"I have good news for you, Elayne!" Maika exclaimed cheerfully as she slammed the door open. Beneath the ground scattered mountains of crumpled paper which gave Maika frown in displeasure. Tiptoed through the labyrinth of unending crumpled paper, Maika went towards the ever-shy Elayne.
"Whatever it is, I don't want it," Elayne spoke spontaneously knowing that Maika would attempt to make her leave the room again. She curled under the blanket and once again shooing Maika.
Maika finally stood beside the bed, grabbed the covers where Elayne hid, and forcefully pulled it away from Elayne's grasp. Her action revealed a girl curled up in the bed with a doe-eyed look on her face. Elayne bit her lower lip as she grabbed the pillow beneath her head and shrouded her face from Maika and the light seeping outside the door.
"Come on, Elayne. I'm telling you, you're not ugly and I'm pretty sure that boy will agree. I've got quite the catch you know, he had some pretty strange aura, if I were to say." Maika crossed her arm and nodded a couple of times as she muttered "Hmm, hmm!"
Elayne remained silent as she drowned herself in solitude. Elayne had been detached from reality ever since her family sold her to Maika when she was still 12. She had never been this way before as she was quite sociable during her childhood. But ever since she reached her sixth birthday, everything changed. Her doting father began to change in ways she did not understand. Her father won't allow her to go outside their house anymore and would constantly receive insults from him.
Elayne recalled her father calling her an "Eyesore," and that he never wanted a child like her. He would call her often an ugly daughter and how he wished he never had her. Those words crushed her heart into millions of pieces, causing the friendly and sociable Elayne to turn into an aloof introvert. Things worsen when his father disowned her and sold her to a wealthy young man who owned a brothel. Since then, Elayne had locked herself in and never went out. Fearing that people would see her hideous face, call her names, and abandon her just like her father did.
Even though she had been under the shelter of a profane man, she had yet been touched. The man did tell her that one day when the time was right, he'd finally touch her and that he would do unspeakable things to her body. Elayne who had been detached from reality didn't care and remained silent under his words which caused him to explode with happiness. She figured that her silence gave him a sense of dominance.
Luckily, the man had been away for five years as he had been sent to the battlefield to prevent the further advance of the East Demon Lord's army.
While Maika on the other hand is just an adventurer who took the quest to take charge of the brothel while the owner was gone. The owner promised that Maika will enjoy 20% of the annual income of the brothel. Even though Maika became the administrator, there is still personnel who manage the income.
Maika sat beside Elayne.
"Come on, Elayne. Do you really want to give your first to some bastard who runs the brothel? It's better to taste a bit of freedom before the situation becomes bleak. I promise you, he's quite attractive."
Her messy mint hair cascaded as she rose, her dim chartreuse eyes remained sunk in the ocean of depression. Her hand revealed stains of ink, serving as proof that Elayne had been trying to write to her father, hoping that he would save her and take back what he had said in the past years. Her eyes speak of loneliness, telling Maika she does not intend to do what she had in mind. But since she's far from being saved, she decided to try if that would finally shut Maika's nagging mouth.
"That's the spirit! Here, I'll help you clean up." Maika was elated to finally see Elayne move from her bed. Her snow-pale skin shows her lack of blood from not being able to do some physical work. Her body seemed healthy if not for her deathly pale skin. Well, in this case, it's not something a Vial of Vitality Potion couldn't help. After minutes of preparation, Elayne had appeared more lively! If not for her dull expression.
"Come on, Elayne! Smile! Even just this one time."
Elayne pulled an effortless smile on her face which seemed funny.
"There, h-happy?"
Maika did her best to stifle her laugh. It's not because Elayne was ugly, it was because of her flimsy attempt to smile.
Which brings us back to this scenario.
"Huh?"
"I-I'm E-Elayne. I-I'll be y-your lady for t-t…night…"
Elayne stuttered at her introduction. She never talked to anyone besides Maika, and so her heart went wild. She never talked to anyone in years and realization came to her that she would finally interact with a person. And that person's a boy!
"What did I put myself into? Arghhhh…" Maika complained in her thoughts.
She's so nervous that her gait became uneasy. She tried her best to keep her body steady but she shook heavily under her steps, causing her to teeter. Her dazed eyes darkened her surroundings, while Zeid engrossed in confusion.
"What's this clumsy girl trying to do? A gold gem for this? That damn woman ripped me off!"
