Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Backroom Request Specialist
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1.
Ines introduced herself as the daughter of the widow Ceres.
“I had no idea you had a daughter.”
I knew Ceres was a widow, but this was the first time seeing her daughter.
I hadn’t even known she had one before.
No. Ceres the widow was a real widow hag.
She didn’t have the image of someone who’d have kids at all.
“My mother said she needed help.”
“Ah, so…”
“I heard the gist. You’ve got to stop Project Z, and you’re the ally who brought the intel. Right?”
And you’re her new daddy, apparently.
Her plain reaction suggested Ceres hadn’t mentioned that part.
Anyway, I got why Ines had popped up out of nowhere.
Butterfly effect, in technical terms.
In this loop, I’d built a united front with Ceres to block Project Z.
Maybe the desperate Ceres had called in her daughter for backup?
Come to think of it, this rowhouse had two bedrooms.
One wasn’t Ceres’s custom king-size bed but a standard queen.
It made sense if it was for Ines’s occasional visits.
“Have a seat here. Face me. How long ago did it happen?”
“About an hour, I think.”
“Hold still.”
She cupped my face with both hands and turned it this way and that, checking the wound.
It hurt, sure, but my head was spinning more.
Whoa, up close, she’s even prettier.
Ines clearly took after Ceres in some ways, but she was a beauty with a totally different vibe.
Where Ceres was an imperious empress, Ines gave off pure princess vibes.
A refined look that could give Arbel a run for her money in a bunny girl outfit.
Every time her hair shifted slightly, a nice fragrance wafted over.
“Hmm…”
But where’d the daddy genes go?
With those near-white, mystical silver eyes, she looked like a petite version of Ceres, minus the height. You’d believe it.
Ceres the widow, even her DNA was overpowering, huh?
“Can you heal it?”
“Yeah. It’ll take time, though. Shrapnel’s lodged deep in the socket.”
“Ah, no wonder it fucking hurts so bad.”
Ines was a mage, naturally.
All mages in this world got their starting line from bloodline perks, so no surprise.
Even here, Rock Lee couldn’t catch a break.
“I’ll treat it.”
A warm glow seeped in, making the inside of my eye socket tingle.
“I heard you took on a 7th-rank fixer. Was he that strong?”
“Nah. Sunming, that bastard, is a total sneaky doper.”
“Doper?”
I showed her the ampule I’d collected from Sunming.
Ines glanced at the seed mark etched on the glass and spoke.
“Exseed. High purity, too.”
“Exseed?”
“Doping agent handled by the Golden Carp Clan.”
According to her explanation, it amplified augmentations.
The backlash? User’s responsibility, like all dopings.
But the effects were legit—boosted augmentation levels by nearly a whole rank.
Explains the close call.
Sunming’s image was still fresh: that bulky body twisting with flashy moves.
“That 7th-rank fixer took this?”
“Yeah.”
“And you still killed him?”
“Ceres taught me some magic. Saved my ass.”
“Hmm…”
Ines eyed me intently and let out an enigmatic hum.
Feeling the pressure, I changed the subject.
“Where’s Ceres, anyway?”
“She’s not coming today.”
What? Ceres the widow wasn’t coming today?
The moment those casual words left Ines’s mouth,
a chill ran down my spine.
“Done. You’re good.”
“Thanks. Vision’s clear now.”
“Couldn’t be helped today, but next time, stick to the scheduled days. No unscheduled contact—could get us tailed.”
“Got it.”
“Wait a sec. I’ll grab the data we agreed on. Take it now.”
I watched her leave, then finally exhaled the breath I’d been holding.
“Whew…”
Yeah, this 5th loop had felt too smooth and easy.
But no.
“Fuck, we’re screwed…”
Ines.
The biggest obstacle this loop.
A terrifying trap laid by the gods awaited me.
“Ha, what now?”
A dangerous impulse surged.
Ceres the widow wasn’t coming today?
Maybe give it a gentle try? Mother and daughter—similar tastes?
If I could seduce Ines…
My brain would melt in a forbidden, thrilling, taboo trifecta.
Of course, the risks were sky-high.
If Ceres the widow found out I’d become secret friends with Ines?
Even sweet Ceres would sic Julien on me.
But rationally, I still had two lifesaver charms left.
Even if this loop went poof, I’d have two more shots.
Gulp.
Cold sweat trickled down my jaw.
“No, no guarantee it’d fail.”
Seduce Ines, fully conquer Ceres too?
Order the mother-daughter combo legally!
The dual conquest route! Gotta try it once in an isekai reincarnation!
“Here’s the data. Take it.”
Ines returned with a thick envelope, tilting one eyebrow.
“Hmm? Why the cold sweat?”
“It’s kinda hot in here.”
“……?”
Even that expression was just like Ceres the widow’s.
Damn it!!!!
I wanna know!!!
What’s the same, what’s different—driving me insane with curiosity!!!
“Whew…”
I pictured Arbel smiling at me in a bunny girl outfit and barely calmed down.
Arbel.
You owe me big time now. Extra big.
“Uh, before I go, one favor.”
“What?”
“Could I have some of Ceres’s stockings? Freshly worn and warm ones.”
“……?”
She froze like her brain had short-circuited, mouth agape, then scowled in disgust.
“You messing with me?”
“Stop! Stop! Cease fire! It’s for the plan! For real!”
