The crooked smile drew closer; it grew intense. And one that was near Jinn slammed straight into him, turning into a puff of smoke and spreading out.
"Stop wasting my time."
Jinn rolled his eyes and waved his hands to disperse the smoke, unimpressed by the theatrics.
He walked through the smoke and cleaned the nearest dusty chair with a ragged cloth lying around near to it before sitting down.
"As you wish." Although the twisted smile dispersed, the voice remained. The white fog glowed as it drifted towards Jinn, carrying along a hint of coldness. "I have already made a list of items you would need for the awakening."
The sound drifted around Jinn's shoulder, swirling behind his back and whispering in his ears, akin to a devil attempting to lure its prey. "The only thing that you might not be able to find easily will be—"
Jinn instantly lifted his palm and slowly unfurled his fingers to reveal a small vial filled with red liquid. "This?"
"Is this the main ingredient?"
"How? When?" Jinn could feel the disbelief and shock in the voice. And then it clicked for it: "Wait, was it when you went to talk with that priest?"
Jinn ignored the sharp venom in the voice when it said the word 'priest' and said, "I just… felt it, like this was something very important. So I snatched it out of the priest's pouch while I kept him busy with my conversation skills."
"Won't he notice it missing? One look at the empty slot and his first suspicion would be on you." The Voice surrounded Jinn, echoing all around him.
"He will not." Jinn calmly shook his head with confidence as if nothing in the world could touch him. "He is a lazy man by nature. He is someone who comes to this place out of duty, not willingness. His pouch told me everything I needed to know about him."
Jinn recalled the state of the leather pouch he had seen today. It was worn out on the outside as if it had been moved too much.
On the contrary, it was quite fresh and new on the inside.
"Either the man makes the leather pouch look old from the outside on purpose, or he has been walking around with it for years, rarely opening it." Jinn analyzed the situation like it was the most obvious thing to notice.
"Either way, he would rarely check it until he actually needs it, and between then and now, many things can happen."
The voice fell silent as it processed his reasoning, and only after a few breaths did it speak again.
"Everything you said is based on some half-baked analysis and hope that he would not check his things after returning to the church. What would you do if he comes and asks you about the vial tomorrow?"
Jinn sighed before shrugging, "No need for you to think about that. Now tell me, what is this thing? Why would I not be able to find it in the market?"
The fog pulsed slightly before returning to normal. It moved towards the vial in the hand and replied, "This is… the blood of a god."
"A god?" For the first time, Jinn showed a visible reaction. His eyes widened, and his fingers unconsciously wrapped tightly around the vial. His gaze became fervent and doubtful. 'Gods can bleed too?'
Everything he had heard or known about the gods came from stories, which all made them sound so omniscient. And now, holding their blood in his hands, he could not help but think how it felt so…
Ordinary.
The voice turned amused, as if pleased by his reaction. "Well, it's only a diluted version, not the real thing. The real thing would have destroyed you just for looking at it."
Jinn's arms tensed before relaxing. He loosened his grip on the vial, but his gaze was still intense.
"Now, do you realize why I said the priest might start searching for this thing once he realizes it has gone missing?" The voice continued to add fire to Jinn's tension, but his actions failed to yield any results as the boy had already calmed down.
"Even then, there is nothing to worry about." Jinn carefully pocketed the vial while thinking. 'He would not look since he is the head priest of the church.'
"Tell me about the rest of the ingredient."
Jinn rose from the chair, patting his butt to remove dust.
The fog twisted several times as if it was trying to express its dissatisfaction. As it flowed behind the boy, the fog even transformed into several weapons, attempting to make gestures but ultimately not carrying them out.
Instead of continuing with its useless actions, it directly revealed to Jinn what he asked for. Changing Shape spelled out several names and numbers in the air.
Memorizing the things he needed, Jinn walked out of the room and locked the door behind him.
He walked back down the same stairway on the left side of the hallway he came up from. As he climbed down, a figure ascended from the stairs on the opposite end of the floor.
Geralt looked in the direction Jinn had disappeared for a second without moving; he could still hear his fading footsteps on the lower floors.
His face was expressionless, and his eyes no longer seemed as gentle as they did in the great hall.
Only when the footsteps disappeared completely did he walk up to the room and open it.
"What was he doing here… all by himself?" Geralt muttered to himself, noticing the only trace of Jinn's presence on the clean chair. No matter how much he searched, he found nothing and had to give up in the end.
His eyes gleamed with complex emotions as he whispered, "You are up to something, Jinn, and I will definitely find out what that is. No matter what happens!"
After taking the vow, he walked out of the room.
After Geralt left the dormitory, he rushed back toward the academic building discreetly, while making sure no one saw him.
But he failed to see the figure standing in the shadows of a tree nearby, watching his every move.
"I'm finding this boy really irritating." The fog on Jinn's shoulders whispered in his ears as he watched Geralt's figure enter the building in the distance.
"He is just a curious boy." Jinn chuckled softly before walking towards the main gate of the orphanage while thinking to himself. 'A bit too much, though.'