Missing

As he approached his destination for distraction, he bought a few things along the way to avoid any type of suspicion while using the opportunity to learn about the value of the four different coins which were used by southern kingdoms, including Viron and Elsos.

Ren, Fen, Ven, and Sen.

These were the names of the coins.

A hundred Ren is equal to 1 Fen, a hundred Fens is equal to one Ven and Five hundred Vens is equal to one Sen.

It was obvious that Sen had a very high value and was very scarce.

Even with the wealth of his family which could be considered as a higher class, Sens weren’t something that came by easily, so he hasn’t seen much of them.

There were four social class levels with the previous being greater than the first.

The noble class.

The higher class.

The middle class.

The lower class.

Val’s family was at the higher class which made them lords in this area.

Most top higher class and noble class lived in or around the capital of Viron, a place that Val was yet to see for himself.

He was dressed in a cloak with a hood that covered most of his face, especially his eyes as they were bound to draw attention.

If anyone were to see them, they would immediately know that he wasn't a normal human and with the red colour they would most likely label him as a cursed, which was not in any way a good thing.

Even though there wasn't any actual socially accepted discrimination against cursed divines, people had their personal beliefs and religions which caused enmity.

Some people believe that cursed are evil people who are given power by even eviler beings and had been born to spread fear, terror, and destruction.

It was similar to how you would feel if you encounter someone who worships an evil god or being, and even gain some abilities from it.

Even though a divine who is a blessed commits mass murder, people would insinuate and call him or her a cursed or say that they are under some sort of manipulation by a cursed.

Well, this was how humans were, always criticizing and getting hostile to whatever they deemed a threat, even if it meant no harm. This even included themselves.

Some had even taken the next step to create groups that hunts down cursed with the mission of eliminating them all.

Although, there were some places Cursed divines could live freely like the capital and Divine academies where strict laws were implemented. Other places weren’t so friendly with Liv being one of them.

Being pushed to the corner by such acts, some cursed chose to become the monsters they took them for, creating even more animosity.

Josh was beginning to get bothered as he realized that he might’ve made a rash, unreasonable decision, but rather than regretting it, he focused on protecting the young master.

But the same person who he was trying to protect was busy throttling in excitement.

The boy in front of him often gave off a mature and aloof vibe, so seeing him act like this was both strange and surprising.

He shook his head and reminded himself that no matter what, he was still a child.

“Josh! Let’s try this out,” Val said with stars in his eyes while pointing at a shop that sold toys that had to be earned through marksmanship.

After paying some money, an arrow would be given which would be used to hit a target, and depending on the area hit, a corresponding prize would be given to the shooter.

“But Val……….”

“Don’t tell me you’re scared of losing Uncle Josh?” Val’s expression was like that of someone who had just received the biggest disappointment in their life.

Josh subconsciously stepped backward with widened eyes. ‘W…. What’s with that face? And since when did he start calling me uncle?’

He looked towards the shop owner who had a welcoming smile which could be interpreted as ‘just give in’

Several people were playing. Some were adults who played for their children and others were teenagers playing on their own.

The number of people was little so he saw no harm in trying, he didn’t plan on putting much effort and wondered since when was Val interested in toys.

With the two men escorting them they headed to the shop.

“Welcome!” the shop owner bowed with a smile but got no response, even the child who looked excited earlier didn’t say a word.

He cleared his throat after raising his head, looking at Josh who didn’t show any sign of friendliness. So he went straight to the point in explaining how it works.

“10 rens to shoot an arrow to this,” he pointed at a dummy that was about 10 meters away. “There are different gifts of different values. You would get one depending on where you shoot and if you miss, nothing for you.”

He brought his gaze to the hooded child who was yet to say a word, unlike others.

Josh made a payment for an arrow which was handed to him along with a bow.

He placed the arrow on the string of the bow lazily and the shop owner subconsciously licked his lips as he felt that he would be making a lot from them. He just hoped that the child was among the persistent ones, although that seemed not to be the case.

Josh aimed the arrow at the dummy before releasing it.

It sailed through the air hitting the dummy on the thigh.

“Arghhhh!!” Josh let out a fake disappointed exclamation.

‘What is this old man doing? Does he think I’m a child?’ Val’s eyebrows twitched slightly in annoyance under the hood.

The shop owner smiled internally, seeing where the arrow had hit, if only he totally missed.

He looked towards another dummy just beside the one Josh shot, with an arrow stuck in its chest.

He frowned looking at the man with a little girl by his side who was responsible for this. He walked to the gift boxes pulling out a large teddy bear from one and a little squeaky duck from another.

The shop owner handed the large teddy bear to the man who gave it to his excited daughter, before walking to Josh and placing the duck on the counter.

“Squeak!!”

Josh picked up the duck, pressing it several times as it made more squeaking sounds. He turned towards Val to speak but the words got stuck in his throat as he felt a wave of killing intent wash over him.

He swallowed hard remembering who he was dealing with. The cute act Val had been showing blinded him and he didn’t have to be told before ordering two more arrows.

He placed both of them in the bow much more serious than before.

The shop owner was excited to gain more money from them but was left dumbfounded by what happened next.

After focusing for some time, he released them as they flew smoothly through the air with one going into the head and the other into the chest of the dummy.

Josh wiped the sweat from his head before looking towards Val, but much to his horror no one was beside him.