## Chapter 43 – No. 25. Butterfly Street # 2
Aser, having carelessly hung her sweat-soaked black suit on one side of the wall, was now ready to go out, dressed in a navy suit.
“Hmm… Shall we go now?”
Aser’s hair was disheveled, and her face was flushed. On her fair skin, especially around her chest, were clear bite marks.
The traces of their passionate time weren’t just on Aser’s body. No. 25’s neck, which had only slightly faded over the past three days, now had a prominent kiss mark again.
No. 25, also putting on the top that Aser had roughly taken off, replied shyly.
“Yes…”
This was only the first day, and it was already like this. Aser hoped that by the end of this trip, they would definitely be able to be intimate.
Aser opened the door and went straight down the stairs.
There was no sound other than theirs in the lodging, as if there were no other guests. It wasn’t just that the soundproofing was good; there was truly no subtle noise or sign of anyone else.
Only the creaking of the wood echoed as she descended the stairs.
“It’s gloomy.”
That one phrase was Aser’s brief assessment of the lodging.
Upon reaching the first floor, the landlady, seeing them about to leave, asked in a small but clear voice.
“How would you like your meal?”
“I’ll be back in an hour, so have it ready by then.”
Leaving the words “Yes, I understand” behind, Aser stepped out onto the street.
The first thing Aser did upon exiting was to check the map.
“Is it this way?”
Aser silently moved in the direction of the red dot on the paper. Unlike when she was passionately kissing earlier, Aser’s profile, now with a rather stiff expression, gave off an atmosphere that made it difficult to talk to her.
No. 25 felt a little hurt by Aser’s focus solely on the map. Was he just a doll brought along for sexual release?
Aser, unskilled in dealing with men, was unknowingly hurting No. 25 little by little.
“Where are we going now?”
It was a question thrown out to remind her that he was right beside her, but Aser, concentrating on the map, couldn’t answer. Ignored even after his carefully considered question, No. 25 just stared at the ground, nudging a random stone with the toe of his shoe.
Following the silent Aser into the depths of Butterfly Street, the atmosphere changed drastically from the entrance. The colored lights gradually turned to darker shades of red, and the people standing in front of the shops were devoid of any refinement, unlike before.
The men soliciting customers under the red lights wore rather vulgar clothing, quite different from earlier.
Short clothes that revealed almost all their skin, short pants that exposed their thighs. It was as if they were displaying themselves as merchandise.
Moreover, it wasn’t just one or two; most of the men were walking around in such attire, making Aser feel strange for being so covered up in a suit.
Didn’t they say that if the world seems crazy, it’s you who’s crazy? It seemed like wearing clothes was the crazy thing to do on this street. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be feeling this way.
Finally taking her eyes off the map and turning to No. 25, Aser quickly realized what he was thinking when she saw him hesitating.
“No. 25, you only take it off in front of me. You don’t have to imitate these guys.”
Leaving only those words, Aser looked around at the surrounding buildings and the map again, as if searching for something.
He was a little disappointed, but he didn’t want to disturb her concentration. No. 25 decided to stick close to Aser and look at the buildings he wouldn’t normally see.
The conversations that occasionally reached No. 25’s ears were utterly vulgar.
“Hey there, sis, wanna come play for a bit? The ‘goods’ are great today.”
Turning away from the solicitation, there were middle-aged women on the opposite side, walking around with men on either side. No amount of makeup could hide the lecherous expressions on their heavily plastered faces.
With their hands clasped like docile sheep, the slightly paunchy women grabbed the men’s buttocks and boisterously declared,
“I’m not letting anyone sleep tonight, so be prepared.”
It goes without saying, but Aser, with her captivating looks, couldn’t completely escape their solicitation either.
A muscular man with tanned skin approached Aser. He grinned, revealing his white teeth.
It was a smile that couldn’t be shown without confidence in soliciting.
He naturally spoke to Aser, who was looking at the map.
“Ma’am, would you like to stop by our place for a bit?”
The words that came out of his mouth were such obvious sales talk that it was embarrassing to call it confidence.
Aser didn’t think they were worth responding to, so she didn’t bother opening her mouth.
No. 25, who was next to Aser, couldn’t escape their clutches either. The women who approached No. 25 occasionally were much more aggressive in their promotion than the man from before.
“Hey, wanna come to our place? We’re tired of dealing with middle-aged men all the time, so we’d be grateful if someone cute like you came!”
Unlike Aser, who wasn’t one to ignore people, No. 25 resisted with a trembling voice.
“I, I’m with someone…”
“Hey, what does it matter if you’re with someone? You can just have some fun for a bit, right?”
She casually linked arms with No. 25’s slender arm and tried to take him to the shop she worked at. It was impossible for the still-tender No. 25 to break free from her grip.
There were occasional stories of cheap prostitutes in red-light districts, pushed out of the main areas, taking customers in this way, but actually experiencing it felt utterly outrageous.
Just as they reached the entrance of the shop, Aser, who had snatched No. 25 away, said in a firm, low growl,
“I’m sorry, but this one is mine.”
It was just one step to the shop. Just crossing this threshold would mean earning money to put food on the table for the first time in a while. The woman, having her customer snatched away right in front of her, glared venomously at Aser.
