Chapter 41: Wretched day
After 10 minutes, both had found the destination—a big brothel in town. Carl thought that if there was any place to look for information or clues, it had to belong to the keeper of the brothel and the soldiers’ superior there.
At least, Carl and Roy could narrow the gap of information with the soldiers of the Ortarge family.
Carl looked at the entrance of the brothel, tense.
"I hope everything goes well."
After a few seconds to calm himself, Carl and Roy stepped through the entrance and into the brothel.
...However, instead of the usual atmosphere of brothels—full of laughs and dances from the hookers—what greeted them was only a cold, deadly air.
Inside the broad hall, at the center, stood luxurious fresh tables and chairs. Around them, ten soldiers and many hookers had gathered.
It looked like they were arguing about something.
Carl rubbed his chin and held Roy back, who was a bit too curious and about to step forward. He didn’t want to distract that argument—not yet. He wanted to grab some information first.
A conflict or anything... that would give him better options to choose a side. He guessed that the pale-looking soldier sitting in the first chair probably knew him, though... Maybe the last time Carl had met him was in the Ryan Family’s territory, back when Carl was still considered a genius of their Stokers’ realm.
"I told you. The criminal is the one who killed your underlings... it’s not completely tied to us."
The keeper of the brothel declared in a cold voice while crossing her white, sexy thighs, flashing them at some underlings behind the pale-looking soldier.
All the men stared at her thighs and her big breasts in dead silence, as if they’d forgotten where they were and what they were doing.
Of course, except for the pale-looking soldier—the commander of the group, the one holding the real power to track down and capture the vile criminal.
He gritted his teeth and spat, cursing his men in fury.
"You fools! She’s a cunning fox. Don’t let a pair of thighs or breasts trick you. Don’t forget your comrades died right here in this brothel!"
The moment the soldiers heard that, they snapped out of their dirty thoughts and focused back on what mattered.
"Hhm... let your friends rest here. My girls will serve them for free."
"Right? my girls." The brothel keeper blinked, gesturing to the hookers behind her.
"Yes, Madam." A beautiful girl stepped forward, closing the distance to the serving table. She set down a cup of tea for the commander, while at the same time making sure to show him the rift between her deadly big breasts.
Some guys nearby couldn’t hold their drool, letting it drip down in lust.
The commander grimaced and suddenly released his mana, pressing the hooker down.
He shot a cold glare at her, while she trembled and struggled to stay on her feet under his suppression.
"Just a bitch... How dare you do such an obscene thing right in front of me?
The hooker groaned in pain.
"I-I’m sorry... P-please, forgive me..."
Rumble!
"You should stop... Do you really want to pick a fight with me? Don’t forget... where you are." The brothel keeper glared at the commander, her eyes burning with rage and hostility.
Murderous intent instantly locked on the commander from every direction, as if a ton of assassins hidden in the brothel was ready to lunge out and start a fight with the soldiers at any moment.
The commander scoffed and pulled his mana back, letting the girl collapse free from his suppression.
"Finally showing your real face... You and that criminal are in the same boat."
The brothel keeper just grinned, lifting a cup to her lips before answering.
"You’re accusing me... Then show me proof. If you can, I’ll take any punishment... even a night with you."
"A night with the brothel keeper?!" Some soldiers blushed, their minds running wild at the thought of being with such a seductive woman. Even if... it was extremely dangerous.
All of them stared at her with greedy, lust-filled eyes.
"I don’t need a night with a whore... who knows how many men you’ve killed already."
In truth, there were rumors that said that anyone who slept with the brothel keeper—the most stunning woman in this place—would end up dead, their manhood lost forever after just one night.
"Anyway, our deal is over... We don’t need your help anymore."
He stood up from his chair and raised his voice.
"I’m warning you... That’s the last chance I’ll give you. Give his decapitated head to me by dawn... If not... your town will be wiped out... no one here will survive."
The brothel keeper frowned and replied firmly.
"You’re blind...I’ve told you many times... we didn’t kill your underlings. They all died from the same wounds by the criminal... and none of us are capable of delivering that kind of fatal strike."
