Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 686: Brothel

”Hoo!!!! Are you finally taking our suggestions? That is the smile of a man in love,” Williams intoned as he gazed at Asher’s smile, clearly amused by what he believed he had just discovered.

”You both are misunderstanding; I’m just happy for her progress, we are friends after all,” Asher replied as he waved his hand to dismiss whatever thoughts they were having, his tone calm yet dismissive.

”You’ve never smiled at my or Finch’s progress, and we are also your friends,” Williams countered without missing a beat, his expression filled with mock accusation.

”You both are men, why would I be smiling at the thought of your progress? Why would I even be thinking about you in the first place?” Asher spoke as he met Williams’ gaze directly, his words blunt and flat.

Finch and Williams stayed silent for a moment, Finch’s eyes narrowing slightly before he spoke, asking a question that seemed to have been brewing in his mind.

”Hey, Asher, you don’t need to lie, but are you perhaps a virgin?” Finch asked, his eyes fixed on Asher as though ready to catch him in a lie, his tone carrying curiosity more than mockery.

His question made Williams and Asher pause for a moment. Within the noble circle, the boys were hardly ever virgins, as right from a young age they were already visiting brothels and whatnot; so to them, if Asher was a virgin, he would be a white sheep amongst a group of black sheep.

”And why are you even asking this?” Asher asked as he arched an eyebrow in confusion, clearly unimpressed by the direction of the conversation.

”Well... if you weren’t, you would have made your feelings known to Ryaen by now,” Finch replied, shrugging slightly as though his reasoning was obvious.

Asher sighed as he rubbed his temples. ’Should I just teleport back to the Wargrave estate so I won’t have to deal with these two?’ he thought to himself, very tempted at the thought, as his patience wore thin.

From his memories, the original Asher was indeed a virgin; firstly, the boy had never left the Wargrave estate, secondly, there was hardly anyone his age within the Ducal estate to begin with, as all maids and butlers were all in their forties or thirties at minimum. Besides, as a Wargrave, the original Asher’s mind had been consumed by training, which he began at the age of five. The boy simply didn’t have time to indulge in the life other nobles enjoyed.

”Firstly, I’m not a virgin; secondly, drop this matter about Ryaen, or I’m leaving this room for the both of you,” Asher spoke with a sigh, his tone carrying finality.

While the original Asher might have been a virgin, he, Ethan, was not; so practically, he wasn’t lying, even if the distinction was something only he understood.

”We give up then,” Finch spoke with a shrug of his shoulders; he was just trying to ship Asher and Ryaen, as they seemed like a match made in heaven. Besides, Ryaen also had two elder siblings, twins too, who were locked in a race to inherit the Ducal title, so she was free to be in a relationship with a Wargrave without political restriction.

”Thank you,” Asher replied, his eyes shifting towards Finch’s bird that seemed to be holding back laughter as though it didn’t want to blow its cover. Asher tore his eyes away as he couldn’t be bothered by the bird’s antics.

”How about we stop by a brothel after our mission and relieve some pent-up stress?” Williams suggested, his tone casual as though it was a completely normal proposal.

Asher turned his gaze to him and shook his head. He had expected such words from Finch, but not Williams. Besides, he, Asher, wasn’t someone who went around sleeping with women or anything like that; he wasn’t into that sort of thing, although it was a common practice in the world of Crymora.

”Then I guess I won’t be following you both on your next mission. I’m sure Darissa, Vaelra, and Ryaen are open to welcoming me for a single mission, despite it being an all-girls group,” Asher replied as he shook his head, unwilling to let these two influence him into such habits.

”You are no fun, bro, all you know is fighting and training,” Finch commented, clicking his tongue lightly.

”Says the only fat person in the world,” Asher replied without missing a beat, his tone perfectly deadpan.

”Ahem, just like how you Wargraves have a unique physique, I also have a unique physique; it’s just that mine is more special, so it’s harder to activate, maybe when it crosses into a certain Life Rank,” Finch cleared his throat as he spoke, even he not believing his own words as he tried to justify himself.

”Yeah, sure,” Asher replied, holding back a small laugh that threatened to escape, his lips twitching slightly.

Williams didn’t hold back his own laughter; why should he? He laughed at Finch without a care in the world, clearly entertained by the ridiculous explanation.

”Anyway, when are you guys taking your next mission?” Asher asked; he literally had nothing to do within the Star Academy.

Since Crymora wasn’t technologically advanced like Earth, there was nothing that could be used to cure boredom here, no YouTube, no gaming, nothing. ’No wonder they go around visiting brothels,’ Asher thought to himself, somewhat understanding the behavior.

At least back at the Wargrave estate, he attended an auction at the Orchid Auction House out of boredom and also had Lyra teach him things like horse riding and archery while riding horses. But here, within the Star Academy, none of that could be done, leaving little to occupy his time.

”You need us to go on the mission immediately?” Williams asked, raising a brow slightly.

”Well... it’s not like we are doing anything; we’ve been resting for the past one week, so we can leave at any time, even right now,” Finch added without missing a beat, clearly unconcerned.

Asher shook his head as he spoke, ”I’m just asking, it’s not like I want you people to start your mission immediately, just curious, is all. After all, I just came back from a mission myself,” his words flat and straightforward.

Although he was bored, he wouldn’t make his friends immediately begin or start their mission earlier than planned just because of his own boredom. They had their own pace at which they moved; he had his own pace as well.

”No problem, we will just inform you about it when we are about to begin,” Williams spoke, taking Asher’s words as they were, without overthinking them.

”Are any of you attending class today?” Finch asked, glancing between the two.

Asher paused for a moment; the class could also be a way to just chill and look around, see his classmates’ progress, but after a moment of thought, he spoke, ”I won’t be attending; I will spend the next few days sleeping to death if possible,” he replied calmly, as though it was the most natural decision.

”Sigh... as I said earlier, I’m broke, so I have to attend classes. If not, I will be fined, and my point balance will enter the negative range, and I will be expelled,” he sighed as he spoke. ”I can’t be the laughingstock of the Canestane family now, can I?” he shook his head, clearly resigned to his fate.

”I will say a prayer for you,” Asher replied with a smile, his tone light, carrying a hint of teasing amusement.