Ocelio noticed that above the establishments in the street, most of them had a signboard with different things drawn on them depending on what the store specialised in.
For the bar, it was a mug, which was easy to understand. However, some signs seemed foreign to him. He stood in front of a shop, from outside the window he could see a small greenhouse, the scent of dirt and plants overpowered his nose.
Above his head, what looked like a snake biting an apple was drawn in vivid red colour.
Nevertheless, he entered the shop with a curious expression. As soon as he closed the door behind him, the tumult of the street disappeared.
He appeared surprised by the isolation of the shop before glancing at the greenhouse in realisation.
He had enough contact with magical plants in the past to know that they hated strong perturbation in their environment.
He looked left and right, there was no one behind the counter nor near the table stacked with labelled containers.
When he entered the greenhouse through a side entrance, he showed genuine surprise at what he was seeing.
2 rows of magical plants, 8 in total were rooted to the ground. At the far end of the greenhouse was a large dark tree with brown round fruits.
Under the trees stood three women, he appeared to have noticed them when he entered the greenhouse but in the next instant his attention became focused on the magical plants.
The majority had a similar shape, with two of them showing an exotic appearance. He seemed to have forgotten everything around him, he was about to touch the spike of an exotic plant when a voice shouted for him to stop.
An old lady in a green gown came to his side, she had long brown hair with white locks.
[The plants are poisonous for…]
As soon as she removed her attention from the plants to glance at Ocelio, she froze. Her eyes widened as her mouth shut in an instant.
[Sir…how shall I help you?]
She appeared shocked but not as scared as the guard or the beggar had been.
He made a small mysterious smile, hiding his thoughts behind his expressionless red eyes.
[I am interested in these magical plants. Are they all of the Earth attribute? You don’t have any other attributed plant? What’s their grade, why do they look…so small, it’s almost as if they’re sick.]
While he was speaking, the two customers standing near the tree had approached. They appeared to be young women in their early twenties, their clothes seemed to be of high quality; their makeup and style made them look like frail, wealthy young ladies.
[Good evening sir, I am afraid this store only has a few low-rank magical ingredients. The stores in the trading district almost get all their stocks from the low degree Earth magical land. However, if you wish to obtain more diversity, my family happens to possess its own garden with a few more variety of ingredients traded from other cities. It would be my honour to accompany sir to our private garden.]
A young lady with long golden hair responded to his question. She wore a long dark flowing dress, elegant long red gloves extended to her elbow. She made a short bow, her eyelashes fluttered above her hazel eyes as she maintained eye contact with Ocelio.
[My name is Selatonice Eumenidos and this is my cousin Briseis, we are both from the VIII class: Clerici.]
Ocelio gave Selatonice and her cousin a glance, both girls were beautiful but his face remained stoic.
He walked to the magical tree at the far end of the greenhouse, the old woman in charge of the store didn’t seem to know where to stand, she looked at Selatonice as if expecting a cue from her.
Ocelio put his palm on the tree and closed his eyes. He was “feeling” the internal state of the magical tree. Anyone with sufficient spiritual power could do the same, it consisted of searching and observing the pathways in which the elemental energy circulated to understand more about its composition and nature.
[This is a recent acquisition by the store, it is a first-rank Bavel tree, it produces fruits every 16 days, each contains an abundance of earth magical energy…]
Ocelio’s eyebrows creased into a frown. His focus seemed to have been broken by her voice. Anger flashed in his eyes, he was about to turn around when he smelled a familiar fragrance.
His head turned toward Selatonice’s cousin. Briseis was a blue-haired young woman with a gentle complexion. He stared straight into her pure indigo eyes, she appeared hesitant and anxious, she glanced at her cousin in an attempt to seek help.
[Briseis right, could you have injured yourself today? I seem to smell the scent of blood from you.]
The scent was all around the magical tree and it had yet to dissipate.
His smile seemed to have frightened her, she took a step backwards but Selatonice had arrived right beside her, preventing her from moving.
[Wow, sir can tell even after spending only a few minutes with us. Sir must be a talented person, you are right, my cousin can be an airhead sometimes, she has cut her knee this morning with a knife from my father collection. Does sir hold an interest in ancient items and artefacts?]
[Your cousin should be more prudent, her blood is precious and shouldn’t be wasted like this. Oh, your family also own artefacts?]
At this moment and time, both Ocelio and Briseis had the same physical reaction but neither of them noticed. Both their hands trembled, one due excitement, the other provoked by nervousness.
While Selatonice led Ocelio to the entrance of the store. Briseis took this chance to look at her orange dress, there was no stain, she still seemed nervous so she took a corner from her handkerchief, taking it below her skirt. When she brought it back, a small dot of blood was present on the tissue.
Her face became beet red, she went to ask permission from the store’s owner to use the lavatory and disappeared in a hurry.
[Most of the artefacts sold in the city go through the art exposition, most of them are from trading or private sellers aiming to auction it. If sir is interested…]
The young woman cheeks were rosy with happiness, she stood close to Ocelio, discussing a subject both of them seemed interested in.
Her chestnut coloured eyes were bright and lively as she continued to stare at him, she seemed fascinated by his enigmatic iris.
[Let me guess, your family also own a collection of magical artefacts.]
He smiled in a humorous manner to which she nodded in a daze, before shaking her head.
