Chapter 103

Chapter 103

103rd Episode: Black Street “…..” “…..” I couldn’t walk around outside naked, so I put on a cloak and walked the Black Street with Chenber. Perhaps because I had been constantly undressed in the Caldin Family’s hideout, I felt a subtle sense of discomfort wearing something on my body. Reflecting on that discomfort, I thought to myself. If humans wear clothes instead of leather to protect themselves, shouldn’t I, who has mastered Ironclad, be able to walk around with less clothing? My figure isn’t fully developed yet, but it’s good enough to show off. I shook my head to shake off the distracting thoughts and discomfort, and then looked around. I expected a gloomy atmosphere from the Black Street, and it was indeed half gloomy, but it wasn’t as depressing as I had imagined. Rather, it was more glamorous than the streets above ground. The red lights and ornate buildings everywhere made me realize that this was indeed the pinnacle of the pleasure district, and the soft lights embedded in the high underground ceiling further enhanced the glamorous atmosphere of the buildings. Moreover, the underground plaza was so vast that it was hard to believe it was underground. The previous time I came, it was almost like being kidnapped, and I never had a chance to look around except when I was abandoned naked with a blindfold on, but now I could see that this place was indeed worthy of being called a ‘street’. Most of the people walking around were wearing cloaks or robes with hoods, and people wearing masks were also common. Most of them were accompanied by people who looked like attendants or guards, and some even had monsters the size of wolves with them. “Krrr…” While walking down the street, a dog with fiery red fur growled at me slightly, but soon lost interest and disappeared behind its owner. Unlike Arum in my stomach, it wasn’t a very cute monster. In addition to the passersby, the residents of the street also looked peculiar. Perhaps because of the existence of human modification, as the Caldin Family said, I often saw types of people that I couldn’t see outside. “….” For example, a woman with huge white wings on her back, smoking a cigarette. Or a woman who looked human but had fox ears and a tail. Most of them were wearing dresses with deep cleavage and short enough to reveal their genitals, as if they were prostitutes, but they had a different appearance from beastmen, whose animalistic characteristics, especially the fur on their entire bodies, were clearly visible. And the most shocking thing I witnessed while walking down the street was a statue I encountered. “Hey, Chenber?” “What is it?” When I spoke, Chenber flinched and looked at me. I decided to ignore the awkward honorifics for now and ask what I was curious about first. “….What is that?” I pointed to the statue. It was a statue of a naked winged woman with a silver necklace, and the blank expression and the delicate expression of the curves of the human body were quite impressive. But the problem wasn’t that the statue was impressive, but that a part of the statue was colored. The area from the statue’s lower abdomen to the genitals was painted in flesh tones, as if it were a real person. Moreover, something that looked like a vibrator was inserted into the genitals and vibrating.

-Woooong.

