"I see you've arrived empty-handed. Haven't you already had a chance to make a connection with the product?"
An elegant, deep voice resonated through the dimly lit room, where shadows danced in the flickering red light. The silhouette of a man in a tailored business suit emerged from the darkness, lounging on a dark leather sofa with his legs casually spread apart, exuding an air of confidence and authority. The soft gleam off the leather highlighted the sharp lines of his suit, creating an atmosphere thick with intrigue and unspoken tension.
Along with his nonchalant figure, there was a semblance of depravity that lined the room around him. The muffled moans of a woman and the depraved grunts of men could be heard.
Looking past his figure, I was met with the wild shadowing silhouettes of six men, each moving rabidly, thrusting their hips without a hint of elegance. They behaved like starving hogs ripping apart a single lump of meat, with no patience in sight; they were each vying for their turn to bite.
I felt disgusted as i saw the struggling frame of a frail young woman in their midst. She was in tears and trying her hardest to break free, her attempt was met with a violent reaction as one of the silhouettes grabbed her arm and thrust his member into her mouth, then proceeded to inject her with a syringe.
My stomach churned as she convulsed after being pierced not only through her flesh but also from every natural hole made on her body from birth.
"Oh, are you not going to answer my question, hmmm, i see what's happening over there seems more interesting to you… That's the one you brought in a few months ago, the one who worked at a bar to take care of her brother," he struck a match, then lit the cigar and took and draw before releasing the smoke in my direction.
"You see, she bit an important customer the other day and we can't have that now, can we, so she's getting punished and trained at the same time, quite energy efficient and cost effective for business, isn't it?" His elegant voice was quite convincing, but his words were incipient at my anger.
"You said ten right, and I should be able to get my wife back, right?" My tone was stern despite his efforts at making friendly conversation.
"So feisty, yeah she's safe and sound, oh yeah this product is your last one isn't it, we'll get it here before midnight tonight and you should be able to get what you seek, if your late just remember we do have clients who prefer them of a certain age especially when they have a husband who they love so darely." He then tapped his cigar on a metal saucer on the table in front of him, putting out its flames, and flicked a gold coin towards me.
——
"I see you've made it, Sara. You look beautiful."
I watched as she locked her fingers together and a wry, nervous smile danced on her lips.
"T-thank you. My friend Amy helped me get dressed." Her eyes fell towards the ground in an attempt to avoid eye contact.
Wearing my most expensive smile, I offered my hand in an attempt to be her escort. I watched as she took my hand, and her toes crumbled in her sandals.
"No need to be so tense, I won't bite, unless… I slowly pulled her closer until I was almost face-to-face with her.
"Unless you. Want. Me to." I whispered each word in her ear, allowing my breath to touch her lobe. Her body shivered, and she placed her right hand on my chest as a barrier, in a desperate attempt to prevent me from coming any closer.
"Aaaanyways, how about we head to a cafe to grab some breakfast, the sun has just risen and I have yet to have a bite, how about you?" I watched as she nodded subtly, accepting my request without any words.
"Well then, princess, let's go!"
—-
I followed along as he led the way, acting as a gentle escort. He was even more nerve-wracking to be around today, his usual armor had been abandoned for today's events.
He wore a black buttoned shirt that revealed a little below his neck but not his complete chest, even though his bulky frame couldn't hide his firmly built, muscular chest underneath the cloth.
He seemed to try and cover up his muscular frame with the long sleeves of his shirt, but it wasn't a successful attempt on his part as the cloth merely took the shape of his biceps as his arms moved.
His trousers matched in color to his shirt, showing he had an attachment to the shade of black, which rested on the leather brown shoes that clicked as he walked. He wore no jewelry, but the contrast of his usual wear and his current attire made him glimmer like jewels.
"Here we are." He released my hand from captivity and then opened the wooden door to a popular cafe in the center of the town. He slightly bent, lowering his frame as if to bow to a royal.
I took one look at his tempting smile and his glimmer slicked back hair, then stepped into the cafe, accepting his gesture.
I really did feel quite like a lady of royal descent, despite being of high standing back in my village. These acts were things I've only seen in the books I've read and fantasized about.
