Chapter 90.1: Rex Managing Town Affairs
Twenty minutes later.
Yang Qiu stared at the "newly made over" Rex for a few seconds, then silently averted his gaze.
Rex himself didn't have much of a reaction, though the two attendants that Mia had asked to help Rex turned pale.
"Don't be nervous. I don't have any intention of blaming you." Yang Qiu nodded at the two ladies. "Mia, send the two ladies back to rest."
"Yes, Mr. Lord." Mia gave a curtsy.
Yang Qiu waited for the three ladies to leave the room before he burst out laughing.
Rex: "…"
"I'm sorry." Yang Qiu smiled. "Go wash that stuff off your face and hands. It's really… too funny."
Rex trudged to the bathroom expressionlessly…
The "upper-class aesthetics" of this world were still stuck in the first stage after the arrival of the industrial era.
It was as if… they were trying to emulate that delicate, fragile demeanor of pampered aristocrats.
Yang Qiu had gotten two former high-end hostesses to dress Rex up like a noble. The two had vigorously applied layers of makeup to Rex's hands, face, and neck, combed his hair to a glossy sheen, and even adorned his forehead with decorations. It was indeed their best effort.
However, Rex wasn't the sort suited for this elegant style. Although he had rather standard facial features, his skin was dark and rough, while his stubble was thicker than Yang Qiu's after the latter's six decades on the run. On top of it all, Rex's physique leaned toward the muscular side. Even after shaving off his beard and applying makeup, he looked more like a clown about to take the stage…
The former proprietor of "Elegant Dreams" had transformed his office into an exceedingly plain and elegant space. Were it not for the unusual and bizarre instruments hidden behind the cabinet's secret doors, one would never guess that the owner of this office was a sadistic pervert deserving of the death penalty.
Yang Qiu claimed the high-backed sofa that once belonged to the previous owner, sipping on the high-quality tea from the cabinet and indulging in the premium snacks stored in the pantry. After finishing them, he wore a look of disgust and said, "This is far too sweet, almost sickening."
Inspector Lowell didn't even touch anything. He felt incredibly uncomfortable just entering this building, which had formerly been a brothel. Sitting on the genuine leather armchair felt as if he were sitting on a bed of needles.
"Relax, my friend. Weisshem wasn't at fault. The shops and compounds built on this street had no responsibility either. The wrongdoers are those who use these buildings improperly. As long as we deal with those who have done wrong and prevent anyone from misusing these buildings, this place won't be a hideout for filth but a simple residence instead."
Lowell didn't want to hear him talk about all this and coldly said, "Are you still sticking to your original plan? It's not that I have a problem with Rex, but he seems more like an adventurer than a pampered aristocrat."
"I feel the same," Yang Qiu surprisingly agreed. "In that case, let's give Rex a different persona. He's a nobleman's illegitimate son who's relentlessly ambitious and remarkably talented. He despises crawling to his noble father like his other illegitimate siblings, always scheming to gain favor. Instead, at a young age, he embarks on journeys, making a name for himself as the shining star of the Viscount Rex family… What do you think?"
Lowell: "…"
Lowell really wanted to say mockingly, "Have you spent the last three hundred years mastering the art of deception?" But he feared that getting into a debate over the definitions of deception and deceivers would be futile, so he kept his mouth shut.
Rex washed off the exaggerated makeup and emerged dripping from the bathroom when he heard Yang Qiu ask him, "Rex, how was your geography when you were studying? How many places have you been to before the Sorenson Mountains?"
"Um…"
When the two former "Elegant Dreams'' hostesses returned to their assigned rooms, others gathered nervously around them. "How was it? Did they make things difficult for you?"
"Did they say what will happen to us?"
One of the former hostesses clutched her blouse and exhaled. "…It was alright. That, um, that man referred to as Lord and mage was quite… pleasant."
Her partner chimed in, "They didn't say much. Miss Mia just told us not to think about it and get some rest."
"How can we not think about it?" One of the ladies that had been waiting anxiously frowned. "There are so many of us. The food we would consume in one day is immense. Can they really just provide for us without expecting anything in return?"
