Creatures Lurking in the Dark

It had been a long day for Bruno. Just the night before, he, along with his men, stomped Oris's gang's hideouts and destroyed them. But it didn't end after their destruction. Not long after, as expected, a group of knights came to investigate. But Oris had a bounty on his head, so he was justified to move against them.

 

Still, they were fined a small amount for causing a disturbance in public, which was subtracted from the bounty and still earned him a hefty amount.

 

After that, he gathered all the important documents and records from Oris's office and brought them back to his place. He planned to sort everything out after taking a quick nap since it had been an all-nighter for him.

 

But before that, there was still one last agenda.

 

*Knock* *Knock*

 

"Come in, come in. It's open~."  The chirpy female voice answered the knock.

 

"I'm coming in, Lily."  Bruno announced before entering the room. Then he locked the door before walking toward a small table where a woman was looking and grinning at him.

 

"Iyah~ Locking a young maiden alone inside the room just like that. I'm going to be violated~"  Despite the ominous contents that were spilling out from her mouth, the woman, whose name was Lily, didn't show any sign of fear. In fact, her tone was akin to an invite.

 

"Please don't say that. First of all, you are not young. Secondly, no maiden would wear the same thing that you call 'clothes' on you. Lastly, you're not alone."  Bruno shook his head and looked at the bed in the room.

 

"You cheeky brat!"  Lily angrily slapped Bruno's bald head with the flat side of her long tail as she pouted her cheek.

 

Their relationship made one doubt whether Bruno was really her boss, as their exchange made them look more like colleagues.

 

Grabbing the furless tail with a pointed heart-shaped tip, Bruno tied it into a knot.

 

"Gaahh!!! You! Urrgh, How could you!?"  Lily yanked back her tail and tried to untie it. "Why must you tie it so tight!?"

 

Bruno smirked at the comical sight in from of him.

 

Lily was a mysterious person.

 

He remembered the first time he met Lily when he was leading a rat life on the street.

 

As usual, he, along with a few other kids, went from street to street to find an easy target to pickpocket. And they finally found one.

 

Their target: a woman with pink hair and a pair of small horns on top of her head, and a strange furless tail with a heart-shaped tip. She had a voluptuous body, and her clothes emphasized it more, especially her bountiful chest and her plump butt. She was not an oversized woman, as her slim waist was fully out in the open. On her upper half, she donned clothes similar to that of dancers', but what covered the delicate parts of her breasts were but two strips of clothes that crossed each other on top of her chest. A thin pink yet transparent veil dropped down from the bottom of her breasts down to her waist, but that was all that covered her thin waist. Her bottom half was akin to gaudy panties. The color was red, and the edges looked like they were gilded gold.

 

Even in the eyes of a brat like Bruno, her charm was irresistible. With every step she took, her breasts would bounce, her buttocks would shake provocatively, and her tail would sway along. All of these attracted the attention of all passersby, which, in turn, made pickpocketing her the more troublesome.

 

Young Bruno decided to tail the woman. She looked like she didn't have any destination. She would occasionally wander and look around in various stores, then stop at some random places.

 

It took him more than an hour to finally find a chance to strike. However, it was better to say that the woman herself gave him the chance to strike. For some unknown reason, she decided to wander into a desert alley.

 

Without missing a single beat, Bruno ran up to her and snatched the coin pouch hanging on her waist, and took off. To his surprise, it was an amount he could have never dreamed of in his entire life.

 

That night, he and the other kids slept with a full stomach for the first time.

 

With the surplus from the previous day, young Bruno didn't have to wake up early to 'work,' so he decided to sleep in.

 

It should have been. But amidst his slumber, his nostrils were tickled by a sweet and pleasant smell. Not only that, his body was surrounded by a soft and cool sensation like he was submerged in the best quality mattress in the world, not that he knew what it felt like.

 

Slowly opening his sleepy eyes, he saw someone who shouldn't be there.

 

It was that woman he mugged the day before. She had her eyes closed, and her breathing was calm. She was deep asleep right next to him. She also used his body as a body pillow.

 

It took him a while to realize to reboot his brain, then he jumped out of the shabby makeshift bedding.

 

His sudden movement woke the woman up. She let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes.

