Chapter 28: You Call It

Klein and Adryan looked stunned at what the boy had done, not expecting such a move.

The clown had prepared to jump behind the chair in case Ademisaul's body exploded from looking at a demigod, but contrary to what he expected to happen, the boy did not explode but continued to stare at the man in front of him.

Adryan covered his face with his hand and sighed in exasperation. "Cover your eyes, boy; I don't want you to see something you shouldn't."

'Be thankful Hunters Hallow works 24/7. Otherwise, I'd grab a spatula and separate you from the walls.'

Sighing again, Adryan turned to look at Klein with one eye closed.

"I will pay whatever they promised you for handing over the boy. I think I'm going to keep him for a while."

Whatever had brought the boy to him, he had to investigate. Leaving Ademisaul like this could lead to future problems he'd rather avoid.

The detective looked deeply at the man in front of him. Debating whether to tell the actual amount or add a few more coins and zeros. But in the end, Klein decided to go with the truth,

"They offered me 14 sassem for any information I could find, along with another 30 if I gave them Ademisaul."

Who was crazy enough to cheat a demigod by having him face-to-face?

'I would have said more if we were in the space above the grey mist. If he found me out and pissed him off, I could expel him without any problem... Of course, then I'd have to deal with him in the real world... How complicated.' Klein gave a little mumble.

Nodding, the black-haired man returned his attention to the boy.

"Well, Ademisaul? What do you say?"

"Yes... ha... Yes!" A strange smile formed on the boy's face, an expression dancing between delusion and peculiar happiness.

"Maybe I should call you Princess Tomato, Mistress of the Cats. With so many strays you pick up on the loose, it already looks like you're creating a caretaker." Flora joked, and the redhead felt his lips quiver.

He had a neighbour who was the definition of 'Cat Crazy'. The smell of urine was strong, and her little demons were constantly fighting on his roof in the early hours of the morning.

Not wanting to recall annoying experiences, the black-haired man looked at the boy's body.

'He's quite thin but not in a dangerous state. With Opera's diet, he should gain weight fast and be ready to take the potion... Sigh. Looks like I'll have to talk to a certain Diabetic Snake...'

Knowing what his night would be like, Adryan lowered his hand and straightened up. Pulling his wallet out of his pocket, he grabbed several ten sassem notes and handed it to Klein without counting if it was the right amount.

"Here for all your trouble, Mr Moriarty. I hope this makes up for the trouble you went through."

Taking the notes, Klein couldn't help but notice how fat the man's wallet was compared to his thin one.

'There must be at least 1000 sassem in there...' As he thought that somewhat dazedly, he diligently counted the bass in his hands and could only press his lips together.

In total, in his hands, he now had 150 sassem.

'Hey, do you have enough money to just throw it away? Are you that rich?' Complaining at the social difference. Klein separated the extra notes and held them out to the man.

''You gave me extra.''

"I didn't. Like I said that's for your trouble, it's all yours." Adryan raised his hand and shook it disinterestedly.

Klein looked at him for three seconds before nodding and gathering the notes in his pocket.

Maybe Chariot wasn't as bad as he thought.

Rising from his seat, the clown gracefully bowed. "Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Wayne. I have things to do, so I will be retiring."

Smiling, Adryan also rose and stood in front of the detective, extending his hand. "It was a pleasure to see you, Mr. Moriarty. Please, if you have any questions or need assistance, the doors of my firm will be open. Please don't pay attention to the name, though; I plan to change it soon."

'Only if my life depends on it...' Adding in his heart, Klein reluctantly grasped the outstretched hand and squeezed it.

But before he could withdraw it, Adryan pulled him to him, and, bringing his lips to his ear, he whispered, "My Lord wishes to speak with you tonight. It will be at 10 p.m."

Ignoring the shiver he had just felt from the breath in his ear, Klein gave a subtle nod, and with that, he was released.

Looking at the man before him, Klein raised his hands to his torso and opened them as if reading a book. "May knowledge be with you, Mr. Wayne."

This was the prayer posture of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.

Smiling, Adryan made the same gesture. "May knowledge be with you too, Mr. Moriarty. I hope to see you soon~"

...

Handing the boy a blank book and a pencil to keep him busy, the black-haired man did not return to his seat but sat down next to the young man, who soon began to write and draw.

Adryan wrote a letter and put it in an envelope with the initials O. and a chocolate bar. He pulled his bell out of its hiding place and rang it. The second he rang it, he covered Ademisaul's ears with his hands and eyes with a handkerchief.

"Mr. Wayne?"

"It's all right. It'll pass soon."

The boy looked confused at this but shivered as he felt the temperature drop and froze, his eyes on the ground. The next second, the temperature returned to normal as if it had never dropped.

"Good job." Whispering softly to the boy, Adryan patted his head soothingly. As a reward, he handed him another sweet, which he accepted somewhat.

The black-haired man let the boy eat in peace and returned to his desk where a lone letter rested.

Unlike the previous one, this one had the initials B.S. written in beautiful calligraphy.

'Looks like Miss Casper finally found a party.' Feeling his mood brightens a little. Adryan grabbed the letter and opened it.

<>

__Mr. W__

A beyonder gathering will be held on the 7th of September. I will take you there with Maric.

Sincerely, Sharron.

<>

'Short and to the point, like the writer.' He laughed under his breath a little.

