episode_0150

000

The Adventurer’s Guild in the royal capital is known to have adventurers with comparatively outstanding skills compared to other regional adventurer’s guilds. This is because they gather skilled adventurers from each region to solve high-difficulty requests directly from the royal family. Sometimes, it involves capturing huge dungeons or eliminating monsters that appear in remote areas where there are no adventurer guilds. Hiring adventurers as a means of maintaining the peace of the kingdom and the continent, resolving problems without wasting valuable royal soldiers or knights, was a significantly attractive advantage for the kingdom.

In particular, the reputation of top-tier adventurers is on par with that of nobles or knights. Some are invited to train the royal army, while others have exclusive contracts with noble families and work as their henchmen. Among those who enjoy free adventures, there was a veteran adventurer who was supported by many younger male adventurers.

Raymond of the Red Thorns.

At the age of 60 this year, he was born as the child of a concubine of a local lord. Believing that the position of lord would never come to him, Raymond honed his martial arts from a young age and became an adventurer. Since then, he has gone on many adventures with his partner, the Red Banner spear, continuing to make great adventures worthy of being recorded in history with many companions.

Also, during the war between the kingdom and the empire, he belonged to the kingdom’s volunteer army and led the Red Thorns vanguard, standing ahead of even the volunteer leader Palanathea, raising his reputation on the battlefield.

Raymond was a braver adventurer than anyone else, staining his spear red from the tip to the bottom of the handle with the blood of himself and his enemies.

However, when junior adventurers asked him about not having a wife and children even at that age, he was a romantic and witty person who would say that he had devoted his love to adventure.

Now, his hair has faded to a color close to gray, but even so, he never fell behind in adventures. It has already been more than two weeks since he, who participated in more dangerous requests than anyone else, suddenly disappeared.

Not only the guild staff but also his juniors, who became adventurers admiring him, looked for his whereabouts, but they could not find any trace of him anywhere.

Even if they visited his house, presuming upon him, all that remained was the furniture and his weapon, the Red Banner spear “Gae Bulg,” as if time had stopped when he disappeared.

Someone says: Raymond of the Red Thorns threw everything away for his last adventure and left this royal capital as a truly free spirit.

Many nod at that. They were offering prayers to the gods so that their hero could safely complete his last adventure.

001

“Haat!”

The sound of a spear and a sword colliding, a spear stabbing in rapid succession like a gale, and a woman parrying the attacks with her sword at a reliable speed. Aruru Tromea. Her sword, Arondight, cracks and splinters each time it parries the spear, but that is precisely the preparation process for Arondight’s ability. The fragments scattered around transform into another holy sword in the air, targeting the enemy in front of her.

A black high-leg leotard clinging to her entire body. Fishnet stockings that reveal glimpses of her secretive skin. A headband that mimics rabbit ears on her head. And, white wavy hair and red eyes like his.

With a face flushed with the heat of battle, she licks her parched lips with her tongue. She swirls the spear around like the sails of a windmill. Deflecting all the incoming replicated holy swords.

The rotating spear comes to a sudden halt. The spear, imbued with the black magic of the succubus, had a red brassiere hanging between the blade and the shaft. Could anyone have predicted that it belonged to the white-haired woman? Originally, for her, who performs pole dancing to liven up the party in the second-floor after-floor, this spear was both her business tool and partner.

“That spear skill. You’re quite skilled?”

Aruru muttered as she looked at her body, which had not suffered a single wound despite their weapons having collided nearly a hundred times. Of course, Aruru also had no wounds on her body, nor any traces of sweating. But she couldn’t easily find someone who could clash weapons with her on such equal terms.

“Thank you. Customer. I’ve been wielding a spear for over 50 years, so I can’t possibly lose to someone as young as you.”

Aruru listens with one ear and lets it out with the other as the woman, who looks to be in her early 20s no matter how you look at her, or even in her late teens at best, speaks with a smile. The person in front of her is a staff member of the brothel “Kamala Trail” and is the one who has personally taken action to capture them, Cleon’s party, who caused a commotion on the second floor. Judging by the absence of horns, wings, or a tail, she was definitely human, which means that she might have originally been a man, just like Eustace.

However, even if she were to think about her original identity, it would be meaningless. Aruru removes a step in the holy sword’s output limit to subdue her.

Blue-tinged divine magic is released from her entire body, pushing the spear master with pure magical pressure.

