episode_0005

Pleiades’ Rest is the most successful brothel in the Roman Kingdom.

The most unique aspect of this place is the 『Invitation』 system; only those with an invitation can enter the Rest. However, a single invitation costs a whopping 5 gold coins. Even for the wealthy, 5 gold coins for a single night is a burdensome price. As a result, most of those who use this place are wealthy nobles, or their wealthy offspring.

In other words, the expensive invitations raise the value of the Rest’s prostitutes while simultaneously preventing vagrants from the back alleys or insignificant mercenary riffraff from coming in and disrupting the Rest. Because of this, the prostitutes of the Roman Kingdom aspire to be members of Pleiades’ Rest, and those who use brothels dream of spending even one night at the Rest.

And in Pleiades’ Rest, in one of the Royal Rooms where only VIPs can go.

There, a handsome man was leisurely drinking alcohol, and a beautiful woman was facing him.

However, the woman was glaring at the man with a deep frown, as if displeased, while the man, on the other hand, was relaxed, leisurely enjoying the scent of the alcohol. They sat facing each other for a while without exchanging words.

After a meaningless standoff, the woman was the first to speak.

“What business do you have here?”

Instead of answering the woman’s question after the standoff, the man raised the corners of his mouth.

Then, after swallowing a mouthful of alcohol, he replied.

“This place is still terribly vulgar. Emula. Ah… right. Was it Flora here, not Emula?”

“…What business do you have in this vulgar place?” the woman called Flora retorted curtly, expressing her displeasure at Ragna’s words.

However, Ragna seemed to enjoy Flora’s reaction of displeasure, and instead of answering, he poured alcohol into an empty glass and simply raised the glass to look at it, as if trying to enjoy its scent and color.

“…Hero Ragna!!!”

Flora, unable to tolerate Ragna’s attitude any longer, shouted.

Ragna shrugged his shoulders, put down the glass, and then looked at Flora.

“Now stop this trivial prank and come back, Emula.”

“!”

Ragna’s eyes turned cold. And the atmosphere surrounding him.

The weight was so heavy that Flora, an ordinary prostitute, trembled for a moment, but her gaze did not waver.

“As you know, Emula Roman is currently suffering from a serious illness and is unable to engage in any external activities for treatment… That’s what’s currently known. No one other than me knows that you’re living in a place like this, selling your body. Not your father or mother. So come back. Emula Roman.”

“…Come back, to be your tool?”

Flora bit her lip and glared at Ragna.

“Do you know what I… what I felt coming here?”

“Hmm? I don’t know… I don’t know if you can get anything out of a place like this.”

Ragna shrugged and answered Flora’s question.

Seeing his reaction, Flora quietly closed her eyes.

“For me, the royal palace, the social circles, were terribly disgusting places. Suffocating and unbearable places where I couldn’t even breathe properly. Disgusting hells where people would laugh and chat without a care for their own… or their family’s sake, deceiving others and calmly stabbing them in the back.”

Born in the royal palace, given the Roman name, and raised as a princess without lacking anything.

However, the despair she felt when she realized that all of those things were ultimately pieces to be used and discarded for the prosperity of the great Roman Kingdom.

Feeling this despair, she fled the royal palace.

“But this place is different. Just like the name Rest…. A rest stop for those tired of hell. A place where only those who put everything down and seek pure sexuality exist. I… I was finally able to breathe properly and be myself when I was here.”

“Hmph… so?”

“I’m not going back to that hell, Ragna.”

She said it.

She finally said it. She said it.

She felt a slight sense of elation and glared at Ragna.

Regardless of Flora’s efforts to gather her courage and speak, Ragna didn’t seem to care much, drinking his alcohol and turning his gaze out the window.

“It’s noisy outside.”

“….”

Certainly, there was some commotion outside, with the sounds of people and thumping noises.

But there’s no reason to pay attention to the outside during such a serious conversation….

“Hehehe…”

“What’s so funny?”

“No, I’m sorry. Isn’t it funny that you give such great meaning to such a brothel?”

“Just a bro!…”

Just as she was about to retort to Ragna’s sudden laughter, Ragna raised his hand to stop Flora’s words.

Then he opened his mouth.

“Grab any of the prostitutes in the brothels out there and ask them. What does a customer mean to them?”

“…What does that…”

“A wallet that gives money. I guarantee there’s no meaning beyond that. What? People seeking pure sexuality? No, those guys are losers. Losers who can’t even get their own woman and buy women with money. How can you come to that conclusion against those stupid guys who hold a few coins and try to spew out their pathetic desires? Are you some kind of sage seeking truth?”

Ragna, who was chuckling as if he truly found it funny, looked at Flora with cold eyes.

“Those guys give petty cash and relieve their base desires, and some even go beyond sex and relieve their destructive desires. Can you say the same thing to a nameless prostitute who was beaten by that pure person and left bleeding in some back alley?”

“…!”

Ragna’s words stabbed in too sharply.

