## Chapter 178 – Collusion (21)
Aser’s eyes sparkled as she looked around the street.
“So many buildings I don’t recognize have sprung up.”
She remembered processing many documents requesting permission for building construction recently, but she didn’t expect it to change this rapidly. Once ignited, people’s passion began to spread quickly in a positive direction.
Now, the street no longer echoed with the sounds of old – bloodstains, shattering windows, shouts, and the tearing of flesh. Just as the darkness hidden in people’s hearts couldn’t be completely eradicated, people’s complaints hadn’t entirely disappeared, but compared to the past, it was as good as gone.
“If we can just maintain this, we won’t be ignored by the guys in other districts anymore.”
Aser, lost in reminiscence as she looked at the people, turned her gaze back to No. 25 and gave an awkward expression.
“Sorry, I was the one who said not to talk about work today.”
No. 25 shook his head and replied.
“It’s okay. I like you even when you’re talking about work, Your Majesty.”
“You sure say embarrassing things so easily.”
Aser’s white skin flushed red from her neck to her ears. The change was even more noticeable because she was wearing a white dress that was different from her usual attire, and it even had a subtle allure. No. 25 swallowed hard at her figure, which made him want to bring his lips to her without thinking if he didn’t pull himself together, and stared blankly at her neck.
Noticing his gaze, Aser smiled and asked briefly.
“Why?”
No. 25 stammered, as if he had committed a crime.
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Aser gave a playful expression and squeezed the hand holding No. 25’s hand.
“It’s not nothing, I saw you looking at me just now.”
Being caught looking was more embarrassing than he thought.
“Did you know?”
“Of course, I’m always looking too.”
After finishing her words, Aser quickly turned her gaze away and brought her palm to her flushed face, barely managing to calm down. Hadn’t she made this much expression often before? Today, Aser was reacting like a young girl, reflecting her attire.
The small change wasn’t bad. Rather, she felt more approachable than usual. When they were together like this, it felt like they were ordinary lovers, not a relationship that started as a Demon King and a slave.
No. 25 wasn’t the only one thinking that.
“If someone who doesn’t know us saw this, would we look like a proper couple?”
Not her usual confident voice, but a voice that somehow sounded anxious. Was it because of the many unsavory incidents recently? It was as if she wanted to hear a proper confirmation about their relationship.
No. 25 deliberately moved closer to her and then answered.
“Definitely.”
Aser, seemingly quite relieved that his sincerity was properly conveyed, said again with a bright smile.
“Really?”
While holding hands with Aser and looking around the streets, No. 25 naturally moved his steps towards a familiar alley located between the shops that caught his eye. No. 25 looked around the alley and then wore a slightly dejected expression.
“That shop seems to have disappeared.”
It was the shop where No. 25 bought his first clothes and the first man he saw in District 7. He still remembered clearly the person who showed pure kindness to No. 25, who hadn’t yet developed trust in people.
It was a natural course of events for old buildings to be demolished as times changed, but it was quite disappointing for it to disappear so suddenly.
Hearing No. 25’s gloomy voice, Aser tilted her head and asked.
“Disappeared, what do you mean?”
“The shop where I bought clothes…”
Aser pulled No. 25 out of the alley and pointed to a huge building that was obvious at first glance.
“Isn’t that it here?”
“Yes?”
He was momentarily speechless at the splendid and enormous building that couldn’t even be compared to the shabby and dusty past. As Aser opened the door and entered, the clear sound of a bell rang and the employees greeted them. Was this the current state of the old man who used to manage the store alone, dozing off at the counter?
“That old man is quite good at making clothes, right? Word got around, and the store seems to have prospered. Well, if he’s the one who made your clothes, he should be doing this well.”
As they received greetings from the employees and went to the innermost part, they saw an old man with white hair measuring the size of a customer’s harpy wings. He scribbled something with a serious look and then handed over a note, adding that they should come on this day.
Taking a moment to stretch his back and catch his breath, he saw Aser and No. 25 looking at him from the side and waved his hand happily.
“Your Majesty, it’s been a while.”
“Yeah, he seemed quite worried that you had disappeared.”
“To worry about an old man like me… you’re still a kind child. Are you here today to see his clothes?”
“Just shopping. Don’t worry about us and just relax.”
Aser hummed and looked around at the clothes, then picked up a thin dress and asked No. 25, holding it up to her body.
“How about something like this?”
It had a cool sky-blue feel, different from the white, elegant dress she was wearing today.
“It’s pretty.”
At No. 25’s short answer, Aser puffed out her cheeks and said in a sulky voice.