However, the spear master, not to be outdone, wields the succubus’s magic imbued in her spear to offset the magical pressure, standing her ground without collapsing.

`Cleon… will he be alright?`

Aruru thinks to herself, only thinking of subduing her as quickly as possible and escaping from this divided space.

“You are amazing, customer. When I was your age, it was a realm I barely achieved while experiencing death several times in battles with the imperial army. To think there would be a woman like you among the warriors of the current generation who do not know war.”

However, Aruru blinks her eyes at the woman’s compliment and points her holy sword at the woman. As a warrior of the Tromea family guarding the kingdom, her words were a statement that touched Aruru’s reverse scale.

The black magic of the succubus, which corrupts even the noble spirits who devoted themselves to the battle with the empire.

Naturally, strength enters the hand holding the holy sword, and her eyes become sharp. Aruru, as the sword of the kingdom, intentionally erases compassion from her mind, something that was not seen even in her sparring with Cleon, in order to completely defeat the enemy.

“You shouldn’t think that I would go easy on you, even if I realize your true identity.”

“Surely. I’m not so rotten as to hope for something like that.”

The woman runs her fingers through the ends of her hair as if it were a habit, smiling as if not to be outdone.

“Arondight!”

“Magic Spear Gae Bolg.”

When the two call out the names of their respective weapons, powerful magic waves gush out, offsetting each other’s magical pressure. Repeating the process of expansion and annihilation several times.

The fight had only just begun a short while ago. It was after she went up to the second floor with Eustace.

002

A space at the table divided from the hallway by curtains. Iona, Aruru, and Cleon were devising a plan to retrieve Eustace’s Mistilteinn and free the others who were being held captive here as women. Meanwhile, Caliburn concentrates to repeatedly emit a faint light in order to grasp the location of his fellow holy sword, Mistilteinn.

[Mistilteinn’s presence is definitely felt on the second floor. But, I also feel a strong aura of dark magic around it. Well. It’s shoddy compared to me and Cleon~]

Then, after hearing Caliburn’s words, who had found the location of Mistilteinn, Cleon nods and conveys what he has heard to the three.

“That powerful dark magic… could it be the demon that turned Eustace into a woman?”

“It’s probably best to think so. …`Kamala,’ was it?”

When Cleon asks that, Eustace nods. That pink-haired demon had a ridiculous appearance, but she was not only able to fight by freely using her tail, which was harder than steel, but, more dangerous than anything, was her ability to open that tail and devour anything, and, conversely, to spray dark magic that melts those who touch it, or turns them into women.

“You better be careful. She was even able to heal damage received from holy water in an instant.”

“It seems certain that she is a higher-ranking demon than other succubi. Astaroth… was it? Those demon worshippers. To summon such a demon to the royal capital… and, even to turn adventurers into women and use them for this. What on earth are they thinking?”

Aruru quietly suppresses her anger and grips the hilt of Arondight.

“How do we get up to the second floor?”

To Cleon’s question, Eustace answers with a slightly flushed face.

“The second floor is called the after-floor. There is a space prepared for customers who like the staff on the first floor to do… that kind of thing. If you’re going to go up, that would be the most natural way.”

As explained when he first came here. It seemed that there was no other way to go up to the second floor.

“…Then. Let’s not delay. We’ve also found Mistilteinn’s presence, so there’s no need to waste any more time.”

“That’s right. …Come to think of it. Are we even allowed to go up?”

Iona nods at Cleon’s words and stands up from her seat, but suddenly stops at a question that arises.

“…What do you mean?”

“Ah~! Cleon is going to embrace Eustace from now on. So you’re asking if it’s okay for us women to follow!”

Aruru says as if she knows what Iona’s question is, and Eustace is shocked by Aruru’s expression.

“W, word choice is a bit…”

“There won’t be a problem with that part.”

Cleon shrugs. Clearly, a man taking a woman to a brothel is ethically the worst of the worst. Irrecoverable trash. But this is a place for succubi to receive the dirty desires of such trash. Even if it’s a bit of a strange situation, it’s normal from the perspective of a demon.

The two also find Cleon’s explanation strangely persuasive, so they follow Cleon, pulling back the curtain and stepping into the hallway.

Eustace was muttering as he looked at the three people with such a slightly misaligned sense of ethics.

“Am I the weird one…?”

