Chapter 96: It Wasn't a Scam (2)
Chapter 96: It Wasn't a Scam (2)
For a business owner, trust is life itself.
If trust is lost for any reason, it might seem like things are passing normally at first.
But just as a small crack in a bowl eventually leads to the whole thing shattering, or a tiny hole in a dam leads to its collapse, once trust is lost, it takes an incredibly long time to regain.
That is the nature of human emotion.
Words change, promises change, and eventually, the relationship of trust naturally crumbles.
This is especially true when that trust is built upon a contract; the responsibility for breaking it is immense.
Therefore.
I am currently here to verify my trust with the Imperial power known as 'Nine-Tail.'
This was the Nine-Tail reception room.
While waiting with my people, I anticipated the arrival of the vampire whom Charlotte, the head of Nine-Tail, had used to guarantee the slave's virginity.
And then.
Creak.
The door opened.
Charlotte, looking somewhat stiff but possessing a certain air of conviction, pointed to the black-haired woman following beside her.
"This is the person our guild commissions for 'Virginity Appraisal.'"
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Lord."
The woman bowing to me was a typical demon-type beauty with long black hair and red eyes.
Except for the fact that she was wearing a standard suit, she looked exactly like—
"A bartender?"
"Are you familiar with me?"
"No, it's just your outfit."
"...I see. Well, it is a common enough outfit for a bartender. Allow me to introduce myself."
The vampire bowed ninety degrees as she greeted me.
"I am Racuir. I run a bar in the Imperial Capital. My profession is a bartender, and I perform outsourced virginity blood appraisals for Nine-Tail."
"Interesting."
It was interesting because she wasn't a character I recognized.
‘I suppose. There are so many vampire characters; it’s not like one of the major ones would just pop up here.’
Gacha pickup characters wouldn't be working as virginity appraisers. Especially not a bartender.
"Fine. Have you been informed of my current situation?"
"Yes. I have heard. I was told that the virginity of a female slave I guaranteed is being questioned."
She answered calmly, but her voice overflowed with confidence and pride.
"I dare say, there is nothing wrong with my tongue."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. I am a woman so skilled that even the Imperial Police request my cooperation in investigations. Here is my career certification."
"...I'm not exactly conducting an interview, but since it's proof of your skill, I'll check it."
I skimmed through the stack of documents she handed me.
Even just glancing at the major titles, it was clear she had been a great help in murder cases investigated by the Imperial Police.
For instance.
"Regarding the serial virgin murders that occurred in the Empire, I tasted and analyzed the victims' blood."
"Oh? And?"
"By comparing the blood from before and after the murders, I confirmed that they had all been raped."
"......."
Couldn't they just find that out through a regular investigation?
As someone who thought of 21st-century modern police work, I honestly questioned the necessity of her ability.
"Can't you usually tell if someone was raped by looking at the state of their... lower regions?"
"There are women who are virgins even if their hymen is torn, and there are women whose hymen remains intact even after being raped."
"...Huh?"
What kind of nonsense was that?
"Before I continue, I am merely saying this to provide definitive proof of my skill."
"So you're saying your skill is proven by the tracks you've left in life?"
"Yes."
"I don't think so."
I stood up.
‘Racuir is leading the conversation, not Charlotte. It doesn't seem like a simple client-contractor relationship.’
Even if it was outsourced work, the two didn't seem to have a strict hierarchy. Furthermore, looking at the way they exchanged glances, nothing seemed particularly out of place.
Probably.
"Let me ask you something. There are three women behind me."
Four women had followed me into this room.
"Laura. Yurdias. Serica. And the slave I bought here, 'Shiro'."
I handed over samples containing blood obtained with the consent of the four.
"If you can taste these four samples and accurately judge whether they are virgins or not, I will acknowledge your ability."
"Young Lord."
"I understand you've shown great ability in the Empire. But this is Fermaton. Not the Empire."
I wasn't investigating every move of the Empire, and I couldn't judge Racuir based solely on records and words.
"If you get these four right, I'll take your word into consideration for now."
"Understood. However, Young Lord, please keep one thing in mind."
Racuir stood before the four potions placed in front of me.
"The blood I verify is the blood at the 'time of collection.'"
"I am aware."
Racuir sat on the sofa opposite me and picked up the bottle on the far left first.
