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Chapter 35.2: Bolero Street (2)
“...Is this where we get our dreams?” Eugene asked.
“It seems like you’re in a rush?” Now that he had shown weakness by bringing up this topic first, the succubus eased up on her advances as she looked at Eugene with amused eyes. “What a cute guest. Is this your first time visiting our store? Why don’t we get some drinks first?”
The succubus’s smile widened as she casually brushed her body against Eugene’s arm and whispered, “If you drink something beforehand, it relaxes your body and allows you to fall into a deeper state of sleep.”
“If there’s no bed, I can’t fall asleep,” Eugene insisted.
“Don’t worry about that. As long as you drink in moderation, I’ll be sure to lead you down to the basement before it’s time to sleep. But, more importantly, what kind of dream would you like us to arrange for you?” The succubus lowered her voice as she led Eugene to an empty seat with a sense of familiarity. “Don’t be shy and tell me everything. We need you to be precise and specific with your desires if you want to enjoy your best dream experience.”
From these words, Eugene was able to estimate the levels of the succubi who worked in this store. High-level night demons were able to cause their victims to fall asleep regardless of their wishes and create a dream for them based on their subconscious desires. Considering that these ones needed to ply their guests with alcohol to make them sleepy and had even asked him to detail his intended dream's contents, there were only low-level night demons here.
“...I don’t feel comfortable saying anything yet,” Eugene said after some thought.
“Then, it looks like you’ll need to have a drink first,” the succubus smiled brightly. “Don’t worry, our drinks are both delicious and strong. After you’ve had a few glasses, you’ll be sure to speak your desires without feeling any shame.”
Having just sat down with him, the succubus got up again and left. Before long, the succubus returned holding two glasses of wine.
“Is it okay if this big sis drinks with you?” the succubus asked.
‘Who said that you could call yourself my big sis?’ Eugene thought as he took the glass.
This would be his first time trying alcohol in his new body, but was he a good drinker as well? His talented body rarely suffered from minor illnesses and was strong against fatigue, so there was no reason why it should be weak to alcohol. With that thought in mind, Eugene brought the glass to his lips.
‘...They’ve even gone so far as to spike this drink,’ Eugene soon realized.
A sweet scent had been subtly mixed in with the smell of the alcohol. It was the scent of a hallucinogenic herb that only grew in Helmuth. Since the levels of these succubi were insufficient, it seemed that they were even making use of such a hallucinogen to make up for their lack of power.
‘Well, it makes sense. There’s no way that a high-ranking succubus would come to a street like this just to peddle dreams.’
As the smell was faint, the drug didn’t seem too potent. Eugene took a sip of the drink with an urge to test his body’s tolerance. His throat burned as the alcohol went down. For the first drink he had had since his reincarnation, it tasted pretty good. However, due to the location in which he was consuming the drink, the aftertaste was just foul.
“It looks like you’re a good drinker,” the succubus hummed thoughtfully.
Having taken a sip, Eugene put the drink down. Then he focussed on observing the reactions taking place in his body. The heat of the alcohol warmed his stomach and then sent a rush of sensation up to his head, causing him to feel a little woozy.
‘Looks like I have quite the innate tolerance.’ He decided to risk drinking the rest of his glass. As he did so, Eugene scanned the inside of the store, ‘There are people going down, but none are coming back up.’
Eugene lowered his empty glass.
“Let’s head down,” Eugene demanded.
“Hm?” the succubus hummed in confusion.
“The drinks here don’t match my tastes.”
“Ahah…. Are you feeling embarrassed to say anything up here? You don’t need to worry about that, but… in that case, shall we head down to the bedrooms now?” the succubus asked, concealing her disappointment.
She had intended to persuade him to drink a few more glasses so that she could make more off of him from the alcohol. However, it was impossible to ignore the demands of her customer. Eugene and the succubus got up and headed down to the basement together.
“It’s a bit scary,” Eugene confessed.
