Liam was the silent type, and Julian and Robert didn’t even attempt to start casual conversations, focusing on drinking instead.

Still, the silence spoke quite loudly. Liam’s superhuman senses picked up clues nonstop, reaching an obvious conclusion.

Liam had no Joel, Grace, Mitchell, or Melissa in the team. That wasn’t a gathering of friends. It was a partnership born of mutual interests, which could crumble for the same reason, just like it had happened in the ruins.

As for Lancelot, he also kept it to himself, and the reason why appeared in a matter of minutes.

Liam’s senses alerted him as soon as the door behind him began to slide. He immediately pulled his hood up, but he had no words to describe what followed.

Four mortal women entered the room, all young, wearing red robes, make-up, and curated hairstyles, all smiling as they sat on different pillows so that each cultivator would have company.

Lancelot didn’t hesitate to wrap an arm around his woman. Julian merely let his fill his cup, while Robert inspected the one to his right from head to toe before nodding in approval.

As for Liam, his woman also filled his cup, offering it to him. He felt that something was terribly wrong, but he still accepted the drink, partially imitating the general behavior.

"Young Master William, tales of your gestures have long since reached Kilrest," The woman at Liam’s side whispered, leaning toward him. "What can this Little Sister do to make such a hero’s stay more enjoyable?"

Liam had half a mind to ignore the woman entirely, but that changed when she placed a hand on his arm. Things also immediately degenerated since she wrapped her fingers around his elbow.

Liam’s free hand snapped, removing that unwanted touch, even holding the woman’s arm up from her wrist. She gasped in surprise when her brain caught up with the abrupt gesture, while the three rooting experts had long since laid eyes on the scene.

The kind of attention Liam perceived told him that he had done something wrong, but he didn’t care. He was still clueless about some things, but he knew that touch.

That was the way Melissa touched Liam, and only she could do that.

"Young Master, please forgive me!" The woman shouted as soon as Liam let her go, bowing until her head touched the floor.

"Master William, don’t scare the Fairy," Lancelot laughed. "It’s the night before battle. You must enjoy yourself now that you can, and it’s on me!"

Dots connected in Liam’s mind at that point. He had never seen that place. His village hadn’t featured anything that fancy, but he knew what it was. Even Isabel had thrown a jab at Lancelot about that back then.

That was a brothel, and those women were what the world had almost forced Melissa to become.

"I can’t enjoy myself here," Liam declared, standing up. "I’ll wait outside."

"Ah, Master William, don’t go just yet," Lancelot called. "Check the third floor at least. I’m sure this reputable establishment will have something you can enjoy."

Liam didn’t reply and proceeded to leave the room, only to stop in his tracks once he closed the door behind him.

’What’s exactly on the third floor?’ Liam wondered. He had nothing else to do that night. Also, technically, he was a hired gun. If anything, Liam had to try being a good teammate.

Liam quickly found the stairs to the third floor, only to see more corridors with similar doors. Some were open, showing beds and the occasional courtesan sitting on her knees.

All that was more of what Liam didn’t want to interact with. It just reminded him of Melissa’s suffering, which put the whole place at risk of becoming the target of his hatred, but his mouth captured a peculiar, appealing scent before he could leave.

Before Liam knew it, he arrived at the corridor further from the stairs. The lanterns’ light struggled to reach there, making the open door to the last room barely visible.

Of course, Liam could see perfectly. He also knew who stood inside the room despite the impartial formation, and his perception was soon proved right.

Once Liam stopped before the open door, he saw another bed and a sitting woman, but the latter was odd. Dark blemishes covered the right side of her young face, and Liam smelled how much more widespread that damage was. After all, it was caused by poison.

"Young Master," The ill woman greeted, bowing until her forehead touched the floor. "I hope my appearance hasn’t ruined your night. This Little Sister is battling with an incurable illness."

"It’s not really an illness," Liam responded, "And it’s not incurable. You have a parasite called Green-Leafed Larvae. Its eggs release a poisonous substance to create the chemistry for hatching."

Liam knew about that because those Larvae’s eggs were an alchemical ingredient, albeit a weak one, often not even rank 1. Obviously, he was also aware of the cure.

"You must balance the chemistry back," Liam explained. "If the hatching fails, your body will flush out the dead eggs on its own."

Honestly, one of Liam’s rank 1 healing pills would more than suffice to cure the woman, but it was overkill for a mortal. Merely munching leaves from a specific, far cheaper ingredient would save the woman. There were many options to go for, too.

