On a sunny afternoon, a lively crowd of people are packed inside a bar diner. In contrast to a majority of the other customers, one attractive woman sits at a booth all by herself as she twirls her blood-orange hair.
Grrrrr
"How much longer…"
I'm supposed to meet someone here to discuss the details of this beauty.
Aisha pulls out a drawing and places it on the table. She stares at it longingly.
This artwork here may be just a model representation of the real thing, but I can imagine that the real version looks even better in real life. Relics like this one are hard to come by–I just know that this will be worth a ton of gold coins!
Grrrr
"Fine stomach, you win."
Aisha picks up the illustration, crumbles it into a ball, then tosses it into her mouth, chewing it like a piece of gum.
But if this person doesn't come soon, I'm going to run out of extra pictures to snack on. So much for meeting at 1:30 pm.
A tanned man wearing a blood red leather jacket casually strolls by Aisha's booth, stopping himself right in front of her. His sturdy posture indicates the level of confidence in himself.
"Hey cutie, you look so lonely over here. Mind if I sit here?"
"That depends. Do you have information about the treasure I seek?"
"As a matter of fact, I have a treasure that's even better! The treasure that both of our hearts desire."
The man invites himself to the spot right beside Aisha, forcing her to scoot closer to the booth wall.
Oh great, it's another one of these types of men. They are such losers…but perfect prey to mess with. Might as well have a little fun with the boy while I wait.
By all means, entertain me.
"Really? Well, I'm looking for a special relic. What other treasure does my heart desire, if you don't mind telling me."
"Isn't it obvious? The treasure is called love baby. I can see that your heart yearns for companionship–it's telling you to wait here for the right man to come find you. That's why you were waiting here at this bar all alone. I mean, no woman wants to be left by herself at such a place."
"Hmm, well aren't you a philosopher? You must have a curse that lets you peek into a maiden's heart. That's cheating, you know."
"Haha, that's just my natural manly intuition!"
"Is that so? You seem a little younger than me. Just how much manly intuition do you have?"
"I'm already 17! I assure you; I have enough manliness to keep any woman satisfied–especially you."
"How exciting. By all means, tell me more."
The 17-year-old man flips a gold coin and slams it on the table. He pushes it towards Aisha as he leans in closer.
"How about we head over to my place? I'm much better at showing than telling."
"Aw, you're so sweet. Unfortunately, I have a prior engagement so I will have to decline your offer…"
Now being at the perfect distance, the man gently caresses Aisha's hair down to her cheek, feeling her smooth light skin.
"Please, don't let your pretty face worry about such matters. I will take care of everything you need–both your personal needs and your needs as a woman."
Young and naive, just as I figured. It's endearing how far he is willing to go to charm a woman like me. He's like a cute little boy, but that's all that he is.
"Can you really handle me? There are younger women here as well."
"But you are the only one my heart seeks. This is surely the work of the goddess who has intertwined our fates!"
"Then I'll give you a little taste."
Aisha takes the man's hand from her face, holding on to it innocently.
"Yahoo! Urm, I mean follow me this way and–?!"
"Aaaah…slurp!"
Aisha promptly forces his fingers into her mouth, sucking on them. Becoming immediately aware of this, the man becomes incredibly flustered to the point of exhaustion steam from his body.
"H-hey, w-what a-are you d-doing? L-et's n-not do a-anything in p-public, o-okay–"
"Chomp!"
"Ye-ooww!"
Without warning, Aisha firmly bites his fingers. The pain makes him recoil, which breaks his fingers free from captivity in her mouth. His once clean hand is now covered in saliva and a bit of blood.
"What the heck was that for?!"
"Hmm? What's wrong? I said that I'd give you a little taste, didn't I?"
Aisha licks her lips, smiling mischievously.
"Delicious just like dark chocolate! May I have seconds?"
The man stares at her, a face full of fear. He watches as she licks his blood from her lips, enjoying every drop.
"You're a freak!"
"I know! Now, I wonder how your other hand tastes. Slurp!"
"Stay away from me!"
Not wasting another second, the man scurries away, tripping over the table. He quickly recovers from his stumble, and continues his escape, drawing the attention of other customers.
