Dorea kept walking along the cobblestone street. She wrapped herself tightly in her cloak, alas too thin to shield her against the cold night winds. The whole town was shrouded in silence and darkness.
In less than a hour, the sun would rise and people would get out of bed, to pursue their daily occupations. Dorea envied those people: she wasn't like them.
Dorea was a prostitute.
She approached the building at the end of the street. She hated and feared that building.
She was tired, and hungry; she spent all night out in the cold, waiting for clients. She was still smelling of the sweat of horny old men who bought a hour of her time. She only wanted some sleep...but first, she had to deliver that night's collection to the boss.
Two men were standing guard near the entrance: two associates of the filth controlling the whole town.
"Hey, Boyce! Look!" one of them uttered, a slim fellow with a big mass of messy, oily black hair "It's our beloved Dorea!"
"I can see her, Gregory" the other one replied, a bald man with a huge belly " Let's just hope she brought enough money this time, or she will be in some serious trouble"
"Mhm, I wouldn't know about that. Looking at the size of the coin sack she's holding, I don't think she learned her lesson yet".
Dorea didn't reply. They were small fries afterall: they couldn't hurt her without permission. As desperate as her situation was, she was still one of the most beautiful prostitutes forced to work for the Crimson Viper organisation. A bruise on her cheek would make her market value drop. Only the higher-ups could beat her up freely.
She tried to simply walk past them.
"What's the hurry?"
The man named Gregory got her from behind, putting an arm around her waist.
Of all the bastards working from the Crimson Viper, Gregory was the one who enjoyed tormenting her the most. That creep probably had a thing for her: Dorea was an attractive woman afterall. Big black eyes, rosebud lips, smooth dark hair enclosing her face, cut short so they would barely reach her jawline; her body was no less than breath-taking.
"You clearly need money" Gregory whispered to her ear. " The night isn't over yet. I can help. Sell your body to me"
"Let me go" she muttered through her teeth.
A hand landed on her butt cheek, startling her. The other hand reached her breasts.
"Come on, Dorea. Be a nice girl. You don't want to end up like your sister, do you?"
For a second, a blinding rage had the best of her. She forgot to breath, as she thrust her elbow into Gregory's solar plexus. He let a suffocated screm out and bent over. For a couple of seconds, he wasn't able to move. Then, he raised his head up, staring at her with hatred.
"You bitch!"
He raised his fist, but when he noticed the fury on her face, he moved a step backwards.
Gregory was that kind of man: a coward only acting strong with women and the elderly, always hiding behind someone stronger.
"I'd rather die than fuck you!" she yelled, with fire in her eyes. Then, she turned her back on him and entered the building. Even from inside, she heard Boyce's laughter.
"Fuck it, man! I can't believe you got scared of her!"
She was sitting at the desk. Two muscular men were looking at her from the corner of the room. A third man, sitting in front of her, was weighing the coin sack in one hand.
" Look at me, Dorea" he said.
She didn't want to. She kept gazing downwards. She didn't want to look the man that killed her sister in the eyes.
" I said...look at me!" he yelled.
She looked up. Jacob, boss of the Crimson Viper, was a scary man. His eyes were bloodshot, like those of some kind of beast.
"This is not enough money! This is the fourth time I warn you. I think it's time for some much needed punishment"
" B-but...it's not my fault! I don't have enough clients!"
"And why do you think that is? Dorea...God knows you're beautiful. No man with a dick in his pants and some coin in his pocket would ever ignore you. So, you're clearly not trying hard enough to solicit them".
"That's not true!" she uttered "I don't have enough clients because this is a small town, and you're bleeding people dry! Most of them are in debt because of you, so they don't have money to spend on prostitutes!"
He smacked her face with the coin sack.
It was a violent blow. From a split lip, blood started running down her chin. She watched him as he stood up. She didn't even notice she was trembling in fear.
"You dare blame me for your mistakes, you stupid whore?!"
He grabbed her hair and pulled, forcing her to stand up.
" You still haven't learned your place, have you? If you keep this up, you'll end up exactly like your sister".
Dorea couldn't take it anymore. She didn't even think: she just reacted. She grabbed a bronze goblet from the desk and smacked it into Jacob face.
" You filthy, murderous BASTARD!" she yelled.
