Chapter 201: So This Is the Pleasure
"Claire? Claire!"
"Ah... yes, what is it?"
"What is it... It's your turn to go on."
"Oh, thank you..."
"....."
Several classmates watched Claire slowly disappear into the player passageway and couldn't help but sigh softly.
"What's wrong with Kagenou-san?"
"Who knows? She's been like this since she returned yesterday evening. Her walking posture is strange, and she occasionally shows a silly smile. Most importantly, even the tights she wore when going out have become thigh-high socks," recalled a classmate who was close to Claire.
"Eh, really? But I heard Claire-san received chocolates."
"Ah, I know about that too. The packaging was very exquisite, probably the box alone is worth quite a bit... How nice~ I'd love to receive such exquisite and expensive chocolates too~"
"Do you think these chocolates might have been given to Claire by Yotsuba-sensei?"
"Yotsuba-sensei? Impossible. The chocolates Claire received are Arcadia's latest and most high-end product—'Truffle Chocolates.' A single piece costs twenty-two gold coins. That whole box is no less than three hundred gold coins. Although Yotsuba-sensei is very handsome and doesn't seem short on money, it's simply impossible for him to obtain such precious chocolates that even top nobles are competing for."
"Eh? But I heard that yesterday evening, Yotsuba-sensei gave Rose-san the same chocolates. I also heard that Rose-san immediately gave him a passionate kiss, which shocked everyone~"
"Really?!"
"Of course it's true."
"Ah, in that case I understand! I know what's wrong with Claire!" that female classmate suddenly shouted.
"Yesterday, Claire must have been so excited after receiving Yotsuba-sensei's chocolates that she accidentally offered herself! That's why her walking posture was so strange when she returned to the dormitory, no wonder Claire's legs were trembling. It seems Yotsuba-sensei is quite impressive~"
The female classmate said meaningfully, as if she had transformed into a famous detective and had seen through everything.
"Offered herself?"
"It's that kind of thing, something only adults can do."
"OD....."
Her words immediately made the others blush.
Th-that's too bold!
And not just Rose-san, but even Claire-san has completely fallen?
Everyone was shocked by this, but also felt it made sense.
After all, the relationship between Rose, Claire, and Mahiro wasn't much of a secret in Class A or the entire grade. And if we're being strict, we could add that auditor Sherry too.
However, just as they were discussing.
Claire remained absent-minded, not changing at all even when she reached the competition grounds.
But her movements were still sharp, defeating an excellent student who had been practicing swordsmanship for a long time in one group with just one sword strike.
Listening to the referee announce her victory and advancement, Claire sheathed her long sword and couldn't help but look up at the distant sky, murmuring.
"...."
Although she had fulfilled her greatest wish according to her own thoughts, giving herself to her beloved teacher.
But the emotions in her heart hadn't eased at all; instead, she became more worried.
The Lawless City was rumored to be the location of the "Blood Queen." She could vaguely guess why her teacher was going there.
"What a willful teacher."
"But please be careful and return safely..."
...
"Achoo!"
"Is someone cursing me behind my back?"
Mahiro rubbed his itchy nose, then continued propping his chin as he watched the rapidly changing scenery outside the train window.
Currently, he was sitting on a train heading to the Lawless City.
But unfortunately, this train couldn't directly reach the destination, only stopping at a nearby town.
After all, that was the Lawless City.
A place outside any kingdom's jurisdiction, with no legal constraints, only the law of the jungle—a land of sin.
Somehow it sounded a bit like the Golden Triangle from his previous life, or maybe the Black Corner Region from a certain novel?
This kind of place inexplicably stirred Mahiro's excitement.
"Seems like it'll be interesting..."
As he thought this, the train slowly pulled into the station and came to a stop.
As mentioned before, this train couldn't directly enter the Lawless City, so he would either have to walk or take a carriage from here.
But as soon as he stepped out of the platform, he was immediately stopped.
"You are...?"
Standing before him was a young girl dressed in rather revealing and seductive clothing.
She was only about sixteen or seventeen years old, but her every movement carried an inexplicable charm.
She seemed like the type who would approach people outside stations to offer accommodation, and her attire resembled that of a prostitute. But unlike prostitutes, this woman was actually a virgin?
"You must be Lord Yotsuba Mahiro, correct? My name is Marie. Yukime-sama sent me here to pick you up." The woman bowed slightly to him.
"....."
He hadn't expected this snow woman to be so thorough, even sending someone specifically to meet him at the station.
In that case...
"Then lead the way."
"Understood, please follow me. The carriage to the Lawless City is ready, right this way."
Led by this woman named Marie, Mahiro arrived at a carriage.
However, rather than calling it a carriage, its length was several times that of an ordinary carriage, with several women standing straight and guarding the surroundings.
