Chapter 004:

"And here I thought you were an actual customer; turns out, you're just another brat," The bald bouncer enunciated his final word slowly before blowing a puff of smoke directly into the newcomer's eyes.

"Hey that stings!" the large youth, Big Ed, complained while wiping his eyes.

The thin youth, Slim Grim, interjected himself into the conversation by berating his larger friend, "Ed, you're late again!"

"Sorry bro, Father kept pestering me about training again,"

"Forget about it," Slim said as he approached the two. Once near enough, he shifted his gaze toward the bouncer. "You must not like your odds, oaf, but I do," He smiled.

The bouncer looked toward the larger youth who was a head taller than him and well-built, his calm expression grew tense.

Contrarily, Slim's smile grew wider, but just as he wanted to apply more pressure, he was shocked to see the bouncer's tense expression turn into one of amused mockery.

"What seems to be the problem here?"

"Been a while since the last scrap, was getting antsy,"

Two new voices entered the fray as a couple of men exited the brothel. After they reached the group, they stood behind the bouncer, clearly stating their intention.

Slim's expression hardened as was the case for Ed.

The group of men stood facing each other and a tense atmosphere enveloped them.

Slim was about to say something when footsteps appeared behind them.

A hooded figure strolled forward confidently, displaying fully a nobleman's grace.

The group of people naturally parted ways so as to let the man pass, but the hooded noble did not even look at them as if to imply that their existence was unimportant.

Of course, no one took this to heart as it was merely a matter of fact.

Ed looked at the nobleman with an odd expression on his face while Slim's crafty eyes darted from bouncer to bouncer.

The bald bouncer also took glances at the hooded nobleman but said nothing.

However, this all changed just as the nobleman reached the door, when Big Ed, true to his name, exclaimed in a loud voice:

"Hey, how come we can't get in, but that kid can? He's only a year older than me!"

Everyone froze. Slim stood with his mouth agape at his comrade's bravery.

The bouncers also had peculiar looks on their faces as they alternated their gazes between themselves and the nobleman. Finally, the initial bald bouncer snuffed his cigarette out before saying with a slight stutter "S-sir, may I ask ye to lower yer hood?" Ordinarily, it was very common for bouncers to allow young noblemen in as they were a prime source of coin, but in this particular situation, his integrity was called into question.

How much integrity a whore house's bouncer had was indeed questionable, but nonetheless…

A bead of sweat rolled down the bald bouncer's face as another eerie silence descended upon the group.

The nobleman, still frozen with his back turned, twitched slightly before moving again. He turned to look at the group, scanning each person slowly, not saying a word.

When his hooded face came to rest upon the bald bouncer, the latter's face dropped.

Instinctively taking a step back, the bouncer attempted to soothe his shivering soul.

'What was that…' he asked himself. When the nobleman's face met his, he felt a very slight bloodlust. Normally the bouncer would have scoffed at this, but this time the danger he felt was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

He had only just managed to calm himself when he was frightened again by the nobleman walking toward him.

Taking several steps back, he squeaked "W-what are you going to do?" The fear on his face made his bouncer friends anxious as well and they too readied themselves.

Their fear however was for naught as the nobleman merely passed them by.

………………………………………………..

"Fucking hell!" Alexander cursed under his breath as he walked away from the brothel.

What was a man to do, cock-blocked by an overgrown child and a bald bouncer…

On the other hand, he was quite proud of himself. Being able to restrain his anger and walk away calmly was no meager feat but he had already done so twice tonight!

That coupled with Timmy's noble upbringing, which allowed him to display impeccable grace, allowed him to finally become a true gentleman.

'A noble villain' Alexander smirked as he recalled the slimy smile of Count Schuyler.

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'Maybe I should practice smiling like that,' He entertained his thoughts as he made way for another brothel, one with hopefully fewer baldies.

"Excuse me, brother," A polite but not overly servile voice sounded out.

Alexander turned toward it only to be met with a familiar face. It was the scrawny kid that had a falling out with the baldy earlier.

"We seem to have inconvenienced you earlier, allow us time for making amends,"

The young boy spoke in circles, which annoyed Alexander slightly but as he studied the both of them closer, his thoughts changed slightly.

'From the way he walks and talks, he seems to also be of decent wealth, also…’

His eyes shifted toward the big youth standing off to the side silently.

'He's most definitely the son of a knight,' Yet despite their backgrounds, they still choose to prowl around at night.

Besides that, Alexander’s impressions of them softened considerably too as they reminded him of a certain pair of clowns he knew from his past life.

'Ah, people of my ilk,’ Alexander smirked knowing full well that the previous Timothy would have never associated himself with such people. ‘Which is why they are perfect for me!’ He thought to himself.

“Very well, after you,” The hooded Alexander made a motion with his hand, indicating them to lead the way. He was giddy at the thought of the Synchro rate going down.

The youth, who would later introduce himself as Grim or ‘Slim’, nodded toward Edward or rather, ‘Big Ed’. The trio’s silhouettes then disappeared into the night, their shadows melding to be one.

………………………………………………..

