The Shepherd of the All-Women Temple (1)
In the space of a breath, the two of them were stripped bare, their discarded clothes spread on the floor to serve as a mat as they lay entwined as one—and her entrance, already damp from their drinks, swallowed Cloud's large, hard length in a single stroke.
Of all the women he had ever known, hers boasted the finest square footage.
"Haah! Out of bounds!" Every time Cloud's tireless hips drove onward, cries of praise burst without pause from the lips of the woman lying beneath him taking him in, and for close to an hour like that, the two of them diligently chased their pleasure.
Smeared with sweat, dirt, and the fluids of each other's bodies, they made their way to her home to shower, and washing together in her bathtub, they shared one more fiery round of love. When exhaustion finally drove them into her bed to sleep, desire came boiling up all over again, and in the end the two of them indulged in each other's bodies until the sky grew light.
"Hey, handsome. Wanna be my man?"
"No."
"I'll even give you an allowance every month. Come on, let's. Hmm?"
"What's gotten into you? We're both professionals here. I can't stand being tied down with strings attached."
For Cloud, an encounter like this was fine as a one-time thing.
The next day, Cloud—his cheeks hollowed clean out, a walking corpse—rose at noon, ate the lunch she made for him, and left her house behind.
Having once gotten a taste of the pleasure quarters, Cloud skipped the Tironde Inn entirely and went straight back to the entertainment district he'd visited the day before.
There he drank with strangers, met new women, spent the night at their places, and slipped out the next morning—a cycle that repeated itself for three days straight.
And in the end, he spent every last coin in his purse.
In the pale blue air of dawn, Cloud hauled his heavy body upright, coughing again and again.
Looking around through half-open eyes, he found himself sitting at the edge of the main road, half-eaten food and empty bottles strewn all around him.
"Ugh... my head."
He couldn't quite remember what he'd done last night. He had definitely gone looking for a bar, but from there the film cut out—one moment he was drinking, and the next he opened his eyes to find himself on the roadside.
"Hahh..."
A sigh escaped him of its own accord. He was living a life far removed from the dreams he'd carried when he left his hometown for the big city. When on earth had he grown so comfortable living like this?
And now he had no money, either.
If he meant to run from Sylvia, he would need escape funds at the very least, but he'd squandered every last bit of it, and now slipping out of Valois would be no easy feat.
More than anything, what he needed to puzzle out right now was three meals a day, starting today.
Lodging was no problem—he'd paid for ten nights up front, so he could always sleep at the Tironde Inn—but food was his single greatest worry.
He decided he needed to hurry up and find some short-term work that paid daily wages.
"First I'll head back to the inn and get washed up. It's been what, three days? I wonder what Thor's been up to..."
Just then, a sheet of paper came sailing on the wind and smacked Cloud right in the face. As he absently peeled it off, the writing on it caught his eye.
Yolonda Temple seeks a shepherd for short-term employment.
Experienced hands only.
Term: one month.
Daily wage: 100,000 Zent.
'A hundred... a hundred thousand?'
Cloud's eyes snapped wide open. The pay was remarkably steep. What was more, he had experience herding sheep as a boy, trailing after his father. He was hardly skilled at it, but groping through his hazy memories, it somehow seemed doable. It was a timely opportunity, too.
"Endure just one month of work, take that money, and get out of Valois. That's the plan."
Early morning. Fresh sunlight poured down through the crisp air.
Cloud arrived at the Tironde Inn with a spring in his step, and Sophia, who was outside sweeping, looked up at him with a startled expression.
"Cloud, where on earth have you been? You never even came back to the inn."
"Just did some sightseeing."
"Then where did you sleep? Sophia was worried sick about you."
Cloud answered with a laugh, as if it were a joke.
"Well, as it happens, this morning I was sleeping on the street."
"Oh dear! That was a close call! Sleeping out on the street is dangerous—there are all sorts of bad people about. From today on, you are to sleep at our inn, no arguments."
"I will. It's just that the city has so much to see. And so much to enjoy."
"The city fascinates you? Don't tell me... you're a country bumpkin?"
"Bumpkin? You calling me a hick? That's right. I'm a country bumpkin."
"Oh my, did that hurt your feelings? Don't be too sore about it. Sophia is very fond of country bumpkins."
"You're fond of bumpkins?"
"Yep. Very."
Her answer secretly delighted Cloud.
"Why?"
"Because bumpkins pay whatever you ask for food and lodging without a peep. On the whole, they're suckers."
"..."
At Sophia's answer—such a cruel thing, delivered with such wide-eyed innocence—Cloud's face went slack.
"That's the sort of thing only swindling merchants do..."
Shoulders slumping, Cloud made to head inside the inn.
At that, Sophia gripped her broom in both hands, drew up beside him, and spoke as though sharing a secret.
"Cloud! A few days ago, a certain lady knight came looking for you."
"I know. I was watching from the second-floor stairs the whole time."
"Then you heard everything? Good—that saves me the trouble of explaining. Anyway, you'll be staying for breakfast?"
"No, I'm not up for breakfast. I just stopped by to wash up before I go somewhere."
"Eat at our inn too! Don't just run around outside all day, honey!"
"I'll do that from now on. But right now there's a place I need to check out. Is Thor inside?"
Sophia shook her head.
