THE ALMIGHTY SYSTEM IS JUST A LEWD GIRL - Chapter 34: Trade by service.

The square opened on a market that didn’t shout. Tables with ledgers instead of baskets,scales,lockboxes. Buyers with quiet voices and heavy sleeves. Melchior guided us through without making it look like he was guiding us. People saw him and chose to not see him and that told me enough.

“You’re still following,” I said.

“Observing,” he corrected. “Sometimes I step between people and holes so the game lasts longer.”

“And sometimes you open the hole,” Rhea said.

He didn’t deny it. “If the board needs it.”

“Do you always talk like that,” I asked.

“Only when I’ve been awake too long,” he said, then he flicked a look at Alma. “And when something new walks out of a charm and changes the morning.”

Alma kept her eyes on the street. “Talk less.”

He did,for a full block.

The bodega quarter began where the square ended. A line of red-gold tiles set in the road marked the boundary. Past it, the buildings leaned closer and wore bright awnings. Music crawled along the walls. Smell of spice, wine, oil, smoke. Men and women..or things that wore those shapes..stood in doorways and watched with patient eyes. This wasn’t a loud market,this was a place where you bought things that didn’t want to be named.

Melchior held out a hand to stop us at the tile line. “Rules,” he said. “No blades drawn,no magic cast unless you like fines. And don’t stare at anyone’s mouth for longer than three breaths.”

“Why the last one,” I asked.

“You’ll find out if you forget,” he said lightly. “This way.”

We went two streets deep, then took a stair down that smelled like incense and fruit. At the bottom was a door with no handle. He knocked three times, then twice more, then once and the door sighed open.

Inside was cool and expensive with soft light and rugs that ate sound. A long counter with nothing on it and a single woman behind it, sitting like a queen who didn’t need a throne.

She wasn’t young. She wasn’t old. She was… finished. Like a blade that had seen ten years of war and still shone. Skin a deep brown-gold,hair braided with metal threads,eyes that felt like they weighed you and charged interest and rings on both hands, not for show,they had purpose. A slice of pale scar at the corner of her mouth that made her faint smile look dangerous.

“Prince,” she said,her voice was smooth as warm oil. “You brought me something.”

“I brought you someone,” Melchior said. He tilted his chin at me. “Them, technically. But him, specifically.”

Her gaze slid over Rhea and Vesper, paused at Selendra long enough to make the succubus actually blink, then settled on me. Not hungry,interested.

“What do you need,” she asked Alma without looking away from me.

Alma answered like she was listing a number. “System core shard. Grade seven or better,untouched.”

The woman’s smile cut a little deeper. “Expensive.”

“Fair,” Alma said.

The woman looked at Melchior. “You vouch.”

“I vouch for the trouble they pull,” he said. “Expensive in the other direction.”

She stood,the air moved like it had decided to obey her before she asked. She crossed to a tall cabinet and unlocked it with a key on a chain around her neck. The drawers slid smoothly. She pulled out a small black box and set it on the counter. When she opened it, my charm thrummed hard enough to make my ribs ache.

Inside lay a shard the size of a thumb. It was dull at first, then it noticed Alma and lit inside like an ember waking up.

Alma didn’t reach for it. “Price.”

The woman’s eyes stayed on me. “Him.”

Rhea moved before I did. “No.”

Vesper’s rings clicked together once. “Name a sum.”

The woman didn’t glance at them. “I collect coin,I collect oaths, I collect experiences I cannot buy and this falls in the third chest.”

The room felt suddenly too small and Selendra’s grin went sharp and lazy at the same time. “Oh, I like you.”

Alma’s face didn’t change. “He isn’t a toy.”

“Not a toy,” the woman agreed. “A cure,I have not been satisfied in three years.” She said it like a fact, not a confession. “No blade, no hand, no spell has solved it. The last priest I hired cried. The last demon asked for a reference letter and left. He”…she pointed at me with two fingers…”is interesting,he drags light,he drags shadow. He makes the room feel like a storm is about to break and I want to see if that breaks me.”

My mouth went dry and I looked at Alma. She didn’t look back. For a heartbeat I thought she’d refuse, or bargain, or cut the counter in half.

She said, “Do it.”

The floor tilted. “What,” I managed.

“You heard me,” she said. “You’ve done worse. Do it….I don’t care.”

It landed like a punishment because it was one. Selendra’s eyes sparkled,Rhea’s jaw clenched so tight I heard her teeth,Vesper didn’t move at all…only the thin line between her brows deepened.

Melchior watched like a man at a play who had bet on the wrong actor but was enjoying the scene anyway.

I wanted to say no, I wanted to say yes, I wanted Alma to look at me with anything other than that flat calm.

The woman turned the box so Alma could see the shard better. “You’ll get it when I get what I paid for.”

I found my voice. “What if I..what if I can’t.”

She gave me that slight, dangerous smile. “Then you will learn…You look like someone who learns fast when pressed.”