Elayne finally stood before Zeid who is now sitting on the bed. Dressed under traditional clothing that resembled similar to hanfu. Although, the flowery design embroidered on the clothing depicts flowers from a Sakura Tree. Zeid who felt uneasy with the girl stood and spoke.
"How can a pretty yet clumsy girl like you be my lady in bed?" Zeid annoyingly protested and clicked his tongue. To have wasted a gold gem for someone who seemed clumsy and inexperienced gave a sour taste in Zeid's mouth. He had been expecting someone who felt more confident with a slutty yet youthful body (In this case, Zeid imagines a girl that might speak "Ara, Ara...", a fetish he had after reading so many doujins), instead, he got a clumsy girl with a pretty face yet seemed detached from reality.
"I asked for good quality, not a product yet to be tested."
"Master, this girl. She has the potential to be in your harem." Altair informed.
"If that's the case, I don't want her. Girls like this are hard to handle. She deserves someone who can break her out of her cage. I'm still on the journey to prove myself. If I can't even save myself from my thoughts, how can I save her?"
Unsure to what Zeid had mean, Altair remained silent. His chest became heavy as melancholy drifted into his veins. Perhaps, Zeid had a terrible experience in the past that made him this way. If her master decides what's right for him, she won't be able to do anything.
However, Elayne was left aghast. Her eyes that seemed sunk was pulled back into reality. Her lips further trembled as she felt uneasiness rippling in her chest.
"H-he called me…"
"…Pretty!"
She could not believe her ears. Someone called her, a hideous girl like her, pretty. Her cheeks flushed red as she took unsteady steps backward. Only his silhouette was visible from the dark, but as he approached her, his face revealed by the candlelight. Maika did not fail in telling her the boy was quite attractive. His improved physique shot Elayne like an arrow in the heart, her eyes scanned him thoroughly.
"A-a hot guy like him, c-called me…pretty…"
The reason why Elayne agreed to Maika was that she expected him to be disgusted by her appearance and leave or complain to send another woman. But as she stood there, she witnessed a highly different scenario.
"I-I…I…"
Zeid approached her to further study her beauty. Her freckles rested on her face like the rays of sun-dappled on a leaf. Zeid confirmed to himself that she could've joined his harem if it weren't for her mental state. But he didn't plan on leaving empty-handed
"Elayne, is it?"
Elayne nodded.
"I paid a high amount for this night. But that won't mean I'd force you into something you're not ready for; I don't plan on wasting my time either. We can either sit here and talk or be on consensual sex."
She had prepared her heart for the worse, expecting to receive such abhorrent words yet she receives none. She had not anticipated the outcome of the scenario to be so calm. The only thing that was uneasy was her.
Believing that Zeid was just trying to seduce her, she bit her trembling lips.
"This could be one of those bastards who doesn't care about appearances as long as they get to fornicate with women. It has to be it. Trying to win me by using mellow words and then get to undress like I'm easy to get…" Her anxious thoughts remained although he had appealed rather composed. "No! I know I'm hideous! If I weren't, then my father wouldn't have left me!"
Her visceral anxiety had caused her body to tremble. Her eyes averted his gaze as teardrops fell; She raced for her breath. Her body struggled to remain still as her breath escaped her.
"Shit! She's suffering from hyperventilation!"
Zeid realized her state as he had seen one before from his past. Unbeknown to him, his body eagerly moved on its own and embraced the young girl whose mint eyes turned vivid green. A tear trickled down on his eyes as he held her tight within his arms.
Zeid gnashed teeth and remembered a special person, "Mom…"
Even the greatest painkiller couldn't slaughter the pain caused by emotion.
Elayne was caught by surprise when Zeid suddenly embraced her. Within his arms, she felt warmth and reassuring protection like a citadel. While she was being constricted, she could somehow feel herself calming down. His aura worked like a charm that cleanses her fears and emotional ailment.
This effect was produced by his increased charisma effect. Since Elayne wasn't an adventurer, she was considered a low leveling being and thus causing her to become more susceptible to the charisma's effect. While charisma can be mainly used to improve the efficacy of persuasion, coercion, and intimidation, etc., it can also affect the strength of his relationships and improve his charm. Charisma affects how people around would perceive and feel about him.
Zeid raised his right-hand mid-air as if trying to grab something, but genuinely taking out an item, [1x Hp Potion (small)], from his inventory. He closed his panel and asked Elayne who rested on his chest.
"Maybe you can sit down and unload the burden from your chest. Trust me, I'll listen."