A Body That Won't Cool Down
Just as Arty had predicted, expanding the ranks all at once would make command difficult, so they stopped recruiting once the numbers had roughly doubled.
Even so, the new blood consisted of ambitious mercenaries eager to stake their claim in a rising company, and those who gathered were men with no small confidence in their own skills.
In time, those whose confidence outstripped their ability—and those who simply didn't fit the Wolf Mercenary Corps' atmosphere—would fall away. But the ones who remained would become the driving force that made the company grow even stronger.
With recruitment finished, they turned their attention to purchasing provisions.
Having learned of the dimensional warehouse from Kaisent, Lillian bought a full year's worth of food and stored anything that wouldn't keep long inside the warehouse.
"Halrot Kingdom is drowning in undead right now—there's more work than anyone can take! We're not missing a payday like this! If any of you are scared, get out now! And if I catch anyone whining about how terrifying it is later, I'll plant you on the shield wall until you're not scared anymore!"
Lillian boldly declared that they would take on every contract Halrot Kingdom had to offer.
Fortunately, the ambitious and self-assured new recruits answered her call with enthusiasm, and the moment the food purchases were complete, they resolved to set out for Halrot Kingdom at once.
The mercenaries would be staying a long time in a kingdom short on both food and supplies, so beyond the company provisions they hurried about buying personal luxuries and emergency rations of their own.
Among them was Kaisent, who had spoken with Lillian and received fifty gold coins.
"Hmm… what should I buy?"
"What is there to deliberate over? Simply purchase whatever relates to magic."
At Kaisent's side stood Arty, transformed into human form.
An Abyss Knight was far too problematic to parade openly through a city, and Arty in her Machinaroid body was an otherworldly presence that drew every eye—so the human disguise was necessary.
"That too, but… if I'm going to find Seol-yeong unnie, I need to learn about this world. If she isn't anywhere on the Eastern Continent, that means she's in the forest where she and I first met."
Without knowing whether that forest originally belonged to this world or had been transplanted here from another, finding Dang Seol-yeong would be impossible.
He already knew it was an enormous forest—but this world supposedly had three such "demon-realm-class" forests.
Woods vast as kingdoms, ecosystems where humans could never settle.
Still, a mage's strength was measured by the breadth of spells he commanded, so Kaisent could not afford to stop learning new magic.
Power and Dang Seol-yeong both mattered to him—so he chose to hunt for books.
"My own strength I can steal from the enemies I fight. But knowledge like this only comes from buying books and reading them."
"Is this woman named Dang Seol-yeong truly so precious to you?"
"Yes. Even if I could go back to my original world right this second, I'd refuse. I can't leave unnie behind."
"……."
Arty felt a strange sensation at hearing the usually timid Kaisent speak with such firm conviction.
What is this emotion? Anger? Sorrow? I'm feeling them all at once.
But even while disguised as human she had never experienced feelings like these, so she had no idea how to name them—and simply pushed them aside.
The two of them were asking for directions to a bookstore when they ran into members of the Wolf Mercenary Corps out buying personal goods.
"Hey, Kaisent."
"Hello."
"Perfect timing. You seen the vice-captain anywhere?"
"Pardon?"
"We're looking to buy new swords, and the vice-captain's got a good eye for that sort of thing. Wanted to ask her opinion, but she's nowhere to be found today."
The mercenaries had hoped for Frederick's advice, yet for some reason she was nowhere in sight—almost as if she were hiding.
…She's probably cooling herself down somewhere, trying to avoid Lillian.
It wasn't only that a body once male had been forced to feel a woman's pleasure—Lillian tormented that body at every opportunity, so Frederick was almost certainly lying low.
If Kaisent hadn't already confirmed through his tamed insects what the two of them had been doing, he would have been just as puzzled and gone looking himself.
"I don't know either, I'm afraid. I'll have Mingming sweep the whole city. If I find her, I'll pass along your message."
"Appreciate it."
"And tell us the second you do. If you take too long, I'm not joking—I'll spend the money on drinks instead."
Kaisent sent Mingming soaring over the city and began searching for Frederick.
People heading to Halrot Kingdom in search of work mixed with refugees pouring down from the kingdom itself, and the streets were packed well past capacity. Finding Frederick was going to take time.
"Kaisent."
"Hm?"
"I do not recommend fraternizing with the other mercenaries."
"…What are you talking about?"
Kaisent was here out of a sense of debt to the original Wolf Mercenary Corps, and Arty's advice made him frown.
"Didn't you tell me before that I should build fame and all that?"
"Using fame to draw others into your sphere of influence and forming genuine personal bonds are two different matters."
Both required that others feel goodwill toward him—but one exploited that goodwill, and the other did not. That was the difference.
"Do you intend never to return to your original world, Kaisent?"
"That's……."
"Human society is built upon human relationships. The greater the achievements you accumulate in this world, the deeper the bonds you form, the harder it will become to leave."
"……."
Arty's words struck home.
Honestly, Kaisent found life in this world far more fulfilling than life in the one he had come from.
