Winning the Shaman's Favor
Winning the favor of the shaman Besta wasn't all that difficult. But extracting evidence from her? That was another story entirely. No one in their right mind would show off something that could become their weakness to a stranger like me.
"Mmm~"
I sat across from her at the long dining table, savoring the luxurious meal while my mind kept turning. Where could she be hiding her secrets? Was it in the city where she usually stayed, rather than this villa? Or had she created some other secret location to stash them away?
No. If she'd hidden them somewhere else, The Ear would have already tracked her movements and torn that place apart.
"Is it good? For an F-rank adventurer, this must be your first time tasting food like this, right?"
"Yes. I'm completely captivated by these fascinating dishes."
"No wonder you were chewing for so long~"
I was certain the secret documents were hidden somewhere in this villa. Of course, even after searching the place with Syucali, we hadn't found any evidence or hidden rooms. Still, there had to be a reason she came down here once a month. It made sense that she'd go through the hassle of descending to the village herself to safeguard her weaknesses. The beer factory she'd built here felt like nothing more than a clever smokescreen.
It has to be inside the villa.
There must be a reason she came here alone. Maybe she didn't want even her closest friends to know. Something she'd want to hide from friends, acquaintances... even family. As a hero, there was clearly something she needed to keep secret, which explained why she'd come down by herself.
"Mm... I'm full."
"Thank you for the meal."
When I saw her plate was empty, I rose from my seat as well.
"Do you have something urgent to attend to?"
Besta smiled faintly and asked, "The small one? Or the big one?"
"I'd like to wash together with you, Lady Besta."
"Oh ho ho, is that so?"
She didn't reject my request. It was something she'd wanted as well. Since I'd taken the initiative, she couldn't help but be pleased. Her feelings were easy to read, but the secrets she kept hidden remained frustratingly out of sight.
"Then let's go wash up together."
"Yes, Lady Besta."
In the end, the only way I could learn anything was by overlapping our bodies. My ability allowed me to copy the powers of any woman I slept with. If I could obtain her shamanic abilities, things that had been invisible in the mansion might finally reveal themselves. I was confident it would also break the mana seal on Eos.
She might have only started thinking of me as a bed partner after seeing me today, but I'd been planning to sleep with her for a long time.
Creak... creak... Shhhhhhh...
In the extravagant bathroom, I operated the mana-powered device, and hot water poured down from above like a showerhead.
Squeeze...
"Didn't you say we were washing together?"
"I was checking the water temperature."
The hero pressed herself against my back. I could feel her warmth. And the generous swell of her well-developed breasts. They were so large that both heavy mounds squished fully against me. I instinctively turned my head to look.
"It's too high."
Since I was taller, I knelt down to position myself beneath her. Besta smiled with delight and stroked my hair. As she looked down at me, her fully naked body—covered in tattoos—came into clear view.
Are those tattoos for casting shamanic spells?
Ordinary people who weren't part of the demon race needed mana mediums to use magic. Margaret wore countless jeweled accessories, and even Eos—whose mana was sealed—had to burn mana stones to cast spells. It seemed the shamans used these tattoos as their medium.
"What? Does my body look hideous to you?"
"It's beautiful."
"...Beautiful? As if."
She didn't seem to believe me. Perhaps because I'd hesitated briefly while thinking, her eyes had lost their trust.
"I mean it."
I approached her and kissed the top of her foot.
"Ah."
She flinched in surprise instead. Seizing the moment, I followed the tattoo on her foot with my lips, working my way upward.
"Chu... chu..."
"Hoo... hoo hoo hoo..."
If she was a woman, she'd respond to my power. I could easily make any woman burn with desire and fill her with joy. Even if my heart wasn't in it, my actions would feel sincere, and her body would sense that truth.
"Y-you really mean it..."
"Chu... Yes. No matter how much you cover them with tattoos, nothing can hide your beauty, Lady Besta."
"Hehe, I'll believe you then."
"Thank you."
I could feel her heart settling once more. We took turns washing each other. I lathered her hair, massaged her neck and shoulders, our bodies constantly touching. Besta smiled as she ran her hands over my firm physique.
"You really do have a wonderful body."
She paid special attention to my erect cock, thoroughly cleaning every inch of it.
"Wash me here too."
"Understood."