Heat crawled up my neck. My palms felt stupid and Selendra leaned in until Alma’s gaze cut her back two steps.

I looked at Alma again. “Are you serious.”

She didn’t blink. “I need the shard. The system needs repair. Your hesitation doesn’t factor.”

“Say the quiet part louder,” Melchior murmured.

Alma ignored him.. I stared at the counter and tried to breathe.

A panel slid into my vision.

[Side Quest — System Repair, Phase 1]

[Acquire: Grade-7 Core Shard (0/1)]

[Condition: Satisfy the Bodega Matriarch]

[Timer: 02:00:00]

[Reward: System Integrity +10%, Borrowed Sets unlock (Tier 3), Hidden Flag]

[Penalty on Failure: Relationship — Alma (-20), Selendra (+10), Unknown Entity Notices You]

The timer ticked down one second. Another.

I closed the quest with a shaking breath.

Rhea’s voice was low. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”

Alma spoke over her. “He accepted the system,he accepts this.”

“I didn’t…” I started.

“You did,” she said. “When you let her bind you without asking me.” Her chin ticked at Selendra. “This is cheaper than what I could demand.”

Selendra put a hand over her heart, mock offended. “You wound me, system.”

Vesper finally spoke. “Enough talking. Decide, the clock moves.”

I looked at the woman and she waited like time was her pet. She didn’t look cruel. She looked sure.

I looked at Alma… She waited, cold and unreadable.

I swallowed. “Where.”

The woman’s eyes warmed by a degree. “Upstairs and if you’re afraid, don’t be. I want to be solved, not broken.”

“I’m not afraid,” I lied.

“You are,” she said. “But bring it…it’s better that way.”

She lifted the box, closed it, and slid it into the drawer. She locked the cabinet and moved to an inner stair without looking to see if I would follow.

Rhea put a hand on my shoulder. “You sure.”

“No,” I said. “But if I fail, we lose more than a night.”

She squeezed my shoulder and then let go.

Selendra whispered as I passed, “If you need a lesson, call me.”

Alma said nothing and that hurt more than any words.

I followed the woman up,the steps were narrow. The walls smelled like jasmine and old smoke. My heart felt like it was trying to climb out of my throat and run on its own.

Her chamber door clicked shut, sealing us in. The scent of jasmine and faint smoke pressed against my lungs. The room wasn’t gaudy..clean bed, wide cushions, a basin of water that gleamed faintly. She moved with unhurried confidence, her eyes never leaving me.

“Breathe,” she told me again, her voice low, like command and comfort wrapped in one. She untied the gold-threaded braid across her shoulder and let her heavy braids fall. “You’ve done worse. This, you will do.”

My throat was dry. “I..” I tried to protest, but she silenced me with a finger against my chest.

“Not words,show me.”

She pressed me back toward the bed,my knees hit it before I realized she’d closed the distance. Her hands were firm on my wrists, guiding me to sit. She straddled me without hesitation, skirts riding up to bare her legs, strong and toned. Heat poured off her body into mine. I froze, staring at her like I was about to be eaten.

“You’re shaking.” She leaned in, lips brushing my ear. “Virgin nerves don’t lie.”

My face burned. “I’m not..” I stammered, trying to sound convincing. “Not any longer”

Her laugh was a husky cut. “Then prove it,break me.”

She caught my chin and kissed me, deep and unforgiving. My head reeled,her mouth was heat and demand. I gasped against her lips, and she took the sound like it belonged to her. My hands hovered at her waist, then gripped tight when she rolled her hips against me, grinding hard enough to make me groan. It tore out of me raw and unhidden.

She pulled back just enough to smile, cruel and satisfied. “There,that sound. Give me more of that.”

Her fingers tugged at my shirt, dragging it up and I let her strip it off, heart pounding. She took her time raking her eyes down my chest like she was studying prey. Then she grabbed my hand, forced it under her blouse, pressed it to her breast. “Squeeze,feel and earn it.”

I obeyed, fingers trembling as soft flesh filled my palm. Her nipple hardened instantly against my touch and she moaned, a deep, needy sound that curled around my spine. My cock throbbed inside my pants, and I panicked, shifting. She laughed at the twitch she felt beneath her.

“Good boy,” she whispered. “Now..let’s see what you’re hiding.”

She slid down my body, her fingers bold as they unfastened me. My erection sprang free, hard, flushed, painfully needy. She stared, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. “Bigger than I expected,the virgin is hiding a blade.”

Her words made me harder and she wrapped her hand around me, stroking slow. I bucked helplessly into her fist, biting my lip to keep quiet. “Louder,” she ordered. “I want to hear you.” When I didn’t, she squeezed tighter, and a broken groan ripped out of me anyway. She smiled. “That’s it.”

I reached for her, desperate, but she pushed me flat onto the bed and climbed back up. She dragged her soaked panties aside, hovering just above me. I felt her heat, wet and heavy, hovering against my tip and my eyes widened. “Wait..I don’t..”

