79 Ch-79: Katarina (1)

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On the day of the festival, Oulheim was teeming with life.

The number of smiles on the faces of citizens and the number of people roaming the streets was incomparable to that of last year's battle royale I had participated in.

Guards barreled out between the crowd and pushed the masses to make a passage.

Just then someone shouted.

"The dancers are coming!"

I looked over the sea of heads and saw that something large and grand was coming from the other end of the road. A little while later, we will soon be seeing the parade of the dancers.

"Shouldn't you be hiding?"

I asked Shedia, who was jumping on her heels to catch a sight of the parade.

On the way to Oulheim she had clamored half the way about being killed by the vampires, now instead of hiding, she was here, enjoying the festival like just any other normal citizen.

"It's okay, I'm in disguise."

"Your thick coat and tight-fitting hat are only making people look at you suspiciously."

"…I'm disguising myself as a sick person."

She started jumping again to see the parade. When she came to kill me that night, she was exuding a bloody atmosphere but at times like this, she was like a child.

I smiled and slipped my hands between her armpits before hefting her up and saddling her on my shoulders.

"?!"

Shedia, startled, struggled to get off me and hop to the ground.

"Stay still. You are so short, you won't be able to see the parade nicely."

"I'm just not tall."

"When you are smaller than average, it means you are short. Now look over there. The dancers are coming."

Shedia, who was looking at me with a puffed-up expression on her face, snapped her head with joy, her expression brightening.

I smiled and turned my gaze towards the parade.

Music and singing.

In line with it, dancers in tight clothes dancing.

Fast when the music flowed softly, slow when it flowed heavily.

The music, song, and dance of the dancers were woven together into one to create an exquisite and harmonious performance.

'On the wooden structure, the three women in the center are first-class dancers, and those around them are the second-class dancers who accompany them to make them stand out.'

And the dancers who danced on the ground with their faces covered with veils were third-class dancers.

While people cheered at the beautiful appearance of the first and second grade dancers, I looked at the rows of third grade dancers.

Among them, Katarina must be present.

'It would have been easier if they hadn't covered their faces.'

Only second-class dancers and above were allowed to reveal their faces.

Revealing your face meant revealing yourself to the world as a dancer.

An inexperienced third-grade dancer was not qualified for that.

But Katarina's case was different.

She has the skills to be a second-class dancer and maybe even a first-class. Nevertheless, the reason she is still a third-class dancer is because of some intricate circumstances.

I looked for the best dancer among the third class dancers. At first glance, they looked similar. Naturally, they had done coordination practice for the parade.

But if one looked closely, the difference was present.

There is a big difference between simply following memorized movements and understanding the meaning of the movements and giving them meaning.

'Found her.'

One of the third grade dancers was exuding a different energy and demeanor from the others.

(King's Sense)!

The expanded senses were focused on the field of vision.

A slender, elastic, copper-colored waist and well-endowed breasts.

Orange hair protruding slightly through the veil and then tucked back in again.

These are all characteristics of Katarina I know.

"Shedia. That girl over there… Whatcha you doing?"

Shedia was drawing lines on a piece of paper as she watched the parade. Feeling my gaze, she hurriedly stuffed back the piece of paper.

"…Nothing."

Nothing, hm.

…it looked kind of a bucket list.

"Let's focus. Do you see that dancer over there?"

"I do."

"Follow her."

"Until when?"

"Continue until the end of the festival."

"…"

Shedia's shoulders drooped helplessly.

Clearly, she was enjoying the parade and wanted to see more of what the festival had to offer.

"I'll give you a moonstone after the day is over."

"!"

Her droopy shoulders straightening up, she looked at me with her eyes wide open.

Her eyes searching for the truth in my words.

"Really. So please do it."

Shedia nodded her head frantically and came down from my shoulders. Slapping a small salute, she cut into the crowd, and disappeared.

'I can leave Katarina's movement to Shedia…'

I got out of the crowd and walked down the street.

* * *

When people think of nightlife, they think of things like alcohol, gambling, drugs and wh*rehouses.

However, the original meaning of nightlife was to have fun, and any games that can be enjoyed as well as those mentioned above are included in entertainment.

And the kingdom of Alitia is a kingdom of entertainment.

All kinds of entertainment are developed thanks to its unique free atmosphere.

The dancer's dance parade is one of them.

How many men do not fall for the charming dance moves performed by a beautiful woman?

The men, drunk under the dancer's seductive dance, craved to see them dance one more time. For that purpose, they were willing to open their wallet.

And the dancer is a lady selling dance.

This place, the 'Coffin of Starlight,' was created as the two interests met.

Here, anyone could pay to watch the dancers dance. They can watch it alone in a separate room, or put it on stage and watch it with other audiences. All at the customer's discretion.

Of course, private rooms were more expensive.

"Welcome. Welcome to the Coffin of Starlight."

A beautiful woman dressed as a dancer greeted us with a smile.

"Are you here to avail the services of Coffin of Starlight?"

"Indeed so."

"Is this your first time at the Coffin of Starlight?"

"It's my first, but I know roughly how it works."

"That's good. Is there any particular dancer you are looking for? If there isn't…"

"There is."

"Oh, I see."

The dancer flashed a stiff smile before quickly regaining her smile and asked the name of the dancer.

"Katarina."

"Um, Katarina… Katarina…?"

The dancer narrowed her eyebrows and scoured her brain. She spoke again, with her brows stretched.

"I'm sorry, but there is no dancer going by the name of Katarina in the Coffin of Starlight."

"Is there really not?"

I asked, placing a money bag containing five hundred thousand gold coins on the counter.

"I really want to meet a dancer named Katarina."