“What is?” the succubus asked.
“It’s actually my first time doing something like this,” Eugene admitted.
“There’s no need for concern.” The succubus explained, “Although we do drain a bit of lifeforce, it’s only to the extent where you’ll feel a little tired the next day.”
“Why do you feel the need to charge us when you’re already taking away our lifeforce?”
“That’s….”
“If you’re feeding on our lifeforce, shouldn’t you at least make it a free service?”
“No… um… in exchange for the money, don’t we offer you pleasant dreams?”
“On second thought, I feel like I’m getting ripped off, so I don’t think I can do this. If it’s a dream, I can get one just by going to sleep myself, so why do I need to hand over both money and my lifeforce?”
Instead of heading into one of the bedrooms, Eugene just checked out the length of the basement hallway. Then he shook off the succubus’ arm and pulled out his wallet.
“I’ve decided to go back and sleep in my own bed, so I’ll leave after paying the bill for the drinks,” Eugene insisted.
The succubus sneered, “How does a cowardly guy like you have the guts to show his face at a place like this?”[1]
“Anything is possible. Since I’m scared and feeling reluctant, what else am I supposed to do?”
Taking out a cheque for a million sals from his wallet, Eugene handed it to the succubus. Even though this amount confused the succubus, she still accepted the money.
“You don’t need to give me any change,” Eugene offered generously.
“Oh… um, well, fine then,” the succubus replied, thrown off-balance.
Was this guy an idiot? Or maybe just a sucker? In any case, this wasn’t a bad deal for the succubus. A million sals were much more than the cost of those two cheap drinks.
The succubus resumed her professional attitude, “Goodbye then…. Next time… please come to us after you’ve prepared yourself. I’ll be sure to take care of you once more. My name is—”
“There’s no need for that. Where do I need to go to get out of here?” Eugene demanded.
“...Allow me to show you the way.”
They walked down to a room at the end of the hallway. The interior looked like it had been a storeroom, but there was a staircase heading upstairs. Eugene left the succubus behind and climbed up the stairs.
He was greeted by a man’s voice, “Did you have a pleasant dream?”
The next floor was a restaurant. It looked like it was intended for their guests, who had had a few drinks and then gotten their lifeforce sucked in their dreams, to have a meal in the restaurant before they left. Eugene opened up the wallet he was still holding and handed the man who had greeted him some money.
The man seemed surprised, “You’ve already paid your bill—”
Eugene interrupted him, “I want a quiet seat in a corner.”
The man hesitated, “Um….”
“What’s good here?” Eugene asked brusquely.
Although he was secretly put off by the young man’s abrupt rudeness, the man politely accepted the money with a pleasant smile.
“The specialty of our restaurant is the magma stew. Its spicy taste has a real kick to it, and it’s packed with plenty of meat,” the man gave his recommendation.
Eugene’s only response was, “I want extra servings of meat.”
“Yes, sir.”
This restaurant, whose name he didn’t know, was just as noisy as the first floor of Rafflesia. Apart from the customers who had woken up from their dreams, the restaurant also accepted ordinary customers. Although this was a black market, that didn’t mean that all the shops here sold illegal goods and services. Even in a place like this, there could still be restaurants.
Eugen sat down in an out-of-the-way corner and pulled up his hood, but he wasn’t the only customer doing something similar to protect their identity. Thanks to that, Eugene could quietly eat his food without attracting attention from anyone else.
How long would he end up waiting? There had already been quite a few customers coming up from the basement, but Eward was nowhere to be seen. As the time passed, Eugene continued to order a few more dishes. The food here was quite palatable.
‘There’s the bastard.’
Just as he was done wiping his fourth plane clean, Eugene spotted his target.
Eward was climbing up the stairs. He had his hood up, so it was impossible to see his face, but Eugene had a clear recollection of Eward’s physique. On top of that, his hand could be seen below the cuff. That callous-free hand could be none other than Eward’s.
