Pay It Back with Your Body

"This is the place."

When I pushed open the door of the old adventurer tavern, the hall was already packed with adventurers despite the late morning hour.

"Welcome—! Huh? Taeyoung! You're early for work today."

The tavern owner hurried over on her short little legs—well, she was a dwarf, after all—practically scurrying with delight. I normally only started at lunch, but she looked thrilled, like she expected me to put in some overtime. Not a chance.

"What? An adventurer tavern? We needed somewhere quiet to talk."

"Heh heh.... To hide a tree... you bury it in the forest.... Noisy is... actually better. Humans... really are smart."

"Hmph. You just don't know any other places, do you?"

Mina hit the bullseye. I flinched. What would a broke guy like me know? I'd never even crossed the threshold of another inn or restaurant. But Mina had been sniping at everything since earlier, and Ria just followed me with pure, unconditional positivity, so I was the only one left feeling awkward.

"Uh, why don't we grab a corner table, eat something, and talk?"

"Taeyoung? Who are these two?"

"Customers, boss. Customers. And I'll take a meal too. Three Adventurer Morning Sets, please."

"Sure thing! Sit wherever you like. I'll bring them right out."

Money really was nice. I even got to boss the owner around. Dwarves operated on pure business sense—hardcore gold-worshippers and ruthless realists.

The moment we sat at a dim corner table that barely caught any sunlight, a plate of ready-made sausages, eggs, and warm bread appeared in a flash.

"Eat up. Counting on you today, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

While she said it, the owner scanned my companions from head to toe.

"Just so you know... our place is prepaid."

Of course it was. Adventurers were only a half-step removed from local thugs. Dine-and-dashers were everywhere, so payment up front was the rule. I glanced between Ria and Mina. Ria just smiled gently.

"Ugh. Unbelievable. Really. Here."

As if the whole thing were a joke, the constantly snarky Mina handed the owner three silver coins.

"We'll take a room for the night too."

"Hoho. Much obliged. But lunch and dinner are separate, just so you know. What'll it be?"

Mina's brow twitched, but she passed over two more silver coins. The owner beamed and headed back to the kitchen.

"Total rip-off."

"Still... delicious...."

Mina had already bitten into a thick sausage and was talking around her mouthful.

"Look over there. Taeyoung's got two elves with him."

"Is he being threatened? Should we step in?"

"Let's just watch for now."

Ignoring the prickling stares and whispers around us, Mina fidgeted and pressed on.

"About... last night.... I mean...."

"Munch munch. We're.... sorry...."

Ria tore into her bread like nothing was wrong and offered the apology mid-chew. Was she just completely in her own world? Mina, on the other hand, had gone bright red and was on the verge of tears. For all her sniping, maybe Mina was the normal one after all.

"Sorry. I'm so.... I'm truly sorry...."

"We're.... Forest Elves.... Rumina, Minamoon. Two moons.... munch munch... when both are full, we get... weird."

"Even so, what happened happened. You'll have to take responsibility."

I threw out a threat for starters. This was an adventurer tavern—my home ground. Right, girls? You'll back me up, won't you? From what I'd heard, non-consensual sex—Sex Battles without mutual agreement—was a crime on par with murder.

"W-would this be enough? I heard a man's first time is pretty expensive."

Mina dug a heavy pouch and set ten gold coins on the table. One gold coin was enough for an ordinary adventurer to live comfortably for a month.

"You think I'm some kind of male prostitute?"

"Never... bought one, but... you were better than a prostitute... for sure."

Ria said it while looking at Mina.

"Urgh! B-but still!"

Mina's trembling hands pulled out five more gold coins and stacked them on top.

"Th-that's all I have. Forgive us.... We weren't in our right minds."

"Ria too... sorry...."

Ria, who had already cleaned her plate, bowed her head in apology as well. But the two of them were missing the point. That wasn't how the world worked.

"Keep the money."

"Huh?"

Ria's head snapped up. Could she hide that "free money!" look in her eyes? I hadn't pegged her for the greedy type.

"What started with bodies should be paid back with bodies."

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A body for a body.

—Whoosh!

Fierce flames leapt from the stove.

"Hey! Pointy-eared brat! Orders are piling up! Stop dawdling and stir-fry already! Four more fried rice!"

"Aaaargh! Son of a—!"

"Watch the language! You stand over there and suddenly all you want to do is swear?"

Mina was in the kitchen, frantically shaking a wok and stir-frying rice like a madwoman. Hair tied up in a towel, she looked surprisingly competent at the wok. Maybe this was her true calling.

Meanwhile Ria and I sat face-to-face at a corner table, hands clasped. The surrounding glares didn't faze her in the slightest.

"Mm... faint, but... you have mana...."

Something tingly flowed from our joined hands into my body.

"But... wait? This is...."

Ria's eyes widened in surprise.

"It's called Sex Battler, apparently."

"Heh heh... really?... So that's what it is... hmm...."

"I'm new to this myself, so I don't know much."

I scratched the back of my head, feeling oddly bashful. She seemed to ponder for a moment before continuing.

