༺ Illuania ༻
My original intentions were to simply ignore her.
That was because the emotions and prejudices I had toward prostitutes of this era were not very good.
Even in my previous life, I never came across women who worked at night, which left me with no knowledge about them. However, here, I encountered them quite frequently.
They would emerge onto the streets like vendors during the night, effortlessly luring people to their establishments.
In the middle of that scenario, I would witness a common sight.
The ghost of a fetus yearning for their mothers perched on women’s shoulders, or the appearance of a man constantly cursing them.
This naturally caused my perception of them to skew.
‘But this woman.’
I didn’t feel those negative emotions.
I tried to ignore this and simply pass by.
However, two things bothered me.
One was her condition.
Her hand, which was gripping my arm, trembled slightly; her pupils were tinged with a hint of redness.
Color had faded from the corners of her lips, and her speech was peculiarly fast.
The other was my own body.
My heart was pounding.
Personally, I didn’t know her, and as a result, I had no emotional attachment. But Deus’ body was responding strangely in her presence.
‘That bastard.’
Even though he already had Erica as his fiancée, that bastard was in love with this woman.
The more I got to know about Deus, the more I hated him.
“Colton was looking for you. You asked for supplies, so why didn’t you buy them?”
The woman whispered secretly so that Deia and Findenai wouldn’t hear her.
“…Hah, what was your name again?”
“What? Did you already forget about me?”
“Tell me.”
“Tsk! You’re behaving weird today! It’s Illuania! Did you forget you held me tightly saying you loved me?”
Damn, Deus.
“If you’re going with that woman, should I take the day off?”
“…Trash.”
As soon as they arrived, Findenai pleaded, hoping to get the day off from work. Deia, on the other hand, cursed and glared at me with disgust.
I didn’t correct them. These were the things the previous Deus did, so even if I made excuses now, it would just look pathetic.
Furthermore, there were some things I had to check.
“Let’s go.”
“Yay!”
“What!?”
When I agreed to follow the woman, Findenai and Deia showed contrasting reactions.
But I quickly trampled on Findenai’s expectations of getting a day off.
“You come along too, Findenai. It won’t take long.”
Findenai tilted her head and looked at me.
“It won’t take long…? Do you finish too quickly? Perhaps a quickshot?”
This… Damn it…
I almost got angry for a moment.
Growing up, I had seen so many shocking things that I became numb to most situations. But sometimes, just a throwaway remark from Findenai would make me lose composure.
“What do you mean by a quickshot?! He’s a beast! He goes on for several hours!”
For some reason, Illuania proudly defended me.
Findenai grinned, finding this amusing. And Deia glared at me with an expression that she really wanted to kill me.
“Deia, go to the Scrapyard Nomads.”
“Huh?”
Deia asked as she folded her arms, perhaps surprised that I gave her an order.
“…What does that mean?”
“I know you understand.”
Although Deia grumbled for a moment, she realized that I didn’t decide to follow Illuania just to have fun. She headed for the Scrapyard Nomads’ quarters.
And, the two of us, Findenai and I, followed Illuania.
“Are you Deus’ new lover? You should be careful! I’m his real one.”
“Hah! What nonsense are you spouting? I have nothing to offer him except for my skills and perhaps… tea!”
‘You mean the tea that tastes like pig urine?’
It must’ve been because I told her not to prepare tea the other day, she brought the topic out of spite.
Illuania looked at me, startled by Findenai’s words.
“Huh? But Deus told me that only those who become outlets of his sexual desires wear that kind of maid uniform.”
“Oh? He already stopped doing that. The other girls are really relieved.”
The outfits had been burned a long time ago, and the maids who had once struggled with them were pleased.
However, there was only one reason why Findenai was still wearing it.
“A master who brings a maid dressed like this seems perverted, don’t you think?”
“Exactly! Very much so!”
“Hehe, that’s why I’m wearing it. To rebel against him, even a little.”
Illuania accepted this without much thought.
“And don’t I look pretty? The kids were in awe when they saw me.”
Findenai walked forward and twirled, slightly lifting the hem of her skirt and pretending to be a lady-in-waiting.
When she was actively rebelling against the Clark Republic, she always had to hide her body and wear dirty clothes, so she seemed to quite like this.
Illuania applauded at her performance, laughing and giggling.
The two of them got along well.
Upon arriving at the brothel, Illuania entered the building and asked us to wait.
Meanwhile, Findenai took out a cigarette, lighting it up immediately.
“Ah, Master! Since we’re outside. May I smoke a little?”
She seemed to only use it when she wanted something.
When I didn’t answer, Findenai threw the burning cigarette on the ground, stomped on it and muttered,
“Is she a drug addict?”
