episode_0043

Aser, who had casually taken off his sweat-soaked black suit and hung it on one side of the wall, put on a dark blue suit and was ready to go out.

“Hmm… Shall we go now?”

Aser’s hair was disheveled, and his face was stained red. Teeth marks that looked like biting teeth were clearly visible on her white skin, especially near her chest.

The traces of the hot time were not only left on Aser’s body. The kiss mark that had barely faded over the past three days appeared clearly on No. 25’s neck again.

Number 25 also answered shyly, putting back on the top that had been roughly removed by Aser’s touch.

“Yes… .”

Aser was very hopeful that it was only the first day and that they would be able to form a relationship by the end of this trip.

Aser opened the door and went straight down the stairs.

There was no sound as if there were no other guests in the hotel except them. It wasn’t just that the soundproofing was good, there was really no sound or any sign of noise.

The only sound that rang out every time I went down the stairs was the creaking of the wood.

“It’s gloomy.”

That was Aser’s short review of this accommodation.

After arriving at the first floor, the hostess saw the two of them leaving and asked in a small but clear voice.

“How will you eat?”

“I’ll be back in an hour, so get ready by then.”

all right. After saying this, Aser went out into the street.

The first thing Aser did after coming out was to check the map.

“Is it this way?”

Aser walked silently toward the location marked with a red dot on the paper. Unlike the deep kiss from earlier, Aser’s side profile had a rather stern expression, giving off an atmosphere that made it difficult to talk to him.

Number 25 felt a little sad to see Aser just looking at the map without saying anything. Isn’t this more like a doll brought in for the purpose of quenching one’s sexual desires?

Aser, who is not good at dealing with men, was hurting No. 25 little by little without realizing it.

“Where are you going now?”

It was a question he barely asked to remind himself that he was right next to him, but Aser was concentrating on the map and was unable to answer his question. Number 25, who was ignored even when asked about his conversion, just looked at the ground and touched a stone with the toe of his shoe.

As I followed the silent Aser into Nabi Street, the atmosphere was noticeably different from the entrance. The color of the light gradually changed to a darker shade of red, and the people standing in front of the store were less cultured than before.

Unlike before, the men coquettishly soliciting customers under the red lights were wearing quite vulgar clothing.

Short clothes that reveal almost all of the skin, short pants that reveal the thighs. It was as if he had displayed himself like a product.

Moreover, not just one or two, but most men were walking down the street dressed like that, so it felt strange to see myself wrapped up in a suit.

If you feel like the world is crazy, don’t you say you’re crazy? It seemed like it was crazy to wear clothes on this street. Otherwise, there was no way I could have felt this way.

Aser finally took his eyes off the map and turned his gaze to No. 25. He saw him hesitate and quickly realized what he was thinking.

“No. 25, only take it off in front of me. There is no need to force yourself to follow these guys.”

Aser left those words and looked around at the surrounding buildings and map again, looking as if he was looking for something.

Although I was a little disappointed, I had no intention of disturbing her concentration. Number 25 decided to stay right next to Aser and look at buildings that he couldn’t normally see.

The conversation occasionally heard through No. 25’s ears was nothing short of vulgar.

“Sister, why don’t you go play for a while? I like water today.”

When I looked away from the touting, there were middle-aged women walking around with men on either side of them. No matter how much cosmetics she had applied, she couldn’t hide her sinister expression even beyond her caked-on face.

The women, whose stomachs were slightly protruding, opened their mouths in a pompous manner, clutching the buttocks of the man who was putting his hands together like a gentle lamb.

“I won’t let you sleep tonight, so prepare yourself.”

It goes without saying, but Aser, who had an appearance that caught people’s attention, could not completely escape their solicitation.

A strong, muscular man with bronze skin approached Aser. He grinned, revealing his white teeth.

It was a smile that couldn’t come out without confidence when soliciting customers.

He naturally spoke to Aser, who was looking at the map.

“Sister, would you like to stop by our store for a moment?”

The words that came out of his mouth were so obvious a sales pitch that it was embarrassing to even say he had confidence.

Aser didn’t think it was worth answering them, so he didn’t bother to open his mouth.

Number 25, who was next to Aser, could not escape their clutches. The women who approached No. 25 from time to time took a much more proactive stance in the promotion than the men just before.

“Hey, why don’t you come to our store? We’re tired of dealing with middle-aged men all the time, so I think we’d be grateful if a cute girl like you came along, right?”

Unlike Aser, number 25 did not have the personality to ignore people, so he put up minimal resistance with a trembling voice.

“Well, I have company… .”

“Hey, what does it have to do with the party? You just have to enjoy it for a while, right?”

She arbitrarily wrapped her arms around No. 25’s slender arms and tried to take him to the store where she worked. It was impossible for No. 25, who was still fragile, to escape from her arms.

There were occasional stories of prostitutes in cheap red-light districts who were pushed out of the downtown area taking customers in this way, but when I actually did it, I thought it was just too reckless.

When we arrived at the entrance of the store in an instant, Aser, who had snatched up number 25, growled lowly in a stern tone.

“I’m sorry, but this girl is mine.”

