Level Up Saintess

According to Chella, finding the slums is easy; Apparently the entire outer fringe of town is just considered the slums here. Imagine your town being encircled by poverty like that... I can’t figure out how everyone’s just okay with it. Well whatever, that makes things easier for me, since I just have to go in a straight line in any direction to get to my destination.

I trudged forwards for about half an hour, watching the scenery go by, until the road steadily became more and more uneven. The hard packed dirt that had made up the roads was a bit more pitted and ugly looking here, and the smell of drugs, alcohol, and unwashed bodies was much more prevalent than in the center of town. At first the buildings just became more shabby and decrepit, but eventually there were only tents and awnings lining the road. Interestingly enough I didn’t see anyone simply sitting out on the side of the road like the homeless people I’d seen in my previous life. Was it not common for the poor to beg around here? Or maybe I shouldn’t say it’s interesting, maybe I should say it’s worrying. Didn’t that mean that this area was that unsafe to be in? Maybe I shouldn’t have come here on my own.

 

As I was stopped in place debating on leaving and trying my luck again with the adventurers, a group of three men suddenly strolled out of a nearby alley. Their clothes were a bit shabby, and their skin and hair was still quite dirty, but they didn’t seem like they were hungry or hurt or anything of the like, so I didn’t really pay them much mind since they weren’t what I’d come here looking for. However, as they grew closer and closer to me, I started to get more worried. I turned around and decided to hurry myself back to the safety of the town for now until I knew how to take care of myself a bit better, but the sounds of heavy footsteps following close behind me made me break out into a run. I could even hear a few of them laughing while they chased me.

 

At first I was just running straight back the way that I came, but as I made it to the shabbier houses, I decided it might be safe enough to try and lose them through some alleys. I knew it was probably a stupid decision, but I was desperate to lose the men, and I was sure that if I found someone later on that they would tell me the directions to the church. I made turn after turn, but my adrenaline was wearing off. I wasn’t going to be able to keep up running like this for much longer; In fact, I was amazed that I’d even made it as far as I already had. If this were my old body, I never would’ve been able to run this long. Maybe it was because I was younger now. But even youth had its limits.

 

Surprisingly, my sprint for safety wasn’t ended by my strength running out, but by my legs getting tripped up on a piece of discarded trash. I went tumbling forward, scraping up my hands and knees as I braced myself. I had to check that my toga didn’t slide off of me from the fall as I frantically stood back up, since there’s no way in hell I’m just gonna flash my goods at the freaks who were already chasing me. Luckily it seems I’d gained some ground on them with all the crazy turns I’d been taking, so they hadn’t quite caught up to me yet despite the lead they’d gained with my crash, so I did the only thing I had left to do: I started desperately pounding on doors and yelling, trying to attract people to help me. Sure, it was definitely a longshot, but if it was an option then I was going to take it. A few of the buildings clearly had their lights on, so I focused on those first.

 

Of course, I only got to knock on 3 building’s doors before the closest man caught up with me. He tackled me down, re-slamming me into the ground. I tried my best to struggle and fight him away, kicking and flailing my arms in whatever way I could manage. I could hear the other 2 men’s footsteps coming closer, and I knew there was no way I could get away if all of them made it. My only chance was to escape while there was only one of them pinning me down. If I could just figure out what to do, if I could just wiggle free now and start running away again, then-

 

All of a sudden the man was ripped off of me. It was so quick that I honestly felt myself getting dragged with him at first. Soon after, I saw the man get flung against a wall, and his body collapsing down to the ground. My eyes were practically glued on the object of my terror until my savior spoke up.

 

“I was wondering what all that noise was this early on in the day. Sounds like there’s more coming... Come on inside with me, hun.”

 

I was swiftly picked up by two strong arms, and pressed against a supple but firm body as I was taken inside. Once the door closed behind us, I was finally dropped back down, and I got a good look at the woman who’d saved me. She was tall, almost the height of the door we’d just come through, and you could easily tell how muscular and defined she was through her skimpy clothes. Orange and white-striped hair hung from her head as she looked down at me, and there was even some matching short-furred hair on her upper arms. On top of the oddity of the hair, there were two small cat ears on top of her head, and I could even make out a long, thick tail swaying around behind her legs. She exuded raw, primal, sexy energy that was hard to deny.

 

It was obvious to me that the woman who’d rescued me was a tiger beast-man, but wow was it amazing to see for the first time.

 

She smiled at me and took hold of my arm, gently leading me further into the building. I took the chance while she wasn’t looking to quietly heal my aching hands and knees, using a [Heal] on each of them, and refilling my missing 4 health back to full. After passing down a hallway with a couple rooms, we finally went into one, and she softly led me onto a couch. She filled a cup of water from a nearby pitcher and handed it to me, and while I drank she sat down next to me like we were best friends about to share juicy gossip together.

