Chapter 49
Arti tried to wave his arms while surrounded by countless women. But the soft sensation against his arms made his face go pale.
Squish!
“?!”
‘Damn it, if I move, they’ll jiggle…?!’
His mind went completely blank.
Arti cried out like a newborn bird.
“I-it’s a misunderstanding!”
“….”
Watching him,
Lydia let out a small sigh.
‘As expected of an adult-game protagonist. Women have a way of gravitating toward him wherever he goes.’
The scene looked like the prelude to a lovers’ spat.
The prostitutes gathered around Arti burst out laughing at the sight. It was a rare spectacle in a dark, damp back alley.
“Huh? What is this, a lovers’ spat? You came here even though you have a girlfriend?”
“Ahaha! You’re really bold, big guy!”
“If you want, you can all come together! We’ll take good care of you.”
At their hearty kindness(?),
Arti cried out in even greater alarm.
“N-no, that’s not it! Everyone, please stop! If you say any more, you’ll be in danger!”
“?”
The women, unaware they were walking straight into the crime of ‘insulting royalty,’ asked cheerfully.
“Danger? What do you mean?”
“Is that young lady that scary?”
“Hehe! She’s got you wrapped around her little finger, huh?”
“Well, with those boobs, I guess you’d spend your whole life underneath her….”
“Look at that tiny waist, too…!”
“?!”
The women whispered as they openly appraised Lydia’s figure.
Her peerless beauty inspired admiration rather than jealousy. They tried to figure out what ‘something’ about Arti had attracted the beautiful Lydia.
-As expected… for a man, it’s ‘that thing,’ right?
-It must be freaking huge….
-Or maybe he’s good with his hands….
“Oh, dear…!”
His head was spinning.
Seeing them, Arti pleaded desperately.
“You really shouldn’t do that—?!”
“?”
“That person…! She’s…!”
Just as Arti was about to reveal Lydia’s identity.
Lydia calmly stopped him.
“Arti, don’t worry. What you’re afraid of won’t happen. First, calm yourself down. Your panic is only making everyone around us more confused.”
“Y-yes…?”
“If you have nothing more to do here, come over.”
“Ah, yes….”
At her calm voice,
Arti disentangled his arms as if entranced and walked over to Lydia. Seeing him, the prostitutes pressed their hands to their cheeks and whispered.
“Oh my, he really is a devoted type.”
“It’s cute how red his face is.”
“You’re cute, so sneak back at night and we’ll spoil you!”
“….”
Arti shook his head vigorously.
But the women just laughed again, calling him cute.
Lydia spoke to them.
“He only got lost because he doesn’t know this area well. So please be understanding.”
“!”
The tallest of the prostitutes answered in a casual tone. She’d been sitting on a large trash can, watching all along.
“Next time, don’t get lost—find your way here properly. We’re busy cleaning and doing laundry during the day, so if you want to come as a customer, show up after dark.”
“I-I’m not coming.”
“Really? Maybe it’s because your girlfriend’s so beautiful…. Good for you.”
“…She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Then why are you together?”
“Th-that’s….”
“Don’t tell me you’re cheating…?”
“What?!”
Accused out of nowhere, the devoted Arti was flustered. The women paid no heed to his reaction and let their imaginations run wild.
“What if two of them have already made up their minds, and the third one’s wavering!”
“What could make them hesitate? Status? Their jobs? Or opposition from their families…?”
“Did the three of them fight over love last night? It’s totally normal for a trio to fight while on a trip.”
“And then one of them wanders the empty streets alone, trying to soothe that hollow feeling….”
In Lydia’s opinion,
they should have been born in modern times.
‘This is a full-on brainstorming session. They could make good money writing soap opera scripts.’
Thinking that,
she spoke to the dazed Arti beside her.
“Arti, let’s get out of here while we can.”
“Ah, yes.”
Even as they left the alley, the intense story-planning meeting continued. Their process of working out each character’s motivations was remarkably meticulous.
-But why would three people, men and women, travel together?
-On the surface, it’s a trip to celebrate their friendship. But really, they’re enjoying the thrill of being drawn to one person during the day and another at night…!
-Are you a genius…?!
-How romantic—!
Eek—!
Eeeek!
It was a flawless scenario. The women who’d come up with such a heart-pounding plot clasped hands and cheered.
Arti muttered as he left their cheers behind.
“…They’re certainly a lively bunch. If I hadn’t known what sort of place they worked at, I’d have thought they were just women from the neighborhood.”
“You didn’t know?”
“Ah, well….”
Arti explained the symbol he’d seen on the door before entering the alley. It had been a mysterious symbol glowing brilliantly pink.
Lydia said nonchalantly,
“That’s the symbol for the red-light district downtown. It marks an area that pays its taxes independently, so the authorities leave them to handle any problems themselves.”
“Oh, the red-light district.”
“You don’t know what a red-light district is?”
“I-I-I-I know that much….”
“I see.”
And so,
their conversation came to an end.
There was no suspicion or questioning.
“….”
“….”
But that made it even harder for Arti. When she accepted his explanation without even giving him a chance to make excuses, guilt welled up inside him.
So he spoke again.
“Um, Lydia.”
