Within the small room normally meant for debauchery, Sigmarus watched as Grace continued wiping away the moisture leaking from her eyes with the back of her arm. The strong reaction to the mention of her parents made him wonder if they had passed away recently.

Silence fell between them, only occasionally interrupted by distant moans. In contrast to Sigmarus’ nonchalant demeanor, Grace shifted awkwardly in her seat.

As her eyes turned red and puffy, Sigmarus turned away and pondered on how to tackle this issue. There was no need for him to play hero or anything, but the girl’s situation irked him. Unfortunately, provoking the gang that owned the brothel would only escalate the problem. In the end, he could only think of one partial solution.

Not wanting the atmosphere to stay awkward, Sigmarus asked, “Mind if I ask how much you owe?”

Grace’s brows furrowed as she replied, “You are asking a lot of questions, Mister Sigmarus.”

“True. If you don’t want to answer, then don’t.”

Hearing his blunt reply, she fell silent and cautiously observed his face. Due to the previous warning from the Madame, she wondered if Sigmarus might be one of those people who would try to steal her away, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see such intentions in his mannerisms. Since her judgment of people rarely missed the mark, why distrust it now?

Sighing, she asked, “Why are you asking me these things when we just met the other day?”

“Hmm… What if I said it’s because I feel like helping you?”

“Eh?”

“Do you want me to help you, or should I mind my own business?”

“I…” Grace started speaking but then fell silent and bit her lower lip. Her eyes darted around without focusing on anything. After processing Sigmarus’ offer, she said, “You don’t need to help me.”

Sigmarus rubbed his chin again and raised his eyes toward the ceiling. In order to fully state his reasonings, he stepped out of his comfort zone to slowly explain, “When I saw your eyes the other day, it looked like you still had something to live for. Most of us muskrats are broken and beaten, yet your eyes were still bright despite how shitty this world is. I envied that. It made me think that maybe I could also find things worth living for, even if life sucks. Then, when I heard my coworkers talking about what they wanted to do to you, I felt like if I didn’t try to help you, I’d lose what little of myself I have left. So, I’m here because I don’t want to see you break like us hopeless pieces of trash.”

Startled by the heartfelt explanation, Grace stared into his dull, gray eyes. Unable to think of anything else to say, she mumbled, “You’re a nice person, Mister Sigmarus.”

“I’m not.”

“Even though you want to help a stranger?” She lightly jested.

“I’d call you an acquaintance, at least.”

The aloof retort made Grace smile, if only a little.

For a little while, the two sat quietly, ignoring the muffled sounds from other rooms. Sigmarus already said his piece, so he could only wait for the girl to accept his help or deny it. Either way, he would accept her decision.

To Sigmarus’ surprise, a bitter smile appeared on Grace’s lips as she said, “Ten thousand...”

“What?”

“The Green Devil gang gave me ten thousand credits for my sister’s medicine, so I don’t think you can help me, but thank you for saying you want to.”

Sigmarus sucked in a cold breath of air. Damn. What kind of medicine cost her ten thousand credits? And the Green Devil gang are the ones who gave it to her? They’re really the owners of this place? She’s fucked. Totally and royally fucked.

Since his eyes closed and his brows furrowed, Grace assumed he had given up on helping her. As such, she said, “It’s my own fault, so I’ll work it all off. You don’t need to worry about it. I’m a strong girl, after all!”

Opening his eyes, Sigmarus glared at her. Then, ignoring the throbbing of his wounds, he reached out with his right hand, grabbed the crown of her skull, and lightly shook her head back and forth while scolding her with a serious tone, “Listen here, you little shit! Do you even know what the Green Devils are like?! Huh?! They’ll wring you for all you’re worth and then some! And you expect me to just shut up and leave after hearing that?!”

“Owowowo, stop~. You’re pulling my hair! You’re going to pull it out!”

Despite her complaints, she didn’t try to remove his hand from her head. In fact, she was even grinning, bewildering Sigmarus. He decided to ignore it and removed his hand. The moment his hand left her head, she raised both her hands to readjust her tousled hair. Meanwhile, he lowered his voice to his normal placid tone to continue speaking.

“I’m not going to just take out ten thousand credits to pay your debt since those devil bastards are whores for money and would definitely try to find out where you got it from, but what if I buy up as much of your time as possible whenever you’re here?”

“Eh? But you’ll run out of money!”

“I have more than you think. Do you want me to help or not? Or do you want to keep selling yourself to pay it off instead?”

Clenching the hem of her skirt, Grace’s posture shrank as she mumbled, “I don’t want to sell myself, but I can’t do anything else.”

“Then, I’ll buy all your time.”

“Umm… I don’t think Madame Lee will say yes to that, though.”

