Body Search (1)
Even when they announced a body search, I wasn't particularly surprised. It was the kind of boilerplate event that showed up at least once whenever you passed a checkpoint or got tangled up with the guards — and a veteran of eroge like me couldn't possibly have failed to see this coming.
Ugh, fuck. So now they're going to grope me all over?
Knowing what was coming should have helped. It didn't. With no means of actually doing anything about it, prediction was utterly useless — no, worse than useless. Call it the curse of knowledge: because I could see exactly how things would unfold from here, the revulsion was already creeping in, a phantom sensation of strange men's hands caressing every inch of my body.
"I'll go ahead and prepare things. In the meantime, escort her over to that wall."
A rough-spoken man gave the order out of nowhere and then disappeared somewhere.
—Whistle!
?!
At the same time, several men who had somehow crept up behind me announced their presence with the sound of footsteps. It was as good as a silent warning: don't even think about running.
"Let's go."
The composed man said it briefly, then led me toward the wall just as he had before. Once he'd positioned me there, he spoke. "Wait here quietly until the Guard Captain arrives."
The Guard Captain?
Damn it. Why were they suddenly calling for the Guard Captain? Menial work like this was supposed to be handled by the lowest ranks. What possible reason could there be?
No, hold on. These lunatics. Don't tell me they're planning to make me "service" them like this?
In the game, this event had ended with, at most, a bit of crude harassment — but in reality, they apparently had no intention of wrapping things up so easily.
...Wait, what do I even do in this situation? Seriously. God damn it.
With this unexpected variable thrown into the mix, the ominous thoughts refused to leave my head. The fact that they'd gone to the trouble of bringing an administrator along meant this couldn't possibly end with mere teasing or groping. Something far uglier — something I couldn't even bear to put into words — was about to happen.
But no matter how hard I racked my brain, no solution presented itself, and in the end all I could do was stand there waiting, helpless as a pig dragged to the slaughterhouse.
"Pwahahahaha!"
Just as I stood there in quiet resignation, a burst of laughter suddenly rang out from somewhere far away. For a moment, I couldn't believe my own ears.
A woman's voice?
A bright, ringing woman's laughter, in a place that should have held nothing but men. Before long, the owner of that voice appeared.
Huh? That character...
Something about the face was familiar, and I reacted before I could help it.
Wait, hold on. Is that...?
But I couldn't quite be sure, so I rifled through my memories for a moment. And no wonder — the original game was perverted enough to attach individual illustrations to every passing extra, so a face merely seeming familiar wasn't enough to conclude I actually knew the character.
Still, going by what I could piece together from memory: she was someone of high standing somewhere; she'd relentlessly tormented the game's protagonist during the bar-part-time-job event; and as for her appearance — red twintails, eyes full of mischief, a petite frame with surprisingly subtle curves...
I think that's her?
Going through it point by point, the woman before me matched the little devil of a character in my memory to a startling degree.
"Wow! Unbelievable! She's real♥"
She let out an exclamation of amazement and looked me over with that trademark mischievous expression.
"I'd only heard rumors, but I guess women like you really do exist? Just how desperate for money do you have to be to sell yourself this hard? Honestly, it's a tough world out there, isn't it?"
Then, making no effort to hide her delight, she continued as she slowly closed the distance.
"No skills, no money, no brains. The only thing you had going for you was those obscene tits, so you figured you'd try the red-light district — but once you actually started, even that turned out to be harder than you thought..."
That's right. That's her.
Watching her pour out unfiltered abuse in that cheerful tone, I finally became certain. She was the exact woman I'd seen over and over in the flashback scenes. She wasn't a major character, so I couldn't even remember her name — but one thing was certain: she was a hardcore sadist, and in the game, Elysia had suffered enormously at her hands.
"Hmm~♥"
Anyway, at some point she'd gotten close enough that a single outstretched arm would reach me. Humming a little tune, she paused for a moment, as if savoring the anticipation.
Is she going to touch me?
—Squish!
Yep. There it is.
Just as expected, she reached out and began kneading my breasts. Her soft fingers glided across my skin, and then I felt a tugging sensation at my nipple. She pulled on the ring as she spoke.