"Truth is... me and Mina too... it was our real... first time.... Heh heh...."

She blushed faintly and tickled my palm with her fingertips.

"Tonight too... both moons are full... again. Of course. Hard to hold back...."

Apparently Forest Elves went into serious heat whenever both moons—Rumina and Minamoon—were full. The two of them had drunk themselves silly last night without even realizing it was "that day." The outcome had been good in its own way, but it still left a weird aftertaste. Which was exactly why I was making them pay with their bodies.

Instead of money, teach me everything about battles.

Alright....

Huh? But I'm not good at battles!

Yeah, I already knew that.

Then you'll just have to pay with your actual body.

Mina had looked half-nervous, half-excited, completely at a loss—yet here she was, working the kitchen in my place. That left Ria as my temporary battle instructor. Surviving in this world required power and knowledge more than immediate cash. It felt like a pretty rational choice. I needed to get strong enough to at least protect myself. Last night had just been luck.

"Tch. Can't you pointy-ears even fry rice properly?!"

"Aaaagh! I'll show you! The skill of the West Forest! Hyah! Hyah! Hyaaah!"

Watching her get fired up by the owner's scolding, I started to think it really might be her calling.

"Here.... Can you feel it?"

I nodded as I watched Ria, still blushing, keep playing with my palm.

"Ah! Ah! Right there—ngh❤ Hyaah❤!"

Deep into the night, in the far room of the adventurer tavern, Ria's cries spilled out. Still straddling my thighs and nestled in my arms, her back traced an elegant curve that caught the moonlight. Sweat sliding down that smooth skin ran hot along my arms. I lifted her onto the bed, clapped a hand over her mouth, and whispered against her ear.

"Shh. Quiet. You'll wake Mina."

"Mmph! Mm! Mmph❤ Nngh! Ah❤"

I kept a steady rhythm, driving hard into her open heat. The sudden squeeze around me made me pause and lift my hips.

"Trying to finish already?"

"Mmph! Mm-mmph! Let me...❤ Let me gooo...❤"

Her pupils were already unfocused, her hot breath thick and musky. Completely undone, her insides coiled furiously around every movement.

"Haaah... slurp.... Hee...❤"

When I kissed her parted lips, her tongue tangled with mine as if she'd been waiting. Ria moved the legs locked around my waist in time with the rhythm. Inside her, rapid contractions and releases repeated without pause.

"Nngh... Taeyoung... I'm... alone again... nghh❤!"

—Splurt!

Ria's flood poured out for the second time tonight. The bedsheets had long since become a lake. I glanced sideways at the other bed. The kitchen work must have exhausted her—Mina lay facing the opposite wall, dead to the world without a single twitch.

She twitched now and then... maybe having a good dream? Well then. I still had my own battle to finish.

"W-wait...! Ahh! Right after... it's too... sensitive...❤ Nngh!"

Ria arched away from the continuing thrusts, but the legs around my waist never loosened, and her insides kept twitching.

"Nngh...! Ah... it's... coming againnn❤"

She let out a raw, animal moan and clung to me with everything she had. I was already at my limit too. My hips wouldn't stop.

"Ahh!"

Pressed chest to chest, I felt her heartbeat thunder against me. The pulse beneath those soft swells traveled straight into my skin. Maybe a full day of growing used to Ria's Sex Power was the reason, but I could feel a force swirling rapidly inside her as well—warm, soft... strangely nostalgic.

I brushed the sweat-slick nape of her neck and kept driving my other self deep into Ria. The softened folds dragged along my tip and squeezed greedily.

"Inside... haah! Inside... nngh...! I'm coming again! Come with me❤? Yeah? Let's feel good together❤"

The climax I'd been barely holding back exploded. My body convulsed lightly as I pulsed and poured everything into her.

Our gazes tangled in the moonlight-warped air, and as if possessed we began devouring each other's tongues.

Tongues tangled and the boundary between us dissolved. My cock showed no sign of softening, as if the climax had never happened. I pushed right back into Ria, still slick with mixed seed and juices.

Text kept flashing before my eyes, but the only thing at the end of my gaze was her silver hair plastered with sweat, her trembling form panting hard for breath.

And so a week passed.

Thanks to Ria and Mina I left the stable behind and started living comfortably in a proper inn room. Had a leak-free roof and a real bed always felt this good? Or was it because I finally had Sex Power? Even after the nights we spent going at it, my body felt light every morning when I woke.

From morning to evening I took Ria's lessons; at night I tangled bodies with her. The full moons had long since passed and the moons were waning, yet every single night Ria still dragged me into their bedroom.

Somehow, though, Mina's condition was worsening. The other female adventurers staying at the inn looked the same—deep, dark circles under their eyes, every one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of them looking ready to explode if touched. It felt like razor blades were floating in the air.

"Mina? Is something wrong?"

I asked while she sat resting at a table, but only an irritated glare came back.

"Mina... should join us too... it would be nice...."

The instant she heard that, Mina bolted straight into the kitchen. A quiet chorus of gulps from the watching adventurers rolled through the hall.