 

He drew a small knife, trying to threaten the woman, but she didn't even flinch and just casually flicked the crude knife with her tail and chided him for pointing a sharp object at someone.

 

For some unknown reason, before he knew it, the woman kept on coming back and gave him and the other kids more food without demanding anything in return.

 

Slowly, the boys got used to her presence and let their guard down around her. It would be a natural course since she was so kind to them.

 

But then, one day, she suddenly told them that she had to take care of some business in a faraway land and wouldn't come back for a long time.

 

The news hit them hard like a lightning strike. They had gotten used to her doting. It took them a few days of struggling to stand back on their feet. Before the woman left, she had left them with a small sum of money. But what could kids do with such an amount of money? They could only use it to buy food, and when there was no more money, they returned to a life of stealing.

 

Just as Bruno started to forget about that whimsical woman, he once again reunited with her shortly after he became the leader of his own gang. Surprisingly, she looked the same as she was all those years ago. Moreover, she came to find Bruno exactly the way she did when they first met. It was frightening to see an unfamiliar woman sleeping next to you the moment you woke up.

 

She finally introduced herself to Bruno. Her name was Lily, and the reason she came back was to reap the seed she had sowed.

 

What she said made Bruno very confused, but it was soon answered. By 'seed,' she literally meant his 'seed,' and that day, Bruno knew of a woman's touch for the first time in his life despite being a notorious gang leader.

 

It was a wonderful feeling. And despite it being his first time holding a woman, Lily guided him each step to make a woman feel good. He had heard from others that having sex felt great, but he was sure that having sex with Lily went beyond that, not that he could compare.

 

Then one way or another, she started to work under him and manage his prostitution business. All the girls trusted her; she could handle all the problems and anything or anyone that caused trouble she could deal with efficiently. She was forceful in her persuasion to allow her to help him. Yet, she worked perfectly, so he had no complaints and entirely trusted his organization's main source of income in her hands.

 

That was how their current relationship came to be. Despite being her boss, Lily still interacted casually with Bruno when they were alone; she kept proper respect in public with him due to his position as a gang leader, though Bruno had told her not to worry about it, and it was kind of an open secret within his organization, that all the members were in the know. All his members still respected him and were faithfully devoted to him. Unlike Oris, Bruno treated those working under him fairly.

 

Lily finally untied her tail and rubbed it as if she was in pain. The strange and lively extension coming from behind Lily's waist was intriguing. Bruno had no recollection of any race with racial traits like Lily. A pair of small horns and a long slick tail that ended with a heart-shaped tip. Apparently, Lily could change the shape, size, and length of her tail and could even hide her horn and tail to look like someone of the human race.

 

He once asked her what race she was, to which she broke out in a laugh and patted his shoulder repeatedly as if he had just cracked a joke of centuries. After calming down, she wagged her finger and tail as if she was telling him off for asking a woman such a delicate question. Still, she leaned over closer to his ear and whispered, 'Succubus.' It was a strange word that he didn't understand. As far as he knew, there was no race called succubus. In the end, he decided to dismiss it and thought that Lily didn't want to him. It was not like she was deceiving him or harming him. She had countless opportunities and could off his head anytime she wanted anyway, judging how she could sneak and sleep next to him.

 

"Hm? Mesmerized by my beauty? Too bad for you, I'm busy right now."  Sensing Bruno's eyes on her, Lily looked up and said.

 

"Nah, not that. I just came to check the situation."  Bruno looked behind Lily, and his gaze landed on one of the beds that was occupied.

 

This room was arranged to work as an infirmary as well as Lily's office, where she spent most of her time nowadays. It had three beds with their own cover curtains. And one of them was occupied.

 

Lying on top of the bed was a cat girl covered in bandages. Sitting on a chair next to the bed was a girl holding her hand. After staying up all night, the girl seemed to have fallen asleep.

 

"I took a glimpse of what I found in Oris's office. That girl's name was Yuri. She had a husband, but he was killed by Oris's men, and she was tricked into becoming his sex slave. As for the cat girl, I couldn't figure out her identity. I've asked the men to investigate her background. What's strange is that she works as a sales clerk in a famous undies store. But can a regular clerk capable of infiltrating Oris's hideouts and kill him along with a few of his men?"  Bruno rubbed his chin and shared what he had found with Lily.

