7. A Request Must Be Heard Before It's Granted
7. A Request Must Be Heard Before It's Granted
7. A Request Must Be Heard Before It's Granted
"Hmm..."
"..."
The awkwardness was killing me.
Red eyes that clashed with pale skin.
The moment our eyes met seemed to stretch on for a full minute, or at least that's how it felt.
But more to the point, why was she so strong?
Her grip on the arm I'd been about to slam down with a brick far exceeded anything I'd expected.
If I had to compare her to someone, I'd say Yu Ha-yeon.
No, she might have been even stronger.
Her red lips parted.
"Are you going to put the brick down? My arm is starting to go numb."
"Only if you promise not to attack me."
"Of course. Why would I attack you?"
She said she wouldn't attack.
Trusting her words, I let the brick fall from my hand.
Thud.
To be honest, my strength had been giving out anyway because it was so heavy.
What a relief.
If I'd kept holding it, I would've run out of stamina and wouldn't have been able to swing it anyway.
...But.
Why wasn't she letting go of my arm?
The brick had fallen, but the woman showed no sign of releasing me.
With a captivating smile on her lips, she spoke.
"How amusing. Don't you think so?"
"...What's amusing about it?"
"Trusting someone's words and discarding your weapon so easily. Isn't that ridiculous? You have no idea what I might do."
What was I thinking?
What did I just do?
That brick was my only means of defending myself.
And I'd dropped it just because she said she wouldn't attack me.
I still hadn't shaken off the habits of the real world, where death was a distant concept.
She pulled on my trembling arm.
I had no choice but to be drawn toward her.
"If I weren't a good person, you'd be in serious trouble. This is a world where trusting people is a mistake."
"...Thank you."
Was it normal to call yourself a good person?
I wasn't sure about that, but at least I knew she didn't intend to attack me.
But what happened to those men?
They'd clearly been following me. Had she dealt with them?
If they were still alive, I would have to hit one of them with a brick and keep running.
Curious, I asked her.
"Do you happen to know where the two people who were following me went?"
"I wonder. I'm not sure. Anyway."
She dodged the question. She clearly didn't want to answer.
I had planned to thank her if she'd helped me.
Just as that thought crossed my mind.
The white-haired woman began bringing my arm up to her own nose.
"Wh-what are you doing...!!"
Sniff.
Hah.
A deep inhale followed by an exhale.
This woman is terrifying.
Was she even human?
Startled, I tried to yank my arm away, but it was useless.
"Wh-what is this..."
"The reeking stench of drugs, the soaked smell of alcohol, the scent of dying blood. None of that comes from you at all. Well, is there anyone who comes to a place like this without a story? Don't you think?"
She grinned and let go of my arm.
"If you want something, tell me. Your face is exactly my type, so I'll do you at least one favor."
She liked my face.
I really had gotten a decent buff entering this world.
I wasn't the type to refuse a favor.
"Jenny's Pharmacy. Please show me the way there."
"I'm offering to grant any request, and that's all you want?"
"Yes, that's plenty."
She frowned, seemingly unimpressed by my modest request, and told me to follow her.
How could I ask someone like her for a big favor?
Only someone with a death wish would do that.
During our conversation, I'd figured out who she was, so I didn't have much of a choice.
"Just follow me. And call me... hm... just call me Wol."
"...Alright."
Wol.
White hair. Red eyes.
How could I have forgotten her?
Meeting her here was the absolute worst.
"Don't just stand there. Follow me. We don't have much time."
She grabbed my arm—I was still in denial about the whole situation—and headed for the pharmacy.
Her real name was Han Yu-wol.
I wanted to deny reality, but I had to accept it.
She was the vice-leader of the worst villain group in V. AGE.
Those hands that could twist a person's neck off as casually as washing her hands—I was holding one of them.
Why is my life like this?
It was a deeply sorrowful night.
***
Once we arrived in front of the pharmacy, I quickly said my goodbyes.
Getting involved with a villain was out of the question.
Cutting ties fast was the answer.
"Thank you for showing me the way. I'll be off now..."
"No, thank you. It was nice to relieve some stress. I'll stay with you until you head back out."
"Sure. In that case..."
From what I could tell, Han Yu-wol was an extreme case of doing whatever she wanted.