With her permission, I moved lower, following the bizarre shamanic tattoos. The complete lack of pubic hair made her look nothing like a married woman.
Stroke... stroke...
"Mmmh~"
I caressed the smooth area over and over until she began to moan. Her breasts quickly swelled, nipples hardening and poking out. In this world where women held superiority, it was rare to find one who felt shy about being with a man. As a hero, she proudly displayed her body to me. She accepted my caresses and washing as if it were the most natural thing in the world. In an ordinary world it might have been the opposite, but here in this other world, women were the ones on top.
Slide... slide...
"My breasts... Grab them and shake them."
"Yes, Lady Besta."
Squeeze...
"Not just with your hands—use your mouth too. Suck on them."
"Haaup... chu... chu..."
"Hoo hoo hoo... Mmmh..."
She seemed to love how eagerly I followed her demands. Her face flushed as she watched me devote myself to her pleasure.
"Ah... Hng... Hng... More... Give me more..."
I increased the intensity of my caresses. What had been gentle rubbing and soft kisses grew firmer.
Squeeze.
Her breasts were kneaded, and her stiff nipples were lightly nibbled.
"Haaaa...!"
She cried out in pleasure and grabbed my head. Her nails dug into my arm as she moaned. It stung a little. But I didn't pull away. I believed I had to push through the sharp thorns if I wanted to claim her.
And so I kept pressing forward.
"Gah... Hnnngh!!"
She couldn't endure my touches any longer. Her body trembled violently as she pulled me into a tight embrace, smothering my face between her massive breasts.
"Haaaaaaa... Haaaaaaa..."
Her moans filled the air along with—
Shhhhhhhh...
the sound of the shower water.
"You really are a good man..."
When her arms finally went slack, I felt her gaze on me again—pink now, rather than red.
"Let's move to the bed and finish this."
"Yes, Lady Besta."
Our shared bathing was over. I stepped out of the shower and dried her body with a towel. She naturally climbed onto the bed and looked at me with a seductive pose. She watched contentedly as I wiped the moisture from my own body.
"Have you ever slept with a hero before?"
"No, I haven't."
"Liar. You're way too good for that to be true."
"You really are my first, Lady Besta."
"I don't believe you~ Though it's been a long time since just being washed felt this good~"
Besta looked at me with a mixture of delight and suspicion.
"Heroes are praised by everyone, but personally, they're quite unfortunate. Do you know why?"
"I don't."
"Hehe. It's because it's so hard for them to feel pleasure."
"Pleasure... you mean?"
"That's right. Even after killing monster after monster, they feel almost nothing. Even when they have sex with men, it doesn't reach their hearts. They don't even feel much sadness when someone precious to them dies. But you... you're different."
So once you reached hero rank, you grew numb to external stimuli? When I thought about it, it wasn't that strange. The stronger you became, the tougher you got. You'd adapt to pain and brush off any stimulation that wasn't a serious threat. That was what made heroes superhuman. In short, they were human monsters.
"But when I felt your touch, it reminded me of the first time I worked as an adventurer. How strange. You give me a similar aftertaste to my first man?"
"I know it's not true, but thank you."
"It's the truth. I feel a little refreshed."
Just as she said, her expression looked much more relaxed than before. She'd only felt a man's touch, experienced a bit of pleasure, and reached a light orgasm, yet some of her sharpness had already vanished. Earlier, when I'd spoken arrogantly and told her she was wrong, she'd let it slide with surprising generosity. That confirmed it.
She was currently... regulating her own emotions.
When we'd first met, she'd snapped and shown irritation as if it were completely natural. Now she felt different. To think that a simple handjob-induced orgasm could change her demeanor this much. Now I understood why the women of this world desired men so desperately. Men were the ones who could restore them when they were falling apart.
Come to think of it, Isabella keeps paying attention to me, Vera—who had hit her limit—bloomed after meeting me... and Syucali was even willing to risk her life to call me Master.
The women of this world instinctively knew it. Without men, they would eventually break.
"You were quite backed up, Lady Besta."
"We're still far from clearing it all."
She spread her legs slightly toward me in invitation.
"It's not enough. Far from it. Make me feel even better."
It was a command, but I could sense the desperation in it. She seemed to be begging me not to let her return to that insane state.
"Understood."
There was no reason to refuse. While I cleaned out the lust that had built up inside her, I would earn her stats as my reward.