"He really was just a boy after all…"
Overwhelming suitors like him and scaring them away is so amusing–it's worth playing along with them just to see the frightened look on their faces! Though I never thought about licking and biting a man's finger before. I just did it in the heat of the moment since he caressed my face, but…
But…
A young man wearing a formal business suit frantically rushes towards Aisha, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He carries a small dark briefcase by his side as he bent over his knees trying to catch his breath.
"Excuse…me, are…you…Aisha Tackle?"
"Yes, that would be me. I assume that you are the person who is supposed to tell me about a relic in exchange for a share of the profits?"
"Oh, my sincere apologies for my tardiness! I got caught up with certain matters that I can't disclose. Is the deal still on, Ms. Tackle?"
"Of course! Please, join me at this table booth."
They both sit down on opposing sides of the booth and settle into place.
"Despite me being late and making you wait, you seem to be rather elated, Ms. Tackle. Did something happen to lift your spirits, by chance? I could certainly use something like that right about now!"
"Oh no, it's nothing special…"
Slurp
"...I just acquired a new taste!"
___________________________________________________________________________
Clomp
Clomp
Clomp
Clomp
The sound of footsteps echoed through the grey dungeon walls. The only thing in sight that is keeping the lone hunter company are the stone pillars engraved with drawings, some resembling sentient beings.
"A relic that can be equipped. How intriguing…"
Assuming what my source said is accurate, this relic can be worn as equipment. Presumably, it grants the wearer with some kind of hidden power. I assume that it's probably just a minor stat buff and nothing too powerful, else adventurers would have been dying to get their hands on it before someone like me could ever have learned about its existence. That being said, I'm sure equipment shops would buy this relic for a high price.
"When he told me that the relic was said to be in this dungeon, I didn't expect the place to be…like this."
The temperature is humid, and the atmosphere is absolutely dreadful. The only sign of life are the occasional little bugs that drop from the ceiling. I know that these places are not known for being very lively, but this has to be the dullest dungeon that I have experienced. Perhaps even the dullest location period. Maybe I shouldn't have done this expedition solo after all…
Aisha continues treading at a rhythmic pace. The passage of time continues despite the monotony.
I was told that all I had to do was find the entrance to a small room and that the rest would be easy. I managed to find the entrance fairly quickly, but I've been walking down this narrow hall for at least half an hour. My source did not tell me how long it would take or what to look for once I'm in the "small room", but surely I will find out soon enough.
Grrrrr
"Wonderful. I've been walking for so long that my stomach has gotten empty and there's no object for me to consume as an appetizer."
As soon as the word "appetizer" came to her mind, images of her recent suitor flash before her eyes. She licks her lips.
"If only that boy would have tagged along–maybe he could have helped me quench my hunger…hahaha, I really shouldn't play around with such thoughts but it's too amusing!"
Grrrr
Aisha rubs her belly, sympathizing with its plea. Despite its cries, her pacing remains unwavering.
"But my body seemed to enjoy that sensation…"
Only one of us is telling the truth, and I doubt that my own body would lie to me. But should I feel this way? Should I have enjoyed savoring that boy's fingers, desiring to take a bite? Is that the way "normal" people feel?
"...yes, of course. Even so-called normal people get excited when eating foods that their bodies find pleasurable. What makes me any different? My curse just gives me a unique diet, but it's still all the same."
There's no need for me to try to convince anyone anymore–that has never worked out for me. So why…why am I still trying to convince myself?
Thud
"Ow!"
Caught up in her perplexed thoughts, Aisha trips over a latch on the ground, falling flat on her face. She quickly gets up and dusts herself off.
"That's what I get for not paying attention."
It appears that I tripped over a latch of sorts. That's it–this must be the entrance to the real small room that leads directly to the treasure!
She bends downward and attempts to open the latch, but it won't budge.
"Hmm, I see. This seal is covered in old grime and gunk. It does a good job of hiding it and making it hard to open, though I doubt that was the original intent. It must be due to being abandoned for so long."
She picks up some of the gunk by scrapping it into her hands. She inspects it thoroughly, stopping at nothing to quench her curiosity.
