Around this time, I arrived at the coin exchange. Aidan wanted me to spend more money but I separated from him using the excuse that I had an appointment. He probably couldn"t help it. In any case, I had obtained the blazing heart. There was nothing here to see so it was good to disappear quickly.
Now all I had left was 548 coins. In dollars, it was $54.8 million. Finally, the owner of the currency exchange handed me a large bag. “This is the exchanged dollars. Are you sure you don"t want to use the Aulu?”
“Yes, it"s okay.”
He was the man who talked to Kis before. The Aulu he was talking about right now was an owl that possessed "recognition" and "tracking" magic. In short, it was an owl that safely delivered money to people who were far away. I just couldn"t trust it. This was a place where I had to keep my eyes open. My nose could be cut off if I was even the slightest bit careless. What if someone stole this bag in the middle?
“You really won"t use it? It only costs 1 coin. It is also useful because it continues to follow one owner. It is permanent, not a rental.”
“Oh, you"ll give it permanently?”
“That"s right.”
Um, it was pretty good. The owl was quite useful for 1 coin. I considered it before stating, “I"ll buy one.”
“It is a good choice. Follow me.”
I followed him to the next room. It was a dark room where there were various owls trapped in their individual cages. He told me with a smile, “Haha. Choose your favorite one.”
I slowly stepped inside. The eyes of the large owls shone in the darkness. Each owl had different colored eyes such as red, green, blue, purple, etc. It was in harmony with the black pupils in the middle, showing off the beautiful eyes.
“Um, who should I pick...”
Flap!
“Ah! What a surprise!”
The white owl next to me suddenly shook its wings. It was dark so it was even scarier to be surprised. This d.a.m.n thing. I protested and banged on its cage to make it quiet. “You surprised me, this guy.”
“Guuk.”
SIgh. It was scary. I walked further into the darkness. Behind me, the owner of the currency exchange continued to follow. Finally, they reached the end and the owner of the currency exchange spoke, “Is there anyone that you like?”
“Um...”
I remembered the owls I saw just now but there was none that I liked. Still, I didn"t know. I should go back and see them one more time.
“I will go back and look one more time.”
“Yes, as you wish.”
I looked left and right as I returned to the entrance, only to suddenly stop. What? What did I just see? I was currently standing in front of an owl. It was a very small and poorly sized owl but it was a slightly special owl. The currency exchange owner"s voice could be heard from behind me, “Ah, I don"t think you should buy that one. It came a few days ago but it might be deformed. Its eyes are very strange and it is very small. I think it will die soon.”
Even so, I couldn"t take my eyes off the owl. Oh my G.o.d, why was this here...
The owl"s eyes in front of me were special. Usually, the owls had eyes of various colors and the pupil in the center was black but this owl was the opposite. The eyes were black and the pupil in the middle was golden. By the way, the shape of the pupil was also special. It was a crescent moon. I knew this owl very well. It was very clear in Prometheus" memory. “I will take this one.”
“Huh? You don"t have to buy this...”
“No, I"ll take it no matter what. It is still okay. I can carry the owl myself.”
“Well, if you say so...”
The owner of the currency exchange looked suspicious but he soon handed me the cage with the owl I had picked. I gave him some more money just in case. It wasn"t 1 coin but a huge 8 coins.
“Oh, giving me so much...”
“It is a tip. I feel good after getting the jackpot today.”
“Cough. Then I really appreciate it.”
I don"t think he would change his mind after this. 8 coins was actually cheap. No, it was really cheap. It was almost a steal. An owl with this crescent pupil was worth it. Maybe it was worth even more than the blazing heart.
I coughed. “Cough. Go ahead and use the recognition magic...”
“Ah, I was distracted. Please wait a moment.”
Magic power poured out from his hand and connected me to the owl. A short time later, a message appeared in front of me.
[An unnamed owl has recognized you as its owner.]
[Do you want to name it now?]
“Um, what should I name it...”
I was suffering from a headache when I suddenly received a whisper.
-Drain: Buroder, help me.
* * *
Drain just sent a whisper to his brother. He had been wandering around to see the fabrics at the black market but now he was hiding in an alley and calming his heart. However, he couldn"t calm down.
Thump! Thump! He could feel his heart beating.
"I never thought I would meet him here."
Drain stuck his head out again and found that person. No, he looked at the boy with anger. It was the boy called Venice who cheated him the other day. He still hadn"t forgotten the boy to this day. He remembered misunderstanding the dyed kobold leather as unicorn leather. It was a huge $300,000. Due to the lack of money, he gave $200,000 on top of various rare items and clothes. Of course, he suddenly had a $20 million fortune but he still hadn"t forgotten his sense of collapse and loss.
"I can"t believe he is selling the clothes and items that I handed over so confidently...!"
It was like someone had slammed a steel plate into his face. At that time, Drain had seen his adopted son and looked at the boy with bright eyes. Now his gaze was slightly different. The boy"s outfit was incomparable to that time. Venice was proudly doing business at Fortren"s black market. The signboard had the name "Venice"s Odds and Ends." He had soldiers around him who must"ve been hired with money. Drain wanted to go over straight away but he wasn"t able to defeat them with his strength.
-Jackson: Why? What"s happening?
Sigh. Fortunately, the answer came. Perhaps that person can help him. His buroder was strong.
