The Price of Survival
Even in Eden’s angels, I saw people clinging to the dead and weeping as they cleaned up. No matter how effective the medicine, magic, or divine power, those with near-instant fatal wounds died before anything could be done. In particular, the hunter who had been grabbing collars tried to attack the bald hunter with bloodshot eyes, causing a commotion as the surrounding hunters held him back. He eventually sank to the ground under their persuasion, but the bald hunter’s expression was far from pleasant. He probably never imagined such a large-scale attack would occur.
While we were in the middle of cleaning up, a female hunter approached me cautiously. “Um, Sister. Could you treat even a small wound?”
“A wound? Let me see.”
“It’s… a little awkward to show here.”
From the way she blushed and glanced around, I could guess the reason. I took her to the tent where we had been staying. Inside, Gwangnam and Ekaterina were tidying up the bedding. When I asked Gwangnam to step out for a moment so I could treat a female patient, he agreed without complaint and left.
“Elisha, what’s the matter?”
“She seems to have an injury in a place that’s difficult to show outside, so I brought her here.”
“Oh my, I see.”
The hunter looked slightly flustered at being seen by both of them, but perhaps trusting the profession of nun, she removed her lower garments, sat on the bed, and carefully spread her legs. Between her modest black pubic hair, her bloodied vulva was red and swollen, looking quite painful. Ekaterina knelt in front of her, carefully touching it with a hand sterilized by divine power, and asked, “May I ask how you injured this place?”
“…Can you promise to keep it a secret?”
“Of course. I swear to God that a patient’s personal information will remain strictly confidential.”
“Actually… I’ve been doing work here to relieve sexual desires.”
She explained that she had come here as a hunter a few weeks ago and started prostituting herself to earn money. What began with requests from a few hunters gradually became known around the camp, and soon even the soldiers inside the camp were seeking her out.
“I started because I had a lot of debt after becoming a hunter, but lately I’ve had to deal with too many men. So I overdid it and ended up like this…”
“I see. Were you doing the prostitution alone?”
“Yes. After all, the only women here are me and you all.”
Ah, now that I thought about it, aside from the survivors we had rescued, I hadn’t seen any other women here. To handle the sexual desires of so many men alone—even as a hunter, it was too much to stay unscathed.
“You must have had a hard time. Still, since you took on the sexual desires of so many men, you did your best as a woman. Well done.”
“Huh? Oh, yes…”
At Ekaterina’s sudden praise, the woman trailed off, looking bewildered.
“Ekaterina, that’s a bit…”
“Oh my, hohoho.”
Ekaterina sometimes made mistakes like this, perhaps because her values differed from those of ordinary Earth women. She smiled awkwardly at my words and began channeling divine power into her hand on the vulva. Natural recovery could be done with my vital energy, but since it had the side effect of inducing arousal, divine power would be better. Once cleanly healed, the woman thanked us and left.
So there were prostitutes even in a place like this. No wonder the soldiers’ sexual desires and vital energy had been stable—there was a woman relieving them.
“I didn’t know why the vital energy of the soldiers and hunters was so stable in this isolated place, but now I understand.”
“Hohoho, men always need women. It’s fortunate there was even one woman to relieve their sexual desires.”
“If she dealt with this many men, she must have earned quite a bit of money.”
Just looking around, there were dozens of soldiers alone, and excluding the hunters who had come from Korea as support, there were dozens more stationed here. She must have earned money, but with that many clients, it was lucky her body was still intact. Ekaterina, who had been separating and tidying the beds, smiled at my words and asked, “Oh my, are you envious?”
“No, I was just saying.”
“If you ever decide to sell your body, make sure to get permission from my husband and me.”
“I said I’m not.”
“Answer.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Even though she was smiling, the coercive atmosphere I felt made me answer automatically. Ekaterina had a certain presence that could overwhelm people even when she was usually gentle. Satisfied with the answer she wanted, she softened again and began tidying the tent with me.
The soldiers and hunters who had fought a bloody battle with the lizards crammed ten people into each six-seater vehicle after finishing the cleanup and departed for the gate. Leaving behind the place filled with the smell of blood, gunpowder, and burning corpses, we passed through the burning forest and the empty plains before arriving at the base where the gate was located. Since we had already reported the situation via radio along the way, the faces of those welcoming us were filled with tension and sorrow. The hunters, exhausted and asleep, woke up one by one, gathered their belongings, and got out of the vehicles. Led by the soldiers carrying the bodies, we walked toward the gate. It seemed they had already made arrangements so we could return immediately, as we were guided straight to the gate upon arrival.
“They prepared for us to return right away, I see.”
“Of course. There are many injured soldiers, and four hunters died.”
“We’re lucky none of us got hurt.”
Hunters had a high mortality rate to begin with, but seeing the hunters grieving over their dead teammates made me feel sorry. Even if being a hunter was a family business, it seemed better to avoid dangerous requests.
“From now on, let’s carefully check requests and only accept safe ones.”
“Usually, the higher the risk, the higher the pay, so doing that would reduce our income.”
“We need to regularly buy hunter equipment, run the temple, and raise the children we’ll have in the future. The more money, the better.”
“Ruya is rich, so there’s no need to worry about money, right?”
At my question, Ruya shrugged. “I spent almost everything buying the temple and the house. Real estate prices are ridiculously high.”
“House poor, nyang.”