"Mm, no. Thor left early this morning. The lord's been recruiting people to hunt down the Witch lately, and he's signing on as a mercenary."
"Really? Then he'll come back rich... By the way, do you know where this Yolonda Temple is?"
"Yolonda Temple? Our daughter's headed there today, as it happens. Perfect timing—you two can go together."
Sophia smiled and clapped her hands together.
"Cecil is?"
Just then, from the far end of the street came the booming voices of men who looked to be low-ranking soldiers. Cloud's and Sophia's gazes turned toward the end of the street in the same instant.
"At noon today there will be a street procession in honor of the Young Lady! Let everyone come out to the main road and offer heartfelt congratulations to the Young Lady, who returns to her hometown a knight after six long years! And alongside the procession, our festival of Valois shall begin, to last a full week!"
In that instant, a thought flickered through Cloud's mind.
'Don't tell me that Young Lady is Sylvia...?'
A noble's daughter who had become a knight and returned home after six years—no one but Sylvia came to mind. Going by the soldier's words, if her father truly was the lord who ruled this city, then with the grudge he'd earned from Sylvia, Cloud could not go on living here. If she set her servants to sniffing him out, or simply put the soldiers on his trail, it would only be a matter of time before he was caught.
"Hahh."
The thought that genuine trouble had landed in his lap made Cloud scratch his head.
But he had no money to leave the city. He resolved to find work first. Money had to come first, after all. In a city this vast, Sylvia would hardly track him down right away. That much was his only comfort.
He went into the inn, showered, and was changing clothes in his room when Cecil came looking for him.
She opened the door just a crack and poked her head through.
"I hear you're going to the temple too, Cloud?"
"Yep. Did Mom tell you?"
"She did. Let's go together. We're leaving in an hour—that work for you?"
"Suit yourself."
"Got it. See you then."
"Yes, boss."
"Your boss?"
"Anyone who fights better than me and has more money is the boss."
"Cloud's broke, huh?"
"No, no! Anyway, see you later. I was just talking nonsense."
"Okay. If you're out of money, tell me. I can lend you a little."
Unlike the day they'd first met, her expression and tone were warm and friendly. Maybe that was why she felt like a friend he'd known for ages.
A short while later.
"Shall we head down, then?"
When the appointed hour arrived, Cloud stepped out of the inn.
Cecil was already waiting outside. And beside her stood the three mysterious figures he'd glimpsed only in passing when he'd first visited the inn days before.
Their identities remained impossible to pin down. Green robes cloaked them from head to toe, and hoods pulled low hid their faces entirely. Nothing showed but pale skin and slender jawlines; the only things one could read were their figures and the gear they carried.
Slender frames with full chests and hips, each as tall as a grown man. Quivers and bows were slung across their backs.
Cloud decided they were surely women, and addressed Cecil with an air of complete indifference.
"Are they coming with us?"
"Yep. I'm supposed to guide them."
Looking at Cecil, Cloud found himself thinking of Sara back home. Like Sara, Cecil seemed to make her work of drumming up travelers and showing them around the city.
One difference, though: where Sara trolled for customers in ragged clothes, Cecil wore something like a dancer's garb. It was a rather unusual getup—a yellow tunic blouse cinched at the waist with a black sash, and black tights that reached her knees.
"Never seen clothes like those. What are they?"
"These? I made them myself. Easy to move in—in a word, combat-only clothes."
"Combat-only clothes?"
"Yep. You never know when an ambush might come."
Having said her piece, she threw back her head and let out a great "Mwahaha!"
Tilting his head, Cloud ran his eyes over her outfit once more, from top to bottom.
The black tights left the lines of her hips and thighs on full display—mildly embarrassing, that much was true—but it certainly looked like ideal attire for a fight fought with fists and feet.
"Somehow it seems like those would look even better put to a different use."
Cloud, Cecil, and the three strangers set out at once for Yolonda Temple.
On the walk over, the three mysterious figures trailed along behind in silence, and only Cecil and Cloud traded chatter.
"What business do you have at the temple, Cloud?"
"They're looking for a shepherd, so I'm going to apply."
Cecil's eyes suddenly went round as saucers.
"Whaaat? You're joking, right? Don't tell me you've given up on living?"
"'Given up on living'? That's a funny thing to say. Yours truly has only just begun to discover how much fun life can be."
Cloud replied, arms crossed.
At that, Cecil seized him by the collar as if to shake the notion out of him.
"There's a rumor going around that the Witch has been showing herself in the forest east of the city lately—and the place where the temple keeps its sheep is right around there. Didn't you know?"
"The Witch?"
"Yeah. The terrifying Witch."
At Cecil's words, a thought came to him at once. Perhaps the reason the temple hired shepherds at such a steep rate—100,000 Zent a day—was that people were too afraid of the Witch to apply at all, or that the ones they barely managed to hire ran off. In other words: the danger was why the pay was so high.
"Still, couldn't the temple just deal with the Witch itself?"
At Cloud's easygoing reply, Cecil heaved a sigh.
"Slaying a Witch is not a job for just anyone. And that temple is small—it's run by exactly ten priestesses and not one soul more."
"A temple with only priestesses?"
"Yep. Only priestesses there."
"Oh ho."
Cloud's eyes gleamed.