"Are you alright? He did not try to do anything unwanted with you, did he?" the child asked as he side-stepped the fallen body of the 'hero' in front of him. The child had his whole attention focused o the beautiful lady cowering in front of him.
The man that had been knocked out showed signs of waking up and a blow to his head solved that problem temporarily. The child was not too worried about the 'hero' waking up again since the alcohol he had been served earlier had drugs mixed in it.
"I'm alright Shiryuu. He did get a little closer than I would have liked but it was not something I could not have handled. What are you going to do with him? He did say he had the money" The courtesan looked worried and for good reason.
Open money was hard to come by. And this foolish 'hero' had offered quite a large sum in exchange for having a night with the courtesan. The loss of money would hurt their establishment.
"Don't worry about him. He's one of 'those' people madam asked me to take care of. I'll be taking him to the madam now" Shiryuu assured with his gentle smile. But his focus was off-centered and on the courtesan's right side.
Not that the courtesan minded.it was well known within their establishment that Shiryuu had been dealt a harsh blow a few years ago which had robbed him of his vision. No concrete story existed to tell the reason but everyone tried to be gentle with the blind boy.
It did not help their case that the kid acted as he could see. The loss of vision did not seem to have any effect on his day-to-day activities. The child was indeed a mystery in the best of ways.
"Be careful on your way to the madam. And also give her my regards" the courtesan asked, deciding not to ask any more questions.
If Shiryuu's navigation skills were a mystery, their madam's existence was all but a rumor. Only a handful of people were allowed to meet her and even among them, many never returned to make another visit.
The courtesan had never seen the madam herself but the only one who could regularly come and go out of her establishment was the child in front of her. Her sponsor had told her that Shiryuu had been raised by the madam ever since he had been abandoned.
"Don't worry about me. You should get ready for your next customer and do be careful. It was fortunate that I sensed him before he could do any harm" Shiryuu pointed to the unconscious man at his feet when he spoke.
And then he proceed to pick up the body almost thrice his size and proceeded to drag him along the wooden floor.
It would have been an awkward sight to see for most people but the people of the pleasure house were used to seeing a similar sight. Doors were locked tightly as the kid passed through the hallway.
Pounds of pleasure and the scent of sandalwood rose higher and higher in the surroundings till it was all one could hear. This mixture allowed the child to be able to disappear with the huge body in his arms.
And then it all quietened down as soon as Shiryuu entered the madam's hallway. It was different from the rest of the house.
Or it felt different to him. Not only the atmosphere, but the feeling of the floor and the wall texture were different. The way heat radiated off of the surface as well as the way his footsteps echoed were different in this place.
But since Shiryuu could not see, he could not confirm his theory. The only thing he knew was different for certain was the door to the madam's room.
Unlike the rest of the pleasure house doors, this one was metallic and rang when he smalled his fist on it. The sound was also sharp and carried farther than knocking on a wooden door would have.
"Come in. It's open" the door opened with the lightest of the push and allowed Shiryuu entry inside.
And it was colder than the other parts of the house as well but this area had an artificial smell to it. Shiryuu did not like to be here since it reminded him of bad times. It made his brain remember flashes of metallic surfaces and burning buildings as then the loss of his vision.
"Shiryuu. What brings you here?" the sweet and melodic voice belonged to the madam, the head of the pleasure house and his caretaker. The last Shiryuu had seen her, she had looked to be well in her fifteen and it had been some years.
However, every time he visited this place, she sounded younger and younger to his ears. Shiryuu was not delusional enough to believe it to be love that made her sound younger to him.
No, he knew his parental figure and she was a shrewd lady. He was sure she was practicing forbidden arts to make herself younger and fresher. But whatever it was she was doing, Shiryuu did not want to be a part of it.
"Another trespasser. This is the fifth one this week alone. The 'God' was right, they are increasing in number and so are the monsters. What should we do now?" Shiryuu asked in a pained voice.
The 'God' or whatever the creature that had appeared in front of Shiryuu and madam a long time ago seemed to be right. These people could use 'blessing' and 'magic' different from their own were getting more frequent.
He had told them about how their reality was actually a stimulation game made for research purposes and soon this world would be flooded by foreign powers rendering them useless.
The pair had dismissed the 'God' at that time but after all these encounters, it did not seem like a mere coincidence. Then, the other things foretold by that 'God' must also be true.
"I see. This is indeed a problem. It seems we do not have any other choice but to take the gamble. Shiryuu, you will join this game" Madam replied, her tone somber. Her words had a finality to them but they were not something he had not expected to hear.
In fact, from the first time Shiryuu had encountered these outsiders, he had known his fate had been sealed. He would not be able to avoid getting dragged into their orbit and would end up having to face them all.
Because just like them all, he was also someone who had not belonged to this world. He was just someone who had been left behind by his parents in this dimension.
He was an 'outside' force as well.