The Holy Spear and the Debt of Interest
Evan laid the collapsed Locke flat on the ground and picked up the fallen Holy Spear. Chiiik—!
‘Fucking hurts.’
While gripping the spear, the divine power leaking from the Holy Spear relentlessly stabbed at his palm. Evan frowned but let out a sigh and wrapped a cloth around the spear, winding it tightly.
‘What a pain in the ass.’
Under normal circumstances, once he obtained the needle, there would have been only two choices left: kill the man or leave without a word. Even if he had a reason to verify the Holy Spear’s weakness, he would have killed him cleanly afterward. But now, he couldn’t do that.
The fact that this man was Natalia’s husband and Natasha’s father made it impossible for Evan to kill Locke.
“If only he were a piece of trash without even a shred of conscience, I could’ve killed him without hesitation and been done with it.”
This man was indeed trash. No matter the circumstances, the moment he abandoned his family, Evan had no intention of giving Locke any higher evaluation than that.
‘He’s just a regretful piece of trash, that’s all.’
The look in his eyes when he saw the shabby tent where Natalia had lived, and the way he spoke of wanting to find even her corpse—none of that had been an act. In that case, deciding what to do with him wasn’t Evan’s problem to solve. Still, he couldn’t just drag him off to Abaddon without precautions, so he had set up a safety measure.
“Ugh……”
Locke groaned and slowly opened his eyes.
“You’re awake? Hero of the Spear.”
“You bastard…!”
The moment he got up, he quickly assessed the situation and immediately reached for his weapon. The Holy Spear trembled faintly, beginning to rise to return to its master—that was the moment.
“‘Hey.’”
“Ugh?!”
With a single, simple word like a parent scolding a child, Locke collapsed on the spot and clutched his mouth.
“You devil… what the hell did you do to me…”
“I just messed with your head a little and scrambled your five senses. It’ll be hard to come to your senses. The world’s probably spinning, and your stomach’s turning over.”
“This horrible… curse…!”
“……Well, I suppose you could see it that way.”
Though he spoke with difficulty, the name of that curse was simple: hangover and motion sickness.
‘As expected, the effect is solid.’
By striking at the Holy Spear’s weakness—its dependence on the user’s cognitive abilities—Evan had rendered Locke powerless, and the spear itself could exert no strength.
“Kill me……!”
“If I were going to kill you, I would’ve done it while you were unconscious.”
“Even if you torture me, I won’t give you any information about the Empire…”
“If I wanted information, I would’ve killed you long ago, turned you into an undead, and cracked open your skull to pull out your memories. That would be much faster and easier.”
Locke’s pupils shook, then he spoke as if he had realized something.
“A devil like you… are you after a holy relic?”
“Looks like what’s on your neck isn’t just a helmet hook.”
Out of everything Locke had said, this was the one remark worth listening to. It was true that he coveted it.
“Dream on, devil.”
“If you’ve got enough energy to spout nonsense, then follow me.”
“Where…!”
“‘Hey.’”
“Uweeeek!!”
Leaving the vomiting Locke behind, Evan picked up the Holy Spear and walked ahead.
“Hand it over… blegh!”
“Catch up and I’ll give it to you. I happen to have a few questions for you anyway.”
“You think I’d answer even a single thing properly……!”
“Natalia.”
At the name that slipped from Evan’s lips, Locke’s body convulsed with a shudder as he glared with eyes full of hatred.
“You… you devil bastard…!!”
“Thanks for the compliment. Once you can walk properly, come find me. I’ll be wandering around the market.”
. . .
As Evan walked through the market, he frowned. The hand gripping the Holy Spear was already covered in blood. He had been continuously healing it using the mana stored in his necklace, but the resistance was growing fiercer, as if refusing to tolerate being carried any longer.
‘Should I just tie it with a rope and drag it along the ground like a dog?’
But he didn’t think that would make it quiet down, so Evan sighed and planted the spear firmly in the ground.
‘If I wait here, he’ll come.’
The curse’s effect should have faded by now. He’d probably show up in about ten minutes.
“Um… excuse me.”
“What is it?”
“Well, that is…”
When Evan glanced over, a middle-aged woman flinched back in fright.
