#019 Debauchery
#019 Debauchery
After exchanging a bit of small talk with Lucius, I brought him into a certain shop.
"Ohohoh, hellooo theere."
A blond man greeted us, rolling his pronunciation with exaggerated flair.
His hair was swept back, he wore a white shirt with white frills, and his pants were a light pink that clung tightly to his legs.
"Welcome to Normance's finest salon."
"Let's leave."
"Wh-why, what's wrooong?!"
"He's unsettling."
"W-wait!!"
The man reached out a hand and went inside.
I heard a soft rustling, rustling sound from within, and before even a minute had passed, he came back out.
"Welcome to the salon, my lady. I am the general manager of this establishment. You may call me 'Cospaco.'"
"Wow."
The man who had been unbearably off-putting had transformed in an instant into a proper gentleman.
"He feels like a hotel manager now."
"If you are more comfortable with this manner, I shall attend to you in this fashion. How does that suit you?"
"It's more comfortable than before, so I like it. We came to buy clothes."
I pointed at Lucius.
"He's going to register as an adventurer, so please set him up with an outfit."
"Do you pursue practicality, or style?"
"I'm going to layer seven barrier spells over his body, so don't worry about practicality."
"Is that so...."
Cospaco licked his lips as he looked toward Lucius.
"M-Master...?"
"What?"
"I feel uneasy about this...."
"It's fine. You're both men, what's the problem?"
"That's exactly why I'm more uneasy."
"Hehe, worry not."
Cospaco kept licking his lips as he approached Lucius.
"Your build is excellent, yet not too unusual. A standard frame with practical muscle attached, just enough to... It's wonderful. A physique like this truly comes alive when dressed... Wow, the muscles are really... Your lines are beautiful."
"Master...?"
"Keep the budget within this."
I flicked a gold coin toward Cospaco.
"Everything, down to the underwear."
"How shall I coordinate the colors?"
"Use your judgment."
"As you command, my lady."
Cospaco caught the gold coin flying through the air with his hand, grinned, and led Lucius inside.
"A-aaagh...! Where are you touching?!"
"Hold still. To tailor the clothes to your body, I naturally must take your measurements."
"U-ugh...."
I could hear Lucius's screams from inside, but I paid them no mind.
'A tailored suit suits him far better than a worn tunic.'
Lucius was a Hero.
Rather than having such a Hero walk around in shabby clothes, it was obviously far more pleasing to see him dressed in fine attire.
The reason?
'He's my disciple, and I can't have him following me around looking shabby.'
A disciple is a mirror that reflects their master.
If I let the Holy Sword Hero walk around dressed carelessly, I, as his master, would be the one criticized.
And there was another, ultimate reason I had to make Lucius look good.
'He needs to go charm women.'
Lucius was handsome.
Considering that Saintess Yan Diere had fallen for him the moment she saw his face, the women he met from then on would probably fall for him at first sight too.
Yan Diere had fallen for him even when he looked like a beggar, so what would happen if he walked around dressed like a proper Holy Sword Hero?
'Women would swarm around him like flies.'
Starting with the Saintess, all sorts of women would approach Lucius with interest, and I would pick the ones most useful for defeating the Demon Kings and make them his companions.
The so-called Lucius Harem Project.
'The best way to bind a Hero's companions is through love.'
I had observed countless Hero Parties.
I reached one conclusion.
'Unless it's a sweaty macho party or a harem party, they all fall apart.'
Unless it was a macho party made up entirely of men, a party composed of one handsome man and women purring as they vied for his attention tended to last the longest.
And if, in the latter case, one male companion entered as a porter or a weak member?
The Hero Party was doomed to shatter.
Then the women who felt a sense of loss over that one empty spot would become obsessed with that person, or the Hero would go looking for that man, and the women would hate and envy the man receiving the Hero's attention.
I had seen far too many Hero Parties ruined that way.
Back in my Demon King days, how many Hero Parties had I destroyed through sowing discord and schemes of slander?
'I'll have Lucius charm capable women, then use them as combatants. Girls who melt at a word from Lucius.'
So the answer was a harem party.
If I kept only women who adored and loved Lucius as his companions, there should not be any major problems.
'I really am smart.'
A Hero Party that would not collapse.
At the same time, the greatest party capable of sealing the Demon Kings would be formed.
And for that, Lucius needed to be able to make any woman's heart race, no matter who came along....
"Oh."
"Master...?"
A white coat over a black shirt.
The outfit might have been plain, but Lucius himself looked so good that he seemed to wear the clothes rather than the clothes wearing him.
"As expected. If you go out looking like that, you'll have women crying over you in no time."
"I-is that so...?"
He looked embarrassed, but he didn't seem entirely displeased.
Now, all Lucius had to do was walk with confidence and women around him would start smiling.
'This is it.'
I was truly satisfied, thinking that the single gold coin I had spent was worth every bit of its value.
"Good work."
"My lady, there is one thing I would like to request."
