Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: The Hero's Secret
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The blonde woman staring at me.
Her hair tied back, she furrowed her brow as she gazed at me.
"Uh, how can you use something so sticky and lewd all by yourself? Doing that kind of thing while the shop is open... Unbelievable."
Her eyes looked at me as if I'd shown her something filthy, laced with faint disgust.
She was a woman with such stunning beauty that it felt like a feast for the eyes.
Shiny blonde hair and sparkling green eyes.
The long lashes framing her playful face added a touch of femininity to her lively smile.
Her blonde was similar to Yuris's but a bit brighter in saturation.
If I had to compare, it was closer to platinum blonde?
The subtly sacred hue of her hair wasn't something you saw every day.
Her face bore a hint of makeup.
And the clothes she wore...
Were surprisingly trendy.
She was clearly in leather armor, but it had a crop top vibe that exposed a sliver of her midriff.
It was so sleek it would feel trendy even in modern Korea, not just this fantasy world.
Her figure-hugging outfit was stylish enough to draw stares from passersby on its own.
'She looks familiar.'
I stared at her for a moment.
Where had I seen that face before?
It rang a bell.
But more importantly, she was branding me a pervert.
To a complete stranger, no less.
"Pervert? I think there's a misunderstanding here."
I wiped the slime gel off my hands to explain.
"This isn't anything weird. It's just gel for massages..."
"Don't make me laugh."
"Pardon?"
"High-end brothels use it when servicing men. Everyone knows what it's for."
Her gaze dripped with contemptuous disgust.
Well, she wasn't entirely wrong.
It was indeed gel used in upscale brothels that catered to nobles.
But it wasn't exclusively for that.
Nobles used it for massages too, and some even applied it during baths to scrub off dirt.
It wasn't solely for lewd purposes.
'It's meant for customers anyway, not for my own pleasure.'
Getting labeled a pervert here felt a bit unfair.
The platinum blonde woman glared at me like I was trash, her face promising to spread this everywhere.
"And it's for men or women to take care of themselves!"
What was this woman saying?
Did I look like the type to jerk off while the shop was open?
Me, someone who worked diligently?
This was an absurd misunderstanding.
If I let her leave like this, the shop would get labeled a brothel, and I'd be the hopeless pervert masturbating on the job.
'This is tricky.'
I was pondering how to fix it when...
'Wait a second.'
"...How do you know about that, milady?"
"Pardon?"
"It's slime gel, sure. Not exclusively for brothels, but ordinary nobles rarely see it."
"......"
"How did you recognize it at a glance?"
"W-Well..."
The platinum blonde woman shut her mouth.
"You're not mistaking plain transparent gel for some alchemist's brew or just water... You knew it was slime gel."
I stepped closer as I asked.
"Are you perhaps someone who works there?"
"W-What?"
"How else would you know right away?"
She took a step back.
"Y-You can just tell. It's obviously something weird, that sticky, stretchy liquid..."
"You're no monster expert... And you're not the type to splurge on something this pricey just for self-pleasure."
The platinum blonde woman was speechless.
"Alchemists don't make it in bulk either, so unless you've used it yourself, it's hard to know..."
I took another step toward her.
"Have you ever used this slime gel?"
"......"
She turned her head away.
After a pause, the platinum blonde woman spoke.
"I-I just happened to recognize it. My job puts me around slimes a lot."
The woman who'd called me a pervert now looked flustered.
Seemed like it was working.
Her aggressive momentum faded.
I didn't let the chance slip.
"Maybe you saw it wrong."
"Pardon?"
"You might've mistaken it for slime gel."
"What do you..."
"You're no expert on stuff like this."
"Ah."
She nodded, grasping my implication to let it slide.
"Y-Yeah, I must've been mistaken. Sorry. Ahem."
The storm passed.
Now I could observe her more closely.
Her vaguely familiar face came into sharper focus.
"Huh?"
"...?"
Wait.
This face...
"Hero?"
"Y-You've got the wrong person."
"I've seen your statue in the empire dozens of times."
"......"
She'd come on Yuris's recommendation.
Few people in the world would get one from Yuris.
It was ridiculous to think she knew another woman who looked just like the Hero.
This had to be the Hero.
I wasn't some goldfish forgetting faces after one glance.
But...
Niki—the one called Hero—didn't look pleased.
"If you're not, you're not. I get the hint."
"......"
She clearly didn't want to reveal she was the Hero.
If that's what she wanted...
"You're not the Hero, got it."
"Right."
"What should I call you then?"
"...Call me Niki."
She said after a brief hesitation.
"Got it, Niki."
"...Fine."
"So, what did Yuris tell you about the place?"
"......"
A moment of silence.
"I heard you're an expert on pleasure."
"...Yuris said that?"
"Yes. She said consulting you would help."
Consulting, huh.
This was a new one.
She was the first customer to come purely for advice.
The Saintess thought I was a demon, Yuris wanted to understand defeat, Helen came to find Yuris's weakness.
Tio for research, Elf Reina to warn me off Yuris.
Niki was the first seeking sex advice from the start.
"Well, you've come to the right place."
I gestured to the room I used as a lounge.
It doubled as a client space, perfect for a quick consult today.
Diving straight into troubles wasn't good practice.
Being too direct would scare a tense guest into hiding her issues.
So for now...
"Have some tea."
"Ah, thank you."
"Yuris recommended us?"
"Yeah. She said I'd get help here."
"That tight-lipped Yuris vouching for me? You two must trust each other deeply."
"We roamed battlefields together for years. Comrades-in-arms thing."
Shared ground was best for ice-breaking.
Especially about mutual acquaintances.
It opened up conversation.
"Did you roam battlefields often too?"
"Yes, as a hero—er, adventurer, I traveled everywhere."
"I see. Must've encountered plenty of monsters then?"
"Ah... Y-Yeah?"
Niki faltered with a slight gasp, clamping her mouth.
Felt like I stepped on a landmine.
No way...
"Aren't monsters scary?"
"Not really. I hunt them, after all. Annoying, maybe, but not frightening."
"I see."
"Sometimes, they even give me a sense of liberation."
"Liberation?"
"Yeah. Unlike with people, I don't have to worry about much."
That was unexpected.
The Hero who slew the Demon King felt liberated facing monsters.
More uncomfortable around humans?
'Is this a bit dangerous?'
The Hero preferring monsters over humans.
Was I overreacting?
"You must enjoy adventures more than people."
"Yes. Though..."
"Though?"
"Lately, there are hardly any monsters left to hunt, and all these tiring hassles are piling up. Adventures are getting boring."
"People are your issue, then."
"Pretty much."
Niki gave a wry smile.
She gripped her teacup, gently stroking its rim with her finger.
"My problem is..."
She hesitated before speaking with difficulty.
"Sometimes, I can't control my sexual urges."
"You can't hold back your lust?"
"Yes. Like something boiling inside, an irresistible urge forcing me to act."
Her troubles began.
"Is there a specific person you think of?"
"......"
"Someone you can't talk about?"
"...Yes. You'd be shocked if I told you."
"It's fine. I've seen it all, so I can handle whoever it is."
"...A-Alright then..."
Niki chewed her lip, then spoke.
"I-I imagined... getting ravished by a monster."