Briego headed towards the sleeping Kylina, placed her arms and head on the table, sleeping soundly. She had consumed a strong sedative along with something else, that would pull her into a great sleep for several hours; the only way to wake her was to have her body experience great shock, or for the drug to wear off naturally.
He took the vestment from her hands and hung it on the closet, located in a tight corner.
After that, he took a seat opposite Kylina, waiting for something.
"If this week's mana stones don't reach the quota, I'll have to hunt for boars and other such beasts…" Although he was a cripple, stuck at the 1st-circle beginner stage, it was barely enough to deal with such animals. If he wasn't careful, he could meet an unfortunate disaster. If he truly didn't meet the quota, then he would hunt in exchange for mana pieces.
Mortals of hunter families would earn a living as such, satisfying their expenses. Briego hadn't thought of copying their techniques, as someone who viewed himself as better than the common folk, why would nobodies like them be able to help him?
As a magician, pieces of mana stones weren't enough. If somebody earned this meager wage, they would ultimately not be able to purchase resources from the clan; they could only remain in stagnation.
Briego thought about "Ciel's" plan. In the future, this disciple of a great existence would have a passive flow of income generated from what she would call "The Happy House." By relying on those mortals who are looked down on by the magicians, she would exploit those feelings and let them sink into their desires.
He thought it was quite the plan. The first parts of the plan were nearly foolproof, but what got him the most anxious was the latter parts. But with "Ciel's" master on watch, he grew more assured.
Even if there were some doubts in his heart, for the hope she had given him, for his broken fissure to become anew once more, he deemed "Ciel," who seemed to be as ordinary as a bird, to be a phoenix in disguise.
While Briego reined himself in, he heard the sounds of his door being knocked once again.
"It's time," Briego quietly said to himself, getting up from his seat and reaching for the door handle, ready to open it.
When he opened the door, three figures made themselves appear.
In front of the other two, a burly bald man with sunken eyes, thick brows, rough facial features that appeared to be sun-damaged, and some wrinkles on his face. His clothes were slightly dirty, with some dirt marks and somewhat visible holes in them.
The man asked with desire in his face, "Lord Briego, hehe, I hope that you fulfilled what you promised us today."
"We've known each other for some time now; it's not like me to lie about such big things. As comrades, I've come to share this gift with you all," Briego replied.
"Good, good. Now, where is she?" Behind the burly bald man, a middle-aged person of short stature, with short brown combed hair, said with excitement and impatience.
"No need to be impatient. Look, let me welcome you in." Briego then stepped aside, letting the three men into his humble abode.
The three men didn't refuse, stepping inside the small house.
Soon, the three saw the sleeping Kylina.
"Hehe, there she is. Not bad, not bad—she's quite the looker," the man who seemed to be in his early thirties spoke up.
"Who would've thought that a day like this would come? Damn it, those Spring clansmen are always looking down on us mortals!" the bald man spoke up.
The short man nodded and added in a bitter tone: "Tsk, I once had to cough up all my savings because I accidentally bumped into one of them. After bowing and begging for forgiveness, I gave them all I had, only for them to throw it away, scattering it on the ground, then ordering all the other farmers to scavenge my money."
The youngest out of the three added what he had experienced, with some slight rage, saying, "I was eating at a restaurant with my dear mother and father after a successful harvest, treating ourselves to a good wine that the restaurant served. But a bitter Spring clansman, who couldn't afford it, stole it and smashed it onto the table. Not only that, we had to apologize for causing such mental turmoil to him and clean the mess he had created! Simply unforgivable."
"These Spring clansmen are simply too ugly," the short man ended up blurting out.
Briego looked at the scene with amusement. Weren't they letting out all their frustrations in front of him, a Spring clansman? Furthermore, in his own house. Weren't they being too blind in their hatred not to notice this peculiarity?
The short man, noticing the error, quickly turned to look at Briego, getting on his knees, his head touching the floor, and reverently saying: "Please forgive me for uttering such insolence, Lord Briego." His shaky tone was apparent to all present. It was clear that he faced immense fear at the moment.
Seeing this, the burly bald man and the thirty-year-old realized their mistakes, though not as severe. They bowed and begged.
"Please forgive us!"
