Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: (4) Suspicious Meat Shop
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I came back to my senses and mulled over the skill again.
Especially the upper limit.
It was only 50, but the semen inside my womb would someday become nourishment for my 'strength.' Reminding myself of that fact made it not feel embarrassing at all. Unlike [Growth Mating], which only made Bori stronger, [Impregnation] was a skill that made me stronger.
─Until [Stat Limit Breakthrough]: 3 days 14 hours 28 minutes
Of course, that was only if I spent the next three days or so in this state.
'...I can just ignore the stares.'
The problem was that priest bastard who smashed my bestiality addict pot, but... even a Heretic Inquisitor wouldn't meddle in matters outside the Church.
'Okay.'
I stroked my swollen belly.
My face was full of satisfaction as I cherished it like it was truly my own child. I didn't know who named these skills, but... their naming sense was spot on.
Yeah, just ignore all that crap and do what I need to do.
Of course, I couldn't ignore it.
No matter what clothes I wore, my belly stuck out blatantly.
It felt like it was gradually shrinking over time, but for now, I was at the point of just grabbing whatever and throwing it on. And of course, it might be my imagination, but... the stares directed my way were definitely increasing.
Naturally, I had no choice but to turn passive.
"Kyeng!!"
Bori expressed his dissatisfaction when I holed up for a second day without even taking a single commission.
But I had no choice either—did he expect me to parade around the streets with this bulging belly? It wouldn't stop at mere jeers about whether I'd fucked a dog. I'd start thinking, what if? I even had those delusions sometimes myself.
So these days, I was holed up at Remilia's meat shop.
"Sorry. I'm really sorry."
─Until [Stat Limit Breakthrough]: 1 day 1 hour 15 minutes
"Just bear with it one more day. Okay?"
"...Kyeng!"
"Just hand it over to you? Th-that's not happening! We made a promise!"
Bori was saying to just transfer the stats to him and fuck some more.
─You can store up to 50 excess stats exceeding the current upper limit as surplus and transfer them to the owner 'Bori'.
The effect of Stat Limit Breakthrough. I pressed my lips together and shook my head firmly.
During the time I wasn't taking commissions, we naturally fucked like crazy. The biggest problem was that my willpower thinned out during mating.
Defeat, submission, and obedience. The black desire that bloomed unconsciously. If I let go of my mental reins, I'd definitely prostrate myself and offer up my stats. Honestly, I was even thinking about handing them over now to make it easier...
Bori whined like he couldn't understand every time I agonized over it.
They're all gonna end up with me anyway, so why be so stubborn?
"Only you get stronger? What about me, huh? I wanna try smashing the ground while running! Let's do it!"
This time, I couldn't give up. Bori knew that too, which was why he never pressured me to transfer stats despite the countless matings.
That was exactly why I couldn't help but love Bori. Deep down, Bori was cheering me on.
But Bori was a merciless pack leader, an alpha who dominated females. There were no second chances. That's why I endured desperately. I had to hold out until the opportunity came. I didn't want to become just a mere onahole.
Living as an onahole might be its own kind of happiness, but after all, it was better to journey together as companions. I didn't want to be alone anymore.
- Ding-a-ling.
And so, I headed to Kline and Remilia's meat shop.
It was a restaurant I'd become a regular at, my one and only refuge.
"I'm here."
As I naturally pushed open the door and entered, Remilia greeted me while wiping down a glass.
"Welcome. The usual today?"
"Yeah. Money's tight these days..."
"I'll throw in a few extra as service."
"Thanks!"
Remilia flipped the signboard with practiced ease.
- Whoosh.
The sign reading [Preparing] now faced outward.
"Haa..."
Only then could I finally relax and sit down.
Remilia had glanced at my swollen belly the first time she saw it, but she hadn't pried further. She didn't seem like the type to spread rumors to rude adventurers. Well, the rumors had already spread to a serious level anyway...
At that moment, Remilia handed me a teacup.
"Here, have some."
"What's this?"
"Herbal tea good for postpartum recovery."
"For real?!"
She teased me like this from time to time.
"Does Remilia really think I got knocked up with a wolf pup?"
I shot back with a pout.
Remilia flicked her red hair as she replied.
"No way. What kind of woman balloons up overnight like that? At most, it's gotta be magic."
"It could be a human baby."
"Doesn't matter if it's human. And I've seen plenty of unwanted pregnancies. But your face doesn't look like that."
There was a subtle suspicion at the end of her words.
"I won't ask 'what' it is. You don't seem like you wanna talk about it anyway, and even if I knew, it wouldn't do me any good."
"...Thanks."
Well, stat gains weren't nothing.
I wanted to ask what she'd do if it was useful, but I swallowed it down.
As Remilia cooked the meat, she tossed out a casual question.
"By the way, did you kill someone?"
I looked up. No change in my expression.
But sometimes, maintaining a blank face drew more attention.
I licked my lips and said flatly,
"How'd you know?"
"Anyone who's lived here their whole life is sensitive to back-alley gossip."
"Any trouble?"
"None at all."
