Chapter 136

◇◆◇ (Human pov)

Natsuki is a girl who sells matches a <match girl>.

She stood in a dark alleyway off the main street. At the threshold of this unsettling place, she was standing alone, wearing a red hooded hood that covered her entire upper part of her body, so as not to show her face.

"...... matches ...... Do you want matches?"

Natsuki called out to the people passing in front of her.

She had a woven fruit basket hanging from her right arm. A small red box and a small blue box were peeking out from the gap in the cloth covering the top.

"May I have a red match please?"

A middle-aged man with a small mustache and a dandy's face approached her like a gentleman.

"Here you go."

After Natsuki handed him the red box, the man operated the terminal, made his payment, shoved the box into his pocket, and hummed as he walked through the entrance of a nearby hotel.

In Pig's Haven, a red match is a common stimulant. The blue matches are for the after-effects.

The red matches are mainly bought by men, and the blue ones by women. The match girl is a vendor assigned by the gang to meet such demand.

"Give me one blue match please."

"Yes"

With a beep of the terminal, the woman with the cigarette in her mouth took the blue box and left.

According to the log, they had bought a strangely expensive box of matches. This was a convenient way to disguise their purchases since such small necessities would disappear from the records in a few months.

The drugs came in the form of small candy-sized tablets. It had value as illegal currency in The Haven, or it could be used as-is.

And--

Natsuki was grabbed by the arm holding the basket.

She balanced herself quickly so not to drop the contents of the basket, but the hood slipped off and revealed a glimpse of her face.

She had medium-length, light brown hair. she has Straight bangs that cover her front.

And behind it shone a pair of cold, emotionless eyes.

She looked up at the man who grabbed her arm and remained silent.

"Oi, do you have any green matches?""

The man who looked at her was a man whose jaw was bent oddly to the left.

"I'm sorry, Mr. We're out of the green ones."

"Damn, useless."

The man clicked his tongue and disappeared into the crowd.

The green match is a code, referring to the girl herself.

In Pig's Haven, this kind of match-selling girl stands in various places. Although one might wonder if it's not dangerous for such a frail girl to be carrying such a large amount of expensive drugs, but no one dares to mess with them. If you mess with these girls, the gangs will come.

Here in Pig's Haven, Fort 88, there're two gangs the <Sand Brotherhood> and the <Sludge Club>, are competing against each other.

Natsuki belongs to the Sludge Club.

The money from the sales must, of course, be kept at the headquarters. The number of matches she holds is strictly monitored, and it goes without saying that she must pay in the amount of matches she has lost.

The match girl's share of the money is small because the physical burden is small. This is why she also takes customers depending on her mood and who she is with that day.

"...... Who want to be held by a crooked-faced eggplant bastard like you?"

After muttering that under her hood so that no one would hear her, Natsuki looked at the street again.

On the opposite side of the building, she could see the entrance to the basement. It was the entrance to the Underground Haven.

It is a place where privacy is even more guaranteed than above ground, and is especially favored by those who prefer to hide in plain sight. There are thugs there, but the top customers also like to come underground. The level of women who take customers is also higher in the underground than in the surface.

For this reason, the territory battles between match girls in the underground were fierce. Normally, Natsuki chose to stay away from the underground. She didn't want to get into any unnecessary trouble. As much as possible, she walked around the slum without attracting the attention of any group. Normally, she wouldn't even go near this underground entrance.

But today, not a single person paid attention to Natsuki's presence.

It was almost Christmas, and everyone was busy

"--Haa...... snow......"

White fluffy cotton fell, and she absentmindedly looked up at the sky.

The sky was dark with clouds reflecting the lights of the city, and even though it was night, she could clearly see the unevenness of the surface.

As the wind blew, her ears started to ache.

Natsuki sniffed.

"I think I'll go to the underground today...... But I don't want to get tangled up. ......"

I have to go home early today. I promised him that I would buy him a Christmas present.

Although he has no facial expression, he only eats cheesecake with enthusiasm, and I think he smiles at me while he eats it.

--I'm living my life for him.

There's no way this life can last forever.

The two of us are trying to make a living together for the uncertain days ahead.

In an attempt to somehow find a future, I've tried to buy books with my meager income, and even studied alone. But...

There is no escape, there is nowhere to run. We have to leave the Fort, but we can't. I grew up in the Fort, and so did he. We don't know how to live out there now. We're going to die in the wild.

But he's the only one who can--.

Natsuki gave a small sigh and looked at the street.

Man scurried along the warmly lit street, looking for something to buy, Woman in a dress who flung open the front of her coat when a man walked by. A woman who calls out to him, a man ignores her. Man who calls out, woman who responds. Woman who curses, man who points. Man rubbing butt and laughing, woman laughing fakely.

