h.e.l.lo (`･Θ･´)

Just a heads up but there will be no chapter next week since I’m going to be busy and I also wanted to take a break since I’m starting to feel burnt out recently… It’s just for a week though so don’t you worry. At least I didn’t stop on a cliffhanger this time. (｡･ ω<>

P.S. What do you guys think about the new theme?

Chapter 33: That time when I was invited to a subjugation request part 2

It was a bit noisy when I woke up.

They have probably already started distributing rations since it was a bit noisy outside. The other two are still asleep so I just got up without minding them, picked up my tableware then went to receive my meal.

They’re serving dried meat soup and stale black bread today as well. They just added some chopped onions to the soup to make it from yesterday. It’s a good thing that I brought some spices along this trip or I would have been regretting it right now.

Well, I guess this is better compared to the war in my previous world where the rations they had were only those dry bread called hardtack. They say that those things won’t break even if you hit them with bullets and are sometimes compared to an iron plate.

While thinking of such things, I swallowed the bread that has become soft after holding it in my mouth for a while and finish off the soup. For dessert, I’ll be having a lemon that’s nutritious and filled with vitamins to compensate for the rest of the meal. Honestly, if it was going to be like this then I should have made these into dried fruits. I’m already regretting that I didn’t.

「Ara, your early. This is pretty much your first expedition so I would have thought you’d still be tired」 (Fraîche)
「Well, there’s nothing I can do about that anymore since I’m already here but it became surprisingly easy once I was able to accept it. It’s a different story if I’m told to kill a demonkin or a human though. It would be nice if I’m able to come up with a resolution when that time comes. Haha」 (Caam)
「I guess so. They say once you experience killing, it’s similar to getting rid of your virginity. I’m a girl though so I guess I’ll be getting rid of my purity. Taking that into consideration, you could say that I’m still a virgin but if a person has actually experienced killing someone then the air around them becomes different. If that’s what would happen then I would rather not lose my virginity. Sorry, that was kind of vulgar, wasn’t it?」 (Fraîche)
「No, not at all. I don’t mind」 (Caam)
「What’s this? You’re having a conversation about killing?」 (Folly)

A person who I’m sure has experience killing people just came out from the tent.

「I’ve seen my fair share of people with that kind of experience and you can cla.s.sify them. Some have resolved themselves to lose something while others already have something broken within themselves. ah, I really don’t want to be one. I also won’t know what I’ll do at that time」

That’s unexpected, so he hasn’t done it before. Or rather, it seems like you can experience PTSD like symptoms in this world as well. Well, I guess that’s natural.

「Well then, what’s for breakfast today?」
「It’s the same as yesterday. They added onions to it though」
「Is that so? Well, I’ll just be thankful that I get to eat a warm meal」
「I guess you’re right」

I lazed around while waiting for the two of them to finish eating. Like this, I was able to observe everybody else in the camp. There were only a few of them who were feeling tense. I’m not really sure if this is rare or something since it’s my first time doing this kind of job.

「Well then, like what we discussed yesterday, we’ll continue advancing towards the same direction」
「Roger」

We encountered 5 groups of goblins consisting of 5 to 10 members. We didn’t really feel fatigued by that but since it’s almost time for lunch, I started preparing our meal and we took our turns eating and standing watch. I took out an apple that I brought, divide it into three and share it with the other two.

「Let’s go in even deeper」

Because of that, we decided to move forward.

We got close to a mountain deeper in the forest. As we were looking at a steep cliff, I smelled a faint stench.

「What’s this smell」 (Caam)
「What is it all of a sudden?」 (Fraîche)
「No, it’s just that, I got a whiff of a curious smell. It a mix of a livestock shed and somebody’s butchering an animal and draining their blood. It’s just faint though」 (Caam)
「Understood. Let’s stay vigilant while advancing」 (Folly)

Fraîche-san nose started twitching as she tried to ascertain it.

「…That’s right, it certainly is there. It would be better if we do that.」

As we advanced by the cliff for a while, a considerable amount of abnormalities appeared. There wasn’t a single sign of wildlife to be found, not even birds at least. Also, the number of corpses devoured by some large creature kept increasing as we got closer.