The three had mingled with Briego for such a long time that they had forgotten he was a descendant of the clan. His appearance and demeanor weren't that of the typical magicians they saw on a daily basis.
Throughout the local area, Briego had become a well-known drunkard, who sometimes chatted with lowly mortals to pass the time. The three had acquainted themselves with him from their visits to the tavern.
If he talked and looked like themselves, how could they not refer to him as one of their own?
Briego looked at the three of them, saying, "No worries, I won't execute you. I'm not like the other Spring clansmen. Though, I recommend keeping those thoughts to yourselves, unless you want your heads to roll on the ground."
The three brightened up at Briego's words. If it were any other magician, their bodies would be in two independent pieces.
"Thank you, Lord Briego," they replied in unison.
Briego ridiculed internally: "Heh, if it were my younger self, these three wouldn't exist…"
Being tossed aside out of the system had led Briego to feel abandoned by the clan he thought so highly of, thus bitterness and hatred formed in his heart. He loathed those clan members, though for different reasons from the three.
A hidden smile, imperceptible to the three, formed.
Briego said to the three, "Anyways, you can decide who amongst yourselves can go first by paying a higher fee. I, of course, guarantee the girl's purity."
Briego stretched out three fingers from his hand. "Three pieces of mana stones for fifteen minutes. After that, the regular price will be one piece per ten minutes. For each new clientele you recruit, you'll receive a free turn of five minutes, but remember, do so with secrecy, unless you don't mind living anymore."
Looking like they weren't begging before, their eyes betrayed them, gleaming with excitement.
The short man, who was on the floor just now, scavenged through his clothes, finding a pouch, then took out three pieces of mana stones to give to Briego, saying with desire, "I guess I'll go first."
Briego was about to take the pieces when the burly bald man spoke out. "No, I'll go. Here, Lord Briego, I offer four pieces."
The short man blurted with some apprehension, "Damn you."
Briego turned towards the baldy, nodding. "I guess I won't turn down your offer."
"Vlaka, your earnings are not too great when compared to mine," the burly man said with a smirk as he headed towards Briego to hand out the mana stones.
As for the thirty-year-old man, he had already given up. He was a simple farmer with not much earnings compared to the other two. He decided to wait out his turn.
"Hmph!" Vlaka responded in annoyance. "Then, I'll go for second." To secure his spot as second, he handed the three mana stones to Briego.
"I guess that leaves me as third," the last one said as he handed a single piece to Briego. Although he wasn't going to be able to experience the freshness, he thought that it wasn't too bad of a deal compared to spending four mana stones for the same amount of time.
Briego gladly accepted the stones. With a swift hand motion, Briego placed them in his spatial ring.
Briego thought quickly on his feet. Due to the quota, he added terms such as the first person's turn and referral in order to gain more mana stones. "Ciel" had told him to use his creativity, and so he did. He first thought he would gain just three pieces for today, but who would've thought he could manage to squeeze eight pieces, equaling a whole mana stone!
He exploited the desires of these men successfully—with this, half the quota would be filled.
"Then, Barthold, you can take her away to the master bedroom."
Barthold wasted no time, arriving near Kylina. He picked her up and placed her on his right shoulder. Looking at Briego, he said, "Who knew that a lowly mortal like myself would have my way with a Spring clansman, hehe. Though I would appreciate it if she were to be conscious—that way, it would've been more fun."
Vlaka, watching the scene, added with some jealousy: "You dog, we should appreciate this gift from Lord Briego. I bet it was hard enough getting her here. I don't know what methods he used, but it mustn't have been easy. Don't ask for more than what dogs like us can manage to eat."
Vlaka thought that if he spoke highly of Briego, perhaps a discount would come his way. Furthermore, he wanted to correct his mistake of being disrespectful to the Spring clansmen. Due to experience, he far knew how vindictive these so-great magicians were. Subconsciously he thought that an apology wasn't enough.
Barthold didn't say anything else, he was going to be the first to savor this treat all to himself. As he moved to the bedroom, he licked his lips, closing the door, separating company from him and the girl on his shoulder.
Taking off the sleeping girl on his shoulder, he placed her on the small bed.
He remembered all those scenes when Spring clansmen looked down at him for being a mortal. His apprehension, angst, pain, all the bottled up feelings, he didn't dare unleash publicly, were coming out now.