“…You noticed?”
When I said this with a slight glance, Findenai placed her hands on her hips and responded as if she found my question pitiful.
“You know that there are about three times as many drug addicts in Clark Republic than in Griffin Kingdom, right? There are more druggies than regular folks there.”
“Well, most drugs are made in the Clark Republic.”
“That’s right! For example…”
Findenai took a deep breath, then spoke,
“Like Flowergarden.”
“…”
Findenai bitterly clicked her tongue and instinctively rummaged through her pocket, about to take out a cigarette. She remembered that I was here and stopped, crossing her arms.
“By the way, wanna hear something?”
“…”
When I beckoned her to tell me, Findenai giggled and answered while looking at the door Illuania entered in.
“She’s currently…”
After a while, multiple men came out of the door.
They immediately parted to the sides, clearing the way, and bowed deeply.
At the end stood a rugged man with a long scar on his bald head.
“Young Master! Long time no see! I was really surprised when you suddenly became a professor.”
“Colton?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, do I look a little different? Perhaps a little more handsome?”
I took a guess and I was right.
Then my attention shifted to Illuania, who stood leaning against the doorframe, laughing softly as she held a syringe in her hand.
Colton approached me with a smile.
The stench that invaded my nose was incomparable to the scent of cigarettes that usually came from Findenai.
“We received some good stuff this time, Young Master. I even saved some for you. Shall we go right away?”
“No, we’re done.”
“Yes?”
I declared to Colton, feeling a deep sense of disgust.
“Dispose of all the drugs you have. They are of no use to Norseweden.”
“…What kind of insane nonsense are you spouting?”
Colton had an expression of genuine disbelief.
The figures who had been bowing were slowly straightening up, glaring at me.
“Young Master, no, Deus. Have you gone mad? Are you too high to figure out the situation? Don’t you remember how you crawled to lick my shoes when I didn’t give them to you for a few days?”
“Hahaha.”
Findenai covered her mouth and giggled, asking if what he said was real.
Pretending not to notice it, I let out a sigh and tapped the ground with my cane.
“Clean it up, Findenai.”
“Roger!”
Findenai’s fist plunged into Colton.
Colton’s blood and teeth scattered in the air, painting the snow-covered ground red. The next moment, he fell to the ground, passing out.
“Brother!”
“You bastard!”
“Get him! Grab him and drag him inside!”
The bulky men rushed towards me.
However, I walked forward as if they didn’t exist. Findenai, in tandem, moved gracefully with the hem of her skirt fluttering.
My steps continued forward without hesitation, never encountering any obstacles.
Soon, the gangsters were sprawled on the ground as if a storm had passed by. Findenai, the perpetrator, yawned sleepily amidst the chaos.
Illuania, seemingly unaware of the situation around her, was about to inject herself with a syringe into her forearm.
Crack!
But my mana violently shattered what she was holding.
“Huh? Huh? Huh!”
Illuania stared dumbfoundedly at the broken syringe and glared at me with anger.
Not minding her gaze, I spoke bluntly,
“You should be careful. Your actions no longer affect you alone.”
“…What do you mean?”
But that’s all I had to say.
Soon after, Deia brought members of the Scrapyard Nomads to the scene.
“Oh, Chief!”
“It’s been a while! You’re still so pretty!”
“Those clothes suit you really well, Chief.”
“I know, right? Don’t get too excited, you lot.”
Findenai twirled her body, almost as if she was dancing among the scattered bodies and bloodied floor.
Meanwhile, Deia approached me with a furrowed brow.
“What’s going on?”
“There should be drugs inside. Since the Scrapyard Nomads are from the Clark Republic, they should be skilled in the disposal of such things. Instruct them to clear up everything.”
“…You didn’t take drugs, did you?”
I didn’t bother answering.
It wasn’t the case now, but it seemed that I had done so in the past.
I clicked my tongue as I looked at Illuania, who was hugging her stomach as if protecting something precious.
“I’ll need to hire a maid, prepare a contract.”
“What? Why would I…?”
“Ah, my child… My dear child.”
Deia, who was about to complain, seemed to have caught something in Illuania’s mumbling. Her eyes widened.
“Could it be… it’s not yours, right?”
I sighed.
“I was in Loberne Academy for three months. But the child seems to be only a month old in the womb.”
“Really? Phew, thank goodness. That would have been crossing the line.”
After Deia cautioned me not to cause trouble elsewhere, I turned my gaze away from her and looked at Illuania.
She was a broken woman who appeared in front of me—useless no matter where she was. She was nothing more than a desperate drug addict, but…
‘It worked out well.’
I was certain that she would be the key to solving my biggest problem.
