Chapter 43: How the Young Lord Recruits (7)
Chapter 43: How the Young Lord Recruits (7)
Morning.
Serica was released.
It wasn't that the charges against her had vanished, but to clear her record, she had to return to the Count’s castle once more tonight.
—I shall have the wine prepared. You need only make your choice.
It was unexpected.
Ruji Fermaton had merely proposed that they share a drink.
Of course, there was no way he would just drink; he would surely try something, like spiking the wine, but such tricks wouldn't work on an adventurer who had conquered up to the 50th floor of the Infinite Labyrinth.
—If you do not become mine, you will never be able to enter the Infinite Labyrinth again!
"...Go ahead and try."
No threat could move Serica.
Even if she could no longer stay in Fermaton, it wasn't as if she had no other way to make a living, nor would her life end just because she couldn't enter the Infinite Labyrinth.
Serica was a swordsman.
The reason she continued as an adventurer was a secret she couldn't easily share, but her skill with a blade was far too great to end as a mere technical advisor for a provincial knight order.
If she joined the Royal Knight Order of the kingdom, she could aim for the position of Vice Captain at the very least.
That was only because she would be a new recruit; with experience, she was talented enough to quickly rise to the position of Knight Captain.
That was why, during her time as an adventurer, no one had dared to treat her lightly.
Of course, she couldn't stop verbal sexual harassment, but she had always used her own strength to deal with those who tried to make a physical move.
However, this time, she had gone too far.
"Guild Leader. I'm back."
"Serica!"
As soon as she arrived at the guild, Bernhard greeted her with a look of shock.
"W-what happened?! Did he... do anything strange...?"
"I was locked in a cell all night and released this morning."
"Ah, thank goodness. I thought..."
"Thought what?"
"......Ahem. I can't exactly speak of such things out loud."
Bernhard looked away awkwardly.
"What? Ruji Fermaton didn't touch Serica?"
"Aw, fuck! I thought she’d become the Sword's Non-Virgin today! My money!!"
"......Are you people seriously betting on my body?"
Serica was disgusted by the attitude of the adventurers spewing their lewd jokes.
"Do you think this is a joke just because I usually laugh it off?"
"Wh-what's with you? Are you mad? Don't get all serious over something so trivial."
"Exactly. Is our Sword Maiden the kind of woman who'd just get raped? Even if the opponent is Ruji Fermaton!"
"Right, right! Ah, I knew you'd come back unscathed! For the record, you coming back 'pure' was the long shot bet."
"......Sigh."
Her fists were itching, but there was nothing she could do to them.
These were people who lived only for today.
If she challenged them to a duel to the death here, they were the type to swarm her as a group, shouting, 'I'll bet my life, so you bet your virginity!'
That was the nature of mercenaries and adventurers who spent their lives entering and leaving the Infinite Labyrinth.
Without exception, their minds became desolate, warped, violent, and lustful.
"Hey, cough up the cash. I won, didn't I?"
"What? Hey, we haven't confirmed if Serica is still a virgin or not. The bet isn't settled yet."
"Fuck, if she says she's a virgin, then she's a virgin! Give me the money!"
"I don't know about that! He could've poked her from behind! I'm not paying! Bring a Unicorn! If we bring a Unicorn, we can verify it!!"
"......"
Serica looked at the adventurers with pity.
They hadn't always been like this.
Back when they were conquering the 1st floor, they were more diligent, polite, and kind than anyone else. But with every floor of the Infinite Labyrinth they cleared, they all began to go a little mad.
"...I'm sorry. If they don't take their medicine, they end up like that."
"It's fine. I understand."
Because Serica knew herself well and understood their mental state, she was able to suppress her resentment, if only a little.
The Curse of the Labyrinth.
The curse that devours the human mind and stains it with madness in one form or another applies to all adventurers equally.
The only difference was whether one used mental strength or any other means to endure and overcome it, or chose to live alongside the curse.
Yet, there was only one reason they kept heading back into the labyrinth.
Money.
It was because of the money.
"...In the past, adventurers were people with dreams and romance. But today's adventurers... they're just people driven mad by money. I'm sorry, Serica. Why don't you go inside and get some rest?"
"...Master."
Serica headed inside with a calm expression.
"Is there anywhere I can get a suit?"
"...Listen."
Guild Leader Bernhard's expression hardened.
"...Do you know what happened to that rookie girl who came here recently?"
"...You mean that rookie?"
"Yeah. She asked for a bunny girl outfit, so I got it for her, and she hasn't come back since. Rumor has it she became Ruji Fermaton's woman. One who has sex twenty-four hours a day..."
"Hey—! Sword Slut!! Did Ruji eat you?! Are you a non-virgin now?!"
"......."
Serica clenched her fists, her lips twisting into a grimace.