"This is revenge!" He said those words to himself. He was going to let all those emotions out today, onto this girl, not holding back an inch, from all those years being treated as mere garbage.
"Hehe." He fondled Kylina's body, with an ugly smile lathered across his face.
He hurriedly laced off the girl's bodice. Quickly undressing the girl in front of him.
…
Briego looked at the small silver pocket watch, adorned with intricate metal carvings. He looked at the handles, calculating the time, estimating that ten minutes had gone by.
He paced himself towards the bedroom door.
Knock Knock
"Barthold, your allotted time has passed, get out."
After a few seconds the other side of the door replied: "Alright, alright."
"Tsk, that Barthold is just too indulgent, not keeping up with the time." Vlaka, still bitter, revealed his thoughts.
Briego gave a bit of grace towards Barthold, afterall, he had paid him four pieces, so it was fine to not come out at the dot. Furthermore, he didn't want to see a naked man today.
Soon enough the man opened the door shirtless, with his shirt on his left shoulder.
With a satisfied grin across his face he looked at Vlaka: "Go get your seconds, haha."
"Bastard!" Vlaka hurriedly made way towards the door.
Barthold talked as he put on his cotton shirt, "Lord Briego, I thoroughly enjoyed the treat, not too bad, she was indeed pure. I'll definitely come back here again. Though I wished for there to be more time, ten minutes is barely enough."
Sarina had tactfully made the pricing per timings so that the customers would be craving for more. Just a mere ten minutes was barely enough for these mortals who had endured the life of the clan for years. She knew how deep rooted their grievances were, thus pricing every ten minutes so expensively.
Thankfully, she had Briego, a member from the clan, who wouldn't dare put up a fuss about the pricing as he carried on with the business.
Briego didn't shy away from shamelessly adding: "Expanding the time isn't too difficult, one piece per every five minutes extended. Don't forget that you get a free five minutes for every person referred."
"How dare I forget about such a deal?" Barthold said as he finished buttoning up his cotton shirt, and putting on his brown robe.
He turned to look at the thirty year old who sat on the chair next to the table: "You truly grabbed the short end of the stick, Rooney." With that said, he reached towards the door, and headed out of the house.
…
Time had gone by, and Kylina found herself on the table she had fallen asleep on.
Seemingly in the same position she remembered being. She opened her fuzzy eyes, her vision became clear once more.
Sitting opposite to her was the magician who had welcomed her before.
"Master Magician? For how long have I been asleep?"
Briego calmly replied: "For not too long, about an hour. Anyways, your stay here has been concluded, you don't need to be here any longer, you can change back to your clothes."
"Huh? But all I did was sleep…" Kylina asked in confusion.
Briego looked at her directly, not saying anything.
Such a gaze made Kylina's mind startle.
Glazing to her side, she noticed her previous clothes on the table, without a word, she grabbed them, and headed towards the bedroom to change back and leave this place.
Once in the room, alone, away from the prying eyes of the man, she thought to herself: "All I needed to do was sleep? Isn't this too absurd."
Kylina had thought that she was going to be involved in something that was morally wrong, or criminal related. But reality was different from her expectations.
"Though something feels strange, I can't put my finger on it."
She felt something wrong, it was a feeling in her heart, no it was a physical sensation, she felt some weird sensation between her legs, but couldn't ascertain as to what it was that caused it.
But she was glad in her heart, it wasn't much of a nightmare after all. With all the threats expressed in the letter, she thought her fate was grim, but all she ended up doing was dreaming peacefully.
"I guess… it wasn't so bad." Kylina's mood improved drastically as before, when she was horrified greatly.
She quickly changed back into her casual clothing.
Even though she wasn't as horrified, she still wanted to flee from this place immediately, for it was related to that threatening letter. Kylina wanted nothing to do with such things.
She opened the door, and respectfully handed the dress to Briego.
Kylina slightly bowed: "Master Magician, I'll excuse myself now."
Briego: "You may leave."
Kylina almost nearly jumped out of happiness, she steadily directed herself at the main door, grasped the handle, opened the door, and stepped onto the serene night that awaited her, with that, she finally closed the door.
Relief spread throughout her frame, for now she was free. She slightly rejoiced in leaving this occult and terrifying place.