Chapter 236

Chapter 236

Jafa and Paolo’s story was not a tender love story. It was a poignant tale, like the sting of blood seeping from a paper cut.  

From my perspective, this was far more interesting than some predictable love story. Not that I was watching for entertainment.  

I focused on the five senses of reality. Excluding sight, the rest of my senses opened outward.  

Wuuuuung.  

I heard the sound of the simulation device activating.  

Ssssss.  

My sense of touch read the flow of the air, while my widely expanded hearing detected subtle metallic noises, as well as the footsteps of Equessian and Jafa.  

‘No significant movement.’  

The simulation was growing hazy. It was because I had shifted my cognitive focus outward.  

I refocused my perception on the simulation. The layers of scattered scenery solidified once again.  

Wuuuuung.  

The false auditory signals enveloped my brain, producing a vibrating hum.  

Before I knew it, my vision overlapped with Jafa’s memories.  

Paolo’s restaurant came into view. Jafa’s movements were restricted due to the cuffs on her wrists and ankles.  

Kang, kang.  

Paolo was sharpening a knife. His hand movements were so practiced that they almost seemed cheerful.  

Jafa didn’t speak immediately. She remained silent, as if organizing her thoughts.  

"Hey, a human’s lifespan is shorter than yours. Our time isn’t equal. If you’re going to waste it…"  

Paolo urged her. Only then did Jafa finally speak.  

"I am an exile of the Menoa Family."  

Jafa revealed her lineage. It was as good as exposing a fatal weakness.  

"Are you saying turning you into pieces and selling you part by part is worth less than reporting to your family?"  

"No. If you contact the Menoa Family, I’ll be a corpse in a matter of hours. I merely exposed my weakness first."  

"Hmm, and how do I believe that you belong to the Menoa Family?"  

"If you do even a little research on the Menoa Family, you’ll know. Even if I were lying, the Menoa people would kill me. They don’t let anyone live who falsely claims to be one of them."  

Paolo stopped sharpening his knife. He seemed willing to hear Jafa out.  

"Hah, I have no personal grudge against you. So, I’m willing to listen to what you have to say."  

Paolo’s tone softened. Jafa finally took a breath and continued.  

"This kind of business won’t last long. It’s too dangerous on your own. I will help you. In exchange, share the profits so I can secure a foothold in Border City."

"Partnering with a Tajirun? Do I look like an idiot? You're just spouting anything to get out of this situation."  

"…I'm different from other Tajirun. That’s why I was exiled."  

Paolo tilted his head, showing his doubt.  

"Different? How?"  

"I… like humans. Human men, like you. A shameful disgrace to my family."  

Paolo’s eyes widened slightly in surprise before he stroked his chin.  

"That’s hard to believe."  

Jafa flicked her tongue.  

"I can prove it with my body…"  

I consciously sped up the simulation.  

…Because what followed was a scene I wasn’t keen on processing visually.  

Jafa proved her attraction to other species to Paolo in a way I preferred not to describe. After all, physical arousal couldn’t be faked.  

As Paolo watched Jafa’s actions, he set down the sharpening rod and knife on a metal shelf.  

"Alright, I get it. In this situation… it’s not like you could fake that reaction. But I have one condition."  

Jafa, still slightly out of breath, tilted her head.  

"A condition?"  

"Wear this around your neck. Only then can I fully trust you. It’s a bomb collar. Don’t try to disable it yourself—I don’t want to deal with that kind of mess."  

Paolo pulled a cold metal bomb collar from his coat.  

"…If you put it on me yourself, I’ll gladly accept it."  

Jafa turned around, exposing her back to Paolo.  

Clank. Beep.  

The collar’s clasp locked in place with a mechanical chime.  

"I’ll trust you not to try anything foolish. Once I’ve made enough money, I’ll let you go. I’m not some thrill-killer—I don’t kill for the fun of it. Since the collar stands out, cover it with a scarf for now."  

Paolo began unfastening Jafa’s cuffs and ankle restraints one by one.  