"...I don't think I can wait until evening."
She was already angry about her gem being stolen and annoyed about being arrested, but to have to hear this the moment she returned was too much.
"......Master. Does the Infinite Labyrinth drive people mad, or were they just crazy to begin with?"
"How should I know?"
Bernhard closed his eyes.
"...Perhaps the Infinite Labyrinth simply drags out the true nature that crazy people have been hiding all along."
*
In the end.
Zenith didn't show me her panties, but I managed to protect my "panty meal."
This is such an important ritual.
Looking at panties isn't just a perverted act.
It's a procedure to confirm every morning that my power remains unshaken.
The power to control the women of Fermaton with a single word!
Confirming the panties is the monumental ceremony that validates that power.
Besides, what's the problem with checking panties?
If I wanted to, I could pull them down right then and there, eat while staring at their pussies, or just fuck them.
"Tsk."
Zenith worries too much.
She says those things because she's afraid I'll take some low-born woman as a wife, or that her daughter-in-law will be some rude, overripe hag, and she wants to make sure I don't get stabbed in the back by such a woman.
But how should I put it... it feels like she secretly wants sex but can't bring herself to do it.
Is she holding back because she's worried about her image?
She isn't exactly the proactive type herself.
But as long as I keep making moves from this side, her fortress will eventually crumble.
No.
There's no need for that.
If a situation ever arises where we're away from the eyes of others, I can just quietly devour her.
I still have plenty of other things to eat.
Zenith is the one missing out.
I have women I've already finished, but I also have women I haven't tasted yet.
"Master Astarotte. I have a question."
"Speak, Young Lord."
"Is there a way to visually confirm that mana is increasing through the Sex Magic I taught Laura?"
Astarotte.
The mage currently undergoing the Succubus transformation curse shook her head firmly.
"It's impossible. Mana isn't something you can see with your eyes."
"I see. That's a shame."
"However, Miss Laura's mana is definitely increasing."
"How do you know?"
"I suppose you could call it... a mage's intuition."
"I think I get the gist."
I don't have a Scouter, but I can sense the power level—something like that.
"Then how much has Laura's mana increased?"
"...A lot."
"A lot?"
"Yes. Her growth rate is nonsensical. It's as if she's been grinding up magic stones and eating them..."
Astarotte began to eye me warily.
"...Just how much have you been doing it?"
"Ten times."
"Only ten times, and yet she's grown this much...?"
"Ten times a day."
"......."
Astarotte frowned at me as if she were looking at some kind of monster.
"...Are you alright? I'm... actually worried that something might go wrong with you."
"I'm fine. So far, I've only been able to confirm up to ten times a day, but I might be able to do more now."
"Pardon?"
"Laura could only handle ten, but now I have Yurdias."
Congratulations.
A toast to Yurdias Hania, the newest member of the knight order.
"I had her wear a maid uniform this morning, but as expected, it didn't suit her. So, I ordered a very special outfit to be made."
It's still in production.
Since it's a rather niche outfit and not something that would typically exist in this medieval fantasy world, I just conveyed the concept.
However.
There were similar items.
People are the same everywhere, and I figured in a world like this, at least one would exist.
In a world where Succubi come out of labyrinths, it had to exist.
In a world with a class system and slaves, it absolutely had to exist.
And.
Sure enough.
"I'm coming in..."
Creeeeak.
The door opened, and Yurdias entered.
She was trying her best to maintain a calm expression, but her eyes were darting nervously from side to side.
"This is it."
In any world.
There are rulers and the ruled.
And sometimes, a special item is created out of a strong desire to restrain the ruled, and naturally, such a thing existed here in Fermaton as well.
"Laura wears the bunny girl outfit. And this is your 'uniform'."
"...Do I really have to live in this all the time?"
"You have to wear that into the Infinite Labyrinth too, you know."
"......."
Yurdias hung her head.
"Heh. Just kidding. You think I'd send you into the Infinite Labyrinth with your arms tied behind your back? I'll have you wear something appropriate for that when the time comes."
If I had to sum up her appearance in one word, it would be 'leather.'
"Don't you look perfect as the [Queen of the Back Alleys]?"
It wasn't a bodysuit, but it was a sufficiently hardcore restraint outfit for training.
"The fallen queen of the pleasure district. Heh."
But one fitted with a chastity belt.
The image of a sadistic queen of the back alleys captured and being broken in.
"Hmm... though this looks more like a slave than a queen, doesn't it? Well, whatever."
Clink.
I grabbed the chain attached to the collar around Yurdias's neck.
"I can just treat you like a slave."
Ah.
For the record.
I had it made as close as possible, but this is a Skin.
...A legitimate Skin, bundled with Lapis Lazuli for the gacha.