"Due to the extreme chaos of the Lawless City, they are necessary for your protection. Please understand."
"It's fine, let's go."
Boarding the carriage, they headed straight for the Lawless City.
When they arrived, he found that this so-called Lawless City was even more outrageous than he had imagined.
"Dirty and chaotic" wasn't enough to describe it—it was completely a slum.
Corpses could be seen everywhere in the dark alleys, with all sorts of shady characters gathered together. Things like robbery and theft were commonplace.
"For Yukime to be able to establish a foothold here, it really isn't easy."
"Yes, Yukime-sama's reign here can be said to have saved us women living in the Lawless City."
Marie said with particular seriousness.
But when Mahiro heard this, he couldn't help but slowly form several question marks in his mind.
If he remembered correctly, in the original work, Yukime ran the red-light district in this Lawless City, right?
Could that really be called saving women?
Actually, not just in the original work, but currently as well.
The carriage was heading towards the most prosperous of the three tall towers—
The White Tower.
Beneath the pure white pavilion, resembling a wild goose pagoda, was the bustling red-light district.
Compared to the disorder outside, this place indeed had some order, with even security teams patrolling the streets back and forth.
Countless women sat either on windowsills or in doorways, dressed revealingly and adorned elaborately, soliciting the men coming and going on the streets.
Occasionally, bursts of laughter and cheerful voices could be heard from inside the buildings.
Marie noticed his strange gaze and immediately understood, explaining:
"The women living here are divided into two factions. One faction engages in prostitution to earn more money, while the other only sells their arts, not their bodies."
"But regardless of which faction, we all do this voluntarily. Yukime-sama gave us the right to choose."
"Oh?"
Mahiro glanced at Marie with slight surprise and smiled faintly:
"Then which faction does Miss Marie belong to?"
Marie only smiled without answering, but her amethyst eyes were filled with longing.
Since being sold at thirteen, Marie had spent three years here.
Anyone who first comes to the Lawless City wants to return to the outside world.
However, as time passes, such thoughts gradually weaken, and eventually, the person unknowingly becomes tainted with the scent of the Lawless City.
Only Marie hadn't given up, always yearning.
So strictly speaking, she didn't belong to either of these two factions; she belonged to the faction that yearned to fly in her heart.
Longing to grow a pair of wings on her back, to finally fly away from this tumor-like demon's den.
"We have arrived, Lord Yotsuba."
Marie respectfully opened the carriage door.
Unbeknownst to them, the carriage had passed through the red-light district and finally stopped beneath the white tower.
But what greeted their eyes was a long red carpet spread out from their feet, leading straight into the tall tower.
On both sides stood countless women, uniformly bowing their heads.
"Welcome your esteemed presence, Lord Yotsuba."
These women spoke in unison, offering their greetings.
Almost all of these women were like Marie, not prostitutes from the red-light district.
It seemed they belonged to the faction that only sold their arts, not their bodies.
But this display was really grand, completely surpassing the Arcadia Trading Company.
"Are you competing in this aspect too? Yukime."
After entering the tower, his voice echoed faintly in the empty hall.
Ding-ling—
Accompanied by clear bell sounds, the sound of geta clacking on steps suddenly echoed in the empty hall.
Looking up, he saw at the top of the staircase above, a silver fox woman with enchanting beauty wearing a snow-white kimono gracefully descending.
Her nine tails swayed gently, shimmering under the light.
Beneath the long hem of her kimono, a pair of exquisite jade legs tightly bound in black footed tights were faintly visible.
Like on a display stand, her pearl-like rounded white toes lightly rested on the geta, painted with a seductive violet color that appeared particularly provocative under the cold lighting.
In her hand, she held a delicate iron fan with a string of bells hanging from the bottom, gently swaying with her steps and emitting ding-ling, ding-ling sounds.
As she gracefully descended the steps, her kimono also began to inexplicably slowly slip off, just caught on her proud snow peaks, fixed on her fragrant shoulders.
The hidden enchanting skin gradually exposed to the air, as if trying to attract his gaze.
The few beast marks on her charmingly beautiful face added a touch of wildness to her.
Her tender cherry lips slowly curved into a smile.
"Master, what are you saying? After so many years apart, this servant misses you too much, so I prepared a grand and formal way to welcome your arrival."
"This servant is absolutely not competing with Miss Alpha out of jealousy."
"Moreover, you are the true master of this White Tower. I actually feel this display isn't enough~"
Enchanting.
After several years apart, Yukime had completely shed her former innocence, becoming bewitchingly charming, bringing the fox tribe's allure to its fullest.
"Why aren't you speaking? Dear master. Could it be that you don't miss this servant at all?"
As she spoke, Yukime appeared behind him as if teleporting, gently leaning her body against him. A pair of delicate jade hands lightly rested on his chest, nine tails gently snuggling against him, displaying her charm to the fullest.
