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nI walked out of the brothel with Mia clinging to my side. The deal with the Madam regarding the soaps was done, the process of explaining the procedure of making it settled. Right now, there was no further reason for me to stay in that sperm-stinking place.

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"Where are we going now?

" Mia asked, rubbing her cheek against my arm.

nThe girls back at the brothel held nothing back when fulfilling my requests. Despite how different they were from what those girls would usually be tasked with, they did an insanely great job at cleaning Mia up.

nIn a sense, they went above and beyond. The simple help with washing turned out into an entire beautification process that turned Mia from a cute girl into an absolute bombshell of attractiveness.

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"Do we need some kind of objective to enjoy the walk?

" I asked gently, giving Mia a small nudge to the side.

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"No, we don't,

" she replied in a flirty voice, once again resting the side of her head against my arm. Her hands were wrapped all over my hand, making it quite challenging to move around with forcing her to change position.

nYet, I didn't complain. As troublesome as it was to walk with a girl clinging to my arm like that, I was willing to bear with this small inconvenience.

nAs it turned out, we spent quite a while at the brothel. By the time we returned to the town's main street, the sun was starting to set. Yet, rather than hurrying up home, we slowed our pace even further.

nThe dark red rays of the setting sun gave the town a lovely vibe, one that I always dug back on earth. The difference between my old life and the current one laid, outside of having a girl by my side, in how lovely this small town was.

nIn the modern earth, all signs of artistic sense in architecture were sadly lost. Taken over by the fake beauty of the concrete and glass blocks, the cities of the post-war period turned out to be efficient... but quite depressing.

nContrary to what I saw in my memories, the street that I walked on was vibrant with life, with colors. Every building that we passed by was different from the rest. People carved images on the shuts of their doors. Every door was a piece of art with several different types of materials used to turn it into a mosaic.

nThis town was filled with small details that gave it this vibrant vibe, one that truly allowed me to enjoy the walk.

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"Huh?

" I uttered a small shout of surprise when I realized where we happened to end up.

nThe massive colonnade leading to the main door was present in just a single location of the entire town.

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"Shall we step in?

" I asked, casting a quick glance at Mia's dreamy face.

n'It seems that she enjoys the walk as well,' I thought, feeling the happiness building up in my heart.

nThese simple pleasures of daily life made life worth living. There was no need for a great adventure. I had no craving to become the strongest or the most famous person in this world.

nJust walking in the peaceful streets of a small city, deleting every last moment of the experience...

nI was satisfied with it.

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"Why not?

" Mia chuckled a little. Her face was relaxed, and for the first time... she didn't hide her mouth while releasing this small laughter.

nMy lips turned into a smile completely on their own.

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"Right, now that I think about it, where did Vaner go?

" Mia inquired as we walked past the long rows of magnificent columns.

n'

nEven though it wasn't my first time walking through the place, the artistic effort required to turn every and last one of them into sculpture still managed to put me in awe.

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"I believe he got bored and left the place,

" I scoffed lightly. While I owed that elder a lot, I couldn't help but dislike the mention of his name in a situation like that. In a sense, it felt like spoiling the mood.

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"Welcome,

" the receptionist spoke out in a steady tone the second I pushed the massive doors open.

nThere were hardly any people inside, signaling that right now, the auction house was in its dead period of the day.

n'Strange,' I thought. 'For them to be so empty...' My eyebrows lowered as I thought about the matter.

nThis place didn't serve as the place to auction stuff alone, but also as a bank. To a certain degree, this was also the high-grade hotel one would take any VIP guests to talk about business.

nMaybe it was a cultural thing? Maybe people tended not to bother with business at such a late hour? Or maybe it was just a coincidence?

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"Hello, I came to make another exchange,

" I said, nodding my head to the receptionist.

nThere was no custom of paying respects to the servants in this world... but I did it nonetheless. All that it cost me was the respect of the people that had none of it for me while allowing me to gain a bit of sympathy from the people that actually made my life more convenient.

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"Right away, sir,

" the receptionist nodded his head with a professional smile.

"How many would you like?

" he asked, not burdening me with the usual procedure of checking my identity.

nJust like I said, there were some perks to simply being nice to people that, in theory, were lower on the social ladder.

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"I think... Two hundred?

" I muttered, uncertain about how much I could actually get.

"No, I don't think the fresh payments came in yet,

" I mumbled to myself, realizing that from start to finish, Vaner actually never passed the letter with cash cheque to me.

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"I think I will go with a hundred and take the remaining money from the account with me,

" I gave my final answer.

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"Is sir closing the account with us?

" the receptionist asked, raising his head and throwing me a disappointed look.

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"Not at all,

" I laughed in exchange, genuinely touched by the unexpected gesture.

"I just want to give my girl a time of her life. Very soon, my account should start receiving money once again,

" I explained the situation.

nAfter all, over the next two days, fifty thousand golden coins would make their way towards my personal gold storage!

nThroughout all this exchange, Mia silently waited by my side, not reacting to the events at all. Yet, when the receptionist returned in assist of two burly men under arms, she couldn't help but tighten the hold over my arm.

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"Here, kind sir,

" the receptionist placed two sizeable bags on the table.

"A hundred spirit stones and ninety-seven gold coins,

" he reported on the content.

nMia tugged even harder on my hand.

n'So this is how it feels to flex money on the girl you like,' I thought with glee, grabbing the pockets and nodding my head with gratitude to the servants.

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"So, is there anywhere you would like to go, now?

" I asked, leading the girl out of the building.

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"You see...

" Mia muttered, only to turn silent for a moment. She then took a few breaths before calming herself down enough to speak what she wanted.

"I think I will be too worried about someone trying to rob you to be calm right now. How about we return to the sect first?

"

nAs reasonable as this suggestion was, I couldn't help but regret it being voiced out. Or rather, I couldn't help but regret my decision to take all my current wealth out at once.

nWhile it was something that I had to do anyway as I was about to run out of the stones anyway, I didn't expect this random flex to come to bite me in the ass right away!

n'Is this what karma is all about?' I thought as Mia led us back towards the sect.

nBy the time we arrived back at the confined area of our organization, the sun was already long gone. Its light was scarcely replaced by the hanging candles...

nBut their light couldn't compare to the natural one.

nYet, even in such a dim illumination, I could still hear some people whispering and laughing when we walked past them.

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"It must be amusing to have all those people laugh at you while those bags weigh down on your belt,

" Mia whispered to my ear, barely able to stop herself from a giggle.

nAnd a moment later, she lost her struggle and started to gently chuckle.

nSoon, we finally reached the doorstep of Vaner's mansion. Even though I wasn't worried about it at all, Mia could breathe a sigh of relief.

nWe managed to reach the safety of this place without losing a single coin or stone.

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"You know, now that I think about it,

" Mia said, turning her back to the entrance and looking up at the stars in the sky.

"I'm glad this won't be our audition yet. I wouldn't want for those peaceful days to come to an end in just two more days,

" she said, her eyes all dreamy as she stared into the light of the stars.

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"Well...

" I almost choked on my saliva. Hearing my voice, Mia looked down and looked at my face, forcing me to avert my eyes to the side.

"About that...

"

nFor a moment, there was only silence between the two of us.

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"Don't tell me...

" Mia gasped.

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"I actually planned to have both of us pass the next auditions,

" I announced in a helpless tone.

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