“What is it?”
“I really didn’t mean to go in there. I’d never think of going to a place like that while leaving Aria behind. I can wait as long as it takes for Aria to be ready.”
“….”
Lydia nodded.
“I know. If you were the sort of person who’d do that, I wouldn’t have brought you to Saintroix. Every district here is lined with shops devoted to pleasure, after all.”
“…I see.”
There was no misunderstanding.
Arti felt a little more at ease.
“Phew. Anyway, they were unusual people.”
“What do you mean?”
“Those… women who sell their bodies. They were incredibly lively and confident for people living in a back alley. When I accidentally wandered into an alley behind the academy once, the whole place had a gloomy atmosphere. Is Saintroix’s back alley different?”
“Hmm.”
Lydia glanced around before speaking.
“There’s nothing unusual about them. They’re ordinary people, too. Maybe they were in a good mood today, or just got a little carried away for a while. Living in a back alley doesn’t make someone more cheerful or more gloomy.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
“…Yes.”
Arti accepted her answer.
They had made it out of the back alley.
The two of them were now walking through a bright plaza.
Arti looked around as he spoke.
“Lydia.”
“What is it?”
“By the way, what brought you there?”
“I was looking around the plaza in Saintroix. I saw you go into that alley in the red-light district.”
“…Please keep it a secret from Aria.”
“All right.”
Lydia answered what he’d been wondering about, hoping to put Arti’s guilt to rest.
“And…”
“Yes?”
“I went to the plaza because there’s a place I’m looking for.”
“What kind of place?”
She answered with her gaze.
Arti looked in the direction Lydia indicated with her chin.
“!”
Countless flyers had been scattered all over the plaza in Saintroix. People picked them up and read them.
-Oh! It says there’s an auction in three days.
-That’ll be quite a spectacle.
-This time, materials from a rare monster discovered in a rare dungeon…
Arti picked up a flyer and read it, too. The flyer, decorated with ornate patterns and illustrations, described an irregularly held ‘auction.’
“An auc…tion?”
“That’s right.”
“Is there something you want to buy too, Lydia?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh…. If you need more money, just tell me. I’ll lend you as much as you want.”
“I appreciate the thought. But I brought a set budget, so don’t worry. And even if I run short… I’ll earn it myself rather than borrow from my companions.”
Work? A royal was going to work?
Curiosity bubbled up in Arti’s mind.
“Is that so? What kind of work would you do?”
“If a royal wore a bunny outfit in the middle of the plaza, wouldn’t a crowd of spectators gather?”
“….”
Arti froze.
Ah.
Uh….
Hmm.
Uhhh.
Lydia said without a care,
“I was joking. There’s no need to look so serious.”
“…That’s unexpected. You make jokes too, Lydia.”
“I often smile and joke around in front of all of you.”
“W-well, that’s true. It’s just that I didn’t think you’d say anything silly.”
“That’s a mistaken impression. I sometimes want to joke around, too.”
“Oh….”
Well,
that was a surprising revelation.
The two walked along, mulling over their respective thoughts. Countless passersby moved around them. Then a boy approached the two of them.
A very short kid.
The boy, who looked about ten, bumped into Arti.
Bump!
“?”
‘Why would he go out of his way to bump into me in a place this wide…?’
Arti tilted his head.
Ever since reaching the Flowing stage, he barely felt ordinary physical impacts. So he wasn’t bothered.
And just as he was about to start walking again….
Lydia grabbed his shoulder.
“Arti.”
“Yes?”
“We need to chase that boy.”
“Why?”
“He’s a pickpocket. He just stole your wallet.”
“?!”
He hurriedly checked his pocket.
But sure enough, his wallet was gone.
Arti was aghast.
“Aah?! When did he—?!”
“That way.”
“Yes!”
Dash!
The two chased after the pickpocket boy.
The boy had already darted into a back alley. Although they had both reached the mana stage, the complicated terrain and crowds impeded their pursuit.
Lydia was impressed inwardly.
‘Every route is laid out so that only a child can squeeze through. He must have made a living this way for quite some time.’
And sure enough,
obstacles appeared at just the right moments wherever they went.
People already reeking of alcohol in the middle of the day jumped in alarm.
“Whoa?! Why are you running through the alley?”
“Gah—!?”
“Arti, that way!”
“Yes!”
Lydia and Arti ran in the direction the boy had disappeared.
But where they arrived was….
The red-light district they’d just left.
The amateur playwrights greeted them with puzzled expressions.
“Huh? Why are you back?”
“Did you pick your ‘real girlfriend’ after all?!”
“We’ll lend you a room for free, so tell us about your love life~”
“What is it, what is it?”
“W-wait!”
Arti lost the boy’s trail amid the sudden barrage of questions. All he could see around him were the women cheering from before.
“!”
At that moment.
Lydia swiftly kicked the trash can. It was the one the tall woman had been sitting on earlier.
Along with her kick,
a clear bell-like sound rang out.
Clang—!
Then….
“Waaah—?!”
A boy in shabby clothes leapt out. He was covering his ears with both hands. Arti’s wallet was clutched in one of them.
Arti shouted as he looked at the boy’s hand.
“My wallet—!”
“?!”