Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Wanna Go Together?
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"Wanna go together?"
Before crossing over to Revel, in the small town of Ribillon where I used to operate, there wasn't really any place worth calling a brothel.
Sure, if you went into the back alleys, there were prostitutes selling their bodies, but there was no concept of a proper brothel that professionally took customers and managed the girls.
Back then, starving for a woman, I wandered into a back alley, saw the filthy reality there, and erased the idea of prostitutes from my mind...
"Ah, don't worry. Despite how it looks, this place operates legally. Adventurers use it pretty often."
Surprisingly, Revel had a brothel that operated professionally—and legally.
'Never even crossed my mind.'
After coming to Revel, I'd been busy training with Karen, and I'd been relieving my urges with duplicates of Laila and Karen anyway, so a brothel hadn't even occurred to me.
Glancing inside, the prostitutes—properly bathed and scented with perfumes—were sending me seductive glances, tempting me.
"Hm. Did I do something unnecessary?"
Ricard, who had brought me to the brothel, watched my expression, gauging if he'd made a mistake.
There were people who valued premarital chastity or shunned sexual acts as impure, after all.
"No, it's not that I'm uninterested in prostitutes... I was just surprised. I had no idea Revel had a place like this."
"Well, they don't advertise much, so most folks only learn about it from someone else's recommendation. Even adventurers don't spread the word much—they don't want others stealing their favorites."
Ricard chuckled and explained the brothel's rules to me.
Basically, spending the night with a girl cost around ten silver coins, with extra fees depending on the prostitute's race or skill level, and so on...
"I go for beastkin like myself. How about you give it a try? They're all fluffy—you'll get hooked after one go."
"...No, that's a bit much."
I didn't have any prejudice against beastkin, but looking at the ones eyeing me here, with appearances closer to beasts than humans... it felt a tad intense.
Still, honestly, it worked out perfectly.
Thanks to a few things I'd learned experimenting with my ability on those goblins, I'd been thinking of checking out a place like this anyway.
'If I can deepen my understanding of human women—the same gender as the ones I want to duplicate... especially their anatomy?'
I recalled Karen's duplicate from before, where the hymen hadn't fully replicated, leaving things ambiguous.
If I gained more understanding of women, experiencing their real anatomy firsthand, could I fully duplicate Karen's next time?
"Oh my. A new face... Hehe. First time here?"
As Ricard was explaining the brothel to me, a woman exuding a decadent aura approached from inside, smiling coyly and linking arms with me.
"If you're new and don't know what to do... how about buying my night? Big sis will show you everything~"
"Uh..."
"Feeling pressured? Or do you have a specific taste? Tell me. What kind of girl are you looking for? Fluffy beastkin? Or maybe someone who looks a bit young? Or..."
Was she some kind of manager here? As she pointed out the prostitutes around with her finger, asking about my preferences, the others matched her movements with their own seductive gestures.
They all shared the same thought.
'A high-quality stud we haven't seen in ages...!'
Unlike the rough adventurers who usually frequented the place, I still carried traces of Earth: clean skin, a tall stature a head above most, and a sculpted body honed by evolution. Plus, presumed wealth—I hadn't even flinched at the prices for a night.
The prostitutes, prettier and cleaner than the stinky adventurers, eyed me with unified desire. Feeling their gazes, I pondered and spoke.
'My type... tastes...'
I wasn't picky about women in general... but I was here to boost my understanding for my duplication ability.
So, the woman I pointed out would be...
"Do you have any virgins, by chance?"
"...Are you insane?"
.
.
.
Unfortunately, there were no virgins in this brothel.
After hearing that only a lunatic would look for one in a place full of women selling their bodies, I regretfully pointed to a human woman with light purple hair.
'Too bad. If I'd experienced a real hymen and pierced it, I bet I'd perfectly duplicate Karen's insides next time.'
A virgin would have been ideal, but I hadn't seriously expected one here.
Instead, I settled for the next best thing.
'Her hair's a bit lighter, but same purple shade as Laila's, and similar build.'
"Oh, handsome. Take good care of me tonight?"
The woman I chose resembled Laila, the purple-haired mage I'd tangled with before—in many ways.
Of course, up close, her hair was lighter than Laila's, her makeup-heavy face fell short despite it, and even her bust was smaller... but...
'You never know. Might help when duplicating Laila later.'
I picked her purely hoping it'd boost my understanding of Laila for a future duplication.
Sure, just gaining familiarity with someone sharing a few traits might not help much, but...
"Hehe. First time here, right? Don't worry—relax and leave it all to me."
Entering a room thick with the dizzying scent of sweet incense, the confident prostitute pushed me onto the bed and pressed her body against mine.
She looked inferior compared to Laila, but against the cheap back-alley girls, she had considerable appeal.
Pretty enough face, well-maintained body, every move dripping with seduction.
'Hm...'
As she peeled off layers in that atmosphere, my excitement built naturally, my lower half stiffening... but...
'Something's missing.'
Was it because the women I'd been with lately were the two most beautiful I'd ever seen?
Excitement rose, my body reacted, but it stopped there.
It didn't surge like the uncontrollable lust when duplicating and dominating Karen or Laila.
"Ah, wait a sec...!"
Unable to shake the feeling of something lacking, I shifted from enjoying the act to exploring her body like a research subject.
