episode_0051

Number 25, who saw Orca standing in front of him, immediately recalled the memory of being treated by her. An overwhelming fear that instantly erases the happy times with Aser from your mind.

Fear is the most primal emotion that humans have had since the beginning, when they have never had any weapons, and at the same time, it has been the first line of defense mechanism for survival. No. 25 trembled like an aspen tree and held on tightly to the hem of Aser’s clothes.

Knowing that something like this would happen, he implicitly asked Aser if it would be okay to take care of it, but in the end, No. 25’s worries showed themselves in reality as the worst situation.

Orca, who was looking at No. 25 hiding behind Aser with a detached gaze, walked forward without saying a word, crossed the sliding door, and entered the dormitory.

Even the old man, who had always had a gentle expression on his face, looked embarrassed when he saw Orca, the owner of the area, in person.

From the old man’s point of view, there was absolutely no reason for her, who held the position of Demon King of District 6, to enter such a shabby guest house.

Aser was confronting her with every cell in his body sensitive and sharp. So that you can react at any time to even the slightest gesture of the orca.

Above all, the situation is different from the time when Orca was one-sided. Number 25 was behind him, and the old man also disappeared from the spot before he knew it. On the other hand, there was nothing near the orca. If I just blow it up like this… .

A moment’s hesitation had the potential to result in the pain of loss. Aser finished thinking, he immediately raised his hand.

However, Orca urgently stretched out his hand and stopped Aser.

“Oh, wait! I have no intention of fighting with you.”

Aser glared at Orca, ready to snap his fingers at any time.

“You don’t want to fight? You’re not telling me to trust you when you secretly committed such dirty things, right?”

“It doesn’t really matter whether you believe in me or not. What I’m interested in now is that guy behind you.”

The guy Orca was talking about was, of course, referring to No. 25. But those words were Orca’s slip of the tongue. In Aser’s mind, number 25 had risen to the undisputed number one spot, and speaking like that would only increase Aser’s wariness towards her.

“I’m interested… . What kind of bullshit is that?”

Aser’s voice was as cold as ice. Orca did not lose to him, and had an arrogant sneer on his face.

“What does it mean for a woman to be interested in a man?”

Aser clenched his molars at Orca’s provocation.

“Do you think I’ll get lost twice by trash like you?”

“You’ll have to try it to find out. Above all, I was the one who stole that guy’s first birthday, right? If you think about it that way, didn’t you actually take it from me?”

It was a child’s unreasonable claim.

Seeing the two women arguing over ownership of the property without even asking for the opinions of the parties involved, No. 25 peeked his head out from behind Aser to observe the situation.

After seeing No. 25’s slightly protruding face, Orca immediately erased the mockery he had been making during the argument from his face and took a step closer with a sad smile.

Aser pushed the Orca’s chest, which suddenly started to move, and spoke harshly, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t come any closer than that.”

Orca shrugged his shoulders and responded calmly.

“You don’t have to be so guarded. My body hasn’t fully recovered either. I’m not stupid enough to fight you and the dragon at the same time with a body like this.”

No. 25’s heart was beating faster than usual due to the orca coming closer than before.

There was numbness in my lower abdomen, more specifically around my testicles. Looking at her burning red eyes was bound to bring back memories of a time I wanted to forget.

Although it was blocked by Aser and could not come right in front of No. 25, Orca bowed its head to No. 25 from a position that was clearly closer than before. Aser’s eyes opened wide. It was unprecedented for that arrogant crazy bitch to bow down to another person.

Orca spoke briefly in the most serious voice she had ever heard.

“It’s my defeat.”

Number 25 tilted his head and asked as if he didn’t understand what was happening.

“Loss… . What does that mean?”

Orca raised her head in response to the stupid voice. Her eyes looked as empty as burned ashes. Orca must have been quite shocked by No. 25’s answer and muttered to herself.

“What, you really don’t remember? No, it’s only been a week and that won’t happen… . Or do you not know that it is your power?”

The harsh atmosphere from earlier disappeared in an instant, as if a tangled skein of thread was unraveling with a single word from No. 25. Unlike the first time, Aser relaxed slightly and asked Orca in a cold voice.

“Is that the end of what you have to say?”

“Okay, this is the end of what I wanted to say to him.”

To him? That meant that there was still something left to say to Aser. Aser narrowed his eyes and briefly said, ‘Try it.’ Orca didn’t speak for long either.

“Did you see it too?”

To someone who didn’t know them, it would just be something that came out of nowhere without any context, but to Aser, it wasn’t like that. Her body twitched for a moment, and her eyes trembled. The image of my old subordinate working under the lights of the red light district came to mind. Unlike when she was at the castle, she smiled brightly.