「We might have just hit jackpot. Prioritize staying vigilant of your surroundings, m.u.f.fle your actions and erase your footsteps」
「「Roger」」

「Ah, please wait for a bit」

Using the experience I gained from making bricks, I made mud and slathered it all over my body to get rid of my scent. Furthermore, I covered myself with sticky liquid and attached gra.s.s that would blend to the surroundings. I kept receiving strange looks from the two but I just didn’t mind it.

In my previous life, I imitated videos I saw on the internet before about some guys from the special forces rolling around as they pa.s.s through swamps during their training. It felt pretty terrible. However, it’s not impossible to do once you have resolved yourself.

「I’ll go scout for a bit. Please stay vigilant while waiting for me here. If something happens, I’ll make sure to notify you somehow」

After saying that, I crouched down on a bush and slowly advance while trying to avoid making a sound with my footsteps.

After I leisurely advance for 20 minutes and continued forward until I could see the foot of the cliff. While making sure that there’s n.o.body around, I slowly move forward. As I got even closer, I noticed that the stench got even more intense. It also got even noisier.

There are a total of 8 goblins there. Five of them were the normal ones but two of them were holding a staff and one had a bow. The last one looks bigger than the others. I wonder if that guy is the boss. All of them have weapons equipped. Why the h.e.l.l are these guys armed?

「GIYAGIYAGIYAGIYA!」

They were laughing like that while eating the meat of what I think was a deer. So these guys are the one leaving the corpses around here. With this, we now know who’s responsible.

I slowly returned using the same path I took and came back to where I left the other two. So that they won’t get surprised, I throw a pebble in front of them to attract their attention. However, I was really surprised when Fraîche-san suddenly pointed her bow towards me. I whispered.

「It’s me. I’m going to be showing myself now so please lower your bow」

After saying that, I stood up from a crouch to show myself. Both of them had a look of relief and let out a sigh.

「Geez, I didn’t notice you at all. I’ve been staring at that direction for a while now but, for you to be able to hide from an elf inside a forest, that’s a big deal you know? I should apologize for making fun of you the other day」

【Skill・Concealment: 3】 acquired

It was at level 1 before but it immediately went up to 3. Being able to hide from an elf in a forest sure is amazing.

「I don’t mind. More importantly, At the foot of the cliff ahead, there are a 5 who look normal goblins. Aside from those, there are two of who are holding staves, one has a bow and there’s also another one who’s bigger than the rest」
「Hmー, I think it’s safe to say that the first five are just a part of the goblins subspecies. The remaining ones are probably a goblin mage, archer and a high goblin」

Oioi, don’t they resemble opponents you would encounter in a game?

「Dealing with the mage and archer would be difficult enough as is but the high goblin is considerably troublesome as well」

Ah, so they’re troublesome after all.

「Let’s try to come up with some kind of strategy」

I raise my leaf covered hand into a salute before saying.

「Ah, after scouting ahead, I was able to form up a plan but, is it okay?」
「Let’s hear it for now」
「As I said earlier, they are located at the foot of a cliff. It looks like a small impact can cause the cliff to collapse so we’ll split into two groups and I’ll use my magic to cause a landslide. After that, Fraîche-san and I will start to whittle down their numbers by using long-range attacks from the thickets. If we still don’t wipe them out after all of that then we’ll move on to close quarters combat. At least that’s how it should go but…」

I could just shoot them all down with my stone bullets to make it faster but I don’t really want them to see it. It would be a pain to explain if they asked me how I did it after all. I sure picked a bothersome way of life. The worst that could happen if I get found out is I’ll probably get recruited to fight wars.

「I think that’s a good plan. What about you, Fraîche?」
「If you’re going to cause a landslide then it would better if you just target the goblin mage and archer while you’re at it. I’m not really sure if I can pierce the high goblin with my arrows to be honest since it’s really tough. I should just try to aim for its eyes or mouth I guess」
「Then we’ll do just that. While Fraîche-san is aiming for the high goblin’s eyes or mouth, I’ll be triggering the landslide. After that, we’ll aim for the mage and archer as well as the remaining ones alive using long-range attacks. What do you think about that?」
「I have no objections」
「I as well」
「Then with that, let’s go」
「「Roger」」

You just accepted the plan of an amateur, you know?

After that, we slowly advanced towards the foot of the cliff. There, we found the group who were still eating raw meat up until now so we decided to start what we had planned.

