SSS Transmigration: I Can Extract And Evolve Overpowered Shadows-Chapter 25: Investigating The Pleasure House (2)

Demons, beings said to be the foe of creation and the architect of all destruction. In truth, they were less of a race and more of a religion of people who loved chaos and wanted to serve the demon god.

At least that was what Hinata knew from Geret’s conversation with Chris.

Night had already fallen upon Falmouth City, gusts of cold wind occasionally blowing through the streets.

Even though the sun was down, the city was still vibrant. One could even say it was livelier than in the daytime.

Street stalls that hadn’t been there in the morning lined the roads. Children ran around with snacks while older flocks talked and laughed without a care in the world.

Hinata, however, was in a place he never expected himself to step foot in.

"Hello, mister~ do you want me to accompany you for the night?" one woman purred, moving closer to brush a hand against his sleeve.

Hinata, covered in his usual cloak, glanced at the woman from the corner of his eyes, then sighed. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He never knew he would have to become a clown just to get information.

He wrapped a hand around the woman’s waist and began stumbling forward and backward as though he were drunk.

"Oh~ you are quite the bold one," she breathed into his ear, lowering her hand toward his crotch, only for him to slap it away.

The woman’s eyes narrowed. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Hinata smoothed his cloak while clicking his tongue. "I can’t do this shit."

A sharp, angry scowl instantly replaced the woman’s calculated smile, her cheeks burning red. "You — you..."

Hinata didn’t let her finish. He turned and walked out of the pleasure district.

Goku, who had been watching the whole ordeal, laughed loudly while clutching his stomach. "That was so funny! Are you allergic to women or something?"

Hinata pushed Goku’s face away and pressed a hand to his chin. ’I really can’t do this.’

He glanced back at the pleasure district. Rows upon rows of beautifully shaped red buildings lined both sides of the street, red lanterns swaying in front of each one.

Women dressed in revealing outfits moved through the street, drifting toward anyone who entered. They looked like moths drawn to flames, except the flames were men who lost all sense the moment they were touched even slightly.

Hinata shook his head. Nothing would make him walk through the front door again.

So he opted for a different approach.

From a distance, he scanned the surrounding area. It was then that he noticed the rental building closest to the first pleasure house had a flat roof.

Hinata’s lips curved upwards. "Good."

He moved toward the building at a steady pace. Rather than attempting to leap to the second floor and climb to the roof, he pushed open the front door, passed the receptionist desk, and took the stairs up.

The roof hatch was open, which saved him the trouble of anything dramatic.

Once on the roof, he leaped across to the first pleasure house, then from there to the second, continuing until he reached the one at the center where the view of everything below was clearest.

Staring down at the crowd, Hinata shook his head again.

"People can do anything with their lives and they decide to waste it on strangers they have no emotional connection to," he scoffed. "How laughable."

He said nothing more after that. Deep down, he knew he had no right to condemn them.

He too was human and had his own flaws. Who was he to judge others for theirs? They had their goals in life just as he had his, so why demand they follow his principles?

Hinata let out a long breath. He felt his core beat several times, only then realizing that a simple pleasure district had given him something close to enlightenment.

With a calm, near-serene expression he studied the street again.

He had not noticed it before, but scattered through that very street reeking of alcohol and rot were children begging for food.

Some of the courtesans looked unwell, flinching slightly whenever someone touched them. Even among the men who wandered in, there were the frail and the strong, the timid and the hollow-eyed, people who had clearly come seeking an escape from something heavier than themselves.

Hinata couldn’t understand why he hadn’t seen any of that before. Perhaps being an awakened meant more than simply throwing a stronger fist.

As his gaze swept through the district, taking in the lives of the people within it, his eyes locked onto the building directly across from the one he stood on.

Unlike the others, which drew a modest trickle of customers, this one pulled them in by the dozens. The men entering looked gaunt, as though they were one step from collapsing.

At first Hinata dismissed it as desperate men choosing pleasure over a meal. The more the pattern repeated, however, the more his suspicion grew.

The strangest part was what happened after. Each time, the men always tried to dissolve into the crowd upon leaving, ducking into another pleasure house briefly before slipping away.

"Are they trying to cover their tracks?"

Surely it wasn’t just fear of their wives or families. With a cloak and the quieter back roads, slipping by unnoticed wouldn’t be difficult.

It was as though... they were covering the tracks for the pleasure house itself.

Skinny men. A house packed with beautiful women drawing a constant flood of customers. Men who clearly did not want anyone watching to know which building they had come from.

Hinata extended his hand toward the building and slowly closed his fist, as though he could grip it from the rooftop. "If I were a demon, where would I hide?"

A church? A guild? A storefront? All too obvious.

A pleasure house, though—it was safe, drew a steady flow of bodies, and let you bleed life essence from fools too ignorant to understand. More than that, it was the perfect place to gather and share information.

Hinata’s grin spread slowly. "So that’s where you’re hiding."