The best seat in the house. Right in the corner.
If sitting here was my privilege, then the spot beside me was the exclusive domain of Solis Eleza.
She was a queen draped in composure and allure, leaning her lithe limbs against the air-suspended cushions. As the woman who managed every facet of this establishment, she was a presence more dangerous than any patron who walked through the doors.
What happened to customers who crossed her? By the next morning, they would vanish without a trace, leaving neither hide nor hair.
...Come to think of it, I’d heard the rats in the sewers of this district were unusually fat and large. I had a good idea why.
"Hehe..."
Laughing bewitchingly, Solis leaned in, resting her weight against my shoulder.
It was a far cry from the natural fragrance Lucia carried. Instead, a rich, enchanting scent of roses filled my nostrils. Her black hair brushed lightly against my cheek, the silken texture tickling my skin.
"My, you're thinking about another woman, aren't you? That's no good. You shouldn't make a lady sad."
Her voice was a velvet whisper. Her instincts really weren't to be underestimated.
The scents lingering on my clothes, the residues picked up by her augmented retina—she pieced those fragments together to reconstruct the silhouettes of everyone I had met today.
According to her, she could simply "see" it. My "Speech Bubbles" were a freakish enough power, but she was a monster in her own league.
Then again, I suppose one couldn't reign as the "Queen" of this city without a few tricks like that.
I used my left hand to gently push her head back off my shoulder.
Solis knit her brows in mock disappointment while running her fingers through her hair. Her perfectly maintained bob followed her fingertips with a lustrous, fluid sheen.
Just then, a familiar bartender arrived with two glasses.
The liquid inside glowed with a brilliant azure light—"Cobalt Revive." It was a vodka-based cocktail cut with artificial mineral water and lemon extract, filled with cooling bubbles that popped and crackled with a refreshing chill. The blue glow faintly illuminated the table, looking as though a tiny nebula had been trapped within the glass.
I offered a silent thanks with my eyes. The bartender gave a curt, wordless nod and returned to his station immediately.
No unnecessary small talk. In this place, that was considered the height of etiquette.
Solis and I raised our glasses in unison. When they touched, a clear ting echoed through the air. The blue bubbles danced, and the icy liquid beckoned to my throat.
＊ ＊ ＊
"So—what brings you here today? You aren't going to tell me you just came to see my face, are you?"
She fixed me with a flat, judging stare.
Supposedly, when the regulars were pierced by that look, they found it so "intoxicating" they could hardly stay in their seats... but to me, it just looked like she was sulking.
I took a sip of the cocktail, letting the cold bubbles slide down my throat.
"...No, nothing like that. I had some business in the Upper District and figured I’d stop by to have a look at you while I was at it."
I kept my face forward, shifting only my gaze to look at her.
In that instant, Solis’s shoulders quivered, and a smirk played across her lips. It was a subtle gesture, but it radiated an incredible, heavy sensuality. The very air around her seemed to grow thicker with allure.
"Hehe... You're a bad man. But you won't fool me. You came to see the 'Doctor' anyway, didn't you? It's always the same. You have such a wonderful woman right in front of you, yet you'd rather go off and whisper with men..."
She crossed her arms and looked away, pouting.
Of course, this too was calculated. She knew exactly how to push a man’s buttons without being truly unpleasant, using light banter to prize away secrets. She had built an entire collection of "secret stories" from the regulars who fell for it.
Once, I’d jokingly asked if she gathered them during "pillow talk." She’d shot back with, "Well, you always fall asleep right away." ...I couldn't win with her.
"But—the Doctor seems busy today. Whether you can actually see him is..."
She dropped the sulky act, her expression snapping into a serious mask.
I see. So a sudden case had come in.
As I began to weigh my options, the bartender appeared soundlessly. He placed a glass of mineral water and a new coaster on the table.
Ho... So the Doctor had realized I was here.
Grinning, I downed the water in a single breath. I slipped the coaster into my jacket’s inner pocket and stood up.
"...Oh, leaving already?"
Solis puckered her lips. This time, it wasn't an act; she looked genuinely annoyed.
"Honestly, the men in this neighborhood... He insisted he was 'busy' when I asked, yet the moment you show up..."
Even while grumbling, she didn't miss a single beat of my movement.
Suddenly, she was standing right beside me, leaning close to my ear. Her black hair brushed my cheek, and I felt her teeth give my earlobe a playful, sharp little nip.
"...Come back soon, won't you?"
Her whisper was laced with a warm breath. An electric chill raced down my spine. Good grief, women of the night were terrifying.
I shoved that cheap sentiment to the back of my mind and headed toward the rear of the counter. The bartender lifted a partition, revealing the path to the back rooms.
I navigated the staff area with practiced ease. To a casual observer, it was just a service corridor, but to me, it was as familiar as a relative's house. I could have walked it with my eyes closed.
Right, left, up, then down—it was an unnecessarily convoluted route. I wasn't sure if it was a security maze or just a reflection of the Doctor’s eccentric personality. Either way, it was a chore to navigate, even for someone who came here often.
Eventually, I reached a heavy, silver-finished security door. Urban legends claimed not even a heavy tank's cannon could breach it. I wasn't in any hurry to test that theory.
There was a single scanner beside the door. I pressed my palm against it to register my ID, then pulled the coaster from my jacket. It was a one-time "key" for today.
When I held it up to the sensor, a cheap electronic chirp sounded, and the heavy locks disengaged. The massive door swung open with the low groan of hydraulics.
Inside was a long, narrow corridor lit only by small white lights at floor level. The ceiling was lost in shadows, and the ambient light from the club was severed the moment the door hissed shut behind me.
Only the dim trail at my feet guided the way.
The passage ended at a staircase. It was a long descent. Every time my boots hit a metal step, a sharp clank, clank echoed through the shaft.
After dozens of steps, I reached another locked door. This one was simpler than the first but featured a heavy airlock design. I slid the coaster into the slot, and a line of light traced the door’s frame. It slid open in four directions, releasing the heavy seal.
...The room beyond was dim.
Since my eyes had already adjusted to the dark, I could make out the outlines immediately. Racks lined the walls, dotted with the blue indicator lamps of cooling units. A low, rhythmic mechanical hum permeated the air.
Suddenly, a small shadow emerged from the periphery.
"Yo. It’s been a minute. How long has it been exactly?"
The figure spoke while repeatedly patting my leg.
I looked down to see a child—or rather, someone who only looked like one. He had round cheeks and the high-pitched voice of a boy who hadn't hit puberty yet. But deep in his eyes sat a murky, stagnant light that no child could ever possess.
This man was one of the most dedicated eccentrics in the city. He was a crackpot scientist who had gone to the trouble of installing his personal consciousness into a toddler-model full-body prosthetic.
I let out a long sigh.
"...Your taste is as appalling as ever."
Nook Andalug, otherwise known as the "Doctor." He was the reason I was here today.