「Well then, I’ll be separating from you guys for a bit here. Once I start moving through the thicket, please start slowly counting and start the plan when you reach 300. I’ll leave the timing up to you」

I’m going to move while making sure I’m not detected so I allocated a slightly longer time for me to reach the designated area.

Fifty seconds left, it’s more than enough time but I might be wrong since they might be counting faster than I am. I’m really not sure when to start so I’ll just concentrate and keep watching those goblins.

I’m approximately 50m above our target. There’s a boulder sticking out by the edge so I can just use earth magic to push it out. This cliff seems to be fragile so if I move something that huge, it’ll probably give in.

It should be any moment now. My mouth is getting a bit dry because of the tension but I should remain focused. They’re still laughing while stuffing their mouths with meat like earlier. They’re laughing while eating something tasty. If it’s in situations like these then you can say that there’s not much difference between a human and demons.

As I was thinking that, an arrow pierced the large mouth of the high goblin so I activated my magic. Wow. She’s almost 200 meters away but she was still able to shoot an arrow through its mouth. Well, I guess that’s to be expected since archery pract.i.tioners are able to easily hit something 50~70 meters away. I really think that’s amazing, to be honest.

『Image・The boulder in my line of sight・detached from the cliff・Execute』

The boulder fell then a sound like that of a rumbling stomach resounded as the cliff collapsed. The goblins were caught unaware so they were frantically trying to get a grasp of the situation but it was already too late. The next arrow hit the goblin archer in the torso and my obsidian axe hit the chest of one of the goblin mages. The remaining goblin mage produced a fireball at the tip of its staff and was about to fire it at the direction the arrow came from but at that moment, a boulder fell on it.

*Bam! Bam!*

Boulders started raining down so the monsters started running around. There are only two goblin subspecies left standing. Seeing that, Folly-san moved to deal with them but the goblins noticed that and started running away so I aimed my obsidian axe there to disrupt them. Folly-san immediately closed the distance, decapitated the first one and stabbed his sword into the other.

「That went well. At any rate, I’m thankful that the falling boulders didn’t reach up to here」
「I agree. I also didn’t think it would go this smoothly. Well, I guess it’s just because we planned ahead of time」
「That’s right. I’ll leave the collection of the materials to you. I’m going keep watch」

I took out the knife from my thigh while Folly-san got his from his waist and we were about to get started gathering the materials when.

「GOGAAAAAAA!」

The high goblin got up and let out such a loud roar as it moved a boulder out of the way. Since I was the one closest to it, it came rus.h.i.+ng at me.

「So the cerebellum nor the brain stem weren’t located inside of the mouth after all! d.a.m.n it!」

While saying that, I immediately covered my eyes and activated 『Stun Grenade』 in front of me. Because of the short distance, both of us were directly hit by the flash and the thunderous sound. My eyes are somewhat alright since I can still see, albeit with some difficulty, but the same can’t be said for my ears. I pulled out the machete from my back and cut off the hands of the high goblin who was running wild while holding its eyes. After that, I threw away the machete and took out the crowbar to stab it in the eyes while beating it with the shovel.

「There’s no way this won’t reach your brain, right! You piece of s.h.i.+t!」
「f.u.c.k! f.u.c.k!」

I shouted that while beating the fallen high goblin’s head with the shovel. I won’t be satisfied until I hit its head ten more times.

「Stop it!」

As I heard that, somebody restrained from me behind while somehow trying to calm me down.

「That one’s already dead so calm down!」

Haa, haa. I tried to catch my breath. Once I calmed down, I could see that its head was already smashed and its grey matter scattered around.

「It can’t be helped since it’s your first time but don’t just go on a rampage like that!」

A really scary Folly-san scolded me with a terribly grim face. That immediately caused me to regain my senses. That was close, the worst that could have happened was that I might have attacked him if I saw him like that while I was still not myself. I mean, he looks really scary after all.

「Sorry…」
「Well, at least you’re okay. We weren’t able to move for a while because of that really bright light and extremely loud sound. Even though I still had difficulty hearing, my vision started recovering so I had to stop you when I saw you continuously bas.h.i.+ng your shovel like an axe at that high goblin’s head. You should just leave the dismantling to me and just sit down and take a rest by that boulder over there. Fraîche will continue to stay vigilant while keeping watch.」
「Roger」

This is my first time being in a real battle like that and it’s totally different than in games as expected. I laughed at myself as I produced a small water ball in my fingertip. After drinking that, I was able to regain a bit composure. I took a deep breath so that I can completely calm myself down but the adrenaline rush still hasn’t settled down. My heartbeat is starting to get annoying since it’s ringing in my ears.