I meticulously examined every inch, committing it to memory, burying my face right in her real anatomy to observe and touch it up close.
"W-wait. Not there...!!"
She squirmed at first, even as a pro, but after I tossed her a silver tip, she quickly yielded to my touch.
"Not the back! That's extra... Eh? This much more? W-well, then... Huh? You're not putting it in? Then why...?"
Ah, that said, I didn't skip the main event entirely.
It was just a bit lacking, but the lust still rose all the same.
"Ahh...! W-wait. Slower...!"
In the process, my only experience had been mercilessly pounding duplicates without regard—now, doing the same to a real woman, she passed out.
And when dawn finally broke.
"Haa... haa... I... can never go back..."
"That'll do."
I left her sprawled on the bed, having mapped her from head to toe, tossed extra tips, and exited the room.
'More useful than I thought.'
It ended up satisfying curiosity over lust, but it was productive time nonetheless.
Still regrettable I hadn't experienced a real hymen, but I'd grasped the feel of a woman's insides, at least.
Hm. But one experience probably won't let me perfectly duplicate other women, right?
I'd noted the place, so trying a few more different girls should raise my understanding decently...
"Oh, you're back? Rested enough over those two days?"
As I mulled over future plans, I'd arrived at Karen's mansion without realizing.
Karen, who had left for two days on business, was alone in the yard, swinging her wooden sword as usual.
"Yes. Did your business go well, Master?"
Stretching casually beside her to loosen up, her expression soured slightly at my greeting.
"Hm... about that..."
"??"
Her face suggested she had something to say.
"Never mind. I'll tell you after today's training. Grab your sword."
Teasing my curiosity before cutting off, she tossed me a wooden sword and started training without further explanation.
Curious, but I cleared my mind, focusing solely on her movements as I swung.
-Kagak!!
"Oh. Not bad?"
"Kuh!!"
Our first spar in nearly a week, thanks to the promotion exam and passing out afterward.
I'd worried my skills might rust a bit in that gap.
But.
-Whish!!
"Ugh?!"
Karen's lightning-fast leg sweep during the spar.
She often tripped me like this as fights intensified, using her beastly instincts.
Though she'd taught me basics, my swordplay relied on animalistic senses.
So in long spars, blood rushed to my head, narrowing my vision—something she kept pointing out.
That's why her surprise kicks tripped me daily.
-Tadak!!
"Oh?"
"...Huh?"
Today was different.
As Karen lunged with a surprise kick, I instinctively sidestepped half a pace, dodging it.
Even I was stunned by my evasion.
But Karen praised me with a delighted grin.
"Hoo. Impressive... Real combat really is the best teacher, huh?"
Her eyes gleaming, she no longer threw occasional kicks—instead chaining them with feints, like raising her sword before elbow-striking down.
Struggling with her changed patterns, I still instinctively coped with them all.
-Puk!!
"Guh!!"
Unable to match her quickening speed, I took a knee to the gut, but even I felt my earlier moves were solid.
'Thanks to fighting multiple undead in the sewers?'
Not one opponent, but many surrounding me from all sides—their assaults forced me to parry unexpected attacks in real time.
It sharpened my senses; attacks felt more acute now.
"Remember that feeling well. Hone that sense, and you'll sense not just low sweeps, but attacks from all directions—even arrows plunging from afar at your crown."
Satisfied with my growth, Karen lowered her wooden sword with a pleased look.
"Stopping already? You're ending early today."
"Yeah. Gotta tell you about that thing from earlier."
Ending sooner than usual, she scratched her head awkwardly and dropped a bombshell.
"You know how I was gone two days? Well, more stuff came up in the meantime, so I might have to leave again..."
"...Pardon? Again?"
She'd just returned from two days away, and now needed to leave once more.
"Gotta meet that Magic Tower girl you mentioned, and even without that, rumors say the Evil God followers are acting suspicious—need to investigate... Anyway, things are about to get busy."
'Evil God followers acting suspicious?'
"Anyway, looks like I'll have to leave Revel entirely, so I won't be able to teach you swordsmanship for a while..."
"What?!"
That unignorable phrase—"Evil God followers"—grabbed my attention, then she hit me with thunderous news.
I'd just basked in my breakthrough, and now training halted?
"But seeing your growth rate, delaying sword training now would be fatal. So I thought of a solution."
"A solution? What is it?"
"First off—ever heard of Phalos city?"
"Phalos?"
A name I'd never... no, somewhere familiar?
"Your face says no. Anyway, Phalos is pretty far from Revel, and I need to head there."
"Yes."
"Wanna come with?"
".....Pardon?"
"I'll be staying there a while. If you come, I can teach you in my free time. What do you say?"
I was just settling into Revel, even getting the tour from Ricard—and now leave?
'What to do...'
"Well?"
"Let's go."
Of course. What choice did I have?
I was hooked on sword training; better follow Karen than waste time waiting indefinitely.
And... I just remembered where I'd heard of Phalos.
'If you want to see my disciple again, head to the Magic Tower branch in Phalos?'
Back when I woke in Ribillon's Temple, the white-haired woman—Laila's master—had said that before leaving.
Go to Phalos, and I'd meet Laila again.
So...
'Can I... see her again?'
Laila. That sassy purple-haired mage—could I meet her again?