As I got closer, I could tell that it was definitely vibrating like a vibrator. This must be some kind of magical tool, but the core wouldn’t be cheap enough to use a magical tool for such avant-garde decoration… or rather. Why is this stuck in a statue? I pondered for a moment, then came up with one possibility and looked at the statue’s face again. ….Surely, it’s not what I think it is. But Chenber answered simply, as if denying my thoughts. “This is Pexos. And this is a person cursed with petrification.” ….So, it’s a person after all. He asked me if I had never seen anything like this before, but it was natural that I had never seen anything like this before. After hearing Chenber’s answer, I looked at the statue in more detail. I thought it expressed the human body too well, but it made sense when I heard that it was a real person. No, I understand, but this is a bit shocking. Turning a person into a statue is one thing, but sticking a vibrator in it is another. It certainly wasn’t an idea that an ordinary person would come up with. Besides, is this person even alive? “Judging by how it is, it seems to be a slave who was caught trying to escape from Pexos. Sometimes, they request petrification from Joomagwan (Cursed Magic Hall) as an example.” Except for the texture being stone, the facial features were so detailed that you could tell who it was. If something like this was placed in front of a store, ordinary slaves wouldn’t even dare to escape. But the fact that it was displayed like this made me think of a slightly different possibility. “….Is this person alive?” I asked him just in case, but I was half-doubtful. No one has ever survived being hit by a basilisk’s petrification breath. But Chenber’s answer was a little different. “Yes. That’s why Joomagwan’s petrification curse is famous. The necklace hanging there maintains life, so they say it can be undone and revived at any time. Because of that, sometimes desperate people want to become statues themselves.” “….That’s amazing.” That’s almost like cryonics-level overtechnology, not just a petrification curse. As someone who knows how amazing that is, I was speechless, but on the other hand, I was a little creeped out. If this were Earth, would they be able to put a statue made of a person on the street? Of course, that’s not allowed in the Kilkard Kingdom either, but as always, you never know, so it might be possible in some kingdom I don’t know about. When you think about it, it’s not that it’s impossible on Earth, it’s just that they don’t have the technology to do it. “Do you have something to say?” “…No. Let’s just go.” I didn’t know when I first came, but the underground plaza might be a more dangerous place than I thought. I’m not thinking of running away, but I need to be careful. Still, to be petrified and displayed naked like that. It was definitely a terrible idea. ….I kind of like it. Should I add it to my bucket list? // Anyway, after that shocking incident, I headed back to the stage. And I was able to meet a familiar face. “Long time no see.” “It hasn’t really been that long.” Muren answered with a wry smile at my greeting. It was an answer that felt distant, but that was better. Whether you look at it from the outside or the inside, Muren and I would have trouble getting close. But it seemed that I was the only one who thought so. “Still, it’s refreshing to be happy to see you.” Muren said that and reached out to me first. There was no reason to refuse, so I took his hand. I felt a little sorry because it was the hand that had been stroking Caldin’s cock until just now and hadn’t been washed, but he wouldn’t know. I went into the stage’s waiting room with Muren and asked him. “Who’s the opponent this time?” Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard anything about the show yet. Last time it was a bizarre salamander, so I thought it would be something comparable this time, but according to Muren, that wasn’t necessarily the case. “You seem to be misunderstanding something, we don’t only deal with monsters.” “…Huh?” I tilted my head at his words, but when I thought about it, that was true. The shows on stage are planned and directed by nobles with perverted tendencies, so they don’t necessarily have to be interspecies. Even if it’s an interesting topic, there can be many different shows. But if the opponent isn’t a monster, there’s no reason for me to come here. There might be some fun, but it’s not enough to come all the way down here just for that. As if reading my expression, Muren chuckled and continued. “….I wondered, but that’s really why you came here.” Hearing his words, I realized that I had been tricked by him. I pretended to be after the list of participating nobles to Sartun, but Muren had found out my real purpose. But I didn’t have to be anxious just because he found out. Even if Muren told Rotuan or Chenber my purpose, would they even believe it? People believe the truth they want to believe. They would put more weight on the fact that I’m a stooge of the Leopold viscount family, and they would think that I lied to Muren. But I couldn’t be sure that would happen, so I had to create my own insurance just in case. Seeing the statue earlier made that thought even more certain. Still, there’s not much I can do at this stage. I just have to hope that Caldin is smart. “Please don’t tell anyone. It’s a bit of an embarrassing taste.” I answered Muren with a coy smile. In this situation, it was better to pretend that he had found out the truth. There was no point in denying it, because Muren wouldn’t believe me anyway. “Are you aware that this is dangerous? You could die.” But unlike my thoughts, Muren said something that seemed to worry about me. That was quite unexpected, so I looked at him and replied. “….I didn’t think you would say that. You used to send me without saying anything like that.” “That time….never mind. You’re right. It’s not something I can interfere with now.” Muren seemed to be trying to argue, but he shook his head and gave a wry smile. He looked at the mirror in the waiting room for a moment, then opened his mouth again. “The opponent this time is a troll. There’s nothing special about it, but since the opponent is the opponent, I can’t be sure how it will go. If you want to quit now….” “That won’t happen.” “…I understand. Then, we will try our best to ensure your safety.” After all, if the opponent is a troll, was that earlier statement just to test me? That’s beside the point, Muren’s words were a little strange. He seemed to have a crush on me, but there’s no reason for such feelings to arise between me and him. In his eyes, I’m the worst prostitute with a taste for monsters and interspecies relationships, and it didn’t make sense that he would have a crush on such a dirty bitch. ….Wait, did he say a troll? “….Wait a minute. A troll?” “Yes, it’s a very dangerous monster.” He had an expression that seemed to say, “Why don’t you quit now?”, but I wouldn’t. Rather, there was something else I was curious about. “When did you bring that troll in?” “It must have been about three or four days ago, but why…?” If it was a troll captured three or four days ago, something came to mind. It was too coincidental to dismiss it as “maybe”. “How do you guys bring in monsters?” “….How could I say that with my own mouth?” To confirm, I needed to know how they brought in the monsters, but Muren shook his head as if he couldn’t say that. Just as I was about to sigh, thinking that it couldn’t be done, he continued. “Still, there’s only one group in Karaldin that has the ability to capture monsters.” What that meant was obvious. …Damn it, so I was the one who caught it. // ———= Author’s Notes ———= I forgot to change the subtitle. I will fix it.