He didn’t know how much Eward had drunk, but he was stumbling up the stairs. That alone would have been enough to piss Eugene off, but Eward wasn’t alone in his climb. A few others were supporting Eward as they followed him up from the basement, and they weren’t succubi either. They were unmistakably daemons with those horns on their heads; two men and one woman. A burning rage rose in Eugene’s chest as he caught sight of them.
‘He’s not just playing around with night demons. He’s even getting carried by daemons?’ Eugene questioned in disbelief.
As soon as Eward reached the second floor, two men who had been sitting in the restaurant got up from their seats. The two then casually paid their bills and made their way out of the restaurant, exchanging eye contact with the daemons as they did so.
They nodded their hooded heads to the daemons, and Eward and the daemons followed them out. After confirming that they had all left, Eugene also got up.
As quite some time had passed, the number of people walking the street had decreased. Eugene checked the direction Eward and his unknown companions were heading in, then he turned and walked in the opposite direction. It was only after he had walked around the first building in sight that he turned around and started following Eward.
‘But where are they going?’ Eugene asked himself.
After they had passed several blocks, still supporting Eward on their shoulders, the group entered a particular building that didn’t have any signage. After confirming that everyone had entered without leaving anyone outside, Eugene walked closer to the building.
Right when he was about to push open the closed door, someone called out to him, “Hey kid. You’re in the wrong neighborhood.”
Three burly men walked out of the alley next to the building. While screwing up their ugly faces into a scowl, they glared at Eugene.
“This isn’t some kind of store, so get lost,” one demanded.
Eugene ignored the demand and asked, “Then what kind of place is this?”
“Didn’t I tell you to get lost?” he demanded again.
Eugene put on a friendly tone, “Hey friend, don’t you think that you’re trying to cut our conversation a bit too short.”
“I said, get lost, you motherfucker.”
“Why don’t we go inside and have a talk instead of standing out here?”
“This crazy bastard. Do you think that we have the time to joke with a brat like you?”
One of the men stomped over and grabbed Eugene’s collar.
Despite the hold on his neck, Eugene admitted, “It does sound a bit like a joke.”
“You, you’re coming with me,” the oaf demanded.
The man could smell the scent of alcohol coming from Eugene.
As he dragged Eugene into the alley, he spat out, “If you’re drunk, you should just go home to sleep it off. Looks like I’ll need to teach a brat like you that the world is a scary place.”
After giving him a moderate beating, they’d take Eugene’s money as a teaching expense and then chase him away. The three men came up with this simple plan as they exchanged glances. Eugene was easily able to read their thoughts from their faces as he quietly followed them into the alley.
One of the men began ordering Eugene, “First of all, take out your wallet—”
Since they had entered the alleyway, thus blocking the view of any watchers, there was no need for Eugene to keep playing along.
Eugene pulled on the arm that was clutching his collar; this pulled the man’s chin forward slightly, bringing it in reach for a swing of Eugene’s fist. Before the man could even finish speaking, he had already lost consciousness.
“You crazy bastard, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
With a scream, the remaining two thugs rushed Eugene.
“Come now, friends,” Eugene chided the men.
The two thugs soon fell to the floor, unable to even lift their fists.
As Eugene kicked them idly with his foot, he continued speaking, “Now then, why don’t you tell me what goes on in there?”
“W-we don’t know,” the men stammered out.
Eugene shrugged and said, “That’s fine. It really doesn’t matter if you can’t tell me.”
Bam!
Kicking the men in their chins, Eugene turned around and left, “Instead of listening to you, it should be faster and simpler to just take a look inside by myself.”
1. A more literal translation of this line would be: “How can there be guys like this as well?” It’s quite a common Korean expression, a similar Western expression might be: “Can you believe this guy?” But as this doesn’t quite fit the context of the conversation, seeing as there are only two participants without any observers, something similar has been substituted. ☜