Royza called me to the shop, and when I arrived, the illegal woman who had sold Miu was waiting there.
"Hello again."
She finally pulled back the hood she always wore so deeply.
"…Eh?"
Her face was that of a lizardman half — or perhaps closer to a dragon. Beautiful scales covered parts of her skin, even reaching her face. Yet beneath them was the face of a strikingly attractive human woman. The contrast was shocking.
"You don't need to hide your surprise. Lizardman halves like me are rare, after all."
Melto spoke calmly and matter-of-factly.
"I'm showing you my true appearance out of courtesy. Given how monstrous I look, you're free to refuse my request. There's almost no benefit for you in this."
She continued in that detached tone.
"We are an underground organization that handles drugs, slavery, assassination contracts, and other illegal work. There's an underground district beneath the City of Knowledge where we operate."
*Of course they're criminals.* My stomach tightened.
"Prince — now Duke — Rodi dislikes organizations like ours. He's been pushing hard for stronger security and crackdowns."
Melto's golden eyes met mine.
"We don't disagree with the principle. Creatures like us shouldn't exist in a perfect world. But we always will. Someone has to control and manage us, or chaos will reign."
In other words, they were the necessary evil keeping worse elements in check.
"Rodi became duke largely thanks to your support. The fourth son only withdrew because you gave him the Sekauma sales rights. Now that Rodi is duke, he won't handle sales himself — he'll pass the rights to the fourth son."
She was well-informed.
"Rodi will contact you soon about that. When he does, please speak to him on our behalf. We're not asking him to stop the crackdowns entirely — just to open a dialogue."
"And why would I do that for you?"
Melto gave a small, resigned smile.
"Exactly. There's no benefit for you. You've deliberately avoided associating with people like us. You owe us nothing — selling Miu was purely business."
She was right. I had no reason to help.
"We won't force contact. Whatever you decide, we'll respect it and won't approach you aggressively again."
"…Let me think about it."
---
I wasn't good at these kinds of decisions, so I consulted Jera Hagdom and Yuira first.
"If it's about those people, you should talk to Avael," Jera Hagdom said.
"I'm afraid I'm not the best person to advise on this either~" Yuira added.
Both recommended Avael.
When I asked her, Avael nodded easily.
"Ah, Melto. Yeah, I know her. She used to come to the old shop. I talked with her a few times."
Avael leaned back. "She and her group are actually one of the more reasonable underground organizations. They don't cause unnecessary trouble and they keep the real monsters in check. They've never threatened you, right?"
"…True."
"Still, they're dangerous people. It's smarter to keep your distance if you can."
In the end, I decided to at least pass on the message.
When I spoke with the newly crowned Duke Rodi, he just laughed.
"I wasn't planning to wipe them out anyway. The security strengthening proposal was mostly for popularity. If you want to take credit for it, go ahead."
*What a schemer.*
He waved his hand casually. "Come to my coronation ceremony."
The Sekauma sales rights would be transferred to the fourth son after the ceremony.
---
While I was still processing everything at the villa, I found the penguin happily eating grilled fish.
"Tasty—."
It was gulping down entire barrels of wine again.
"You look like you have a lot on your mind—. Drink and forget about it—."
"Hahaha… yeah, you're right."
For some reason, I ended up telling the penguin stories from my old life in Japan. Maybe because it felt safe — like talking to a wall that could actually listen.
I even told it about my ex.
"The way she broke up with me still doesn't make sense. I got busy and couldn't make time for her, so breaking up was fair… but then she said 'We can still be sex friends, right?' What the hell was that?! Sex friends?! After everything?!"
I was completely drunk by then. The penguin just listened, occasionally sipping from a barrel.
"Sex friends? What's that—?"
"Friends you have sex with. I loved her, you know? But she… she said if I was too busy for a relationship, at least keep fucking her."
The penguin gently touched my head with its cool flipper — no, wing.
"Hmm… so this is her, huh—?"
Suddenly, a nostalgic voice echoed in my mind.
『You want to know why?』
It was Mio — my first girlfriend, the older, strong-willed, beautiful woman I hadn't seen since the breakup.
The vision was so vivid. Her room. The same bed we'd spent so many nights on.
She was on her back, legs spread, viciously fucking herself with a massive vibrator far bigger than anything I'd ever used on her.
"…Still no message today…"
Her voice was sweet and needy — nothing like the cool, confident Mio I remembered.
"Ahh…♡ I'm so lonely…♡"
She slammed the huge toy in and out, moaning shamelessly.
"I want to text him first…♡ Tell him I need his cock…♡"
I couldn't believe it. This was the same woman who had always been so independent.
"Aaahhh♡♡♡ Izumi…♡ Come back…♡ Even if it's just as sex friends…♡ I need your big cock again…♡"
She came hard, squirting all over the sheets, but kept going, fucking herself even more desperately.
"This toy isn't enough…♡ I want the real thing…♡ I want you to destroy me…♡ Break my pride…♡ Turn me into your brainless meat toilet…♡"
『If you want, we can still be sex friends.』
That was what she had really meant.
『If you won't love me anymore, at least ruin me.』
The vision faded.
I was back on the beach, staring at the penguin.
"How was it—?"
"…Was that a dream?"
The penguin flapped its wings lazily, floating a little.
"Who knows—? Dream, memory, truth… The only thing that matters is that, deep down, that chapter is already closed for you."
Yes.
Mio.
I hope you're living freely and happily back in Japan.
I'm glad I never broke you.
I'm living a new life now — one I could have never imagined.