Multiverse: Why does the world show a health bar? !

Chapter 230: Chapter 227: Like



In the Red Light District, there are three steps to gaining the favor of a top courtesan.

First, one must spend extravagantly at the courtesan's establishment, showcasing their charm and wealth. During this stage, the courtesan will not meet the guest face-to-face but will observe from a distance.

Second, the guest must again spend lavishly at the courtesan's establishment. This time, however, the courtesan will come before the guest. No matter what the guest asks, the courtesan will only answer with "yes" or "no."

Third, when the guest returns again, the courtesan will personally lead her entourage to the streets to welcome the guest back to her establishment, where they may then enjoy her company.

These three steps are indispensable and require a significant amount of money. But after spending the money, one gains both beauty and reputation.

No one can resist the opportunity to show off.

Currently, the Demon Slayer Corps' plan regarding Koinatsu, the top courtesan, has already gone through the first two steps. According to the original plan, the third step was to be carried out within the next two or three days. Of course, only the first half of the third step would be executed, while the latter half, which involves prohibited activities, would not take place.

This was entirely a strategic move. After completing the third step, the news of Koinatsu's redemption would be released. Based on information gathered by the Demon Slayer Corps, many courtesans had mysteriously disappeared when they were about to be redeemed. Expanding the search area, it became clear that a significant portion of the missing women were those who were rumored to be on the verge of being redeemed.

For women in the Red Light District, being redeemed and taken home by someone was the best outcome, as it meant escaping the hellish environment. Therefore, they would never give up the hope of freeing themselves.

From this, it was clear that their disappearances were not voluntary.

When such incidents occur repeatedly, it becomes suspicious. Once might be an accident, twice could still be an accident, but what about three, four, or five times?

When the numbers add up, it's no longer an accident. It's intentional.

Kocho Kanae believed that the Upper Rank demon hiding here preferred to target beautiful women, especially those about to leave the Red Light District. This Upper Rank saw the Red Light District as his hunting ground, and the women living here as his prey. Those who tried to leave were seen as prey attempting to escape his hunting range.

Thus, this plan was devised.

However, the original plan now needed some slight adjustments.

"Keiko, are you really not joking?"

Koinatsu was a top courtesan.

She was likely the youngest top courtesan in this Red Light District, if not the youngest ever. This was entirely due to the backing of a large organization behind Keiko.

As a top courtesan, she had already prepared for the events following the third meeting.

But now, you're telling me...

To switch people?

Koinatsu looked at Keiko in front of her.

"I'm not joking, Koinatsu-san. How about letting me handle things tomorrow night?"

"But... you and I look different." Koinatsu remembered the promise—that after all this, she could leave the Red Light District with her purity intact and live a normal life as a respectable woman.

Was the other party going to break the promise?

Although she didn't place much importance on promises, if she lowered her expectations, she wouldn't be disappointed.

Then, Koinatsu's hands were grasped by the other woman.

"My name is Kocho Kanae."

Kocho Shinobu held Koinatsu's hands and said, "You can call me Kanae."

Her hands were soft and warm, yet Koinatsu could feel calluses.

—Calluses.

Despite her flawless skin, her hands didn't feel like those of a woman.

They felt more like a man's.

Koinatsu looked at the woman before her.

She was beautiful.

No longer hiding behind an ugly disguise, she revealed her true appearance. Koinatsu understood why the owner had said that if she wanted, she could become a top courtesan.

Because even as a woman, Koinatsu felt a slight flutter in her heart.

The difference in their looks wasn't significant, but that wasn't the point. The point was her aura. To put it into words, it was motherly. She seemed to have a heart that could embrace everything.

Koinatsu was seeing Kocho Kanae in a new light.

Kocho Kanae?

Was she no longer hiding herself?

"Koinatsu, I can handle all of this. I can even redeem you after tonight."

Redemption was just a matter of money. As the saying goes, any problem that can be solved with money isn't really a problem.

Koinatsu spoke up, "I don't care about that. Alright... I can agree, but I'm curious. Why do you want to do this, Kanae-san? Is it because of that man from last night?"

"Yes."

"Kanae-san, you admit it so quickly?"

"Well... why shouldn't I admit it quickly?"

Koinatsu asked, "Then, to Kanae-san, what does that man mean to you?"

"What does he mean?" Kocho Kanae blinked, her delicate hand resting on her chin as she pondered.

She looked utterly adorable.

The contrast of a mature woman making such a cute gesture captivated Koinatsu.

"Probably... I don't know?" After a moment, Kocho Kanae gave her answer.

Then she slowly began to tell Koinatsu about her past with Li Mo. Their first meeting was when she was ten years old. She was the daughter of a doctor, and he was a weary traveler. In just half a day, the situation changed. She became the one being protected, and he became the savior.

Five or six years passed, with stops and starts. She had grown into a young woman, but those five or six years could be divided into two phases: the phase of communicating with Li Mo through letters, and the phase without Li Mo.

...Time, like flowing water, once gone, could never return. And it flowed so quickly.

Three years ago, when Li Mo disappeared before her eyes, what had she thought? Did she truly believe that Li Mo wasn't dead, but that this was just a separation that would eventually lead to a reunion?

As she recounted this to Koinatsu, Kocho Kanae was also analyzing her own heart.

She could no longer remember how she had felt back then. She only remembered that during the nearly thousand nights of the past three years, she occasionally missed the man who had saved her and her sister.

Koinatsu listened calmly to Kocho Kanae's story. When everything was said and done, and the air fell into silence, she finally offered her own interpretation, "I think this must be love."

If you think of someone during the day, you dream of them at night.

Isn't that love?

Kocho Kanae cupped her cheeks with her hands, silent for a moment before saying, "If Koinatsu-chan says it's love, then it's love."

"Kanae-san, such things can't be accurately judged by others. You need to ask your own heart. Alright... I won't pry further. What I want to know is, will the man coming tomorrow night be the same one from last night?"

"Probably, yes."

Probably?

Koinatsu looked at Kocho Kanae and suddenly felt that she was a bit... airheaded.


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