Nodding in satisfaction, Adryan crumpled the letter into the smallest ball he could make and clenched it in his fist. He tossed it into the metal trash can behind his desk. As soon as it hit the bottom, it burst into flames and turned to ash.

Turning to look at the boy who was now scribbling, he patted his shoulder to get his attention.

"We're going to visit a friend of mine. Don't worry, she's a sweetheart."

Ademisaul nodded somewhat awkwardly, his gaze lost. "Yes, sir..."

Seizing the opportunity, Adryan glanced at what the boy drew in the book.

There were multiple meaningless scribbles and drawings of various things in the office in it. The only words he could recognize from the mental mess conveyed in the book were.

'Ademus...' shaking his head, Adryan simply sighed, grabbed the changes of clothes he had hidden in the ceiling, and handed them to the young man.

After giving him some privacy to change and arranging the details they were missing, both men left the firm. Ademisaul left in a hooded shirt that hid his face. They took a private carriage bound for the workplace of a certain planter.

While the place where she worked was not very far, and they could have gone on foot, Adryan preferred to take this more discreet route.

His companion was wanted in a certain way, so he couldn't just walk outside. If someone looking for the boy saw them, it would create a lot of unnecessary trouble.

'Besides, I'd rather avoid having to kill while I'm in Lenburg. I don't want the Church to think I'm a psychopath with an unquenchable bloodlust.' Adryan sighed, regretting his situation a little.

...

A while later. Artelia District.

After getting out of the carriage and making sure the boy's hood was in place, Adryan looked at the building in front of him.

It was a lovely flower shop, with large windows that 'encapsulated' the red wooden door. These windows revealed the plants inside, ranging from various flowers to other rarer plants he couldn't recognize. The building was painted a soft pink color. The sign hanging above the door said 'Flowey House.'

One of his team members worked at this place. He could only praise her for choosing such a good place.

'This place functions not only as a flower shop but as a traditional planter's and nursery. A perfect place for a Planter to perform.'

Tying one of his strings around the boy's waist so he wouldn't stray too far, they both entered the flower shop.

Chin chin!

A small bell rang, and a voice sounded from the back of the shop.

"Just a moment!"

Hearing the familiar female voice, the man smiled and tugged his hand a little, stopping Ademisaul from biting out of a sunflower.

"That'll give you an upset stomach, " the black-haired man said without looking at the young man, who lowered his head in disappointment.

"It looked tasty..." he muttered.

Ignoring the young man, Adryan watched as a black-haired, blood-red-eyed woman walked up to them with a small smile.

She wore a green tunic dress with a window on her right leg. Her heels trailed in fabric up her legs, hugging the white skin.

"Good evening, gentlemen. How may I help you?" the woman asked, her eyes sparkling.

It was part of the code and act they had agreed to perform before they 'parted'.

"Excellent evening, beautiful lady. I am looking for a particular flower. If I remember correctly, it was called Blue Lily. It has a unique appearance and supposed healing properties. I was wondering if you sold it here."

The Planter smiled elegantly and raised a hand pointing to her back, "Of course! It is one of our most delicate flowers, so we keep it at the back of the shop. If you could come with me, I'd happily show it to you."

Adryan nodded and, using his thread as a leash, dragged Ademisaul along with him. The planter took the opportunity to close the shop door and put the sign on CLOSED.

That done, she wasted no time in following the duo at a brisk pace. Crossing the door that separated the shop from the rest of the house, she closed it as well.

Now in privacy, the woman turned around, smiling happily as she gave a slight bow.

"It's good to see you back. Is this the boy?" The Planter Opera greeted happily.

"Nice to see you too." Smiling, Adryan placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "And yes, this is him."

The letter he sent earlier was to let her know he was coming to visit and to prepare to receive him.

"Where is Mr. Dree?" the black-haired man asked curiously. He couldn't hear anyone else in the building, and the man of 40 was quite loud and the owner of this flower shop/planter/pharmacy.

"Mr. Asgor left a while ago. I'm in charge of closing the shop, so it's just us," Opera replied, turning her attention to the boy standing next to her boss and dear friend.

Crouching down slightly until she was face to face with the boy, a soft expression on her face. "Hey, what's your name, young man? Mine's Penelope. It's a pleasure to meet you."

While her boss had already told her the name on the letter, she decided to feign ignorance and introduce herself to the boy.

Looking at the young lady, the half-monster watched her blankly before lowering it and muttering. "Ademisaul..."

"A bit shy, aren't you?" The woman asked, straightening up, and Adryan snorted.

"You have no idea." Shaking his head, he continued, "Are you sure you'll be able to care for him? He might do weird things, and it will take me a few days to get all the ingredients."

Opera waved her hand calmly. "It's no problem. I'll have Jerry to help me calm him down if he gets too weird. Besides, it's only a few days. I can do it."

'And you've just damned yourself.' Sighing, the red-haired man patted the woman's shoulder sympathetically.

"Don't provoke fate, yeah? She's a lady with a very short fuse and a horrible temper."

"What do you mean?" Opera raised an eyebrow, confused about what her friend was referring to.

The man didn't answer, only turned to look at Ademisaul. An action that the planter mimicked.

"Haha... Short fuse..." The young half-monster laughed oddly, his face twisted into a smirk.

"..." At that moment, Opera reconsidered whether it had been a good idea to accept her boss's favor.