- Sizzle! A hunk of meat without proper seasoning landed on the table.
- Thunk!
"Those guys who 'went missing' a few days ago were wanted criminals everyone knew about. Someone I know even got in trouble because of them."
Hoo. Wanted criminals, huh. I'd checked if they were innocents and whether the empire had any insanity pleas, but no need now.
"Thanks to you killing... ahem, making them disappear, our shop's supply chain smoothed out. They were the type you could kill if you tried, but they'd always slip away when you went to catch them."
"No one can escape Bori... Wait, what do you mean supply chain? Is this meat safe to eat?"
I hadn't expected origin labels in this barbaric world, but hearing that made me uneasy.
"..."
Remilia wiped the plates with a straight face, pretending ignorance.
"You fucking—"
"It's monster meat. Safe to eat, so relax. Dad's skills are top-notch."
"That's why it was so cheap..."
"Oh? No issues with quality."
It tasted good, so that checked out.
At least it wasn't human meat.
Remilia chuckled, then wokked the food with a slightly troubled look. Chop chop chop—vegetables and meat stir-frying.
I was entranced by the flashy fire show when—
"Customer. Interested in the back alleys?"
I scowled fiercely.
"Never going back there."
"Fair enough. But what about a commission?"
"Commission?"
Remilia curled the corner of her mouth with cold eyes.
"─Kyeng!"
Before I could say anything, Bori reacted first.
"Grrrng!"
What is it? Tell me now! Bori was excited. Commission, commission. The subjugation quests I hadn't taken for days just to hide my swollen belly!
I huffed and puffed to calm Bori as I said,
"S-sorry! Bori hasn't been able to stretch his legs lately."
"No, no. Quite the opposite—it's great."
"Huh?"
"I figured you'd accept."
Remilia pulled out a yellowed scroll from her bosom.
"It's about the illegal fighting pit. Client's anonymous."
"Anonymous makes it sketchy... More importantly, a fighting pit?"
"They gather all kinds of animals and make them fight. Poaching, money laundering... We used to overlook it up to that point, but lately, they're using illegal drugs too."
Hmm.
I'd heard crackdowns were intensifying lately.
"The lord won't let that slide. Just yesterday, those druggie bastards were strung up in the square..."
"Exactly. The back alleys don't want the lord's private soldiers moving in. If someone's crossed the line, it's proper for us scum to handle it ourselves. That's how we survive long-term."
Us scum? I narrowed my eyes, and she just smirked.
"What do you say? Gonna do it, 'Animal Lover'?"
"It wouldn't even scratch them! Sigh. It hurts my heart, but I have my own circumstances. Don't wanna get tangled with the back alleys."
My heart was tempted, for real. Was it [Animal Lover]'s effect? I actually wanted to charge in right now, but safety was a concern. What good is being an animal lover if I can't even protect Bori right beside me?
"Not right now. Hard enough keeping myself together."
"Two gold coins."
"Trying to buy me off with—What?!"
She said it with the same smiling face.
"Two gold coins. Pay for this job."
Two gold coins.
More than I'd earned in my entire life.
As I stared in disbelief, my hands trembling, a bright yellow coin was placed on the table.
"Accept this job, and you get one gold coin as advance."
From the gleaming gold sheen to the faint metallic scent—it was the real deal.
A fortune that any ordinary adventurer would snap up instantly. Hell, they might just grab it and bolt.
Did she trust me, or did she know I didn't have the guts to take it and run? Either way, separate from trust, it was suspicious for a mere butcher's daughter to carry this much cash.
Offering two gold coins without hesitation as commission pay... and an advance at that.
I poked at the gold coin as I said,
"You're a broker?"
"Not surprising. We're everywhere, not just me."
Someone in a hood wandering the streets as a contact, drug deals, that vibe.
I'd seen it plenty in comics and dramas, so I wasn't shocked. Remilia seemed used to this reaction too, not batting an eye.
I stared holes into the gold coin, pondering.
"In Adventurer's Guild terms, what rank is this job?"
"B-rank, maybe."
"B-, B-rank?!"
B-rank was the wall for adventurers, divided by whether you could handle mana or not.
You couldn't manage it with just your body. B-ranks were crawling with monsters that wouldn't even scratch from a hundred sword stabs.
Not just the next rank up—it was heaven and earth apart.
"...Yeah, no can do."
Two gold coins! Overpay even for a B-rank, but high prices always had reasons. Biting off more than I could chew on this could get me killed for real.
"Thanks for the hookup, but I'm not up to it. Bori's still growing..."
No matter how strong Bori was, he couldn't handle back-alley thugs and berserk animals swarming from all sides.
As I turned to leave, Remilia spoke up.
"Were you thinking it's a commission to wipe out the fighting pit itself?"
- Whoosh.
I whipped my head around.
"What're you saying?"
"The condition for this commission isn't extermination."
I tilted my head sideways.
A sign I was intrigued.
"Then?"
"Win."
Remilia opened her mouth with a small smile.
"Enter as a fighter in the pit and emerge victorious. Then bring me the drug given to the champion."