Reincarnation in Another World – [TS] – Chapter 16

ChapterSixteenth: Karaldin
In the end, we were able to enter Karaldin only after losing our entire fortune of 600 Lard. Still, the Karaboot Merchant Guild’s reputation wasn’t just empty words. Once inside the carriage, the guards let us in without even checking.
“If it was this easy, they could have done it for free…”
“It’s expensive precisely because it’s this easy.”
Emily muttered in disbelief, but I thought differently.
It was quite rare even in Lakers for a merchant guild to be waved through so casually. Perhaps each city had its own unique characteristics, but we couldn’t afford to take any risks.
We couldn’t have entered on our own anyway.
Even in Lakers, entry was impossible without a permit.
This was the law within the Kilkird Kingdom, so it applied to all cities.
Karaldin, being a hub for adventurers, would probably be even stricter than Lakers, if not more so.
Even after entering the city, the carriage continued to move for a while. Eventually, we were able to get off in front of the Karaboot Merchant Guild’s branch.
“Ugh, uncomfortable.”
Having been cramped inside the luggage compartment, Emily stretched and grumbled.
I was just as uncomfortable.
The guild leader chuckled at us and handed me something.
“Here, this is a gift.”
“…A map?”
It was a map of Karaldin, with the locations of buildings and streets marked.
“I don’t know where you came from, some backwater town, but it’ll be hard to get around Karaldin without this.”
Lakers wasn’t exactly a backwater town.
It was smaller than Karaldin, but it was a city within a count’s territory and quite developed, being located on the Liber River.
Of course, that didn’t mean we didn’t need a map.
Still, the guild leader seemed to have some generosity.
Even though he had taken all our money.
The guild leader handed over the map and looked at me.
“Hey, you, the golden brat.”
“Yes?”
“What’s your name?”
“Layla. Layla Freeman.”
“Hmm, Layla.”
He muttered to himself and then continued, looking at me.
“If you ever change your mind, come to the Karaboot Merchant Guild. Just say the name Taron, and they’ll let you in.”
I was taken aback by the sudden job offer.
I didn’t know what he saw in me to make such an offer, but he seemed to like me quite a bit.
Taron smiled faintly and continued.
“It’s better than selling your body on the streets.”
I prefer that, actually.
But I couldn’t say that outright, so I nodded.
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Heh, you’re good at empty promises. Well, we don’t need anyone who isn’t desperate. In that case, I hope we don’t meet again.”
Taron said that and handed us a pouch.
Inside were ten silver coins worth 10 Lard each.
“This is a deposit. Compensation for not causing trouble.”
And as if he didn’t need an answer, he went inside the building.
Emily stared blankly at him and muttered.
“…He seemed like a real greedy merchant, but he’s not so bad.”
“Yeah, at least we can get a room.”
After parting ways with Taron, we looked at the map and walked to find an inn.
Emily looked around the streets with a curious expression as she walked.
She had lived in a village for 16 years, so it was understandable that she would find it fascinating.
Even though Emily was a reincarnated person, this was probably the first time she had seen such a charming city. It wasn’t so much admiration for the developed city as it was simple curiosity.
Karaldin was a hub city and a city for adventurers, with active monster hunting due to its proximity to the Mesheen Great Forest. Naturally, Karaldin had a lot of inns, and the prices were cheaper than in other towns.
After paying 30 Lard to rent a room, we had to discuss our plans for the future.
“We’ll starve to death if we don’t start working today…”
Emily muttered with a serious expression, looking at the pouch of silver coins. Of course, we wouldn’t starve to death, but it was obvious that it would be dangerous if we didn’t start working right away.
“First, we need to earn money separately.”
“Yeah, with this, we can’t even catch a wolf, let alone a monster…”
At my words, Emily smiled bitterly, looking at the wooden stick tied to her waist.
The only weapons we had were a dagger and two wooden sticks.
If we went to the Adventurers’ Guild with these, they would immediately kick us out for joking around.
It was obvious, but no one in this world fought with bare hands and sticks.
That was a last resort, not a common means of attack.
Mages needed staves, priests needed holy implements, and warriors and archers needed weapons.
“…How do you make money in the city?”
Even though she was reincarnated, Emily was a girl who had lived in a village for 16 years. Unlike me, who had lived in the underworld of Lakers, she didn’t know much.
At Emily’s question, I smiled meaningfully and answered.
“Hmm, in times like these, we need to use the money-making hole.”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“This.”
At her words, I smiled and pointed to my lower body.
Emily tilted her head for a moment, and then her face turned white as if she had realized what I meant.
“Th, th, th….”
Well, it was a joke.
Of course, I had no intention of telling Emily to sell her body.
It would be difficult to get birth control pills if she didn’t join a brothel, and she would be ripped off in many ways. They would take care of her to that extent, but still.
And if she didn’t belong to a brothel and took customers as she pleased, it would be troublesome if she suddenly got pregnant. Besides, birth control pills weren’t foolproof.
“L, Layla?”
“Yeah?”
“S, sorry…I don’t think I can do that….”
I was a little surprised to hear Emily’s answer.
It was just a joke, but was she seriously considering it?
Emily continued, still with a pale face and a tearful voice.
“Men are, well, like that…I’ll just do dishes at a tavern….”
She looked so pitiful that I decided to stop there.
“Oh, it’s a joke.”
“…Huh?”
“You probably wouldn’t get paid properly if you did it.”
It would be troublesome if she was lured away by a bad customer and got raped, or if she was caught somewhere and became a slave. Even if we weren’t that close in our previous lives, that connection was precious to me.
To me, who had been dropped into this world all alone, connections had a lot of meaning. That’s why I didn’t hate Keir and Seran, even though they bullied me so much. If I felt that way about the bonds I had formed in this world, I couldn’t possibly treat Emily carelessly.
Well, in the case of Keir and Seran, their bullying also hit my tastes, but still.
“Oh, oh? You said we had to make money? Didn’t I have to do it too?”
“There’s no need for that? I wouldn’t stop you if you wanted to, though.”
“N, no. It’s, it’s not that. I just feel bad that you’re doing all the hard work alone….”
She called herself a man, but did she really have that much loyalty?
Still, I didn’t feel too bad about Emily’s misunderstanding.
It was time to be honest about the life I had lived.
“Emily.”
“U, um?”
“I was a prostitute in Lakers.”
“….”
Even Emily, who was ignorant of the world, knew what a prostitute was. Was she shocked that her friend had lived that way?
Judging by her expression, it didn’t seem so.
Emily probably expected it to some extent.
Rather, she had a look of apology on her face.
“…Sorry, I don’t know how to comfort you.”
“It’s okay. I like that job.”
“…Eek!?”
She shouted in surprise, then became serious and asked me with a sincere look.
“…How is it good? I mean, it’s not that I want to do it, I’m just curious…”
She was more lewd than she looked.
“Hmm, once you get a taste for it, you can’t get out…?”
In my case, it was true.
It was partly because the influence of the Succubus Art had changed me into someone who felt things easily, but I remember getting used to it quite quickly even before I started learning the Succubus Art in earnest.

