Chapter 94: Immoral

As they approached the counter, and before Azalea could ring the bell, a man with black hair and dark brown eyes came down the stairs from the floor above.

"(≖_≖ )" (Silvia)

Silvia couldn’t help but look at him critically.

He was handsome, yes, but not ridiculously handsome.

Silvia had seen much more handsome and masculine men throughout her life, and compared to them, there was nothing truly remarkable about this guy.

But even though he wasn’t the most handsome man she’d ever seen, there was nothing to fault him for either.

She also confirmed that he was young and that he was human—the latter being a fact she hadn’t confirmed until now.

Silvia concluded that, given his profession—that, at best, it reached the second rank—he was definitely exactly as he appeared and no older than thirty.

At worst, he was a full two decades younger than Azalea, which made the situation even more immoral.

For Silvia, everything was already being summed up in a single word: "immoral."

Perhaps, noticing her appraising gaze, the man turned his eyes toward her, but in Silvia’s eyes there was only harshness and prejudice.

This caused the man to smile somewhat awkwardly and eventually look away.

Silvia looked at the man’s face. Yes, to her, it was a face full of shamelessness and guilt.

Silvia’s prejudice against him was already deeply rooted and unshakable.

And even more so when she saw that, immediately after looking away from her, his gaze fell on Azalea.

Silvia observed every action, every reaction. She wouldn’t overlook anything she could use.

Then something happened that caught her attention.

The worried expression that had appeared on Azalea’s face vanished the moment her eyes met the man’s.

In its place, a glimmer of genuine happiness appeared—one that Silvia obviously couldn’t overlook.

" 눈_눈" (Silvia)

Silvia narrowed her eyes a little more, and Azalea, who seemed to notice, tried to hide it and remain as serious as possible.

A futile effort, in Silvia’s view.

That didn’t seem like the normal reaction of a client upon meeting her massage therapist.

And the man’s reaction wasn’t any better.

When his eyes met Azalea’s, he also seemed happy, and unlike Azalea, it was clear he wasn’t good at hiding his emotions; after that brief exchange of glances, he even blushed and, very awkwardly, tried to cover it up by looking down.

"(≖_≖)" (Silvia)

Now Silvia was more certain than ever.

But she didn’t say anything.

If she kept waiting, more conclusive and irrefutable evidence would come to light on its own, since, just as she suspected, that man was an easy target she could extract the whole truth from.

Finally, he arrived and took his place at the front desk, immediately taking the initiative to speak.

"Welcome, dear clients." (Astan)

"Ahem. Yes, I’m back, just as I told you I would... and I brought my... friend, since she wanted a massage." (Azalea)

"Oh... I see, Miss Azalea. It’s truly a pleasure to have you back at this little place. Ah! And I don’t know if you already know this, my dear new client, but my name is Astan, and I’m a massage therapist. I’m glad you gave our place a chance." (Astan)

Silvia once again observed and analyzed Astan’s greeting to Azalea.

But this time, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it; it seemed perfectly normal, and he introduced himself to her just as naturally.

He didn’t seem to mind that she had come to interrupt them; rather, he seemed genuinely happy to have more clients.

It was strange, and it made Silvia hesitate a little before responding.

".... Yes, my name is Silvia. I’ve heard a little about you from my dear friend. Oh! And you don’t have to worry—we’re so close that she even told me that secret between the two of you." (Silvia)

Upon hearing what Silvia said, Azalea flinched. It was a small but noticeable movement, which Silvia took note of once again.

Astan, however...

"Huh? Secret? What secret?" (Astan)

He tilted his head and seemed genuinely confused. He didn’t seem to understand what Silvia was talking about.

And before Silvia could ask another follow-up question, Azalea quickly intervened.

"Ahem. Astan, don’t pay any attention to her. She just likes to talk nonsense. Even though I’ve warned her many times not to say anything silly, haaah, what secrets could you and I possibly have, when I’m just a customer?" (Azalea)

Hearing Azalea’s words, Astan nodded while letting out a sigh of relief.

"Phew~, I was worried for a moment. I thought you’d confided a secret in me and that, out of carelessness, I’d forgotten it." (Astan)

Silvia looked at him intently. She couldn’t detect any lies, and all his actions and reactions—as well as his words—seemed to tell her that he wasn’t lying, which led her to think that...

"Hmm... Either you’re telling the truth, or you’re disgustingly good at lying." (Silvia)

Silvia had only intended to think it, but it seemed that, without meaning to, her thoughts had slipped out loud.

Azalea turned her head toward her.

"Silvia, don’t be disrespectful to him just because you’re making up stories about nonexistent things." (Azalea)

"hm...nonexistent, huh? ( ﹁ ﹁ )" (Silvia)

"Seriously, even though I warned you—either drop that attitude or I’ll have you thrown out." (Azalea)

"...Okay, it was my mistake. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry." (Silvia)

Although she wasn’t very satisfied, Silvia decided to back down. She wouldn’t let them use her little mistake as an excuse to kick her out.

