After a few more months went by, Vicente had grown a little more and was slowly approaching his 7th birthday.
His physical abilities were improving with each passing day, and even Ian, the only one in class 2 who could handle a fight with him before, was struggling to keep pace with him recently.
However, Vice still didn't believe he was strong enough to solve Rory's problem with his fists, so he still continued to discreetly watch his friend.
He didn't always do this in his breaks because, as his sister had told him, doing so might alienate him from Ian, something he didn't want.
So, for the last few months, Vicente had been discreetly keeping eyes on Rory a few times during the week and whenever he had some free time without compromising his friendship with Ian.
Ian was no longer talking about Rory and had made new friends in class 2, some of whom Vice had also started interacting with recently.
Because of this, he was getting some space to keep an eye on the actions of the group that was bullying Rory.
However, while Rory's enemies had never exposed what they knew and were using against him, Vice was determined to discover the truth!
...
Leaving the academy in the middle of one afternoon, Vice decided to follow Rory's footsteps.
Today, his father was out of the village, conducting business in other parts of the province, so Vice had some free time to do whatever he wanted until nightfall.
He decided to use this rare occasion to calmly walk behind Rory, keeping a sufficient distance for him not to be noticed.
Since Vicente had experience in this matter, something that Rory didn't, he was easily deceived by his friend, who, without noticing, led someone else to a special place in the middle of the village.
As Vicente observed, Rory entered a property he knew was not for children, a place where his father had once warned him never to enter.
Curiosity and concern filled Vice's mind as he wondered while approaching closer to check more closely.
'What is he doing there?'
He wasn't sure what this place was, but he had a feeling that it wasn't good, and he worried about his friend. 'Is it because of those four?'
He tried to get closer, but before he could reach the location, Rory had left the place and headed on to his house.
At the moment, Vice remained unaware of this development and continued to trail his friend until the end of the day.
...
Returning home without answers, Vice stopped next to his family's coachman, a middle-aged man who worked for his father. He was responsible for caring for the family's horses.
"Old Carson, can you answer me a question?" Vice stopped next to the man as he tended to his family's horses.
Animals like the ones that existed in this magical world differed slightly from those found on Earth.
The man who was caring for the yellow-furred animal continued grooming its mane and inquired, "What do you want to know, little Vice?"
"What's inside the house that is in the center of the village that my father told me never to enter?"
"A house?" The old man looked at Vice, trying to pinpoint the specific location. 'A place he had been told never to enter? I can only think...'
"Yes," Vice said, waiting for an answer.
"Why do you want to know that?" Old Carson asked.
"I saw my friend going in there today. I followed him, but I couldn't get close enough to hear anything," Vicente admitted, startling the coachman.
"Little Vice, don't do that again. That place is where degenerate men go. It's not suitable for children like you," he dropped the comb in his hand and advised the boy.
Carson leaned his face closer to Vicente's and warned in a hushed voice. "Don't tell your father I told you this, but that place is where lost women sell pleasure to shameless men.
It is the doom of those of weak mind!"
Gulp!
'A whorehouse?' Vicente's eyes widened, clearly understanding what that place was as he questioned inwardly, 'Why would Rory go to a whorehouse?'
But he couldn't come up with anything right away.
...
The following day, Vice once again trained his friend, Rory, observing him again as he entered the brothel in the village.
This time, Vice was faster, and by employing his spying skills, he managed to get to the back of that property without attracting any attention.
When he got there, he found a half-open window and cautiously peered through it.
'That...' Immediately upon seeing what was there, Vice's eyes widened in amazement as he noticed Rory's mother was standing before a group of several naked women, teaching them about something.
"When you are with a customer..." As she spoke, a tall, strong man appeared in the large room's only doorway, accompanied by a child at his side.
"Miss, little Rory is here."
When Rory appeared there, he had a sorrowful expression on his face and averted his gaze from the naked women in the room.
But as he passed his eyes through one of the rear windows of the room, he saw nothing because Vice had already fled away from the area.
Vice was overwhelmed and had many thoughts in his mind as he hastily ran away from the property, trying to comprehend what had made his friend transform so much over the past months.
'Is Rory's mother a prostitute?' He wondered. 'No, she can't be. His mother is at least 30 years old. In this society, she is no longer considered young!
But maybe... Maybe she was?' He recalled that Rory's mother had no husband, a rarity in this world's society.
At the same time, she could afford to pay for her son's studies at the Academy of Stars, where only the children of the wealthiest families in this village studied.
'Was she a prostitute? Now is a pimp?' Vice swallowed hard, lamenting Rory's family situation.
'That's why! That's why he's accepting the humiliations of those bastards! In fact, they must have found out about it and are using such a thing against him!' Vicente clenched his fists, and the veins in his neck pulsed.
He changed his path and decided to go back to Rory's house to convince his friend to stop what he was doing.
...
In the late afternoon, Rory returned home alone, as always.
However, when he spotted that Vice was there waiting for him, the downcast expression on his face immediately changed.
"Tsk! Didn't I already tell you not to come here?" Rory asked with a bit of anger as he glared at Vice. "Go away! Be like Ian. Stop bothering me, Vicente!"
"No, you should stop pretending, Rory. Now I know why you have been walking away from us to endure the daily humiliation for Darek's group's happiness.
But you shouldn't do that! Who cares what your mother does? Fight back against them!" Vice said as he approached his friend.
Hearing that, Rory's eyes widened in shock, fearing that soon the entire academy would know about his secret.
His face turned red, and he clenched his fists.
As Vicente approached him, Rory threw a punch in the direction of the boy's face, exploding in anger.
Pow!
Vicente didn't expect this and felt the impact of the blow hit his face, causing his head to jolt to the side.
Meanwhile, Rory was already preparing for the second blow.
"Aagh!" Vice winced in pain from the blow and leaped backward, trying to dodge the kick Rory was trying to hit him with. Vice put his fighting stance on, preparing to have one with his friend.
"You want to fight? Fine, it's been a long time since we danced!
But note that I'm not here to threaten you! No matter what your mother does, it doesn't change our friendship for me at all!" Vicente declared while still keeping his guard up. "If you don't understand it, I'll teach you a lesson. Perhaps then you'll stop being such a jerk after it."
"Damn it! You don't know what you're talking about! Your family is perfect!"
With those words, one ran into the other, marking the beginning of this confrontation that would transform everything between them!