Nyx didn't particularly like or hate her outfit but she did like the attention she was getting from the man who had bought her the outfit.
"Ahem.. ahem.." Mike coughed as he gave Amon a side eye, "We still need to move the bed."
"We?" Amon asked as he looked at Mike, his left eyebrow raised.
Mike immediately walked out without a word but on the way, he glanced at Nyx. As he left the room, he couldn't help but click his tongue in annoyance.
Nyx had gotten used to her outfit and was slightly more confident as she leaned over the counter while still facing Amon, "So, what's the plan?"
"Amon tore his eyes off her thighs and looked straight at her, "Rest for now. We'll get some quality sleep and then, we'll go to the city."
"City…" Nyx muttered as she shook her head, "I'm a half human."
The guy simply shrugged in response, like it was a trivial matter. A small paper appeared in his hand before he spoke, "We can just act like you're a slave. Once people see the fake branding, they'll stay away from you. You can only be captured and sold if you have no owners. Bypassing the laws is an easy thing when the laws are made by idiots."
Before Nyx could debate the authenticity of the fake branding, Amon continued as if he was expecting it.
"If you think that me or Mike pose a threat, you can easily burn off the branding by just injecting mana at the area."
As he explained, he slapped the paper on the back of his palm and used a lighter to light a corner. The whole paper turned to ashes in less than a second while the slave brand stayed.
It was a circle with a reverse cross. Amon looked Nyx straight in the eye as he injected mana at the area where the branding was and it immediately disappeared.
"Here, feel free to try it if you want." he said as he took out two more, "Pick any one of these and we'll put them on at the same time just in case."
Nyx didn't really need so many confirmation methods as she already trusted him a lot, but she still followed his words. She picked a random paper and copied Amon's actions until she burnt off the mark on her hand using mana.
"It works." she said and smiled brightly. While she did trust Amon, she still couldn't stop herself from feeling better when the method worked.
Once her happiness went down a little, she eyed Amon, "And how much did these cost?"
"Don't worry about it. You've never been to a green zone have you? I just thought that showing you around would be nice. We can all have fun but to do that… we'll have to work hard for the next three days."
Nyx immediately nodded but she had a weird feeling in her tummy, one that was very foreign to her. Her knees felt week too, but she maintained her position.
When she saw Amon turn to the store room behind him, she hesitated for a moment before following behind him. It was a large room but it was completely empty.
As Amon looked around, he took out another one of the square papers and gave it to her.
Watching her putting it right below her neck, he couldn't help but look at her curiously.
"Just to make sure people see it clearly." she said with a wink as she held the hem of her shirt and pulled it downwards, showing off a bit of her cleavage. Seeing Amon's eyes immediately drawn to it, she couldn't help but feel proud of herself.
"Hello mister, my eyes are up here." she said playfully as she watched him look away with a non guilty look on his face. He clearly didn't feel an ounce of guilt.
He focused on the task at hand and posed a question, "This room…. what do we do with this? It was a good store room but there's no need for a store room anymore."
"Just ignore it for now. We don't really need this room. We have a bedroom to sleep, a bathroom and a kitchen. Sleep, cleanliness and food. Every basic need is met. If we wish to make food, we'll have to cook outside though… none of the machines work in here."
When she finished speaking, she saw a small stick in front of her. Amon silently put it in her hand and said "You should know what this is right?"
Nyx was speechless for a moment but she nodded, "It's that lipstick thing right? The one that rich women put on their lips."
"Yes. This one is black and I think it'll look great on you." he said as he spent a few more coins to buy a tall mirror. He placed it against the wall and watched Nyx look at her own reflection.
Soon, her lips were perfectly black. The only problem was that she messed up the corners of her lips.
"Let me help…" he said as a package appeared in his hands. He ripped it open and picked up a single piece of square cloth among the 500 that were in the package.
With the cloth in hand, he walked closer to her. Nyx was a tall girl but she still lifted her chin up to give him better access to her lips. She didn't know why she did it when she could have fixed the mess on her own.
Amon reached out and caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting her face up until her eyes couldn't help but stare into his. She froze, her breath shallow as he focused on her lips—dark, soft, impossible to ignore. The cloth brushed gently against the corners of her mouth, his hand steady while hers trembled faintly at her sides.
Nyx's heart was pounding so hard it made her chest ache. Her cheeks had been burning for a while now, and she didn't even know why. She just stared back at him in silence, caught between wanting to pull away and not wanting the moment to end.
Her shaky hands moved like they had a mind of their own and Amon finally looked up to meet her gaze.