Volume 7, Chapter 16 – The Brothel Massacre (1)

We entered the port of Dalha as the sun began to set. In the end, no monsters attacked us, and I was glad that the “flag” never got triggered.

Now then, after finishing the customary exchange starting with “Bitan” from the Emir-san and his companions who came to welcome us, we headed straight to a hotel in Dalha.

Relishing the blessing of a floor that didn’t shake and a fluffy bed, I was able to sleep soundly for the first time in a while.

The next morning, after we had finished breakfast, the Emir-san who had welcomed us yesterday arrived.

Naturally, the customary exchange came with it.

By the way, this Emir-san’s name is Hilar-san. He looked to be a slightly plump man in his mid-forties.

“Saint-sama. Good morning. How was your stay?”

“Yes. The room was wonderful, and I slept very well.”

“I am glad to hear that.”

Hilar-san said this with a friendly smile on his face.

“Now then, Saint-sama. I have been informed of the business that brought you here. Let us proceed immediately to the brothel in question.”

“Yes. Thank you. Ah, Sara-san, could you stay behind at the hotel for a bit?”

“Understood,” Sara-san replied.

However, Lu-chan beside me had a stiff expression.

It wasn’t certain yet, but her little sister might be suffering a terrible fate.

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I could only imagine what she must have been feeling.

“Lumia-dono. Do not be so tense; the best thing is to welcome her with a smile,” Shizuku-san whispered softly into Lu-chan’s ear, and Lu-chan gave a small nod.

“Now, this way.”

Guided by Hilar-san, we climbed into a large carriage. Once he confirmed that we, Hilar-san, and Khalid-san had all boarded, the carriage slowly began to move.

“Saint-sama. We have done a bit of investigating ourselves, and it seems the Elf prostitute is named Leia.”

“ Gasp! “

I heard Lu-chan catch her breath.

“And she is said to be beautiful, with green hair and golden eyes. As for her height… I hear she is about the same as Christina-dono. Furthermore, they say she’s incredibly well-endowed—far more than you’d ever expect from an Elf.”

“Eh?”

Hearing this, a look of bewilderment crossed Lu-chan’s face.

Well… no wonder.

If she’s the same height as Chris-san, she’s considerably taller than Liera-san.

“Indeed. Based on the reports I’ve received, it’s hard to believe she is younger than Lumia-dono, but since it has been a long time since you last met, I believe it is best to confirm for yourself.”

“I… see…”

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Hearing that, Lu-chan wore a complicated expression—part disappointment, part relief.

I gently took Lu-chan’s hand. I heard her catch her breath again, and after a brief moment, she softly held my hand in return.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Now, we have arrived.”

The carriage passed through the backstreets and stopped in a corner that seemed to be the pleasure quarter.

But… something was wrong.

Why did it smell so strongly of blood?

When I glanced at Chris-san and Shizuku-san, both already had their hands on their swords.

“Oh? What is the matter?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’s the matter’?! Why did you bring Fiene-sama to a place that reeks of blood?!”

Chris-san interrogated Hilar-san with a voice laced with anger.

I’ve been fine lately, and since I had some blood yesterday, I should be okay today, but I once collapsed from smelling too much blood in the past, so Chris-san might be worried about that.

“Eh? The smell of blood? Christina-dono. What do you mean?”

A look of pure surprise appeared on Hilar-san’s face. At the very least, he didn’t look like he was hiding anything…

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“At least there is no bloodlust in the vicinity,” Shizuku-san said, scanning the area as she softly opened the carriage door and stepped outside.

“It is safe. Fiene-dono, you may exit the carriage now.”

“Yes.”

At Shizuku-san’s words, we stepped out of the carriage.

Then the smell of blood grew even stronger. It was coming from the building right in front of us.

“Emir Hilar, is this building the brothel in question?”

“Yes. That is correct, Christina-dono.”

“Then something must have happened.”

“Eh? What do you mean, ‘something’?”

“This smell of blood is clearly abnormal. Has there not been some kind of incident?”

“An incident? H-hey!”

Startled by Chris-san’s words, Hilar-san hurriedly interrogated the coachman.

“N-no. I know nothing. When I checked last night, guests were coming and going, and everything seemed normal.”

“Which means something happened last night. Shall we move in?”

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“What! P-please wait! To treat Saint-sama so…”

“No, let’s go. If Shizuku-san can’t sense any bloodlust, it should be fine.”

“True. Someone may have been trying to destroy the evidence.”

Saying this, Shizuku-san looked back and forth between the brothel and Hilar-san.

“Very well. Then we shall check the interior along with the guards. I’ll have the others fetch the patrol guards.”

“It is decided. Is that alright with you, Lumia-dono?”

“ Gasp! Y-yes!”

Lu-chan answered, her expression still stiff.

“Then, we move in.”

With that, Shizuku-san swung her sword hard at the brothel’s door.

A blindingly fast flurry of silent strikes carved a neat rectangular hole into the door.

We were left speechless by what we saw through the hole.

A man who seemed to be the receptionist, a man who seemed to be a guest, and a woman in revealing clothes who seemed to be a prostitute were all collapsed in a sea of blood.