Chapter 845: The Sand City Uprising 2
I was being escorted by Cathy-san and several other prostitutes to what was called the 「Special」 top-tier suite. True to its name, the interior was extravagant to the point of being tacky, with the room’s decor primarily composed of deep crimson and pink, accented by gold and ebony. Under normal circumstances, one wouldn’t immediately suspect they were being 「Confined」 here. Yet its location at the dead end of the top floor, requiring passage through several heavy doors to exit, and the complete absence of any recognizable windows, made it clear. Even the toilet was a sealed, flush-style room with no external access. If the prostitutes decided to stick around, this room would indeed be extremely difficult to escape from secretly.
“Do people get locked up in rooms like this often?”
After taking in the layout, I muttered this, and Cathy-sama, running her fingers through her hair, replied lazily.
“Well, it serves various purposes. Sometimes military or government officials request it to discreetly detain clients here at the brothel. Other times, I hear it’s used to hide some rich kid for extended periods. I haven’t been here long enough to know many actual cases myself”
Well, Cathy-sama was affiliated with another brothel until recently, so that makes sense. Another prostitute who was with us added.
“When they shove someone in here, they try to avoid switching prostitutes to keep it from looking suspicious from the outside, so it ends up feeling like they’re assigned exclusively. Honestly, I don’t think many girls are really used to working here”
“Ah, so it’s because of the stress from the closed environment and stuff like that……they don’t make them work consecutive days too often……”
“No, usually even self-proclaimed sex gods get completely drained if they get three or four of our hardcore erotic prostitutes assigned to them. After that, it just turns into lingering chatter or sitting around playing games, so it’s actually pretty easy”
“The stress does seem low, actually”
“If a customer doesn’t seem like they want to chat much, we’re taught to just make him cum over and over until he’s completely drained. Then it’s free time for us♪”
“Conversely, with a good customer, you tease him at a pace that keeps him moderately aroused while you enjoy yourself……♪”
“Exactly♪”
Cathy-san and the others happily chat about their behind-the-scenes techniques, but for us guys on the receiving end of that control, it’s complicated. Oh, I see—so if a lady doesn’t like you, she might actually suck you dry and then just leave you hanging? Well, it’s true that if you cum too much, everything just becomes pointless……if she then forces you to finish again right after that, you might not even feel like chatting or playing games anymore. Though personally, I could probably go all night long without hitting my limit, so getting put in that state would be pretty tough. ……And as usual, the prostitutes wear those skimpy, erotic outfits made of semi-transparent, thin silk over their naked bodies, no underwear. When lit from behind, their body lines are perfectly visible, of course, and up close, you can clearly make out their nipples and cleavages – truly exquisite pieces. Seeing them giggle and frolic around like that is enough to fill your heart. Even if someone said, 「You’ve seen this many times before」, or 「Polka’s female slaves would gather in even more blatant, completely naked outfits anytime」, seeing this uniquely erotic world unfold before my eyes still makes my heart leap. Well, it does leap, anyway.
“But you know, Cosmos-san, I think you didn’t need to say all that, right?”
The one saying this is Cima-san, who is about to change into a lewd outfit similar to the prostitutes’ right in front of me.
“Master isn’t stupid, you know. I mean, he’s prevented major conflicts before, right? Even if he wants to protect Talc, he doesn’t need to nag like that. I think he gets it”
“No……it’s a complicated matter”
Meanwhile, Aurora showed no sign of undressing. Being brought here quietly meant she’d follow Cosmos’s plan to 「Indulge in wine and women」 for the time being. But whether it was her sense of duty as a supervisor or the tension of her role as a bodyguard (excluding the dragons), she remained tense.
“All the battles Andy-san has settled so far, for better or worse, were under Dianne’s guidance. He rarely used the power of dragons lightly against people”
“But didn’t that Swallow-san’s Sitar go boom too?”