"Uh… uh, wait a minute. I may have forgotten, I'll take a look at the list. P, Please wait a moment!"

Looking at the purse with wide eyes, she hurriedly entered the room behind the counter. She came out only moments later, having taken way more than what was a minute.

"…sorry. There really is no one going by the name of Katarina."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I checked it three times, but she isn't on the list, so I'm pretty sure."

"Alright."

I nodded.

""

As expected, her name was not registered here. That means the settings of the game I know of haven't changed.

'Gladly, I don't have to revise my plans.'

I thought so and put the purse back between my arms. The dancer looking at the hefty purse, swallowed her saliva before slowly opening her mouth.

"Actually… there's a new dance style I'm trying these days…"

"Oh~ Which handsome young man graced our doors?"

Her words were drowned out by an alluring voice from upstairs. Lifting my head, I saw a woman with pure white hair leaning against the railings, looking at me.

She sported skimpy attire, with only the front and back of her lower body covered with cloth, and the only thing on the sides being a string connecting the two pieces of clothing.

When she descended the stairs, her coppery thighs bounced off the lamp light.

"Miss C-Catherine."

Seeing the lady come down, the dancer who was trying to encite me trembled.

Catherine?

'That's Gis's mother's name.'

I took a closer look at Catherine.

Her pure white hair came down at her waist, and her bangs turned sideways to reveal her forehead.

She had bewitching eyes, her body was ripe and bouncy in all right places.

She was practically a woman full of color.

She was one of the first-class dancers who was in the center of the wooden structure during the parade.

'Is Gis's mother a first-class dancer? Wasn't she a prostitute..?'

It's natural for Gis's mother to appear as she had existed in the game, but not here because the genre of The Hero's Party was NTR, not wholesome.

All the information I have about Gis's mother stems from the fights and face-offs between Gis and Lorian in the late game.

—when an enraged Lorian mocks Gis's lowly bloodline, calling his mother a wh*re. Looking at the atmosphere of the conversation and Gis's reaction, I thought that the mockery was based on a true fact.

But what's going on here…

I, believing Lorian, had been thinking she was the Kingdom's No.1 Prostitute, while she actually turned out to be just a first-class dancer.

'No. She can be just an ordinary person with the same name.'

But is it a coincidence that the same kingdom has two Catherines sitting atop the entertainment industry?

I decided to test it out.

"Catherine. That's a beautiful name. Will you allow me to call you by your sweet name?"

"Oh, what a funny kid. Do whatever you want."

Catherine laughed.

"Thank you. Catherine, how old are you?"

The alluring laughter was gone. Her smile hardened and her eyebrows twitched.

I had to know that to figure out if she was Gis's mom.

"… don't you consider it rude as a gentleman to ask a woman's age?"

"Ah… I'm sorry. I remembered your dance back at the parade, losing my composure. But it did get me wondering."

"Did you see my dance? So, how did you feel about my dance?"

"Attractive. Beautiful. It makes me want to see you again someday."

"Really…?"

Catherine came up to me.

Closing the gap between us, she stroked my chest with her delicate hands.

She whispered in my ear with her sweet lips.

"Do you want to see me do it again? I'm available, and quite cheap right now."

Her alluring voice sent a shiver down my ear.

"I'm sorry, but I have an appointment right now. Can we postpone it until later?"

"Oh my, you're pretty cocky, aren't ya? This is just but a favor, a whim. Do you think it will still be there the next time we meet, yes?"

Catherine frowned slightly, as if her self-esteem had been hurt.

I placed my hand around her waist, gently stroking her narrow waistline and whispered into her ear like she had done.

"So, won't you?"

The hand that was stroking my chest stopped and quivered.

""

After a while she said:

"Cassia."

"Hm?"

"It's my real name. Next time you name me, use this name. Then I will dance for you."

Just a bit more expensive.

Cassia motioned, licking her lips.

* * *

I stopped by the Coffin of Starlight and confirmed that the game settings were the same. Now all that's left is to make contact with Katarina. It was for this reason that Shedia was stalking Katarina.

The problem was how to make contact with Katarina.

Here, I chose a slightly classic method.

"Coming?"

"Yes."

"Notify me exactly three seconds before she takes the turn. I will run right away."

Currently I'm waiting at the crossroads of an alley.

With Shedia giving the signal, I'll run and bump into Katarina, who will pop out of another alley.

It's a situation that looks like something out of a cartoon movie, but what else can I do? There is nothing better than this to make contact with people you don't know.

"Run."

At Shedia's signal, I immediately kicked off the ground. I didn't put a lot of force, just moderately enough that we would fall down after bumping into each other. After three seconds, a fork in the alley appeared and a figure suddenly popped out in front of me.

Katarina.

I closed my eyes and prepared to act.

Thud.

"Aiii?!"

Thuk. Cluck. Thuk.

…yes?

Isn't the sound effect too heavy for a light impact?

I opened my closed eyes.

The opposite wooden wall was smashed, and in the middle of it was Katarina.

"…what?"

I adjusted the power under the assumption that Katarina would be at least of Shedia's level.

But she directly flew off…

'How weak are you?'

Scratching my head, I walked towards the fallen Katarina.

"Hey, are you okay? Oh, she fainted."

I squatted next to her and checked her condition.

Fortunately, there were no serious injuries anywhere. There were only light cracks in her humerus.

About to whip out a potion for her treatment, I stopped.

A poor dancer girl is unable to work for a while because of a fractured arm—

—a rich man who hides his identity and helps the girl out of guilt and self-reproach.

After thinking for a while, I quickly made a decision.

'Doable.'

I discarded the old script and wrote a new one.

The genre of the new script is drama.

You can read fully translated chapters, including the last chapter, for $20.

p(a)treon.com/Daoist02