episode_0032

Is a person who behaves this way the devil who rules over a region?

For No. 25, who first encountered the image of the devil as Aser, Orca was a quite alien being.

Moreover, No. 25 could see a certain ambition in the way she looked him up and down in an instant while saying hello.

I couldn’t say it all in words, but one thing I can say for sure is that it is an impure ambition that is not pure.

Number 25 slowly removed his hand from hers, then slightly lifted his hips and snuggled up next to Charlotte.

Aser frowned and asked Orca back.

“Wait a minute, you see me often?”

“Uh, is there a problem?”

“What about your district?”

“I left that to my competent subordinate. In the first place, the system in District 6 was designed to run well without me.”

“No matter what, isn’t that too irresponsible?”

“I don’t grow things like that.”

After finishing the trivial conversation, Orca’s sharp gaze fell on No. 25 again like a dagger.

“By the way, if you’ve heard someone’s name, isn’t it polite to say your own name too?”

Number 25, who never dreamed his name would be called, opened his eyes wide.

No matter how much Charlotte hated the orca, she poked him in the side as if telling him to answer. Reflexively, his own introduction came out of No. 25’s mouth.

“Oh, I’m number 25.”

“Your name is number 25? It’s an unusual name.”

Aser joined the conversation again. He seemed quite nervous, unlike usual.

“Are you dissatisfied with our slave name? Tell me quickly what you came here for.”

In contrast, Orca’s face was relaxed. Just looking at the face, it looked as if Orca was the owner of this castle.

“Didn’t I tell you the reason earlier? I just came to see a friend.”

“I never thought of you as friends.”

“Ah, why are you so upset again? We’ve been together since we were kids, right?”

“Just because you’ve been together since childhood doesn’t mean you’re necessarily friends.”

Orca only fiddled with the handle of the empty coffee cup in response to the potentially hurtful words. Orca’s gaze turned to No. 25 again.

Even though I was wearing sunglasses, I could clearly see it.

As if No. 25’s thoughts were not wrong, Orca immediately asked No. 25 another question.

“Slave over there, do you have any questions for me?”

If I suddenly asked if I had any questions, the question I was thinking about would disappear. I can’t say that’s true for everyone, but at least it was true for No. 25.

Number 25 was desperately wringing out questions from his head, which had turned as white as drawing paper.

“Uh… What is District 6 like?”

Orca seemed to really like the question, leaning back completely on the sofa and grinning.

“You seem to be interested in our district? Well, if you stay in this drab area, you’ll probably wonder about other places.”

surely.

Issue 25 wanted to see more of the world. I was never tired of Area 7 and Aser’s Demon Castle.

I just wanted to engrave the whole world in these eyes, in this memory, even the parts of my brothers who were locked in cages and dying. Orca, who saw No. 25’s eyes shining, did not miss the small light and began to list the advantages of District 6.

“It’s convenient to think of it as a brothel. Oh, just because it’s a brothel doesn’t mean it’s a place where you only have sex. It’s an area where history and tradition breathe, where you can pass time with alcohol and fine arts.”

“Really?”

“Okay, be sure to come visit me sometime later. There are a lot of interesting older girls, and there are also a few guys your age. Do you think you would be an ace at any store?”

Aser, who had been listening quietly until now, immediately slammed the table upon hearing Orca’s words -! He hit it and got up from his seat.

The table, unable to withstand Aser’s strength, was split exactly in half, and sparks seemed to fly from her eyes as she glared at Orca.

“Ace? Are you going to throw my child into that trashy brothel again?”

Number 25 didn’t know where to turn in the suddenly hostile atmosphere. I felt like this all started with a question I asked myself.

Unlike No. 25, who was scared, Orca spoke calmly in front of the broken table.

“You’re saying this is trash, I just made a light joke because I thought he was a little scared, right? Why are you reacting so sensitively?”

Aser’s eyes were bloodshot and an eerie light flickered.

“None of your dirty jokes are funny. You trashy bitch.”