"Miss, you know what they say — too much of a good thing. Even if every man around here is in heat, that doesn't mean they lose their minds at the mere sight of a pair of tits. Honestly, don't you think they're a little disgusting yourself?"
"...I'm sorry, what!?"
"No, no, don't get offended — just hear me out. You went and got your nipples pierced to try to drum up customers, but that's actually working against you. Your chest is already overwhelming enough, and now you've added piercings on top? From a customer's perspective, that's just too much."
I'd known she was vicious with her words. I'd even known roughly how far she'd go. But hearing it firsthand made my stomach turn. No — it was far worse than what I remembered. Unlike the game, the sheer brutality of her insults had been cranked up several notches.
"Anyway, come on now. Our men all need to eat, so let's get this over with quickly."
Having apparently finished having her fun at my expense, she moved straight on to business.
"Let's start with a simple inspection. I mean, you're already naked, so I'm not sure there's much left to check... but rules are rules."
I could tell instantly that the unnecessary jab had been added on purpose. It made the humiliation cut deeper, and that much more fun for her.
—Clatter clatter!
The moment her words ended, the guards who had been standing watch around us sprang into motion and closed in, surrounding me.
...
Looking at the men encircling me made my knees go weak. Knowing that in a moment their hands would be roaming every part of my body, fear — more than shame — was what gripped me in that instant.
"Just to be clear — be careful not to let your fingers slip inside any holes. The detection techniques are so advanced these days that anything hidden comes out immediately. Now then, get to it."
The instant she finished speaking, the men moved as one.
"W-wait a second!!"
Countless hands were on me in an instant. The instinctive revulsion of being touched by strange men made me thrash on reflex.
"Hold still!"
Someone behind me extended an arm and wrapped it around my throat.
"Hk—!"
The thick forearm pressing against my throat cut off my breath. He adjusted his grip each time I struggled: when my movements grew violent, the arm tightened; when I went still, it loosened again.
—Knead, knead.
—Grope, grope.
—Slap, slap!
The obscene sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoed in my ears. They were groping me from every direction at once — I thought my senses might short out. Different textures bombarding different parts of my body at different times, until even my head spun.
Even through all of it, one thought burned vividly in my mind. Countless men whose names and faces I didn't know were staring at my naked body right now, touching me however they pleased. The thought alone was enough to make me lose my mind.
Even actual prostitutes don't get it this bad!
No matter how I thought about it, even a modern-day prostitute wouldn't be subjected to this. At the very least, a stripper in some liberal foreign country might deal with one or two handsy customers — but never a whole swarm of them at once. And come to think of it, those women were at least getting paid. God damn it. When you actually compared the two, I was the one in the more miserable position.
Jesus, how long are they going to keep groping me?
However long it had been, heat was starting to rise from my skin. A quick glance down showed my skin flushed red in patches from the constant friction, slicked with sweat that had crept up without my noticing.
"Hey, hold on!"
Then one of the soldiers suddenly shouted in a flustered voice.
"Huh? She's wet?"
"Ha! Bullshit!"
I shouted back immediately at the insane remark.
"Hey, hey! Don't touch that area unless you have to!"
"Got it."
But whether I spoke or not, they just kept muttering among themselves, paying me no mind whatsoever.
"All clear. Nothing over here."
How much time had passed? One by one, the men finally began reporting their inspections complete, and once the last soldier had finished checking, she asked again.
"You didn't find anything unusual, did you?"
"No, ma'am. Nothing at all."
"No abnormalities."
Hearing the soldiers' reports, she gave a small nod and issued her next order.
"Now then, untie her."
Wait, is it over?
At the order to release me, I finally thought this hellish body search was finished. But my relief lasted only a moment before a question flashed through my mind. Was this really where a body search normally ended? In the game, and even in modern movies, hadn't they always checked... further? The anus and... those places?
—Snap!
While I was still thinking it, the rope binding my wrists came loose. The sense of release finally arriving, I rolled my stiff wrists gently.
And the woman, who had been watching me do it, opened her mouth as if she'd been waiting for exactly this moment.
"Now then, we still need to check the inside... Excuse me, miss whore. Go ahead and spread that cheap cunt of yours nice and wide for us, so we can get a good look."