There was about 25 minutes left until next period but Roderick let Arnold leave the class after thanking him again.
He can use this time to practice his skills in the gym or just take a nap or even fool around with someone.
"Gotta piss." The moment he entered the school building, he felt his bladder scream at him. As such, he took the opposite direction from the gym and headed towards the toilets.
When he arrived at the male bathroom, he could hear grunting. Judging from the different voices, there were about three of them. The sound of meat slapping meat echoed in the hall.
There was a classroom a few meters away so they could probably also hear it.
Repulsed by three guys grunting together, he pulled his hand away from the door, his mind manifesting a scene of three guys doing each other in the toilet.
At that moment, all of them grunted a bit louder, with one yelling. "Get pregnant, whore!"
Thinking of pissing in the grass to avoid walking up to the scene, he was about to turn around but the door opened just then.
"Phew, that felt great but man she stinks a lot." A guy came out, followed by three others.
'Huh? How many were inside? Wait, did they just say "she"?'
"I know, right? I can still taste her juices on my tongue even after rinsing my mouth."
"When was the last time she showered, hahaha!"
"She's still tight at least, hahaha!"
A fourth then ran outside, pulling his pants up sloppily. All of them froze when they saw Arnold.
"Skipping out on classes to have fun?"
"C-Crap, run!" upon noticing Arnold, they ran the opposite direction.
He sighed. He didn't really care to catch them but he should still let Morwenne know so that she can tell the school.
He wanted to wait before going inside but since his premonition didn't come true, he can handle seeing a girl naked. Thinking so, he entered, expecting a first year who thought she would meet a prince charming only to get turned into a fleshlight by seniors.
But surprisingly, he found Rachel—naked from the waist down—leaning against a urinal, breathing heavily.
"Eek!?" hearing the door open, she jumped up and covered her crotch with her hands.
"Why are you skipping class to get railed by your friends? You should know your priorities."
"T-T-They're not my friends…" biting her lip, she replied almost irritated. Noticing her skirt nearby, she quickly snatched it and backed away into the stall while blushing furiously.
Sighing, Arnold went up to a urinal and began to water the flowers.
"If you go back like that to class, you'll stink up the whole class. You're practically leaking."
"I-I'll use the hose outside!" she replied in a fluster.
Arnold sniffed the air a bit. The boy's bathroom is cleaned regularly so it's not as disgusting as people would think so there weren't other smells to pull his attention. All he smelled was the horrible stench of sweat and sex.
Coincidentally, he finished peeing and zipping up his pants the moment Rachel was dressed.
She bent down and picked up her books.
Just as she was about to leave in a hurry, he grabbed her by the arm.
"You can't just walk away like you didn't just whore yourself out. I'm taking you to the office."
If she isn't letting her friends do her, then the most likely explanation is that they're "customers".
"W-What? Why!?" she tried to pull away but it's obviously useless.
"For one, prostitution is illegal on academy grounds. You can do it outside school with whoever you want as long as you don't mention you're from Ardark and don't wear its uniform."
"B-But it's easier to get customers here because… uhm…"
He knew exactly what she was about to say.
"That excuse won't get you off the hook."
"I-I can't go back there again! They'll expel me if I get another warning! Please overlook this!" almost on the verge of tears, Rachel begged.
He was taken aback by this reaction. It seems as if he's trying to extort money from her or something.
"What the hell are you doing with the allowance money that you get from Morwenne's parents who are also paying for your school fees?" he let go of her.
"…" she glanced to the side and scratched her arm—not the one Arnold held onto.
"…" he grabbed her other arm and lifted her blazer's sleeve.
"!"
There were purple needle marks covering her lower forearm.
"You're a junkie, huh." He pushed her away, making her fall and yelp, "What, did they pump you full of drugs while you were getting passed around in some public bathroom and now you're addicted to it?"
Trembling, she didn't answer. He noticed bags under her eyes. Did she sleep at all last night or was she out servicing clients?