The two men standing behind Jacob were startled. Jacob was bleeding from the nose. When she noticed the killing intent in his eyes, she wanted to cower in fear...but it was too late to beg for her life.
"You WHORE!"
He punched her in the face, with enough strenght to send her flying. In the blink of an eye, she found herself on the floor, staring at the ceiling. All three of them jumped on her, kicking and beating her to a pulp, cracking her ribs.
"Simon, Trevor: we are ending this bitch" she heard Jacob say "but first, let's have some fun..."
A hour later, they carried her out the back door.
She was totally naked, and covered in bruises. Her face was in such bad shape, her own mother would have not recognized her. She had been raped multiple time. As the morning sky got brighter, they ditched her in the mud.
"Leave her be" Jacob said to his men " she will be dead soon. I crushed her fucking spleen"
"Isn't it too risky, leaving her to die here?"
"You idiot. The city-guard would never dare to touch me, even if I killed her in front of them!"
They left.
Dorea stood still, staring at the sky, trying her hardest to just breath. Her ribcage was shattered; her nose was broken, her nostrils were obstructed with dried blood.
I'm bleeding internally, she thought. I''m going to die.
Somehow, that thought was not scary at all. It was almost reassuring.
It's better this way.
Then, a shadow blocked her view of the morning sky.
A man was towering over her.
It was Gregory.
For a second, she thought he was going to help her. Then, she noticed the sadistic grin on his face. Slowly, he pulled down his pants. He exposed his member to the cold air.
He started rubbing it.
What...what is he doing? He can't possibly…
"You know, Dorea" she whispered " I could just rape you...but ugly as you are now, you aren't even worth it. On the other hand...I think I'll just cum on your face. That should humble you on your way to hell. Eat my cum and die, bitch!"
Unable to move, Dorea suffered that last humilation Gregory was inflicting on her.
"So, is this the town? How boring!"
Lupusregina Beta sighed, looking around her. Most of the building were in a poor shape. People who walked by the four beautiful maids stared at them with fear and suspicion.
"Most of them are wearing worn-out clothes, and they don't look friendly. Do we really have spend two days in such a place?"
"Stop complaining" Yuri replied, boldy proceeding in front of the group "It can't be helped. Ainz-sama is currently disguised as Momon, and he's carrying out a mission in the West. This is the meeting point. We are at fault for coming here two days in advance. Although, it's not really our fault for finding those bandits' hideout and wiping them out so easily. I'm sure Ainz-sama will praise us for carrying out our duty so swifltly".
"Honestly I don't care for the place" Solution said "I wouldn't mind waiting at all, if only Nee-chan allowed us to have some fun".
"I can't, Solution" Yuri replied " Ainz-sama forbid us to hurt the people of this country. He even told us to help them, if needed"
A bunch of beggar-children came running towards them, asking for a spare coin or a mouthful of bread. Yuri happily gave them money and waved them off.
"Aren't they lively" Lupusregina said.
"They look delicious" Entoma remarked.
"But...oh my, what's that thing on the ground?"
Yuri noticed the naked woman in the mud. People were walking by her without even looking at ther.
"How unusual" Solution commented.
"Let's get closer" Lupusregina suggested.
From up close, her bad shape was evident. She was unconscious. She had bruises all over, she was covered in dirt, and she was barely breathing.
"She's probably bleeding internally" Solution supposed.
"But the cold will kill her before she can bleed out" Lupusregina commented.
"Why isn't anyone helping her, though?" Yuri asked. She couldn't exactly explain why, but the sight of all those people ignoring that woman was...enraging.
"Who knows?" Lupusregina shrugged " Maybe she's a criminal?"
"Hardly" Entoma said " It's way more likely that she got attacked by criminals. People are ignoring her in fear of retaliation"
"It's not like it concerns us in any way" Solution coldy remarked.
Yuri stood still for a few seconds, looking intensely at the wounded woman.
Then…
"Let's help her out. We'll carry her to the closest inn and heal her"
"Aren't you acting on a whim right now, dear sister?" Solution asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Maybe you could say that. I won't deny it. But...Ainz-sama told us to help these people when needed, didn't he? I think he would be pleased to hear that we helped this woman".
"Well, whatever" Lupusregina said "It's not like I mind acting on a whim. We're stuck here for two days anyway. Let's find out what she has to tell us"
"Right" Yuri said, clenching her fists " I want to find out who did this to her, and why"
