Perfect Blackmail, and New Prey
The next morning, Kyle slowly opened his eyes to the warm sunlight seeping in through the window.
"Nnnh..."
He felt thoroughly refreshed. The inn had only just opened, so the facilities were spotless, and whether thanks to the special tonic the proprietor had offered on the house the night before, he felt better than he had in ages.
Through half-lidded eyes, he took in the sight of his wife Melia lying beside him. Just looking at her filled him with contentment. The knowledge that he alone was the man who could freely embrace that chest that looked ready to burst, that dizzying figure, brought a smile unbidden to his lips.
He was still admiring her when Melia let out a faint moan and sat up.
"Nnh...!"
But she jolted as if seized by sheer terror, her eyes flying wide.
"Hm...? Melia, what's wrong?"
Melia stared blankly into the air for a moment. Then she confirmed that Kyle was lying beside her, and looked at him with an expression of utter horror.
"Nnh...?! I... it's nothing... I think I just had a n-nightmare..."
She could barely tell where the dream ended and the reality in front of her began. The moment she tried to move, a dull, grinding ache raced through her entire lower body, and with it came the distinct, slick sensation of something thick and hot overflowing down the insides of her thighs.
The drug had fully worn off. And yet the nauseating remnants of the moans and the pleasure she had cried out while taking another man's cock still clung to her body in a grotesque film.
A dream...? That was no dream...!
Every time she looked at Kyle's honest, simple face, guilt churned mercilessly in the pit of her stomach.
"You feeling that bad...? Your face has gone completely white. That tonic the proprietor gave us wiped my fatigue right out. If you're not feeling well, just stay in bed a while longer. I'll go grab you some warm stew and bring it up."
Kyle reached toward Melia's forehead with a tender expression.
"N-no...! Nnh—! Don't touch me...!"
Melia jerked backward as if in a fit, before her husband's fingers could even graze her. She yanked the blanket up to her chin, and the fingertips clutching it trembled so violently it was painful to watch.
"Ah...... right. Sorry. Guess I startled you pretty bad. I'll go downstairs and put in an order, then. Take your time getting ready and come down when you can."
Kyle, who understood nothing, scratched his head, stretched, pulled on his clothes, and left the room humming under his breath.
Click.
The instant she heard the door shut, Melia buried her face in the blanket and let the tears she had been holding back come flooding out. She could feel another man's seed sliding down her thighs, and with it rose the memory of the screams she had loosed last night, the shameful things she had said.
Hah... sir... th-there... it's too deep...! I can't... I feel like I'm actually going to lose my mind...!
"Urgh...! Hhkk... this can't be... how could I... how could I do something like that..."
That was when it happened.
Sliiiide.
The door, which should have been locked, opened without a sound.
"Eek...!"
Melia screamed and curled into the corner of the bed. The man standing in the doorway was not the husband who had just left. It was Chris, the tavern's proprietor, wearing a smile so gentle it made the skin crawl.
"Did you sleep well, Miss Melia? Your husband went downstairs looking thoroughly satisfied."
"...! You— what did you do to me...?! Get out of here right now! I'm going to tell Kyle everything...!"
Melia pointed a shaking hand toward her staff and shouted, but in Chris's eyes it was nothing more than a pitiful little struggle. He drew a fist-sized crystal orb from his coat and set it on the table with a casual clack.
"Th-that's...!!!"
The orb began to glow with a dull red light, then poured last night's scene into the air as a vivid phantom.
Beside her sleeping husband, a woman drugged out of her mind spread her own legs.
She clung to another man's waist, screaming with the moans of a beast.
"Nngh...! S-Sir, yours is too big... I feel like my insides are melting...!"
Melia's lewd moans rang out through the room, raw and unfiltered.
"This— this is...! Turn it off right now! Downstairs... Kyle is downstairs, if he hears—! Please, turn it off...!"
Terrified that her husband on the first floor might hear, Melia went white as a sheet, clapped a hand over her own mouth, and stretched desperately toward the crystal orb. Chris caught her wrist as if it were nothing and pinned it to the bed.
"Tsk. What do you suppose your husband would say if he heard this? The noble C-Rank mage, climaxing on another man's cock right beside her husband. Stick that on the Adventurer Guild board and it would make for quite a show."
"Please... please just turn the sound down... don't tell Kyle... I'll do anything... anything you want..."
Melia wept and begged, drowning in despair. The pride of the once-noble mage had already been shattered beyond repair.
Chris gently wiped the corners of her eyes, then whispered low against her ear.
"W-what...?"
"On the road to and from the Royal Capital, you will stop at my tavern once a month, without fail. And without your husband's knowledge... you will receive my special service."
"Ah... aah..."
"Should a month pass without your visit, or should you entertain any other ideas... the contents of this crystal orb will be scattered across the entire Royal Capital. Do you understand?"
Melia bit down on her lip. There was no right of refusal. Her body, her mind, and her weakness were already held perfectly in his grip.
"...I under...stand... I'll... I'll do it..."
"A fine answer, Miss Melia."
Chris smiled, satisfied, pressed a light kiss to her forehead, and left the room.
When he came down to the first floor, Kyle looked up from a steaming bowl of stew and greeted him brightly.