The woman threw an incredulous look at Liam’s cloaked figure. What was obvious to him was something the doctors had been unable to diagnose, which made sense since that knowledge belonged to the cultivation world.

"Does Young Master speak the truth?" The woman muttered, her voice nothing more than a whisper.

’Would mortals know which ingredients to use?’ Liam wondered. ’Let’s see, this area is further north, so ...’

"Search for ...," Liam listed a series of cheap ingredients that barely met the requirements for the cultivation world while being theoretically easy to find, stopping after over twenty names had left his mouth.

"Thank you so much, Young Master," The woman exclaimed once Liam was done, bowing again. "You have saved this Little Sister’s life. How can she ever repay you?"

"There’s no need to repay me," Liam casually said. Besides, a mortal had nothing he might want.

Sadly for Liam, he couldn’t imagine the basic intricacies of a brothel. Courtesans who didn’t work didn’t get paid, and the ill woman needed the money, now more than ever.

"Young Master, this Little Sister shamelessly insists," The woman said. "I must ask another kindness despite the one I have already received."

Liam held back a sigh. He was still killing time, and there were far worse ways of using it.

"What do I have to do?" Liam asked.

"Please, come inside," The woman politely requested, sitting up, "And make yourself comfortable."

Liam complied, not thinking much of the situation even after the woman closed the door. Only one person had managed to activate that part of his brain.

The woman hesitated a bit when she found Liam just sitting on the bed. Still, she connected his cloak to something that she had to reassure him about.

"Young Master, you may keep your hood," The woman chuckled, "But Little Sister needs you to remove your pants."

"Sure," Liam casually said, complying. His sense of decorum came from Krosstoen’s mountain, meaning it was nonexistent. He didn’t even feel any strange embarrassment because Melissa wasn’t there.

The woman turned in the meantime, showing her back to Liam while she unfastened her belt. She gracefully spread her robe’s edges, too, but left them hanging from her shoulders, wanting to earn sensuality from partial nakedness.

"Young Mast-," The woman called, finally turning to show herself, only for what she saw to interrupt her. She had glanced at Liam’s groin, and her eyes went wide, followed by a gulp.

"Young Master is ..." The woman whispered, tilting her head to absorb the full size of what she was inspecting, "An embodiment of true virility. Little Sister has never seen one so ... blessed."

Nevertheless, the woman forced herself to recover, snapping a smile at Liam. "But Little Sister is also experienced. I’m sure she can welcome Young Master."

Unknowingly to the woman, Liam had also tilted his head under the hood, frowning as something dug through his brain, as if creating a channel to connect two sides that had yet to become one. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Liam knew women’s anatomy, albeit mostly from Cecilia’s corpse. Still, seeing his own groin in the same picture as the woman’s exposed sex finally brought a realization he had taken far too long to acknowledge.

’Ohh!’ Liam shouted in his mind. "Oh! That’s what I want to do with Melissa!’

Scenes from Liam’s countless misunderstandings finally made sense. His Master’s zeal on the technique to avoid conceptions, the instinctive connections with boars, and his own urges gained meaning and shape.

’How did I not realize it until now?’ Liam cursed internally. ’I’ve seen so many animals do it.’

Liam felt terribly stupid, with some embarrassment arriving when he recalled a certain night inside the Mercenary Guild’s branch. Clearly, Melissa had known and had been ready.

’Stupid, stupid monkey-boy,’ Liam cursed himself again, feeling guilty to no end.

Before Liam could dig his head into his knees, his perception updated him on something, and a tense aura descended upon the room.

"What are you doing?" Liam asked, his voice cold as he glared at the woman who had tried to scoot closer.

Liam was a rooting expert, while the woman was a mortal. He had to hold back not to suffocate her with his presence, and the hood was powerless to hide his glare for that exact reason.

The woman couldn’t move. She was frozen, her survival instincts overriding any trace of reason. Pure dread had filled her, barely allowing her to speak. "L-Little Sister wants to p-please Young Master."

"You can’t," Liam declared, pulling up his pants. "I have a lover."

Liam actually wasn’t too sure about that. After all, he had left. Yet, his vow wasn’t something he would break out of uncertainty. He would belong to Melissa until she said otherwise.

Besides, Liam only wanted Melissa. Only she existed in that part of his brain and emotional spectrum.

"No one has to know," The woman panicky reassured, frightened that Liam might do something because of what had happened.

However, Liam just stood up and opened the door, muttering something, seemingly to himself, as he crossed it. "I would know."