*Mimi’s POV

What should I do?

I’ve constantly repeated these same few words inside my mind for the past six months. They have been echoing inside my head ever since mom and dad got caught up in an accident and died.

There was a large amount of debt that was next to impossible to repay. The savings my parents left me were constantly decreasing day by day. The inevitable bankruptcy which couldn’t be avoided even when I dropped out of school and lived extremely frugally. I couldn’t take it anymore.

Just three days ago, I was finally kicked out of my home along with the revocation of my status as a 2nd Class citizen. I was then forced to live in the 3rd Block instead.

The 3rd Block. It was a place that was synonymous with the term ‘red-light district’ – a place where 3rd Class citizens who couldn’t properly pay taxes were banished to. It was an area of this colony ruled by violence and vice. I was thrown out into such a place.

I’ve long heard of the rumors regarding what happens to women thrown here from the 2nd Block. After being caught by bad men, they are made into prostitutes and forced to sell their bodies to customers until the drugs they are made to take crippled them and made them useless. Once that happens, they are mercilessly thrown back into the dirty alleyways to fend for themselves.

There seem to be some lucky women who end up getting fancied by mercenaries or merchants who visit from outside, but those cases are few and far between. Most are destined to be miserable while suffering from withdrawal symptoms from the drugs, and finally incinerated along with the trash once their lives come to an end. That’s what I heard. I’m so scared. I don’t want that.

So I fled and hid. But I didn’t have any Enel to buy water. Rather, even the terminals necessary for Enel transactions were confiscated by the people from the Colony Government Bureau.

“Stay still, you damn bitch!”

“Gehehe… We finally caught ya.”

I eventually exhausted my stamina, became unable to move and was caught by some men. They looked at me with disgusting grins on their faces.

“She ended up getting a bit dirty, but she’ll do just fine.”

“Let’s just get to it, man! I can’t stand it anymore!”

I was forcibly dragged into a dark alley while being unable to mount any sort of resistance. The hands of the men unreservedly groped my body all over and violently ripped my clothes apart.

“Just give up already bitch!”

“Don’t struggle. Won’t ya learn until ya get to feel some pain?”

I finally managed to resist them. I was surprised I still had some strength to do so left in me.

“Guess I need to hit you good so you’d stay still—”

The man raised his fist. Once it was swung down, I will surely become completely helpless before them. It’s all over. The moment I thought that a blinding red light flashed past.

“Giiiih!?”

The men screamed whenever a red flash dyed the back alley crimson.

“Get lost punks! You won’t end up with just burns next time!”

A fierce voice suddenly rang out, and the men who were assaulting me miserably fled away. I leaned powerlessly against the wall and moved my gaze towards the source of the voice.

It was a young man. He wore rugged-looking clothes. …Maybe he’s a mercenary?

He had a laser gun and sported a tense expression, but I somehow felt that his eyes looked kind. He had black hair. His age… seemed to be similar to mine, or maybe just a bit older.

This ‘big brother’ glanced back at me and opened his mouth to speak while pointing the laser gun towards the direction the men from earlier fled to.

“I’m gonna keep watch, so hurry and fix your clothes. We have to get out of here soon.”

He was apparently here to help me. I fixed my appearance as much as possible and hurriedly escaped from the alley. I finally managed to reach a well-lit area once more.

“Welcome back.”

When I got out of the alley, an elf lady dressed similarly to that big brother called out. She’s probably also a mercenary. I wonder what their relationship is? I couldn’t help thinking about that.

“So what are you gonna do about that girl?”

“What do you mean…?”

Big brother looks at me with a troubled expression. His eyes really do seem kind. I somehow felt relieved just by gazing back at them. But my heart also pounded furiously.

“Stop staring at her and answer me.”

The elf lady started talking freely with the big brother who rescued me. I somehow felt pain inside my chest while watching them.

“So what exactly do you have in mind?”

“I was thinking of having her board my ship as a crewmember. Maybe I could entrust her with guard duty or gathering intel?”

An intense shock just ran throughout my entire body. Me, boarding big brother’s ship? But that means I’d… My cheeks felt hot. We’ve just met too. But, if it’s with this person—

“Guard duty huh…? Do you like this type of girl, perhaps?”

The elf lady turned her face towards me. She was a very beautiful person. Her skin was silky smooth, without any wrinkles or blemishes. Her eyelashes were also elegant and long. Although I was also a girl, I was still charmed by her.

