"That's impossible." Benny massages his forehead. His friend has gone insane. "Ghouls and humans are too different. If you were a vampire or an angel, you might have had a chance. Young human females like to fantasize about them. Even a god would do."
Eli grabs Benny's hands and widens his eyes. "Do you think that I have a chance if I was a vampire or a god? Should I change my species? An angel is a stretch, but I can try."
"You are joking, right?" Benny jerks his hands away. "You are a ghoul. How could you change into another species?"
"I can give it a try." Eli scratches his chin. "I only need to sew wings on my back to become an angel. Well, I only need canines and pretend to drink blood. It's not like the ghouls can't become a god. I might become the first ghoul god."
This guy is seriously considering it. He's always been eccentric. Why did he meet this ghoul? This ghoul always manages to plummet his blood pressure within an hour. "You should ask her first. What if she doesn't like any of them?"
When the ghoul doesn't answer him, Benny follows his line of gaze. The shadow has a bulge. Something is struggling to get out of his shadow. Eli waves his hand nonchalantly. A leprechaun emerged out of the shadow, gasping for breath. He looks at the ghoul and the dwarf with a blank face.
"Don't kill me." The leprechaun lies down flat on the ground on his stomach, quivering in fear. "I didn't know that she would come home suddenly."
So, this creature went to her place because she was not at home. Eli stares at him. "Why did you go to her place?"
"I was told to deliver an object for her." The leprechaun has a lot of grievances. Why did he come across a ghoul? A dwarf is here too. He has no chance to escape. "Before I could leave it, she came inside the house."
"Show me," Eli commands him with a chilling voice. Even Benny flinches and shifts away unconsciously. The leprechaun takes laborious breaths. It feels like he's being pulled into a void. He takes out the pouch from his pocket and places it on the floor. He has no idea what is inside the pouch.
The ghoul picks up the pouch and undoes the knot. He takes a peek and asks the leprechaun, "Who asked you to deliver this?"
"I don't know." The moment he says those words, a shadow hand immerses into his back and claws the wall of his stomach. Benny shuts his eyes. He's not a fan of violence or screams. Can't this ghoul do this at his apartment?
"I am telling the truth," The leprechaun shrieks. "That person didn't show face or give a name. I was given the gold and asked to deliver the object to her bedroom. I didn't know that she would be able to see me."
"I find it hard to believe." Eli grabs the leprechaun's head. "Should I break open your skull and eat your brain to see if you are telling the truth or not?"
"No, please don't. I am telling the truth," The leprechaun implores him, panicked. "I don't know who gave me that pouch."
"Wait!" Benny yells, "The Fae cannot lie. He's telling the truth."
If this ghoul breaks that creature's head in his office, who would clean it? He already has so much work.
"They can't lie, but they are experts at manipulating the truth." Eli grimaces at the leprechaun. "What do you remember about that person?"
"That person was using a strong veil to hide." The leprechaun replies anxiously, "I am telling the truth. I was only going to deliver the object."
Eli lets of the leprechaun and stands up. "I hand him over to you, Benny. You can keep him or kill him."
The leprechaun lets out a breath of relief. The dwarf doesn't look strong. He will get the chance to run away.
"You are dumping your problems at me." Benny clicks his tongue and walks to the table to get something from the drawer. He will accept this creature as the payment anyway. The leprechauns are good at stealth.
"By the way, give me your treasure." Eli smiles at the leprechaun. "I caught you remember."
The ghoul knows. He's been hoping that they wouldn't remember it. A leprechaun has to hand over his treasure to the person who catches him. Leprechaun utters with a meek voice, "But it was the human."
If they take him to the human, he can fool that person and escape. Just then, the dwarf comes back and puts on a black collar around the leprechaun's neck. The leprechaun turns pale when he feels a cold metal around his neck. Agonizing pain bursts in his soul. He writhes on the floor. The slave collar would hurt him whenever he thinks about escaping.
"She shouldn't see your ugly face again." Eli pulls the leprechaun's beard. "Your freedom and gold belong to my friend now. Hand over your life treasure."
Three things are most precious to a leprechaun: gold, life, and freedom. Without a doubt, this case would become big in the future if the Fae are involved. Benny will take the freedom and the gold of the leprechaun as the payment.
Besides, If she gets the gold, she's likely to kick him out after paying for the charges for her surgeries. Also, the leprechaun's gold often brings bad luck. It's best to give it away to someone after taking it from the creature. In addition to that, he doesn't want her to owe anything to Benny.
"Life treasure?" The leprechaun widens his eyes in horror. "If I give it away, I won't live long."
"Why are you still clinging to life when your hair is white as snow?" Eli slaps the leprechaun's cheek. "Even without life treasure, you will live for a few decades. Do you want to spend centuries as a workaholic dwarf's slave? It's for your own good. Give it to me before I change my mind and break your skull. Even letting you live for a few decades is getting on my nerves."
So, he's only getting the gold and a dying leprechaun. Benny exhales. Why did he think that he had the upper hand? The ghoul is giving him the gold because he doesn't want it. Still, a leprechaun as a slave for a few decades isn't bad. It's more than enough as the payment.
The ghoul seems serious about killing him. The leprechaun has no choice but to accept whatever the situation is offering him. A glowing gold coin manifests on the leprechaun's palm. He looks at it with wet eyes. He has to hand over his life. Still, he has a few decades left. In the future, he can steal the life treasure from this ghoul.
Eli picks up the coin throbbing with energy. Since he had already stopped her fated death once, death can visit her anytime. Having this life treasure on her body would keep away the reapers from purging her soul. But there's little any treasure can do if she doesn't have the will to live.