This voice was all too familiar to Eileen.
She frowned and turned around.
The one speaking was a woman with dark skin, wearing the bikini armor that was especially iconic for female characters in the game. Her well-defined eight-pack abs were exposed, and she carried a massive axe that was almost as tall as a person on her shoulder.
“Gillian…”
That’s right.
If not for the female-exclusive equipment she was wearing, no one would be able to tell whether this person was male or female. This was the same bad woman who had set her up, scammed away all her savings, and left her drowning in high-interest debt.
“Hm? What’s with that look in your eyes? You’re not actually thinking of refusing to pay back the Light Society’s money, are you?”
Gillian slightly raised an eyebrow. The ruthless aura between her brows made Eileen shiver involuntarily.
Gillian and she were both E-rank adventurers.
In this cruel world where the strong preyed on the weak, E-rank adventurers sat at the very bottom of the food chain.
Even so, there were still differences among E-rank adventurers.
Some remained at the lowest level because their strength was lacking and they had no notable achievements.
But there were also those whose strength and accomplishments were more than enough to promote to D-rank, yet they deliberately chose not to. Instead, they relied on their overwhelming power over their peers to act tyrannically at the bottom.
Clearly, Gillian belonged to the latter category.
She already possessed the ability to promote to D-rank, but she never applied for it. Instead, she thoroughly enjoyed the title of “Crisel’s Strongest E-rank Adventurer” and specialized in oppressing inexperienced E-rank adventurers like Eileen who didn’t understand the dangers of the world.
Faced with such a villain, the justice-loving Eileen naturally hated her so much her teeth itched.
Thinking about everything she had gone through these past few days, Eileen clenched her pink fists. Then…
“Sister Gillian, why do you like joking around so much? I’m just an ordinary citizen. How would I dare to refuse to pay the Light Society’s money? You know the guild only lets you take one commission at a time. I was just planning to fake another identity so I could take two commissions at once and earn a bit more money to repay the debt.”
Eileen forced a smile.
She had no choice.
Who told her that this New Game+ had completely wiped her storage?
Not only had all the rare items she obtained from romancing so many female characters disappeared, even her level had been reset to zero.
If she didn’t act a little more submissive right now, she would probably have to go collect her boxed meal the moment the game started…
This world wasn’t like modern society. People died every day. No one would bother investigating the cause of death for those people, let alone for a thuggish organization like the Light Society that clearly had protection from above.
In other words, even if someone wanted to investigate the victims harmed by the Light Society, they would most likely become the next victim.
So right now, what Eileen needed to do was endure.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Do not bully the poor youth!
She was someone who had already cleared the game once. She knew this world like the back of her hand. As long as she could safely endure until the later stages, the Light Society would be nothing more than dust she could wipe away with a flick of her finger. Not worth mentioning.
“At least you’ve got some sense.”
Gillian snorted coldly. Her gaze fell on Atia, who was hiding behind Eileen and only showing half her body.
“Atia, I told you to go collect the debt. Why did you run off to the guild with the debtor instead?”
Atia shrank her neck like a frightened little rabbit and looked at Gillian pitifully. “I-I’m sorry, Miss Gillian, I just…”
“Don’t give me ‘sorry.’ These past few days you haven’t collected a single coin while trying to collect debt, and now you still have the face to come to the guild to watch the fun? Go back and prepare to be punished!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Atia’s little face turned deathly pale. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes as she anxiously said, “Sister Gillian, p-please give me one more chance. I don’t want to go to that kind of place. I’m begging you!”
Seeing Atia’s huge reaction, Eileen immediately asked, “What kind of punishment is she going to receive when she goes back?”
Gillian glanced at Eileen and answered casually, “The Light Society isn’t a charity. This dead girl eats and drinks for free every day but can’t even do her job properly. Tonight when she goes back, I’ll send her to the little room to receive guests. I heard from the boss there that the customers lately really like girls like her. One night should be enough to earn back the cost of her meals these past few days…”
Halfway through her words, Gillian’s eyes swept over Eileen once more before revealing a wicked smile. “If you can’t pay back the money either, you can go try it too. With your conditions, you should be able to become their top girl very quickly.”
Eileen’s delicate body trembled.
Go to that kind of place?
She would rather die…
“I-I’ll pass…”
“This isn’t something you get to decide. If you still can’t hand over a single coin next week, you’ll have to go in too!”
Thud!
Gillian slammed the massive axe from her shoulder onto the ground, producing a dull sound.
“Atia, are you going to walk back by yourself, or do I have to beat you up first and then send you to your dad at the little room?”
“No… I-I really don’t want to go. Sister Gillian, please give me one more chance! I-I still have some money I can use to pay…”
Atia was on the verge of breaking down.
Everyone knew what kind of place the little room was.
Basically, any woman who went in there would have no good ending, unless one day a noble took a fancy to her and spent a huge sum to redeem her.
But that was about as likely as winning the lottery. Many people lived their entire lives without ever getting redeemed and could only die in pain from illness.
In other words, once you went in, your life was over.
Gillian sighed. Her gaze immediately darkened. “Atia, do you really think the little bit of money you have is enough to do anything? Hurry up. Don’t force me to do it myself!”
Atia bit her red lips tightly. Her whole body was trembling.
She knew that with her strength, she had no way to resist Gillian. No one else would help her either.
This was the cruel reality of this world.
The weak could only be slaughtered by the strong. Even if others saw it happen, no one would stand up and speak for them.
In fact, ever since Gillian appeared, quite a few people had been watching them. Yet not a single person stepped forward to defend them.
Everyone acted as if it had nothing to do with them and simply watched the show.
“Stop dawdling!”
Gillian urged again.
Clearly, her patience had reached its limit.
Atia lowered her head and took a trembling step forward.
She didn’t dare imagine what kind of miserable fate awaited her afterward. But before leaving, she still raised her head and glanced at Eileen one last time.
She found it strange.
They had only met a few times, yet this person had started confessing to her and showing affection.
But… she didn’t dislike it.
Because Eileen had let her, someone who had never experienced love before, feel what it was like to be loved for the first time.
Thinking about it now, it was probably just something Eileen did out of desperation while facing debt collection. However…
Even if it was fake, that was fine.
Just let me…
Look at her one more time.
Just one more time…
“Wait!”
The sudden interruption was like tearing open the roof of a pitch-black room. Sunlight instantly illuminated everything in front of her.
Along with it came a touch of warmth that felt almost unreal.
Eileen had grabbed her hand and pulled her back from the abyss.
“What now?”
Gillian’s patience was nearly gone.
If they weren’t still inside the guild, she would have already made a move.
“This… Atia only owes you for her meals, right? How about this? I’ll let her work with me. Whatever money we earn today, I’ll give it all to you when we come back tonight. How does that sound?”
After Eileen finished speaking, her hands were shaking.
If this were still the game, she would never have done something so thankless.
She was just an insignificant NPC. What did it matter to her, a player, what happened to her afterward?
NPCs only needed dialogue. Players had far more things to consider.
But now that all of this was truly happening right in front of her eyes, she could no longer sit back and do nothing.
She had seen despair in Atia’s eyes filled with hot tears.
She had seen unwillingness.
She had seen reluctance.
At this moment, she finally understood completely.
This was no longer that virtual game world.
The person in front of her was not some insignificant NPC.
She was a living, breathing person with flesh and blood, with feelings and emotions.
Even if it meant taking a risk, she didn’t want to watch Atia be taken away by Gillian and become a miserable woman of the wind and dust.