No, I said it was fine, so why...?
I decided to swallow that thought.
I had no choice but to enter the pharmacy with her.
"Welcome... h-hic...!!"
As soon as we stepped inside, the owner, Jenny, let out a startled gasp in our direction.
She probably wasn't startled by me.
The target of her reaction was already clear.
"It's been a while, Jenny. We're acquaintances, aren't we?"
"Ah. Yes, the White Night's m-ma..."
"The customer today isn't me. It's this person. You'll take good care of him, won't you?"
"O-of course..."
So they were acquaintances.
It made sense. No one who knew the Back Alley was unaware of Jenny, a highly capable pharmacist.
The atmosphere between them was strange, but that was personal business, so I didn't need to dig into it.
I handed her the note I had written.
"Everything written here. Give me all of it."
"All of it? Wait a moment, let me see..."
Jenny the Alchemist.
In the early stages of the game, she built up her experience in the Back Alley through illegal experiments.
Later, that experience would become the foundation for her to become the de facto brain of Witch Craft, a guild famous for its alchemists.
The body enhancement pills that came out of that experimental phase.
Taking them for several years would raise your stats by up to 8.
Pills that even money couldn't buy later on.
I intended to secure a large quantity of them early on.
You have to reap the rewards while you can, right?
A kind of veteran player privilege.
"Hmm..."
After carefully studying the note, the remarkable figure scanned me from head to toe and spoke.
"Hoo, this is going to cost quite a bit... You do have the money, don't you, customer?"
"No? Of course I don't have money."
"Wh-what did you say...?"
Where would a student get money?
I barely had enough to buy a hot bar at the convenience store.
My brazen attitude left Jenny looking completely dumbfounded.
Han Yu-wol, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.
"Now that I get a better look, little one, it's not just your face. Your personality is my type too."
"...I'm not a little one."
"And cute, too?"
What was she even talking about?
You are not my type.
Han Yu-wol kept calling me "little one" because I hadn't given her my name, and it grated on me, but I just wanted to get out of the Back Alley as fast as possible.
Please, save me...
My silent scream wailed mournfully inside.
***
Could I call today a productive day?
With three bottles of pills in hand, I passed through the gate and finally escaped the foul-smelling Back Alley.
"Ahh, freedom at last...!"
"Were you that eager to get outside?"
"More than eager..."
I was.
I never wanted to go back there again.
Still, it was true that I'd gotten out easily thanks to Han Yu-wol's help.
Offering thanks was only proper.
"Well, thank you, anyway. You helped me quite a bit..."
Man, saying thank you really is embarrassing.
Having received my thanks, Han Yu-wol, who should have said something like "Don't mention it, it was nothing," gave a different response.
"If you're that grateful, would you be willing to do me a favor as well?"
"Huh...? A favor?"
I wasn't that grateful.
But I had no idea what she might do if I refused, so I answered compliantly.
"Sure, well. I suppose I can do one..."
"Then, excuse me for a moment..."
Han Yu-wol brought her mouth close to my ear.
Was she going to whisper?
There was no one else around, so she didn't really need to.
In that instant, a sharp, piercing pain shot through the nape of my neck.
Chomp.
What the hell?
Did she just bite my neck?
I tried to push her off me, but that seemed impossible for someone with a Strength stat of 2.
Slurp. Slurp.
Han Yu-wol relentlessly sucked the blood from my nape.
I didn't remember any description in the game of Han Yu-wol drinking blood.
I should have read that part more carefully.
A moment of regret.
"That's enough..."
Pwah.
When I voiced my discomfort, Han Yu-wol stopped drinking and let out the breath she'd been holding in a harsh exhale.
"Haa... I knew it looked delicious... but it's beyond what I imagined. This might be the best meal... little one, you need to learn to be more suspicious of people."
"...Is the favor done?"
"Yes. I'm quite satisfied. Enough that I'd like to taste it again."
I'd really prefer if she could hold back on that.
At this rate, she'd leave me with nothing but bones.
I wanted to get away from this spot as quickly as possible.
"Well, I'll be going now. Next time..."
I hope there isn't a next time.
With that, I turned my back and hurried away, finally breaking free from Han Yu-wol.
When would I ever get back to the dorm?
My commute prospects were gloomier than the blood trickling from my nape.