"Ara, master, your heartbeat has quickened."
Feeling the heartbeat echoing in Mahiro's chest, Yukime giggled charmingly again.
"In heat, are you?"
"Hmph, master can think that if you want. From the moment master saved this servant years ago, I said that this body and this life belong to you."
Her voice suddenly stopped.
Because before she could finish speaking, a sudden flash of white light forcibly separated her from Mahiro.
"Who's there?! How dare you cause trouble here!"
Yukime revealed her sharp edge, snapping open the iron fan in her hand. The nine tails behind her stood up as if bristling.
She had actually felt a strong sense of threat from that white light just now!
"You are not allowed to tempt Mahiro."
A slightly childish voice echoed in their ears. Looking down, they saw a young girl with silver long hair spreading her arms to block in front of Mahiro.
The girl's calm eyes shone with an inorganic sharp light.
Who is this?
She had never known that master had such a terrifying young girl by his side.
You must know, with her current strength, she wouldn't lose even facing Alpha head-on. But before this young girl, she felt deeply powerless!
"Miss Est is correct. Yukime, you have violated our agreement."
A completely different, clear and ethereal voice quietly sounded.
On the landing of the staircase, several dark figures stood in a row.
The girl at the front had iconic waist-length golden hair gently flowing, her azure blue eyes revealing a dignified sharpness.
"Ara, I was wondering who it was, so it's Miss Alpha..."
As if ignoring the numerous gazes directed at her, Yukime lightly covered half her face with her folding fan. Beneath the fan, the corners of her lips curved into a fox-like charming smile.
"I don't quite understand what Miss Alpha is saying~ This servant hasn't been seducing master, just simply expressing the longing in my heart. Could it be that even this isn't allowed?"
"Cut the crap, you vixen! You clearly want to seduce our lord!"
As she spoke, one of the dark figures on the landing suddenly flashed, appearing beside Mahiro. Sky-blue hair flashed by, and then Mahiro's arm was forcibly embedded into a softness.
Without even thinking, he knew this was definitely Epsilon.
Because the feeling of this chest composition being 99% slime was way too obvious.
There was no helping it—Epsilon's family had this petite figure as part of their genetic heritage. To fill herself out and make it realistic, she could only rely on slime.
Her originally petite flat figure was actually quite nice too....
"You are not allowed to approach Mahiro either."
Est emitted divine power, pushing Epsilon away from him.
Her serious expression was like a mother protecting her child from harm, just a bit too petite.
"Est-sama, how could you do this..."
Epsilon was both surprised and dejected, even though she had only just managed to hug him for a moment.
"Enough, all of you, stop fooling around."
Seeing that the group was about to start quarreling again, Mahiro finally couldn't help but speak up to stop their behavior.
Turning to look at Alpha who had jumped down from the landing, he asked:
"By the way, why are you all here?"
He had specifically avoided all surveillance when he left.
Alpha saw through his thoughts and smiled slightly: "Because when Gamma told me, I guessed you would definitely act in advance." So I brought Epsilon, who happened to be at the trading company, directly here."
Hearing this, Mahiro smiled wryly.
As expected of Alpha, who had been by his side the longest. She had even figured out his habits completely.
"Alright, how many people came in total?"
"Yes, as per your instructions, we didn't bring too many people this time. Not counting the Seven Shadows, we've gathered only fourteen people in total."
"That's not few either..."
Mahiro rubbed his temples slightly troubled.
Just like the children in the Black Bullet world, the Demon Possessors in this world were actually the same. Although he taught them combat skills and let them do what they wanted.
But if possible, it would be best if they didn't have to fight.
Especially for his personal matters.
"I understand you're worried about our safety, but when the leader acts, how can we not follow?"
"Right, right, what you say makes sense, okay?"
Alpha, with her clear mind, once again saw through his thoughts, making Mahiro unable to help but roll his eyes and reply like this.
"Yukime, first find us a place to rest. Then we can properly discuss the intelligence you and Alpha have obtained."
"It's already prepared, master. Please follow me."
Yukime led them to rest in the top-floor attic of the tower.
The Japanese-style room that greeted their eyes clearly showed that this was Yukime's private chambers.
As for resting...
It really was resting, even a bit improper.
Mahiro lay on the large bed in the center of the room, his body resting on Yukime's legs. Nine fluffy fox tails covered him like a blanket.
Alpha behind him was responsible for massaging his head to help him relax, Epsilon kneaded his shoulders, and someone else was relaxing his feet.
Beside him, a young girl knelt on the bed, occasionally feeding him and offering him tea.
And he lay there like a dead fish, allowing them to do as they pleased. Est sat straddling him with a resentful expression.
Could this be the legendary pleasure?
To be honest, he couldn't enjoy it at all....