The Night Before D-Day.

Covered in sweat and sexual fluids, Harry looked at the barely awake Heather. Her beautiful caramel skin glazed with the sweat and her beautiful hair covered in his seed. 

He knew how filthy it was but Harry couldn't deny that Heather was one of the most beautiful women in the country. 

"How do you feel?" Harry asked, moving his fingers around her cheeks. 

"Mm~ Tired." Heather answered, humming tiredly. 

Many men and possibly even many women would die to see the mighty sorceress in such a state. 

A state of vulnerability. 

But for Harry, it was something he saw often. 

Sex was a tool that allowed him to see women in their most vulnerable states. 

"You don't have any appointments tomorrow, right?" Heather asked, lazing at the same position. 

"I don't."

She smiled at his answer. "Then you can rest here, if you want."

It was a tempting offer but he knew it would end up as more than just a normal stay. 

"As much as I would love to stay here, I do not want Tina and the others to have more work. Besides you have to present a spellbook to the royal family, which I believe you have not yet completed."

Heather finally turned and groaned. "You can just say that you don't want to stay. But yeah… you are right. I need to work on that."

Heather pushed herself to get off the bed, still tired and sweaty from the intense session. Reaching the table, she took the glass of water and gulped it down. 

"I will be busy with that spellbook for a while, which means I won't be available." She expressed, disappointedly. "Your birthday is very soon and unfortunately I wouldn't be able to attend it."

This made Harry laugh. "It is not something special, Miss Winters. To me it is just another day. The same boring day."

Heather raised a curious eyebrow. "I rarely see people unenthusiastic about their birthdays."

Harry shrugged, "People celebrate that they are a year older, tending to forget that they are a year closer to death."

"Dark… But you have always been the pessimistic one." Heather shook her head, putting on the transparent gown over her shoulders. 

"Olivier wants me to add some safety features for the spells." Heather rolled her eyes. "He thinks it's easy to do it."

Harry chuckled, getting off the bed and putting his underwear on. "He is a warrior not a magician, so of course he doesn't know about the difficulties. But I believe you will have to do it since he is a crown candidate."

Heather rolled her eyes. "And he was my senior at the Academy. So, I will have to do it." She sighed. "But that doesn't mean I am going to do it for free."

"Oh?" Harry raised an eyebrow as he buttoned his shirt. "And what might you ask for?"

A slight smirk grew on her face. 

"He is a crown candidate and one of the crowd favourites." Her smirk grew wider. "There are a lot of rare items that I can ask from him."

Harry shrugged. He knew whenever Heather wanted something, she always obtained it. She was a devil dressed as a beauty, a witch. 

But he also acknowledged that no matter who it was, given the chance… everyone would try to benefit if their requestor was a crown candidate. And not just any crown candidate… But Olivier Beish himself.

"What about you though?" Heather asked. "As the number one [Gigolo] of Edenos, you must have a lot of appointments. 

"That I do." Harry answered. "But I won't be taking any clients for a while. Need a break after the continuous sessions."

Heather nodded. "Fair enough."

.

.

.

--Days Later-- 

Harry had built quite a finite fortune within the span of a few years. The initial years were the hardest but with enough persistence, he reached the rank of the top [Gigolo]. 

With the increase in popularity, he could pick his own customers, a privilege not owned by many. 

Just like many artists, he could choose who to 'sell' his services to. 

But after the night with Heather, he was taking a break, mostly because of the slight excitement and worry he felt for the D-Day. 

"Twenty-one in twenty-one hours." Timothy laughed. "You have another shot in life, my friend."

The age of twenty-one was the second most important year in a person's life —third if the date of birth was also taken into account. 

The first was when the person turned sixteen, giving them access to their job skills and twenty one when they could earn a random skill. 

It was a shot in the dark with the stakes of earning a good skill. 

However, despite the excitement, Harry was not as much of an optimistic person as Timothy. 

"I have seen too many people having their hopes shattered because of greed, Tim. I don't want to hope for something big, as long as I get something that can make my life a bit easier… I will be happy."

Harry saw most of the people rushing for the riches but he didn't need it. 

He was rich, richer than the ordinary. He could afford a life of luxury that most only dreamt of. However, the cost was having to be at the beck and call of the women. He felt chained, he was dependent on others for his survival. 

He wanted to live free from the rules of the jobs and skills but it was just not possible. The law of the universe forced people to live a life that was predestined and there was nothing he could do about it. 

"Well, it doesn't matter." Harry's ever-optimistic friend said with a soft smile. "After all, it's always better to have one more skill than to have one less."

"I guess." 

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[[A/N: Short chapter, Ik. But the next chapter is important so there wasn't much to add in here.]]