She slammed down onto me in one hard thrust. I gasped, the air punched out of my lungs. She was impossibly tight, hot, clenching around me and my entire body shuddered. “God..”

Her moan echoed mine, her head tilting back, braids spilling like a crown. “Finally,” she breathed. “Finally something that fills me.”

I gripped her hips instinctively, half trying to stop her, half dragging her tighter. She rode me mercilessly, hips grinding down, rolling, pulling back and slamming forward again. The bed creaked under us. My groans turned to helpless cries as she worked me over, her breasts bouncing under her blouse, her mouth open as she moaned.

“You feel that?” she gasped between thrusts. “How you stretch me? How deep you are? That’s your gift. Don’t waste it.”

“I..I can’t..” I stuttered, overwhelmed, pleasure crashing through me in waves.

“You can,” she snapped, grabbing my jaw, forcing me to look into her eyes. “Look at me when you break me,don’t close your eyes.”

Her pace quickened, hips slapping against mine. Wet heat dripped down my thighs, her walls milking me. My fingers dug into her ass, pulling her tighter, lifting to meet every thrust. I didn’t even recognize the sounds spilling from my throat anymore..moans, curses, begging. She laughed breathlessly. “Yes, good, give it to me.”

Her nails raked down my chest,pain and pleasure tangled until I was trembling, arching into her. “I’m..” I gasped.

“Not yet,” she growled, clamping down hard. She slowed her thrusts into grinding rolls, making me feel every inch. My cock throbbed deep inside her, pulsing, aching to finish. She teased me at the edge, refusing release. “Learn control and hold it. For me.”

I whimpered, shaking my head. “I can’t…”

“You can,” she hissed. “Breathe and follow me.” She rocked slower, circling her hips. Her clit rubbed against me, her moans turning ragged. “Now,let’s cum together.”

Her rhythm built again, faster, harder. I matched her this time, thrusting up into her, gripping her hips hard enough to bruise her. Her cries rose higher, desperate, her walls fluttering around me. I couldn’t hold anymore. With one final slam, she screamed, her body convulsing, squeezing me tight. That broke me and I exploded inside her, heat rushing out in waves, my back arching off the bed as I shouted her name.

She collapsed against my chest, panting, her sweat soaking into my skin. For a long minute, the only sound was our breathing, fast and harsh. She finally raised her head, her lips curling in a tired smile. “You’re no virgin now, boy…You’re mine.”

I lay there, dazed, every nerve buzzing. Alma’s silence pressed harder in my chest, and the charm burned faintly. Shame and relief tangled inside me.

Zaynara kissed my jaw softly, almost tender. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You’ve done what no man or beast has in years.”

Downstairs, the timer ticked. Alma didn’t look at it. Rhea and Vesper pretended not to see it. Melchior leaned against the counter and whistled nothing.

I tried to keep my head clear and my hands steady. The woman guided, firm and patient. She showed me where to press and when to stop pressing. When to listen and when to move. When I shook, she steadied me. When I froze, she knocked me loose with a word.

It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t a show. It was work that felt like it might matter.

When she finally shivered and let out a breath that sounded like relief, I didn’t feel proud. I felt… useful. And very tired.

She rested her forehead against mine for a second and then stepped away. “Thank you,” she said, and it didn’t sound like a line.

We washed our hands in the basin. She unlocked the cabinet, lifted the black box, and placed it in my hands.

“For her,” she said. “Not for you.”

I nodded. My legs were a little stupid on the way down the stairs.

Alma stood where I had left her. I held out the box. She took it without touching my fingers. The shard inside flared when it saw her.

[System Repair: +10%]

[Integrity: 62% → 72%]

[Borrowed Sets: Tier 3 node visible]

[Hidden Flag Raised]

Alma closed the box and put it away. “Good,” she said,no more.

Selendra leaned on the counter and clapped once, slow. “Well done, host.”

Rhea cut her a look and she shut up.

Melchior pushed off the counter. “Now that your engine purrs again, how about something less private and more entertaining.”

“No,” Rhea said, already turning for the door.

He fell into step anyway. “You’ll want directions to a place that sells maps that don’t lie. And a smith who knows what your sword actually is,and a calendar that tells you which nights not to sleep.”

“We want you to stop talking,” Vesper said.

He smiled. “Then earn the silence.”

We stepped back into the stairs and into the tiled street. The air felt thinner. I couldn’t tell if that was the city or me. I kept my eyes forward. Alma walked beside me without brushing my sleeve.

A panel slid up in my vision. Small. For me alone.

[New Mainline — Repair Requires Trade]

[Preparedness: Insufficient]

[Note: Next gate will not accept coin]

[Private: Prepare to offer more than coin]

I swallowed. “Alma,” I said softly. “What does that mean.”

“Exactly what it says,” she replied, voice flat. “Next time you won’t have the luxury of choosing which part of yourself you sell.”

I looked at her and she looked at the road. The city looked back at us like it was interested and We kept walking.