“If you stand there blocking the spot like that… I can’t do business……”
“I’m not even blocking the middle of the street. I’m standing off to the side—what’s the problem?”
“Even so…”
The woman looked excessively frightened, and behind her skirt, a small child was hiding. Evan tilted his head in confusion and looked around. Then he realized.
“…Hiiik!”
People who averted their eyes the moment they met his gaze.
“Ahem. Maybe it’s this way?”
And people who were clearly taking unnatural detours.
‘I see.’
Thinking about it calmly, the reason was obvious. Evan wasn’t carrying the Holy Spear like an ordinary spearman—slung across his back or resting casually on his shoulder. Instead, he was dragging the spearhead along the ground as if threatening someone. On top of that, the constant pain from the spear’s divine power had left his face twisted in irritation. It was only natural that people would flee in terror.
There was no sane person who would approach someone walking around dragging a huge weapon in a threatening manner with a face that looked ready to beat someone to death.
Evan acknowledged his mistake and reached for the Holy Spear stuck upside down in the ground.
Crackle—!
A small spark like lightning shot out from the spear, physically repelling Evan’s finger. He healed the torn fingernail and the flowing blood with a spell.
‘What a ridiculously picky tool.’
Evan clicked his tongue and spoke to its owner.
“……Then I suppose I’ll buy something.”
“Y-yes?”
“I’m a customer. While I’m standing here, I’ll make up for the customers you’ve lost, so bring out whatever you have.”
‘I needed to buy a gift anyway.’
He had intended to buy anything suitable, but the moment he looked at the shabby stall, Evan froze.
If it was a snack, anything would do. Even simple leather goods wouldn’t be bad.
“…You’re really going to buy something?”
‘Of all things, flowers.’
They were selling wildflowers picked from the surroundings, wrapped with colorful thread and dyed cloth. Aside from the fact that Evan personally wasn’t fond of them, they were the worst possible gift to take to Abaddon. They weren’t even living flowers. Cut like this and already losing their vitality, they would wither away in an instant in Abaddon.
‘The Saint would probably prefer something to eat over this.’
Evan lightly touched the pale yellow petals and asked without thinking.
“……Can you eat this?”
When she heard the question, a fleeting expression crossed the woman’s face—something like ‘Is this man’s head okay?’
“Flowers… aren’t for eating, they’re for looking at……”
“Right. That was nonsense.”
‘I’ll just buy one and bury it somewhere appropriate.’
It was essentially throwing money on the ground, but he could think of it as charity and let it go. Evan was about to pick the most expensive-looking bundle of wildflowers when—
“Aba, ugh, devil…!”
‘Faster than I thought.’
Evan looked slightly surprised. The curse’s effect must have worn off, but the fact that he had arrived now meant he had been chasing Evan even before it fully dissipated.
‘I did evaluate him as dependent on the spear’s abilities, but I can’t dismiss the mental strength he trained to use those abilities properly.’
“Give me… my spear…!”
“It’s stuck over there. Go get it.”
Even while panting, Locke grabbed the spear. The weapon that had violently resisted Evan’s hand now clung to Locke’s like an obedient dog. And that wasn’t all—simply by holding it, Locke’s breathing stabilized in an instant and clarity returned to his eyes.
“Abaddon’s…”
“Say one more word and I’ll take it as a challenge to fight here again.”
At Evan’s warning, Locke swallowed the words that had been about to come out.
“What is your purpose?”
“The needle.”
“That’s not what I—”
“Perfect timing.”
Evan easily came up with a way to shut up the annoying Locke.
“I need to buy a gift for a woman. Give me some advice.”
“You think I’d be crazy enough to help you…!”
“I heard you were good at it. Good enough to seduce a well-bred noble lady and ruin her life.”
“……”
As expected, he shut his mouth immediately.
“That’s……”
“I don’t want to hear any excuses. The person you should be making excuses to isn’t me.”
Evan turned his gaze back to the stall as if choosing flowers and continued.
“If you’re not going to give advice, then shut your mouth and wait quietly over there.”
“……Ugh.”
‘That should keep him quiet now.’
Evan reached for the most expensive-looking wildflower he had already picked out. That was when—
“That one’s not good.”
