Chapter 55: The Beastkin Priestess
Chapter 55: The Beastkin Priestess
After finishing his meal in a gloomy mood, Guwon returned to his room and flopped down on the bed.
…I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.
It didn’t seem like Sara or Diana would be coming out of their rooms, so what on earth was he supposed to do with his time?
For Guwon, whose only hobby was gaming, this unscheduled downtime in a world without games was akin to torture.
Just last holiday, he’d been blissfully enjoying a date with a beautiful woman on each arm, yet the very next one had turned into this pathetic state of affairs.
Ugh. I’m just going to go outside. At least walking around will make the time pass faster.
Guwon decided to head out and wander around for a bit.
As he strolled about with no particular destination, he found that the old, European-style buildings made him feel like a tourist.
The problem, however, was that Guwon had no hobbies that involved traveling or sightseeing.
He quickly grew tired of looking at the buildings and found himself standing stock-still in the middle of the road, desperately looking around for something to do.
Should I try hitting on a girl?
When he first came to this world, he’d been all fired up about becoming a Harem King with his Saint abilities. But after spending so much time with Sara and Diana, he realized he hadn’t thought about that at all lately.
At my current level, I’ve long since shed my beginner status. You could even call me a reasonably skilled adventurer now.
My face is pretty handsome, too. If I put my mind to it, couldn't I easily pick up a girl or two?
Alright. Let’s do it. I’ve made up my mind. Today, for the first time in my life, I’m going to have a one-night stand.
From that moment on, Guwon sat on a bench in the middle of the plaza and began scanning the women who passed by.
Even if a one-night stand was the goal, he couldn’t just pick any woman.
If I’m going to do this, I want to choose a partner worthy of my aesthetic standards.
This plaza was on the main path leading to the Guild.
Naturally, a good number of the people passing through were adventurers.
With this many adventurers coming and going, surely someone who meets my standards will show up, right?
But even as countless women walked by, not a single one met Guwon’s high expectations.
…Dammit. How did it come to this?
It wasn’t that there were no pretty women.
Being adventurers, some of them were quite attractive.
But they were just that—quite attractive. How should he put it? None of them were so beautiful they made him gasp in awe.
It was more like, she’s pretty, but not quite pretty enough to be worth hitting on…
Sara, Diana, you two… I never thought you’d interfere with me like this.
Thanks to Sara and Diana, who were top-tier even among the most beautiful, Guwon’s standards had skyrocketed without him realizing it. Now, any woman who wasn’t exceptionally gorgeous simply didn’t register.
Don’t tell me my dream of becoming a Harem King is going to be crushed for such a ridiculous reason…?
Refusing to accept this unbelievable reality, Guwon’s eyes widened as he began to scrutinize the passing women even more carefully.
There are so many people here. There has to be at least one woman who’s my type.
Not her. Not her either. This one’s a little lacking. And she’s…
After searching for a long while, Guwon finally spotted a woman he liked.
She was too far away to see clearly, but her appearance was striking.
Bronze skin and a voluptuous figure that was obvious even through her thick armor.
She currently had her back to him, so all he could see was her pussyy red hair, but the brief glimpse he’d caught of her profile suggested she was quite a beauty.
“Excuse me!”
Guwon shouted as he approached the woman without a moment’s hesitation.
I can’t afford to hesitate and lose her.
If he missed this chance, there was no telling when he’d find another woman like her.
“Huh?”
The woman turned toward him in response to his voice.
Huh? What kind of response is that? She’s not some street punk.
“If you have some time, would you like to get some tea… No. I must have the wrong person. Have a good day.”
As soon as he saw the woman’s face fully, Guwon hastily turned to flee.
“Hold on, punk. You’re not just going to talk to me and then run away.”
But his escape was foiled by the woman’s hand snatching the scruff of his neck.
“W-Wow. Long time no see, Alicia. I saw this halo around you from a distance and just knew it had to be you.”
“Hah! And a guy who says that tries to run away?”
