In response to Sigmarus’ overly distant method of greeting her, Madame Lee’s right eye briefly twitched. She frowned, glanced toward him, and muttered, “The way you said that… did you forget my name?”

“Perhaps.”

“Well, maybe that’s for the best, then,” Madame Lee said while relaxing slightly from her previously tense attitude and sinking deeper into her chair.

Observing the woman’s wistful expression, Sigmarus slowly lowered his chair back onto all four legs, leaned forward, and settled his elbows on the armrests. Curiosity towards her situation rose within him, though to a lesser extent than with Grace. As such, he inquired, “Mind if I ask how you ended up down here?”

Madame Lee’s face darkened as she immediately replied, “I’d rather not talk about it.”

Fair enough, Sigmarus thought, giving up on his curiosity for the moment. In contrast to Grace whose youthful spirit allowed her to willingly share her situation with a stranger, all of Madame Lee’s hope and agency had likely been chipped away over the years. He could relate to that to some extent.

In an attempt to change the subject, Madame Lee asked, “What’s going on with you and Grace?”

“Nothing much. Her situation irritated me, so I offered to buy as much of her time as I can ‘til she can pay off her debt and go somewhere she won’t have to be used as a cash cow.”

Sighing, Madame Lee said, “That’s nice of you, but it won’t work the way you think. Our owners won’t let her go just like that.”

“Hmm. Had a feeling it’d be like that.”

Noticing that Sigmarus seemed to comprehend more of what was going on than she initially thought, Madame Lee frowned and asked, “How much did that girl tell you?”

“Probably everything.”

Instantly, Madame Lee planted her face on her palms, groaned, and said, “It’s really better for you not to get involved.”

“Maybe. Better for her, though.”

Peeking between her slender fingers, Madame Lee looked directly into Sigmarus’ eyes as though searching for ulterior motives. After a few seconds, she lowered her hands onto the desk and linked her fingers together.

“You’re really sticking your head where you shouldn’t. Why are you doing it?”

“Just because.”

“I don’t believe that. For my peace of mind, please tell me.”

Fed up with this woman’s inquiries, Sigmarus rested his chin on his fist and said, “It’s because she has something I don’t. I thought helping her could let me find what I’m lacking.”

Madame Lee closed her eyes and recalled her own thoughts about the girl’s hopeful demeanor. Then, she opened her eyes and mumbled, “...You’re a lot different than I remember, Sigmarus.”

“Right back at you.”

Again, Madame Lee sighed. “I guess you’re going to try to help her no matter what I tell you, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Tch. Why are men so stubborn…”

“Excuse me?”

Madame Lee averted her gaze as though she never said anything and said, “You’re making me feel like a bad person for barely looking out for her.”

Sigmarus raised a brow at her words, but said nothing.

“Alright, I’ll do my best to look the other way. I’ll give you VIP status, too.”

“Hmm. Wouldn’t the Green Devil gang be suspicious if you do something like that?”

“Probably not. They don’t really check on anything as long as they keep getting their money.”

“Alright, then.”

“How will you help her leave here after her debt’s paid, though? They made it clear to me when they brought her here that they wouldn’t let her go.”

In response, Sigmarus’ brows wrinkled. He thoughtfully rubbed his chin and said, “Nothing certain yet, but I have an idea.”

“You don’t look very happy about it.”

“Sure, but what’s there to be happy about down here, anyway? We’re just choosing between different types of suffering.”

“...Good point,” Madame Lee mumbled as her sky blue eyes darkened. Recalling her past ten years of hell, she stared at one of knots on the wooden desk surface.

Standing up, Sigmarus said, “If that’s all, I need to leave for work. I’ll be back on Friday.”

“Oh, okay,” Madame Lee replied with a distant tone.

Turning on his toes, Sigmarus ambled toward the door, but then his mouth opened into an ‘o’ shape as he recalled something. He turned his head toward his old acquaintance and said, “See you later, Elizabeth.”

Instantly, Madame Lee’s head shot up, pulling her out of her stupor. Her eyes widened upon hearing her old name, but then her eyes closed and her expression turned into a solemn one normally reserved for funerals. Voice laden with melancholy, she said, “I’m just Madame Lee now. That little girl you knew died ten years ago.”

For a moment, Sigmarus stared at ‘Madame Lee’s’ face as though facing a complete stranger. He couldn’t see even a fraction of the smiling face which had disbanded his bullies on multiple occasions in the past. Although his plate was already overflowing from the small act of helping Grace, he wondered if he might be able to fit just a bit more on the rim.

Maybe I can find a way to repay those old favors one day, He thought while leaving the room.

* * *

After saying farewell to Grace, Sigmarus walked in the opposite direction of Red Street’s exit while ignoring the few showgirls along the way to his destination. Before long, he arrived at the Red Street gym. Face drooping into a pensive expression, his eyes focused on the door. For a few moments, he stood there wondering if it was worth following through with his terrible idea. Although he told Elizabeth, or Madame Lee as she apparently preferred to be called now, that this was just another form of suffering, he didn’t actually believe that.

Eventually, though, he sighed and came to the conclusion that his own life wasn’t really worth much in the first place. The Universal Apparatus by itself wouldn’t give meaning to his life. On top of that, staying as a foundation melder would only hold him back from discovering what life had to offer. May as well do something crazy, then.

Questioning his own sanity, Sigmarus entered the gym. Surprisingly, several people occupied the machines, most of them pushing themselves to their limits. Of course, none of them could even compare to an average person upstairs, but they were still impressive compared to other muskrats.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that all but one of the twenty-seven people here had tattoos identifying them as members of different gangs. Whether it was the maple leaf of Fallen Leaf, the bloodstained cleaver of the Butchers, the half-stitched mouth of Silence, or the unhinged snake maw of Cobra, each of them stuck to their groups while maintaining a cautious distance from the others. The only symbol not accounted for was the green three-horned goat skull of the Green Devils. Honestly, Sigmarus couldn’t believe that members of four rival gangs could occupy such a small space without even taunting each other. All of them minded their own business.

“Whaddya here for?” A ragged voice called out from behind the service window, pulling Sigmarus from his observations.

Not recognizing the scraggly man behind the counter, Sigmarus carefully chose his words and said, “I was hoping to talk to Duke if he’s around.”

The man raised a brow and stared at Sigmarus with a suspicious glint in his eye. Then, he fiddled with his wrist-com for a moment before asking, “Are you Sigmarus?”

Now it was Sigmarus’ turn to raise a brow. In answer, he slowly nodded.

“Gotcha,” the man said, his eyes dropping any suspicion, “Bossman told us to keep an eye out in case you came looking for him. He ain’t here now, but I’ll message him real quick.”

“Ah, well, I gotta go to work in a bit, but I’m planning to come here tomorrow morning if he’s gonna be here.”

“One sec. Lemme message ‘im and see what he wants to do.”

As the man fiddled with his wrist-com, Sigmarus glanced over the room once more. To his surprise, the five men with maple leaf tattoos were staring at him with curious eyes, but they quickly returned to their own business. None of the other people paid him any mind, though, likely because of his meld-suit.

“Aight. Bossman is usually here early for his own workouts anyway, so he said he’ll see you then.”

“Thanks.”