Chapter 182: Sex is Business (2)
Chapter 182: Sex is Business (2)
With the advancement of visual media and technology, porn spread rapidly across the world.
Someone once said that the reason mobile phone displays evolved so quickly was because of the thought, “I’ll finally be able to watch porn on this screen.”
And within that advanced technology, porn manifested in all sorts of ways.
While there was relatively wholesome(?) porn, there was also an overflow of criminal content like deepfakes and revenge porn.
‘That won’t do.’
I couldn’t let people exploit my source of income. I couldn’t allow my business to be misused in a way that would eventually harm me.
For the sake of developing a truly wholesome and bright sex industry, I poured my heart and soul into the pornography that would soon spread to the world.
Step one.
“Porn stars. They will now become famous actors recognized across the world.”
“Even if they’re sex actors.”
Zenith scanned the list I handed her.
“For the men, we’ll use people under the Thief Guild, and for the women, we’ll use succubus prostitutes. Once they gain enough popularity, it will become a specialized profession. They’ll focus exclusively on sex-related work.”
“Like a blacksmith?”
“Exactly.”
Zenith looked over the Image Magic Stones placed before her.
The Image Magic Stones contained all sorts of sex acts performed by the people on the list, and we had selected the ones with the highest production value.
“You’re probably the only person in the world who would think of recording sex onto crystal orbs.”
“Why do you think it’s just me? There must be countless people besides me who have done this.”
“Who?”
“They just don’t do it openly. They do it in secret.”
Like revenge porn.
“Hiding an Image Magic Stone between books to secretly film sex with a lover, or passing it around among friends.”
“...That’s a bit unpleasant.”
Zenith shook her head as if the mere thought annoyed her.
“But you’re saying you’re different from them? Especially this thing you call a ‘porn video’?”
“Yes. Of course it’s different. Everyone appearing in these Image Magic Stones has signed a contract. They filmed this while accepting the risks of exposure.”
Was I forcing them to film because of the Bitch Collars?
The only thing I was forcing was their work at the brothels. For the porn shoots, I only took volunteers who wanted to earn more money and didn’t mind their faces and pussies being sold.
How?
With more money.
More coins.
And by stimulating that tiny bit of romantic sentiment hidden deep within the darkness of a prostitute’s heart.
“Everything here is wholesome and bright sex. There is no violence or rape involved. It’s the kind of sex that even women can watch without issue. Hehe.”
“Can the words ‘wholesome’ and ‘bright’ even exist alongside ‘sex’?”
“Because it’s Pure Love Sex.”
I pulled out a sample.
“Every sex act rented out at ‘Hentaya,’ the specialized porn rental shop, will be conducted in this manner.”
Whirrr.
The video began to play.
Pa-pa-pa-pa pa-pa pa-pa-pa-bam pa-pa-pa-pa—
“What’s this?”
“Ruji-hot. It’s a sort of mark of origin, showing it was made in Fermaton.”
“...If you hard-code it into the beginning of the video like that, it would be difficult for anyone to forge it.”
“Yes. Manipulating the magic inside the stone to cut out the intro? Hmph, only Great Mages capable of dropping meteors could pull that off. Hehe.”
[WARNING: This video has no relation to actual persons, places, events, or organizations.]
“And what is this?”
“I just threw it in.”
Just so no one could find fault with it later.
“It’s starting, Mother.”
In the dark of night, a man and a woman stood awkwardly in a room, looking as if they had just checked into an inn together.
“...Is the concept ‘adventurers’?”
“Yes. An innocent virgin adventurer and the mage lady who wants to devour him.”
A simple youth wearing a helmet that covered his face, and a woman in mage robes.
The woman looked human on the outside, but she was actually a succubus prostitute.
—Um, today is a safe day...
Even prostitutes have romantic hearts.
Not every prostitute was born one. Whether it was financial issues or being sold, they had continued selling their bodies for various reasons. They, too, must have wanted to share love with someone.
I tapped into that motivation by providing them an outlet through pornography.
—Does it hurt here?
—No, that’s...
—I’ll heal you, Oppa.
Slurp, smack, schlop.
The succubus participated in the filming as actively as if she were on a real date with the male actor.
Though they were just having sex, the two of them displayed perfect chemistry, acting like a real couple as they began.
“...Are they having sex only one minute into the video?”
“The intro only needs to set the mood. We can’t produce long-form features with complex stories yet.”
Aside from the sexual aspect.
Since we were just starting out, there were technical limitations to the Image Magic Stones.