"This gunk is warm to the touch…it reeks of old waste, but it's not unpleasant to my nose…and the texture is that of a thick clumpy liquid. But…"
Slurp…gulp
"Mmm, that must be what fruit jelly tastes like! I'd hardly call this anything more than a light snack, though free food always tastes better."
Feeling satisfied with her inspection results, Aisha consumes the rest of the gunk that's covering the seal. The latch now opens smoothly, without much resistance. She licks her fingers, cleaning them from the lingering gunk.
"Ah, that takes care of that puzzle. I can already smell the treasure waiting for me down those stairs!"
She descends the stairs, leading her to a small chamber. The chamber closely resembles a bedroom; it is dim-lighted, only being lit by an artificial light source, decorated with small cabinets and furniture. The most notable piece at the center of the chamber is a medium-sized bed that contains a big lump covered by old sheets.
"This room…what is it exactly? Looks more like an isolated chamber."
In searching the room with her eyes, Aisha's attention is caught by the bed.
"Something is under those sheets. Could it be?"
Approaching the bed, Aisha reaches her hands out towards it and yanks the covering off.
"?!"
A human corpse that looks like a zombie is lying in bed. Its hands are folded, with a giant ruby ring on its index finger.
"There's a corpse resting here?! Now this chamber feels like a tomb; no wonder why the atmosphere felt so dreadful."
Grr
"That ring must be the relic. It looks rather delectable as a dessert, but I must restrain myself. I am obligated to maintain my end of the deal after all."
She pulls the ring off the finger, being careful not to mishandle it.
"Nice and easy–another successful treasure hunt completed! Better head back to our meet-up spot quickly so that…so that…"
SNIFF
"That scent…it smells so good."
Letting her nose lead her, Aisha closes her eyes and follows the scent.
"Just as I figured, it's coming from this corpse. You know, this body has been preserved very well, it is as though this person only died a few days ago. Is there some other treasure on this corpse?"
She searches the hands, feet, and all over the corpse.
"No, I don't see anything else that has any value. So what am I smelling?"
She brings her face closer to the zombie, sniffing at the torso all the way up to the face.
"This face…there's something off-putting about it. Let me see."
Answering her suspicion, she peels off the face with no hesitation.
"Wow, its face was really a mask all along. It blended in so well that I didn't initially notice."
Just like the corpse's skin complexion, the mask is a pale white color. It lacks eyes, so the eyes I saw were actually a part of the corpse itself. The nose area has an opening as well. All in all, the mask apart from the corpse or any human face is rather hollow and lifeless.
"This mask isn't as fashionable as the ring, but for this person to die while wearing this…surely it is valuable to some extent. I'll take it with me just in case as a little bonus for myself."
Plop
"?"
An eyeball falls onto the ground and rolls a short distance from Aisha's feet.
"Oops, this eyeball fell out. I'm sorry about that."
Aisha reaches down to pick it up as if instinctively. Suddenly, she pauses before committing to her action.
Grr
"Ew, it's kinda gross. I'd better leave it there…"
Grr
"Maybe it'd be too insensitive of me to leave it on the ground. I'm already taking this person's treasure, so I should at least pay a bit of respect to the dead…"
Choosing to commit to her unfinished action, she picks the eyeball up, holding it dearly in her hand like a baby with morbid curiosity.
Grr
"But wouldn't it be more disrespectful for the living to waste the resources of the dead?"
She rapidly shakes her head.
"This has nothing to do with my purpose here. I need to stop being distracted!"
Aisha loosens her grip on the eyeball and places it back in its socket. After Wiping her hands on the bed sheets, she then turns around and heads towards the stairway.
Plop
"?!"
The eyeball rolls and bumps into Aisha's foot, inviting her to pick it up. She obliges.
"It must have fallen out of its socket and rolled down here. I suppose that it's only natural that it's too worn down to remain attached…"
Grr
"I'll just give it back."
Grrr
"I can't take it."
Grrrr
"I shouldn't take it."
Grrrrr
"I must not do that."
Grrrrrr
"..."
Grrrrrrr
"I…I…"
GRRRRRRRRR
"...I feel a little peckish."
She licks her lips.