003

The four people who went up to the second floor follow Eustace at the lead, proceeding down the hallway with his guidance. Like the staff members wearing coats on the first floor, succubi wearing the same outfits are spaced at regular intervals in the hallway. Greeting their customers with smiling faces. Every single one of them is a beautiful woman, a pretty girl, who could steal the soul of an average man. However. Iona and Aruru, who were clinging to Cleon on both sides, arms interlocked in his, were imitating long-time lovers to prevent Cleon’s gaze from turning towards the succubi.

“…Do we really have to go this far?”

“If we move while keeping an awkward distance, we’ll be suspected. Hehe~ And, we’re really lovers, so it’s not weird, right?”

“We’re blocking the succubi’s charm with our bodies, so please rest assured, Cleon.”

It was not only Cleon who sighed at the two’s words, but also Eustace.

Of course. He too was originally a man. Until a month ago, he considered it natural to flirt with all sorts of women. But now, he dismisses his past self as a dark history and is being as careful as possible to suppress his frivolity.

He too is a young man with youthful blood. He thought that being popular with women was a good thing, and that it was not something to be criticized that much.

However. Because of his current situation. And in order to reflect on his past self, he is approaching women as carefully as possible-

Looking at Cleon. He wondered where the difference came from. He was getting a little discouraged.

First is Iona. Although it was a short time, she was the daughter of Talchek, who was Eustace’s master. And Cleon is Talchek’s disciple, so it wouldn’t be strange if she got along well with him.

And. Aruru. He didn’t know when or where they met. But Cleon’s skills must be outstanding to be able to withstand the claws of that female lion.

…Lubella. Cleon protected her, whom he had abandoned, and there must have been this and that afterward. Rather, he is somewhat grateful to Cleon for her.

Besides that, the others who were originally in the party. The priest named Kuon, too. Most of them believe in Cleon, and Eustace thinks deeply about being by his side.

If he were to return to being a man, it wouldn’t be bad to take Cleon as a role model. That was what he was thinking.

He is also a disciple of Talchek. Tall and muscular. Eustace himself didn’t even know the full extent of his power. And seeing the holy sword on his waist, in addition to the magic sword he used to wield, he had no idea what kind of adventures he was having.

“… …”

Eustace glances at Cleon’s face.

When he grabbed his hand earlier to reassure him and give him courage. The feeling of admiration he felt for him was definitely Eustace’s own.

But- why? Every time he makes skin contact with women, he gets discouraged. Is it really because he wants to be popular too?

And. The fact that he wants to put him, even in the corner of his vision.

Is it because he feels relieved when he sees him?

His head started to hurt. He felt like he had a fever.

“Keuh… Haa…”

When Eustace suddenly staggered and grabbed his head, Cleon quickly grabbed his shoulder from behind.

“…Are you okay? Don’t overdo it. Dark magic will remain in your body.”

Cleon’s fingers were thicker than his when he was a man. Seeing those fingers on his shoulder, Eustace felt himself becoming increasingly disoriented-

“Purification.”

The next moment, the purification spell of divine magic that Iona quietly chanted heals Eustace’s body. Aruru used her own body as a wall to prevent other demons from witnessing the scene.

Eustace’s mind, which had been clouded as if in a fog, gradually cleared, and he distanced himself from Cleon.

“Haat…!”

“…Eustace. Just now. The concentration of dark magic in your body became thicker… It may be reacting to your emotions. Or, conversely, that dark magic may be trying to control your emotions.”

“Th, thank you. Iona. I’m, okay.”

Eustace, whose voice and tone had become even more feminine, although he himself did not notice, pushed her hair over her shoulder and lowered her head.

“… …”

Cleon looks at Eustace like that, then puts his hand on the hilt of Caliburn. Caliburn, who took it as a signal to ask for guidance, points to the crossroads divided to the left and right in front of him.

[The holy sword is in the room at the far right from here~]

“What’s on the left?”

“A, a VIP-only banquet hall where you can watch strip pole dancing… I heard that noble customers who can’t go missing are not turned into women, but used as a source of funds.”

Eustace answers in a trembling voice and looks to the right.

“Let’s go. We can’t waste any more time.”

Cleon, concerned about Eustace’s condition, turns his steps with a slightly faster pace.

Iona and Aruru also look at Eustace worriedly, and then take her to the manager’s office where Kamala is.

