Chapter 114: Slave Hunt (3)
Chapter 114: Slave Hunt (3)
"I’m feeling a bit dizzy."
Charlotte, the guild leader of Nine-Tail—a guild specializing in the slave trade—stared blankly at the proposal laid out before her.
[Proposal for the Establishment of Succubus Dreamtopia.]
It had a grand name, but to put it bluntly, it was a plan for a succubus brothel.
Furthermore, the entity behind its operation was none other than 'Count Fermaton.'
"Capture monsters in the Infinite Labyrinth and use them as slaves. Check. Capture succubi and use them as slaves. Check. …Engage in prostitution using succubi. Is he insane?"
Ruji Fermaton.
He had been a headache ever since he started rambling about regenerating hymens and whatnot, but now he was going a step further by trying to establish a public brothel.
"Is he serious about this?"
No matter how she looked at it, it just seemed like he wanted to keep a bunch of succubi for himself to play with.
Perhaps the brothel was just a front, and his true, sordid desire was to enjoy sex with succubi even within his dreams.
"I don't understand. I really don't."
From the perspective of an ordinary woman—though Charlotte was hardly ordinary—he was committing acts that defied common sense.
—I have a plan, so I’d like you to take that vampire into the Infinite Labyrinth.
—Only for the sake of virginity verification?
—Yes.
He had even taken Racuir along through Charlotte just to verify on the spot whether the captured succubi were virgins or not.
She understood the logic.
There was no need to drag around a long line of succubi in binding ropes if they only kept the virgins.
And that number would likely be small.
In fact, they might not find any at all.
"...I honestly have no idea what he's thinking."
She scanned the proposal meticulously several times.
If one ignored the fact that succubi were the primary service providers, it was just a plan to build an ordinary brothel.
Except.
There was one thing that bothered her.
"...Dreams."
Succubi were dream demons.
No matter how much the succubi in the Infinite Labyrinth actually captured men to drain their essence and kill them, their essence absorption was fundamentally carried out through 'dreams.'
If that were the case.
Instead of actual physical sex, it would be a pseudo-sexual act using dreams—
"...No, surely not."
Charlotte gulped as she repeatedly examined the building blueprints attached to the proposal.
The interior structure, which seemed to have been drafted by Ruji Fermaton himself, consisted of many small rooms, much like an aromatherapy clinic.
The rooms were far too narrow to be considered part of a typical brothel.
Of course, even in a cramped room, a man and a woman could do plenty of things if the mood struck, but what if the structure was intended for what Charlotte was imagining?
"...Wait, isn't this a scam?"
Dreamtopia.
"A shop that sells erotic dreams? Is this even allowed?"
Was he selling the dream?
Or was he selling the body?
"...A virgin succubus. Once she gives her body up, she’s no longer a virgin anyway, yet he’s using that as a marketing tool…. Ah!!"
Charlotte looked at a specific corner of the proposal.
"This man, could he be...!"
Life returned to Charlotte's eyes, and they began to sparkle.
"This... this is money."
* * *
[To think a virgin succubus actually exists. It’s a bit of a shock.]
The succubus the knights had captured was named 'Bergina.'
[Bergina. How were you born?]
"One day, I opened my eyes and I was here..."
Bergina answered submissively.
"From the moment I gained sentience, I was already in this place."
[Do you have the urge to kill humans?]
"...I do."
Like a beast born with a murderous intent toward humans, Bergina revealed her inner thoughts quite honestly.
[Does that murderous intent boil up so much it feels like you're going crazy?]
"Y-yes, it does."
[But you're frustrated that you've been caught by humans now, aren't you?]
"...Yes."
[If a situation arose where you could break these restraints and get revenge, would you do it immediately?]
"...Will you kill me if I answer?"
[No.]
"...Yes."
She answered honestly because she didn't want to die.
Even if she was a monster with malice toward humans, Bergina was telling the truth 'to survive.'
[You're not lying, are you? If you're lying, I'll kill you.]
"N-no! I don't want to die...!"
Having witnessed her non-virgin companions being slaughtered right beside her, there was no way she would lie.
'A virgin succubus wouldn't lie about something like this.'
Since Racuir had already judged her to be a virgin, she wasn't the type to speak falsehoods.
[Then, next question. Why are you a virgin?]
"Pardon?"
[I asked why you're a virgin. Despite being a succubus.]
"...Because I haven't successfully completed a single hunt yet."
Bergina hung her head low.
"I am an inexperienced succubus, so I tried to hunt humans with the help of my companions. But..."
[But you were unlucky enough to get caught by us on your very first hunt?]
"...Yes."
Bingo.