-gulp

Then Emily swallowed nervously.
Could she be interested?
If so, I should consider teaching her the Soul Absorption Technique and the Succubus Art later.
Of course, I couldn’t teach her right away.
Both the Soul Absorption Technique and the Succubus Art were martial arts that required controlling internal energy.
Emily, who had learned the Heroic Earth Art, an external art, lacked the ability to handle internal energy, and if she only learned the Soul Absorption Technique in that situation, the balance of her body might be disrupted due to impure internal energy.
Besides, even with the Succubus Art, you couldn’t build it from the ground up with essence. Just like me, you had to gather a tiny amount of internal energy and use it to build the foundation of the Succubus Art, and then grow it through essence.
To do that, it wouldn’t be enough to build up internal strength through circulation for several months.
“For now, let’s just focus on making money separately. You don’t have to earn much, so it’s best to find a safe job.”
“Y, yeah.”
When I said that, Emily swallowed and nodded.
Fortunately, neither Emily nor I were lacking in looks. There were a lot of handsome men and beautiful women in this world overall, but that didn’t mean that there were only handsome men and beautiful women.
Even if we didn’t sell our bodies, looks were a weapon that we could use at any time.
//
First, I take out the piercing in my chest and leave it in the room.
Having it on makes me feel more sensitive, but right now it’s more important to get paid than to enjoy it.
It’s better to look expensive than cheap.
Where should I pick up customers?
It wouldn’t be easy since I didn’t belong to a brothel, but it wasn’t like there was no way.
The map that Taron gave me was useful in times like these.
After looking at the map of Karaldin, I head to the street with a lot of bars.
The fact that there were a lot of adventurers was convenient in times like these.
Adventurers, who made a living hunting monsters, were, to put it bluntly, day laborers who lived from day to day. As they were close to death, many of them enjoyed pleasure.
There were a lot of people in this world with ways of thinking that we, who were educated on Earth, couldn’t even imagine. Of course, that’s why they became adventurers, who had a high mortality rate.
It was called romance.
Dying for fashion, dying for honor, dying for alcohol, and dying for women.
This world was very different from the world we lived in.
I take off the hood of my cloak and approach a bar that looks moderately shabby.
It might be a little different from Lakers, but the men in this world were all similar, so it wouldn’t matter.
The unique boisterous sounds could be heard from inside.