“Haha. Running away? Of course not. I was just a little surprised, that’s all.”
The woman Guwon had approached was none other than Alicia, the one who had mercilessly taken his virginity.
Dammit. Of all the people to run into. If I have a one-night stand with her, I’ll just get my energy drained.
No, wait. I’ve leveled up a lot since then, so maybe?
Guwon discreetly used Analyze, but as expected, he couldn’t see her information.
…Just what level was the person I slept with when I was only level 1?
Wasn’t I in danger of dying from sex back then?
“So, you wanted to have a cup of tea with your big sis?” Alicia said, looking at Guwon as if she’d found an amusing toy.
“No, well, haha. I was just saying. How have you been? Doing well?”
“Yeah. I hear you’re doing pretty well for yourself, finding a Transcendent Species on the upper floors and all. Chick.”
He had just been making small talk, but her answer was unexpected.
“Oh? Who’d you hear that from?”
“Heard it from Kanna. Is your name that unusual? I knew it was you the second she said it. Speaking of which, I heard you promised to fuck her party members and then stood them up? Did the chick finally become a chicken?”
Haha. That’s a pretty clever… wait, that’s not the point!
“It wasn’t like that! I only missed it because I got lost and stranded in the dungeon.”
To be precise, he had escaped before the promised date, but he’d simply forgotten about it because his mind was a mess from being stranded.
“So how do you know Kanna?”
“We’re in the same clan. Believe it or not, I’m an executive.”
What? An executive in that clan rumored to drain men to death?!
I should have known from the way she dragged me to an inn without a second thought just for provoking her a little.
This woman is seriously terrifying.
In that case, isn’t it a miracle I’m still alive and didn’t die from sex?
She’s not going to jump me and demand we do it again, is she?
What Guwon wanted was a mutually enjoyable one-night stand, not to have his life force unilaterally drained.
“What are you doing?” Alicia asked, looking puzzled as Guwon’s body trembled with a belated sense of fear.
“Oh, nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Don’t tell me you’re scared thinking about when you lost your virginity? You’ve got a special job, so why are you freaking out over something like that? Don’t worry. At my level, do you really think doing it with you would even tickle?”
I can tell. That’s the taste of a lie.
Would someone like that have dragged me to an inn when she knew perfectly well I was only level 1?
“Judging by your reaction, you still don’t get it. Have you really been spending all your time in the dungeon? You should get out more and gather some information. That was a welcoming party for a freshman, you punk.”
“A welcoming party for a freshman?”
“That’s right, punk. We check out the promising-looking guys like that beforehand. Have you ever had to pay the inn fee afterward since then?”
C-Come to think of it…
At the time, he just thought he’d been forced to pay later because Alicia had barged into an empty room. He never imagined there was this kind of backstory.
“By the way, I heard you also turned down Kanna’s invitation to our clan. It might sound like I’m bragging, but guys are dying to get into our clan. Why’d you refuse?”
Now she’s just spouting lies, thinking I’m a total newbie.
“Dying to get in, my ass! I know all about how your clan drains young men to death!”
“Huh? Who’s spreading those slanderous rumors? Get your facts straight. We didn’t drain them; they did it to themselves.”
“What? What’s that supposed to mean?”
What kind of crazy bastards would willingly fuck themselves to death?
“Words aren’t going to work. Hey. Follow me.”
Alicia said, striding forward.
What’s going on? Judging by her expression, she doesn’t seem to be lying.
“Where are we going?”
“To our clan building. You’ll believe me when you see it for yourself.”
Alicia walked briskly for some time, entering a residential area lined with luxurious buildings.
The place they arrived at was a property with a building so massive it could easily be called a grand mansion.
Wow. I knew they were a famous clan, but their building is on another level.
As an executive, Alicia got both herself and Guwon, an outsider, through the entrance with a single word. She then entered the building with familiar steps.
The building was so vast that even after going inside, they had to walk for quite a while before arriving at… heaven.
Yes. It was heaven.
