Lucifer looked around.

The alley they were in was fairly narrow, and there was nothing except small houses lined up on either side of the road. It was difficult to believe that there would be a hotel just behind one of those houses but there indeed was one.

Before long, Lucifer found the holographic picture that he was looking for. His steps quickened, and oxy followed suit.

He scraped off the mud caked on his sabatons, climbed the steps to the western-style saloon doors, and opened them with both hands. The windows were closed, and so the interior was somewhat dark. People who were used to the light outside would probably not be able to see their hands stretched out in front of their faces. However, Lucifer possessed [Dark Vision], and he could see clearly with this meager amount of illumination.

One glance told him that there were only six other customers present inside the bar,

And all of them were men with only one being a women, which was expected. The men here were all quite rough looking. One of them was lying on the counter, his eyes half-open, like a corpse. The other four were seated at the tables surrounding them, silently drinking alcohol and flirting with the women who was dressed voraciously and staring at the door behind Lucifer.

As for the staff — There were only a handful of them in the saloon:

A couple of waitresses and a invitor alongside a man dressed in a formal suit who was standing behind the bar, and he turned to look at the newcomers.

He wore a red vest that went well with his black formal jacket. A black ribbon was tied around his collar, and a gold pin was clipped to the left lapel of his jacket.

"Are you gentlemen looking for a room?" The bartender asked.

Lucifer' didn't answer and his eyes roamed around the interior. The inside of the building was quite spacious. The first floor was a dining area, with a counter further within. That counter was backed by shelves that contained dozens of bottles of alcohol. The door beside the counter most likely led to a kitchen.

A spiral staircase turned up in the corner of the dining area. According to the receptionist at the merc company, the guest rooms were located on the second and third floors.

Everyone's attention was on Lucifer. They looked at him as though they were sizing him up. The only person who paid no attention to him was a woman seated in between four men. She was staring intently at a small bottle on her table.

This hotel's scene made Lucifer furrow his brows under his helmet.

He had expected this sort of thing, but this place was filthier than he had imagined. Even though it looked good with white ceiling, working lights, heater's etc.

The floor was covered in scraps of mysterious food and unknown liquids, while the walls were stained and there were chunks of some moldy substance in the corners of the room…

Lucifer' sighed internally, and nodded while looking into the hotel.

A man in a dirty apron stood there, his stout arms protruding from his rolledup sleeves. His head was shaved completely bald, without a single hair left standing on his scalp.

This man, who looked more like a bouncer than an hotel-keeper, sized up Lucifer as he held a mop in one hand.

"A room, huh. For how long?" a voice like a broken bell called out to Lucifer.

"We wish to stay for one night."

The hotel-keeper replied crudely, "…A black star, huh. A night is a ¥5,000. No discounts."

The man continued.

"The food's oatmeal and vegetable soup; meat's an extra ¥15,000. Might be getting days-old bread instead of the oatmeal."

"If it is at all possible, I would like a double room."

Lucifer thought he could hear the man snorting.

"…In this city, there's five hotel's that cater to mercenaries, and mine's the worst of these five… you know why the company sent you here?"

"I do not. Could you tell me why?"

Faced with Lucifer's answer, the hotel-keeper furrowed his frown and turned a frightening look upon him.

"Use your brains a little! Or is that flashy helmet of yours empty inside, huh?!"

Lucifer remained calm, despite the innkeeper's annoyed retort. Perhaps his ability to weather this childish tantrum was the result of listening to his mom shout at him mostly everyday when he didn't do his chores in time. Because of that, he could calmly face this shouting.

The innkeeper seemed surprised to see Lucifer's reaction, and said:

"…You've got some guts, huh… The people who stay here are mostly black star or silver star mercenaries. If you've got some strength, you can form a party here, i you're lucky. Therefore, there's no better place than this to find party members whose strength matches yours…"

Something seemed to flash through the hotel-keeper's eyes.

"It's fine if you want to sleep in a room, but if you don't make contacts here, you won't be able to find party members. If you can't form a well-balanced, strong team, you'll die out there against the borged out cyborg's. That's why novices with and comrades advertise themselves in places with a lot of people. So I'll ask you one more time: do you want to sleep in the dormitory or in a double room, huh?"

Stolen story; please report.

"A double room. And I'll pass on the food."

"Cheh, another punk who doesn't appreciate other's kindness…"

"that'll be ¥10,000 a night. Upfront, of course."

The hotel-keeper extended his hand in one smooth motion.

Lucifer stepped forward, followed by oxy. The two of them were bathed in the appraising looks of everyone in the room — when suddenly, someone stuck a foot into Lucifer's path, as though to prevent Lucifer from moving forward.

Lucifer halted, and turned to the man who had stuck his foot out.

He had an annoying smile on his face, which was mirrored by everyone else at his table. They stared at him and oxy.

Neither the innkeeper nor the other customers stepped forward to stop this.

They were watching silently.

Although everyone seemed to be uninterested in the proceedings, or looking forward to a good show, there were quite a few of them who were intently studying the situation.

"Give me a break…"

The man who had obstructed his path was a typical punk.

He was wearing old denim jeans and a leather jacket with a high collar, with only a thin undershirt on beneath. His hair, which was dyed a dark red, was disheveled, and strands of it dangled over his eyes. He had multiple earrings pierced into his ears. His fingers all had rings on them, and a black tattoo peeked out from the collar of his jacket.

"...You are… blocking the way." Lucifer said slowly. His voice was still calm, but it was clearly a warning. The man who stuck his foot out just smiled, revealing a mouth full of rotten teeth.

"Ah, sorry, I just wanted to say hi."

