"Should we "knock" a little?"
"Sounds good to me."
This all sounded very peaceful, didn't it? Well, the extremely loud BANG that ensued thereafter shattered this polite appearance. Kasha's heavy kick had landed on the metal frame of Bea's Box making it tremble.
Josh couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed the blank look of the bystander. The man was intently fixing Kasha's long leg that had mysteriously both well-defined muscles and supple skin. He could even be heard gulping loudly.
"Wow. You now have a fan, Kasha. Isn't that great?", Josh teased her. Leg enthusiast spotted!
She simply scoffed at the man. He was now looking nervously everywhere except at her. He was akin to a small startled rabbit, an ugly one. Seemingly trying to dispel his embarrassment he began talking quickly.
"I-I wasn't kidding about the owner being horrible. She won't even answer the door after this. You guys are wasting your time. There is also something incredibly wrong with her. How about I bring you to another touring guide agency? I know one infinitely superior to this one."
Kasha scoffed "Let me guess, one that will profit you? Why are you even annoying us?"
Josh couldn't wait to see what excuses the man would come up with. Would he try to hide the obvious? Would he instead confess and apologize? Except that besides being slightly flustered by Kasha's toned legs he looked fine.
He lowered his tone but still confidently declared. "Why? Because I like Credits. Just looking at how you guys walk, one can guess that you guys are Rankers. Especially your companion. He's clearly high level, I can feel it!"
"Pffft! Hahaha." Josh simply couldn't help it as he showed all his teeth laughing. "*Sigh* What can I say, you truly are observant. It seems that even without trying, I overshadow this young lady by my side. My bad, Kasha."
She gritted her teeth, seriously considering trying to beat one or both of them but finally decided to use her anger for a good cause. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! ….
In fact, she kept going all the way until it finally violently opened with a start. "Who the Hell is the dumbass that- AH!" The newcomer shouted in fear as a foot almost landed directly on her face. Just the air from the motion was enough to frighten the stranger.
In the door frame stood a petite lady. She looked relatively young but her curves clearly betrayed her real age: somewhere between 18 and immortal. All jokes aside she was probably 25 top.
What was especially noticeable about her was her hair and her eyes. Both were a dark tint of purple and somehow, really somehow, looked natural. Her long wavy hair rested on her shoulder in a messy way. Yet she didn't feel messy herself. As if that too was simply natural.
She instantly regained her cool, closing the door behind her before stepping out. "Tch- Don't scare me like that, ugly woman. Ah, that loser is there too? Here to try and poach my customers again, are you? Go ahead I don't care. I'm a protected species, bitch. I'm rich by existing! Ah, who's this now?"
"You bastard! Are you trying to pick a fight?!" Kasha shouted, but she was simply ignored.
The woman then slowly approached Josh, even delicately sniffing as she came next to him. There was something weird about her entire mannerism and appearance. It reminded him of some kind of small but deadly animal for some reason.
"Oh? You seem surprised and even a bit guarded. Is it your first time meeting a Dela? You ain't half-bad looking. Should I give you a very long and deep biology lesson?" She licked her lips seductively as she uttered that, even winking at him.
Okay, first she said something about being a protected species. What?! Then there was the whole natural purple hair and finally the Dela thing. What was all this about? Was it related to the Tower? He couldn't help but share a glance with Kasha that meant "Dafuq".
The scout somehow calmed herself before answering. "*Sigh* These guys can be annoying. They've been here for a while already, ever since they crashed on our planet. In exchange for their help in advancing our technology they got special protection rights and can pretty much live freely Such a pain in the ass!"
"Fufufu it's you humans that accepted that deal. You guys even begged us to accept it. How ridiculous and pointless of you guys to complain now. Talk about sore losers." She laughed mischievously.
Josh couldn't help but be puzzled. That's when the man whispered to him. "Turns out the Delas that came here were all lucky survivors of their planet's explosion. They didn't have a single scientist. It became a free asylum for them."
This sounded like such bullshit. How they could still enjoy such status even after they had lost their utility was what puzzled Josh. Still, he glanced reproachfully at Kasha. How had she left that detail out when he had asked about space?
But then the man continued. "Hey, at least there are not that many of them. Still, they are the worst since they are all huge lazy bums. Good thing our solar system is now confirmed free of other species."
So that explained how Kasha had forgotten. These aliens were few in numbers. But Josh couldn't help but wonder if there wouldn't be any other visitors in the future. Well, chances were there would be something Tower-related happening way earlier.
