NOVEL WEB Chapter 8
I gained some knowledge about the history of this world.
Since there was no other way, I had to endure being treated like a madwoman who had emerged from some hole in the ground and be interrogated one by one.
According to what I heard, an incredibly vast and barren land known as the Demon Realm exists in the northern part of this world.
A ‘Demon King’ appeared like a comet, starting from a small tribe and gradually conquering the countries of the Demon Realm until they finally achieved its unification.
Under the Demon King’s leadership, the Demon Realm coveted the fertile lands to the south and invaded the human realm, sparking a war. However…
From this point onward, the writer’s limitations are evident.
In less than two years from the start of the war, the Demon King’s head was cut off by the boisterous Hero’s party, bringing the war to an end.
It’s said that the Hero’s party infiltrated the Demon Realm without even bothering to secure provisions and survived by pillaging while fighting without any support.
How could the so-called saviors of humanity’s fate be such a motley crew…?
Thinking about it, it was hard to gauge just how incompetent the Demon King must have been to be taken down by such a bunch.
Anyways, the war which had engulfed the human realm and spread terror came to an end, and peace arrived.
Members of the Hero’s party instantly became stars, and their adventures were celebrated in poems and songs.
Cities that had been burned to the ground were rebuilt, and those who had fled returned, leading to the recovery and prosperity of the human realm from the wounds inflicted by the Demon King’s forces.
It was the kind of story that naturally brought a faint smile.
If this had been a novel, it would have undoubtedly ended here.
“Hahahaha. Shit. I’m getting all worked up, really.”
However, the problem was that all this had happened over fifty years ago.
A time more than fifty years after the war that was meant to decide the fate of the world had ended, a peaceful age where there was no more talk of wars.
And I had become a resident of such an era.
Now I understood why the four-eyed nerd had mentioned that the tutorial about “hello, I’m a god” and the status window didn’t pop up.
Because I wasn’t someone who had been reincarnated into this novel.
I was merely a leftover, erroneously dumped here long after the novel had come to an end due to someone’s mistake.
There was no way they would offer any kind of consideration or guidance to such a leftover.
“Julia! You’re at it again, spacing out! Hurry up and come out!”
“Eh, uh?”
I flinched as the door suddenly opened.
A fox-eared woman with an exaggerated expression shouted at me.
Ever since her ears were pulled when I questioned why she was wearing animal ears for business before it started on my first day, she had always been irritable with me.
If there were beastfolk, they should have warned me beforehand.
“But I’m on my break right now?”
“Hah. Are you crazy? Does a newcomer even get breaks? Are you going to rest while everyone else works hard?”
“Yeah. Breaks should be guaranteed…”
“Come out!”
“Ahhh! My head! Let go, you bastard!”
“Did you bite a cloth?”
What? You’re the one who’s like cloth itself.
In the end, I was dragged back out by my hair.
As soon as I came out, the first thing I encountered was deafeningly loud music.
There was a man sprawled on the bar counter, totally asleep despite being robbed blind, another grabbing the leg of a passing waitress, and some more tying their neckties around their heads, throwing a gala.
It was a sight that made me sigh involuntarily just by looking at it.
“Hah. Shit…”
The moment I came out, I could feel everyone’s gaze turning toward me.
It wasn’t like the usual delusional claim that people always stared at me.
Even the people who were partying with women gave me an up-and-down scan with their eyes and didn’t seem to look away.
The fox-eared woman clicked her tongue and pushed me forward.
“Tch. All the suckers are looking for you.”
“…”
As I was pushed forward and lost my balance, my legs, which were left bare, were revealed.
A skirt so short that it would expose my underwear with just a slight movement.
And the top that tightened around my waist to the point of discomfort, exposing the curves of my body and emphasizing my chest.
There was no excuse; it was unmistakably the attire of a harlot.
Still, since I hadn’t sold my body yet, I wasn’t a harlot.
Though considering that I couldn’t even earn money and had been forced to lose my virginity, it felt like I was worse than a harlot.
“Julia! Over here! I called you!”
“Yeah…! I’m coming now!”
“Hmm. No need to rush and dart over. I’ve been waiting to see our beloved Julia. What’s this? Are you that busy? Hmm?”
“Ahaha…”
Ah, it’s that smelly piglet from last time.
Whenever I saw this guy, I felt a bit sorry for calling the bespectacled otaku a pig. Compared to him, he was just slightly chubby.
The entire time I was walking towards the table, I could feel eyes on me.
Maybe my delusion started when I came to this world.
I now understood why the expression “visual molestation” was coined.
I barely managed to keep my lips from twisting as I went over and sat next to the piglet.
“Come on, Julia! Kneel down here and take a look.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve got something for you. Hurry up. Good, that’s right. Nice stance!”
“…”
The customer seemed about to give me a tip.
When it’s time for that, there’s a proper posture to assume.
As soon as I knelt down and clasped my hands together, the piglet burst into hearty laughter.
“Great! It’s a fairy tale!”
“Thank you very much!”
A coin was tossed and landed in my palm.
They say you should have given silver or gold.
Still, a customer who gives copper is already within the top 1 percent.
There are also people who don’t leave a single penny of a tip and try to just leave.
“Uh! Not done yet. Keep your hands up. Cough! Spit!”