With her limbs freed, Jafa gathered her clothes and put them back on.  

They discussed their plans moving forward.  

*         *         *  

Paolo’s primary source of income was private catering. But not just any catering—his clients were the kind of wealthy individuals with… grotesque tastes.  

'Paolo records the entire process, from slaughter to plating, and his clients watch those videos while dining.'  

He called it slaughter and preparation, but in reality, the footage captured murder. It was just as vile as the depraved nobility of the Empire.  

In exchange for satisfying these degenerate elites, Paolo earned a significant fortune. A single private catering job could keep him financially secure for months—enough not just for living expenses, but for research funding as well.

"But why would you need that much money…?"  

"You don’t need to know. If we keep working together, you’ll find out soon enough."  

Paolo was researching Arcane civilization. Arcane-related artifacts weren’t easy to come by.  

The value of a functioning relic was immeasurable, and even seemingly worthless antiques required a hefty sum to acquire.  

'Running a restaurant wouldn’t have been enough to cover those expenses.'  

Jafa actively assisted Paolo’s business.  

Dressed in what was considered "attractive clothing" by Tajirun standards, Jafa roamed the streets.  

There were quite a few Tajirun wandering alone in Border City for various reasons.  

Jafa lured in those stray Tajirun and handed them over to Paolo. Occasionally, the victims weren’t Tajirun but belonged to other species. Inter-species attraction seemed… more common than I had expected. Then again, if there were idiots who lusted after beasts with no intelligence, this wasn’t that strange. No, it was strange!  

Damn it, my sense of normalcy was getting warped.  

"Jafa, I have to admit… I thought you were beautiful from the moment I first saw you."  

Paolo emerged from the storage area after finishing today's butchering.  

"For a human, you’re quite good at distinguishing attractive features among the Tajirun."  

Jafa sat with her bare legs crossed, making an effort to appear seductive.  

Damn it, I really wanted to get out of this simulated memory as soon as possible.  

"Well, I am a chef. I have to tell the difference between male and female, young and old, healthy and weak. Naturally, I’ve developed an eye for distinguishing other species."  

"Hoyot, I see."  

"Cut that weird laugh out."  

Paolo hung up his apron as he spoke.  

"That’s probably impossible. It’s a habit now. Ah, and I have a great idea. Take a look at this client list."  

Jafa activated a device, displaying an extended list of clients.  

This was likely when the Tajirun’s characteristic business instincts began to surface.  

"The current pace already brings in enough profit. Thanks to you, things have gotten much easier. I want to focus more on my research."  

Paolo declined the business expansion in a roundabout way.  

"Just hear me out. The more money, the better. And there’s a limit to this method. Soon enough, rumors will spread about people disappearing after following Tajirun prostitutes. You need a stable revenue stream if you want to focus solely on your research. I don’t care about Arcane civilization, but I do want to help you."

The mention of a stable revenue structure seemed to pique Paolo’s interest.  

"Well… there was something I wanted to buy at an auction recently, but I missed out. Some rich bastard is snatching up anything related to Arcane civilization."  

"And if you plan to spend that kind of money, you need a legitimate business. Border City may be lawless, but when it comes to tax evasion, they crack down hard."  

"Yeah, I actually got a message the other day asking where my money was coming from…"  

Jafa even provided Paolo with tax advice. Before long, she had become indispensable to Paolo.  

Paolo’s spending habits grew, to the point where he couldn’t sustain them without Jafa’s help. On the surface, it seemed like an ideal partnership.  

However… there was a critical flaw in this arrangement.  

Jafa was different from other Tajirun. She experienced sympathy and guilt far more intensely.  

"Ugh… urgh, blegh!"  

Jafa frequently broke down and vomited from the psychological strain. Half-digested rat meat from her dinner splattered onto the floor.  

"…I have to hurry."  

Jafa’s mind was gradually reaching its limit. She saw other species as equal beings. She wasn’t a psychopath like Paolo.  

Clatter.  

Just as she was retching again, the door opened. Paolo had heard the commotion.  

