Chapter 179: The Symbol of Dictatorship (8)
Chapter 179: The Symbol of Dictatorship (8)
Morning came.
The calm before the storm.
Was there any other phrase that could better describe this situation?
The men gathered in the plaza all wore solemn expressions as they stared at the golems appearing in the center. Every single one of them held a slip of paper in their hands.
Those papers were 'number tickets.'
Some held tickets with single digits, while others held numbers in the tens of thousands.
What kind of tickets were these?
Naturally, they were tickets to obtain the so-called 'First Night Right'—the privilege of being the first to have sex with a succubus.
Roughly five thousand people had entered.
Since entry was possible with even a single Ruji Coin, a massive number of people participated. Naturally, many had bought up even more Ruji Coins to increase their chances of winning.
If they had to actually spend the Ruji Coins to buy the tickets, perhaps not this many people would have swarmed the place.
But Ruji Fermaton had pulled a crazy stunt.
Entering the lottery for the First Night Right didn't consume any Ruji Coins!
Granted, when the announcement was first made, he did say that buying Ruji Coins was the way to get tickets.
But for some reason, the Young Lord made it so that one could enter the lottery without actually spending the Ruji Coins.
You could keep the physical Ruji Coins while still having a shot at the First Night Right.
Since the Ruji Coins were bought at a discount, it didn't feel like a loss.
And later, if you didn't need the Ruji Coins anymore, you could just resell them to someone who did for about 90 Gold. Since you bought them at a discount, it was a guaranteed profit.
Shocking.
The First Night Right for a succubus could be bought and sold!
Long live Ruji Fermaton—!
Many men pumped their fists.
Aside from the fact that their Gold was being converted into Ruji Coins, there was no way this was anything but a win-win situation. You’d be a fool not to enter.
And this fever, unintentionally, began to spread not just among the men, but to the women as well.
What wife in the world would smile and send her husband to a brothel—no, to a succubus?
Sex with a succubus only cost 5 Ruji Coins.
The current craze was only because it was the First Night Right; once that first virgin sex was over, a succubus became just another woman you could hold for 5 Ruji Coins.
That was how high the value of a virgin, a first experience, and the First Night Right was.
Unlike a man’s virginity, a woman’s virginity stimulated a man’s desire to an extreme degree.
And that soon turned into 'money.'
Was it an experience that would never come again in a lifetime?
Or was it the money you could get by selling that experience to someone who wanted deep, messy sex with a suspiciously wealthy virgin succubus?
Money and lust.
Amidst the mixture of these two fundamental human desires, the protagonist finally made his appearance.
"Ah, it’s been a while, everyone. It looks like you’ve all been waiting."
Appearing in a crisp white suit, Ruji Fermaton stood atop a golem’s hand and began to speak into a voice-amplifying magic tool.
"We will now begin the drawing. You may 'designate' a virgin succubus in the order of the numbers called. A total of ten virgin succubi are standing by."
Step, step.
A bunny girl appeared beside Ruji Fermaton, carrying a large glass box.
The glass box was overflowing with white mana.
There wasn't a single slip of paper resembling an entry ticket in sight, which made the people feel unnecessarily anxious.
"This is a 'lottery' system personally created by the Magic Tower Master, Lord Barda Lithak. It’s a spell that uses the power of magic to pick a random number from those entered. Who has the time to cut thirty thousand pieces of paper and attach numbers to them? It’s more profitable to go catch even one more virgin succubus in that time."
Ruji Fermaton raised his hand high.
"I’ll draw right now. The First Night Right with a succubus that you all desire so much. The first one is..."
Swish.
As Ruji thrust his hand into the glass box, mana clung to his hand like mist.
"...Number 5882!"
One by one.
"Number 892! Number 255! Number 10288!"
The names began to be called in succession.
"Number 104! Number...!"
A sequence of numbers that brought either joy or despair.
With every number announced, some cheered while others groaned in disappointment.
"The last one! ...Number 3644!"
Ruji Fermaton pulled his hand out of the glass box, tucked his hands behind his back, and gave a smirk.
"The ten winners must come here immediately to register their names. Don't go wandering around with your number tickets only to get shanked and robbed."
The heated plaza instantly turned cold.
"I do not wish to see people killing each other or blood being shed over this."
This was a clear warning.
"Suddenly becoming a corpse, ending up in the Infinite Labyrinth, or handing over your First Night Right for no reason... I hate that kind of thing. If such a thing happens, I will show you the full extent of the Young Lord’s power."
It was a threat that he would use every right as a lord to crush anyone who acted out against those who won the First Night Right through the lottery.
"Shall I show you something right now? Hmm?"
Ruji stroked his chin for a moment, then turned his head toward the bunny girl beside him.
"Laura. Why don't you say a number you like?"
"Oh, um... Number 8274?"
"Number 8274! Is Number 8274 here?!"
At Ruji’s words, a woman hesitantly raised her number ticket.
"You win. You’ve secured the First Night Right for the eleventh succubus. Congratulations."
Ruji Fermaton.
He was a dictator.
"Why did I pick one more? Just because. I felt like it."
A dictator who could overturn everything based on his own whim.
* * *
After finishing the drawing in the plaza.
I returned to the Lord's Castle Office and examined the data of those who had obtained the First Night Rights.
"Good work, Astarotte."
"If they ever found out the truth, they’d probably revolt."
"What? What did I do? I just conducted a balanced drawing."
I pointed to another glass box sitting in the office.
"People who put in 1 Ruji Coin won, and people who dumped in 1,000 Ruji Coins won. How fair is that?"
"Manipulating it so those specific people would win is—"
"Manipulation? Someone might be horrified if they heard that."
I briefly silenced Astarotte’s lips with my own.
"There was no manipulation. It’s only natural that someone who bought more Ruji Coins would have a higher chance of winning. That doesn’t mean no one who spent 100 Gold won. It’s all luck, luck."
"What about the one you called at the end?"
"That was just a spur-of-the-moment thing."
It’s like an encore song at a concert.
Fairness?
Who gives a damn.
"So, how many people registered their First Night Rights immediately?"
"Five. Six haven't come yet."
"It’d be a shame if they showed up with bloodstained tickets. They should have just registered first before trying to sell them instead of hesitating. Tsk. I gave them a way to survive, and they kicked it away themselves."
I had done my part.
For those who were late because they were busy raiding the Infinite Labyrinth, I gave them a day.
For those who couldn't use the First Night Right, I permitted resale.
And I made it so they could freely transfer their rights even after registration.
"Asti. Do you think crimes will happen just to fuck a virgin succubus?"
"At least one case will probably pop up. Whether it's for the money or for the dick."
"True. We live in a world where wars break out over stamina enhancers; there’s no way murders or robberies won't happen."
Even a second-place lottery ticket can lead to theft and assault.
The fantasy world was no different.
"But Young Lord."
"Yeah."
"Strictly speaking, a virgin succubus is, mmph."
"Asti."
I silenced Astarotte’s mouth with my cock.
"They were reborn, so they’re virgins. Right?"
"......."
There was no virgin scam.
It was just that...
"There’s no obligation in national law to announce that a regenerated virgin is a regenerated virgin. Isn't that right?"
There was simply no duty of disclosure.
"No manipulation, no scam. There are only virgins here."