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DN : [309] Deal
🕑 Added 2024-09-18 16:00:05 +0000 UTCA deep roar echoed through the air.
Just as they were nearing the neighboring town, a beast finally appeared. A massive, tusked wild boar emerged from the underbrush, its enormous tusks menacing and enough to make anyone feel a sense of dread.
“Well, well, finally a monster! Time to die!” Stunk yelled, charging forward, his sword flashing in his hand.
In an instant, he drew his blade. With a swift movement, three deep cuts appeared on the wild boar’s hide, and before long, the beast collapsed, cleanly butchered.
This was Stunk’s strength—despite being a shameless flirt, his combat prowess was formidable.
Just then, rustling sounds came from the surrounding bushes. One by one, more tusked wild boars emerged.
“Hey, since when did wild boars start traveling in packs?” Stunk remarked, readying himself for the fight.
“Less talking, more fighting! Take them down, Gale Shot!” Zel shouted as he unleashed his arrows.
“I’m in too. Medium Bomb,” Kanchal added, tossing a large bomb into the midst of the boars.
Each of the three adventurers showed their skills: a swordsman, an archer, and a bomb specialist. Within a few minutes, over a dozen wild boars lay dead, taken down with impressive efficiency.
Kanchal, always practical, immediately produced a short blade and began harvesting the spoils. The tusks and hides of the wild boars fetched a decent price, and with so many of them, they could easily make over a thousand gold coins.
“Not interested in the bodies?” August asked casually.
“Huh? What do we need them for?” Stunk replied.
“If you don’t need them, mind if I take them?” August inquired.
“Go ahead, they’re all yours,” Stunk shrugged, unconcerned. Monster corpses weren’t particularly valuable to them.
August smirked. With a simple gesture, he transported all the carcasses into his personal storage space. After all, even small profits add up.
“Whoa, that was some slick space magic! August, you should team up with us. Our efficiency would skyrocket with you on board,” Stunk suggested enthusiastically.
“I don’t see why not. I’ve got some free time, and playing adventurer for a while sounds like fun,” August replied with a grin.
“Awesome!” Stunk and Zel exchanged excited looks. Having someone who could use space magic in their party would make everything so much more convenient.
Before long, the group arrived at the small town. Their first order of business was to sell the monster materials, which earned them over 900 gold coins. Each of the three adventurers pocketed a little over 300 coins, while August, having not participated in the fight, declined his share.
With the errands wrapped up, the group, led by Kanchal, headed toward their destination for the night—the succubus shop.
The establishment wasn’t in a prominent location within the town, and by the looks of it, business wasn’t exactly booming.
"Boss, I’m here!" Kanchal announced as soon as they stepped through the door.
At the counter stood a snake-woman, a Mia tribe member, who smiled warmly at Kanchal’s entrance.
“Kanchal-san, welcome! Are these your friends?” she asked, her voice smooth and inviting.
"Yes, I brought them here to support your business!" Kanchal said with a proud grin.
“Well, thank you! Feel free to choose what type you prefer, gentlemen,” she said, pulling out three small brochures and handing them to August, Stunk, and Zel.
When August opened his, he realized there were only six options, a stark contrast to the abundant choices at the previous beastkin establishment.
"I’ll take the one labeled 'Big,'" Stunk said immediately.
“I want the one with green hair,” Zel added without hesitation.
“I’ll choose the youngest one here,” Kanchal decided quickly.
August glanced at the remaining choices, noting that out of the six available, three had already been picked. He selected one at random—after all, the options were limited.
“Very well. This way, please.”
Soon, four snake-women appeared from the back, each leading one of the men to their respective rooms. Stunk and the others, eager as ever, hurried off with their chosen companions, while August lingered behind.
“Is there something wrong, sir?” the snake-woman at the counter asked, noticing August had not moved.
“Not at all,” August replied. “I was just curious—what are the rates here?”
“It’s 1,500 gold coins for one night, and you can stay until morning.”
“That cheap?” August was surprised. Compared to other succubus establishments, this price was a steal.
“We have no choice. As you can see, we hardly have any customers. If we raised the prices, no one would come at all,” she admitted with a wry smile.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but if business is so slow, why open a succubus shop at all?”
“It’s simple, really. We didn’t have any other options. Our village is deep in the mountains, where survival itself is a challenge. After leaving, we had no idea what else we could do. Succubus shops are the quickest and easiest way to make money,” she explained bluntly.
There was no pretense in her words. Succubus shops didn’t require any special skills or talents—just good looks and a willingness to work.
“I have a proposition for you,” August said, his tone serious.
“Oh? What kind of proposition?” she asked, intrigued.
“I recently purchased a house and am looking for someone to help with cleaning, laundry, and cooking.”
“Is that all?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“For those tasks, I’m willing to pay 30,000 gold coins a month.”
“Thirty thousand... just for cleaning, laundry, and cooking?” The snake-woman’s eyes widened in shock, and even the snake-woman who had been selected by August was left speechless.
It was an extremely generous offer. Many adventurers didn’t earn that much in a month, as quests weren’t always available, and even completing them took time.
To be sure, high-end succubus establishments could bring in much more, but this shop wasn’t anywhere near that level.
“Of course, there’s more to it. Otherwise, why would I come to you?” August added with a knowing smile.
The woman quickly understood his meaning. He wasn’t simply offering 30,000 gold coins for labor—he was paying for her time, a full month of it. Even so, the amount was tempting. The reason was simple: they were poor. In any world, wealth draws attention.
“If that’s the case, we—”
“I don’t want a regular worker,” August interrupted. “It’ll take time, I understand, but I’m not in a rush. You mentioned there are only six of you here now.”
“I see... I understand. And if it’s someone’s first time, I can offer an additional 20,000 gold coins. Naturally, I wouldn’t let you go uncompensated for helping me find the right person. I’ll pay you 10,000 coins for your trouble.”
“Deal,” she said without hesitation. Wealth moves hearts, no matter the world.
August had a penchant for beautiful women, especially the more exotic ones like snake-women and mermaids. Now that he had the means, and with this world being a vacation of sorts for him, why not indulge?
His goal was to collect all the different races of monster girls. Not just visit them, but truly collect them as his own. And naturally, for such a collection, he wasn’t going to settle for mere succubus workers.