[I wouldn’t dare go that far. My mother has somewhat of a passion for them but my father isn’t that fond of military equipment so we only have a few for safety purpose. If sir wishes to see a wide array of artefacts, the art exposition is a definite place to go. There happens to be a session in 3 days, in the prosperous district. It would be an honour to serve as a guide to an esteemed personage such as yourself.]
He inhaled the air in a discreet manner, the faint smell of blood travelled to his nose, enlarging his iris and darkening their colour.
His gaze now appeared to have a shade of joy and…yearning.
[Ocelio. My name is Ocelio Enigma. Sure, I’m still discovering this city, going with two such pretty ladies to a delightful event would be an interesting experience.]
His lips widened into a large smile, exposing his rows of white teeth, with two sharp canines peeking from his mouth.
[Great! I’ll tell Briseis, she’ll be overjoyed. Can I know where sir Ocelio is staying? I will ask for a carriage to come seek you before the start of the art exposition.]
[Give me your address, I’ll come to you, it’s easier this way.]
Briseis arrived right when Selatonice had handed Ocelio her name and address on an exquisite piece of paper.
Her face was pale and she walked in an awkward manner but she still managed to keep a straight face when she came to stand beside her cousin.
All of a sudden, a commotion coming from the street alerted them.
A group of people walked in the street cloaked in an oppressive aura. Standing behind there was a few men dressed in rags pushing a wagon stacked with corpses of magical beasts.
The wheels moved with difficulty, mud had stuck to them and slowed their progress.
The men leading this procession were dressed in leather armours, they were armed with weapons still dripping of blood.
They walked in the middle of the street, forcing everyone else to stand to the side. The carriages came to a gentle stop, making sure they weren’t blocking the road.
The street was silent, none of the pedestrians dared to raise their heads or open their mouth, due to this, everyone could hear them complain.
[Shitty motherfuckers, I’ll rape their daughters and strangle their sons. Useless pieces of shit!]
A man with a scar running down his cheek kept cursing as he walked. A woman by his side, dressed in the same attire responded with a cold attitude.
[You’ve already killed them, can’t you stop complaining already. Sigh, you’re like a baby, stop crying and grow up.]
[You damn bitch, it was my prey they let go! What did you do the last time these peasants got in your way while hunting? Ah, you don’t remember? These shits, I shouldn’t have given them a quick death, I should have sold them to Barritos, at least I would have made some money out of their corpses. Those shitheads!]
While the hunters moved in the street, a young lady who had smelled the strong scent of blood from the hunters’ weapons let out a short groan.
It was almost unnoticeable, not loud enough to reach the hunters' ears, however, the people standing near her appeared to have been scared by her reaction. They moved away from her side in a hurry while making sure not to raise their heads.
The hunters seemed to have noticed the disturbance, their gazes moved to the void in the crowd, where a single woman stood alone, frozen with fear.
[What is it, did this frail little toy agree with me, Sosilus is such a brutish beast, don’t you agree sweety?]
The sole huntress among their group moved first, she reached the shivering woman and forced her to raise her head. Tears could be seen moistening her brown eyes, about to fall down on her freckles.
[Shhh, there little toy, the brutish creature won’t touch you, I’ll keep you safe by my side, don’t you want that?]
She appeared to not know what to do, she looked to be too young to be a woman yet too old to be called a girl. She sobbed with her mouth closed, her shoulders spasming every few seconds as the huntress led her by the hand.
[You’ll be safe with me, I promise. Come.]
The group of hunters continued on their way as if nothing had happened, their loud voices continued to resonate in the street with the wagon following their trail, blood seeped from the corpses, moistening the dirt road and leaving a strong stench in its wake.
Both of the girls by Ocelio’s side were frowning in disgust. Selatonice looked away as soon as she noticed the group’s identity.
[Sir Ocelio, please don’t mind them. They’re low-rank Bloodrainists, it’s sad to admit but they’re the only ones capable of defending the city from the magical beasts. They’re a rough bunch but they won’t touch any Nanti due to fear of the consequences.]
Selatonice appeared to be used to this sight, she resumed her jovial expression in but a moment.
Briseis, on the other hand, had a pale face, she could not keep her eyes away from where the woman had been taken.
[I happen to have an interest in the Bloodrainists.]
Selatonice’s eyes brightened like lanterns, Briseis only gave him a glance before lowering her head.
[Pardon the impudence, is Sir already a member of the Warrior Association?]
[Maybe. There’s a saying in my hometown: “Curiosity killed the cat”.]
He responded with a mysterious smile, neither denying nor confirming. He was stepping outside when he heard a whisper from behind.
[But satisfaction brought it back.]
Briseis had moved her lips in a quiet manner as if murmuring to herself.
Ocelio’s face turned into shock and amazement, he gave a deep look at her, then greeted them goodbye with a smile.
[What a pure bloodline…Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back. Ahah, I guess my home isn’t that far away.]
He laughed in a carefree manner, his lips opened for a moment, allowing his canines to appear in the open.
Unlike regular human teeth, his canines were far sharper and had a rosy hue on their extremity.
He bit his lips, then took a deep inhalation, even the stink of the street didn’t seem to lower his mood. His face was covered in a mask of anticipation and joy, a faint smile hung on his lips.