Aser pursed his lips tightly instead of answering. Aser’s answer did not reach Orca’s ears, but she finished the rest of her sentence in a calm voice.

“That guy is here doing his duty and living in the present. There is no place for you who are obsessed with the past, so erase it from your head.”

Although the tone was somewhat harsh, I knew that it was Orca’s own consideration.

“… Yes.”

After finishing speaking to Aser, Orca opened her mouth again to No. 25. Her voice was definitely brighter compared to when she was talking to Aser, but she couldn’t completely erase the feeling that she had forced it.

“If you have time later, come visit this guy secretly in our area. I promise I won’t treat you as harshly as I did then.”

“Mo, secretly?”

When asked to come secretly, Aser laughed as if he was dumbfounded.

“Shouldn’t you at least say something like that somewhere without me?”

“What do you think? Let’s not worry about every little detail like that.”

Orca, who moderated the situation with a smile, held out a hand full of scars as a sign of reconciliation to No. 25. I couldn’t allow anything to touch the orca’s body. It was the same with handshakes. The moment Aser tried to remove Orca’s hand, No. 25 came forward.

“No. 25?”

Number 25 hesitated in front of Orca and made a low voice.

“If you don’t treat me as harshly as before… I can come at least once.”

That was enough. Orca smiled with satisfaction and held No. 25’s hand.

But there was no way Orca could be satisfied with just a handshake. Orca’s smile changed to a sinister one, and she took No. 25’s hand and led him into her arms, then instantly captured his lips.

Aser’s lips were snatched in the blink of an eye, and Aser forgot what to say, and then blushed and raised his voice.

“… You!”

Aser swung his hand wide at the location where Orca’s face was, intending to slap Orca, but Aser’s hand, which had never swung a fist in his life, had no way of touching Orca. The Orca easily avoided him by simply tilting its head back. The hand, which had nowhere to go, accidentally hit No. 25, who was in front of Orca, on the cheek.

match! Unit 25’s scream rang out briefly along with the sound.

“Ah!”

Feeling a tingling sensation in his palm, Aser grasped the situation and immediately took No. 25 into his arms and caressed his cheek, which had a red palm print.

“I’m sorry! Are you okay?”

Orca, the culprit behind all of this, laughed out loud at the situation as if it had nothing to do with him. Orca laughed so hard that she wiped the tears from her eyes and said goodbye for the last time.

“I lost the fight, but you know I still won in bed, right? Next time you have sex, if you don’t want to lose like before, try it with your sincerity. Like when protecting Asher.”

Orca left those words and left the place with a big smile. For a while, Aser was glaring at the spot where Orca had left. Let’s fight again on the bed, something like that could never be tolerated. No. 25’s body could never be taken away by anyone again. This body was his alone.

That wasn’t the problem now. Aser withdrew his hostile gaze and looked at No. 25, who had been slapped by him, with worried eyes.

“Are you okay? Now, let’s quickly wipe our lips first.”

Aser took out a handkerchief from his pocket and gently rubbed No. 25’s lips. Seeing what I thought were my own lips being taken away by someone else right in front of my eyes took a much bigger psychological toll on me than I expected.

After finishing wiping his lips, No. 25 finally found freedom to speak and finally opened his mouth.

“It’s okay.”

Judging from what Orca said just before leaving, it was highly likely that No. 25 would come again soon.

Only now did she leave with a friendly smile, but no one but herself could know when and how her heart would change. I hated to think about it, but the next time we met an enemy, Aser could suffer again if he trembled in fear like he did now.

Now was the time to get my mind right. Number 25 spoke to Aser while suppressing the fear of Orca that was in the back of his mind.

“Let’s go now.”

Every time I looked at the purple sky covered with Orca’s magic and the colored lights that gave me a dreamy feeling, bad memories came to mind. The first day I spent in District 6 was full of memories I didn’t want to recall, but I didn’t regret coming here.

There was definitely a satisfaction of curiosity gained from escaping from Area 7 and seeing other areas, but what struck me the most were the memories with Aser. With this memory alone, No. 25 was able to find the light that brightens the future even in the purple sky.

Aser walked down the street and glanced at number 25 next to him. Aser gently took his hand and then asked carefully.

“I didn’t enjoy it that much because of Orca… . Was it still good?”

The answer was decided from the beginning. Number 25 looked directly at Aser’s face and smiled with the corners of his mouth raised.

“Yes, it was good.”

A smile so bright that it makes you think it captures the sun’s rays. Aser promised to protect this man’s smile until the day came when his body turned into ashes and scattered in the wind.