"Did Miss Mia not say anything else?"
"Forget it. I think Miss Mia doesn't seem to hold any status among them and her words don't count for much."
"But… that Mr. Rex did say he wouldn't make us do… what we used to do before," one of the women who had been outside said weakly.
The woman who had voiced her opposition couldn't help but scoff and turned to the others. "Do you believe such words?"
The six women that had been just chattering a moment ago fell silent.
"What… what can we do?" a younger woman sobbed. "Even if we wish to escape, there's nowhere to go…"
The women exchanged glances in silence and, after a while, quietly dispersed, returning to the makeshift beds created by combining chairs and stools.
"Just get by one day at a time," a slightly older woman croaked. "We've never had a future to begin with, so why bother thinking so far ahead?"
Outside the room, Mia sighed.
Just as Rex said… providing food alone doesn't put everyone at ease, a worried Mia contemplated and left.
In the quiet hallway, every room Mia passed by seemed to emit faint, almost imperceptible sobs. No loud wailing, no heart-wrenching cries—just hushed sobbing as if the person crying was afraid of being discovered. The cautious restraint in their tears weighed heavily on Mia as she traveled alone down the corridor.
After descending the stairs and hearing no more of these faint cries, Mia actually felt a sense of relief.
"Mr. Rex?" Noticing Rex emerging from a corridor on the ground floor, Mia asked in surprise, "Aren't you supposed to be with Mr. Lord and the others?"
Rex's face showed a subtle hint of embarrassment. "Um… Yang seemed to have come up with another plan. They don't need me."
"Ah…?"
"Enough about that," Rex quickly changed the subject. "There was a burly male enforcer here originally, the one who protected the ladies. Do you remember where he was assigned?"
Mia certainly remembered the man called Ben. He was the strongest man among all the people under Taranthan's protection. "I know him. He's together with the orcs."
Ben, though covered in whip scars and far from healthy, would still be capable of posing a threat to others. Mia couldn't simply let such a person stay with the other human male sex workers. When she allocated rooms, she placed Ben on the same floor as Ossirian and provided him with a single room.
Rex and Mia made their way to the floor where the orcs were staying. They first checked on Ossirian and then proceeded to find Ben.
Ben was sitting alone on a thin cotton mattress, lost in thought. Since the previous night, everything that transpired left this enforcer with nine years of experience in this scene completely bewildered…
Undead had taken over the entire street, and his boss, his colleagues, and even the customers he had once fawned over were lined up in the streets like livestock. When Ben saw this through the window, he had to pinch his thigh to check if he was dreaming.
It was just… too crazy!
Weisshem rarely received noble guests, given its remote location, and respectable folks weren't inclined to undertake arduous journeys just for momentary pleasures. However, Weisshem did have its fair share of well-connected patrons!
There were merchants with noble backing, officials from Indahl, and sycophants with connections to the aristocracy—these were all common sights in Weisshem!
There wasn't a need to mention others. His boss, Garcia Greene, had the backing of a viscount, and even mid-tier Indahl officials were polite to him.
However, even such people with status had been all tied up like pigs and thrown onto the streets!
Ben had also seen his boss, Greene. His clothes were covered in blood, with a swollen face that was almost unrecognizable.
Hearing footsteps coming toward the storage room he was in, Ben snapped out of his daze and stood up in a hurry.
None of the rooms were locked from the inside, but no one dared to leave and move around wantonly… There were too many undead outside, after all. Even the most arrogant and unreasonable individual wouldn't dare be willful in the presence of skeletons that would make people tremble in fear even in broad daylight.
The door was pushed open, and the man who had smashed the establishment's signboard not too long ago entered.
He was very young and didn't have a bulky physique, but he was very strong. There was a heavy aura about him that exceeded his age and could cause those with keener senses to crumble.
Ben had once been a trainee warrior, but he hadn't been able to embark on the professional path because of his family background. With just his naked eyes and senses, he could tell that the man before him was a very strong and terrifying warrior. Every muscle in Ben's body tightened instinctively.
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