"Jafa, are you feeling unwell? If your health deteriorates, that would be a problem for me too. Don’t worry about the cost—go see a doctor."  

Paolo spoke with genuine concern. His smile was so flawless that it made me want to smash my fist into his face.  

"I think something I ate didn’t sit well."  

Jafa wiped her mouth as she replied. Paolo shrugged and sniffed the air.  

"Hmm… what’s this…?"  

Paolo crouched down and examined Jafa’s vomit closely.  

Squish. Smack.  

Then, without hesitation, he dipped his finger into the mess and placed it on his tongue. Even my battle-hardened stomach churned at the sight.  

Paolo wasn’t just any man. He was a rare breed of lunatic.  

"W-what the hell are you doing?!"  

Jafa recoiled in shock.  

"Ah, this smell and taste! Now I remember! Some clients have mentioned a distinct aroma in Tajirun meat. The ones who notice it become obsessed—they refuse to eat anything else. The flavor is so addictive that they won’t even touch other kinds of meat. But not all Tajirun meat had this trait. There must be specific conditions for it."  

Paolo let out a gasp of admiration as he lost himself in thought.  

…This was insane.  

One thing was certain: Paolo was an exceptional chef.

"Jafa, go lure in a Tajirun right now. I just came up with a great idea."  

"Right now?"  

Jafa questioned him, but Paolo didn’t so much as blink.  

"I’m going to cut one open and experiment on it. I can’t exactly use you for that, can I? I like you, Jafa."  

Paolo was both refreshingly casual and chillingly unsettling. He wasn’t the type to wallow in slimy, depraved evil.  

'In a way, he was disturbingly pure.'  

He acted as if concepts like good and evil didn’t exist. At times, he even seemed childlike… and as horrifying as it was to admit, there was something bizarrely compelling about him.  

I accelerated the memory. Various experiments and development processes flashed by.  

Paolo was the one who developed the sauce for the Jafa Burger. He dissected Tajirun, analyzing their anatomical structures—their gastric enzymes, oral cavities, and internal organs—painstakingly deconstructing their biology to refine flavor.  

Eventually, he discovered that under certain conditions, the unique aroma of Tajirun meat was produced.  

The core ingredient of the Jafa Burger sauce, Flavor Oil, was an extract derived from that very process.  

…And to produce the sauce, live Tajirun were necessary. The fact that it didn’t require actual Tajirun meat was perhaps the only small relief for Jafa.  

"Jafa, this sauce… it’s going to change my life—no, our lives."  

Paolo’s eyes were sunken with obsession as he spoke.  

Honestly, I could only think of one thing.  

‘Why the hell is this bastard wasting his talent on archaeology?’  

As Paolo pondered how to best use the sauce, an idea struck him—burgers.  

"Let’s rename the place ‘Zola Burger.’ This is gonna be a massive hit!"

"Zola Burger?"  

"Ah, Zola was my late wife’s name. She was Elize’s biological mother."  

Jafa flinched. Even I could sense her unease.  

‘Jafa—!!’  

I wanted to scream at her.  

Correction—Jafa wasn’t normal either. In this mess, her interspecies attraction was the least of her issues.  

‘She actually likes Paolo in this situation?’  

Jafa’s taste in men… if limited to human males, was astonishingly broad. It was as if she liked any human man as long as he was male.  

"Ah, but it’s not like I still miss her or anything. I’m just grateful. Zola’s inheritance and insurance payout got me through a lot of tough spots. As for who I currently like… No, let’s stop here, haha."  

Paolo spoke with an easygoing smile, casually flirting with Jafa. He knew that to keep using her, he had to maintain her sexual interest. I doubted there was another man on all of Planet Novus with a stomach as strong as his.  

But after hearing Paolo’s words, Jafa must have realized something.  

The closer you got to Paolo, the more sloppy he was. His lack of sensitivity to others' emotions led to frequent slip-ups.  

‘Paolo killed Zola.’  

The reason? Most likely, money.  

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