Pigg's Haven was more crowded than usual on Christmas Eve, filled with lonely people looking for a comfort in the holy night.

As I stood in the alleyway, watching the people pass by, I had a strange feeling that I was left alone in a completely different place.

It's not loneliness. It's a feeling of emptiness. The snow accelerated this feeling even more.

Natsuki walked deeper into the alley.

It's been a while since I've done this.......

She huddled in a dimly lit corner, crouched down, and dug her hands into the basket.

She rummaged through the contents, searching for a match. Red matches, blue matches. From among them, she pulled out a real match.

There were also some real matches in the basket in case the police asked me about them.

She took one out and lit it.

There was a swooshing sound, and the tiny fire grew. The heat seared her fingertips and she almost dropped it.

Just like a fairy tale, she thought. It was only for a nice mood uplift.

But a fire can certainly calm one's mind.

Watching the flicker of the small flame at the end of the match, the orange light seemed to expose the darkness of the present and the future, temporarily making me forget my worries.

Natsuki was determined not to get involved in any kind of drugs. That was the only thing she had decided in her mind.

She could not let herself fall.

The match went out with puff. A thin wisp of smoke rose up, and the indescribable smell of burning sulfur hit the back of her nose. Even this toxic scent was soothing once got used to it. In a way, it was like a "drug" for her.

When Natsuki opened the matchbox to light the second match, she suddenly felt a presence behind her.

A man was staring at her.

( When? ...... )

He had an eerie atmosphere, as if a doll was standing there instead of a man, but his face was quite handsome.

(Hook him up, make a quick money today, and get the hell out of here. ...... If I can get him to ejaculate a few more times for an extra, I might not have to work for a while.)

Natsuki tried to judge the man's financial strength by his clothes, but she felt an undescribable "blur" in her eyeballs and rubbed her eyes.

( I guess I'm tired....... Okay, I'm going to milk this guy and take the day off tomorrow. So, tomorrow I'm going to spend the whole day with him. I'll let him draw again.)

"Hey, sweetie. Are you looking for matches?"

The man hesitated, looking a little lost, and then nodded.

"It's cold today, so I'll sell you a special green match if you can get me a warm room...."

historical

With that, Natsuki approached the man and took off her hood.

She was a young girl with a neat face.

She looked young because of her hereditary youthful face, but she was old enough to have customers.

When Natsuki smiled, even if it was a fake smile, it softened her gaze and turned it into a charming smile.

"What do you think? I'm pretty confident in my technique......."

Feeling as if the man was staring her body, Natsuki purposely perked up her mouth and pushed her chest out a little. Her skin, which flashed into view, was a flawless white.

"hey, don't stare at me like that...... My body is still growing, but it's also quite nice to taste some young fruit, you know?"

The man took his gaze off Natsuki and looked around.

(He don't talk much.......)

There are a lot of men come to these places who are not good talkers. After all, the more talkative you are, the more popular you are with women. It can be said that it is a good deal, because they will hold you quietly and leave you the same amount of money.

A small sigh escaped Natsuki's lips.

"I think I like you Onii-san. If you hold me gently, I'll give you a special one-time free extra. If you want, please pay me in advance. Onii-san."

I said, pulling the terminal out of my pocket and showing it to him.

The man looked lost for a while, but then he too took out the terminal and began to operate it.

Natsuki squealed in delight at the information that appeared on the screen.

(Sean.....He even sends me a name....that's quite rare...Wow! second lieutenant!? Isn't he the kind of soldier who has a lot of money? Lucky!)

"What? I haven't received any money yet"

Natsuki suddenly noticed that there was no payment.

The man suddenly started fiddling with the terminal, turning it over and looking at the back of it for no reason.

"Ha.....Onii-san it's your first time here, isn't it?"

The man winced and jerked his shoulders.

"You know, you can't use terminal credits here. It has to be virtual currency."

The man put down the terminal and looked up at the sky as if to say, "Seriously?"

"Huf........"

Natsuki couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry ....... I can't help it. ...... Well, you can pay me later. You can go to the slum and pay me there. I'll teach you how to make virtual currency. Don't overstep your bounds, okay? If you do that, scary people will come to your house......So? Are you going to buy me?"

Looking up slightly, I tried to appeal to him. She had mastered the art of using her gaze.

The man stared into Natsuki's eyes and then nodded slowly.

(He looks so easy. Maybe I'll ask him to pay extra for blowjob and rip him off.)

Natsuki suppressed her excitement and smiled at the man, who was still expressionless and uncommunicative.