-Drain: Do you remember how I was scammed the other day?
-Jackson: Yes, I remember. Why are you bringing this up?
-Drain: I found the one who scammed me.
There was a moment of silence. Drain was anxious. No one would be able to help him if his brother refused. One minute had pa.s.sed. Then a whisper came again.
-Jackson: Where are you?
“Yes! Yes!”
Drain felt a strong sense of joy as he pumped his fists in the air. Then he slowly started to whisper.
-Drain: This place is...
* * *
After finis.h.i.+ng everything, I left the casino. I was currently wearing the black wolf mask that I had rented from the rental office. Aidan had given it to me as a gift. He gave it to me and told me to come and gamble again. However, I would never go back unless I had business.
Kis was flirting with the women so I sent him back. That guy said he would say a bit longer but I threatened him. If he didn"t leave straight away, I would tell Helena about what was happening. He paled and immediately rushed toward Garbage Village. I remembered laughing for a long time as I watched his back getting farther and farther. He was a funny guy.
“Guuk—!”
Now there was an owl sitting on my shoulder. I didn"t have to worry about it running away due to the recognition magic but I was still nervous. Would this guy take me as its owner once it grew up?
“I"ll give you this so listen to me, got it?”
“Guuuk!”
I threw the food I had received from the owner of the money exchange to it. He received a tip so he gave it to me as a gift. Well, I was pleased to receive it. I took the raw chicken straight from the inventory and gave it to the owl. The nameless owl ate the raw chicken. It was still young so this much should be okay.
“Guruuuuuk~”
This guy. It looks delicious. I tapped its nose. It ate insects and raw chicken right now but once it grew a bit more, it would probably eat monsters. It would also catch them himself. If my memory was correct, once this guy became an adult, one wing would be over three meters long.
“It is really amazing. Why is Hecatiana"s Lechuza here?”
G.o.ddess of the moon and magic, Hecatiana—she was the G.o.ddess who presided over the magic of the continent. Due to the peculiarities of the moon, she loved darkness and curse magic. Thus, it was usually black magicians, witches, and the world tree librarians who served the G.o.ddess. Well, everyone was different but they were all connected by the common denominator called "magic."
“I know that the condition for the birth of a Lechuza is for four special moons to overlap...”
The conditions were of the overlapping of these four special moons...
The super moon, a huge moon. A blue moon, where the moon was dyed blue. A blood moon, where the moon was dyed red. The lucky moon that occurred on December 25th. In other words, these four things must happen at the same time. The Lechuza"s eggs only awakened when they received the energy of these four moons at the same time. As far as I knew, the cycle was once every 120 years...
“Guuuk!”
The unnamed owl came to my shoulder and flapped its wings. It seemed to be asking for more.
“Now, that"s it for today. I was told not to give you too much.”
“Guuuk~”
I took out some more raw chicken and gave it to the owl. It ate really well.
“I"m really lucky if you"re actually a Lechuza...”
Originally, the Lechuza was the owl that Hecatiana rode on. The owl ridden by the G.o.ddess of magic could also use a variety of magic. How great was a Lechuza? It was said that Jupiter coveted one but failed to tame it. It was no wonder since Lechuza was born with the magic of the moon. It only listened to Hecatiana, the G.o.ddess of the moon.
“Hrmm... I don"t know if it"ll listen to me when it"s bigger.”
Now its pupils were a golden crescent but it would gradually change as it grew up. It was to a half moon and then a full moon. Of course, the full moon meant adulthood. I wasn"t sure if it would be obedient at that time. I opened the information window straight away.
[Lv. 5 No Name] [Aulu]
[Rating: Normal
An Aulu raised at the coin exchange on the first floor of Fortren"s casino. Usually, an Aulu serves and follows one master.
The main task is to deliver goods. The more it grows, the heavier the items it can carry.
-Magic currently attached: Recognition, tracking.
-There is information that hasn"t been revealed yet.]
“Hrmm. If Prometheus was awake then I could see the real information with Insight.”
Well, Prometheus would wake up soon. There was only a bit of time left. I arrived at the place Drain mentioned and I let the Lechuza fly into the sky. It would probably fly back to me after I whistled.
A voice was heard from the alley, “Buroder, over here!”
I walked over and wondered, “What are you doing here?”
“Shh. Look over there.”
I gazed at where he was pointing and saw a store. The name was "Venice"s Odds and Ends." It seemed the cheater that Drain mentioned was in that store. It was at this moment...
“Move this over there and this one over here.”
A little boy came out of the store and started to order around the NPCs. I snorted at the sight. “What a funny kid. What is he doing?”
Drain told me, “It"s him.”
“What?”
"That boy cheated me.”
“Eh???”
I had a blank look on my face. I heard he had been scammed but I thought it was by an adult, not a little kid.
“I was ashamed and couldn"t say it. Sigh. I"m telling you now.”
“...I understand, but you should"ve said it beforehand. I thought it was an adult.”
If it was an adult then I could punch him a few times. However, the story was different if it was a child. He looked like an elementary school student or middle school student...
“Buroder, can you... help me? You promised.”
“Hmm.” I already made him a promise so it couldn"t be avoided. What should I do...? Ah. That"s right. “I"m going to call that person.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Don"t we have that guy?”
“So who is it?”
“Wait and see.”
I opened the whisper window straight away.