As if driving a wedge into it, Ragna continued.

“Rather, those you despised are the pure ones. All they need is their own profit and stability. If you take care of those things, they won’t bare their teeth at me.”

Mocking, he put one of his hands under the table.

Then, the subtle sucking sounds that had been heard so far became clearer.

“You!!…”

She knows what that sound is.

There’s no way she wouldn’t know.

That’s why Flora was more angry than she was when she heard his claim that her argument was nothing more than nonsense.

“Such a vulgar act!…”

“Vulgar? I don’t understand the meaning. Emula, according to what you said, isn’t this just a place for those who seek pure sexuality? I came here, so I was just going to enjoy it appropriately… Is there a problem with that?”

“That and this!!…”

Interrupting Flora’s attempt to argue, Ragna glared at Flora.

“Different? No, it’s not different. There’s no need to make excuses. This is the same as the sophistry you’re talking about… no, it’s the same as your futile claims that aren’t even worth calling sophistry.”

“Ugh!…”

“As someone born of royal blood, it’s only natural to live for the royal family. You’re just a crazy person who’s whining like a child who doesn’t want to pay the price of sacrifice for the royal family as a reward for a life you’ve lived without lacking anything, forcibly confining yourself in a place like this, and masturbating, saying, ‘I’m an enlightened person. I’m an intellectual.’”

Ragna’s relentless verbal abuse.

Flora couldn’t say anything more and stormed out of the room.

“….Tsk.”

Ragna clicked his tongue and turned his gaze down.

Sucking♥

Under the table, a girl with short brown hair, Marie, one of Leon’s party members, was sending him seductive glances and diligently sucking on Ragna’s penis.

“Really. She’s my younger sister, but isn’t she too foolish?”

“Swoo…♥…Phew….♥…. That’s right!”

“Give profit, receive profit. Just like I’m promising to support your family.”

Ragna, who was gently stroking Marie’s head as if she were a dog, suddenly changed his attitude and roughly grabbed Marie’s hair, shoving her throat into his penis.

“Oop!…Ooh….Swoo!…”

“It’s cheap. Take it.”

Ragna leisurely felt the pleasure of ejaculation and looked out the window.

At some point, the chaotic atmosphere outside had subsided, and it had returned to the usual night scene.

* * *

I entered the brothel with Sire’s guidance.

“If you have any inconveniences, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“The only inconvenience is… what happened at the entrance.”

“About that… I have nothing to say, even if I had ten mouths.”

Leaving Sire, who was bowing her head and apologizing, I took a look around the place.

Generally, when you think of a brothel, you think of a dark and decadent atmosphere, but this place was brighter and cleaner than I thought… It felt like a space prepared for resting, just like the name Rest.

Of course, that’s just the atmosphere, and since it’s a brothel, I could hear the seductive voices of prostitutes and the excited voices of customers. I also often saw prostitutes who hadn’t received customers yet walking around. But to be sure, this place is said to be the best brothel in the neighborhood, and as they say, the level of appearance of each of the prostitutes passing by is high.

Is it because it’s originally a hentai game?

“The overall level is really high.”

“Most of our prostitutes haven’t received the Goddess’s blessing, you know?”

“…That’s not the level I was talking about….”

When I trailed off and looked at Sire, she was looking at me with a faint smile.

You understand what I’m saying properly, don’t you?

“Did you like my joke?”

“It’s not funny.”

“Oh my… I thought it was a witty answer.”

The level system is expressed as the Goddess’s blessing in this world.

Generally, you receive a blessing from a priest at a temple, or you are chosen by the Goddess and bloom.

The former isn’t expensive, but it requires a considerable donation, and the latter is only chosen by a very small number of people… That is, when 『Heroes』 or 『Saints』 are chosen.

Therefore, generally, those who have obtained a level have all paid donations to the temple, so ordinary farmers don’t receive blessings unless they live by fighting. And that goes for prostitutes as well.

“Please come this way.”

“Here?”

“It’s my office. There aren’t any interesting things, but it’s a calm and good place to talk.”

It was quite nice that her office was on the top floor, which I reached by passing through a hallway and taking a pseudo-elevator.

The fact that she brought me here meant that she didn’t just see me as one of the difficult customers, but recognized me as someone she needed to have a deep conversation with.

Of course, I don’t know if that judgment was influenced by the money I threw at the end, or by my power….

Either way, it doesn’t matter.

When I sat on the guest sofa in the center of the room, Sire sat facing me demurely on the opposite side.

“Shall I bring you tea?”

“I’ll drink it if you give it to me… but I’ll pass on the aphrodisiac.”

“Hehe… Yes, I understand.”

Sire, having heard my words, stood up from her seat.

Is she going to make tea herself? When I looked at her with a puzzled expression, she smiled and said.

“Normally, I would ask the children to do it… but you’re special, guest.”

She emphasized the word special and smiled.

When Sire left the room to prepare tea, I was left alone and looked around the room.

