"That roductive outing," Natalie said, stretg her arms above her head as the two of them left the Bordello. "Made some great progress, wouldn't you say?"

  "Do you mind?" Vaa asked, gng dowreet with embarrassment.

  "What? No one's around," Natalie ughed, nudging her pyfully and earning a gre. "I mean, seriously. Look at the payout."

  Opening her pouch of tokens, she dispyed their hard-earned profits. The newly ented Eros tokens—separated into their own tainer earlier—gleamed uhe starlight. Their earnings far exceeded what Natalie had expected. Two hours spent in the Bordello with Vaa ag as her courtesan had rewarded them handsomely, easily matg her Arena earnings. And she'd been the t. Vaa's take was even more substantial.

  "I still feel bad about being paid by you," Vaa grumbled. "Take half. Seriously. We both know that it wasn't—real patronage."

  "Speak for yourself. I don't think I've spent my mohat well in," she paused. "Ever? Definitely ever."

  "Oh, be quiet." She g her, her eyes flig down her body before darting back up. "It's still weird seeing you naked, even if I know you have armor on."

  "Enjoying the show?"

  "As if."

  Natalie ughed. "If you're feeling guilty—which you shouldn't be—but if you are, pay the favor forward. Like I said, I dunno if I want to deal with the Bordello either. So when it's my turn to work there, maybe you could e be my t. My exclusive t." She grinned. "I'll make a special menu just for you."

  "As if," Vaa growled. "Ugh. You're letting it get to your head, I tell. We only did—all that—because it art of the assig."

  "Totally. And when the one rolls around…"

  Vaa took a deep breath. Pstering on a stoic expression, she said, "I'll sider it. Since I owe you a favor now."

  "How romantic. You promise?"

  "I promise," Vaa deadpanned. She faced fain. "Assigs should've reset. Let's pray I don't have to follow through today."

  "I'll be praying for something, I guarahat," Natalie teased. "Hm. I do wonder what we got. Hopefully nothing too crazy."

  "Somehow, I doubt you'd actually mind."

  "No matter how many times you imply I don't have limits, I really do."

  "I'll believe that when I see it."

  "I'm not that much of a pervert. You've got a distorted view of me because of this. Our first mission together." She gestured around at the City.

  "This is your fault to begin with, from what I uand," Vaa retorted. "I don't know what's going on with you or why the dungeon ges around you, but your presence made this happen. So, 'not that much of a pervert'? The dungeon itself disagrees."

  It was a strong argument, unfortunately. Natalie puffed her cheeks out, then ughed. "Fihink what you want. But if you already have that image of me, maybe I should try to match it. Or do you think I haven't restrained myself around you?"

  Vaa paused, then narrowed her eyes. Her mouth opeo retort, but she was cut off. Stepping around the er of a building, a distra came into view.

  A pillory. The structures were situated throughout the City of Eros, though Natalie had yet to see one occupied. The woodeups with three holes—two smaller ones for hands, the other for the neck—were suggestive enough that even g occy, she would find her cheeks c whenever she spotted one. Especially because they were always out in the open, positioned in the middle of the flow of traffic, guaranteeing that if they were filled with someone in need of punishment, there would always be an audience—even if just an actal one prised of passersby.

  Passersby like Natalie and Vaa, who were, all at once, abruptly greeted with a woman locked up in one such pillory. he City of Eros would hardly allow the imprisoo keep their clothes.

  That would've been a sight on its own—a woman locked up in the middle of a busy street, nude, her ass stig out as she was bent over at a near y-degree angle, with her wrists and neck secured by wooderaints. But it wasn't just the pillory that was occupied. So was the woman herself.

  A city-goer had taken up her civic duty of punishing the criminal. A ositioned behind the other, with her lower armor stripped off aop remaining. Loud g filled the air as she pummeled into the irl, sweaty and moaning her audible satisfaaking only slightly less han the pilloried woman herself, who was enjoying her punishment more than a criminal ought to.

  Cheeks heating up, Natalie peeked at where the two girls were joining and firmed, indeed, it wasn't a strap-on: another woman had gotten her hands ora equipment'. The City of Eros—or Lust in general—arently fond of providing such means. Natalie guessed that made sense. She'd been the first person Lust had chosen to bestow in such a way.

  She wondered if the phenomenon would leak out of the dungeon, somehow. Whether the City of Eros would provide a perma ability to ge one's body in the way Natalie's had. It would make expining her situation easier, at least, on the surface. Assuming the City of Eros became on knowledge—which it had to, unless something strange was going on.

  Natalie's eyes lingered owo vigorously fug women for a few moments, and, while a nice sight, she shrugged and made to keep walking. Pausing, she found that Vaa had likewise stopped—and hadn't yet tortention away, gray eyes ically wide at the ued lewd sight. Natalie watched the irl, amusement rising with every moment Vaa tio stare, blush deepening.

  Eventually, she leaned down to murmur in her ear, "Enjoying the show? And you called me the pervert."

  Vaa jolted and faatalie, freezing when she realized she'd been caught. She stammered out an excuse. "It just—caught me off guard. What are you implying?"

  "Nothing. But, you know, you could probably join in. Looks like her mouth is free."

  "You're—disgusting." Huffing, Vaa hurried back forward, firmly keeping her eyes down to avoid the street show. Laughing, Natalie followed her.