I think it would have been even more horrible if that was a demonkin or a human. This reminds me of the conversation we had this morning.

I came to my senses because of the sudden tap on my shoulder.

「Have you calmed down?」
「Well, somewhat」

Fraîche-san had a worried look while checking up on me so I replied like there was nothing wrong but I think I’m still not my usual self. I don’t feel like vomiting so I think I’m alright but this is probably shock or something because of that unforeseen situation so for the meantime, I’ll just preoccupy myself by focusing on preparing for our withdrawal.

「Tearing off the hide of this high goblin would be the worst part of this, wouldn’t it? It’s quite stinky after all」 (Fraîche)
「Well, you can make soft leather armor with that so just endure it. The selling price for that is surprisingly high you know?」 (Folly)

Thinking about just the cost of making soft leather armor then it’s sure to be pretty expensive just by itself.

We used the same path going back so we didn’t have any encounters but the problem was the materials that we gathered were really smelly.

I also forgot that I was wearing my ghillie suit so when we returned to the base camp, everyone started becoming agitated while shouting.

「It’s a monster I haven’t seen beforeー!」

One guy even started charging at me so Folly-san shouted.

「This guy’s an ally! He’s the one who helped clean your weapons with that waterball yesterday!」

Hearing that, they stopped but they didn’t let their guard down at all so I created a slightly larger waterball and went in it. After was.h.i.+ng all the leaves, blood, mucus, and mud, I got out and said 「Ah, excuse me」 then sent the filthy waterball with all of those things to a faraway place.

「Do you not remember this face?」

Once I said that, everyone sheathed their weapons while saying.

「The heck! So it was just you after all」

They were clicking their tongues while they dispersed. Iyaー my bad, my bad.

In the evening while I was eating my meal, I sat down and kept on making waterb.a.l.l.s to wash everyone’s weapons.

「Hey sonny, I heard you that you were able to defeat a high goblin. Is that true?」

An adventurer who finished was.h.i.+ng his weapon suddenly began talking to me so 「Y-yeah」 was the only thing I could reply.

Although, when it comes to that high goblin, even though I dropped a boulder over it, it still didn’t die and started rus.h.i.+ng at me so I panicked and drove in the crowbar in its eye. I can’t really say that can I?

Actually, being able to still get up after getting hit by that boulder at that height, that guy must have had a really amazing vitality.

At night while we were nibbling on hard biscuits,

「I was really surprised by that really loud sound and that really bright light you know? I wasn’t able to see and hear so I didn’t know what was going on. There’s nothing that I could do in that situation but stay still」 (Fraîche)
「That’s right. It’s my first time experiencing something like that. At that time, I just dropped to my knees and just wait for it to pa.s.s. That was magic, right?」 (Folly)
「Well, yeah」

It’s supposed to be a non-lethal weapon for suppression and crowd control so that’s why it’s like that.

「Ahー, I won’t be able to teach you that okay?」 I immediately followed up with that.
The two of them became a bit dejected after that but I just ignored them

We continued patrolling the area while exterminating the monsters from the outbreak a few days after that so we were able to more or less decreased their numbers. Because of that, they said that it would be better to send around half of the adventurers back so I conveyed to my companions that I’d like to go home.

「Then I’ll go home too. I’ll already earn more than what I was expecting because of that high goblin after all」 (Fraîche)
「Right, I guess it’s true that there wouldn’t be any problems if we go home now. When we get back to town, I’ll hand in the subjugation materials to the guild first and once I receive the money, I’ll split it in three and pa.s.s by your room to hand it to you」 (Folly)

And so after that, I endured the pain in my b.u.t.t for half a day while traveling back to town. When we arrived, I just tossed my luggage aside and immediately headed for the bathhouse. I fully enjoyed my bath which lasted for over two hours.

「He created a water ball and let us wash the blood off our weapons for free you know? He was a really amazing magician after all」

A conversation with that kind of topic was happening in the bath but I just pretended not to know anything about it.

