CHAPTER 23: WILL BE REVISED SOON!

Upon hearing my words, he stopped retreating but still kept a safe distance between us.

"What do you want? Why did you come up to me?"

I got straight to the point.

"What about the residents here?" I asked.

I gave him a slow scan from head to toe. Then I averted my gaze.

"You might not look sick," I said, "but who knows what’s going on inside. You should stop smoking that tobacco. Otherwise, your lungs might give out."

He squinted at me like I had just told him the sky was green. "What do you know about tobacco? Lungs, huh? Kid, that nonsense might work on someone else, but not me. You just had to say it to me of all people."

He held up the half-burned roll with a kind of reverence, almost like worshipping it.

"If it weren’t for this little thing, I would’ve thrown myself off that bridge years ago. It’s because of tobacco that I found the will to keep going. To me, it’s not just a commodity I bought to fulfill my craving, but it’s also a reminder that it once saved me. This is my savior!"

I was speechless. More importantly, I realized there was no point arguing with a smoker, especially a heavy one like him.

It’s not like anyone in this world knew about the health risks associated with tobacco anyway. Talking about lung damage would just make me sound like a lunatic. And really, even back on modern Earth, people kept smoking despite warning labels printed right on the packaging. If that didn’t stop them, why would my warning work here?

"By the way, do you know anything going on over Nolan Street?" I asked, changing the subject.

Nolan Street was the street that housed my home.

"Nolan Street?" He scratched his head. "Can’t say I’ve heard anything from there..."

I was just about to feel disappointed when he suddenly snapped his fingers.

"Wait! Actually, I think I know something."

"Yeah?"

"There’s a strange Radhanian guy who recently moved in and opened... what was it again...?"

"Massage parlor?" I said unsurely.

"Ah, that’s right! Massage parlor! You know it too?"

"Yeah," Not only do I know it, I even own the place!

And what do you mean by strange Radhanian?! I didn’t recall doing anything weird... then again, maybe starting a massage parlor here was enough to make people consider him to be strange. After all, massage was a practice unique to the Radhan Empire and never existed outside of it.

Not every Radhanian could master the technique, and even fewer had the means or motivation to teach it elsewhere.

In fact, there were plenty of horror stories about inexperienced Radhanians practicing their massage techniques on unsuspecting clients, often leading to disastrous results.

Some victims suffered nerve damage that left them with partial loss of limbs. Others ended up with severe internal injuries. There were even cases where clients vomited blood for a week straight before eventually dying from blood loss.

That’s why there were so few certified masseurs in the empire. And that’s why Aiden’s family had been relatively well-off despite just coming from low-class citizens.

It wasn’t just that the technique was extremely difficult to learn; the real problem was controlling the strength behind it.

This was supposed to be perfect. I had the massage skill inherited from the original Aiden’s memory, and with the "Sensual Touch" skill on top of that, I was sure I could bring in plenty of customers and finish the main quest just in time.

But now?

If everyone’s started avoiding my parlor like it’s the plague, how am I supposed to get any customers?

Fuck! Who the hell started spreading this crap?

Could it be the Sadis Gang again? Of course, it had to be their doing again! That would explain everything. News about my capture spread far too fast. And knowing the Sadis Gang specialized in gathering and leaking information, it wasn’t a stretch to think they were behind this too.

’Looks like me and those shitheads really are fated to be mortal enemies, huh? Fine by me, after all, it’s not like I can rest peacefully until I’ve destroyed them.’

Still, there’s something that bothers me.

If the Sadis Gang was behind the rumor... why go through all this trouble? They’d already killed the original Aiden. Why keep targeting the massage parlor? What exactly is their goal?

Just then, I was struck with realization.

The rumor wasn’t just about me being some predatory scumbag; it specifically said I went after men and women equally. And that had made people of both genders scared to set foot anywhere near Nolan Street...

Is it possible...

Could there be something in my parlor, something so important that they had to go to these lengths, start this wild rumor just to keep people away and make sure nobody stumbled onto... whatever it is?

