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Return of the Fallen Vol1 Ch28

 

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Author: Blue_Rat

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ch28

“Are you looking for something?”

Before Kazuki even turned around he caught the sweet scent of Lilies. Kazuki wondered what beauty had approached him but he became disappointed when he turned around. Not because the woman in front of him was ugly, but rather because he couldn’t tell whether she was a beauty or a beast. She wore a hooded black robe that covered her flesh from head to toe and hid her curves, if she even had any. Not only that, she too wore a mask, although her’s was made from simple bronze.

Kazuki became curious as to why she covered herself to such a degree and how her voice sounded so lovely even when the mask interfered with her voice.

(Someone with such a sweet voice, surely she’s a beauty, right? So why hide it?)

Answering her question Kazuki nodded.

“I am…Looking for something.”

“Let me guess, you’re looking for something but it’s not a woman, is it?”

Although she couldn’t tell, under the mask, Kazuki lifted a brow.

“Oh, and what makes you think I’m not here to experience paradise?”

A soft, melody like laugh danced in Kazuki’s ear.

“If you truly came here for the pleasures of the flesh, I doubt you would wear a mask.”

“Hmm, but what if I’m wearing it to hide my identity? Maybe I have a wife and I don’t want her knowing I’m cheating.”

The woman shook her head and said.

“You don’t seem the cheating type. As for hiding your identity, I’d say it’s already a bit late for that. The doorman outside, his eyes are a bit special you see. Your face, even with that mask on, he’s already seen it.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit dirty to do to your customers?”

“Hmm, I wonder. At the same time, these customers pay us to do them dirty, hehe.”

(Oh, what a nice little pervy thing to say. This girl is a bit interesting.)

“About what I’m looking for…”

“Shh, not here. If it’s something that can be bought, then we have it, but I’m sure you don’t wish to discuss business in the open.”

Kazuki looked around for a moment and noticed the eyes of a few men staring him down. Some had looks of envy while others were curious about his business. One of the men he recognized as the soldier who was ordered to protect and follow him.

The soldier, seeing as how this was a brothel, decided not to stick closely to Kazuki and instead just observe him and jump in, in case of danger. Of course what danger would Kazuki be in, in such a place? The soldier didn’t know what Kazuki’s business was but conducting it here could mean only one thing.

Kazuki wasn’t about to blurt out his business here, he was just curious to see if they actually had what he needed. Still, he was grateful that this hooded woman was discreet and professional.

Lowering his voice to a whisper, he asked.

“Is there someplace we can talk in private?”

“Please, follow me.”

Kazuki, with the eyes of many men still on him, followed this mysterious woman up to the third floor.

The soldier in charge of protecting him felt a bit jealous and annoyed that it was his duty to protect someone who was getting their rocks off. Still, there was not much he could do.

Sitting down on one of the couches, the soldier began to relax slightly. With only one exit and Kazuki headed upstairs, there was no need to worry he thought. A few women approached him, hugging his arm and pressing their breast against him and some even attempted to sit on his lap and flirt with him but he was still a soldier and sadly shoed them all away. At the same time, he grumbled a bit under his breath while he waited patiently for the so-called hero to finish up and return.

The other women looked at this man in confusion. He sat with a strange posture with a leg crossed over the other. Clearly, he wanted them but he continuously pushed them away. Staring fiercely ahead without even bothering with them, this man was deemed weird and to be left alone.

The mysterious woman led Kazuki into a room.

(Hmm, this room seems far too large for common use. It must be for high paying customers or important guests.)

The room was actually pretty normal. The only thing really out of place was the bed. It was completely round instead of a normal rectangle shape and the bed continuously rotated. Walking past the bed, the two sat on a small couch.

“Do you wish for a meal or a drink before we begin?”

Kazuki shook his head. The woman though ignored his words and snapped her fingers. A second later and the door opened. A young boy no older than 10 or 11, dressed in plain clothes, walked in.

“Boy, two drinks, I’ll have red wine and my guest will have.”

Kazuki again shook his head.

“No thanks, I’d rather get on with business if you don’t mind.”

The woman ignored Kazuki again.

“Red wine for me and Black Star Ale for my guest.”

Kazuki was slightly annoyed with her but if they really had what he needed, then he didn’t mind indulging her a bit.

“You know, I never got your name.”

“Well, if your doorman has truly seen my face then maybe he already knows who I am.”

“Oh, are you someone famous?”

“Maybe.”

The young boy had returned and delivered the drinks interrupting the two.

“Will that be all, madam?”

“For now, you may leave.”

The young boy gave a slight bow before leaving the room quietly.

The woman tapped the bottom part of her mask and the bronze mask released a soft white glow before the bottom part of her mask retracted revealing a small chin and flawlessly soft pink lips. Judging from the skin, Kazuki could tell the woman was young, maybe early to mid-twenties. This wasn’t much but it was another detail added to what he knew of her. In his mind, he was slowly beginning to form a picture of what she looked like.

Holding the wine glass, the young woman gently swirled it before she brought it to her tender lips and took a tiny sip. The woman released a small but beautiful smile.