004

When the door to the manager’s office is thrown open, the inside is a room decorated with lavish gold and jewels. Various extravagant costumes, expensive fruits. And, accessories of various colors.

There is no desk for the manager to work at. There is a large and luxurious fluffy bed in the room.

And, only the figure of a demon with pink hair, who was sleeping soundly with her stomach exposed on it, was visible.

Zzzz- Coo. Zzzz- Coo.

Only the silly sound rang out, and the sight of her scratching her stomach with her hand from time to time. No matter how you look at it, she was not a succubus, but just an unemployed person playing at home.

“… …”

Iona was momentarily speechless at the sight. And Aruru examines the surrounding objects.

And Cleon sighs and draws Caliburn.

“W- wait a minute. Are you going to cut her right away…?”

Cleon shakes his head at Eustace’s words.

“No, if I cut her throat, she’ll be forcibly repatriated to hell immediately. So I’m going to stab her in the stomach and fix her to the bed. If she is pierced by Caliburn, a holy sword, her power will naturally drain.”

Cleon, who is ruthless to demons, said that, and Eustace shuddered as she imagined the sight in her head.

However, since Cleon’s method was the most reasonable, she silently nodded.

Cleon quietly approached the bed, raised Caliburn vertically-

Aiming for her belly button (it was easy to aim since she was lying on her stomach.)

He plunged Caliburn straight down.

Poohk-!

“Guheeeeeeeeeek-!!! Wh, what!? Suddenly! Ha, haa!? A holy sword!? Who are you people!?”

Kamala, who screamed strangely and spat out blood, opened her eyes. Seeing Cleon looking down at her with a glint in his eyes from above, she made a `heek` sound and checked her condition.

Having been cleanly pierced through her stomach in a straight line, she was unable to move her body, becoming like a rat in a trap.

“Bl, black magic clan… then, you are Cleon…”

Kamala looked at Cleon and seemed to recognize him, even adding an honorific to his name.

“You know me. You’ll have to answer what I ask you. Demon.”

“I’m Kamala… Heu, heung. Certainly. You’re a strong man. It’s no wonder Lilim unnie values you so much.”

However, Kamala was momentarily flustered. She glanced at Eustace and smiled.

“You’ve come to save that trash. Cleon-nim. I told my subordinates to send the trash if a decent human came. I’m glad they did their job properly…”

“…What?”

When Cleon asked back at Kamala’s words, Kamala answered with a bright smile.

“Of course, the plan was to use that guy to attract more victims! It was unexpected for a human with a holy sword to come, but it’s okay!”

Kamala says that.

“If I have you, Lilim unnie will treat me a little nicer☆ Too bad, but I’m going to gobble up your book of adventures here!”

“You’re talking like that with a sword shoved into your stomach-”

“Cleon!”

At that moment, Cleon quickly rolled off the bed after feeling something being swung at him.

Then, there was the figure of Eustace, who was moving as if being controlled by something, with a lightless look in her eyes.

“Well done! Trash…. No, Yustina.”

“Yes… Unnie…”

The thing in her hand with vacant eyes was the holy sword Mistilteinn, surrounded by dark magic.

Eustace, who attacked Cleon against her will, approached her as Kamala instructed and pulled out the holy sword in her stomach.

[Why are there so many pathetic male heroes~!]

Caliburn shouted like that, quickly breaking free from Eustace’s hand and flying into Cleon’s hand.

“Oh my. Oh my oh my. A reversal of fortune☆ Injuries inflicted by a holy sword. Can be healed as much as you want if you have dark magic☆ It was a mistake not to cut her throat to get information! Cleon-nim!”

“… …”

Cleon glares at Kamala as if to kill her and stands in place, holding Caliburn properly.

“But 3:2 is a little too much☆ And. That hero and reflection sword over there are quite skilled…. Shall we move locations?”

“What-”

The next moment, when Kamala snaps her fingers, the huge transfer magic circle installed in that room activates.

Aruru disappeared first, and then. Iona and Eustace. Finally Cleon and Kamala.

Aruru, who was transferred first, quickly looks around. Confronting the woman with a spear standing in front of her.

“Are you my opponent? Pleased to meet you, miss.”

“Are you- that store’s staff member?”

“I’m Remilia.”

A moment of silence. And. The two warriors’ fight, where they cannot back down, immediately begins.