“Like…? Well, I do think she’s a cute girl.”

The man who rescued me gazed at me as well but quickly averted his eyes. I think he just looked at my chest for a few moments. These big breasts always attracted too much attention and made my shoulders stiff, but right now I kind of wanted to praise myself for successfully nurturing such large assets.

“Anyway, let’s get out of this place first. Let’s go somewhere we can rest up and calm down a bit.”

As I thought, this person was kind. But I was worried about the fact that I haven’t managed to take a bath for days. My clothes were also in tatters, so I was embarrassed about being seen by this person in this sorry state.

“…It’ll be your treat.”

“Aye aye, ma’am! Come on then. We won’t do anything bad to you. If you’re having difficulty walking, you can grab onto me.”

I obediently nodded to the man and grabbed on to the hem of his clothes. I didn’t want to get too close to him and turn him off with how I currently smell. I’m a girl, so I didn’t want to be thought of as smelly.

When the implications of letting a girl aboard a ship were explained to him, big brother’s face turned bright red from embarrassment. It looks like he really didn’t know what it usually meant for a woman to board a man’s private ship.

That is to say, big brother – Hiro-san didn’t rescue me with that sort of purpose in mind right from the start. He helped me out of pure kindness. He really was such a nice person. Things developed rapidly after that.

Hiro-san brought me to a government office, threw a lot of money at a mean government official and settled my debts in full. When I heard about the amount of debt at first, I was devastated. But Hiro-san… no, Hiro-sama paid for all of it. In order to obtain me. I was born for the purpose of fully dedicating myself to Hiro-sama. I strongly felt that way at that moment.

While I was preoccupied with those thoughts and had my head in the clouds, the elf lady – Elma-san handed me a shopping bag filled with clothes. It was thanks to Elma-san that I was finally able to be with Hiro-sama. I was really indebted to Elma-san as well.

And so, I was brought away by Hiro-sama and taken to his ship. I was really surprised. I thought the ship of a mercenary would be more… cramped and stifling. The interior of Hiro-sama’s was wide, clean and looked on par with a 1st Class residence. It was probably even better than the house I formerly lived in.

I took a shower following Hiro-sama’s suggestion. It was a long-awaited shower. After thoroughly cleaning every inch of my body, I finished showering and checked the contents of the shopping bag containing clothes that Elma-san gave me.

It’s contents were three pairs of shorts and three sets of clothes. One was thin and looked comfy. Another looked practical and suited for everyday use. And the last one was a sheer, see-through negligee. There was also a bottle containing some sort of liquid substance. There were two pill cases as well. Lastly, there was a small note tucked inside too.

I wonder what these are? When I read the note, it appeared to be a message from Elma-san. The liquid in the bottle was apparently perfume. There were instructions on how to use it written as well. I’ve never put on perfume before, so I was thankful for the notes.

The two pill cases contained contraceptives and painkillers so it would feel better when I have my first time taken by Hiro-sama. I was grateful for this as well, because I heard that the first was usually painful. There was a classmate from school who said her first time was a failure and that things got awkward between her partner and her afterward.

I sprinkled just the right amount of perfume on me. I’ve never used perfume before, so I suddenly felt like I’ve become more of an adult.

I plucked up some courage and chose to put the thin clothes on. And when I appeared in front of Hiro-sama wearing it, his face reddened and he became flustered. That’s good. He seems conscious of me. I wouldn’t know what I would do if he didn’t have eyes for me at all and just treated me as a sister or daughter. I was a little relieved.

After eating a delicious meal with me, Hiro-sama went to the training room to exercise and then went straight to bed.

I watched the timing, drank the medicine, put on the negligee and barged into Hiro-sama’s room. That was the plan, at least. But I couldn’t manage to do it. Fortunately, the door of Hiro-sama’s room was open, so I managed to peek inside while staying in front of his room.

Hiro-sama was just in his underwear. My gaze was drawn to his well-sculpted silhouette. My entire body started feeling hot. The medicine’s effects may have started to kick in.

“What’s wrong? Uh, hold that thought. I’m in my underwear, so let me change into something decent first.”

My and Hiro-sama’s gazes met, and he started panicking with a bright red face. I boldly stepped inside Hiro-sama’s room while being mostly driven by instinct. There were a lot of sad and painful things that happened to me. But now, I’m within Hiro-sama’s arms. Right now, I am truly happy.