I was taking out my luggage and maintaining my weapons once I got back from the bathhouse when I heard a knock on the door.

「Yes, it’s open」 was what I said so Folly-san came in.

「Here, take it. This is your share. And this one is the certificate of completion」

Two large silver and three silver coins were handed over to me. On the paper is the details of the emergency quest and the name of the person who partic.i.p.ated. Below that is a list of monsters names, the number defeated as well as the total amount of money earned.

The materials gathered from that high goblin sure was expensive. Just as you would expect from something that will eventually turn into a soft leather armor.

The amount of money I received may be small considering that that was an emergency quest but my rank is still low so it probably can’t be helped. I should just be thankful that I even got two large silver for all of my efforts.

「Yes, I have certainly received it」

I said as I accepted.

「Aside from the matter with the high goblin, I wasn’t sure we’d be able to win even with that surprise attack but because of Caam’s quick-wittedness, it didn’t end up being a really hard fight. For that, you have my grat.i.tude. Well, because of that, Caam almost got into a dangerous situation so I’ll apologize as well. If only I was the one closer to the high goblin at that time…」

After saying that, he bowed.

「Please stop」 Fl.u.s.tered, I said that to make him raise his head.
「I’ll be relieved if you feel that way. I’m counting on you the next time something happens」

Folly-san struck my shoulder while saying that then he went back to his room.

「Ahー, that’s right. I was asked by the receptionist to tell you to stop by the next time you show up at the guild. I think it’s about you ranking up」

He finally closed his door after saying that.

So it went up again, huh… I wanted to stay at rank 3 and just take my time there but that’s impossible to do now.

It’s been quite a while since the last time so even though I can’t get drunk, I want to drink. I probably just want to get some things off my mind. Using that as an excuse, I made my way towards the first-floor bar of the in we used when we first came here during our school days.

Even though they call themselves an inn, it’s so rowdy at the first floor that I’m wondering if they only have guests who don’t care about the noise. If it was me, I’d probably just ignore it and sleep so I probably would have no problems with that.

「Obchan, it’s been a while. I came since I feel like drinking today」

After saying that, I headed straight to the bar.

「Ara, it has been a while, hasn’t it? You still go back to your village sometimes right?」
「Yeah, once every 30 days」
「Is that so? By the way, were you the one they say that defeated a high goblin alone during this time’s monster outbreak? It’s the current talk of the town you know?」
「Haa? Could you tell me what you heard?」
「I heard that a young man with an unknown race that has dark blue skin defeated it using a crowbar and a shovel」

What kind of rumor is that?

「Ahー, I was with some acquaintances at that time you know? We were able to do it somehow by launching a surprise attack. It was really difficult to kill though」
「Then, let’s celebrate you returning alive! Drink a lot okay!」
「Count me in」

After saying that, I got seated at one of the tables and was thinking about what to order when I saw something that had a familiar name. I was really curious about this 『Beryl Sake』.

「Excuse meー. About this Beryl sake……」
「Ah, that. That’s the name of your village, right? They’re making a new sake there, didn’t you know?」
「Well, I just wasn’t aware that it was already being circulated around. But this is still wine. If you leave it in a barrel for 2 to 4 cycles of the seasons then the smell would get even better and the color would turn into deep amber.」

I was telling that to the bartender who was on the other side of the bar.

「Sonny’s village is great! Because of that, this gla.s.s’s my treat!」

Someone I didn’t know sat by my side and poured beer into my gla.s.s.

「Thanks!」

After saying that I immediately drank the beer up in one go. I ordered the fruit wine earlier so it’ll probably get served soon. I’ve already drank the beer so I wonder how the fruit wine turned out.

「You sure are a good drinker! As expected of someone from Beryl Village」

I started interacting with the people who have gathered. Soon I was able to drink the fruit wine and it wasn’t half bad. It might not be famous right now but I’ll be happy if it gradually starts building up a reputation.

Then, after that, one of the drunkards came up to me and said.

「Hey kid, are you perhaps the one who defeated that high goblin alone during this time’s monster outbreak suppression? Doesn’t he exactly match that guy’s description?」

Something like that started so it was about to get troublesome. They’re already drunk so they probably won’t believe me no matter what I say about defeating it alone so I decided to get them even drunker by randomly pouring sake on their cups. They ended up getting really drunk as a result of drinking my creation that I call 『an unknown c.o.c.ktail for bad situations』.
Well, it was just a combination of beer, wine, and distilled liquor though.

