CHAPTER 51: WILL BE FIXED SOON

After the stabbing incident, I didn’t run into any hidden quests or unexpected events.

In fact, things were so quiet, I started to wonder if I had somehow wandered into the wrong district... because this didn’t feel like the West Borough at all!

According to my memories, the West Borough was crawling with criminals. You had to constantly watch your back, pickpockets, random thugs demanding protection fees, and if you refused, they wouldn’t hesitate to rough you up or even stab you. On top of that, there was always the risk of being swarmed by desperate, hungry vagrants.

But strangely enough, I encountered none of that.

’What’s with the sudden peace and quiet?’ I thought to myself, scanning my surroundings.

Soon, I spotted a man leaning against the wooden railing of his house, puffing on a tobacco roll.

I walked over and cleared my throat.

It had become a habit of mine to clear my throat to get someone’s attention instead of waving or saying hello. Saved me the trouble of speaking too much. And clearly, it worked.

The man instantly took notice of my presence, glanced over, and eyed me with suspicion. "Who are you?"

"Kekeke, I’m just a nobody," I blurted out, following my intrusive thought.

I initially wanted to try to lighten the mood by starting off a friendly laugh, but what I didn’t expect was that what came out of my mouth sounded more like a creepy giggle than anything else.

’Fuck, what did I just say?’

I froze. And so did the other guy before he took a few steps back. I could feel his suspicion spike almost instantly.

"Wait, wait! I’m just kidding! I’m harmless, really. Can’t you tell?" I hurriedly raised both hands, palms open, trying to show I meant no harm and came in peace as I noticed him edging toward his door.

Upon hearing my words, he stopped retreating but still kept a safe distance between us.

"What do you want? Why did you come up to me?"

I got straight to the point.

"Do you know what’s going on around here? This area used to be crawling with thugs and vagrants, but now it’s like they’ve all vanished."

The man relaxed his shoulders, took a drag from his tobacco, then said, "You don’t know? There’s been a plague going around. I’m not sure when it started, but a lot of people started getting sick. There’s a saying—’only idiots catch illness’—and I guess there’s some truth to it. So far, it’s mostly the vagrants and thugs who’ve come down with it."

"What about the residents here?" I asked.

"They’re fine. Look at me, do I look sick?" he said confidently, then coughed severely right after, while pointing to himself.

I gave him a slow scan from head to toe. Then I averted my gaze.

He caught that immediately. "Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?" he asked, suddenly looking concerned.

"You might not look sick," I said, "but who knows what’s going on inside. You should stop smoking that tobacco. Otherwise, your lungs might give out."

He squinted at me like I had just told him the sky was green. "What do you know about tobacco? Lungs, huh? Kid, that nonsense might work on someone else, but not me. You just had to say it to me of all people."

He held up the half-burned roll with a kind of reverence, almost like worshipping it.

"If it weren’t for this little thing, I would’ve thrown myself off that bridge years ago. It’s because of tobacco that I found the will to keep going. To me, it’s not just a commodity I bought to fulfill my craving, but it’s also a reminder that it once saved me. This is my savior!"

I was speechless. More importantly, I realized there was no point arguing with a smoker, especially a heavy one like him.

It’s not like anyone in this world knew about the health risks associated w

Walking from the forest to the city, then from the market district to the port, and now deep into the West Borough without a single rest, the fatigue finally caught up to me. My whole body was burning out.

On top of that, the sun blazed overhead like it had a personal grudge against me.

I was sweating buckets, and with every step, my body grew stickier and heavier. Not to mention, this body wasn’t in great shape to begin with.

Honestly, it was a miracle I’d made it this far at all.

"What about the residents here?" I asked.

I gave him a slow scan from head to toe. Then I averted my gaze.

"You might not look sick," I said, "but who knows what’s going on inside. You should stop smoking that tobacco. Otherwise, your lungs might give out."

He squinted at me like I had just told him the sky was green. "What do you know about tobacco? Lungs, huh? Kid, that nonsense might work on someone else, but not me. You just had to say it to me of all people."

He held up the half-burned roll with a kind of reverence, almost like worshipping it.

"If it weren’t for this little thing, I would’ve thrown myself off that bridge years ago. It’s because of tobacco that I found the will to keep going. To me, it’s not just a commodity I bought to fulfill my craving, but it’s also a reminder that it once saved me. This is my savior!"

I was speechless. More importantly, I realized there was no point arguing with a smoker, especially a heavy one like him.

It’s not like anyone in this world knew about the health risks associated with tobacco anyway. Talking about lung damage would just make me sound like a lunatic. And really, even back on modern Earth, people kept smoking despite warning labels printed right on the packaging. If that didn’t stop them, why would my warning work here?

"By the way, do you know anything going on over Nolan Street?" I asked, changing the subject.

Nolan Street was the street that housed my home.

"Nolan Street?" He scratched his head. "Can’t say I’ve heard anything from there..."

I was just about to feel disappointed when he suddenly snapped his fingers.

"Wait! Actually, I think I know something."

"Yeah?"

"There’s a strange Radhanian guy who recently moved in and opened... what was it again...?"

"Massage parlor?" I said unsurely.

"Ah, that’s right! Massage parlor! You know it too?"

"Yeah," Not only do I know it, I even own the place!

And what do you mean by strange Radhanian?! I didn’t recall doing anything weird... then again, maybe starting a massage parlor here was enough to make people consider him to be strange. After all, massage was a practice unique to the Radhan Empire and never existed outside of it.

Not every Radhanian could master the technique, and even fewer had the means or motivation to teach it elsewhere.

In fact, there were plenty of horror stories about inexperienced Radhanians practicing their massage techniques on unsuspecting clients, often leading to disastrous results.

Some victims suffered nerve damage that left them with partial loss of limbs. Others ended up with severe internal injuries. There were even cases where clients vomited blood for a week straight before eventually dying from blood loss.

That’s why there were so few certified masseurs in the empire. And that’s why Aiden’s family had been relatively well-off despite just coming from low-class citizens.

It wasn’t just that the technique was extremely difficult to learn; the real problem was controlling the strength behind it.

This was supposed to be perfect. I had the massage skill inherited from the original Aiden’s memory, and with the "Sensual Touch" skill on top of that, I was sure I could bring in plenty of customers and finish the main quest just in time.

But now?

If everyone’s started avoiding my parlor like it’s the plague, how am I supposed to get any customers?

Fuck! Who the hell started spreading this crap?

Could it be the Sadis Gang again? Of course, it had to be their doing again! That would explain everything. News about my capture spread far too fast. And knowing the Sadis Gang specialized in gathering and leaking information, it wasn’t a stretch to think they were behind this too.

’Looks like me and those shitheads really are fated to be mortal enemies, huh? Fine by me, after all, it’s not like I can rest peacefully until I’ve destroyed them.’

Still, there’s something that bothers me.

If the Sadis Gang was behind the rumor... why go through all this trouble? They’d already killed the original Aiden. Why keep targeting the massage parlor? What exactly is their goal?

Just then, I was struck with realization.

The rumor wasn’t just about me being some predatory scumbag; it specifically said I went after men and women equally. And that had made people of both genders scared to set foot anywhere near Nolan Street...

Is it possible...

As I wiped the sweat from my forehead, I couldn’t help but miss my old motorbike. Even though in a sense, it was only less than a day old since I last saw it.

How great would it be if I could bring all my stuff from Earth here with me...

"Sigh... How is it that my first day in another world had to be so miserable that it needed me to run to many places at once? It would be nothing if I were a fan of marathons or jogging, but sadly, I’m not. This was definitely not how I imagined spending my first day after getting isekai’d."