Chapter 184

Chapter 184

After handing the magic tool to Aiden, it didn’t take long to reach Lakers. “….” During the two-day journey, I didn’t talk much, unlike usual. The reason was simple. I needed to sort out my thoughts a bit. And those thoughts were, needless to say, about Keir. Keir. Is that guy still alive? ‘Maybe…’ If Keir is dead, it doesn’t matter. As I decided when leaving Lakers, my connection with him ends there. …But if he’s still alive, wouldn’t it be better to bring him out? Not just better, but I have to. If we succeed in stealing the Etheric Herb in Lakers, the underworld will be torn apart once again. Leaving him to his fate, assuming he’s alive, is different from abandoning him in a deadly situation. ‘…Right.’ My heart leans towards bringing Keir out. Of course, I know how he sees me. It’s been a long time since he started treating me not as an old friend or a sister, but as a convenient onahole. Naturally, it wouldn’t be any different now. But it’s okay to be treated like that. It’s not that unpleasant. ‘What am I, some devoted ex-girlfriend…’ Even as I smile wryly at the thought, my heart doesn’t change. The boy who was once close to me and followed me like a younger brother is no longer there, but that goes for me too. The confident and cheerful girl is gone. All that remains is a whore consumed by lust, so twisted that words can’t describe it. Since we were born in the shady alleys anyway, that might be the perfect fit. “…” Thinking that, I turn my gaze to Aiden to talk to him. Then, I hear a rather interesting conversation. “I want to go to the academy too.” “…Why do you want to go?” “What do you mean, why? Haven’t you even watched anime?” “Why would I watch something like that?” El and Aiden. They were having a friendly conversation, as if the awkward time they had was all a lie. “Ha, look at this guy, living his life in vain. What did you do in your past life, not watching anime?” “Says the weeb.” “Don’t disrespect weebs. And weren’t you a virgin until recently?” “…Why is that coming up?” “Pfft. The virgin speaks?” …Not friendly? Still, they’re not fighting like they’re going to kill each other, so maybe it is friendly. “Ha, what about you?” “Heh, I already have a man I’ve promised my future to, you know?” “…Is that something to brag about?” “Of course. Even if it’s not a cheat ability, I’m living as a beautiful vampire after being reincarnated into another world, right? Isn’t this a total dream life?” “That’s just a vampire cosplay. That’s Blood Shadow Magic, isn’t it?” “Whatever.” “….” I wondered if I should join the conversation, but it’s not a constructive conversation anyway. It wouldn’t matter if I joined. I make a decision and turn my gaze to the two people who are having some kind of argument. “El. And Aiden.” “…Huh?” When I quietly call their names, they both tilt their heads. The way they nod their heads in opposite directions at the same time is similar yet different. “What is it?” “I have a favor to ask. I’d like to exclude El from this operation. I have something else to ask her to do.” “…Me?” “….” Aiden is silent at my suggestion. Does he also have something else in mind? But I can’t compromise on this matter. “…What is it?” “I’m going to take someone out of Lakers.” Even with just that, Aiden makes a face as if he guessed what I meant. “….That person, is it the person you called your old friend?” “Yeah.” I nod to Aiden, who asks with a doubtful expression. I’ve already mentioned it before, so he knows, but did he still remember? Maybe it’s natural for a thief. “Why are you taking him out?” “He’s an underworld person, and it looks like he’ll die if I leave him there.” “Really? Did that person do something wrong?” “It’s not that, but people die someday. And in the back alleys, ‘someday’ always comes sooner.” If he’s a thief, he’ll understand what I mean. When I smile and say that, Aiden nods with a bitter face. “…I guess so.” “So, do you allow it?” “Allow it or not, you’re the one who brought her here in the first place. You should use her as you please.” Fortunately, it was an approving tone. “Okay, thanks.” “…Am I an object? To be used as you please?” Of course, El grumbled as if she was dissatisfied, but Aiden lightly ignores her words. “It would have been better if you were an object. You don’t seem very useful.” “Hmph, Ruti said I was cute, you know?” “Sorry, but I don’t really want to hear about your love life.” “Oh my, a virgin who’s never even had a real relationship is so full of himself?” I turn my gaze away from the two people bickering childishly. “….” In the distance, the outer town of the familiar city was getting closer. // To enter a city in the Kilkud Kingdom, you need a pass. The pass, which also serves as an ID, is an essential item that travelers must carry with them in the city. “Laila. From Karaldin….” I watch the guard, who is reciting the words indifferently, and ponder. …As expected, it’s a face I haven’t seen before. Of course, even if it was a face I knew, it would be difficult for him to recognize me. For me, who can freely change my appearance, changing my hair and eye color is not difficult. “Go ahead.” “Thank you.” I sweep back my flowing black hair and smile at the guard. El, who was watching this, asks me after passing through the gate. “Just now, were you trying to seduce that person too?” “…Huh?” I unconsciously ask back and then realize. Is she talking about showing my neck to the guard just now? “Ah, that. It’s just a habit.” “…A habit?” “Yeah, I grew up in a brothel. I learned those things from a young age. Like walking while swaying my hips, or showing my neckline while sweeping back my hair. Or how to smoke seductively.” “….Oh, that’s amazing.” El answers as if she’s overwhelmed. In a brothel, you learn how to create a seductive atmosphere. Using your body is something you’re born with, and the younger you are, the better, so it can’t be helped, but the atmosphere is different. While learning martial arts, it became less obvious in my daily life, but when dealing with men, those habits sometimes show up. “A brothel….” “It can’t be helped. If you’re born as a woman in the slums, there’s not really any other way.” Watching El muttering in a complicated way, I shrug my shoulders and answer. “You said you were a noble, right?” “…A fallen noble. Actually, it’s not much different from a commoner.” Looking back, El was from the Nekar Kingdom Union. She doesn’t want to go back anymore, so it doesn’t really matter. “….” Aiden was listening to our conversation in silence. He’s looking around the passing streets with a rather complicated expression. Come to think of it, I haven’t heard about him yet. Where he was born, and how he grew up. “What about you?” “I’m from the Empire.” When I ask casually, Aiden answers lightly. “….” It’s an indifferent tone, but the content was different. The Empire refers to Astaltin in the north. A powerful country beyond the Altarkin Mountains. It borders the Kilkud Kingdom, and there have been quite frequent disputes historically, but there hasn’t been a major war yet. “The Empire….” How did he come down? In my heart, I thought that maybe he was also a fallen noble, but it seems that’s not the case. “I was sold as a slave. It’s not a big deal.” “…It doesn’t sound like it’s not a big deal?” Aiden’s appearance, saying it lightly, seems like it’s really not a big deal. When El and I ask in surprise, Aiden quickly continues. “Well, I escaped properly quickly. And somehow, I ended up becoming a thief while wandering around.” It was a simple story. Since he told it simply, can it only be heard simply? “Hmm…” A thief, a whore, and a fallen noble. While thinking that it’s quite a strange combination, on the other hand, a bitter smile leaks out. Well, that’s what reincarnation is like. There’s only one 6 on a six-sided die. Reincarnating as a princess like Shelina, or as a noble’s daughter like Rutricia, is lucky. If luck doesn’t follow, you can only be ordinary, and if you don’t even have that, you have to be unlucky. Of course, I don’t think I was unlucky.