“Thank you…”
“Shouldn’t you lick it up nicely? Huh?”
“…”
Of course, there had to be a catch.
I stared at the gooey, murky secretion on my palm as I tilted my head.
I could have faked it, but with this pig-like guy, I had to make sure he saw me swallowing.
As I licked it all into my mouth at once, an unbearable urge to vomit surged up.
Even if the pig had claimed it came from the front end, I would have believed it was from the back. Such a smell instantly took complete control of my nasal passage.
My body shivered as I struggled not to vomit, and finally, I swallowed the disgusting substance into my throat.
“Good job! I’ll give you another coin.”
“Thank you…”
With a clear sound, another coin fell to the floor.
Before someone could step on the coin and snatch it, I hurriedly knelt down to pick it up. The sensation of being smacked on the back of the head followed.
It was the piglet patting my head with his huge foot-like hand.
Even after quite a while had passed since I had clutched the coin, I had to continue kneeling, enduring the shower of athlete’s foot and dry skin on my precious hair.
Honestly, I wanted to stand up and hit him with a frying pan immediately.
Of course, since I almost got myself beaten up and dragged out of the bar after smashing a bottle on a customer’s head in a fit of anger, I no longer committed such foolish acts.
“Shit. Why has it come to this…?”
If someone were to ask whether this wasn’t the image of a harlot despite not selling my body, I would have nothing to say.
Of course, I do have some excuses.
I haven’t given up yet.
I’ve made tremendous efforts to preserve the minimum dignity of being human.
Still, I could hardly find work fit for a woman in this city.
When trying to borrow money, since I had no memory of being the Holy Maiden Julia, I couldn’t even verify my identity, making that impossible as well.
When they said it was work suitable for women if you could earn lodgings and a job simultaneously, it was only being a maid for a noble family. No such place would hire someone with as unclear origin and identity as me.
Even more so when I had a child, they dismissed me without even asking why.
After touring the entire city, I couldn’t find any place that would take me or my miniature monster.
Except for this bar.
The very bar where I had my first pint on the day I arrived in this city.
When I returned to remember the owner offering me a job, fortunately, they hadn’t changed their mind yet.
In exchange for using a small warehouse in the back alley as my home, I signed a year-long contract.
When I mentioned leaving a written contract, the owner erupted in laughter, and I remembered that.
Verbal contracts are unreliable.
Humans even more so.
The only thing you can trust is a written contract with a seal.
“Glug glug. Drinking well, aren’t you! Our Julia is so lovely when she eats. Come and sit next to me.”
“Yes…”
My momentary reflection ended, and I was back in reality.
As I sat in the seat where the pig’s rear half encroached, a stench wafted from inside his armpit.
I almost frowned deeply.
‘Soon I’ll finish work. Let’s just endure for a bit.’
Just hang on a little longer, and it will be over.
There’s still… two hours, damn it.
But two hours is enough time to pour drinks, sing hoarsely, fake engagement in conversations while tolerating bad breath, and it will pass quickly.
I decided to console myself with that.
If I don’t, I might not be able to endure.
“Julia seems especially beautiful today, didn’t she work extra on her makeup?”
“I didn’t wear any makeup.”
“What? Lying! My wife lies like that too when it doesn’t work! Let me check. Show your face. Let me wipe it with my saliva.”
“Ugh. That’s kind of…”
“Wow, really? Should I rub it a little more?”
“No… no… it hurts…”
“Haha! Sorry! Sorry, Julia… Alright, let’s wrap this up and head upstairs for the second round, shall we? It’s no fun, is it? Let’s go have some real fun.”
“Second round.”
A fancy term they invented thinking it makes them sound classier.
To put it simply, they’re saying let’s go somewhere after drinking since they’re a little tipsy now.
“Excuse me. I don’t participate in the second round. If you check the name tag, it clearly says I don’t do a second round…”
“Do you think I have cataracts in my eyes? Have you already forgotten the two coins I gave you, Julia? Do I look like a sucker who’s easy to be milked for money?”
“No… I don’t…”
The pig’s sweaty hand gripped my thigh.
His massive hand was kneading its way up my thigh, lifting my skirt higher.
And because of his excitement, his spittle was splashing onto my cheek.
Ah. I really can’t endure this today.
“Say it! Do I look like a sucker to you?”
“Hah. Shit, really…”
“What?!”
Unable to tolerate it any longer, I finally snapped.
There’s no going back now.
As I stood up, brushing back my bangs, I saw the bewildered expression on the pig’s face and it made me laugh.
“I don’t see a sucker, though.”
“What? Huh? Julia, what did you just…”
“I don’t even see a person, you pig.”
Smack.
I grabbed the ashtray and swung it onto the pig’s head.
A dull sound accompanied his head drooping, and the pig slumped over before collapsing face-first onto the floor.
His eyes rolled back, and he didn’t make a single move.
“A.”
Here we go.
After enduring it for so long, I finally…
It looks like I will be working late today.
“What if the kid starves to death?”
For a moment, that worry crossed my mind, but my complicated thoughts grew clear.
What if I starve? What’s the big deal?
I’m out of here, thank you.
“Will the kid starve to death?'”
As soon as that worry crossed my mind, my tangled thoughts became crystal clear.
If I end up starving, so be it.
For me, it’s a thank-you situation.