"If you had swallowed your pride, unlike your father who is incapable of it, and accepted Grace's handouts, you could've continued living a normal life. But as expected of a brat who doesn't have any life experience, you turn to the easiest method to make a quick coin—selling your body to the rich." He held out a hand, "Get up."
She didn't hesitate and quickly grabbed his hand. He pulled her up and continued.
"The gym showers are closed right now so we're going to my dorm room and you're going to freshen up. I'll take you to the committee office and you will wait there until Morwenne arrives."
"Y-Yes…"
After that, he walked out of the toilets, Rachel trailing behind him.
"!?" not wanting to waste his free time too much, he made his Aether surround her body and made her float with him. She was desperately holding on to his hand.
'Goddammit, Rein, why did you have to do this to your whole family?'
He's the culprit behind the bankruptcy, of course. It doesn't matter how clean his trail is, Arnold knows what kind of guy he is. He wants to rule over the ashes of something he destroyed because he knows he can turn it into something greater. That Earthling wanted to hire Rein to help with Whitage city's restoration but after retrieving his original soul, Arnold doesn't need someone so crooked on his payroll. Even he would fall victim to that guy's schemes. In the end, the only way to control people like him is to use violence since you would lose in a battle of wits.
But Arnold knows that Rein will approach him someday so avoiding him is impossible. After all, Whitage will also become a pillar of this continent that he wants to turn to ash then rule over.
After a minute of flying, they arrived at the dorm. He unlocked it and led Rachel inside. He just said "go to the bathroom".
The shower faucet turned on a minute after Rachel entered.
"Elizabeth will just have to forgive me for this." He mumbled as he opened her closet and began to search for underwear that Rachel can wear. "What the hell?"
He found several sets of sexy lingerie and leggings in her closet. When he lifted one of them to see what it looked like, he noticed it was one of those micro bikinis that barely hides anything.
Elizabeth already has small boobs so these will be absolutely destructive if she wears it. Thinking about seeing her in these, when she inevitably tries to seduce him, made him incredibly hard—to the point where his trousers pitched a tent.
No matter how much he looked, he couldn't find a single pair of cutesy or granny underwear, just the type of lingerie a succubus would wear to tempt humans.
He would probably push her down the moment he sees her in these.
"I-Is this a dog collar?" he picked up a leash that was tucked at the very bottom, where her shoes were.
Who is it for!?
"Huh?" he also spotted a fluffy tail with a peculiar "plug" attached to it. "…"
If Ceru saw this, her innocence would be destroyed and she would yell "Shameless!" repeatedly.
Dammit, even though he wanted to focus on other things today, he just had to see Elizabeth's succubus collection. Now he won't stop thinking of seeing that vixen in one of these slutty outfits.
Funny how it didn't take much to lust after her. Her mother's genes are way too strong. Was he really not talking bullshit when he said he wanted her "beauty"?
Thinking about having that beautiful young woman kneeling at his feet while she services him as he holds her hair in his hands—
His erection was starting to hurt.
The shower faucet suddenly turned off. He quickly grabbed one pair of underwear and put the others away before closing the closet.
Strangely enough, what he was holding could be considered the most modest piece of underwear in there.
Rachel came out of the shower, awkwardly covering herself with a towel.
He held out the underwear, "Take this."
"W-What the hell! Why is the crotch open!?" her face flushed red, probably thinking Arnold is giving this one in particular on purpose.
"…Don't ask. But if you don't want it, you can go commando and wait until breaktime to go ask Grace."
"N-No, my skirt is very short so everyone will see…" she took the underwear with both hands. But since she was gripping the towel with her hands earlier, the small towel fell, revealing her naked body.
"Iyaaaah!?" in an almost exaggerated fashion, she screamed and crouched while covering herself.
"Calm down." He turned around, "I'll stay like this so get dressed."
He could hear whimpering then a small laugh.
"What am I doing… Getting embarrassed about being seen even though I get ordered to walk around the streets naked at night all the time."