“Yes. At that time, Laila-san literally 『Killed』 the very shape of the city itself. ……It was only because it was so utterly disastrous that the city’s people and the nation of Celesta tacitly accepted it that it became effective. And it was accepted because of Swallow-san’s resolve to spend her life cleaning up that mess”
“Ah……”
“The battle on Red Whale Island was also an emergency measure—if we hadn’t intervened like that, the calamity caused by Sahul would have spread. ……Including the Kalwin incident, wherever Andy-san directed the dragons, there was clear evil, clear injustice. This current turmoil is a tragedy overall, but at its core, there’s nothing worth destroying with dragons. Even if someone from the Tower Emblem were to vanish, the conflict would continue. Yet burning the entire Tower Emblem to the ground would be an injustice vastly exceeding their collective misdeeds. That is the problem”
“……Umm. Thinking about it that way feels kind of stifling, doesn’t it……”
Cima-san, having finished changing, crossed her arms and wore a troubled expression. I sat down on the bed and let out a small sigh. I gently stopped the ladies of the night who were immediately trying to offer something, and glanced sideways at Emma and Leda. ……The two of them looked somewhat uncomfortable, stealing glances at each other. Probably because I’d just said 「No dragon intervention」, and they didn’t know what to do.
“Does everyone know about Isabel?”
I turned my gaze back to the ladies of the night and asked.
“Understand……?”
“Did everyone know she was the type to go off the rails like this, to seek revenge……? And did everyone believe she’d come back safely? ……Or did they just think it was an unpredictable 『Disappearance』?”
I recalled her charming tone. She was just someone I’d met a few times, someone I only knew through Cosmos. That was all. I wasn’t in love with her, nor did I have any intention of making her a female slave. But if I moved to help her and exposed myself to danger, Emma and Leda couldn’t just stand by. They bore the heavy responsibility of protecting my safety, entrusted to them by Laila, Maia, and the other dragons and female slaves. No matter how casually I tried to move, saying 「I just won’t use the dragons」, they couldn’t help but protect me. I suppose I could try to convince them otherwise. But should I really throw sand in their pride, recklessly diving into a violent underworld just to chase after someone I barely know? I hesitate. To make a decision, I wanted to know how strong she really was, how much trust she commanded.
If she’s seen as a fierce fighter who can naturally take down the culprit—probably a violent ogre—and return safely, then I should probably just ignore my qualms and indulge in some womanizing here.
“……If it’s just one or two unarmed ogres throwing a fit in a brothel, I think Sister Isabelle could probably handle them. But……”
“……But?”
“……But she’s completely untrusting, and these ogres are seasoned, rough-and-tumble types……especially in a chaotic situation like this, who knows how many might be lurking. Against that kind of threat, it might be a bit much……so, I just hope you don’t do anything reckless and end up in that kind of situation”
The prostitute who answered, mindful of the other girls’ glances, honestly conveyed her gut sense of combat strength. ……It felt like she couldn’t quite match an Ace Knight. Acting alone against ogres in their territory would indeed be tough.
“Umm……”
My resolve was wavering. Even if I left the dragons here and rushed out, what could I really accomplish? In that case, the only one I could rely on was Aurora. And while Aurora’s skill was now approaching that of a Master Knight, it was only because of her deadly technique, the slash wave. She wasn’t just some reckless individual; she was a Celesta soldier, the daughter of a colony leader. If she had to kill civilians repeatedly to protect me, the consequences wouldn’t be trivial. That was a heavy factor to weigh.
……I could just leave everything to Cosmos-san. No one would blame me for doing nothing. There’s no need to agonize. As they say, just go back and pretend I saw nothing, someone whispers inside my head. What responsibility do I have for Isabel’s death? What problem is there? Cosmos-san would be grateful I didn’t act, not resent me for missing the chance to save Isabel. Emma and Leda would understand. Nobody wants me meddling. I wasn’t involved from the start. I’m not involved at all. I’ve never met anyone named Lucky. Deaths of people I’ve never seen happen every day, everywhere. Just because I’m a dragon rider doesn’t mean I can prevent all misfortune. Even if others think I have god-like power, I’m definitely not a god.
“……If I could just cut it off like a smart guy, it’d be easy”
I muttered softly, still looking down.
I lifted my face. I looked at Aurora. Aurora was smiling faintly.
“Huhu. I was just remembering something Andy-san once said”
“……Yeah. I kind of expected you to say that”
“If you had just given up, I would have nodded and accepted that as part of Andy-san’s growth”
“When you can help, when you can reach out, you’re right there. Then you do it”
From afar. From that distant, distant Sacred Beast Labyrinth. My own words echoed back, filled with passion. I could convince anyone else, but I doubted I could convince that version of myself. I had no choice but to stand up.
“Shall we do what we can?”
“Yes. My beloved master”