I shoved his hand off my collar roughly, then exhaled in irritation as I looked him up and down. This man was genuinely annoying. Just hearing his voice was enough to give me a headache. I had no idea how a coward like him ended up working with the Masked Man. He was literally just a pathetic coward who barely left his junk shop and still acted like he was better than everyone else.

I said, resting my cheek against my fist:

"And what exactly does this have to do with you?"

Apparently, he didn't like my tone, because his hand shot right back to my collar. He yanked me close enough that I could smell his foul breath before shouting in my face:

"You bastard! What were you doing, reciting your entire life story to him?!"

I kept my composure, though I was tempted to slap him.

"Can you stop yelling in my face? If you want to complain, go complain to the Masked Man. He's the one who dragged the conversation out this long."

His face twisted sourly, like he'd just swallowed rotten fruit. I couldn't resist teasing him, so I forced a dumb grin and said mockingly:

"Are you scared of him?"

A flash of anger flickered in his eyes, but he quickly hid it behind a sly smile.

"I think you should be the one afraid, not me. Didn't Quil tell you in that letter to prepare a carriage to take us to the Night Wolves' territory? Instead of doing your job, you're here wasting time chatting. What do you think Quil will say when he finds out?"

By the god I had completely forgotten about that task.

I quickly took a deep breath, trying to salvage the situation, and grabbed his hand pleadingly:

"You're not going to tell him, right?"

"I might reconsider… if you pay me two silver coins."

I gasped.

"Two silver coins?! Are you trying to rob me?"

He shrugged.

"In that case, I guess I'll have to tell Quil you've been slacking off… just like you failed the last mission too."

I sighed heavily, then reached into my pocket, pulled out two silver coins, and slammed them onto the table. The thought of Quil transferring me to another district was enough to make me temporarily swallow my pride. For Diana's sake, this level of humiliation was a small price to pay.

Corvin quickly snatched the coins from the table and slipped them into his pocket with a smug grin.

"I didn't know you had that kind of money. Guess you're hiding more than you let on, huh?"

"Unlike you, I actually know how to save money instead of wasting it on cheap booze and nonsense."

He didn't seem offended at all.

"When will you arrange our transport, then?"

I looked at him lazily and said:

"About a week. Once I find one, I'll let you all know. Now, are you done?"

He didn't reply. He just gave me a sideways glance before turning and leaving the shop. I stared at the door for a moment after he left, then muttered:

"Hope you choke on those coins, you greedy bastard."

***

[Jevan Perspective]

Not much happened after Corvin left the shop. The moment he stepped outside, he was grinning like he'd just struck gold. I had no idea what he was so happy about. Still, it was nice to see Corvin in a good mood, I suppose he had helped me quite a few times before.

Anyway, after that, we all gathered together and by "all," I mean Corvin and Vensen. The masked woman and I watched them from a distance, while the other man was still sleeping on the floor.

We decided to rent rooms at a nearby inn. This one was much better than the last: no cockroaches crawling in the corners, no stench of rot choking you while you tried to sleep.

As before, I got my own room.

Vensen and the man who'd sold his soul to the Crow shared a room with Timaeus which honestly made me feel a little sorry for the poor cat.

I hated being apart from him, but it couldn't be helped.The masked woman had her own room too, and so did Corvin.

Once I entered my room, I locked the door tightly behind me. It was small, but cleaner and more comfortable than any room I'd slept in for a long time. I remembered when Raven and I once tried to find a clean apartment...

I placed the mask on the wooden table beside the bed. The moment I did, spirits began to drift around me again. I threw myself onto the bed lazily, waiting for the mask's side effects to wear off. It only took a few minutes before my mind began to clear again.

That's when I realized just how… foolish I'd been.

Perfect. Once again, I'd gotten myself tangled up in something completely insane. A demonic being manipulating everyone? Am I one of those everyone too?

Garrod, who supposedly made a deal with it according to what the cook told Adam Adam himself, who's running around chasing the illusion of saving his lover, Diana and me, the idiot who agreed to help him just because the mask pushed me to.

Does that fool actually think he can fight the Claw and rescue her, wherever she's being held?

I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes.

That cook explicitly warned him he'd die if he tried to save her. And yet, he still chose to risk it and I agreed to help him, like a damn fool.

What's even stranger is that the cook told him to seek help from me of all people. Why me? Does he somehow know who I really am beneath this mask?

I muttered while staring at the mask on the table:

"What am I even supposed to do against something like that, if it really exists? Actually, better question am I under its influence right now?"

I hate the idea of anyone controlling me, let alone some demonic entity that plays with minds. But how can I even find out?

I sat at the edge of the bed, pressed my palms to my temples, and took a long, deep breath. Then an idea crossed my mind probably a stupid one, and likely to fail. But it was the only way to find out the truth.

I whispered:

"I wish I could know whether a demonic being like the one Adam and the cook mentioned truly exists… and whether I'm under its control or not."

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