“Sweet.”

“Hmm?”

“The wine, it’s sweet.”

Before Kazuki could add anything to that, the woman continued.

“So you may or may not be famous. You are not married and yet you come to a brothel but don’t partake in any of its delicacies. You’ve come here so whatever you’re looking for must be difficult to procure in the regular markets. Just what is it you are looking to obtain, I wonder.”

Kazuki stood up for a moment and approached the door. Shutting his eyes he focused his ears and listened. With his enhanced hearing he could easily hear those in his surroundings. A few men laughing as they cheerfully drank and ate. People talking on the floor above about their own business and loud moaning with heavy breathing and smacking sounds from the rooms below, as well as a few softer quieter moans.

Kazuki could hear it all, so anyone with enhanced hearing could do the same to him and listen in.

Stepping away from the door, Kazuki sat back down. He scooted next to the woman until their legs were touching. Kazuki extended a hand toward the young woman and she couldn’t help but be confused.

“I thought you didn’t come here for that. I’m sorry but out of all the women in this brothel, I’m the only one who doesn’t do that.”

Kazuki though ignored her and placed a hand upon her shoulder. The woman squirmed back a bit and reached for a blade tucked into her robe but paused when she saw that Kazuki was making no further moves.

The woman asked nervously.

“What are you trying to do?”

Kazuki didn’t answer her and instead extended his ki onto her body. Not only her body but also her clothes, any items she had on her and even her bronze mask was no exception. He was checking to make sure nothing could listen in on their conversation.

With his ki energy, he could detect magic up to a small distance away from him as long as he was actively searching for it. The opposite seemed to be true for others though. For some reason, they could not feel his ki at all. Kazuki had tested it on Rust and a few others, they just simply didn’t notice.

Kazuki thought that maybe this could be used as a weapon in combat but the amount of focus it required was too high to use during a fight. The only way to use it was now, in a relaxed environment. If the situation were calm like now then Kazuki could do this with only a small amount of difficulty.

So although his energy had covered her body, her magic couldn’t detect it and since she didn’t have ki energy either, she couldn’t detect it that way either.

Kazuki wasn’t trying to feel her up but instead, he was looking for objects that had inscriptions placed upon them. All magic items had inscription carved into them and Kazuki would use his ki to feel for those carved grooves. If he felt an inscription on an item then he would instantly know the item was a magical one and then he could then block it by covering it entirely with ki.

Not to say that he could prevent the object from being activated or used but when said item was activated, when even a drop of magic power came in contact with his ki, Kazuki would know that the items were being activated and he would then cut his conversation off, preventing any leaks.

After confirming that the only magic item the woman had was her mask, Kazuki removed his hand from her shoulder and scooted back a bit. Gathering a bit of ki, he covered her mask with it before he finally relaxed.

The young woman’s eyes were filled with confusion.

“What was that about?”

Kazuki chuckled a bit.

“Ha, I was just making sure you didn’t have any hidden weapons on you. You know, like that dagger tucked into your robe there.”

The woman was stunned. pulling out her dagger she gently laid it on a nearby table.

“How did you know?”

“How indeed?”

The young woman felt slightly embarrassed as well as a little bothered.

“I only keep it for protection, you know when a guy gets too handsy.”

Kazuki said nothing and let her statement hang in the air for a moment before sarcastically saying.

“In this place, a guy gets too handsy, no way.”

The young woman grew a little angry.

“I get it, ok, but I’m not the same as the others here, I don’t do that for money.”

Kazuki smirked under his mask.

“So you do it for free then?”

The young woman stood up in embarrassment. She furiously stomped her foot on the ground and yelled.

“Look here, you may be a customer but I will not be talked to this way, got it.”

Kazuki threw his hands up.

“Ok, ok, hehe. I meant no harm, just a silly joke. I promise to rein myself in if you promise to not try to force things upon people.”

Kazuki pointed at his untouched drink on the table and the young women realized that she may have started this whole thing to begin with.

The young woman settled down and changed the topic as quickly as she could without apologizing. She figured since they both did something it balanced out.

“Ok, no more of this back and forth, what is it you want?”

Kazuki didn’t understand how someone who could so easily become flustered could run a business such as this, but he didn’t really care, so long as she could get him what he wants none of the other shit mattered.

Kazuki once again extended his ki and made a small bubble that covered only the two of them. This way he could detect magic items as well as physically prevent air from coming into contact with the two of them. The trade-off though was the air was limited and if the conversation lasted for more than 20 minutes, the young women would realize something was wrong and probably faint due to lack of oxygen. With the limitations in mind and the outside world silent, Kazuki didn’t hesitate and spoke quickly.

“I need 3 Magical Beast Cores, 2 of which should be tier 1 Magical Beast Cores and 1 should be a tier 2 Magical Beast Core. Then I want 13 Nexar Crystals and last, but not least, I’ll need 1 Stazar Void Rock.”

*Silence*

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As the realization settled in that the man before her was completely serious, the young woman’s angelic-like voice suddenly exploded outward like a bomb as she roared.

“WHAT!!!”

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