The commander snorted, ignored the explanation, and turned away, heading for the exit.
"We’ll be outta here. I’ll await your answer tomorrow... Remember... I’m not one to be patient."
As the commander glanced toward the door, he frowned.
"Kids?...It’s you... Carl Ryan."
He grimaced in anger and stepped forward.
"What the hell is going on today?" he shouted at one of the underlings behind him.
"What happened to the soldiers stationed at the border of this town?"
His anger made sense — someone not of his army had appeared here without notice. He supposed his men outside had been careless.
"In truth, I was sent here by the student council." Carl scratched his head and handed his badge to the commander.
For a few minutes the commander just scowled and checked it, then tossed it back at Carl in annoyance.
"You can do what you want, but I’ll give you one piece of advice... You should get out of this town before sunrise."
"I will." Carl nodded stiffly.
Then only two men remained in the brothel. Carl scratched his head in confusion as he looked at the hookers ahead and said to Roy.
"Your turn... Talk to them — tell them we want to rent a room."
Roy exhaled deeply and stepped forward.
"Ah... uh..." He paused for a moment, trying to form a sentence, then spoke.
"Hey... bitches. I need a room for the night... just to rest. And don’t bring me any girl, don’t flash your tits or asses at me. I hate that."
Carl’s face darkened, his hand pressing against his temple for a moment. Right now, he couldn’t do anything more. He really, really wanted to punch Roy in the face, but he figured Roy had some kind of issue with women. Just look at the way he talked, the way his expression twisted.
"Damn... if I’d known that, I would’ve dragged Earl along."
But it was already too late. He could only hope the hookers wouldn’t give them too much trouble... though, judging by the way they looked after dealing with the soldiers, he guessed they were in a foul mood.
Fortunately, luck was on Carl’s side.
"Give them a room," the brothel keeper said tiredly, waving her hand at a few girls nearby.
After barking her order, she retreated upstairs to her own room on the third floor.
"Get off me, bitch," Roy snapped, glaring at the girl and shoving her back with crude words. Meanwhile, Carl looked like a coward, shrinking behind Roy as if using him as a shield. The hookers kept swarming near, throwing sweet words at him.
Carl hunched his back, lowered his head to hide his handsome face, and every now and then shot sharp, hostile glares at any girl who came too close.
Soon enough, both of them made it safely to the rented room on the fourth floor of the brothel.
"My god... finally, we made it through that hell," Carl exhaled, standing in front of the room with a satisfied grin.
At that moment, he let his guard slip just a little, enough to celebrate surviving. And that was when he suddenly felt something soft press against his back.
It was so soft... just like the warmth he’d once felt from his wife.
"No way..." He froze, shivering, and slowly turned his head to see what it was.
"D-Damn!"
A girl... she looked young and lovely, maybe around the same age as Roy. She pressed her soft breast against Carl’s back with a cute smile.
She whispered gently.
"Brother, you smell so sweet... I love it."
[Penalty activated!] You will suffer from shadow thorn vines for 24 hours.
"No...!" Carl gasped, stepping back and pushing the girl off him.
He stumbled against the wall of his room, breathing hard.
"Brother... are you okay? I’ll call my mom to help you."
The girl finally revealed her face fully—pale as snow, beautiful... but what stood out more was her deadly breasts, far too large for her age.
Suddenly, there was a call from somewhere.
"Lady Teri..."
"There you are. If you keep wandering around and causing trouble, Madam will punish you. Please, behave me."
A nearby hooker walked up to Teri, throwing Carl a cautious look... as if she suspected he might be dangerous.
Carl gritted his teeth through the pain, his hand trembling as he stared at the vague, pulsing vines crawling over his body—though it seemed only he could see them.
"Fuck off, bitch! Get out of my way!"
The girls froze, confused by his sudden outburst, watching him writhe in agony over something invisible. Carl ignored them, yanked open the door, and slammed it shut behind him.
"Wretched day..." he muttered.