 

“I was wondering what was going on when I heard all that banging and screaming. I mean, there was a lot of screaming going on, you know? It was so~ much, so I thought I should probably go check it out before it woke up the other girls. We have some that are completely nocturnal, and they get reeeally nasty when they don’t get enough sleep, so we do our best to keep things quiet here during the day, especially since it’s always so busy at night.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry for all the noise, then…”

 

I appreciated all her help just now, and even the fact that she was giving me the chance to calm down here like this before she sent me on my way. But I have to say, I wasn’t used to someone treating me so closely like this when I didn’t even know who they were. I wasn’t sure how to handle it, really.

 

“Hah, settle down hun, it’s perfectly fine. This kind of stuff happens around here pretty often; I mean, we’re not really in a good area, are we?”

 

Her big, disarming smile was quite nice, but once again, I must lament the fact that I’m not terribly experienced at dealing with such outgoing people. Not that I disliked her or anything. The tiger was indeed quite likable.

 

“Um, thank you for helping me anyway, even if this stuff happens all the time.”

 

“Oh it’s no big deal! Gosh, you’re being so stiff and tense, it’s adorable~! You’re making me want to hug you, you know? I really might just hug you if you keep it up~!”

 

She started laughing when I pulled an extra uncomfortable face and scooched away from her a bit. I tried to think of something to distract her from the imminent threat of her hugs, so I just started spewing out questions.

 

“...You said there were a lot of other girls here? Oh and um, what’s your name?”

 

The tiger woman giggled at my obvious attempt at diversion, and I saw her tail flick a few times like she was having fun, but then she just rested her head against the couch and started talking, instead of pouncing on me like it looked like she was about to do.

 

“My name’s Ferr. I’m a tiger-kin, like I’m sure you’ve already noticed. The rest of the girls are either scattered around the building cleaning up from last night, or are still sleeping up on the second floor.”

 

Was this building that big? I didn’t get a clear look at it while I was pounding on the doors, I only cared if it seemed like they had lights on inside of them. I didn’t hear or see anyone else while she dragged me over to this couch, so if there’s as many people here as she’s implying, then this place must actually be quite big.

 

“Why are there so many, um, ‘girls’ here? Is it like an apartment or something?”

 

I guess my question really set her off, because suddenly Ferr sat up and threw her head back laughing. Something must have been really hilarious about what I said. I drank a bit more of my water as I waited for her to finish, figuring that once she got over her laughing fit that she’d tell me what was so gosh darn funny. She wiped at her eyes and repeatedly apologized as she tried to force back her laughter, eventually calming down enough that she could finally form complex sentences. But her voice was still trembling heavily like the dam could break again at any moment.

 

“Oh hun, did you not even know where you were? This -heh- this is 'The Sunset’s Blush'!”

 

“...'The Sunset’s blush'? What, is this some kind of inn or restaurant or something?”

 

It would make sense if the housekeepers or servers or something lived here, right? And they’d both do more business at night, like she said earlier. It’s a plausible guess.

 

Or not, because Ferr’s leaking laughter and trembling grew again, and she had to start wiping her laughter-tears away again, too.

 

“Oooh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry hun. You’re just so sweet and naive. I guess you have those priest robes on for a reason, huh? Yeah, no, this place is a brothel, sweety. 'The Sunset’s Blush' is a brothel.”

 

…What? …So that’s why there’s so many ladies here? I guess this must be the place with the whores that Chella was talking about then. In a way I guess I failed successfully and made it to one of my goals? I guess all’s well that ends well. Maybe this warrants thanking the Goddess, but... No, I don't think I'll do that.

 

“Oh, how silly of me. I see.”

 

Ferr calmed down more and made an amused smile at me while she watched me calmly sipping my water.

 

“I’m surprised how little of a reaction you have going on there. I was sure you’d blush, or flinch away, or hide your face or something cute like that. You don’t care that you’re in a whorehouse? Or that you’re speaking to a whore?”

 

“Why should I? It’s a profession the same as anything, and you’ve been really nice to me.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

A mischievous look spread on Ferr’s face, and she leaned closer to me once again.

 

“What if I told you that someone had sex right where you’re sitting?”

 

“I’m sure people have had sex in a lot of places I’ve sat before. Is it at least clean?”

 

“Hah, yeah, don’t worry; I cleaned the couch earlier so it should be fine.”

 

With a face like she was pleased with my answer, she gave me a few pats on my head like a child. I wonder if maybe she could tell that this body was still quite young? Or maybe she just did it because she was older than me. But then suddenly she got even more dubiously close to me.

 

“Well then, what if I told you that a whore was flirting with you instead?”

 

Oh. Was that what was happening? …This isn’t what I came here for at all, though!