I didn’t really get drunk but I got into a good mood so I paid the shopkeeper 1 silver and let them him the change to make up for all the trouble I caused. As I was about to leave,
an uncle I didn’t know said

「S…sonny is…strong………」

He gave me the thumbs up while muttering something on the floor so I also did the same in reply then went home. This 【Poison Resistance】 of mine is starting to be a problem, I really can’t get drunk at all.

When I got back, the landlady had a look like she was asking 『So it’s sake this time, is it?』 However, she then changed it into a 『Well, I guess it can’t be helped』 look and said.

「Welcome back」

I wasn’t feeling particularly hungover the next day so I decided to show up at work.

「Ohー, so you came back alive didn’t you, high goblin killer」

What’s with that lame nickname?

「You’ve been the talk of all town you know? So you were pretty strong after all. Iyaー, when I heard about a dark blue skinned guy who came with the adventurers from Aegirine single-handedly defeated a high goblin, I knew that they were talking about Caam」
「Why were you able to say that?」
「That’s because you can do anything with your magic so I’m sure you did it in using that」
「Well…not really」
「W-we’ve been talking about going to the red-light district o-once you came back you know」
「Ha!?」
「Let’s head there immediately once work’s over」
「Ahー, I won’t be able to stop you no matter what I say, will I? Fine, just stop calling me a high goblin killer. It sounds lame」
「WHY! It’s cool, right!」

I was really surprised when Tsuno-san who doesn’t really talk that much suddenly shouted. We probably won’t be able to reconcile with that since my tastes and the tastes of the people in this world differ so much.

「Welcomeー」

Like last time, the girl with the NICE BODY who was standing at the entrance greeted us. Obviously, we’re now at Sweet Memory.

「Ara, Caam-kun. Welcome~. So you came here together with your workmates this time」

Celesso-san came and addressed me with an alluring voice that she doesn’t normally use at the apartment. Is this how she is when she’s together with someone at work, I wonder. Well, whatever.

「Over here pleaseー」

We were led to our seats and after a while, 5 women came out and sat by our side. They say that they are all succubi but each and every one looks different. There’s one that has sheep-like horns, one with bat-like wings, a pale blue-skinned one, one that has a lot of exposed areas and another that only has few, a voluptuous woman and a pet.i.te girl.

The one seated next to me is a head shorter than me, has light brown eyes and a grey, almost white shoulder-length hair. She has a pink ribbon as well although she doesn’t have any exposed areas and her clothes don’t have any frills. I’m not really planning on doing anything though so if she’s like this then it’s okay I guess.

「h.e.l.lo~, my name’s Latte~. Would you like anything to drinkー? Do you want to head upstairs already or is there another girl you prefer from the ones that came out?」

I’ll just ignore the other things she said for now and just order sake.

「Then, how about mead.」
「Yes~. I’ll go get it right now, okay~」

After saying that, the sound of her leather boots echoed as she walked away.

While the other guys were ordering their drinks, they also picked out the girl they like so the one to bring out their drinks was that girl. They started chatting after that but it was actually just the guys talking about work or their acts of bravery when they were younger while the girls were just saying 「Woow~」

Well, as expected from someone in this line of work, they’re good listeners. Latte-san kept on snuggling up and pressing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against me but I endured and just calmly drank my sake.

After a while, the boss became pleasantly drunk and started pointing at me.

「Until yesterday, that guy was out subjugating monsters on that recent outbreak」

I can’t help but have a bad feeling about this.

「He was able to defeat a high goblin practically by himself and yet he’s still working as a day laborer repairing the protective wall of the town. It’s strange right! Even though he’s that strong!」

Un, even though he added ‘practically’, the phrase ‘by himself’ would probably stand out even more. He’s like a blue collared worker who’s getting carried away when he goes out to drink with his co-workers. It seems like they also have those kinds of people in this world. Even though I made sure not to say anything about myself, you went ahead and ruined it…

「「Eh~that’s amazing~」」

Even the girls who weren’t with anyone started saying that. They might get even closer so I’ll just drink sake for now so that I can steel my heart. I’m really thankful I have 【Charm Resistance】

「Is this your first time in a place like this? Are you nervous?」
「It’s cute how nervous he isー」

It is as they say, this it’s my first time in this kind of store. However, when it comes to s.e.xual stuff, I already did that with Suzuran. Or rather, should I say, my only experience is with Suzuran. Well, in this world at least.