"Yes?"
"Even after spending one gold coin, a great deal of money remains. I would like to tailor an outfit for you as well, my lady...."
"Me?"
A madness I had only ever seen among the Demonfolk of the Demon Realm gleamed in Cospaco's eyes.
"I'm fine with just a single robe."
"Would you not need clothes to wear beneath that robe? Worry not. I shall tailor everything for you."
"Ugh...."
"Master."
Lucius was suddenly standing behind me.
"Your disciple is dressed like this, so how could you walk around in shabby clothes? It would not do justice to your dignity, Master."
"...Is that so?"
He had a point.
If Lucius was dressed handsomely while I walked around looking shabby, we wouldn't look like master and disciple—I might look like Lucius's slave mage.
'That won't do.'
I had the pride of a Demon King. How could I allow myself to be treated like Lucius's slave?
"Then I'll choose the clothes myself."
"Pardon?"
"There's an outfit that comes to mind."
I pointed at one of the garments on the display rack.
"Could you alter this one?"
"What kind of clothes...."
"Clothes like this."
Exactly the attire the Crimson Mage used to wear.
A bit modest, but still a design that clearly revealed the identity of a "witch."
"Like this...."
"Wait."
Cospaco grabbed the lower garment I was about to take.
"You intend to wear this?"
"Of course?"
"Absolutely not."
"What do you mean, absolutely not...."
Riiip.
Cospaco tore the skirt apart.
"A customer like you must not wear a skirt that comes down below the knees like this!!!"
"......."
Even a dragon's roar would not carry this much force.
"My lady! The skirt, at least, I shall make for you! Please, I beg you, wear this!"
"Are you insane?"
The curse came out before I could stop it.
"What kind of skirt is this?! There's a limit even to indecency!!"
"It's in fashion! This is the 'miniskirt'! It's a design that's even trending in the Church of the Red Moon Goddess! Not even farm wives digging potatoes wear skirts like this!!"
"Ha, you might as well tell me to walk around naked!!"
"Oh! Do you desire a design from the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess?"
"What...?"
Cospaco pointed at a mannequin beside him.
Looking at that mannequin, I recalled the clothes worn by Yan Diere and the people of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess.
"That's... clothing?"
"It is a nun's habit introduced by the Pope of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess."
"...In what way is that a nun's habit? No, seriously, isn't this actually insane?"
I pointed at the line running from the hips toward the groin.
"Your legs are completely exposed!!"
"It's in fashion!!"
"It's obscene! Completely shameless! Has the Church lost its mind?!"
The Pope of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess had to be insane.
"But my lady, ever since this Saintess's habit was introduced, the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess has been enjoying its greatest golden age."
"What? How? Why?"
"Well...."
Cospaco raised his thumb.
"Because ever since this nun's habit was introduced, the number of people converting to the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess has grown exponentially."
"......."
"The number of children has risen sharply too, and the number of people serving the Church has surged as well. It's all the rage in high society, you know? Want to come this way and have a look?"
"......."
The place Cospaco showed me was truly a new world.
A new world where miniskirts counted as quite modest.
"So... nobles wear these? These sheer clothes?"
"It's called sheer fabric."
"And what's this? What kind of crazy woman wears black underwear under a white T-shirt?"
"It's fashion."
"What is fashion?!"
"You could say it's a trend that everyone follows these days."
"That's absurd!!"
I couldn't believe it.
Even the people in the Hero Village dressed modestly, just as they had five hundred years ago!
"I can't believe it! Girls selling flowers at night might wear things like that, but who walks around calling such suggestive things clothes?!"
"That's a bit... My lady, everyone dresses like this."
"Ha, is that so?! Then let's just watch and see!!"
I pointed at the window overlooking the street on the other side of the salon.
"Thirty minutes! I'll observe the women entering the Adventurers' Guild for thirty minutes, and if there are plenty of women dressed like this, I'll wear a miniskirt!"
".......Are you, perhaps, under the impression that I am deceiving you because I want to dress you in these clothes, my lady?"
"Aren't you? You pervert."
"......Heh, hehe."
Cospaco simply laughed quietly and guided me to the window.
"I shall brew some tea, my lady."
"...Wh-what's with you? Why are you so calm?"
"If you observe the women of the Adventurers' Guild, of all places, you will fully understand my words."
"...Adventurers are a joke? Huh? In life-or-death situations, women should be wearing full plate armor too, that kind of...."
I...
...saw it.
A procession of adventurers, seemingly dressed in outfits even more shameless and suggestive than the nuns' habits of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess.
"Wh-what is that?! They're walking around in nothing but underwear—why is no one saying anything?!"
"It's bikini armor."
"Those things... are adventurers?"
Was the Middle Realm really allowed to be like this?
"Miniskirts are comparatively modest, aren't they?"
"......."
Fine.
Let's destroy it all.
For the sake of restoring the modesty of five hundred years ago.