-creak

As I enter the bar, several pairs of eyes turn to me.
And then, they scan my face.
They were all men’s eyes.
There weren’t many women in shabby bars like this.
I thought there would be at least one or two women, but I was wrong.
It was completely a sausage fest.

-whistle!

“Hoo!?”
A whistle and an exclamation of admiration could be heard in my ear.
Then, most of the men in the bar turn their eyes to me.
I had already checked my appearance while washing in the inn.
I didn’t have any makeup on, but my skin was clean and radiant, even to my own eyes, thanks to the Succubus Art. Besides, my golden hair was a beautiful color that even the ace prostitutes of the Black Rose Manor envied.
Blonde hair and blue eyes weren’t that common in this world either.
I didn’t have to worry about not getting customers at all.
I slowly move my steps towards the counter.
I didn’t have a penny because I had given all the money to Emily, but it would be okay because I didn’t need to pay.
Obscene gazes that were so blatant that they felt like they were piercing through my whole body.
I would have ignored them normally, but today I was getting turned on just by those gazes.
Feeling my vulva getting wet, I continue to move my steps.
It was all because I had been unintentionally abstinent while traveling with Emily. My body was more aroused than necessary.

I regretted not just going for Emily.
“Hey, lady! How much?!”
Yep, just like Lakers.
I glanced back to see a large man leering at me.
I returned a provocative smile and answered him.
“150 rads, and I don’t go lower.”
“What? Isn’t that too expensive?”
Expensive?
It’s a perfectly reasonable price.
Honestly, my previous rates were ridiculously low.
“Then forget it.”
I lightly ignored the man and turned back to the counter when I felt someone grab my arm. Unlike Seran, this person seemed incredibly strong, and I stumbled.
Hmm, this is a bit rough.
“I like it. How about 200 rads? Deal?”
I turned to see a man much larger than the one who had spoken to me earlier.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t human.
He was easily over 6’3″ with dark green skin.
A race with a larger build than humans, with distinctive protruding fangs and a rugged face.
An Orc.
“Ooh!! Tsarka!”
“Not bad!”
“Isn’t he going to get rejected again?!”
Rough cheers erupted from behind.
It’s a well-known fact that adventurers don’t care about race.
What they need is a reliable comrade, not looks or race.
Apparently, this Orc named Tsarka was quite the celebrity in this tavern.
“Oh, my. You have a thing for humans?”
“Coincidentally, yes.”
Tsarka replied with a rugged smile to my words.
Not bad for me.
I couldn’t see Orcs in Lakers, but I’d heard rumors.
Well, it’s nothing special.
It wasn’t uncommon for young widows who had lost their husbands to frequent the Colosseum or seek out trustworthy Orc knights. If you could withstand their appearance and racial differences, the nights would no longer be lonely.
“Okay.”
I nodded lightly.
My body was already burning.
“What!? Really?!”
“Puhaha! Tsarka, you lucky bastard!”
There were reactions of disbelief and amusement at the same time.
It’s understandable. Many human women disliked Orcs because of their unique odor and perceived insensitivity.
Besides, their abnormally large penises were too much for inexperienced women.
But, I don’t care.