Lazy Salvation Information Gathering

"Thank you for saving !" The woman who introduced herself as Bonnie exclaid the mont they sat at the bar's table.

"Well, as long as you're not afraid of , that's thanks enough." Ashen, Bonnie's current recipient of the thanks, replied teasingly, trying to sound as harmless as possible.

"I'm really sorry about that... I don't know what had gotten into . Even though I had no reason to fear my savior, I did such a disgraceful act..." Bonnie hung her head low.

"It's alright. You don't have to keep beating yourself over it." Ashen chuckled in amusent. "They always say that soldiers of the Bloodwall have this scary aura about them from staying too much on the battlefield, so maybe it's that."

"...Even so," Bonnie frowned and then clenched her small fists, "at least let repay you!"

Ashen raised an eyebrow, wondering what she would repay him with. "If you want to offer AP, I won't accept it. You need it way more. Points on a soldier are practically useless tokens most of the ti, anyway..."

"Ah..." Bonnie let out a disappointed sound, but then she dipped her head low before peeking at him from below. "Then how about... that? Do you want to service you? They usually say I'm pretty good at it..."

"Unfortunately, I have a wife who's waiting for at the Ashbastion, and she gets easily jealous, so I can't take you up on your offer." Ashen helplessly shook his head, as if he didn't just spout nonsense without batting an eyelid.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know... Mr. Seer is actually such a principled man. This is really rare, especially around here..."

Bonnie looked at him in awe, but it only made him cringe inwardly.

He didn't know what was more cringeworthy—her calling him a principled man when he just lied to her, or that nickna that was starting to sound more embarrassing by the second when he himself had insisted on it being used.

"May I ask the na of the lucky madam, perhaps?" Bonnie's question distracted him from the embarrassnt, so he answered on reflex.

"Alice."

"Oh! She has the sa na as our recent rising star, Alice Sinclair!"

"..."

"I bet she's as beautiful as her, since she's your wife, Mr. Seer!"

"Yeah... Say, Bonnie. How about you fill in on this rising star, and we'll call it even?"

"Really?" She tilted her head. "But I don't think you need any favors from to talk about sothing this public..."

"C'mon, you know how much we soldiers are cut off from the rest of the world. Any news from behind the walls is welco. And I didn't save you for a reward anyway, so humor , will ya?" Ashen urged her, smiling gently.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"Okay then..." Bonnie nodded. "Where do I start... Well, obviously, Mrs. Alice is known for her rapid rise in the Bloodwall army ranks due to her ingenious inventions that helped the humans as a whole."

"Her most dazzling achievent is allowing Esperian technology to function using mana instead of electricity." Bonnie's eyes shone with respect as she spoke.

"...But that's not all. Recently, rumors spread that she had helped in developing a machine that people can use to fight monsters in a completely safe environnt... but the machine is being restricted to only the tutorial area for now, so we don't know how much of those rumors are true..."

'DDD...' Ashen's brain instantly thought of the Dream Dive Device.

With eyes shining, as if she was talking about her idol, and perhaps she was, Bonnie continued, "Those were only her most major accomplishnts, not to ntion the minor ones or her strength..."

"And because she is one of the few who made it this far as a lady, many won started taking her as a role model, despite her Esperian origins. Myself included..."

Ashen had to interrupt Bonnie's thoughts as she gazed dreamily into space. "...And this Alice, is she fine... I an emotionally and physically..."

Bonnie shook her head. "I haven't heard of any physical harm happening to her, as she is usually well protected in the Ashbastion... as for emotionally... they say that she is allowed to return to Esperra whenever she wants, so... she should be fine...?"

Ashen heaved a sigh of relief. "...Yeah, surely... Thank you for going along with my request, Bonnie. I appreciate it."

"I'm glad to be of help, Mr—"

"—Ashen. That's my na." He finished, smile twitching just barely.

"...Yes, Mr. Ashen. Thank you again for rescuing . I'll be leaving for now, but if you need anything, please find anyti." Bonnie got up from her seat, then added, cheeks getting pink, "...And if you change your mind, I'm always open to servicing you... for free."

Ashen couldn't comprehend how she could get so shy while spouting such wild nonsense. "...I'll make sure to co to you if I ever change my mind, then, Bonnie. I hope we et again, in a more peaceful setting, hopefully..."

"Yes... Goodbye!"

Ashen watched her as she left the bar and gradually disappeared from his view.

With her gone, he slowly started to digest the fact that Alice was really at the Ashbastion. And far from struggling, she was excelling.

His twin soul wasn't mistaken after all, he thought with bitterness.

Normally, he wouldn't stay so worried after hearing how protected and important she was right now. Still, that nightmare was a constant reminder that everything was a mirage… that if he didn't do anything, only her death would be left when the fog cleared.

'What I have to do remains unchanged, then.' He reaffird.

With his resolve reinforced, his mind wandered back to Bonnie.

'That girl has so serious info-gathering skills, or has Alice beco just that famous?' He pondered.

Be that as it may, he decided to keep in touch with her, since she seed well-inford, and information was sothing he always lacked.

'Still... maybe being a prostitute is the perfect environnt to gather info...'

Speaking of prostitutes... Ashen couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation at the way she kept offering herself up. Even after stating that he had a 'wife', she was still offering to have sex with him.

'Well, it isn't Bonnie that's the weird one, but this culture as a whole...'

After the reintegration of the System two hundred years ago, Seravelle's civilization had been constantly heading toward hedonism and over-indulgence.

That was the price of trying to gain power from cardinal Sins.

Even here, where war never ceased and a mont's carelessness could cost lives, people still indulged.

Ashen glanced around. n and won slouched as they feasted and drank with abandon. Tables sagged beneath idle gamblers, prostitutes draped lazily over them while they groaned at their losses or laughed too hard at their fleeting wins.

At first glance, the scene was nothing but chaos, vulgar and appalling. Yet to anyone willing to look deeper, it revealed sothing else.

A hunger for unearned gain. Reverence for idleness. Avarice in living motion. Envy of the winners. Wrath at defeat. Pride in victory, pride again when parading their companions. Lust, when those sa companions could also be wagered like coin.

It was rely gambling… But it was also a way to embody all of the cardinal Sins on a single table.

❖⛧❖