Sssst.
The moment she opened the potion cap and checked the inside, Racuir frowned openly.
"This is not the blood of a virgin."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I can tell just by the scent. This is blood where the man's essence is fully present, even in the mana flowing through the body."
"And the taste?"
"It's far inferior to virgin blood, but..."
Lick.
Racuir tilted the potion and placed a single drop on the tip of her tongue.
"Can you distinguish it with just that?"
"A single drop is enough. Human blood circulates through the entire body, so it's mostly the same, but at the very least, it's identical in that it came from one person's body."
Racuir smacked her lips.
"What a shame. If this woman's blood were virgin blood... it would surely be the sweetest and most delicious blood I have ever tasted in my life."
"That much?"
"Yes. Even now, it is incredibly fragrant and delicious."
Racuir continued to smack her lips. As if one drop wasn't enough, she flashed a slight smile, her sharp fangs glinting.
"...My apologies. I haven't tasted blood this good in the last three years."
"I don't think I need to hear about your personal circumstances. Move on to the next one."
"Are you not going to check whose blood it is?"
"Because I already know whose blood it is."
I had put separate marks on the potion bottles.
L-a-u-r-a.
Y-u-r-d-i-a-s.
S-e-r-i-c-a.
S-h-i-r-o.
To an outsider, they looked like ciphers only I could understand, but I distinguished the bottles through those 'drawings.'
Fortunately, the others didn't seem to understand them at all, and seeing the mark for 'Laura' on the bottle, a certain plan came to mind.
‘I’ll deal with that later.’
Right now, the fraudulent sale was more important.
"Next, then."
"Yes. This one is..."
Racuir proceeded to verify the presence of virginity with unstoppable momentum.
The result.
"There was one virgin and three experienced women."
"Ho. Is that so? I suppose it would be. This blood was collected from my most trusted people."
Three experienced women and one virgin.
"You are correct."
"Is the verification over?"
"The verification of your ability is over."
I adjusted my posture.
"But cases can differ. What matters to me isn't your ability to appraise virginity, but the fact that the item you guaranteed was a counterfeit."
"A-A counterfeit...?"
Racuir was flustered. Not because she was hearing the story for the first time, but because of the absolute certainty she had in her own skill.
"She was a virgin I guaranteed. I personally collected the blood and verified it. That woman the Young Lord named 'Kuro' was definitely a virgin."
"But usually, when something the size of a cock enters a virgin's pussy, shouldn't blood naturally flow out from inside?"
"...This is a difficult thing to say, but."
"But?"
"Suppose a goblin's 3cm cock violated a woman. It couldn't even be inserted deeply into the pussy, failing to tear the hymen. Is she then a virgin?"
"Naturally, she's a non-virgin. So you're saying that Kuro was such a case?"
"I am giving an example. I do not know if such a thing actually happened."
Beside Racuir, who was pouring out her words like rapid fire, Charlotte was quietly sipping her tea.
"I see. Is virginity defined by the presence of a hymen?"
"That's not it, but generally, yes."
"Right. Generally. Generally, that would be the case."
I stood up and walked toward the window.
After setting the mood, I pulled out exactly one more bottle.
"Do you know what this is?"
"...More blood?"
"Yes. The time of collection was... post-mortem."
I reached out to the side.
"Here is the blood of the virgin-scam slave, collected after the fact."
In reality, it was blood I had painstakingly wiped off and collected from Paladin Sonata's body.
"Check this blood."
"......Slurp."
Racuir took the blood I handed her into her mouth with a confident face.
"......Eh?"
And for the first time, she looked bewildered.
"The taste is... a bit strange?"
"A strange taste?"
"Yes. It's as if spoiled food was covered up with the scent of spices...?"
"So, is it a virgin or a non-virgin?"
"...It's a non-virgin."
I had received confirmation through Racuir.
Now, it was time to move on to the next step.
"Then you must be wondering why I went through the trouble of having you verify all this. You are about to see why."
I pointed to the desk, and upon receiving my signal, Shiro obediently lay down flat on the long table.
"Now. The final test for today."
Whirrr.
With my hand clad in a latex glove, I reached inside Shiro's skirt.
"From now on, I will insert these fingers into Shiro's pussy. After that, when blood is collected, will Shiro be a virgin, or a non-virgin?"