140 Owl

Dolores led the group into an alley near Seoul Station.

The slanted sunlight flooding the alley had allowed yin energy to accumulate there. Invisible, formless currents drifted through the air like mist. Ian stomped on a ghostly palm that had crawled up from between them and looked around.

There wasn't anything particularly unusual about it. Walls on both sides, with only cold air settling heavily over the place. No entrance that seemed to lead anywhere was in sight.

“Heh-heh…….”

But Dolores moved forward without hesitation, as if this really was the right place. Her sunny demeanor somehow inspired even more trust. Better that than being indecisive.

Ian threaded the cigarette he had tucked into his pocket between his fingers and rolled it around, staring at the back of Dolores's head. At the same time, he sorted through the things he needed to buy in his mind.

For now, he had to buy a female goat's heart, thread spun by a virgin, and a plant grown by soaking up virgin blood. Since the godmother had asked him to, it was right to do as much as possible for her. As for the cost, that was fine; he could just bill it later.

The things he personally wanted to buy were cigarettes, first and foremost. He intended to stock up on a few more packs of the purifying cigarettes made by the Alchemist School.

He wasn't exactly short on them right now, but there was no telling when they'd run out.

Normally he smoked one cigarette every two days, or maybe one every three, but... there were plenty of times he smoked more when work stress piled up. It seemed better to stock up while he had the chance...