Ch.55Return of the Victors

After successfully demolishing the Disease Demon’s dungeon, we spent a night at the campsite before returning to the Third Western City to handle the aftermath of our dungeon conquest.

Mayor Donald seemed to have expected absolutely nothing from us regarding uncovering the secrets of the Disease Demon’s dungeon. He couldn’t believe our report that we had demolished the dungeon in just one day and only acknowledged the completion of our request after personally organizing an investigation team to visit the site.

Although we couldn’t receive the official reward as previously discussed, we managed to secure an unofficial payment of 300 gold from the mayor and a promise to compensate Albert for the financial losses he suffered in this incident.

Albert appears to be deeply disappointed with the orphanage director after this incident and is quickly saving money to move to Zemest with Elise. As a transporter traveling between cities, he can’t even return home once a week, making it impossible to live with young Elise. However, as a short-distance transporter operating between Zemest and the Blackforge Mine, he wouldn’t have to leave Elise alone at home for extended periods.

The biggest problem is the high competition for such safe work that carries no risk of monster attacks, but that issue was resolved when Mina wrote a letter of introduction to the Blackforge Mine representative. If they can secure a long-term transportation contract with the mine, it would provide stable income and greatly help their settlement.

After finishing the post-processing related to the Disease Demon’s dungeon and having lunch, we left our luggage at the lodging and decided to take about two hours of free time. Jessica and Seti headed to the street with clothing stores to purchase spare underwear, while Mina planned to visit blacksmiths and magic item shops to buy parts needed for revolver modifications.

As for me, the owner of that revolver and the client requesting the modifications—

“Welcome. Food, drinks, or a room. Which would you prefer?”

“I’ll have a beer, please. And I have something I’d like to ask…”

I was going around small taverns away from the main street, collecting certain information.

—There are shops in the Third Western City where Baekto tribe girls work as clerks—

I still hadn’t forgotten what Jonathan told me when I was gathering information about beastfolk in Oxville. Even though the source of this information was a villain who approached me to lure me into a trap, it was too enticing to dismiss as a lie and ignore.

The Baekto tribe refers to rabbit beastfolk among the indigenous people living in Grantis. They have appearances identical to humans except for rabbit ears and tails, and they were reportedly the first among beastfolk to make contact with the pioneers and establish friendly relations.

In other words, a Baekto tribe girl is literally a bunny girl, and a natural-born one at that, not someone in a costume! As an Earth man who crossed over to another world, I couldn’t miss this opportunity to embrace this fantasy.

“Do you know of any shops around here where Baekto tribe women work? Any type of establishment will do.”

This was the third time I’d asked this question. I was deliberately wandering through secluded taverns away from the main street. I had expected that upon arriving at the Third Western City, opportunities to see bunny girls wouldn’t be rare, but despite having visited the Third Western City three times already, I had never spotted any residents other than humans.

It seems that even among the friendly beastfolk, very few actively choose to live in pioneer cities. I thought my only option was to search for such establishments by foot, but I also felt somewhat guilty about it.

‘Will… I’m disappointed that you’re looking for such places even though we’re here.’

‘Isn’t Seti, a cat tribe girl, enough for you? Does it have to be a Baekto tribe girl?’

Jessica and Seti’s sad faces appeared in my mind.

Indeed, my current behavior was indefensible—like that of human trash searching for entertainment establishments while leaving his girlfriends behind.

But I swear to heaven, I’m not wandering the alleys of the Third Western City to satisfy sexual curiosity or desire. I have absolutely no intention of spending dubious time in a tavern with bunny girls while leaving the two of them behind, nor would I ever set foot in what they call a “salon with flowers drawn next to its name.”

What I’m looking for is, so to speak, the fantasy of a Las Vegas casino club—the very scene of natural-born bunny girls serving drinks in a space where nouveau riche enjoy five-card poker, Texas hold’em, and blackjack. Of course, I’m well aware that the possibility of a casino club existing in this Grantis is infinitesimally close to zero.

Las Vegas only took its current form after the mid-20th century, and expecting that in Grantis, which resembles the early days of the Wild West era, would be an anachronism of epic proportions.

‘But as long as there’s even a sliver of possibility, a man can’t help but hold onto hope’

Flying to another world—a Western-era world with monsters and magic—actually happened. Grantis is a romantic world where elves, dwarves, and beastfolk join forces with pioneers to explore the unknown West.

Then wouldn’t it be acceptable for this mysterious world to have at least one romantic element that’s about 100 years ahead of its time? As if my desperate wish had reached the heavens, the tavern owner placed a beer mug in front of me and answered in a low voice:

“A shop where a Baekto tribe girl works… I do know of one, but I’m not sure if it’s what you’re looking for.”