In his original world everything was abundant, and he had older sisters and mothers who loved him unconditionally—but his role had been nothing more than a doll, loved by everyone while doing nothing at all.
Here, he had clawed his way up from the bottom, found comrades he could entrust his life to, and even made a lover with whom he shared real affection.
All of it carved out by his own hands.
While Kaisent was still turning Arty's words over in his mind, a signal came from Mingming.
"Hold on. Mingming found something."
Syncing his vision with the insect's, Kaisent saw Frederick alone in a secluded alley.
Still unused to the face-covering helmet, she had tucked it under one arm and was trying to cool her overheated body with slow, deliberate breaths.
Just as I thought. After what Lillian and I did to her, she can't control how hot her body gets.
Confirming that she was struggling to cool an inflamed body—exactly as expected—brought Kaisent a measure of relief.
But then three men entered Mingming's field of view, approaching Frederick.
"Sss— hoooo~~ haaah……."
This is bad. No matter how I breathe, my body won't calm down!
After Lillian had forced thirty consecutive climaxes out of her, Frederick's body had refused to settle. She kept cycling her breath and circulating mana, trying to force the heat down.
Damn this curse!
She was convinced her body had been made lewd by some curse.
In truth, the training she had endured inside the dimensional warehouse—where time flowed at one-tenth speed while she slept—had already turned her body into a bomb packed with powder.
Lillian's thirty consecutive orgasms had simply lit the fuse.
Lillian… ever since I was cursed, something about her has felt off…….
The woman who had always refused to share a bed with him had suddenly begun clinging to him, and Frederick felt a deep, unsettling wrongness about it.
There was also the sense that Lillian was deliberately trying to make him more lewd.
So he had slipped away to be alone, fighting to quiet a body that had grown shamelessly sensitive.
"Huh? Hey, look at that."
"Whoa."
"What's a beauty like that doing in a place like this?"
At that moment, for whatever reason, a group of mercenaries with business in the area came face to face with Frederick.
"Tch."
Footsteps, breathing, posture—everything about them screamed low-rank mercenary. Frederick lightly berated himself for failing to notice their approach while he was busy cooling down.
"Mind your own business and move along."
But these were the sort who dabbled in human trafficking and had bounties on their heads in more than one city—typical lowlife mercenaries.
And Frederick, now possessed of a beauty no man could simply walk past, was not someone they would leave alone.
"Hehehe. Running into each other like this is fate, right? Let's talk a bit."
"Yeah. And lose that stuffy-looking armor while you're at it."
"Kikikik."
The three mercenaries moved naturally to surround Frederick on three sides.
Low-rank or not, they had done this kind of work often enough that the encirclement was smooth and practiced.
"I must have been too polite. Get lost."
Every one of them was filthy, repulsive, and disgusting to look at—the kind of faces that would make anyone scowl, woman or not.
Surrounded or not, someone of Standard rank could thrash dozens of men like these without breaking a sweat.
"Hihiihi. I'm going crazy. That face just makes you want to laugh."
"Holy shit, what a fuckable face."
"You bastards—!"
At last Frederick's temper snapped. He flared his presence and delivered a final warning.
"I don't like making a scene if I can help it. Quietly get the hell—!"
"Hey, big sis. That ass is nice and firm—how about you take the armor off so we can check the tits too?"
A rough hand seized him.
But these were low-rank mercenaries who couldn't even sense aura. The one behind him boldly grabbed a hard handful of Frederick's ass.
"Hhyaaang~~♥"
"Ohh? Look at that reaction."
"Ah~ so that's the kind of play this is. Sorry, big sis. We're a little slow on the uptake with this stuff."
"Y-you pieces of—!"
All the conditioning Kaisent and Lillian had drilled into him detonated at once. His body had become so lewd that a single crude grab of his ass drained the strength from his hips.
"We'll get that bulky armor off for you too."
"Let go! I said let go!"
Frederick fought desperately to resist, but—
Squelch—!
"Khhuuuuung~~~~~~!!"
"Whoa. Already wet?"
The mercenary gripping his ass shoved a hand between his thighs and stroked his sex. Pleasure stole every ounce of strength from Frederick's body, and he fell completely into their hands.
Kh…! Trash like this I could handle without even trying……!
The mercenaries, of course, had no way of knowing that. They stripped away the heavy leather armor Frederick wore.
A soft, heavy sway—
"Whoa!"
"H-holy shit……!"
"All I can say is incredible."
As the armor came off and Frederick's figure was laid bare, genuine gasps of admiration burst from the three men.
Breasts that looked to be at least an F-cup stood out clearly even under loose men's clothing.
And when they took hold of his waist, it was so impossibly slender and cinched that it seemed unbelievable those breasts could be supported by it at all.
The kind of body people meant when they said everything that should go in went in, and everything that should come out came out—and no one wore that description better.
Top-shelf goods!
No—this is premium grade!
Just enjoy it first!
The three mercenaries' previously lecherous gazes sharpened into the eyes of predators locking onto prey.
