he firmly grabbed Deus' hand.

* * *

After bringing Owen back to the inn, providing him with a room to shower, and ordering food at the dining hall on the first floor, I sat at the table for a moment, while lost in thought.

[It seemed like they wanted something from Owen.]

"Yes, you are right."

The loan sharks made the small boy a proposal, asking him to follow them.

They even went as far as creating fake loan agreements.

Seeing it from this angle, one might wonder why they went to such great lengths, but on the contrary, Deus felt like he needed to consider the opposite.

They wanted Owen so badly, that they went to such lengths.

"They must have realized that Owen possesses special abilities."

[It must be that. But I wonder what they were planning to demand from him.]

Although Owen's ability seemed just to provide comfort to the yokai, it couldn't be conclusively determined yet because even he himself still didn't have a complete understanding of his own abilities.

At that moment, Owen, who had just finished showering, approached us while drying his hair with a towel. Illuania, who had been prepared in advance, seated him and began applying medicine to his wounds.

The food that the innkeeper cooked exuded a savory aroma as it was generously spread out on the table.

"Go ahead and eat for now."

Illuania's gentle smile made Owen look like he was about to tear up. However, he soon started eating.

Perhaps because he was unable to have proper meals for a while due to the debt, the skinny boy gobbled down the food.

The Dark Spiritualist and I watched him from afar before returning to our conversation.

"The attitude of the loan sharks has been bothering me. Before I revealed that the documents were fake, they were already offended and were ready to attack me."

[Is it because there is something they believe in?]

"Probably."

They seemed to have a backer.

Their overall attitude implied that it wasn't just about the loan sharks but that someone hiding in the shadows coveted Owen's abilities.

"Now I have become even more intrigued."

While I had some suspicions about the person who was hiding in the shadows, Owen's abilities became even more interesting to me.

"I guess I have no other choice."

I pulled out a gem wrapped in cloth from my pocket. Its mere appearance had already elicited screams of agony from souls.

[Do you have any idea?]

The boy's grandfather had already closed his eyes, entering his eternal rest.

However, due to strange events surrounding that boy.

"We might find out if we ask him directly."

I considered asking Owen's grandfather directly, about the secret he held in his arms as he drifted into his eternal slumber.

* * *

"So, you failed?"

Inside the office of Bolfras, the loan shark.

All the thugs were standing up, their heads lowered in fear.

The woman at the center wore a robe that didn't suit the office.

"Yes, yes! We're sorry!"

Bolfras, the owner of the office, spoke with a trembling voice. It felt like his tongue twisting and drying up with each word he uttered.

If they showed even the slightest annoyance, she would devour them right away.

Having already witnessed this scene several times, Bolfras couldn't help but feel even more tense.

"So, did you bring those bastards who did this?"

"Yes! They were detained on charges of fraud, so we posted bail and paid a bribe to bring them back!"

"Well done."

The woman stuffed a piece of bread into her mouth, chewing vigorously.

The thugs felt a sense of dread from her demeanor and hastily brought in the two main culprits of this event.

The two people kneeling in the office were in severe condition.

One had a completely battered and swollen face, while both arms of the other were broken.

With the awareness that she was in an artist's city, Findenai created this work with an artistic flair.

Trembling, they immediately pressed their foreheads to the floor of the office. Tears and blood stained the ground as they cried out.

"W-we're truly sorry!"

"Some strange guys suddenly showed up! If you give us one more chance, we'll definitely bring him!"

"Bullshit."

The woman rose from her plush chair and stretched out her hand.

Her hand soon transformed into a massive mouth resembling that of a demonic monster and its gruesome teeth instantly pierced through both of them as it devoured them mercilessly.

"Agh, ahh!"

"Spare us! Please...!"

Chomp, chomp.

It didn't take long for the sobbing screams to turn into the sound of bones and flesh being munched on.

The rest of the thugs swallowed their saliva but didn't dare to raise their heads, so they just looked at the blood dripping down and soaking the floor.

"I'm not even asking you to bring that old man but just his grandson. What's so difficult about that..."

The woman grumbled in annoyance, however, suddenly, her eyes flashed open. Then she made an expression of disbelief.

"Huh, so that's why?"

The woman who had just devoured the two suddenly burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. After laughing for a while, tears welled in her eyes. She wiped them away while murmuring.

"Geez, these two have just shown me something fun, but I killed them for no reason."

The remaining thugs couldn't understand what she was talking about.

The woman sat back on the plush chair, crossing her legs.

"The Soul Whisperer has arrived in this city."

Even if it was just a coincidence, could there be a coincidence like this?

After the Monstrumancers from Dante were killed by a girl named Aria Rias, she came to Claren, which was abundant with yokai, to replenish her forces.

But she unexpectedly encountered Deus Verdi, whose whereabouts were currently unknown.

"He... hehe."

The woman licked her lips and wore a satisfied smile.

It felt like an enticing, sumptuous feast lay spread before her.

The woman smacked her lips as if she was about to drool.