I started thinking, 『Un, it’s so soft』『Un, she smells so nice』 but I remembered that I really don’t want Suzuran to hit my face with all of her strength. If I’m unlucky, my head may have to say farewell to my body. The worst could be that Ichii-san might consider joining in as well.

「I have a scary girlfriend so I’m not looking for action」

As I expected, when I said that, all of them went away. The others got into a nice mood and are probably enjoying themselves upstairs right about now so I just continued to drink sake to kill time.

Meanwhile, even though she can just leave me alone and take another customer, Latte-san who was seated beside me kept on grinning while snuggling up to me while engaging in meaningless conversation. She’s eating fruits and drinking sake while talking to me but, is how she just does things I wonder? Well, it’s better than someone who’s really persistent I guess. Well, whatever. I’ll just enjoy the softness and smell while I’m drinking.

「Which reminds me, Caam-san~…」
「Hmー?」

I thought that it was quite cute how she had upturned eyes while saying that since she’s a bit shorter than I am.

「If you somehow get the permission of that scary girlfriend of yours, would you sleep with me?」

『BFFFTT!』

I magnificently spat out the sake I was drinking. Fortunately, Kitsune-san who was sitting in front of me earlier was no longer there.

*cough cough!*

「Iya…please don’t ask me that. You’ll be killed at worst. And even worse than that, I’m going to get killed as well」
「I won’t know if I don’t ask, will Iー?」

She puffed her cheeks while she said that. This succubus is pretty sly, isn’t she? If there are s.e.xy ones like Celesso-san then there are cute ones like Latte-san as well. I learned something new today. Is it just me or is their race actually trying to cater to all of the needs of society somehow?

While I was thinking about that, she pressed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against my arm and placed her head on my shoulder as she got even closer to me. I ate the cheese-like drinking snacks while ignoring her but she shook her head as if to rub her face on me.

「I still haven’t had a bath since we came here straight from work so I’m dirty you know?」
「I don’t mindー. I like the scent of Caam-san’s sweat or rather, Caam-san is still pretty clean you know? Anyway, let me have that cheese you’re eating, please. Aーhn」

She came got closer with her mouth wide open.

『It’s this like birds feeding their young? No, this is going to end badly, right?』

After seriously contemplating it for three seconds, I thought that it doesn’t really matter that much so I feed her the remaining cheese that I was eating.

This Latte-san is pretty persistent about smelling my scent. I wonder if this is how men are when they try to get a whiff of the scent of a woman. Well, the person herself said she likes it so I’ll stop minding it and just drink my sake. Since she asked for the one I was eating, was she aiming for an indirect kiss or were her motives actually pure after all? I don’t really get this girl.

「Araー, you’re still here?」

Celesso-san sat in front of us and said that.

「Iyaー, I’ve already told you the reason multiple times you know?」
「Even with all that, you’re still getting in a good mood with Latte, aren’t you?」

While looking at the person by my side, I replied.

「She could drink and serve other guests without minding me but she won’t leave and just keeps me company. That’s why we’re now like this. Even though she could be making money if she were with someone else……」

Latte-san started tracing her hand over my chest to my stomach. She was only her way to my crotch so I gently brushed her off. She gave up and just rested her head on my thigh.

「Well, I’m not really sure what she liked about me anyway」
「It’s love at first sight you know?」
「Haa… is that so?」
「That’s right!」

That’s not something you should say while you’re resting your cheeks against my thigh.

「Well, let’s just leave it at that. Anyway, can you face towards my knees instead of my body? It makes me feel like we’re doing something indecent」
「This is that kind of shop after all~」
「Latte, you should only do that kind of thing once you’re upstairs, okayー?」
「He doesn’t want to go upstairs so at least let me get the smell of it」

*sniff sniff*

The smell of what exactly?

「I told you right? He’s pretty obstinate so you should just give up」
「I’m doing this precisely because I don’t want to give up~」

*Suuーhaa Suuーhaa*

I try to project my thoughts to as far away as possible to a place beyond the universe. I still drink my sake though. Clear your thoughts……Clear your thoughts……

「Right, Caam-kun?」

Somehow, enlightenment is still far from my reach.

