The World Is Mine For The Taking

I let out a faint exhale. "I guess so. But if it happens, it won't be because I want to revive Lilith," I said, raising my glass and taking a slow drink.

"Fufufufu…" her laugh was soft, dangerous, wrapping itself around the air. "As it happens, I'll be staying in this city for a while. Lately, I've been sleeping in a very soft bed. But tonight… for some reason, I feel like lying down on a rough one."

Her hand slid across and rested lightly on my thigh. The meaning was obvious. She was too obvious.

She was practically inviting me to have sex with her right there.

I could've gone along with it. I could've let her pull me in. But this woman had a poisoned tongue, and I knew if I allowed myself to be swayed, the consequences would be dangerous.

"Sorry, but I'll pass," I said, cutting off her advance.

At that, she slowly withdrew her hand, her smile never fully leaving. "Is that so? What a shame. I thought maybe I could've given it away, you know? Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if it was you."

I frowned slightly. "Given what away?"

"My first time."

The words hit like a lure, tempting in every sense. For a brief moment, the thought lingered and it was heavy and enticing. But as I had said before—this woman had a poisoned tongue. If I was going to deal with her, I had to keep my guard up. I had to hold onto some sense of decorum, no matter how alluring her words sounded.

"That did sound enticing for a moment," I admitted with a dry smirk, "but unfortunately, I don't plan on getting myself in trouble. I don't want my neck split in half while I'm in bed with you."

"You take me for that kind of woman? That hurts a little, you know?" Her tone was light, almost playful, but the glint in her eyes said she enjoyed every second of this game.

"Well, I don't really like putting my cock everywhere, so I think it's only natural for me to disprove this," I shot back casually.

"Fufufufu…" Her laugh returned, soft and dangerous as before. "Well, you're more cowardly than I thought." She smiled, but just as quickly, her expression shifted, sharpness cutting through the mask. "Now then, what should I do with you for my little bird to be returned? Although I'm not particularly related to her, I was very fond of her, you see. She was such a good girl—willing to do anything for me. Kind of like a dog, honestly."

"So you see her as more of a pet than a person?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. The way she spoke was almost amusing, casually slapping such a label onto another human being. But then again, with someone like her, I couldn't exactly say whether laughing at it was appropriate or not.

"Well, I could say the same about you. The women you've fucked thoroughly—were they really people you loved? Or were they just there because you wanted their skills?" she asked, her words cutting like a knife.

She wasn't wrong. Honestly, I could admit that there were times when I thought like that. Maybe, at first, I only saw them as a way to vent my frustrations, to release my stress, and the added pleasure of sex blurred my feelings. But with time, I grew to love them. That was the truth. That was what I believed in—and I was confident in that.

Still, blurting that out here would've been stupid. The Empire loved leverage, and I wasn't about to hand them another chain to wrap around me. I already had too many as it was, and dealing with them all was impossible. So I held my tongue.

"That's a trade secret," I said instead.

"I see…" she replied, smiling faintly as if that answer amused her.

"You don't need to worry about your little assassin. I wouldn't hurt her so badly as to kill her. But I'd prefer if you didn't get yourself involved in my business here either," I said firmly. "Besides, this might even benefit the Empire in the long run, don't you think?"

"I really have no idea what you mean, and I don't see how freeing slaves could possibly benefit the Empire. But oh well, I suppose I'll remain silent about this to the Emperor," she said with a dismissive shrug.

"Can I trust you, though?"

"You don't have to trust me," she replied lightly. "Besides, I'm only here because a certain someone asked me to be."

And with that, she stood up and left the bar, her presence lingering like perfume long after she was gone. I had no clue who that "certain someone" was. But for now, I figured I could put a little trust in her—at least enough to believe she'd keep a blind eye on me in the Empire.

***

Artemis had been in this country longer than we had. She'd already slipped in before summer even started.

She found work as a bartender at a bar near the slave market and that was an excellent spot for our mission. From there, she could observe routes, track movements, and map out escape paths. It was the perfect vantage point to smuggle slaves out without drawing too much attention.

Now, I was on my way to meet her. It had been a while since the last time I saw her, and the thought of it made me feel oddly restless and I was almost giddy. She had already graduated from the Academy. Despite finishing in the Gold Class, she didn't go on to become a magic knight. It seemed like she changed her path after meeting me.

When I finally stepped into the bar, the first thing I saw was a nearly flat-chested girl weaving through a crowd of ragged-looking mercenaries, balancing trays of drinks in her hands.

She was as beautiful as ever, dazzling even in the dim, rough setting of that tavern. She wore a simple waitress's uniform, an apron tied over her shirt, and yet she stood out.

It was Artemis, and she was as beautiful as ever.