At first, Alexander was very confused, ‘Why are we going back? Are we brawling it out with the bouncers?’ His heart beat wildly in excitement as he reevaluated the two youths, ‘Perhaps I’ve misjudged you two as cowards, when in fact you are both hot-blooded youths! Yes, brothers, nothing shall stop us from sitting with each other awkwardly as we gawk at scantily-clad babes!’

Unfortunately, he was bound to be disappointed as instead of heading toward the main gate which was now considerably more guarded, they went out back to the alley behind the brothel.

There, with the sickly sweet stench of garbage tickling their nostrils, they came upon a sturdy iron door. The door, Timothy noticed, was made of Dark Iron Wood; a type of lumber from trees that grew natively along the borders of Iron-wall kingdom. It is said that the darker the shade of Iron wood, the sturdier that wood was.

Alexander doubted their ability to break through the door and he was about to say something, but it was then that Grim pulled from his pocket a thin metal stick.

Alexander and Edward watched with interest as Grim stuck the stick into the keyhole and fiddled about with it.

Just as Alexander began to grow bored, a crisp click sounded out and the door opened slowly.

“Nice going Grimmy!” Ed slapped his friend's back roughly.

“Keep your mitts to yourself brute,” Grim criticized sharply, but he looked slightly proud of himself. “Come now, gentlemen, let us encroach upon heaven’s domain!” he said grandly as he pushed open the door and headed inside the brothel.

The music was deafening but that didn’t matter as the visuals were more than enough. The thumping melody coming from the band synced up with Alexander's beating heart as he excitedly watched the various bodies writhing seductively with the rhythm of a dance that stimulated one’s senses and loosened their inhibitions.

The brothel’s main hall was decorated with various gaudily colored lights that shine hazily onto one’s skin; the hall itself was dotted with various elevated platforms, upon which the women ‘Danced’. Around the platforms, hordes of men threw coins at the dancers so that a shower of copper and sometimes silver constantly rained down upon them. Yet despite having such wealth before them, no man dared touch a single coin as their greed was being repressed by lust.

Being the first time Alexander had stepped foot into such a fine establishment in both his lives, he was shocked silly and stood in place like a fool.

Were it not for Slim Grim and Big Ed, who were evidently more experienced with the process, he would have done just that all night, but thankfully his new friends did not let him down.

When he awoke from his daze, he was seated on a table with the pair next to him. Grim was talking with a waiter while Ed intensely studied the dancers. He seemed to be focusing on one in particular.

Noticing Alexander turning to look in the same direction as Ed, Grim laughed before explaining, “I see you’ve noticed. That particular entertainer, the brute’s taken a liking to. She is the reason he insists on frequenting this particular establishment every so often.”

“Can’t blame him…” Alexander spoke as he studied the dancer Ed had taken a fancy to. She was a bit short but she made up for it by being well-endowed in all the right places. Her unique sapphire eyes were highlighted by the lighting so that they seemed to glow in the dark. Right next to her seductive, full lips, a cheeky mole could be seen and admired. Her jet-black hair fell straight before ending in curls that bounced merrily along with her dancing.

After getting in his eyeful, Alexander turned toward Ed, who was staring daggers back at him.

“Easy big Eddy, I know the rules,” Alexander remarked as he registered the sound of glass being placed on the table.

“Hmm” The big boy grunted as he picked up his glass, but instead of downing it, he waited patiently.

“Here’s to new acquaintances!” Grim said, following suit.

Alexander, realizing their intent, raised his own glass.

Clink!

The three then downed their respective glasses and soon, a full-bodied, fruity beverage wetted Alexander’s gullet.

The strong burn of wine nearly forced him to spit the liquid out as Timothy was still inexperienced with Alcohol, but in fear of embarrassing himself, Alexander forced the drink down his throat and held in a cough.

After a day of constantly being forced to drink juice, wine was nice.

The trio enjoyed their time immensely, engaging in lively banter in between gulps. Every now and then, silence would befall them as they busied themselves with studying the various curves dancing about the platforms.

Throughout the night, Alexander came to learn a lot about his new pals. First, they’ve known each other since childhood and only grew closer thanks to them attending the same academy, one called Stellar Arts.

The word Academy was a sore spot for Alexander as it was during that period of his past life that he was cursed blessed with his previous system. And thus, with the fate of a hero being thrust upon him, he was forced to drop out.

Secondly, in regards to the pair, they were currently on a rather long break from their studies and thus were busying themselves by partying and made it a goal to visit every brothel in Iron-wall.

Alexander applauded them for their ambition and pledged himself to join them in their lofty pursuits.

“Wait wait,” Ed said sloppily before hiccupping. He was now thoroughly drunk and when he wasn’t busy trying to talk, he would instead laugh at everything, be they significant or not. “If you wanna roll with us,” He pointed toward him and Slim Grim “You gotta drop that!” He turned his finger toward Alexander’s hood. “Also what’s yer name?” Then, seemingly finding the notion of not knowing Alexander’s name despite talking to him for hours humorous, he bellowed out laughing.

“Here, here!” Grim concurred in an equally sloppy manner. His face was beet red and he seemed to grow quieter the more alcohol he had in his system.

Alexander nodded before gulping down another glass of wine.

While he was preoccupied with his glass, the pair of Slim Grim and Big Ed nodded to each other subtly.