「About what?」
「Even though she’s like this, it hasn’t caused you to hate her, right?」
「Eh? Well, she hasn’t caused any real harm so there’s no reason for me to hate her is there?」
「I see. If that’s the case then I’m glad. If you don’t mind, I hope you and visit from now on」
「I’ll end up on the streets if I come to this kind of place to drink every day you know? If it’s just once in a while then…… however…」
「Eh? Really? Yay~」

While saying that, she still remained stuck on my thigh and kept sniffing me.

「…j-just a similar service to this time, okay?」
「Y-yeah」

I didn’t have a place to rest my hand since there was someone else’s head on my thigh so, thinking that she wouldn’t mind, I place my hand on her head. While I was doing that, I casually created a beautiful ice sphere to put into the fruit water I was drinking which lead to this.

「Hm hm~. His magic power, I can feel his magic power through his skin~」

She said that in an alluring way that something inside me almost went wild. As expected, the Succubi race are sensitive to magic power after all.

「Kyaー, it got slightly bigger~」

Once she said that, I forcibly pulled her head off of my thigh and transferred to another seat as I waited for everyone else to return.

「Sorry~. I won’t do it again soー」

While saying that, she came close and once again placed her head on my lap but this time, she faced away from my nether regions.

After a while, Kitsune-san who was the first one to go upstairs came back.

「So you really didn’t go for it after all」
「Yeah. Well, thanks to that I was able to enjoy myself drinking sake」

I say that while trying to avoid stating the real reason.

「But still, it looks like that girl has gotten really attached to you so it would have been fine if you just went at it upstairs, you know?」
「Kitsune-san, you’re only able to say that since you don’t know my girlfriend at all. Hhha. 」

I said that with dead fish-like eyes.

「Sorry ’bout that」

He drank some fruit water while saying that so I produced another one of those spherical ice in my fingertips that was just the right size for the gla.s.s and asked.

「Would you like some ice?」
「Sure」

With that said, I immediately placed the ice inside of his gla.s.s.
Meanwhile, this was happening on my lap

「Hmm……nn」

I’ll just leave her be…

「Say, how come that girl is showing that kind of reaction?」
「Ahー, that’s just her reacting to my magic power. I was really troubled earlier when she started saying things in an alluring voice so it seems like she’s holding back because of that. Well, either way, it’s still pretty erotic though」
「I bet」

Like that exchange, we continued having random conversation. Once everyone has returned we decided to go home.

「Come again okay~」

Latte-san enthusiastically waved while saying that so I just replied.

「Sure」

Regarding the cost, I’m not sure about the market price but it seems like they’re a silver more expensive compared to other shops. I only paid for my drinks though so I’m not really sure. Well, this place’s cheaper compared to the shop with the beautiful onee-san I used to drink at in my previous life though…

「What was that? You didn’t sleep with that white haired girl earlier? You sure are a wimp」
「I said this to Kitsune-san earlier but Boss, you can only say that since you don’t know my girlfriend… You might not think anything about it but this is seriously a matter of life and death for me」
「I-is that so? My bad. Still, it’s thanks to your recommendation that we were able to go to that place. Up until now, we only heard about the shop filled with succubi since everyone was slightly scared to go there ourselves. However, although a bit expensive, it’s a good place, isn’t it? Rather, it was so good that I thought it would cost me even more」

Everyone nodded with that. What they’re saying might be a little vulgar but I guess they’re just trying to be polite.

「Well then, I’m off here」

I parted from the rest of the guys as I made my way back to my apartment. As expected, if I met with the landlady as is then she’s probably going give me that cold stare again so I guess I should pa.s.s by the bathhouse before I go home.

After thoroughly was.h.i.+ng myself and soaking for a good while in the water, I felt like I was glistening like a certain smiling bodybuilder. Since I was just at that kind of place, I still have some ‘personal’ needs that have to be taken care of but I’ll just sleep it off once I get back to my room.

After I got home, I came across the landlady in the dining hall so I greeted her but she gave me a cold glare. Huh? Was she still able to smell it even though I made sure to wash myself thoroughly? Beastkin are sure are amazing.

AN: This is the representation of Latte rubbing her head up against Caam.
(＞ワ＜≡＞ワ＜)

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