“This is against business ethics…!”
That was as far as the prostitute’s momentum went. The woman was overwhelmed by Aser’s gaze, which seemed to be looking down at her with murderous intent, and had no choice but to back down.
The woman spat on the ground with a “Kack, ptui!” and left to find another man on the street.
This was what happened when she was distracted for a moment. Aser, thinking that No. 25 had been taken away by another woman even for a brief moment, sighed deeply. Her still-trembling heart wouldn’t calm down.
She had been too careless.
What was the past to her? She had been so focused on this old map that she had left the most precious person in the present alone. Aser hugged the trembling No. 25 and asked,
“Are you okay?”
Instead of answering, No. 25 buried his face in her chest and nodded. He was more relieved that Aser was finally looking at him than scared of being dragged away by a stranger.
Aser stroked his head with a gentle expression and said,
“Let’s go again when you’ve calmed down.”
No. 25 took his face out of her chest and smiled slightly, as if to say he was okay now.
Determined not to let the same thing happen again, Aser held No. 25’s hand tightly as they walked down the street.
“Have you ever been to District 6, Maou-nim?”
“Of course. When Orka and I were on better terms…”
Aser was answering No. 25’s question with a smile when she stopped in front of a shop.
She slightly opened her mouth as if possessed by something, and looked inside through the glass wall that allowed a view of the interior.
“What’s wrong?”
Even No. 25’s voice, which she loved so much, couldn’t reach Aser’s ears now. There was a scene there that had stolen Aser’s mind, making her forget the promise she had just made.
Visible through the glass illuminated by the red lights was a subordinate who used to work in her castle. The one who had fallen for Orka’s whispers and started working in the nightlife.
She was smiling brightly, dealing with a man who was clearly ugly. The only person there who knew that the smile wasn’t a fake one for customers was Aser.
Aser, frowning, muttered as she watched her work,
“She used to look so pained when she worked in the castle…”
The one who had been oppressed by people in the outside world was now spreading her wings to her heart’s content in the world of the night, dealing with people.
“Are you alright?”
This time, No. 25’s words reached Aser’s ears. Aser slowly turned her head and forced a smile.
“Sorry, can we rest for a bit?”
The place Aser pointed to was a cheap bar without even colored lights. He had no intention of refusing her request, but one question flashed through No. 25’s mind.
“Do you drink, Maou-nim?”
“Sometimes.”
He had thought that Hilda was the only one who drank in the castle, so Aser’s drinking came as a surprise.
As they opened the door of the shop, a clear tinkling bell greeted them. An old woman with deep wrinkles on her face and sunken cheeks sat at the counter, only slightly turning her head to check the faces of the people who had entered.
It was an unfriendly shop without so much as a greeting, but Aser didn’t particularly care.
Aser naturally sat at the counter and only said to give her the strongest liquor, and then didn’t say anything else.
The old woman soon threw two glasses down in front of Aser.
Knowing what he was like when he got drunk, No. 25 didn’t touch the glass. It was only natural, since Aser didn’t force him to drink either. If Aser got completely drunk and couldn’t support herself, No. 25, as her slave, would have to somehow drag her back to the lodging.
Aser, who had downed her glass in one gulp, carefully asked No. 25, who was sitting next to her, only touching the edge of his glass.
“No. 25, you’re not going to leave me, are you?”
It was a sudden question, but No. 25 was able to answer immediately.
“Of course not.”
Hearing No. 25’s confident answer, Aser grinned with a flushed face, her cheeks red from the alcohol.
“That’s good enough. Let’s get up now.”
Aser left five silver coins on the counter and got up.
The strongest liquor, it seemed that the words weren’t a lie. Aser had only swallowed one glass of liquor, but she was already staggering quite a bit. No. 25 was barely able to support her by putting her arm around his shoulder just before she fell.
It seemed that Aser’s alcohol tolerance was ridiculously weak compared to Hilda’s.
Staggering and leaning on No. 25’s shoulder, Aser barely managed to get out of the shop, knowing what she looked like now. Her embarrassed feelings manifested in a small, subdued voice, different from usual.
“Sorry…”
“It’s okay, shall we go straight to the lodging?”
“Yeah, but before that, could you get me some water from the shop…?”
She intended to calm her churning stomach with cold water.
No. 25 briefly leaned Aser against the wall, then went back into the shop and asked if he could get a glass of water.
The old woman, having received an excessive five silver coins for the liquor, handed No. 25 a bottle of cold water with a much kinder attitude than before.
Soon, No. 25 appeared with the water bottle in his hand and gave the bottle to Aser.
“Thank you.”
Aser passed the cold water down her parched throat with trembling hands.
The churning in her stomach was calming down a bit with the cold water passing down her throat.
Aser emptied the water bottle in one gulp, closed her eyes, and exhaled briefly.
It was just a moment. In terms of time, it was a short time of less than 10 seconds. It was the time Aser drank water, and also the time she took her eyes off No. 25 for a moment.
Confirming that the warmth she had been feeling next to her was gone, Aser immediately turned her head and looked to the side, calling his name in a trembling voice.
“No. 25?”
There was no one there.
Only the sinking darkness was replacing the empty space where No. 25 had disappeared.