She then said in a smaller voice, "And what's more, I scream when it's the person who I want to see me naked."
He glanced back, noticing her with a self-deprecating smile on her face. The tears began to fell when she looked up at him.
She stood up without hiding her body anymore and put on the panties.
"Were you going to stop?" while she was doing that, he asked.
"…"
"They're paying that much, huh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised since academy girls are worth a lot. But you should be aware what the next step will be once you crave independence, whether from your family or Morwenne's parents. You'll become a high-class prostitute. You'll be paid enough money to live comfortably so you'll also decide to leave the academy, thinking you won't be able to have a better life becoming a government employee."
He didn't need to confirm this with her since he knows how many high-class prostitutes are where they are now. Many of the girls either dropped out of a prestigious academy or graduated but never got a job. Noble girls tend to be more sought after since it's like renting out an exotic pet, trained and groomed by the best of the best.
Even the poorest commoners can sully the flesh of a noble girl just for a few gold coins. It's like tasting forbidden fruit at the expense of your life savings.
Rachel might not be the top of her class, but she was still raised in a noble environment, making her one of those exotic pets that they want to get their hands on.
"I find it funny that even when you want to become a whore, you still have your pride left."
She bit her lip, tears still flowing.
"Your sister is here, right? Does she know about what you do?"
Rachel nodded slowly.
"But she's too immersed in her experiments to do anything to help." He guessed.
"…She said that… once she has a breakthrough… We'll live together in luxury in our own mansion, away from Mama and Papa." She answered in a small voice.
He went silent.
Rosalyn won't survive the School Arc so that is but a dream of the two. She is sort of involved in the disaster that is approaching so fate will have its revenge. But the Rynalds becoming bankrupt wasn't a "definite" route in the game so Rachel wasn't impacted by her sister's death.
Rachel is the victim in all this even though she's done nothing bad in her life.
Her father is an incompetent fool.
Her elder brother is a maniacal bastard who would tear apart everything for control.
Her sister cares more about her goals than her little sister.
Her mother abandoned her and refuses to take care of her.
But regardless of how messed up her family is, that city is still a powerful asset. It was once one of the Empire's central arteries — a place where gold was not only mined, but also minted into official coin and traded across borders under the strict oversight of the National Treasury. The Treasury, acting as the empire's highest financial authority, had entrusted the city with the honor of minting coin stamped with the Sovereign Seal.
'System, what caused the city's downfall?' Arnold asked while Rachel was busy putting on her clothes, blushing a bit but not as shy as before.
-Answer: Due to rival mining towns popping up around Diacree and within the imperial lands itself, possible because of the Dwarves distributing their mining equipment—a first for them—during the recent Industrial Revolution, mining companies could dig far deeper into the earth until gold and other valuable minerals were discovered in places they did not dare dig before.
'How did Rachel's father react to this?'
Since they were essentially competition, he must've devised a plan to ensure they don't overtake him. Just because you're big and successful doesn't mean a better competitor can't rise up.
-Answer: Rachel's father became desperate and began buying up all the newer mines that started operations a few years ago.
'What? Is that guy an idiot?'
-Addition: This was to avoid them being contracted by the National Treasury. Keep in mind that this is after he had already splurged billions on buying up land, building luxury resorts, funding new equipment and investing into new technology that never made a breakthrough. He then began racking up debts which was inevitably found out by the banks that support the city and the Treasury itself. This unstable environment led to the Treasury taking over the mines he had and the ones he bought up, leading to them also taking over the city.'
'Did Rein influence what happened in some way?'
-Answer: Yes, he was an anonymous backer for the new mining towns.
'There it is…'
Rachel's father still owns the city and is in the process of selling it but Rein is probably waiting for the right moment to interfere and become the messiah the city needs. The National Treasury only confiscated the land and is on the lookout for a new head to lead the mining operations. But this can only be finalized once the city is handed over to someone else.
"Rachel."
"?" wiping her tears, she looked at him.
"I have a proposition for you and your family."