There were no other words to describe it.
“This is the dormitory for our male clan members. There are too many women for them all to live here, but we provide each of the men with their own room since there are fewer of them.”
Th-This is the men’s dormitory?
Did she misspeak and mean women’s?
“Like other clans, we only impose a daily sex quota of once on the men. It’s just that the horny bastards go at it without realizing they could die, and that’s how they end up dead.”
Alicia was chattering on about something next to him, but none of it registered.
Guwon’s brain was too busy trying to save the fleshy spectacle that filled his vision.
She called it the men’s dormitory, yet all he could see were women.
And they were all beauties, strolling around in outfits that were practically half-naked, shamelessly revealing their bare skin.
Every time one of the women brushed past the dazed Guwon, flashing a smile and giggling, blood rushed rapidly to his symbol of manhood.
“There are other dorms for the men, too. They’re divided by level. And if you join our clan, you can pick and choose any woman in your dorm’s area. All the girls here came for that reason. You’d be especially popular since you have a special job.”
What is this paradise?
In other words, if he just joined this clan, his dream of becoming a Harem King would be instantly fulfilled.
From the sound of it, the issue of being drained to death was simply the fate of those with no self-control.
Then again, he could kind of understand how those dead guys felt.
If you saw this every day, of course you wouldn’t be able to control yourself.
In any case, as long as he was confident in his own self-restraint, this place was unequivocally a paradise on earth.
Guwon wanted to join this clan right this instant.
How do I join?
According to Kanna, there was some kind of test.
“So? Not bad, right? If you’re interested, even now, just say the word. I’ve already confirmed you’ve got potential, so I can pull some strings and get you in.”
To Guwon’s eyes, the hot-tempered warrior woman next to him looked like an angel.
See? People who are pretty on the outside are kind on the inside, too.
How could she do something so lovely?
Just as Guwon was about to nod his head, Alicia continued.
“You said you have party members, right? Bring them along. I’ll get them in, too.”
At those words, Guwon’s mind cleared as if doused with cold water.
Wait. If Sara and Diana join, what happens to them?
Don’t tell me they’d become like the women here, available for other men to pick and choose as they please?
Sara was desperate to level up.
Diana also seemed very inconvenienced by the magic she couldn’t use.
So what if a place like this, where they could level up so openly, became available to them?
Could he be certain that on the days they didn’t sleep with him, they would never come to a place like this?
There was no guarantee they’d have to sleep with men just by coming here, but even in this place overflowing with beauties, he couldn’t see anyone on the same level as Sara and Diana.
The moment those two set foot in here, other male clan members would undoubtedly pounce on them.
Just imagining it sent a chill down Guwon’s spine.
I can never let that happen.
“Hey. What’s wrong?”
Sensing something from Guwon’s expression, Alicia tilted her head.
“…No. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to refuse. I’m still at a point where I’m hunting on the upper floors, and I’m more comfortable working in a small group with my companions.”
Guwon rejected Alicia’s offer, though he was crying tears of blood internally.
To simply walk away from this paradise was truly, truly heart-wrenching.
Still, it was a hundred, a thousand times better than seeing Sara or Diana in another man’s arms.
“Hmm? Is that so? Seeing how hard you are, your functions still seem to be in perfect working order. You’ve got more guts than I thought, kid.”
At his refusal, Alicia touched his erection through his pants to confirm it was hard, then gave it a light tap and grinned at him.
“Well, I won’t force you. If you’re still not interested after seeing this, I can’t help it. If you change your mind later, let me know. Just tell the guards at the entrance you’re here to see me, and they’ll show you the way.”
“Yeah. Okay. Thanks.”
With those final words, Alicia disappeared.
…I should head back, too.
Guwon turned to leave the building, putting his regret behind him.
No. There’s something I have to do first.
Before he left, he had to burn the sight of this paradise into his brain just a little bit more.
And so, Guwon took several glances back as he left the Arachne Clan’s building, his feet dragging with every step.