Kornacis, Royal District, Moses Pub.

"Whitesky glows above the broken land, a crown of dawn in weary hands.

"Whispers rise where the shadows fall; the Rav'akari answers with a call!

"Steel against the silence, hope against the fire, one name burns eternal, one drips with desire!"

In the pub, a red-haired singer sang her heart out to the partying crowd as the moon shone brightly through the open windows, casting a soft glow on all their upturned faces.

The beer was flowing freely, and the laughter was contagious. The meaty food was being devoured with desire. It was a loud night.

In that moment, Aren arrived in the pub with a link of a necklace dangling from his pocket. He was again using the Human Flesh Mask.

This time around, he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man with a small scar on his cheek and a short beard.

He then walked across the pub.

Having to weave through the drunks and those dancing on the floor until he arrived at the corner table.

"Whew…"

With a drug pipe in hand, a dark-hooded mystic saw him arrive and lazily took a puff, his eyes glinting with recognition.

"You're still here."

Aren sat across from him and said.

"Of course… I live above the pub. I can't sleep without getting absolutely drunk first to drown out the noises of the city."

The dark-hooded mystic said.

"Here's your pendulum necklace. I appreciate lending it to me."

Aren said and handed him the necklace, which the dark-hooded man put around his neck.

"I hope you found who you were looking for… Don't forget the payment; I'm not doing some charity work."

The dark-hooded man said.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of it. Thousand Iris coin pieces, as discussed beforehand in full."

Aren placed a brown pouch on the table. It held a thousand Iris coins inside. It was an amount of wealth that he shouldn't have.

Of course, he shouldn't have that much money, but he stole it.

In Temptation Avenue, there were many wealthy men and women living. It wasn't hard for him to acquire a thousand Iris coins.

While it hurt him to give away all that money, which could come to great use, he needed the powers of Mystic to help with Jake's situation.

If he let her family keep taking advantage of her, she might lose her house, and that would mean that Aren would lose his living situation.

It was impossible to find a place that had rent so cheap in Kornacis. Especially from the neighborhood as nice as hers.

He didn't want to lose that.

"Appreciate it~"

The dark-hooded man took the money pouch, blew the smoke of the drug pipe towards the ceiling, and then leaned back in his chair with an ecstatic grin.

It looked like the drugs were starting to work.

Aren left with a thousand Iris coins lighter, took a carriage, and made his way down to Temptation Avenue.

…

Tuesday morning, 32 Temptation Avenue.

In the nice living room of Madam Agnes's house, Jake looked at his crudely bandaged hand, and with a trembling left hand, he took a sip of the crimson tea.

He hated the crimson tea, as he hated the taste of fake blood, which the tea mostly consisted of.

It was a unique tea, which was why the nobleborn grew to like the taste of it, and since Madam Agnes worked in the Kornacis Royal estate, she also drank crimson tea daily.

It was very addictive tea as well, and that addiction had a strong hold on her, so she was still drinking it daily.

It was also very good as pain medication, and that was the reason why Jake was drinking it despite his dislike for it.

He also had a new injury at the back of his head—it came from the bushy-bearded man—and he thought that he was close to losing his life yesterday.

Before coming to visit his grandmother, he took a quick visit at the lawmen station to file a report. So did his mother, who wasn't really talking to him anymore.

She was pissed that she didn't have any money left to go to beauty salons and hot spring trips and couldn't brag to her book club about her new wealth.

It was all because her son went to the Gambler's Den to lose all their "hard-earned" money, which didn't even belong to them.

"Jake… You came."

Madam Agnes stumbled down the stairs, carefully moving, clutching the railing for support, and Jake had no intention to help her as he didn't even stand up from the chair.

It was because there was just one thing in his mind currently—money—as he had to bring the debt money over to Mr. Fortune by today.

With a walking cane in hand, Agnes rested on the reclining chair and raised her feet on the reclining chair's ottoman.

"You asked for the rent money from your tenant, grandmother?"

Jake asked immediately.

He didn't bother to start with a greeting or to ask about her well-being. She currently had a little bit of a cold, which was noticeable.

"I did…"

With a trembling hand, Madam Angles put the money on the table and then hugged herself with a thin blanket.

"Fifty… Fifty Iris coin pieces?"

Jake asked in disbelief, a tremble in his eyes, as that wasn't nearly enough to pay his gambling debts.

He needed at least a thousand!

"D-Did your tenant scam you? How come it is only fifty Iris coin pieces?"

He hurriedly asked.

"That's how much the rent is… I think Aren is a nice boy, and since he doesn't even have a job yet, I feel bad for him, and he also helps me around here, so I think it is a fair rent…"

Madam Agnes said.

"This is not enough!"

Jake screamed, jumped to his feet, and clenched his left hand into a tight fist so that his hand lost some of its color.

"J-Jake, why are you shouting? You're scaring me…"

Agnes asked, and then Jake put his hands on her shoulders, shaking her furiously like a rag doll.

"This is not enough! Where is the rest of the money?!"

Jake screamed.

"You're hurting me!"

Agnes pleaded, tears streaming down her face, as Jake kept pushing her against the reclining chair's back.