The Kingdom of Entertainment
With our preparations complete, Ju Seo-hyeon and I tore a spatial transfer scroll and relocated near District 6700. Spatial transfer into the district itself was impossible.
The moment we appeared on the outskirts, we both instinctively scanned our surroundings.
We were standing in the middle of an asphalt road — something rarely seen in this world. Seo-hyeon's eyes went wide with surprise.
I looked ahead, then behind. In the distance ahead, a massive city was visible as a small silhouette. At a minimum, it looked like dozens of kilometers away. Behind us, beyond the road itself, there was nothing at all.
"We're going back the way we came."
"Back? The city's right in front of us."
"Going back is faster. Follow me."
"…"
Seo-hyeon shot me a quiet glare, but said nothing and fell in behind me.
After about five minutes of walking, we arrived at our destination.
"…A bus stop?"
"You think this asphalt road is here for no reason?"
We sat down on the empty bench at the bus stop. I casually slid my hand onto Seo-hyeon's thigh.
She flinched.
By now she should have been used to it, but every time I groped her she still reacted like she'd been caught off guard. Honestly, more than half the reason I kept doing it was for that sharp, delicious reaction of hers.
My hand traveled along her thigh and slipped between her legs. Pants and panties — two layers of fabric between my fingers and her pussy. I pictured it underneath.
No hard edge of a chastity belt. Sometimes you needed a day like this.
She flinched. Flitched again.
Every time I pressed my fingers against her, she reacted. The reaction was so entertaining I couldn't help laughing. Seo-hyeon's cheeks flushed bright red.
"I'd rather… I'd rather just wear the chastity belt…!"
"Not your call. You don't get a choice."
I caught her face with my other hand as she looked ready to explode with humiliation, and slowly closed the distance. Sensing a kiss was coming, Seo-hyeon squeezed her eyes shut.
Our lips met. She always put on a show of hating it, but the moment our mouths connected she never actually pulled away. I parted her lips and drew in her tongue and her breath.
Slurp. Slurp.
I sucked on her tongue with deliberate care. Seo-hyeon trembled in intermittent shudders. When I finally pulled back, her expression looked like a switch had been flipped. Her pants were thick enough that it wasn't obvious from the outside, but… her pussy was probably soaked through.
Maybe a little more.
I kissed her again.
Seo-hyeon came from the kissing alone. We were still trading sticky saliva when I spotted a bus approaching in the distance. I broke away from her mouth.
"Haa… haa… haa…"
Seo-hyeon gasped for air, her breath hot. She forced her melted expression back into something presentable while she caught her breath. I snorted a quiet laugh.
The bus pulled up to the stop. There were quite a few people already inside.
"Two thousand pennies per person."
The driver said. I paid four thousand pennies and boarded with Seo-hyeon.
Two thousand pennies. Converted to Korean won, that was about twenty thousand. Filthy expensive, but there was no alternative.
Once we were seated, Seo-hyeon watched the scenery whipping past the window and asked,
"Why are there buses running out here? This isn't even District 6700 yet."
"District 6700 exerts influence on its surroundings. And people born in District 6700 can come and go freely without restrictions. It's a prosperous place, so some of the citizens head outside looking for a change of scenery."
I had nothing better to do, so I explained District 6700 while running my hand along her waist.
District 6700 was a modern-setting zone, but it came with plenty of restrictions. The basic ones included requiring a ticket for entry and a ban on exporting goods from inside the district to the outside world.
"It's a modern-setting zone — why haven't other clans cleared it? Is there some kind of non-aggression pact around District 6700?"
"Hardly. The clear condition for Atlantis is clearing every single zone. District 6700 is no exception. The only reason no one's cleared it is because it's so difficult they've put it off."
Among the famous zones, there were quite a few left uncleared simply because they were too hard and too much of a pain.
When Seo-hyeon heard the clear conditions for District 6700, she shook her head hard.
The bus arrived at the entrance to District 6700 — the Kingdom of Entertainment. Everyone who got off, except for us, walked straight inside without a second thought. All of them were citizens who lived in District 6700.
We, on the other hand, were stopped by an invisible wall.
An admission ticket is required to enter District 6700, the Kingdom of Entertainment.
Seo-hyeon and I pulled out our blue tickets.
Would you like to use the Kingdom of Entertainment Admission Ticket?
I nodded to confirm. The blue tickets turned ash-gray and vanished. The invisible wall barring our way disappeared without a trace.
Together with Seo-hyeon, I stepped into District 6700.
You have entered District 6700, the Kingdom of Entertainment.
Status: Civilian.
Seo-hyeon's eyes went round as she took in the city.
Cars of every color raced along clean asphalt roads. Familiar traffic lights stood at the intersections. The sidewalks were neatly maintained, lined with trees. High-rise buildings rose in rows along the streets. The whole place had the developed urban atmosphere of Seoul or New York.
