10 CHILD AT HEART 2

"The new worker was none other than Rick."

"What?" Lirzod was nonplussed but felt equally thrilled. "When did he get in?"

The old man materialized behind Lirzod and lightly hit the head with his staff. "I told you to just watch."

"Y-Yeah," Lirzod rubbed the top of his head twice, and sneakily tried to snatch the staff out of the old man's hands, but he miserably failed to even touch it.

"You are a hundred years too young to be touching my staff, child," The old man disappeared and appeared at Lirzod's back, and hit with his staff, again on Lirzod's head.

Lirzod could only rub his skull gently. "Will Rick kill that minister?"

"... You will know that if you watch. Do you want to watch it or do you want to leave this place?"

"Hmm, I will watch. I'm interested in those three maids. And I want to know if they'll ever realize that Rick's their uncle? If they'll be saved or not."

"Realize huh... Aren't you just expecting a bit too much from those three?"

"I hope not. But, wait.." Lirzod paused a moment, before turning his head towards the old man. "Can you tell me the location of the Estate of Thousand Maids?"

"Why are you interested in its location?"

"Obviously, I want to go there if it's still there. Who dares to have a thousand maids when I possess only two, and that too without their permission? This is just too unbelievable to my eyes, ears and all other holes. They are burning like never before! That minister isn't even good looking."

"It all happened too long ago. Don't feel too much for those ladies. Most of them are not as lovely as they look. As for the location of that estate, it's too far from here and that's too dangerous of a place for you to be touring."

"I don't care how dangerous it is... If that estate still exists to this day, I want to own it — Ahem, I mean I want to destroy it for good!"

The old man slightly raised his staff, but Lirzod readily guarded his skull. However, the old man swung the staff from underneath, and it ended up pounding into Lirzod's crotch, making him collapse into a heap of wretched mass that made queer sounds.

"Y... O... U..." Lirzod couldn't speak at all and clutched his crotch as tightly as he could. The pain was tangible yet unexplainably real. A surge of pain spread throughout his body, every time he moved a muscle. He lied in a curved fashion — in the midair.

"You are a hundred years too young to have such concupiscent thoughts, child... May this incident serve as a life lesson," The old man put his staff away from Lirzod.

"Screw you... And your staff!" Lirzod suffered for a minute before trying to get back to his feet.

"You seem ready," The old man turned into leaves which withered away into thin air, but his voice resumed and so did the visuals from the past, "Rick had entered the estate as the Dog Keeper. His motive was clear. He just waited for an opportunity to bring freedom to his three nieces. In all that time he had been there, he became a well-known figure among the maids, mostly because of his ability to work like a dog without saying a word. He finished any task he was given, as long as it was within his right as a worker to do so.

"He had never tried to get to know his three nieces, but they introduced themselves to him. Though a Dog Feeder was a low-level job — even lower than the tenth ranked maids — the maids still knew not to mess with the Dog Feeder, for he spoke with the maids of all levels. The maids of the top three ranks were the only ones allowed to raise dogs.

"Of all the maids, his nieces were the ones he became the closest with. Those three used him greatly to be aware of the happenings of the top-ranked maids. Thanks to his help, they even managed to climb a rank and became the third-ranked maids — who were fifteen in total.

"From bottom to the top the number of maids significantly lowered: 250, 200, 150, 125, 100, 75, 50, 30, 15, 10, and 5.

"Though the top three ranked maids enjoyed lots of luxuries, they had to make hefty sacrifices in return. Not only were they obligated to daily spend time with the minister, they were forced to share a bed with many guests who always wore masks even when being intimate. It was the price they had to pay for becoming better maids. Only maids such as those who've explored enough in the ways of lovemaking could capably please the guests. In case if any of them dissatisfied a guest, their hands were chopped and fed to the dogs raised by the maids themselves, and then the maids would be kicked out. However...

"For every successful mission, they were given more riches from clothes to ornaments of all sorts, which they could take with them in case if they were kicked out of the estate. If a maid lower than rank three was forced to leave, she wasn't allowed to take any stuff with her. Regardless of how a maid left the estate, they received little to none sympathy from other maids — whether they lost their arms or not, it didn't matter.

"New guests arrived every night and left by the time sun showed up at the horizon. The estate's maids were leagues above any other maids of the nearby thousand towns. Regardless of their rank, they were revered for their beauty alone. Though they beamed out warm luscious smiles at the townsmen, most couldn't see through the pain they felt underneath their beautiful chests. The mental stress of being an estate maid was simply unimaginable. Many of them who've entered the estate, alive and kicking, came out crippled. One wrong move and they would become women with no future left. They were forced to swallow all that terror and lot more things along with it.

"They were allowed to roam in the nearby towns with two guards accompanying them. No more than five maids were allowed to leave in a group. At any time, only fifty maids were allowed to step outside of the estate... So only a maximum of ten groups could come out at once for touring the towns.

"Because women from far away regions were usually chosen as maids, there existed a lot of communication problems and cultural differences among maids. They formed groups and ran politics among themselves. Newcomers were forced to join a certain group and be taught moral values by their seniors.

"The minister was a smart guy. He never gave them a chance to unify as one. He gave little freedom to the maids, just enough of it, which eliminated their tension to an extent, and at the same time, they were attracting quite a many clients. To an average village guy, that estate was only a bit unusual, as most of its happenings were kept in the dark, except for the presence of sugarcane fields all around it, owned by the minister. It had many long-term deals with businesses from all levels of the society — from the rich to the poor. There were more willing to protect its identity than the ones who tried the opposite. Even the individuals who were aware of its affairs could tell that powerful personnel was involved in it, and none dared to even discuss it in open.