 

"Who knows? She's not a normal cat, for sure. When I bandaged her, her limbs looked slim yet firm. She definitely exercises a lot. You know, we found a dead body in one of the alleys near Oris's hideouts. And during the search of the mansion, we found several dead bodies, some with similar fatal wounds caused by these."  Lily reached down under her desk and took something wrapped in clothes.

 

She uncovered it and showed what was inside to Bruno. There were steel needles, some of which were covered in dried blood. Then she reached down again and took pieces of what used to be clothing. She arranged the pieces together, it was missing a few pieces here and there, but it was indeed clothing. The quality was not the best, but it was definitely on the higher end. Moreover, it looked like a military uniform.

 

"Don't you find this similar to that?"  Lily pointed at the cat girl with her tail.

 

She barely had any clothes on her, yet the ragged pieces of clothing she used to cover her top and bottom had similar materials to the clothes on Lily's desk.

 

"Hm... I think I have a clue of who she might be."  Bruno said.

 

"Hoh~ Care to share your conclusion with me?"  (Lily)

 

"Have you heard of the term 'cloak figures'?"  Bruno asked.

 

"What's that 'cloak figures'? It sounds so cute, like a ninja, maybe?"  Lily tilted her head.

 

"What's that? Anyway, about these 'cloak figures.' It was just one of the myths in Lutenburg. There is hearsay that the King has a secret force that deals with all the dirt works for him. It is said that these 'cloak figures' assassinate all the notorious criminals, corrupted nobles, and traitors of humanity. Their existence is shrouded in mystery and is doubted to even be real."  Bruno leaned closer to Lily and continued, 'But they actually do exist. You have heard of some nobles who died of an unnatural cause or accidental death, right? Most of them are their works. The mysterious sender of the letter that tells us about the bounty on Oris's head, the men that was knocked unconscious in the alley, and this cat girl here... This is just my hypothesis, but I think that Oris offended some important people, which popped a price on his head soon after, and then the country also sent one of its 'cloak figures' to eliminate him. And this cat girl here is that 'cloak figure' who infiltrated and coincidentally met up with the girl, who then acted as a guide to help her deal with Oris."

 

Looking at the woman sitting next to the bed, Bruno was reminded of one of the lessons Lily had taught him in the past, about how scary a woman could be when she was desperate, so as long as he did not do something against a woman's will, anything goes. The girl had a grudge against Oris, so she voluntarily helped the cat girl. That undoubtedly spelled the doom of Oris's legacy.

 

"Uh oh, seems like I fish a troublesome cat, huh? It was just out of curiosity and coincidence that I saved the cat girl; well, I did want to save her, though. They say curiosity kills the cat, but never something about curiosity brings the cat to kill you."  Lily heaved a sigh.

 

"You know, Lily, you say some strange things from time to time."  (Bruno)

 

"Well, you'll learn lots of things when you have lived through your life and continue to live." Lily laughed it off and continued, "By the way, didn't the knight say something when they couldn't find anything in Oris's office?"

 

"Nah, I just told them that a few of his members got away, and they probably took everything with them."  (Bruno)

 

"Good, good. We can use the records of these transactions to blackmail the nobles to do our biddings, gihihihi."  Lily made an evil smirk.

 

"I'm supposed to be a gang leader, but you seem to be more of a devil than me."  Bruno shook his head.

 

"That's because I am."  Lily pushed her chest out proudly.

 

"Well, that's it for me. I'm done here, so I'm gonna catch some sleep."  (Bruno)

 

"Eh~ Don't you want to have some fun with me? Look~ Don't you want to jump into these bazookas?"  Lily lifted her breasts up provocatively.

 

"Please spare me. It's been a long night for me. I'm so tired now that I think I'm gonna pass out from just undressing. Besides, didn't you say you were busy?"  (Bruno)

 

"I do, but it's only looking after these girls. I'm bored just sitting here."  Lily pouted.

 

"Thank you for your hard work. Good night."  Bruno ignored her advance and left.

 

*Click*

 

With the sound of the door closed, silence once again returned to the room. Lily stood up and stretched her body. Her body arched backward, pushing her seductive chest forward. She squeezed her eyes shut to relish in the stretch, not caring how dangerous close her voluptuous breasts spilled out of their cover. She had been glued to the chair for close to five hours after treating the cat girl, so her body was that stiff.