“……”
“The color of the dyed cloth doesn’t match the flower.”
Since he was going to bury it anyway, it didn’t matter—but with someone watching, he moved his hand to the next flower. Once again, the voice interrupted.
“The petals are dry. The recipient would be thrilled, I’m sure.”
And after that—
“Didn’t dry the dyed cloth properly? The dye’s gotten on the flower.”
“Half the bouquet is unbloomed buds.”
“The grass smell is too strong. Are you trying to buy weeds instead of flowers?”
The more he spoke, the more flustered the shop owner became, and Evan had to furrow his brows.
‘Is he doing this on purpose?’
He had told him to shut up if he wasn’t going to give advice, yet here he was interfering instead.
“No!”
This time, it was the daughter who boldly stepped forward.
“My mom worked hard to make these bouquets! What would you know?!”
“Sweetie, don’t.”
“But this uncle…!!”
Locke’s eyebrows twitched in panic. Then he glanced at Evan with a slightly wronged look.
“No, I… I just thought that selling anything to this devil-like man wouldn’t really help him…”
“You’re not even the one buying it, uncle!”
“Sweetie!”
Locke froze.
‘I see why he’s interfering.’
Evan sighed and stepped in.
“You who came from the capital might not know, but this is top quality by local standards.”
“That’s……”
“And if she can’t sell them because of your harsh criticism, this mother and daughter might go hungry all day.”
Locke’s eyes trembled as he agonized, then he spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“……Then I’ll buy them all.”
“Huh?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll buy every single one, so don’t sell any to this devil…-like man.”
‘At least he has a sense of responsibility.’
Locke strode forward, reached into his chest, and then froze solid. Evan looked at the expected sight with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Do you have money?”
“……”
Of course he didn’t. He had thrown his entire pouch of money at Evan, hadn’t he? With the face of a hero and the Holy Spear, getting credit or borrowing money anywhere would have been easy, but the result was that Locke was now completely broke.
He turned to Evan like a creaking wooden doll.
“……Abaddon’s, no… I mean.”
“It’s Evan.”
“Right, Evan……”
Locke asked, clearly ashamed.
“Could you… lend me some money?”
Evan’s lips curved upward.
“Your attitude in asking is terrible.”
“……Goddamn it.”
“Not interested?”
Locke’s body trembled as he lowered his head.
“Lend… it to me.”
“Lend it to me?”
“……Please lend it to me.”
“The interest is ten percent per day, compounded daily.”
With the sound of grinding teeth, Evan laughed cheerfully for the first time in a while.
“Even the worst loan shark in the capital wouldn’t run a business like this…!!”
“I’m a devil, so you can’t use humans as a point of comparison.”
“Goddamn it…! I’ll pay it back, so just give me the money!”
After thoroughly teasing Locke, Evan hid one of the gold coins he carried in his palm and handed it to the woman. She accepted the coin, confirmed it was gold, then panicked and waved her hands frantically.
“I-I don’t have any change!”
“It’s fine. All these bouquets together are worth about this much.”
At Evan’s words, the woman hesitated before finally lowering her head and accepting the gold coin. As Natalia had said, raising a child in a place like this sometimes required abandoning shame or conscience.
“Thank you……”
“You should thank that sucker over there. I’m just the devil who lent money to a sucker.”
The woman immediately bowed to Locke as well.
“Thank you, sir. Sweetie, you apologize too.”
“I’m sorry, mister…”
Locke hesitated for a moment, then gave a curt nod and began gathering the bouquets. It wasn’t that he was deliberately being cold; it was closer to not knowing how to interact with a child.
‘I’m curious how he’ll change when he finds out he has a daughter.’
Evan smirked, crossed his arms, and watched Locke.
“……Um, black big brother.”
“Yeah?”
“Here.”
The little girl held something out. It was a small pouch made of old cloth. Evan took it without thinking.
“You looked hungry, black big brother. Eat this instead of the flowers.”
Then she ran off quickly.
‘It’s pretty light.’
It didn’t seem to contain fruit or candy. Evan opened the pouch and checked the contents. Then he smiled faintly.
“……Not bad.”
It looked like he wouldn’t need to look for another gift after all.