"The walls surrounding the estate were filled with confessions and quotes of men — painted with blood, for the maids they loved. Those men who weren't born in gold weren't even able to spend time with the maids, let alone buy them, an affair which cost lot more.

"Despite everything that surrounded the estate, some girls who were wrapped in the darkness of poor life viewed the life of an estate maid in a much higher regard. Living in abject poverty, they couldn't make much money by staying in their homes, and couldn't make ends meet. Knowingly or not, they step into a desert full of dry hopes."

"So some women hated being estate maids while some held the opposite opinions huh..." Lirzod took a deep breath. It was hard for him to digest all of it at once.

"Yes, Like to a coin, there are always two sides to every story," The old man's voice sounded out.

"I can't believe more women want to sell their priceless purity for material wealth! For god sake, these are some overly smart women," Serious look appeared on Lirzod's face. "In the end, they will become lone birds, won't they?"

"I'm glad you're understanding my words in your own way. I thought you were just ogling at the maids."

"Hmph," Lirzod snorted. "I'm not old like you. They have good looks and great smiles. Obviously, I'm bound to get bowled out by their beauty." The wind blew about and mad Lirzod's hairstyle shift in the opposite direction. "My mother used to repeatedly tell me that material wealth is the worst poison of this world and that it has no cure. Now, I can kind of see why she said those words.

"These women exchanged their elixir for a poison. But they were made to walk such a path because of that dirty minister." Anger that dwelled deep within his heart began to stir, just a little bit, which subtly the changed the look in his eyes to that of a determined man. The motile air around him began to grow denser as well.

For the most part of their conversation, the old man's lips formed a straight line, but they belatedly parted a little as he radiated out a refreshing smile. "You are getting too worked up," His staff patted once on Lirzod's shoulder, which brought him back to his usual self.

"Uh, my bad..." Lirzod slid his index finger on his eyebrow and flicked the drop of sweat which traveled in a projectile fashion, before ending up on the ground below them.

"You are right... And so was your mother," The old man stroked his grayish beard which exposed the extra shades of color buried in it. "Material wealth can buy many things but happiness, love, kindness and the basic emotions necessary for any being to live well aren't on its list. Those who pursue material wealth will never become a great hollow much less a great martial. By the time their eyes widen and see the real treasure of this world, their life's destination may no longer be in their sight."

"By the time these maids come out of the estate they will lose sight of the things they held dear huh..." Lirzod felt strange. Just the thought of him overlooking the well-being of his people, made him feel uneasy.

"... If that was all there's to it, it's not as bad of a result as you may think," The old man's words puzzled Lirzod.

"You mean?"

"Each of the maids who made it out will break the society in ways one can't entirely comprehend. They ruin the lives of honest husbands, split families, be a role model for young girls through their decorated mien, and through many other ways."

"That's true. Women have too many weapons in store, tailor-made to work against men." As a young master of the Faceless clan, he wasn't oblivious to the efforts girls made to get noticed by him, and the lengths they would go to get what they wanted.

"Indeed, women have many weapons in store, a lot more than a man does," The old man said in a tone which shifted gears as he spoke. "But men do not possess two important weapons that women have."

"What are they?"

"One's the most powerful while the other is the most dangerous."

"Hmm?" Lirzod's intrigue picked up.

"... The most powerful weapon of a woman is her voice."

"Ha-ha, right..." Lirzod burst out into a laughter.

"This isn't a laughing matter."

Lirzod covered his mouth with one hand, his skull with another. A second later, his legs closed the gap between them as well.

"Her voice is her most powerful weapon, but it's still not the most dangerous. Do you know what it is?"

"... It's gotta be their bust!" Lirzod didn't take much of a time to respond.

It was silent for a second, and not even wind made any sound.

BANG~!

A staff hammered down on Lirzod's skull from behind, and the old man materialized again. "Foolish child! You must stop concentration on their body, and instead focus on their personality. Women are emotional beings, and they carry trouble along with them. As a man, if you want to become a great martial, you must know women from in and out!"

"That's what I was doing," Lirzod pouted, as he looked away while rubbing his head. "I was focusing on their outer self."

The old man gripped his staff slightly, startling Lirzod. He tried to escape, but he lost all the control over his body. It moved closer to the staff. The old man gently placed it atop Lirzod's head and tapped slowly, "Your 'outer self,' means their bodily appearance, but my 'outer self,' means their outward personality... Understand?"

"G-Got it..." Lirzod said.

"I'm not convinced," The old man raised his staff high into the air.

"I got it! I got it!" Lirzod said out loud in a haste.

"Good. Now tell me, what's the most dangerous weapon of a woman?"

Lirzod paused a moment and began to ponder. "It's..." He placed his index finger on his temple and tapped on it repeatedly. "Is it..." He looked up at the old man's face which was hidden from view, by the hood, "their walk?"

The old man gripped the staff tightly, but this time, he hammered it on Lirzod's buttocks, making him jump like a rabbit and squeal like a cat. "You can't talk about anything other than their bodily parts?"

"Women's assets are the wonders of this world, worthy of every man's attention!" Lirzod didn't back down. The pain on his butt sure got his blood running hard. "How can I not consider them to be consequential?"

The old man paused for a moment and sighed. "I've seen many spoiled children... But you're one of a kind."

Few seconds of silence passed. "So... What's the answer?"

"It's their smile."

"Smile?" Lirzod was puzzled. He for sure didn't expect that answer.

"If the curve of a woman's breasts can conquer a king, her smile can conquer his kingdom."

Lirzod body froze right where he stood.

"It can destroy kingdoms, dissolve dynasties, end empires, sink continents, and bring the world to its knees."

The old man's utterance shook up Lirzod, down to the deepest expanses of his imagination, where things ran wild, especially at the moment.