Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Scouting (1)
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The next morning.
Kalt woke up feeling refreshed.
His eyes landed on the trash bin in the corner of the inn room.
It was already full of used slimes.
Even a rough count showed more than five.
Kalt chuckled at the sight of them.
Not bad stamina at all.
It was a mix of admiration for himself.
In his previous life, even pushing as hard as he could, three rounds in a row had been his limit.
So his main strategy back then had been to shake his hips without finishing too soon, satisfying the woman first.
But the body he'd honed in this life after reincarnating was far more virile than he'd imagined.
Yesterday's romp had only ended because the slimes were running low and Jena, having her first time, had reached her limit and couldn't keep going.
Mentally, Kalt could have gone several more times.
'That Mabel bitch made sure not to skip training even while holding back.'
Seeing his trained physique yield such useful and satisfying results filled him with a sense of accomplishment from all that effort.
Kalt glanced down at Jena, sleeping soundly beside him.
Looking at her brought last night's memories flooding back vividly.
The pleasurable screams bursting from her throat.
The way she'd clawed at his back in overwhelming ecstasy.
Her pleas that it was too much, that it felt too good.
The more he recalled, the more it stirred a male sense of superiority—a delightful memory.
'See? Even after all this time, my skills haven't dulled.'
Hypnosis had only created the perfect opportunity for them to hook up.
Everything else was pure technique.
He hadn't used hypnosis even once in the process of making her feel good or bringing her to climax.
Still, Kalt thought this time's sex had been a bit sloppy.
Even if he hadn't died, it had been so long that his finer techniques hadn't quite matched his muscle memory.
On top of that, he'd skimped on foreplay and rushed into insertion to satisfy his own desires, despite being able to warm her up more.
And yet.
Judging by Jena's reactions, this crude performance had made her feel just as intensely as anything from his previous life.
Tracing the reason back, it had to be...
'Thanks to this life's equipment.'
His previous life's had been respectable in size.
But this one's was massive.
That difference produced results even with clumsy thrusts.
'If I seriously get my techniques back...'
And layered hypnosis on top...
No woman could beat him in bed.
That conviction settled firmly in Kalt's heart.
'Ah, not the time for this.'
Kalt hurriedly shook Jena awake.
"Jena, get up. It's morning."
"Mmm~? Morning...? Oh!"
At the word "morning," Jena bolted upright.
The shop where she worked opened early.
Not even fully processing her first experience, she scrambled to dress and get ready to leave.
In the midst of it...
"Ow...!"
In her haste, she'd gotten dressed, but when she tried to walk...
Her legs felt weak, and a sharp pain shot through her groin.
Her first time had been with Kalt's massive tool.
And they'd gone late into the night, so her body hadn't recovered properly—the backlash hit.
"Jena, drink this."
Kalt pulled a glass vial from the pouch on his belt and handed it to her.
"Whoa!? Th-this is a potion!"
Potions were an emergency recovery tool for hero parties or adventurers when no priest or shrine maiden was around.
Made by alchemists, they cost a pretty penny for ordinary folk.
"Just drink it. I've got plenty more. Can't have you heading out like that and raising suspicions, right?"
"Th-thank you!"
Jena gulped it down immediately.
The moment the potion hit, the numbness and pain in her lower body eased rapidly.
"Sorry for the intrusion, Kalt!"
"Go get 'em."
Jena threw on her robe and dashed out of the room.
But she poked her head back in briefly and said,
"Um, last night was really amazing!"
With that, she hurried out of the inn.
Her reaction drew a small laugh from him.
Kalt stretched and got out of bed.
"Guess I'll start my routine too."
Unless it was an emergency, he never skipped his daily training.
Push-ups, sit-ups, squats—bodyweight exercises for 30 minutes.
After light training, he headed downstairs for breakfast, got permission from the innkeeper, and moved to the backyard.
He drew the sword from his waist and swung it.
Not just simple overhead chops, but from various angles considering different scenarios, sometimes while moving.
It was Kalt's own training method, devised to keep up with and support the Fastest Hero Mabel's speed.
As he swung, Kalt pondered his next move.
First off, like Ianna and Marti said, he had zero intention of joining some ordinary party or getting a shop job.
With his hypnosis ability, he could live an easy life in everyday settings.
But this wasn't a peaceful world—the Demon King might revive any day.
Above all, Kalt had traveled with Mabel's hero party, seeing many places.
He knew the damage demons from the demon realm inflicted on people as they invaded for the Demon King's revival.
He knew how vicious the monsters they summoned became.
He knew the tragedies they brought.
He wasn't irresponsible enough to shrug it off now with "I don't care about the Demon King revival threat."
His vow to his late parents wasn't something he took lightly either.
Live kindly.
Live righteously.
Yesterday's events had added "lower the bar and stay true to your desires," but the core of his vow remained unshaken.
'In the end, only one choice.'
Join a hero party.
Of course, going back to Mabel's ungrateful bunch was out of the question.
A new hero party, not Mabel's.
Fortunately, there were as many hero parties as there were heroes.
Thanks to ancient heroes who'd roamed regions, claiming women and spreading their seed everywhere, plenty carried hero blood.
"Hoo."
Finishing his daily training, Kalt made his decision.
He washed up and got moving right away.
The perfect place to find the hero he wanted.
A place he'd frequented countless times.
The guild, used by both heroes and adventurers—he headed there.
The guild.
Originally a place for adventurers to take requests or exchange info.
But with signs of the Demon King's revival and the emergence of awakened heroes, it became a hub for heroes too.
And the guild was abuzz with two incidents from the past two days.
One: the Fastest Hero Mabel Party expelling Kalt.
This spread naturally as they recruited a new member.
But people didn't think much of it.
Even if Kalt had been with the Fastest Hero from the start, hero parties needed skill above all.
They couldn't keep dragging around an underperformer for odd jobs.
Adventurers and heroes pitied Kalt but saw it as the right call.
The rumor alone wouldn't have caused much stir.
But the next day, another bombshell hit the guild.
Kalt, expelled from the Fastest Hero Mabel Party...
Had taken down Dread, warrior of the Flame Hero Dens Party.
The Flame Hero Dens Party wasn't on Mabel's level but was rising fast lately.
Their vanguard, the martial artist Dread, boasted rock-solid physique.
Yet Dread had messed with a shop's signboard girl, Kalt intervened, a fight broke out, and Dread lost.
The handyman they'd pegged as weak beat a martial artist like Dread.
Even drunk, witnesses said it was an overwhelming defeat.
Linking the two rumors made the guild even rowdier.
Why had Mabel Party used someone strong enough to crush Dread as just a handyman?
No, why expel that level of firepower in the first place?
Was Mabel Party on another level?
Was beating Dread not enough to qualify?
The guild was noisy from morning, but no one had solid answers.
Mabel Party, after kicking Kalt out, posted a recruitment notice and left on a request a few days ago.
The Flame Hero Dens Party with Dread hadn't shown up since morning either.
Unable to quench their curiosity, speculation brewed in a frustrated atmosphere.
Maybe Dread was blackout drunk and didn't just "lose"?
Maybe Kalt got booted not for skill, but some romantic drama?
As fresh rumors spawned from the unresolved ones...
Heavy footsteps echoed as the guild's hottest topic entered.
The former handyman of the Fastest Hero Mabel Party.
The man rumored to have casually beaten Dread yesterday.
Kalt.
Under everyone's stares, he strode to the reception desk and spoke.
"Hey, any hero parties looking for extra hands? Besides those damn bitches' crew."
His words confirmed it.
He and Mabel Party hadn't parted on good terms.