029 THE SPOT BEHIND HER BACK
"I'll take her," Leo declared suddenly, shocking everyone around him.
"Good choice! Good riddance to her!" the auctioneer said as Kasshyek moved to pay with annoyance still on his face. Then he discreetly provided the slavers with their address for delivery.
"Young Master, we need to leave now. It's getting late, and the Master is waiting for you at home. We can come back another time," Kasshyek reminded Leo.
"Alright, we'll head back to Bagnio La Pleasures. We'll continue shopping later," Leo replied, a satisfied grin on his face.
----
"Remind me why we're still here at the cathouse? The master is waiting for you at the House, and your training with Kassim isn't over," Kasshyek asked, eyeing Leo impatiently.
Leo leaned back, his casual demeanor contrasting with the urgency in Kasshyek's voice. "Nah, my lessons with Kassim are fucking done after we did the Titanic."
Kasshyek frowned. "Still, why waste time here? What are you even doing here? Do you even have the money to pay for the bill here?"
"I've got things to do here and would be staying here until the fight with Lillrune. You don't need to worry about payment. I've got that covered."
"But…", Kasshyek tried to protest but later decided not to.
This wasn't the same heir of the family from before. There was no arguing with him when he decided.
"Did they send the mage over? The slave?" Leo asked, his tone sharpening.
"She's chained up in a cell beneath the cathouse," Kasshyek replied.
"Good. I need to see her now."
"Do you have time for this?"
Leo waved him off.
"Keep busy. Find the tailor and get those fabrics we bought at the Black Market stitched together and made into a full inner body cloak for me."
"Yea..yea." Without further argument, Kasshyek left.
Leo, on the other hand, made his way downstairs with Madam Make-Me-Money trailing close behind.
----
"Just so we're clear, young master," she said, "this cell costs as much as the VIP room upstairs."
"Fine, as long as no one disturbs us," Leo responded, brushing off the cost.
There was a special dungeon in the basement of Bagnio la Pleasure. The brothel used it in extreme cases to lock up girls who planned to run away.
"Don't worry. No one's been in here since our last... escaped girl. We have no girls to discipline, at least for now." With that, she gave him a sly smile and disappeared, leaving Leo alone with the imprisoned woman.
Leo slowly approached the woman bound in chains.
Her fiery eyes locked onto his as he stood before her. "What's your name? I'm Lilleo Gullee."
The woman still naked was bound to the walls with cuffs and chains.
Suddenly, a translucent square marker appeared before the woman tracking her face. There was description below the marker. This was Leo's special ability when he awoke in this world.
"Name: Not identified yet"
"Magic: Cakra Man …. Svad Tier 10 … (Cursed) Mula Tier"
"Health: 30%"
"Animosity: 100%"
The woman spat at Leo, her defiance still intact despite her condition. "I won't submit to you. Kill me if you must."
Leo wiped the spit from his cheek, unfazed. "Why would I kill you? I bought you—cheap, too. But nevertheless, you're still mine."
"Don't come any closer," she hissed. "I'll kill you, just like I killed the bastard who put this lock on me."
"You mean the chastity belt?" Leo mused, taking another step toward her. "I can help you with that."
Her eyes narrowed. "I'll kill you."
Leo chuckled. "Relax. I'm not interested in fucking you. Yet. Besides, you've got that belt, don't you? Nothing would go through that."
As he placed his hands on her chest, the woman stiffened, bracing herself for something indecent.
"Don't touch me," she scolded angrily.
"I'm only checking on your conditions", Leo replied to her.
Leo quickly opened his control panel to study the magic codes on the woman. She was a complex one—one of the strongest mages in existence, and her magic radiated from every inch of her body, albeit suppressed.
Leo's gaze swept over the woman, codes flowing across her like a shimmering waterfall.
"Your wounds aren't physical. Even with suppressed magic, you should be able to heal yourself easily," Leo observed and said.
She looked at him, surprised by his prognosis. "How do you know?"
"You were injured in battle, obviously. Residual magic from that wound is still trapped in your body, weakening your strength," he replied.
"Yes, I could cure my wounds with my own magic, but it's been suppressed, I can't do anything now," she admitted, a note of frustration in her voice.
Leo continued to study her, his eyes scanning her intently, as if reading something invisible. The woman watched him, both confused and intrigued by this young man's intensity.
"I am laid bare before you, naked. You can stare at me all you like without pretending to help. There's nothing anyone can do about my curse," she said dryly.
"Ah… found it. Let's see if I can isolate these codes," Leo murmured, his focus locked on the glowing cluster of magical codes swirling before him.
He pressed a hand to the woman's chest and asked, "What do you feel here?"
Her initial reaction was to spit a retort, but something in his tone made her pause. She stared at him, uncertain.
"Can you feel the curse centered here?" she asked hesitantly.
Leo nodded, his gaze intense. "There's something off about this cluster of codes. It's different from the usual," he added, gesturing toward her hips.
The woman's eyes widened in shock. "How do you know the points of the curse array on my body?"
"And here. And here," Leo continued, pointing to various spots across her body with clinical precision.
The woman, now more intrigued than embarrassed by her nakedness, leaned into his observations. "There's another point behind my back," she offered suddenly.
Leo moved behind her, his hand hovering just above her skin. "Here," he said confidently, touching the exact spot behind her back.