”Who is it? Why did you come here now?” Nahulle’s confused voice sounded from inside as he opened the door, only for his eyes to widen when Viktor suddenly stabbed a small dagger into his chest but at a very precise point that wouldn’t kill him and at the same time would induce enough pain and discomfort to immobilize him.
”Hrkk!!” Nahulle’s eyes widened as he realized that he got tricked and this man wasn’t his friend or anything.
But even if his mind was able to break through the illusion upon realization, it was just too late as he stumbled back, though he couldn’t even gather enough strength to pull the dagger from his chest.
”W-Who are you…” Nahulle asked this mysterious man as he saw him close the door behind.
Viktor scoffed as he looked at his pitiful appearance. He still hadn’t forgotten about how this guy almost took him down and even hurt Talia while trying to protect him.
Still, Viktor prioritized as he grabbed his long pale hair and asked, “It doesn’t matter who I am. All you have to know is I will slit your throat if you give me answers I don’t like. Now…tell me what happened to the Fruit of Youth you had with you?”
Nahulle’s eyes widened even more, wondering how this mysterious guy knew about it and speculated if he was one of his enemies or something.
But then, there were always all kinds of parties interested in the Fruit of Youth. It was just that none of them were able to get it due to how protected the Sacred Spirit Realm was. Even for him, he had to make use of a rare one-time treasure that his king had granted him.
”I-I don’t know…what you are talking about…You are courting death here…” Nahulle said with gritted teeth, trying to intimidate this man into letting him go.
”Heh? Courting Death? You have no idea…But what I am sure is you will die before I do if you still act like a fool before me. Maybe this will trigger your memories…” Saying so, Viktor twisted the dagger that was stabbed into Nahulle’s chest slightly, making him let out faint groans, feeling excruciating pain and agony rippling throughout his body.
He couldn’t even shout loudly because of being unable to find the energy to do so.
”S-Stop…I…I…will tell you…” Nahulle gave up within moments as it was too much to take and felt like his nerves might explode from all this pain.
His face had already become ashen, with a trickle of blood slipping out from his mouth as he resentfully looked at this mysterious man.
”I…no longer have it…The Darkwell Trade Union…took it from me…” Nahulle said, his expression still grimacing from the pain.
”The Darkwell Trade Union?” Viktor felt even more worried since he had heard about this trade union which was the biggest one in this town, and they were actually people dealing with all the black market stuff.
”How do I get it back from them?” Viktor asked, even if that question might seem ridiculous to someone like Nahulle.
Nahulle indeed found it ludicrous and wanted to laugh aloud but couldn’t as he said, “You fool…you can’t…Nobody can…”
”Is that so? Then I have no need for you,” Viktor said as he was about to push the dagger in further. However, he knew his words had an element of truth since the Darkwell Trade Union were supported and protected by multiple powerful parties. There was no way he can go against them all alone.
”Wait…There is indeed one way…they are holding an auction within 10 days…but I am sure they would be selling…the fruit…to the highest bidder…”
”Highest bidder?” Viktor felt that things seemed even bleaker since there was no way he was rich enough to buy it off. But suddenly, he got an idea that seemed more hopeful.
”Now…take this thing out of me…I told you everything you wanted…” Nahulle said with gritted teeth, making Viktor look at him as he nodded, “Of course. As you wish.”
’Hmph, fool. Wait till I make you die a miserable death,’ Nahulle inwardly swore.
However, Viktor casually pulled out the dagger from his chest, making him let out a pained grunt, but the next moment Nahulle’s eyes widened when he saw his throat being slit just like that.
”Urghhh!” Nahulle clutched his neck with widened eyes as if he wasn’t expecting him to kill him.
Viktor coldly snorted as he said, “Don’t look at me like that. I told you I would slit your throat if you didn’t give me the answer I like, and you did just that. See you in hell.”
Saying so, Viktor didn’t even pay him another glance as he walked out of the room while Nahulle succumbed to the floor, gradually bleeding to death.
Viktor took off his mask as he came out and saw that Seraphina was waiting outside with a worried expression.
Viktor sighed as he said, “Didn’t I ask you to stay a bit far away. I know you don’t like killing and stuff.”
Seraphina shook her head as she said, “Even though I don’t believe in killing, it doesn’t mean I judge others based on my beliefs because I know people are complicated.”
Viktor realized that he probably worried about it too much and realized that Seraphina wasn’t that naive like her daughters, who really had no idea about the filthy worlds outside their own realm. Still, he knew that she was someone who was against killing or taking life.
He thought that if Felia was here, she might have been horrified by what she saw or heard.
”But…about what he said…” Seraphina continued as she pressed her lips together firmly, her eyes becoming misty from despair.
Viktor sighed as he held her hand and said, “Let’s first get out of here before anybody comes sniffing around. I will explain then about our next move.”
The two quickly slipped out of the inn, and after getting to another street, Viktor said in a low voice as he saw Seraphina’s empty expression, “Don’t lose hope yet. Even if we don’t have the money to buy it off, we can go after the one who will buy it. That is the best we got now. Since the fruit will take another 20 days to ripen even after the auction, I am sure we will still have time to get it back.”
Seraphina softly nodded, feeling more hopeful after hearing his words.
”We will also need some money to get by for the coming days. The money we have now will barely last us a week. I guess we will be meeting up with those adventurers within five days.”