I had confirmed the conditions for a virgin succubus.
A succubus who had just manifested in the Infinite Labyrinth.
An entity that had never attacked a human before.
Of course, her heart was filled with hostility toward humans, but that murderous intent could be controlled easily from this side.
'Through the power of magic.'
Fermaton already possessed a wealth of research data on slave magic and engraving magic.
With just the help of Nine-Tail, there were spells that could inflict pain on Bergina every time she harbored murderous intent toward a human.
One virgin succubus secured.
Magical control, perfectly feasible.
[Good. How do you want to live from now on?]
"Pardon...?"
[I will show you the world outside. I will take you out of the Infinite Labyrinth.]
"Uh, well..."
She didn't seem particularly enticed.
I had no choice but to play my next card immediately.
[I'll let you have your way with men in their dreams as much as you want.]
"...What?"
[I'll let you drain the essence of human men who are crazed with lust to your heart's content. You can even break them until they're on the verge of death from pleasure. Though, killing them would be a problem.]
"......."
Her eyes wavered.
Being a succubus, it seemed she couldn't suppress her sexual desire, which was comparable to hunger.
In the first place, hunting wasn't just for fun; it was an act of survival.
As long as a succubus was a living creature, it had to eat to survive, and for a succubus, food was naturally the essence possessed by humans.
[Simply killing humans is a foolish thing to do. They'll replenish their essence every day even if you leave them alone, so why bother killing them?]
"T-that's."
[Drain them until they're nearly dead, then tell them to come back next time. You don't even need to have actual sex.]
A virgin succubus is only valuable as long as she remains a virgin.
Did they have sex in the dream?
Perhaps, but the hymen remains intact, and she is a certified virgin according to a vampire who hasn't been touched by a man.
And.
[Bergina. Is it absolutely necessary for you to be the one having sex in the dream?]
"Pardon...?"
[If you just create a reasonably attractive woman and have them have sex with her in the dream, wouldn't that be enough?]
"......."
[Not my knights, though.]
I squeezed Bergina's cheeks with both hands.
[I mean women like the senior succubi who used to bully you. You sell those kinds of women in the dreams.]
"B-but then, my face would—"
[We'll use a fake profile. You will never be exposed on the surface.]
It’s a common occurrence.
The person you pick based on a photo being different from the actual person.
[And while I've explained it this way, there's one thing you're misunderstanding.]
"W-what is it?"
[If you don't listen to me, you die.]
There was never an option to begin with.
I only spoke to her to gain her smooth cooperation.
[Choose. Do you want to die here, or do you want to go outside and live while picking and choosing the essence of human men every single day?]
"......."
[I'll give you three seconds. 3, 2, 1.]
"F-for now!"
Bergina hurriedly raised her hand.
"Y-you're saying you won't kill me right now, right...?"
[Right. As long as you perform well to the best of your ability, I won't kill you.]
"But if I happen to kill a human—"
[That depends on the circumstances.]
I lightly patted Bergina's shoulder.
[In this world, there are humans it's okay to kill, and humans you must not kill. There are even those who deserve to die.]
"That's..."
[Humans kill each other anyway, so what's the problem with a demon killing a person? Just don't kill 'recklessly.']
"......."
If she’s quick-witted, she’ll understand.
Even if she isn't, she’ll figure it out while living as a slave.
"Are you... an evil man?"
[Am I evil? No. I am a dictator.]
The man of power who rules the Fermaton County.
[I think it's a pretty decent proposal. What do you say? Will you be my slave?]
"...You're definitely going to let me live, right?"
[Of course.]
"Then."
Bergina pointed behind her with a look of resolve.
"...I know where the succubi of this floor are hiding."
As expected.
A demon is a demon.
* * *
"Exhilarating."
Bergina hadn't lied.
At first, I thought she was leading us into a trap, but she took us exactly to where the succubi were.
And we succeeded in securing a total of three succubi, including Bergina.
All virgins.
"Three after scouring all the way to the 13th floor."
By simple calculation, we should be able to secure ten virgin succubi between the 11th and 20th floors.
Of course, things in the world rarely flow that simply.
"Initiate a mid-expedition return for now. And Yurdias. Bring some of the more talented members of the Thief Guild to the Lord's Castle. I need to verify if we can extract essence by selling the succubi's dreams."
"Um, Young Lord."
"Hmm? What is it, Astarotte?"
Astarotte fidgeted with her fingers as she asked me.
"...Are you not going to have sex with the virgin succubi?"
"Me? Why would I?"
I lightly pressed down on the shoulders of Astarotte, who was sitting in front of me.
"One virgin succubus is enough for my target."