Chapter 223
Neo studied the map once more before he left the hall. Vandis sat on the southern edge of Dhalia Kingdom, far from the capital and close to the dry plains. The sun there burned hotter than in the north. People who lived under that sun for years carried bronze skin, the kind that looked like it had been polished by heat and dust.
He called his women to the meeting room. They arrived quickly, some still wearing night clothes, others already dressed for the day. Neo stood in front of them and kept his voice even.
"I have another quest. It will take time. I do not know how long."
They looked at each other, then back at him. No one argued. One of them said, "We understand. You have work." Another nodded. "Go. We will keep things here."
Neo felt the weight of their trust. "I appreciate it. All of you."
He rose from the throne, left the Nyx tribe grounds, and shifted into torch-man mode. Fire wrapped his body. He shot into the sky and flew south, cutting through clouds and wind until the small town of Vandis appeared below him.
He landed outside the walls and walked in on foot so he would not draw attention. The streets were quiet. Most shops had their shutters down. The few people he saw moved slowly. Their clothes hung loose. Faces looked thin. Eyes stayed on the ground.
Neo stopped a man who passed him. "What happened here?"
The man glanced around first, then spoke in a low voice. "The lord raised taxes on every shop. People who wanted to open something new left. Worse, he takes the money that should buy food for the town. What food is left costs too much. We cannot pay."
Neo nodded. This matched what he expected from a demon lord. Most demons he had met only thought of themselves. Tara had been different, but she was rare. The rest cared about power and survival and nothing else.
He thanked the man and kept walking. He needed a reason to stay in town and gather information without looking like a stranger who asked too many questions. A shop would work. People came to shops. They talked.
He found an empty storefront near the main street, paid the small fee the clerk demanded, and opened it the same day. He named it The Oasis. Inside he stacked shelves with grain, dried meat, fruit, oil, and bread. He set every price at half of what the other sellers charged.
Word spread fast. By midday a line stretched down the street. Neo sold as fast as he could. His racial speed let him move from counter to storage and back in seconds. When the line grew longer he used short teleports to restock without leaving the counter empty. Still the crowd did not thin. Some buyers took large amounts. One man carried away three sacks of grain. A woman bought enough oil for a month.
Neo realized he could not keep this pace alone, even with his skills. He needed help. Women who needed work would be easy to find in a hungry town. He kept that thought and continued selling.
Late in the afternoon a new customer stepped up. She held a wooden bucket with a few loaves of bread inside. Her skin was bronze, darker than most in the line. Her face was still beautiful even though her cheeks had sunk. The dress she wore was tight and long. It stopped at her knees and hugged her chest so that her breasts pushed against the cloth. Her hips were wide. Her ass filled the back of the dress. She looked like she had once been full-figured, but hunger had taken the extra flesh.
She set the bucket on the counter. "Do you accept debt?"
Neo looked at her. He sold food at half price and she still could not pay. That meant her situation was worse than most.
"Go to the back room," he said. "Wait there. I will come soon."
She nodded and walked past the counter. The dress moved with her. Neo watched the shape of her ass for a second, then turned back to the line.
He sold the last of the waiting customers. When the street outside grew quiet he hung a sign on the door that read Closed and locked it. Then he went to the back room.
The woman sat on the small bed he kept there for rest. She still held the bucket of bread against her chest like it was the most valuable thing she owned.
Neo stopped in front of her. "Tell me your story."
She let out a long breath. "I will not give my name. I am a wife. I have four children. My husband drinks and gambles every day. I have nothing left to trade. I only wanted the bread on debt. I will pay when I can."
Neo studied her face. "I can give you a job. You would earn money and food for your children."
Her eyes widened. "Really?"
Neo opened his trousers and pulled out his cock. It was already half hard from the thought of what came next. Thick, heavy, veined. He stepped closer.
The woman was not stupid. She understood at once. She leaned forward, took him in both hands, and brought the head to her mouth. Her lips wrapped around him. She sucked, hollowing her cheeks, pulling him deeper. Wet sounds filled the small room—*slurp, slurp, glk*. Her tongue worked the underside. One hand cupped his balls and rolled them gently.
Neo reached down and pulled her dress up and off. The cloth dropped to the floor. She stayed on her knees, still sucking him, now naked. Her breasts hung full even though the rest of her was thin. Her nipples were dark. Her hips still had width. Between her legs a patch of dark hair hid her slit.
He spoke while she worked. "The job needs more than selling food. We will have sex. I will decide if you fit based on how you do."
She nodded with his cock still in her mouth. The movement made her throat tighten around him. A low hum came from her chest—*mmph, mmph*—and the vibration ran straight up his shaft. His cock twitched hard.
Neo put a hand on the back of her head and let her keep going. She took him deeper, eyes watering, saliva running down her chin. *Glk, glk, slurp.* She pulled back to breathe, then went down again, sucking harder. Her hand never left his balls.
He lasted only a short time. Heat built fast. He gripped her hair and came. Thick pulses shot into her mouth. She swallowed as much as she could—*gulp, gulp*—then used her tongue to clean what leaked onto his shaft. When she finished she sat back on her heels, lips shiny, chest rising fast.
Neo pulled out and looked at her. "Stand up."
She stood. He walked around her once. Even hungry she had the shape of a woman who had once been lush. Wide hips. Heavy breasts that still sat high. A round ass that had not lost all its curve. But the skin sat too tight over bone in places. There was barely any meat left on her ribs and thighs.
Neo opened his system. He scrolled through the item list until he found what he wanted. A small pill appeared in his hand. The description was simple: Pill of Restoration. It would return a body to its peak state.
Neo knows she must have a great body before she was malnourished but now Mc could only see there was barely meat on it.
Mc opened his system and he scrolled until he reach list of items and then he brought a pill called pill of restoration that could restore a person body to his peak state.