Squeeze! Crush!
"Kyaheuut~~~♥"
All three men seized Frederick's breasts and ass and began groping him roughly.
But his body had been developed so thoroughly that even rough handling registered as pure pleasure. He grew wet in moments, preparing himself to take a man.
"First, let's check how tight it is inside. Hup!"
"Fuhyaang~♥"
One mercenary jammed his fingers roughly into Frederick's sex. A hole that had already climaxed thirty times in a row reacted violently.
"How is it?"
"Holy fuck. Insanely snug. Stick a cock in here and it'd squeeze down so good it'd feel incredible."
"Yeah? Wonder how this side is, then."
Squelch—
"Kihiiiit~~~~♥"
The mercenary holding the rear pushed his index finger into Frederick's anus.
"Ohh~ this side clamps down nice too. Look forward to it, you slut. We're gonna sandwich you and take you for a ride."
"F…fuck……!"
"Mouth's a little dirty, though."
"Female mercenaries all talk like that."
"Yeah, but this bitch doesn't look anything like those greenskin-type women."
Assailed from both holes at once, Frederick could not keep his mind straight.
It wasn't only that pleasure had robbed his body of strength—every time the mercenaries mauled him and shoved into his secret places, he could feel his very spirit shifting.
I'm a man! A man! Don't change my soul!
As a man, this kind of pleasure should have felt repulsive. But the feeling was changing—from "this is repulsive because I'm a man" into "this is repulsive because I'm being forced."
"Hehehe. Never seen a bitch get this wet this fast."
"This soaked, no point fingering her any more."
Rustle—
Frederick watched in horror as the mercenary who had been working his sex from the front dropped his pants and pulled out an erect cock.
"W-wait! I'm a man! A man, I said!"
"What? The hell is this bitch babbling about?"
"A curse turned me into a woman, that's all!"
"Bullshit. The way you react the second we finger that cunt, you've clearly enjoyed this more than a few times already."
The mercenaries ignored Frederick's claims and stripped away his underclothes.
"Ah… aah……!"
If this continued, filthy mercenaries like these would finish turning him into a woman.
Ordinarily Frederick would have solved the problem the way a man should—but after everything Kaisent had done to him, and now these mercenaries, his soul had already begun to warp toward the feminine. Tears welled as despair took hold.
"All right, then I'll take first—gahk!"
Just as the mercenary was about to drive his cock into Frederick's sex, something slammed into his side and sent him sprawling hard across the ground.
"Wh-what!?"
"Who's there!"
The remaining two mercenaries hastily drew their weapons and looked toward the direction the attack had come from.
There stood Kaisent, face set hard, staring them down.
"What, it's just some kid."
"Don't let your guard down, idiot. He's a mage."
"A kid mage's only got a few Magic Missiles in him. That one just got caught with his pants down."
Saying so, the two mercenaries spread left and right, ready to rush Kaisent.
"I'm warning you. Get lost."
"Hah! Like hell!"
"Die, you little shit!"
They swung their swords in earnest at a boy who looked, by any measure, like a child.
That alone erased the last reason Kaisent might have had to spare them. He swayed his upper body back and forth with Ranger combat arts.
"Ugh!?"
"You fucker—!"
They hadn't even grasped the fundamentals of Ranger combat arts, and could only wonder why their blades wouldn't connect—
Thud! Thwack!
"Ghk!"
"Kehehk!"
Back-Mountain Palm strikes slammed into both men's abdomens, shaking their organs and forcing blood from their mouths.
"H-hiiik! Ghk!"
The mercenary who had been knocked down by the Magic Missile tried to scramble away—but an arrow, loosed with the principles of the Soul-Chasing Arrow, punched clean through his temple as he fled.
Ordinarily Kaisent would have merely knocked them unconscious. But they had tried to rape Frederick, and they had attacked him without a shred of hesitation, murder in their eyes. There was no mercy in his movements.
Having dealt with the three mercenaries, Kaisent approached Frederick—stripped and disheveled—and draped his own robe over him.
"Sorry I'm late."
"Ah……."
Watching Kaisent apologize as he covered him with the robe, Frederick felt tears prick at his own eyes.
Relief, grief, and terror tangled together, and he nearly wept like any ordinary woman.
To think I'd almost cry over something like this……!
Not yet fully fallen into womanhood, Frederick swallowed the tears and pulled the clothes on.
"You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"…No."
"I'll walk you back to camp."
Kaisent didn't fuss or hover with clumsy concern. He spoke briefly, calmly, and began walking ahead of Frederick as if to escort him.
That boy who used to be so small and fragile…….
The Kaisent Frederick first remembered had been tiny, delicate, a face that looked ready to burst into tears if anyone so much as touched him—still reeling from the shock of being attacked and losing someone precious.
And now that same boy felt so dependable.
Made a little more feminine by the mercenaries' hands, Frederick felt his heart pound as he looked at the back of a boy smaller than himself—and somehow so solid, so reassuring.