After we got seated at a table, we were met with the gaze and gossip of the people present in the cafe, each having their perspectives of our date. The men would admire my looks and attire, and the women were either being judgmental towards me or complementing Eren.
I was getting even more nervous as Eren's silence progressed, and he buried his face into their menu.
"I see, why don't we take their sunny side eggs and toast with some tea, you can add any sides you wish, but this much is okay for me." He slowly slid the menu over to me, then used his index finger to touch the menu items he had selected.
I probed the menu before accepting what he had ordered and rejecting the choice of adding sides.
We then went through with our orders and promptly enjoyed a rejuvenating meal with small talk, which was mostly insinuated by him.
He took another chance to admire the purple mini dress I wore, along with black sandals and pure, along with accessories with purple gemstones.
He complemented how to Colors matched my eyes, which made me feel even more grateful for Amy. My nervousness slowly waned over time, and I was no longer bothered by the eyes of those around me nor their words that dissected every aspect of us.
"So, where to next, Mr Prince Charming?" I teasingly smiled at him, unaware of how much less nervous being had changed the interactions between us.
"Shall we go for a walk to aid in digestion, princess?" He got up from his chair and extended his hand to me once more. "If I may be so kind?"
"Fine by me."
—-
Our walk allowed me to see even more of the city than I would in my day-to-day.
Dancing and twirling along the streets as an inner child within me came to life. We laughed and talked as he introduced me to each building or famous spot along the way, from the food stalls to the theater or even the casino.
We would spend a few hours stopping at each location, making the most of the one day we had for our date.
We even went to the theater to watch the performers re-enact a famous story of a prince and princess of two separate countries in a war-torn time, Julious and Romalia.
It brought me to tears and opened a new light for me of a new world in which love could bring about love and courage to fight for the ones you love.
Even stepping into evil if it meant the ones you love could have a happy life, and in the end dying in the arms of the one you love and wishing them a happy life as you go.
Such romance was new to me, and I couldn't help but be brought to tears.
I glanced at Eren, who had a pained expression on his face as he was trying to hide an emotion deep down. I gently held his hand and smiled at him, which he reciprocated with great effort.
From there, we went for dinner at a nice, expensive-looking restaurant. Unlike most establishments that were made from wooden logs with a mix of bricks and glass. This one was mostly bricks and glass with wood for only the doors, pieces of furniture, and flooring.
We had monster meat and vegetables along with wine and other delicacies you wouldn't get at any tavern or food stalls.
—-
"The moons are beautiful, aren't they?… I haven't had a chance to just relax and look at the moons like this in a while. It's been far too long."
The three moons stood proud in the night sky, each at full, revealing their battered faces.
"Want to see something cool?" Eren asked while smiling at me, who was moon-gazing.
"It's one of the three skills I received while leveling in the dungeons, it's called scope." He used gestures to make me come closer to him and stand in front of him.
"Now look up the moon." He wrapped his arms around me from behind, then proceeded to lock his index and thumbs on both hands to form a rectangular shape, then aimed it at the moons.
"Okay, look through my fingers." He brought the rectangle to my face.
"Huh??… nothing's changed." The view didn't change, besides his fingers now within my field of vision.
"Wait, I hadn't activated the skill yet…. Okay, here goes, Scope!" A green translucent hue covered he is entire body, the then slowly vanished.
A glass-looking window then appeared with the rectangle he made with his fingers. I brought my face closer to it, and in an instant, it was like the moon within my face. I almost jumped, but after moving my face from his finger, I realized it was still way above the sky.
"That's awesome, you have an amazing skill," i retorted, bringing my face back to the rectangle he made to look at the bruised faces of the planet's three moons.
He deactivated the skills now with a bit of ragged breath as if he had run a marathon. "It does consume a bit of mana, though especially for such a far away zoom."
"It's still awesome, though." I hugged his exhausted yet muscular frame, feeling happy and content with the first date I had ever had.
We hugged and then stood there for a few minutes within each other's embrace. I looked up at his handsome face, feeling a bit entranced by the beads of sweat slowly streaming down his defined jawline.
I slowly brought my face closer to him on reflex, but he placed his finger on my lips.
"Let's go grab a drink first."