The young woman then turned to exasperatedly ask them. "So, anyway, what do you guys want? I was very busy inside performing a very delicate operation including many high-tech machines."
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Josh took the lead seeing as Kasha was still pissed. "I need to find a good luck charm. Apparently, tourist guides may be able to point me in the right direction."
"You came all the way here to ask me something so ridiculous? Didn't you see my reviews! I'm the one and only Bea the Dela that everyone hates. I went to great pain to write those to frighten customers away I'll have you know!"
"Hmm, so they were in fact fake. I see." Josh nodded understandingly.
"When did I ever say that? I just said I wrote them. Anyway, if you guys are willing to pay I can show you lots of things. The only thing is the payment I require is a bit unconventional." As she said that she rested her gaze directly on Josh's body.
Somehow that single glance sent his whole body shivering. He could sense it, there was something peculiar about her. Should he accept her offer he had the feeling it would be a Game Over. It would be a Bad-End, even worse than in any Visual Novel.
Why? He did not know himself. It was all his instinct talking. At first, Kasha looked at him worried that he'd accept. But, she then began smiling once he vehemently started shaking his head to categorically refuse the Alien girl. The man could be seen dazed on the side, looking at his nemesis's enchanting smile.
Bea couldn't help but taunt Josh. "I can't believe you denied me so fast. What will you do if this poor Missy begins to cry, eh? What if this poor Missy dies of sadness?" she faked some tears.
"Absolutely nothing. Ah, actually if you do die do not worry. I'll put your body to good use." Josh assured her. He was convinced the body of an Alien would sell for a lot of Credits.
"For something deviant, right? Right?!" She seemed full of expectation as she pictured the many ways her still lukewarm body could be used by someone.
Still, seeing as he didn't seem to change his mind about the deal and that she was very much alive she decided to open her door once more. Somehow the inside of it was very dark, so dark none could see. Kasha and the random man peered inside without noticing anything special.
For Josh, it was so different. In his eyes, the very normal rectangular entrance became the mouth of a ravenous beast ready to devour all life alike. He could feel it, this room was Doom itself. Should he venture inside he would be utterly helpless.
The entrance was simply *Menacing / ゴゴゴゴ*!
Josh felt cold sweat trickle down his back. He felt the hair on his entire body stand on end. The adrenaline rush made his heart palpitate and he had to pierce his own nails into his palm to come out of that trance.
A man that had been swaggering into the Tower akin to on a vacation felt fear from a very normal building entrance. Meanwhile, the young woman was reluctant to simply let him escape her as she tried tempting him one last time.
"Are you sure you don't want to come inside Bea's small box? It's a lot of fun you know. It's tight, warm, comfortable, and you'll feel like a new man once you've been inside long enough." She seductively said.
That is when Josh somehow realize that there had been something more to her voice. Something that had only been aimed at him. Something that had tried to forcefully take over his being.
Understanding why he had felt so afraid, Josh instantly calmed down. He then looked at the petite woman straight in the eyes before uttering. "How about you go fuck yourself.". He even had a radiant confident smile while he did so.
She simple replied emotionally: "What do you think I was doing before you bastards interrupted?! I'm gonna go back to it now! Go fuck yourself too!"
That is when the door closed behind her. This short episode had nothing special happen and yet it had sent red flags across Josh's entire mind. He knew he had to be careful of the Tower, but it seemed there were also inexplicable dangers outside of it.
The man consoled him. "Don't worry about her. She's always like that. I may be paranoid but I feel like that box of hers is dangerous for people. For all you know, you dodged a bullet."
Josh couldn't help but look at him surprised. The level 40+ scout had totally missed it while this man had somehow perceived a tiny inkling of the real situation. Why was Josh so sure he wasn't in the wrong? Well, his intuition had saved him so many times that he would never question it.
"Alright, I know exactly where to go. Follow this guide!" The man enthusiastically started leading the way before stopping. "Ah, just to be clear I'm charging you guys 100x the normal rates."
It was an outrageous price increase but Josh did not care. Such services were cheap in the first place and the man had proven himself in his eyes amply. Kasha wanted to complain initially but he stopped her. Thus they all left, pretty much all of them lost in their thoughts about what had just happened.
Little did they know that there was now a purple-haired alien nearby that had fallen on the ground right after closing her door. Her back was resting on the solid steel as she was panting heavily. She couldn't help but recall what had happened a few moments ago flushed.
She had found her target! This one would prove oh so troublesome, but it didn't matter. She had ample time, lots and lots of time. This wasn't the first life she had lived anyway…