"Seo-hyeon. Why are you gawking like a country bumpkin? Is a city really that amazing to you? You're from Seoul, aren't you?"
"…I never expected to see a city like this in this world."
Seo-hyeon pulled herself together quickly. Then she absently touched her waist — probably thinking of the sword she normally carried. But District 6700 was a place where no monsters appeared, so we hadn't armed ourselves from the start.
I flagged down a taxi with Seo-hyeon in tow. The driver glanced at us and asked,
"Outsiders from beyond the district, are you?"
"Oh my. Is it that obvious?"
I asked back with a smile. Just thinking about lounging around and living it up in this developed city put me in a good mood.
"Outsiders always have a sharper edge to them compared to the people here. No monsters appear in this place, so you can relax. Though there is something far more terrifying than monsters."
"Something more terrifying than monsters? What would that be?"
"Money. Money. Most outsiders come to District 6700 looking for a safe haven… but the cost of living is so high that countless of them can't hold out and end up leaving."
"Does it really take that much money? Outsiders tend to have superior physical abilities… you'd think they could earn a decent living through manual labor alone."
"The special outsider tax is rather steep. Ordinary ability isn't enough to weather it."
"A special outsider tax… Do we have to pay that as well?"
"From what I understand, it kicks in if you stay in District 6700 for more than two months. Fail to pay and you're forcibly deported."
"Surely some people manage to stick it out."
"Not a single one so far. No matter how strong an outsider is, you can't beat the System."
"Ah."
"So, sir — where shall I take you?"
"Queros Hotel, please."
"Queros Hotel…"
The taxi driver swallowed hard.
"Looking for the most famous and glamorous hotel in all of District 6700, I see. My apologies — I failed to recognize a distinguished guest."
The taxi pulled away smoothly.
"Haha. Just think of me as a nouveau riche on vacation. Ah, but I'm looking for a certain man — would you be able to help me out?"
"Me, sir? I'm just a simple taxi driver…"
"Any useful information you can pass along is more than enough. The man I'm looking for is named Etwall. Apparently he works as a fashion designer in this city."
"A designer? I know all the famous fashion designers, but I've never heard the name Etwall."
"Ah, is that so."
"…If it's the designer scene, I might be able to dig something up for you."
The driver said carefully. I immediately pulled out my wallet, extracted a stack of bills, and handed them over.
"Three hundred thousand pennies. Find Etwall and tell me where he is, and I'll throw in another five hundred thousand."
"Huk… That much… You're incredibly generous, sir. Leave it to me."
In high spirits, the taxi driver launched into a stream of chatter — how the entertainment industry operated these days, which celebrities were hot right now, the latest shocking scandals. Almost everything he said revolved around entertainers.
It was only natural. District 6700 was a zone that revolved entirely around celebrities. It wasn't called the Kingdom of Entertainment for nothing.
"By the way, the lady beside you… her beauty is truly exceptional. Is she perhaps an aspiring entertainer?"
"Ah, she's my partner. We're just here on vacation together."
"What a shame. If she debuted as a model, I'm certain she'd become enormously popular…"
The taxi driver looked genuinely disappointed, as if it were his own business. I smirked and turned to Seo-hyeon.
"Seo-hyeon. Want to debut?"
"No."
She cut me off flat. Her eyes fired a warning shot that said, don't even think about pulling something stupid.
"If you have any interest in the entertainment industry, please call this number. It's one of the top five agencies in District 6700."
"Lilith Entertainment…? Are you one of their employees?"
"Haha. I'm a taxi driver. Lilith Entertainment pays me a little something to hand out business cards to particularly beautiful passengers."
"Hmm. I see."
I took the business card meant for Seo-hyeon and stuffed it roughly into my pocket. She glared at me with clear dissatisfaction, then whipped her head toward the window.
"We've arrived."
The driver stopped the car. I paid the fare and got out.
When Seo-hyeon saw Queros Hotel, her mouth fell open. I was pretty impressed myself, if not quite to her degree. The place was that spectacular.
The sheer size was one thing, but the overall design — shaped like a giant S — felt like a work of art. Black and gold intertwined in a dazzling harmony. This was practically a city landmark.
Security guards were stationed thickly at the entrance. They watched Seo-hyeon and me in silence. I led her inside and booked a suite. A single night cost a staggering eight million pennies — roughly eighty million won.
The suite was as expensive as it looked, and the view was spectacular. The entire city stretched out below us.
The best room in the hotel was already occupied, so I couldn't get that one… but this is more than satisfactory.
Seo-hyeon was admiring the view as well, quietly awestruck.
I stepped up behind her. I could feel her tense. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I whispered against her ear.
"Seo-hyeon. I'm bored. Want to have sex?"
"You horny bastard…"
She said it with pure disgust.
It was true, so it didn't bother me at all.