"Ahem. Astan, I also apologize for her behavior. She’s not very good at socializing." (Azalea)

"You don’t have to apologize to me. It might actually be a little silly of me, but I didn’t really understand much of what she was talking about. I’m mostly just happy that we have a new customer. Miss Azalea, I’m truly grateful that you recommended us."

"Haah!~Although it was more than just a recommendation—it was... hmm, well, never mind. The important thing is that we don’t make a big deal out of Silvia’s strange behavior."

Astan nodded, still looking somewhat confused, but didn’t dwell on the subject any further and began rummaging for something behind the counter. Finally, he pulled out a brochure listing his services and handed it to Azalea.

"Well, as you know, here are the massages we have available. I don’t know if you’d like a different combination than last time." (Astan)

"Hmm, well, the ones from last time were really good, but adding a new one wouldn’t be bad."(Azalea)

Azalea said as she glanced over the massage options. Her eyes seemed to be searching for something specific—perhaps something more ’deep’ and ’intense’ than last time.

"Oh, I’m glad to hear that. Oh! And, Miss Silvia, here’s one for you, too. Choose whichever one you’d like, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me. We offer a wide range of services, some of which are quite unique."

Astan said as he handed Silvia a second brochure so she could decide which massage she wanted.

"Hmph; service—like what’s written out there?"(Silvia)

In response to Astan’s words about the services, Silvia couldn’t help but sarcastically mention what she had seen outside.

And she watched as Astan replied without showing even a hint of embarrassment on his face.

"Ah! Speaking of that, we sometimes offer extra services within our capabilities, though today it was my wife’s turn to post them, and I forgot to ask her what she put up. Hmm, there are times when she gets carried away and posts some unique services that are a bit outside our professional scope." (Astan)

"Huh? It was your wife? Are you seriously telling me your wife posted that?" (Silvia)

"Judging by your question, I suppose she added something out of the ordinary today as well, but even if that’s the case, she wouldn’t add anything beyond our capabilities. Whatever it is, since she added it, we’ll do our best to fulfill it." (Astan)

"I understand the first part, since your wife could easily do that, but the second part obviously refers to you. Would you really do something like that?" (Silvia)

"Huh? Well, as I said, I didn’t ask her, so I don’t know exactly what you’re referring to. Could you tell me, so I can check if it’s really reasonable?" (Astan)

"...No, never mind. I really just asked out of curiosity. There’s no need for that." (Silvia)

"I understand, but feel free to bring it up later if you change your mind." (Astan)

"Oh! What was the announcement saying outside? I didn’t pay attention this time." (Azalea)

Azalea, who had finally found the new massage she wanted to add, asked that, since now it was Silvia who seemed a little nervous and evasive.

Earlier, she’d been so nervous that she hadn’t paid attention to what the poster was saying.

"Ugh. That’s not important. Just the massages are enough." (Silvia)

But Silvia didn’t want to continue on that topic anymore.

"Well, if you say so, I already know which massages I want. Decide on yours quickly. Let’s not waste time on nonsense." (Azalea)

Azalea didn’t understand what the problem was, but she didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she thought it was time to see if her idea was feasible.

She turned to Astan and asked a question.

"Astan, can I ask you something?" (Azalea)

"Huh? Of course, Miss Azalea." (Astan)

"Is your wife here?" (Azalea)

"Huh?" (Silvia)

Obviously, Silvia was more interested in the interactions between the two of them than in finding out what kinds of massages were available.

But what she never expected was for Azalea to dare ask such a direct and brazen question.

And, with that same boldness, Astan replied.

"Yes, she’s upstairs, just like last time." (Astan)

"I see. From what you said, she was a massage therapist just like you, or am I mistaken?" (Azalea)

"No, you’re not mistaken. She’s also a massage therapist, just like me." (Astan)

"Oh, that’s perfect. Now I see why there are two doors there. It must be another massage room for when you have a lot of clients." (Azalea)

"Yes, that’s exactly what they are. Ah! Right, where has my head been? Obviously, since there are two of you..." (Astan)

Astan seemed to have only just noticed the problem and tapped his forehead lightly, as if scolding himself for only now thinking of it.

"Yes, that’s right. Can you call her to have her take care of Silvia’s massages?"(Azalea)

Azalea’s suggestion had caught Silvia off guard; she hadn’t known anything about the wife being a massage therapist.

She was also taken by surprise that the massages were going to take place in separate rooms.

To Silvia, Azalea’s intentions were more than obvious, but Silvia wasn’t going to allow it.

"No, that’s not necessary. I wan—" (Silvia)

"Great! My moment has arrived!ヾ (≧∇≦)ﾉ" (Iris)

Bang!