 

She took a look at the girl sitting next to the bed. When Lily told her that the cat girl, whom the girl called Rika, was no longer in danger of losing her life, she finally relaxed and fell asleep soon after.

 

Walking toward the window, Lily opened the curtain and the window to allow fresh air to enter the room. She could hear pleasant chirping sounds from nearby birds sitting on a tree branch. Gentle breeze, beautiful sunlight, and chirping birds are perfect recipes for a beautiful early morning.

 

"Such a beautiful day."  Lily looked down at the street.

 

Bruno's hideouts were located at the edge of the red-light district. In the morning, merchants would open their stalls and call out to their customers, and housewives would gossip or complain to each other about their problems if not bargaining for the products. A sight she had grown used to seeing.

 

*Sigh*

 

Lily let out a sigh.

 

"I wonder how long this peaceful scene will last... They don't know of the calamity lurking underneath. And I have no obligation to help them... even if I wanted to, I was forbidden to interfere with the course of evolution. *Sigh* Goddess Retina sure is cruel to her people." 

 

Lily turned around and leaned her back to the window frame. Her expression turned solemn, contradicting the peaceful morning activities behind her.

 

"A ninja cat girl with a tragic past grew up and joined the Shadow Unit, a young wife whose husband was killed and tricked into becoming a slave. No matter what world you live in. People are still people, huh..."  Lily talked to herself as she walked closer to the bed.

 

"I'm sure that in the future, you two, along with many people, will be tested through life and death situations. I couldn't be there to help you, nor am I allowed to, but I can at least grant you some strength. Sorry, Retina, I know what I'm about to do is borderline breaking our promises, but please overlook this just one."  Lily caressed Yuri's cheek.

 

"Uuungh..."  Feeling ticklish, Yuri slowly opened her eyes.

 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"  Lily smiled at the girl.

 

"Where is this...?"  Yuri looked around at the unfamiliar room.

 

"Did you forget? We are in my infirmary."  (Lily)

 

"Ah! Miss Rika!"  Yuri's brain started to turn its gears as she looked at the cat girl lying on the bed.

 

"Don't worry. She's just sleeping."  (Lily)

 

"I see. Thank you for saving us!"  When she noticed her chest heaving up and down regularly, she sighed in relief and profusely thanked Lily for saving their lives.

 

"Sorry for the late introduction. Your name is Yuri, right? I'm Lily. We are currently in one of the brothels owned by Bruno, and I'm the manager here. Before you panic, I can reassure you that he is nothing like Oris. Well, for now, I'll show you around. Just follow me. You can let Rika rest."  Lily took Yuri's hand and dragged her up on her feet before pushing her back out of the room before Yuri could say anything.

 

Even Yuri could guess what brothels were, and she at least knew that brothels only operated at night time, so there was nothing much to see. She was led to the ground floor. Lily explained to her that this brothel also doubled as a tavern. It was questionable that a tavern was already so lively in the morning, but Lily told her that it was closed for today and was reserved as a party hall for the gang members to celebrate their victory.

 

All of them looked like they were truly having fun. Men and women were sharing a table and drinking together, unlike back in Oris's gang, where the women were only used as a sexual outlet.

 

Lily also gave her a tour of their nighttime facilities, but there was nothing particular to look at since they were currently closed. In the end, it was just a short tour before Yuri was guided back to the infirmary room.

 

Lily moved the chair back next to the desk before telling Yuri to sit down. Then she took out a fancy tea set and poured them some drinks.

 

"Thank you, Miss Lily. It smells very good, and it's delicious. Although it's hot, it leaves a cool aftertaste in my mouth."  Yuri took a sip from the cup she was given.

 

"I'm glad you like it. It's my favorite drink made with mint leaves mixed with other herbs. It's the best drink to have when you want to relax and forget about all the trouble you have."  Lily also took a sip from her cup and said.

 

"I see... A perfect drink for me right now, huh..."  (Yuri)

 

"Say, do you want to work as a call girl here?"  Lily suddenly dropped a bomb

 

"Huh?"  (Yuri)

 

......

 

...

 

.