I handed a 1-gold bill to the tavern owner, who was looking at my face with suspicious eyes, and urged him to continue. The pursuit of romance, but only within boundaries that wouldn’t betray Jessica and Seti—with that pledge in mind, I learned the location of the shop from the tavern owner and took my first step toward the final stage of my great journey.

[Men’s Only Care Service: Bunny’s Touch]

OK, let me assess the situation.

After much inquiry, I entered a back alley in the Third Western City to verify with my own eyes this “shop where Baekto tribe women (bunny girls) work.”

The dream form in my mind was a Las Vegas casino club. However, that was merely the ultimate ideal; I was willing to compromise with a restaurant or tavern where Baekto tribe women worked as waitresses in aprons. But the place I arrived at after my expectant footsteps showed no trace of glamour or romance—rather, it resembled a pit of despair and decadence.

“…This isn’t the kind of shop I was thinking of.”

Windows with drawn curtains despite being business hours, a location difficult to find unless deliberately sought out, the explicit phrase “Men’s Only Care,” and a subtle smell like burning plants.

No matter how much I tried to shake off preconceptions and shift my thinking, I couldn’t reach any conclusion other than “a dangerous establishment for enjoying illegal drugs and prostitution together.”

‘Damn, no wonder the tavern owner who told me about this place had such a grim expression…’

When I asked about a shop where Baekto tribe women worked at that old tavern, the owner looked at my face with a subtle expression, then sighed deeply before giving me the information. In retrospect, that expression seemed to contain a mixture of sympathy, pity, and contempt for a young man about to fall into a pit of drugs and prostitution.

Like a child who has just witnessed Santa Claus killing someone before their eyes, I buried an indescribable disappointment in my heart and turned away from the gloomy alley. Or rather, I was about to. If only the firmly closed shabby front door had opened two seconds later, I would have.

‘Creeeak…’

“Are you a customer?”

The woman visible through the door crack was exactly the rabbit beastfolk I had imagined. Semi-long pink hair that slightly covered her shoulders, and snow-white rabbit ears asserting their presence above. Dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and long skirt with a white apron, she looked too modest to be a prostitute, and her reddish-brown eyes were too clear and clean to belong to a drug addict.

“My, it’s the first time a young person has visited us.”

“Uh? Well, that’s…”

“Please come in quickly, someone might see you.”

Confused by the shop’s appearance that betrayed my expectations and the woman’s unexpected appearance, I was grabbed by the arm by the Baekto tribe woman and instantly pulled inside the shop. The price list hanging on the clean and well-organized interior of the shop had words completely beyond my expectations.

“…A hair loss clinic?”

“Yes. Our shop provides scalp and hair care services using traditional Baekto tribe herbs for men suffering from hair loss symptoms.”

“Why is such a shop in such a secluded place, with an atmosphere as if dealing with illegal drugs…?”

“Many customers want to keep their hair loss a secret.”

“Ah… I see.”

The identity of the suspicious shop “Bunny’s Touch” was a specialized hair loss clinic. The secluded location and inconspicuous exterior of the shop were customized services for customers who wanted to visit secretly, and the smell like burning plants wasn’t from drugs but from hair loss treatments manufactured in a way similar to herbal medicine.

As I leaned back on the sofa in the consultation room with a sigh of relief, the Baekto tribe clerk tilted her head and asked:

“You came here without knowing what this place was, didn’t you?”

“Ah, I just came looking for the shop rumored to have Baekto tribe women working here. The source of the rumor was an outlaw involved in illegal slave trading, so I was just checking.”

For reference, this was an excuse I had concocted in case Jessica or Seti caught me looking for bunny girl establishments.

“Hehe, thank you for your concern. But all the Baekto tribe members working here are legal citizens with Frontier Licenses.”

“I see. I’m sorry for taking your time when I’m not even a customer, so I’ll be on my way.”

“Please do visit us if you ever need help in the future.”

“…I’d prefer not to need your services for at least 20 years.”

As I said that and left the hair loss clinic, I came face to face with a customer who was just opening the door to enter. A tall man with a skinny build and neatly styled gray slicked-back hair—it was Donald Anderson, the mayor of the Third Western City.

“…..”

Unable to say anything due to the shock of encountering an unexpected person in an unexpected place, I stood frozen as Mayor Donald gave me a fatherly, kind smile, patted my shoulder, and entered the shop.

It seems I’ve earned some unwarranted sympathy…