“The playback time for a single magic stone is about 15 minutes. Even then, once the mana inside the stone—the ‘tape’—runs out, it can’t be played anymore.”
“What if you recharge the mana?”
“You can play it again, but there’s data loss. The video might cut out in the middle, or the maximum number of playbacks decreases.”
When starting any business, creating a prototype involves a lot of trial and error. And by my standards, the current Image Magic Stones were severely flawed products.
‘A porn tape with a limited number of views? Who would buy that?’
If I tried to sell this in the modern world, I’d go bankrupt instantly.
In fact, there was a case with a certain PC game where they limited the number of installations. It caused an uproar: “I paid full price, but because of an installation error, I can’t install it anymore after deleting and reinstalling? Does that make sense?”
If you pay for something and it’s riddled with restrictions, you’ll hate it from the moment of purchase.
—What? If I rent it once, I can watch it twenty times? Take my coins!
But in this world, this was cutting-edge, state-of-the-art technology.
—It’s not a one-time use; I can watch it at least twenty times! That’s amazing! Gwaaaah!
Because such an item had never existed before, there was no point of comparison, making it possible to sell.
“The market research is already complete. The ‘dream-faps’ at the Dream Factory are one thing, but men prefer masturbating while receiving visual information right in front of them rather than relying solely on their imagination.”
Most people masturbate while looking at porn or something erotic; they don’t usually rely on imaginary ‘maman play’ with succubi and maids.
While a few such people had emerged recently, even they would just watch porn if it were right in front of them.
‘The order got reversed.’
To think I introduced VR virtual reality sex experiences first, and then followed up with porn tapes. It felt a bit ridiculous, but whatever.
‘As long as it makes money.’
The sex industry was raking in massive amounts of gold. Fermaton was growing powerful, and many were watching Fermaton’s every move. I had a duty to live up to their expectations.
“Mother. About these Image Magic Stones. Didn’t I say I would ‘rent’ them rather than sell them?”
“You... did?”
“Then what would be a good rental fee?”
“.......”
Zenith frowned.
How should one set the economic value for a sex video—and a one-week rental at that?
“...Sorry. To be honest, I don’t really have a feel for it.”
“I understand. It’s only natural. Since no one has ever done this before—and I haven’t either—we can’t match a ‘market price.’ Whatever price we set first becomes the market price.”
Rental.
Porn.
With those two combined, what would be a reasonable rental price for porn?
“Mother. I’ve set the price for this stone at this amount.”
“......What?”
Zenith’s expression froze the moment she saw what I held out.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. This is nothing more than a tool for masturbation. It’s important that it spreads widely, and...”
I, Ruji Fermaton.
“Shouldn’t even the poor, who can’t afford a single Ruji Coin, have the chance to enjoy Fermaton-style sex?”
* * *
Near the Dream Factory, [Hentaya], the ‘Specialized Adult Video Magic Stone Rental Shop’ that had been drawing everyone’s attention, finally opened its doors.
“...Hmm.”
A woman with short black hair stood in the line of men waiting in front of Hentaya.
She felt a bit embarrassed by the stares, but fortunately, her attire helped deflect some of the suspicion.
“Excuse me. Are you also here on an errand for your master?”
“And you are...?”
“Ah, I’m E...ma.”
The woman, a maid with glasses who called herself Emma, gave an awkward smile and pointed toward Hentaya.
“My Lord insisted I bring one back. Ah, it’s definitely not because I want to see it myself.”
“I am the same.”
Who would want to see such a thing?
The woman endured this humiliation and stood in line solely to gather information.
“Did you bring money?”
“I’ve exchanged it.”
The woman pulled a Ruji Coin from her pocket.
“Is this enough to buy it?”
“It’s not a purchase. It’s a rental. Um, think of it like a paid library.”
“A paid library... I understand perfectly. You seem very well-informed, Ms. Emma.”
“I did my research.”
Emma puffed out her chest and smirked.
“And they don’t take Ruji Coins here. Well, technically they do, but there’s no need to use them...”
“...Pardon? Isn’t this a Fermaton business? They don’t take Ruji Coins?”
“No. It’s a bit absurd, actually.”
Emma pulled out a pouch of gold.
“You don’t need a whole Ruji Coin to rent a video. Ten gold coins are enough.”
“.......”
“Others say they’d rather spend sixty gold on a hot bowl of stew. But you can rent six videos for that price. Tsk.”
“......Ten gold?”
How much was ten gold again?
0.1 Ruji Coin.
In other words.
“......You’re saying they rent out porn for a week for an amount that wouldn’t even buy a loaf of bread?”