“Do you want me to help you or not?”

The two locked eyes, and Grace immediately felt like she couldn’t say no. Her heart thumped due to his strict eyes which gave her a similar impression to her late father’s during the times he had spanked her for sneaking out to explore the dark alleys of the underground. Almost instinctively, she nodded and said, “Please.”

“Sheesh. Finally. You’re a stubborn kid.”

“I’m not a kid. Don’t you think I’m a pretty lady?”

“Turn ten years older than me, and maybe I’ll say yes.”

Stunned speechless, Grace couldn’t help blinking several times.

“Anyway, what days will you normally be here, and what time?” Sigmarus asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the mature-looking Sigmarus apparently liked older women, she dazedly answered, “Friday to Tuesday mornings.”

“Alright, I’ll come on those days, then,” He said. Then, he scratched his chin and muttered, “If it’s ten thousand… maybe three hundred or so credits a day… about three months before it’s paid off?”

“Well, I keep half and the rest goes to the owners,” Grace clarified as her brows lowered out of concern. “Are you sure you can spend all that money on me?”

“Yeah. It’s only a small dent in my savings. Still... five or six months of hanging out with a brat, huh?”

Instantly, Grace pouted and retorted, “You’re a brat.”

“I’m not a brat. I’m a bastard. Big difference.”

“I changed my mind. Don’t help me.”

“Too late.”

The haughty reply made Grace giggle.

Moving back to the main subject, Sigmarus asked, “How much do you have to charge per hour?”

“Fifty credits.”

Without saying anything else, Sigmarus pressed a few buttons on his wrist-com before extending it toward her.

“Two hundred fifty credits for now, then. Probably can’t stay later than that.”

A moment later, the ring of a successful transfer sounded from their devices, and they fell silent. Although content with the silence, Sigmarus glanced at her, rubbed his chin, and asked, “Once it’s paid off, will you be able to go somewhere else?”

“Umm… maybe? I’d probably have to be really sneaky. I think Madame Lee would help me, too.”

“You mentioned her before. Can you trust her?”

Grace immediately nodded and answered, “Definitely. She’s really nice to us.”

Not quite willing to trust a person who probably served as a proxy for the Green Devils here, Sigmarus searched Grace’s eyes for doubt. However, the girl seemed to completely trust the Madame here. He’d have to investigate the woman later. Perhaps his new gang member acquaintance from the gym could help him out with that if he asked nicely.

Recalling his encounter with Duke, an idea suddenly occurred to him. As such he wondered if the guy had enough authority to get a better job for her once the debt was paid. But, knowing the greedy reputation of the Green Devils, getting her out of this place even after paying off the debt could cause conflict.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if I might’ve bitten off more than I could chew.

While Sigmarus pondered further on the issue, Grace distracted him by asking, “So… what now?”

“Good question,” Sigmarus grumbled. He thought about grabbing one of his books from his inventory, but then the throbbing of his wounds caused a better idea to pop into his head.

“Do you happen to know anything about stitching up cuts?”

Confused by the question, she asked, “Stitching? I know a little. Why?”

“Oh, nice. Mind doing me a favor?”

“...What kind of favor?”

Hoping to avoid displaying his inventory abilities, Sigmarus opened the screen and mentally ordered it to move to the opposite side of his body from Grace. Then, he subtly reached inside. The cold touch of a metal box landed in his hand. He pulled it out and set it on the table in front of them. Pale white paint coated the surface, though it had degraded and chipped over time. A red cross decorated the lid, indicating its purpose.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of the box, Grace widened her eyes. What sorcery was this?

Ignoring the girl’s surprise, Sigmarus stood and twisted the chestpiece of his meld-suit. The action distracted her attention from the med-kit as intended. The meld-suit quickly peeled away from his body and retracted into its oval form, leaving him wearing only his boots and a pair of gym shorts.

At first, Grace was startled and confused since Sigmarus had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in sexual services. Feeling slighted, her heart thundered with anxiousness. Was he trying to actually get his money’s worth out of her? However, the moment she saw the clumsily stitched wounds on his right arm and chest, she realized his intentions and relief flooded over her, calming her heart. There was a small amount of disappointment as well, but she hid that away deep in the recesses of her soul. Sigmarus’ next words further reassured her.

“Mind helping me re-stitch these? It’s hard to do on my own.”

Lips curling into a gentle smile, Grace also stood while replying, “Don’t you have anyone else to help with that?”

“Do I look like someone with friends?”

Grace giggled.

“No. I guess not.”

“Damn brat.”

“Shush. Sit down and let this little girl fix those for you, okay?”

Sigmarus felt his spine shiver. For some reason, he felt some danger from those words, but he couldn’t understand why.