...

A short, plump man with two front teeth sticking out stood in front of a two-story building.

Pasted across the entrance door was a sheet of parchment bearing the kingdom’s crest, a golden scabbard.

In bold letters, it read:

"The business within this property is closed under investigation. Reopening is forbidden without formal clearance."

"Kekeke, good thing we got word those knights were coming last night," Peter chuckled. "If not, they would’ve caught us red-handed while we were still tearing the place apart."

He then turned to face his subordinates behind him. His posture was slightly hunched, but no one dared make fun of him. "Anyway, Lord Sadis wants us to sweep the place again. This time, he made it clear that we can’t come back until we find that map. Got it?"

A thin man scratched his head among the crowd, looking unsure. "But sir, we already searched the whole house last night and found nothing. What exactly are we supposed to be looking for now?"

Peter shot him a glare. "That’s your job to figure out, genius! If David hadn’t panicked and screwed everything up, we’d have the map by now."

He spat on the ground. "How the hell did he get scared of a half-dead, beaten-down guy and accidentally stab him?"

Someone else hesitantly asked, "What happened to David? Why haven’t we seen him?"

"He’s dead," Peter replied coldly.

The man who asked instantly froze.

Peter indifferently looked over the group. "If you don’t want to end up like him, then get your asses in there and find that map. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. Now move!"

As his men spread out and slipped into the building through windows and the front door, Peter stayed outside.

He looked up at the roof. A pigeon was perched on the ceiling, staring straight at him. After a moment, it spread its wings, glided down, and landed gently on Peter’s shoulder.

"Do you see anyone suspicious coming to this street?"

The pigeon tilted its head, then let out a soft squawk. "Ku! Ku! Ku!"

"Hmm, so no one, huh? From the looks of it, the rumor worked really well at keeping people from going through this street. Other than the residents who lived on this street, probably no one else wants to set foot here. Haha, I’m such a genius for coming up with that rumor!"

Just then, Peter saw a rat scurrying toward him and patting his shoe with its paw.

"Squeak, squeak!"

Right after the rat made its squeaking noises, Peter nodded. "So, someone is coming down this street right now? It’s probably one of the residents."

He didn’t think much of it and promptly ordered the rat to check other areas.

The rat immediately headed off in the opposite direction it came from and soon disappeared.

Peter grinned as he watched it go. "This power really is fantastic. I’m not a Mage, a Priest, or an Aura Master, yet I can talk to animals and order them around. If only it didn’t come with the side effect of turning my body into... this, it’d be even more amazing. Though Lord Sadis did say I was one of the lucky ones, considering not many survived the process like I did."

About a minute later, Peter noticed someone had just turned up on the street. He looked up and saw a tall, broad-shouldered figure in a hooded robe walking in his direction.

’A Radhanian?’ Peter thought with disdain. As a local, he naturally considered himself superior to immigrants from the neighboring empire.

As for how he figured it out so quickly, it was because Radhanians had distinct features that made them easy to spot.

’Who does this guy think he is? Walking around all mysterious, wearing such a concealing robe. Keke... is he hiding an ugly face or something?’ Peter sneered inwardly.

’I’d love to mess him up a little... but Lord Sadis had made it clear that I must find the map no matter what. I can’t let myself get distracted now...’

Yet, a few seconds later, Peter couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows. He noticed the hooded man wasn’t taking a detour or changing lanes; he was walking in a straight line, heading directly toward him.

Radhanians were naturally born with immense raw power. When properly controlled, that strength could produce miraculous massage results, capable of easing deep fatigue from long days of fighting or labor.

But if misused or applied without proper restraint, the same technique could become deadly.

"It’s easy to talk when you’re familiar with the place. Apparently, there’s a juicy rumor going around about it."

I snapped out of my wandering thoughts, fully intrigued by the rumour about myself. "Oh? What’s the rumor?"

"Word is, the owner got caught by a priest for allegedly suspicious activities. So