"Ah, proprietor! This food is a work of art! I'll stop by every single time I pass through on the way to the Royal Capital!"
"Haha, thank you. You and your wife are welcome anytime."
Chris let a sneer curl through him and murmured under his breath.
That's right. Come as often as you like. Your wife just promised she would, too.
After Melia and her husband had departed, Chris returned to the business of running his tavern. For the first few months after opening he had handled everything himself, but managing an entire three-story building — the guest rooms and the tavern besides — was tedious even for a former A-Rank adventurer. In the end, he decided to hire a serving girl to help with the work.
Early that morning, Chris pinned a help-wanted notice to the first-floor wall, then headed for the village Adventurer Guild.
Jingle.
The moment he stepped inside, the lively noise of adventurers filled his ears.
"Welcome~!"
As he approached the reception desk, a guild clerk whose face he knew greeted him warmly.
"Oh my, Chris! I heard the rumor you'd retired and opened a tavern. What brings you to the guild?"
"Nothing much. I just came to put a notice up on the job board."
Chris held out the help-wanted poster he had prepared in advance.
"Hiring staff? I suppose it is a lot for one person to manage. What kind of conditions are you looking for?"
"Nothing special. Someone diligent, sharp, and who doesn't mind tavern work. Once they're through the probation period, I intend to pay them well."
"Understood! There are plenty of people looking for odd jobs right now, so I expect you'll have someone in no time."
The clerk took the poster with a smile and pinned it in a prime spot on the board. A tavern run by a veteran A-Rank adventurer, with decent wages attached — it was more than enough to catch people's eyes.
"Thanks. Come by for a drink sometime."
"I'll only order the expensive stuff, so you better give me plenty of extras!"
They exchanged a light joke, and he left the guild.
And then, a mere two days later — before he had even finished cleaning after opening the tavern for the day — the clear, bright chime of the bell rang out, and someone stepped inside.
Jingle.
"Um... excuse me! I saw the help-wanted notice...!"
At the cautious voice, Chris turned his head. A young woman stood hesitating in the doorway, a large backpack slung over her shoulders. She had neatly braided brown hair and the pure, wholesome features of a beauty, her cheeks flushed as if with shyness. And on her finger, a ring glittered where it caught the light.
So she has a fiancé?
The keen senses of his adventuring days stirred to life. An unspoiled air, as if she had only just come up from the countryside. And beneath her clothes, a secret, voluptuous figure whose lines the fabric could not quite conceal. A new piece of prey had arrived — one that would make life at the tavern considerably more entertaining.
"Welcome. Here about the position?"
Chris lifted the corner of his mouth and put on the smile of a generous tavern keeper.
"Yes...!"
He guided Lily to a seat in the corner and conducted the interview. He had already decided to hire her from the first impression, but appearances had to be observed.
"First off, I'm Chris. Former A-Rank adventurer. I've retired now, and I run this place, but..."
"...! Huh...?! An A-Rank adventurer...?!"
Her startled reaction was rather adorable.
"Heh... Well, I'm retired, so that's all ancient history now. Why don't you start by introducing yourself?"
She went on in a shy, nervous voice, composing herself as best she could.
"Yes! I came up from the Witherba Region...! I was on my way to the Royal Capital, but I ran short on travel money, so I stopped at the guild to rest for a bit — and I figured I should earn some living expenses first when I saw your help-wanted notice, sir...! My name is Lily!"
As he listened, it seemed she had a childhood friend from her hometown who was also her fiancé. They had meant to come to the capital together, but they hadn't had enough money, so Lily had come ahead to establish herself. The ring on her finger was the engagement ring they had exchanged.
"Hmm. So you have a fiancé."
"Ah, yes! He's a childhood friend I grew up with back home... He promised he'd make something of himself and come for me. So I couldn't just sit around doing nothing either...!"
Whenever she spoke of her fiancé, Lily's eyes sparkled. Innocence, and blind trust. From the perspective of a veteran adventurer like Chris, such naivete was nothing more than the most delicious kind of prey.
Heh.
"I see. You've got yourself a very admirable fiancé."
Chris smiled his generous smile and filled Lily's cup with a warm drink. Of course, he did not forget to secretly mix in a pinch of his special relaxation powder.
"Tavern work is more physically demanding than you'd think. Will you be all right? You'll have to clean the rooms on the second and third floors, and handle serving on the first as well."
"Yes! I helped with plenty of housework and farm work back in the countryside, so I'm confident when it comes to physical labor! Please assign me anything you need!"
Lily clenched her fists, burning with motivation. The moment she took a sip of the drink, a faint trace of the drug spread through her, and her tense shoulders visibly loosened.
"Good. You're hired. You can use a spare room on the third floor for room and board, and I'll pay you a little more than the guild standard."
"Really...?! Thank you, sir! I'll work as hard as I can!"
Lily bowed her head, her face overflowing with gratitude — without the faintest dream of what kind of gaze this tavern she had just entered, and this good-natured former A-Rank proprietor, were turning upon her.
"Well then, you can start today, yes? Go unpack your things on the third floor first, then come back down."
"Yes!"
Watching Lily's retreating figure as she climbed the stairs with light steps, Chris let out a quiet snicker.