That was clearly a lie. But the others around him laughed, amused by the mocking. The bartender did not bother to get involved either. In this hotel, those who were weak would not survive for long, and any outsider who visited was an easy target.

"Oh, don't worry, I ain't gonna rob ya…" the thug cackled, as though he was telling a joke. He was apparently the leader of this

Group of hooligans.

"...I just want to see the money ya got on ya. Is that so much to ask?"

"And why do you want to see...my money?"

"Why, to make sure you're not pretending to be a novice while carrying a load of money, of course."

Lucifer sighed and lightly kicked the man's foot away.

"Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! That fucking hurt bitch."

The thug snarled and immediately rose to his feet with an indignant look on his face. He clenched his fists so hard the veins on his arms looked like they were about to burst, and he looked like he wanted to charge straight at Lucifer to beat him up. He had a metal gauntlet with claws on his hand, which he must have put on while standing up. It creaked as he clenched his fist.

This was the source of his confidence.

The man was much shorter than Lucifer thus, he stood on this tip toes and glared at him with wrathful eyes. It seemed a bit too close for a fistfight. Lucifer decided to fire the first shot:

"Is that so? I must have missed the foot in front of me because of this closed helm, or perhaps your leg was just too short… well, that's my excuse, can you forgive me for that?"

"…Bastard."

A dangerous look crept into the man's eyes as Lucifer's taunt sank in. However, he turned his angry gaze to oxy, who was standing behind Lucifer, plastering His eyes on him.

"You're an annoying fellow… But I'm a generous man. As long as you lend me your woman for a night, I'll forgive you."

"I'm a man."

Oxy replied.

The thug and his cohorts widened their eyes at oxy's words. They exchanged glances and then started to laugh uncontrollably.

"W-What did you say?" the thug choked. "You're a... man?"

"Yes."

Oxy didn't care to reply further. The moment he confirmed his gender, the thug's face turned completely pale, and the cronies' voices died down.

"Kukukuku…"

Lucifer could not help but sneer at the man, and he lightly raised his hand to keep oxy from stepping forward.

"…What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I couldn't help but laugh at the way you sound like a stereotypical punk. Don't worry about it."

"What?"

The angry man's face flushed red.

"Ah, before we start, can I ask a question? Are you stronger than Setoshi Hellosch?"

"Wha? The hell are you talking about?"

"I see, it's all clear from your reaction. If it's like that, then I won't even need to play with you."

Lucifer swiftly grabbed the man by the neck, and then hoisted his body off the ground.

"Ahh… ugh…!" The man gasped as he suddenly found himself suspended in the air.

His feet dangled off the ground as he grabbed at Lucifer's hand. He writhed about in a desperate bid to free himself, but the grip around his neck tightened like steel. He was like a helpless fish struggling on a hook, unable to free himself.

The men around him who were watching the show only added to the excitement. How strong was this guy, if he could lift a grown man with one arm? The imaginations of everyone present were now considering that topic.

A wave of surprise and consternation swept the hotel lobby. The cronies around him seemed to take action, each pulling out a different kind of weapon from their belts. The thug that Lucifer was holding tried to scream, but his efforts to make a sound were in vain. His face was turning purple due to oxygen deprivation.

One of the four thugs pulled out a knife and held it in his right hand. Lucifer raised the man — whose legs were dangling and kicking furiously — and gently tossed him away.

Well, it was gentle for Lucifer.

The thrown man flew in a neat trajectory with frightening speed, skimming the ceiling as he went, and fell heavily on top of the man who was about to stab Lucifer.

The knife man yelled in surprise as the thug knocked him over, and they both landed on the floor together, with the thug's entire weight coming down on top of the knife in his own chest. The thug screamed so loudly he sounded like a pig.

Everyone else in the room was so shocked they didn't even move. They just stood there speechless. The four of them looked at the two figures lying on the ground, and their faces paled instantly. A pool of blood grew quickly around the two men, staining the floor a bright red.

Lucifer didn't seem to have any expression on his face, because of his helmet. He casually glanced down, then spoke to the innkeeper who was staring at him dumbly.

"I think the blood is going to mess up your floor. I'll pay extra for cleaning fees." He did not sound concerned at all, and spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.

Lucifer was not bothered at all. In any case, he was only staying for the night, and it was very unlikely he would return anytime soon, because this wasn't a very good place to stay. No, because he didn't plan to stay a black star for a day longer.

"T-Thank..." In contrast to the calm Lucifer, the hotel-keeper was completely dazed. "…Thank you very much."

Oxy had a combative look in his eyes, even though Lucifer had already chided him with their mental link. Some of them seemed to sense his hostility and felt uneasy.

"Let's go," Lucifer curtly told oxy. They went before the hotel-keeper and Lucifer withdrew two notes of ¥10,000 from his leather purse before placing it on the old counter.

The hotel owner hurriedly picked up the notes, his old fingers trembling. It was far more than the money he demanded for renting a room. He probably considered it as compensation for the trouble Lucifer had caused him.

He put them in a machine next to his counter which looked like a printer from the 2020's, it was to detect if the notes were fake because nowadays, nobody used paper money.

The machine beeped once, and on the screen, it showed that the money Lucifer gave was real. The hotel owner breathed a sigh of relief.

""First room on the right once you go up the stairs twice. You can put your gear into the wardrobe at the foot of the bed. This goes without saying, but don't barge into people's rooms without permission. Might lead to trouble if someone gets the wrong idea. Although, it's a pretty good way to let people know you. You look like the sort who can handle all kinds of problems. Just don't give me a problem."

Lucifer nodded in response. He had no intention of going around picking fights; he just wanted to find an room. He and Oxy went upstairs. The stairs creaked loudly, showing that they had been neglected for some time.

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