I begged her daughter until I scored Ceres’s stockings.
2.
Necropolis has no daylight.
Blame the smog cutting through the canyon like a sea of clouds and the sheer cliffs towering on either side.
But there’s one district where night never fully falls.
C-6 block: Night Blossom Garden, Necropolis’s biggest red-light district.
5th loop, Day 4.
I stepped into the infamous Night Blossom Garden for the first time.
“Whoa… it’s fucking huge.”
The scale alone was insane.
I knew pleasure districts thrive in broken cities like this.
Rich folks dropping one night’s fun money equals a month’s survival for the poor.
Pleasure and survival’s crossroads, poetically speaking.
But Night Blossom Garden was overwhelming from the get-go.
The whole tangled, five-story complex was one giant pleasure den.
Overall vibe? Decadence and debauchery distilled.
“I love this shit!”
Lanterns scrawled with kanji like Dream , Pleasure oozed sticky red light.
Beyond thin paper screens of the brothels, shadows of men and women tangled wildly under lantern glow, never still.
Datma, opium, mala fumes. Stale cig smoke, perfume, and BO.
Sense of smell numbs in three seconds flat.
Guys with bulging pants wandered.
Prostitutes in see-through qipaos swarmed for business.
Anyway, I must’ve looked loaded.
They stuck to me like glue.
“Oppa, you’re so handsome. Play with us. We’ll treat you right. Yeah?”
“How much?”
“Half off for you.”
“How much is that?”
“Aww, way cheaper than anywhere else, promise?”
“Beat it.”
“What? You fucking gay or something? If you’re gay, don’t act like you’re shopping and fuck off.”
“No, how’d you know?!”
Savoring the fish market vibe, I headed upstairs.
For the record, I don’t do hookers.
Why window-shop at the fish market if I’m not buying? That’s the idea.
Night Blossom Garden quiets as you go up.
1st floor: bars.
2nd and 3rd: cheap whorehouses.
4th and 5th: high-end bars and pleasure houses.
My target: 4th floor, Drunken Red Tower. Run by Shian Eiming.
Overnus Pharma’s got that triad vibe—unlike Twilight Resource Development’s corporate style, they dip into C Sector industries like this.
“How’d you get here?”
“Appointment.”
I flashed the token Ceres prepped to the buff-as-hell bouncer.
“This way.”
Escorted politely.
That token? Called a “Grace Token.”
Shian Eiming loves his wuxia novels, apparently. Whenever he does a solid, he hands these out: “Hey, don’t forget the favor—buy me a drink sometime.”
Necrophile was sketchy enough…
Trying to cash favors for drinks at his own joint? Shows his character.
Place looked nice, though.
Black wood interiors, purple lighting for a mystical vibe, faint strings in the background.
High-class feel.
“Master, guest’s here.”
“Guest? You little shit, I said don’t bug me when I’m busy.”
“B-but… he’s got the Grace Token.”
“Grace Token? Come back in three minutes.”
Short wait.
“Enter.”
Through the door the bouncer opened, a surprisingly spacious room greeted me.
Empty bottles on the floor, discarded silk robes.
One side had a booze spread, the other a massive bed piled with women sprawled out.
…They’re alive, right?
“So, who’re you?”
Drunkenly sloshed Eiming shuffled out in a robe, puffing a cig.
Okay.
Definitely that face.
Ceres set up the meet, as promised. Now it’s my charm time.
“Hey, Master! Long time no see. Remember me?”
“Uh? Oh, uh… you…”
Eiming squinted and scratched his chin.
I flashed my widest, friendliest grin.
“7th-rank fixer Rowen. Rowen. Not interrupting your busy day, right?”
“Oh, oh yeah, you! Right, right! Good to see you.”
Idiot. Like he remembers.
He hands ’em out so much, he forgets who got what.
Confirmed.
“Have a drink. Perfect timing—I was mid-sip.”
“Yes, sir! An honor! Cheers!”
I slammed the sorghum liquor Eiming offered.
“Kaaah!!!!”
“Damn, brother. You drink like a champ.”
Eiming grinned and clapped my shoulder.
Anyway.
Reason I’d ignored the majiang parlors and trekked here?
To step up as Eiming’s backroom request fixer, subbing for Sunming—whose bones are probably mush by now.
“But I’m swamped right now. I’ll set you up with those girls down there for a wild time. Catch you later.”
“Master, that’s why I’m here—with a request.”
But a 7th-rank scrub flashing a Grace Token wouldn’t cozy up to the Hyun Ghost Pavilion Master.
Plus, per Ceres’s intel,
Eiming was a petty shit pretending to be big-hearted.
Cling too awkwardly, and you’d eat dirt.
“Request? What. Make it quick.”
See?
“Couldn’t come empty-handed to see you, Master. Brought a little something.”
“Ahem, well… let’s hear it.”
I flipped open the briefcase in front of the smirking Eiming.
His eager eyes narrowed viciously.
“You cheeky bastard. Here to fuck with me?”
Fair reaction.
Inside? No golden turtle or premium booze—just a single pair of stockings.
“These aren’t ordinary stockings, Pavilion Master Eiming.”
I whispered sweetly into his plump earlobe.
“These are the ones Ceres Cassian wore.”
“!!!!!!!”
Eiming: total foot fetishist.
Confirmed.
Shian Eiming was fetish incarnate.