It was only one step to the store. If I just crossed this gate, I could receive customers for the first time in a while and earn enough money to feed my mouth. The woman who had lost the customer she had chosen right in front of her glared venomously at Aser.

“This is against business ethics… !”

The courtesan’s momentum ended there. The woman was overwhelmed by Aser’s gaze, which looked down on her as if he were going to kill her, and had no choice but to retreat.

The woman coughed and spat on the floor! After spitting it out, he went out into the street to find another man.

This is what it looked like while I was distracted for a moment. Aser thought that No. 25 had been stolen by another woman, even if just for a moment, and sighed deeply. My trembling heart still could not calm down.

I was so indifferent.

What on earth was the past? I was so focused on this old map that I left the most precious person next to me alone. Aser asked while holding the trembling No. 25 in his arms.

“Are you okay?”

Instead of answering, No. 25 buried his face in her chest and nodded. Rather than the fear of being briefly dragged away by a woman he didn’t know, he felt relieved that Aser had finally looked at him.

Aser said, stroking his head with a kind expression.

“Let’s go again when we calm down.”

Number 25 took his face away from her chest and smiled slightly as if he was okay now.

“I’m fine.”

Thinking that something like before could never happen again, Aser walked down the street again, holding No. 25’s hand tightly.

“Have you ever been to District 6?”

“Of course. When things are going well with Orca… .”

Aser answered No. 25’s question with a smile and stopped in front of a store.

She opened her mouth slightly as if she was possessed by something, and was looking in through the glass wall so she could see the inside of the store.

“Why are you doing that?”

Even the voice of No. 25, which he loved so much, could not be heard in Aser’s ears right now. There was a scene there that took Aser’s mind to the point where he forgot the promise he had just made.

The person seen through the glass through which the red light shines was a subordinate who used to work at his castle. I fell for the orca’s whisper and started my night shift.

She was smiling brightly and dealing with an ugly man. There was only one person present who knew that the smile was not a fake smile used when dealing with customers.

Aser furrowed his brows and muttered as he watched her work.

“When he was working at the castle, he had such a difficult look on his face… .”

She, who had been oppressed by people in the outside world, was spreading her wings to her heart’s content by dealing with people in the world of the night.

“Are you okay?”

The words of issue 25 reached Aser’s ears. Aser slowly turned his head and smiled.

“Sorry, can I take a short break?”

The place Aser pointed to was a cheap bar that didn’t even have colored lights. Although he had no intention of rejecting her wishes, one question crossed No. 25’s mind.

“Do you drink alcohol too?”

“I drink it sometimes.”

I thought Hilda was the only one who drank alcohol in the castle, so I found Aser’s drinking refreshing.

As I opened the door to the store, I was greeted by the clear, tinkling sound of a bell. An old woman with deep wrinkles on her face and pursed cheeks sat at the counter and slightly turned her head to check the face of the person who came in.

It was an unfriendly store with no greetings to speak of, but Aser didn’t particularly care.

Aser naturally sat down at the counter and said nothing after asking for the strongest drink.

The old woman eventually threw the two glasses down in front of Aser.

Number 25, who knew what he would look like when he was drunk, did not touch the glass. Aser didn’t force him to drink, so in a way, it was natural. If Aser got drunk and couldn’t control himself, Slave No. 25 had to somehow lead him to the dormitory.

Aser drank the glass in one go and carefully asked No. 25, who was sitting next to him and fiddling with the tip of the glass.

“No. 25, you won’t escape from me, right?”

Although it was a sudden question, No. 25 was able to answer right away.

“Of course.”

After hearing No. 25’s confident answer, Aser smiled brightly with a drunken face.

“Okay then. Let’s wake up now.”

Aser left the five silver coins on the counter and got up.

The strongest drink. As if those words were not a lie, Aser only drank one glass of alcohol down his throat and was quite stumbling. Number 25 was barely able to support the woman who was about to fall by wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

It seems that Aser’s drinking capacity was ridiculously weak compared to Hilda’s.

Aser, who managed to leave the store with unsteady steps, leaning on No. 25’s shoulder, knew what he was doing now. The feeling of shame manifested itself in a small voice that was different from usual.

“Sorry… .”

“It’s okay, shall we go straight to the accommodation?”

“Yes, before that, could you please bring me some water from the store? ?”

I was going to soothe my agitated stomach with cold water.

Number 25 left Aser leaning against the wall for a moment and asked for permission to go back into the store he had just left and get a glass of water.

The old woman, who received an excessive amount of five silver coins for the drink, handed No. 25 a bottle of cold water in a much kinder manner than before.

Number 25 soon appeared with a water bottle in his hand and placed the bottle in Aser’s hand.

“Thank you.”

With trembling hands, Aser poured cold water down his burning throat.

The cold water flowing down my throat was calming my aching stomach a little.

Aser emptied the water bottle in one go, closed his eyes, and exhaled briefly.

It was very brief. In terms of time, it is a short period of less than 10 seconds. It was the time when Aser drank water, and it was also the time when he took his eyes off No. 25 for a moment.

When Aser noticed that the warmth he had always felt next to him was gone, he immediately turned his head, looked to the side, and called his name in a trembling voice.

“No. 25?”

There was no one there.

Only subdued darkness was taking the place of the missing No. 25.