Orca’s mouth, which had been smiling bitterly, closed tightly. Orca’s eyes behind the sunglasses were also cold and hard.

Orca put back on the jacket he had taken off and took out a cigarette from his pocket.

After lighting the fire with a skillful hand, I took a long sip.

Strong cigarette smoke filled the living room, and Orca opened her mouth through the smoke.

“I came to talk to you. I didn’t come here to fight. Why don’t you speak nicely?”

“I’m saying this much kindly to you. I’m barely holding back from wanting to rip my limbs off and kill myself right now.”

Orca carelessly threw the butt on the broken table. The smoke coming out of her mouth expressed her sigh.

“Olbers, no matter how much I am, I feel bad about your attitude just now. It’s your old bad habit. Arbitrarily defining others as evil and not even trying to talk about yourself as if you are good.”

The fact that Orca called Aser by an unfamiliar last name, Olbers, meant that he was quite angry.

But Aser was also angry. She didn’t take a single step back from the current argument, raising her voice to the top of her neck.

“Who seduced my subordinates with empty promises of easy money and made them rot by selling their bodies to brothels? Isn’t it you? If we don’t think of you as evil, then who should we define as evil? Please know that there is a limit to holding on to old feelings.”

Orca shrugged and countered.

“I just suggested one way to live life a little more comfortably. They were the ones who were swayed by that temptation and atmosphere and set foot in my territory. The choice was entirely theirs, and shouldn’t they also bear the consequences of that choice? What you are doing now is nothing more than an out-of-date anger.”

The atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.

No. 25 felt dizzy and his head felt like it was going to explode due to the movement of magical power between the two demon kings.

“Orca, do it in moderation. You don’t want to die here, do you?”

Charlotte, who sensed something was wrong with No. 25, warned in a venomous voice.

Charlotte’s addition instantly broke the tight balance, and Orca raised both hands above her shoulders in a gesture of surrender. But his expression was still full of composure.

“Don’t stare at me like you’re going to kill me. No matter how much I do, I don’t have the confidence to handle both of you at the same time.”

After finishing speaking, Orca gently reached into her cleavage, took out a rolled up piece of paper, and threw it at Aser.

“What is this again?”

“It’s a one-week ticket to a brothel in our district. Come visit sometime. Aren’t you curious about how the kids who left back then live? See with your own eyes whether they live like trash like you said, or whether they live hard in their own way.”

With trembling hands, Aser seemed to have not lost his temper yet, and stuffed the ticket Orca gave him deep into his pocket.

“Is this all you have to say?”

“No, there’s still one more left.”

Now, conversations with Orca were becoming tiresome. Even in this situation, Aser wasn’t going to say anything that would scratch his nerves like before, so he just wanted to listen and get it over with as quickly as possible. Aser let out a resigned voice.

“Okay, give it a try.”

Orca stood up, brushed off the dust from her jacket and spoke indifferently.

“If you are satisfied with your current life with one man by your side, you could have everything taken away from you. This is a warning as a friend.”

Orca, who left meaningful words, went straight out of the living room before Aser could answer.

The castle where Orca left seemed as if a storm had passed by.

Aser stood still for a while.

Number 25 approached Aser cautiously.

“Are you okay?”

Only then did Aser return to reality, gently stroking No. 25’s head and smiling weakly.

“Yes, it’s okay. You were scared because of us, right?”

“I’m fine. Because I believe that the devil will protect me.”

At those words, Aser’s smile became more natural than before.

“Okay… I have to protect it. Because I can’t lose another subordinate to trash like that.”

Aser removed his hand from No. 25’s head and pressed his temple while looking at the broken table.

“I’m sorry, but can I ask you to clean up after me? Right now… .”

Before Aser finished speaking, Charlotte spoke as if she knew everything.

“Yes, me and No. 25 will clean up everything here, so go and rest first.”

The person who is most distressed right now is probably Aser herself, but she went out of the living room while repeatedly apologizing to No. 25 and Charlotte.

The door to the living room closed, and Charlotte, who was left alone again, forgot what she had said about tidying up and gave No. 25 a sinister look.