I felt the first tinge of cruelty in my vivid imagination and clung tightly to Edrish’s arm.

“Is he really okay? That man is normal, right?”

Even though I had whispered, the man walking ahead turned to look back.

Did he hear? He has keen ears!

I smiled broadly.

No, I didn’t doubt you. You’re very naive.

Then I suddenly remembered that he said he came to sell teeth and quickly closed my mouth.

That can’t be.

As the man looked ahead again, Edrish leaned down to whisper in my ear.

“Andres. He’s made a name for himself as a genius dentist.”

“A dentist? That man?”

“Not anymore. He had his license suspended for recklessly extracting a patient’s teeth.”

“Why the teeth? Was it a medical accident… something like that?”

“No, they say he extracted teeth for his personal collection.”

What the hell? He’s just insane.

“He loved teeth, so he did it.”

No, he’s not just insane, he’s deeply insane.

“Ugh, it’s so creepy and uncomfortable.”

I rubbed my arm. It was lucky Edrish was here; if I had been alone, I would have run away to protect my teeth immediately.

“So, does that mean the man will identify the owner of these teeth?”

“Yes, there’s a rumor that he never forgets a tooth he’s seen once.”

Wow, they do say geniuses are often mad. It’s true. Loving teeth enough to dedicate his life to them, it’s not strange that he remembers every tooth he’s seen.

With those thoughts, we soon arrived at the reception room.

Well, it wasn’t a normal reception room, but it served its purpose.

Edrish and I sat down on an old sofa, so worn that stuffing was poking out.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re here just to sell teeth. What is your business?”

Andres toyed with a thin knife the size of his finger. The way he spun it continuously stole my attention.

“We need information.”

Edrish responded directly.

“Information? What sort of information? All I know is about teeth. Whatever you gentlemen need…”

“We have to find the owner of the teeth.”

Andres’s pupils sparkled like a child’s, exuding pure desire and curiosity.

“What an interesting task! Of course, I can find that out. You see, when I look at people, I only look at their teeth. Do you understand?”

Yes, I really think you would.

I discreetly covered my mouth with my hand.
“Looking at teeth can tell you everything about a person. Their age, how healthy a life they’ve lived. You can even glimpse their personality. Personality influences chewing habits, you know.”

Andres spoke very quickly, his eyes groping somewhere in the void.

“Teeth are so fascinating. Especially a wolf’s fang; it’s art itself. The dizzying angle where curves and straight lines meet! That’s precisely why I live here in Lobero. It makes food less sticky while being smooth. Isn’t it a functional yet aesthetic organ?”

It was the first time hearing a eulogy on teeth.

“Even after people die, their teeth remain. For a very long time.”

The man chuckled, scratching his sparse scalp. A few strands of weak hair were tousled.

“It’s clear that this guy is a pervert obsessed with teeth. But the more so, hope rose that I could find the owner.”

“So then you can find out who owns this.”

Idrish pulled an object from his lap. It was wrapped in cloth, so it was unclear what it was, but it was large. Andres’s eyes sparkled as he reached for it.

But Idrish didn’t hand it over to Andres.

The smile vanished from Andres’s face, who leaned back on the sofa, disgruntled.

“Hmm, if I’ve seen them before, identifying the owner is really easy. For me, that is. But what about this? I don’t offer favors without a fee.”

“I will compensate you handsomely.”

“Money? Eh, if I needed money, would I be living like this? I don’t need such things. I want a different kind of payment.”

The man’s murky eyes flashed. He pointed the tip of his knife at Idrish’s face.

“Say, your teeth?”

He must be insane.

However, Idrish didn’t even blink. The man seemed taken aback. The tip of the knife moved sideways, this time pointing at me.

“Or this side is also welcome.”

Before the knife could fully aim at me, Idrish’s hand moved first. As Idrish tightly gripped his wrist, Andres’s hand went limp.

“Ugh.”

The knife clattered onto a table filled with odds and ends. Idrish let go of his hand as if tossing it away, his expression unchanged. Andres vigorously rubbed his freed wrist.

“Jeez, what a nasty character. If you don’t like it, just leave. Who’d miss you?”

“You better not mess things up with hasty and stupid actions.”
Idrish spoke as he pulled something out of his pocket. It was a much smaller bundle than the large wolf fang from earlier.

What is it? Did he bring a gem? I doubt that would work on the guy obsessed with that fang.

“You won’t be able to get this no matter how hard you try.”

Idrish unfolded the cloth.

What is that?

I craned my neck to examine it.

A tooth?

What emerged was a tiny tooth the size of a baby’s fingernail.

“Th-this is…”

Andres hurriedly brought a magnifying glass, his face glowing with innocent delight.

His eyes shimmered beyond the magnifying glass.

“A Baekho’s tooth?”

“Yes.”

Huh?