Evil

Collarbone

"Welcome, distinguished guest, to Sinphony! A normal room is 1000 gold or 1 mana stone a night, a suite is 10,000 gold or 10 mana stones a night."

"Suite. A month." I deposited three hundred mana stones into a contraption which collected the revenue. It lit up with green light as the receptionist gave me an imprint,"Apply this to a finger miss and press against the door to unlock your suite, which is suite 17 on the highest floor. Good for thirty days, as stated."

I nodded before leaving the long queue. Luxurious. Sinful. Those were the two words which best described this island. Here, there were four forms of relaxation:

1. The beachside where many couples and families went for their romantic escapades.

2. The bars where alcoholic drinks tailored to make even a rank 9 tipsy were served.

3. Casino. Where the extravagant and stinking rich people flamboyantly flaunted their wealth to earn all sorts of rewards. Be that rare items, more money or slaves.

4. The red light district, similar to the one you'd find in Amsterdam.

Oh right, slaves. While it hadn't been apparent to me, slavery hadn't been abolished in this world. Still, it was a rather niche area of interest only for those who were lustful or needed some quick workers. It wasn't common to the extent where you would see a slave following someone down every street but was common to the extent where you'd occasionally spot one out of the corner of your eye.

The building was at least thirty stories tall, taller than any building I'd seen in this world so far. At the side of the main lobby, just past the small cocktail bar was portal-like platform with a single pillar around the height of my chest, sending guests to their floor. I pressed my thumb onto the imprint area and found myself staring out of a glass window and down on the island on the highest floor.

The sight of something from above was something I'd long gotten used to. With the constant flying and the climbing of mountains in Ypogeios, this wasn't much. What did get me was the sheer size of the casino in comparison with the island. The casino easily took up half of the island's area, leaving the sandy beaches to a quarter of the island and another quarter to the hotel, restaurants and shops.

The suite, was top notch. Fitted with a pseudo-mini fridge filled to the brim with all sorts of drinks, a bed large enough for three people to sleep with sufficient space in between and the softest pillows I'd ever had the luxury of lying on.

Fitted in the tiled bathroom was a large circular bathtub enough to fit three alongside a toilet with a bidet which closely resembled the modern one back on destroyed earth. I'd breathed a sigh of relief when I first saw one at Songbird's Retreat.

A cupboard sat at the corner of the room with two sets of complimentary robes and slippers. Two bedside lamps on either side of the bed exuded a dim orangey-yellow light.

For me, three things could bring relaxation: Sleep, food and baths.

Having spent the better part of the day sleeping on deck on the Fay Cradle, I opted for the other two.

Getting in the bathtub, I took out a bowl from my ring and filled it with cubes of fried potato and a little mix of mayonnaise I had made myself. Using a small flame to very carefully heat up the cubes, I leaned on the wall of the tub, leisurely eating my worries away.

A little bit of luxury once in a while balanced out the gritty world, letting one unwind and just get away from everything and to metaphorically 'let it hang' for a bit.

It was at times like these where I really missed the convenience of electronics. I'd probably be reading a good book on my tabled perched on the side of the tub or watching a tv show online.

Unfortunately, I was no mechanic. I couldn't even tell you what the hell a CPU or a dual core processor or whatever any of those mechanical jargons were. Even if I wanted a phone, I had zero capability to make one. Everyone had their flaws and not being a mechanic was just one of many of mine.

Quiet. It was very quiet. At times like this, I almost wished I had someone or something to keep me company.

"Should I get a pet?" I muttered to myself,"Maybe one will be fine. Don't wanna turn into a crazy cat lady or anything. But it'll be a hassle to keep it around." As I deliberated, I slowly burned away the last of the corpses of magisters in my ring having looted them dry.

I finished the last cube of potato and decided against a pet. I'd probably get annoyed at it and accidentally kill it.

Just then, I felt something off. I frowned but looking around very intently, found nothing,"Paranoid." I was about to fix my hair about of habit when—

"...Inquirer."

[How may I be of service Artemis?]

"My ears. What's happened to my ears?"

[You inherited the dragon bloodline. Some physical changes are to be expected. Pointed ears are simply the most obvious ones.]

"...Hah," I sighed. If it was simply just because of bloodline, then I wouldn't pay it any heed. I would be lying if I said I wasn't weirded out by it,"Are there any other changes I should take note of?"

[Physically speaking, your hair is now completely white and on the area just at the corner of your eyes, two marks have formed to symbolise your dragonhood.]

"It's not too bad I suppose."

———

Charlie's POV.

"Your tea, Lady Rhode." The server bowed respectfully before retreating.

I took a soft whiff of the brew, nodding in admiration,"This year's tarpi is exceptionally aromatic, no?"

"Indeed, Lady Rhode, we managed to source high quality leaves this year. The harvest has been good."

"Everything is going well I presume?"

"Mm but Obsolete reported something which might interest you." I raised a brow at the server's words, a finger gesturing for him to continue.

"My lady, have you heard of Damascus City?"

"Aye. Nabilat clan's little hideout. What about it?"

"It was destroyed yesterday by an unknown individual. Approximately 7,000 people escaped with a confirmed 10,000 dead."

I let out a low whistle,"Just who would be so bold as to attack a righteous faction? Has Lorentio finally spread his wings?"

"That person is now in a suite room in Sinphony's hotel. From what I can gather, she is suppressing her aura to a rank 4 level."

"Picture?" Sinphony had remained standing for so long because of our upgraded imagers which would take pictures and send them to a central unit to be imprinted onto paper.

A small piece of paper entered my hand. I took a look,"She's rather cute. Difficult to imagine she killed 10,000 people and decided to hop on a boat to gamble."

"From the looks of it, she seems to have come here to relax. She's been compliant with everything despite us keeping an eye on her."

The more I looked at the picture, the more I found things off,"Those imprints on her hands and arms. I've never seen them before." She was dressed in a low-collar white dress, complimenting her hair.

"That is indeed so. But Lady Rhode, might I direct your attention to her collarbone?"

"What about her—"

I saw it.

"I suppose Lady Rhode understands now?"