“You even know that phrase? Anyway, that’s why income is important for our family.”
“Hmm…”
Still, it seemed better to avoid dangerous work. It would be good to set up some business that brings in regular income. Was there a good way?
‘How about doing what you’re good at?’
‘Good at?’
‘Prostitution.’
‘Wouldn’t I be a bit past the age for prostitution now? The family might object.’
‘Then don’t do it yourself, just manage the prostitutes.’
‘Prostitution in Korea is only legal in state-approved brothels.’
‘Well, the prostitution itself happens in approved brothels, but the prostitutes receive the money. You just make the prostitutes work and take the money they earn.’
Huh? How was that different from running a brothel?
‘It’s different. They freely sell their bodies and just send the money to you.’
‘How is that possible? That’s basically slavery.’
‘With the power of Abaddon larvae and charm eyes, subjugating human women is nothing. If you make ten slave prostitutes, you’ll get a steady income. They’ll each freely and legally prostitute themselves according to their own will, so it’s not dangerous either.’
‘Hmm…’
It wasn’t running a brothel, but it seemed similar to making angels prostitute themselves. That much seemed possible.
‘Still, since they need to live their own lives, it would be a bit much to take everything, so maybe ask for half?’
‘Are you being considerate of the slaves again? Well, that’s just like my kind doll.’
‘I should discuss it with Ekaterina and make a concrete plan.’
Ekaterina, the Great Nun of the Erutina Temple—which was both a temple and a brothel—probably wouldn’t oppose this plan. Rather, given her subtly cold attitude toward anyone outside the family, she might even welcome it. Thinking this, I followed the group through the gate.
The hunters who returned to the place they had entered were first guided to a large hotel. The hunters who had lost members moved separately for the funeral of the bodies, while the rest were assigned rooms. Our team was given one four-person room. We washed up, ate at the hotel restaurant, and gathered in the room. Sitting on the comfortable beds, the battle from a few hours ago felt like a lie. Gwangnam, looking around at the team members sitting on the beds in light clothing, spoke first. “All things considered, we all made it back safely, so we should celebrate, right? Let’s drink!”
“Let’s drink, nyang!”
“Oh, there’s plenty of liquor.”
Ruya, who had already opened the refrigerator faster than anyone, spoke. Ekaterina stood up and switched to headquarters mode. “Charlotte and Ruya, set the tableware on the table. Elisha, let’s make some simple dishes with me.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Gwangnam sat quietly watching while the women moved according to Ekaterina’s instructions and quickly prepared the drinking party. While making simple dishes with Ekaterina using pre-packaged convenience foods, I casually brought up the topic. “What if there was a way to earn money regularly? Would you be willing?”
“You know illegal activities are off the table, right?”
“It’s legal.”
I explained my thoughts, organizing Elisa’s idea for her. The work of taming prostitutes through proper education and taking half of their earnings. Though it wasn’t running a brothel, it was essentially similar to managing prostitutes. She showed interest.
“Oh my, using women is a bit concerning, but it’s a useful method. Since they’re neither believers nor nuns, it’s free from the doctrine that prostitution must happen in the temple.”
“Even with just ten, it would be a good regular income.”
“Hohoho, you’re really thinking about the family. How admirable.”
She patted my head, calling me admirable. Being praised by her, who was family, made me feel slightly good.
“But it’s not a good method in my husband’s eyes. He’s quite moral, so he’ll likely oppose it.”
“Then should we not do it?”
She looked at me with a seductive smile full of schemes. Glancing sideways at the noisy table, she whispered in an even smaller voice, “Hoho, let’s do this as a side job between us women. I’ll leave the task of making slaves to Elisha.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Hehe…”
When I obediently agreed, she seemed even more pleased and gently stroked my head. The drinking party celebrating our safe survival, which began shortly after, grew increasingly lively as time passed.
“Nyang~ nyang~”
“Stop licking already.”
“Charlotte has a drinking habit of licking when she’s drunk.”
“It’s called grooming. I heard cats do it a lot.”
Even as Ruya grabbed her head and pushed her away, Charlotte kept clinging and licking her cheeks, hair, and hands without restraint. Gwangnam watched with envious eyes and said, “Why doesn’t she do it to me? I want grooming too.”
“She only does it to women for some reason. Ah, seriously. Go to Ekaterina or Elisha now.”
“Nyang~”
Ruya was having a hard time because Charlotte was clinging so persistently she could barely speak. Hmm, it would be better to just put her to sleep.
“Charlotte? Look into my eyes.”
“Nyang?”
The moment she looked at me with half-lidded eyes, I activated my charm eyes and put her to sleep. Since she was drunk and had no guard up, it worked very effectively, and she immediately fell asleep and toppled backward. After laying the purring, sleeping Charlotte on the bed, I turned to find Gwangnam and Ekaterina looking at me with amazed eyes.
“Oh, is that the succubus eye? You put her to sleep in an instant.”
“You’re capable in many ways.”
“By the way, is it true that you enter dreams and absorb vital energy like the legends say?”
“Hmm… It’s a little different. I don’t enter dreams; I make them have wet dreams and absorb the vital energy that gathers.”
“Kuh~ As expected of the spirit of lust, an incubus.”
Except for Ekaterina with her divine power, Ruya with her spirit power, and me with my full-body prosthesis who didn’t get drunk in the first place, the other two were ordinary people and were drunk.