An hour had gone by since Rudy had been staring at that strange green door squeezed between a tight alley. He'd been hesitant to commit to his swear, but gathering his courage for a while, he got off the roadside bench and made his way towards it. Getting closer, he could feel his chest tighten, for he'd heard plenty of rumors of the place, and nothing was positive. Even so, his drive to be better in whatever minimal way he could kept him moving.
Standing in front of the door, he steeled his heart and gently knocked on it. He wasn't a regular, so the chance of them opening the door for him was already low, and since he didn't plan to actually spend anything, just windowshop for the time being, the alleged merchants of the place would be anything but welcoming.
"Hmm…" Sliding open a metal window in the door, a pair of dark eyes with quite the hefty eyeliner stared at the hero. "If it isn't Freya's runt. What happened? Mommy finally raised your allowance, little boy?"
"J-just open if you want to, or I'm going–" Slamming his hand against the metal door, Rudy stared back at the coy woman. "I just want to take a look inside anyway."
"Is that so?" Tilting her head with a smirk, the woman bit one of her long, white nails. "Well, it would be quite bad for business if we turned a young adventurer away. Some of you lot spend like drunk sailors here, so I guess I'll allow it."
Though shocked by the sudden acceptance, Rudy didn't hesitate as the woman closed the window and opened the door for him instead. Welcoming him with a smile, she gestured for him to walk down a long and dark flight of stairs.
"Go on before your grandfather fucks out another bastard child."
"What?"
"Just go, kid…" Slapping his back, the woman pushed him forward.
Getting one last look at her before he began descending, Rudy was shocked to find that the pale-skinned woman was dressed lavishly in a long dark dress with white glitter scattered near the hem to make it seem like the night sky.
'Who was that?' He wondered, but of course, there was no answer to be had.
Instead of wasting his time on the puzzle, he focused on the path ahead. Squinting his eyes, he tried to make his way through the darkness until he hit the flat floor. Then came light in the form of an area of effect spell; the very floor was boosting his vision and helping him see what the Greenhorn Market was all about.
A sea of people visible through the dark, some standing by the underground pathway dressed to show off their skin and get some paying customers, others had their stalls set with their goods covered with dark cloth or paper. Most of the market was filled with secretive lovers, sneaking away from home after dark and making out while getting drunk or high. And last were shady figures lingering just outside the floor's vision-boosting effect. Nobody could even sense them, and only those who already knew that they were there could approach them and get all kinds of goods or information not found anywhere else.
The place had an air of its own. Heavy with secrets, the smell of sweat and smoke, as well as the silent tension that was waiting to be broken by someone brazen enough to start something. Most fights ended up with one of the parties dead, and having heard that rumor already, Rudy kept his head low and tried not to listen too closely to the sound of lovers groaning and moaning.
'This is a bit…' Flustered by the sights, he kept on walking forward.
"Ahh~ You make me feel so good, unlike that workaholic husband of mine…" In passing, he could hear a lot that he would soon wish he never had.
"My dad's gonna kill us if he finds out that we fucked, haha!"
'What the…' Glancing up for a moment, Rudy noticed a girl his age and a man standing right next to him. As his gaze fell again, however, he noticed that the man's pants were down and the woman's skirt was lifted. 'Oh fuck, I should go!'
"Ey~ Young man, why don't you come here with me?" Pulling him to a corner before he could get much further, one of the working gals of the place pressed his face into her chest. Squeezing her arms around him, she let out a chuckle while looking at him with a hungry gaze. "Fresh meat is a rare sight here. What do you say, I give you a cheap ride? Just a few gold pieces, virgin eyes~"
Being squeezed between a pair of big breasts from a dark elf, Rudy's face was burning with his blood. His eyes began to spin, and his head felt no different. As for the tiny thing between his legs, it had already started twitching with desperation.
"I-I…"
"Oh, a heartbreaker?" Smiling at him, she dramatically placed her free hand over her heart. "Don't do this, darling. I've had too many heartbreaks, you're gonna give me a heart attack!"
Leering up at her all this time, Rudy's willpower was just about to give up. But then came a slap from a piece of newspaper right onto the woman's face.
"OUCH! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Pushing Rudy away, the woman quickly turned around to scream. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Get away from that one!" Walking out of the shadow was an alligator beastman. "I said, get away from the boy, you skank! Now scram!"
"I-it's you boss, I-I'm sorry I was jus–"
"Scram, woman!" Throwing another newspaper at her face, the beastman sent the woman running into the shadows. "As for you."
Folding his hand, the beastman walked further into the magic light, revealing more of his scaly body. As thin as a branch and yet wearing more gold chains than his own weight, the man smiled a golden smile at Rudy and flicked his bright yellow shirt back for style.
Adjusting his sunglasses, he looked at Rudy directly and motioned him to follow behind him.
"Come, let me show you something interesting, Freya's boy, or should I call you the Hero?" Whoever this man was, somehow his charisma made him feel comforting even in a place as dark as this market. And so deep in his heart, Rudy had already decided to follow him.
"Rudeia would be fine," Rudy offered.
"Alright, Freya's boy, Rudeia, follow me," the man replied, and follow Rudy did. Deep into the shadows again, to a place the beastman alligator felt more fitting for a virgin like him.