-Step, step.

Even while thinking, I walk along the familiar road. The appearance of Lakers, which I’ve returned to after a long time, is not very unfamiliar. “Um….this way.” While guiding my friends to the inn, I slowly recall old memories. // The name of the inn we arrived at is ‘The Fifth Winter’. There’s a story that it was named that way because it was built in the year when the severe cold lasted for five months, but I don’t know if that’s true. That’s because it was before I was even born. “We’ll be staying for about a week, and please give us two rooms.” The old innkeeper looks at us carefully and asks. “The passes?” “Here you go.” Me, Aiden, and El in order. When we show the passes with the guard’s seal on them in order, the innkeeper taps the table a few times and answers. “430 rads.” There’s no need to haggle. There’s plenty of money anyway, and I don’t want to give the owner a clear memory. Just the combination of two beauties and one man would have already been remembered, but anyway, there’s no need to add more. “Here you go.” When I take out silver coins from my pocket and hand them over, the owner counts them and nods. “Go up to the second floor and go into the rooms with 1 and 2 written on them.”

-Clatter.

Inns with keys are rare. Because there are many cases of thieves stealing them. In a mere inn, it’s also a minor proof that the lord of Lakers is managing the city well. We grab the keys he gave us and head to the second floor.

-Creak, squeak.

On the creaking stairs, I hand the key to El and say. “Aiden and I will use the same room, and you can use one alone.” “Yeah, that’s fine…wait! Doesn’t it seem like something’s changed?” “What?” Changed? What does she mean? When I ask, tilting my head, El looks at Aiden with pleading eyes. And I also look at him with eyes demanding an answer. “….” Thus, Aiden, who suddenly received attention from two women, sighs and answers. “I think it means that it would be better for the women to use the same room.” “…Ah.” That’s what it was. I couldn’t even imagine it. I thought that rooms were used by people who sleep together. Feeling embarrassed, I look at El and say quietly. “Well, if you want to do it with me again, it’s okay, but…” “Hey, that’s not what I meant!?” El strongly denies it, but feeling playfully mischievous, I scratch my cheek and continue. “If you want, the three of us can use the same room. There’s Arum too, and your boyfriend would understand you sleeping with a woman, right?” “….I just want to sleep alone.” Whether she didn’t feel like it today, El answers with a slightly tired expression. Aiden, who was listening to our conversation from the side, says carefully. “Can’t I use the room with that guy too?” “…Are you trying to get El now too?” “No, it’s not that. You’re a bit scary.” There’s no need to be scared at all. “You were so rough when we did it in the back alley. Now you’re saying I’m scary…” When I subtly mention what happened back then, this time El reacts. “The back alley?” “….” When I look at Aiden with eyes asking if I can explain, he quietly shakes his head.

In the end, Aiden and I ended up sharing a room.