As she said it was her office, this place seemed to be a room for paper work or entertainment excluding sex, rather than a room for receiving customers. There was no bed, which is common in brothels, and all there was was a luxurious sofa and a small table.

And a large desk for work and other small pieces of furniture.

As I was looking around roughly, Sire came in with tea and refreshments and sat down with graceful yet strangely sensual movements.

“Did you wait long?”

“No, it’s okay. I didn’t wait that long.”

“Hehe, I’m glad. Then… what’s the reason you came here? Hero Leon.”

Hmm… she knew?

When I looked at her with a blank expression, she smiled, covering her mouth slightly.

“If you want to hide your identity and be active, I recommend getting an identity obfuscation mask later.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

Identity obfuscation mask….

It was definitely an item in the game that slightly increased evasion rate and lowered the probability of the wearer being targeted.

When applied to reality, it seems to have the same performance as its name.

“I heard the rumors about you back then. So I was a little confused at first. Hero Leon is….”

“It’s okay. You can just say it outright.”

“….Because you were being called the Incompetent Hero. But I was convinced when I saw the sword hidden under the cloth.”

“You were convinced by that?”

Sire nodded at my question.

“Can I ask you to explain why you were convinced, for later?”

“Of course.”

Sire’s explanation was simple.

First, the fact that I was wearing a hood that was so deep that it covered my face meant that my face was known, or that it wasn’t a good thing for people to know that I came here. Second, the fact that the sword was thoroughly covered despite having a scabbard meant that it was a person whose identity could be distinguished just by checking the sword.

“I don’t know much about swords… but even if it’s a valuable sword, there aren’t many cases where the identity or status of the other person is judged by the sword. If I had to say, it would be the knights of the royal palace or the knights of the holy kingdom who are given standardized swords, and the hero who wields the holy sword that exists only three in the world….”

“…Does the average person think that far?”

Should I say she’s perceptive… or too much….

It sounds plausible when you hear the explanation, but does the average person’s thinking reach that far?

“You have to be quick-witted to do this kind of work.”

“Is that so?….”

“To continue the explanation… First of all, if you’re a knight of the royal palace, the eyes of those around you may be bad, but there’s no need to hide your identity by hiding your sword because of that. The holy knights wouldn’t come here… and above all, the battle decorations were freer than the holy knights. So, after excluding those, I thought that all that was left were the heroes who would be gathering here for the upcoming exchange meeting….”

The more I hear, the more amazing it is.

“There are a total of three heroes… so it must be one of the three. First of all, Hero Abel has always enjoyed women, so I didn’t think he would bother to hide his identity. All that’s left is….”

“Okay. That’s enough. The rest is enough.”

The only remaining heroes are Ragna and me.

But this is Ragna’s motherland. And Ragna is the prince of this place. Even if I hid my face, there’s no way a woman with such sharp eyes wouldn’t know.

Above all, from the moment I entered this place, I felt that there was another holy sword here with the sharp senses of skill level 999.

I know the energy of the holy sword that Abel has because I felt it earlier in the day, but the energy of the holy sword that I feel here is different from Abel’s.

The only one left by process of elimination is Ragna.

“Then, to return to the question from earlier… So, what’s Hero Leon’s business here?”

“If a man comes to a brothel, is there any other purpose besides one?”

“Indeed… that’s right. I’m sorry for forgetting what should be obvious. Then it wouldn’t be right for me to take up Leon’s time here. You’ve already paid more than enough, so I’ll select and send you girls who will be to the hero’s liking.”

“No, I’m fine with ordinary girls.”

Of course, I admit that most of the prostitutes in this brothel have higher levels than other brothels.

They’re cute, lovely, and beautiful women who ordinary men would want to hold even if they had to pay a lot of money.

But that’s it.

“I heard that a girl named Flora is the best here. I’d like to request her.”

“That child is….”

“Is it not possible?”

“It’s not that it’s not possible… but she’s already been requested….”

A request…., well, the best ace wouldn’t just be playing around.

What should I do….

When I didn’t say anything because of my worries, Sire’s demeanor changed.

“…Then, how about me?”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, she slowly took off the outer garment she was wearing and approached like a femme fatale seducing a man, or like a virgin on her first night trying to hide her shyness.

“I’m confident that my appearance and body aren’t inferior to the other girls. So… how about me?”

Sire, looking up pitifully and stimulating the desires in the man’s heart.

It seems that she thought that I was worried and didn’t say anything, and that I was worried about how to cause a ruckus because I was annoyed….

‘Yes! Jackpot!’

Sire is also quite a beauty. No, at least at this point in time when I haven’t seen the prostitute Flora, she was a charming woman who could be said to be number one compared to other prostitutes who were passing by. It’s a jackpot that she’s offering herself.

‘The problem is….’

I glanced down at my lower body.

My body had many invisible changes as I gained the transcendent stats of 999.

So.

So, please….

‘….I hope it’s not the same body as Leon!!’