“What do you mean, everything is pretty? You have to give me your impressions.”
“Well, Your Majesty has a good sense of style, so I think everything looks good on you.”
“You’ve gotten a lot better at compliments, haven’t you? You’ll be able to say more if you see me wearing it, right?”
Aser picked out a few clothes and headed to the fitting room with No. 25.
“Wait here for a moment. If you’re bored, pick out anything you want. I want to see your new look too.”
No. 25 sat alone on a chair in front of the fitting room, waiting for Aser to come out.
Alone, many thoughts came to mind. Among them, the events in the fitting room came to the surface of his memory clearly.
‘Ah, this is…’
Wasn’t this the place where he committed secret acts with Charlotte, leaving several people outside? At the time, he felt like he was committing a crime and was quite embarrassed, but now, when he thought about it, it was Charlotte’s way of expressing her affection.
While recalling the events of that day, Aser changed her clothes and came out. The sky-blue dress she had just picked out was made of a tight material that revealed all the lines of her body. She didn’t expect it to be this kind of dress either, and her face flushed.
“H, how about something like this?”
The dress revealed her bursting breasts, wide hips, and the curves of her body, and her white ankles were slightly visible, causing an immediate reaction in No. 25’s lower body. He felt ashamed of himself for being erect in such a public place. Aser smiled faintly at No. 25’s state, which seemed to be piercing through his pants.
“You’re going to be in big trouble if you walk around like that?”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Aser grabbed No. 25’s wrist and took him straight into the fitting room. The inside was spacious enough for two people to lie down and still have room. Aser looked at No. 25’s erect penis and asked.
“You got excited seeing this?”
That was part of it, but he had thought about what happened with Charlotte first. Seeing No. 25’s subtle expression, Aser asked again with a worried voice.
“What’s wrong? Is there something wrong?”
He didn’t want to lie to someone who was so worried about him anymore. No. 25 revealed everything that had happened with Charlotte. Aser looked visibly flustered after hearing No. 25’s story.
“…What?”
Aser was silent for a moment, then pushed No. 25 against the wall and leaned in close. Her chest was right in front of his eyes, and the sweet scent that lingered at the tip of his nose made him dizzy. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking like this, but Aser’s figure had that much destructive power.
“You’ve been playing like that from the beginning?”
No. 25 avoided her gaze and nodded. Contrary to his expectation that he would be hated, Aser poked No. 25’s cheek and said.
“That’s not fair.”
After finishing her words, Aser just hugged No. 25 and didn’t do anything else.
“Your Majesty? Are you angry…?”
“Angry? What’s the point of getting angry about that?”
No. 25 was speechless and just watched the situation unfold, as he couldn’t have imagined that Aser, who would have openly expressed jealousy in the past, would react like this.
“I’ve decided not to be tied to the past anymore. Isn’t it me, not anyone else, who’s by your side now? I thought it would be better to give you happy memories that make you forget that past.”
“You’ve grown.”
“Yeah, and I’m going to grow even more in the future. As you know, I’m a bit lacking as a Demon King, right?”
No. 25 reacted reflexively to Aser’s self-deprecating words.
“That’s not true.”
“It’s all thanks to you that I realized my weakness. If you’re by my side, I think I can move forward even more in the future.”
No. 25 wrapped his arms around Aser’s waist, who was embracing him. He could feel the warmth and body temperature of this person as it was.
“I want to spend my whole life by Your Majesty’s side and move forward together.”
“Yeah… it’s nice to just hug like this with someone you like.”
The beating of her heart was clearly audible, as if it had become one with his. A dreamlike happiness washed over him. It was almost as if only the two of them were left in the world.
Aser stared intently at No. 25’s face and finally couldn’t resist bringing her lips to his neck. The act of biting his neck slightly to taste his flesh and feel his scent seemed to remind him that this man was hers.
The act gradually intensified, and the kiss that started on his neck was about to explore his lips.
If it weren’t for the voice calling them back to reality from outside.
“Ahem… Yo, Your Majesty? We can hear everything.”
Hearing that voice, Aser was startled and slightly opened the door to look outside. The people around them who had come to try on clothes were blushing and looking at them. She had been so engrossed that she had momentarily forgotten that this was a store.
Aser widened her eyes, took out a gold coin from her pocket, forcibly handed it to the old man, and then grabbed the clothes and No. 25 and ran away from the spot.
“S, sorry!”
The old man, watching the two people disappear like the wind, smiled contentedly. Who would have expected Aser to smile so brightly until recently? Not only the old man, but everyone in that place could only hope that the smile would last forever.
