An Ant Lion and Queen Bee
The next day came quickly.
Ellis had finished eating breakfast first before heading off to Master"s Hideaway.
She had some business with Marilyn.
The reason for visiting was to pay the price for the invitation ticket she had handed out to Gray and to find out how the store fared with the Hero visiting.
“Hi! Can I talk to Marilyn?”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
Once the receptionist headed to the back of the store, two new women came out almost immediately.
One was wearing a creation tunic with a flare skirt that most town girls wear.
However, the tunic"s chest was opened up, and the rich valley was exposed underneath. Furthermore, the twin hills were the perfect size peaking out that made tunic tight fitting even though the top was undone.
Furthermore, the cloth was slightly transparent, and a slight shade of pink could be seen underneath.
That"s right, it was everyone"s favorite no bra.
On the left side of the flare skirt a long slit had been cut into the fabric causing a little skin from the toes all the way up the thigh to be visible when she moved.
The whole body was a large ma.s.s of eroticism.
The other woman was wearing a full-body black leather suit with the front zipper undone down to her navel. Once again the suit was tight enough that it barely fit the woman even with the top so far down, but she was wearing a similarly colored thin black bra. And wrapped around the waist? Obviously it was a riding whip hanging down.
“Marilyn-neesan, as usual your eros is in full bloom.”
“It"s because I"m a naughty woman. I"m pleased as long as my guests are as well.”
Marilyn says the most outrageous things in response to an eight-year-old girl"s simple greetings.
All from the woman known as the ‘healing twin hills."
“Margheritneesan, have you changed your taste recently?”
“No, just adapting to the customer"s request. The reputation for my whip is becoming quite well known.”
Margherita eagerly answered Ellis"s question as if she was waiting to be asked that very thing.
This was the Chief Secretary of Pride.
These two were Master"s Hideaway"s two best, most trusted workers.
Marilyn is an all-rounder.
Margherita serves as the den mother.
Out of respect, those in the know avoid calling them by their pseudonyms and have another name for them.
“The Antlion and the Queen Bee.”
Marilyn and Margherita are so popular that they only accept ‘very good" business.
Moreover, since their services cost the most, and an appointment has to be set up, the threshold is very high.
This was all done on purpose.
In this way people won"t concentrate on just the two, and they coordinate together in order to provide business for the other girls as well.
It is for exactly this reason that every worker here trusts the two of them so deeply.
“By the way, did the Hero stop by?”
“Yes, Ellis. I"ll tell you everything.”
While acting under the pseudonym of Gise, Gray had told his story while wrapped up in Marilyn"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
He was born in a rural village near Skycastle where he grew up as a farmer. One day, a sudden revelation came down to him from G.o.d.
“Step forward as the destined Hero and defeat the Demon Lord! Step forth and meet with the King.”
At that moment, overwhelming power flowed through his body.
And so, Gray was reborn.
This new power of his allowed him to tear up trees with his bare hands, and his strong body would quickly heal even after being cut by a bear"s claws.
Gray followed the revelations orders–leaving his family and village behind–and headed to the King"s palace on his own.
On the way, he met Peach at a certain bar.
Peach made a living off people like Gray. The visiting young rural men with petty cash in their pockets would be easily drawn in with a few suggestive gestures and a little eye fluttering.
After that it would only be a matter of getting them so drunk that they would pa.s.s out before she robbed them.
However in his drunk momentum, Gray spilled everything about G.o.d"s revelation to her.
This would call for a change of strategy from her, so instead of robbing him, Peach accompanied Gray to his inn.
Gray was just an innocent youth then, and he was easily pushed down onto his bed.
It was the very first time in his naïve life that Gray experienced a moment from heaven.
But that heavenly time was instantly crushed.
Because suddenly Dams, one of Peach"s friends, stormed into the room shouting at the top of his lungs.
Gray had been caught with his pants down after being completely set up by Peach and Dams.
Once they had grabbed hold of Gray"s weakness, Peach and Dams forced themselves on him as a self-styled ‘magician" and a self-proclaimed ‘warrior." Gray had no choice but to welcome them as friends.
Gray was determined to be Peach and Dams"s golden goose.
Anyone would think that as a Hero, he could easily liquidate such a joke relationship and toss them out.
But Peach and Dams took great care to tip-toe around Gray and played it safe at first.
Peach invited Gray to her room regularly, and while paying attention to the expressions on his face, she made him drown in pleasure.
That is, Gray"s body was completely trained to be unable to live without Peach.
After the audience with the King, Cliff was dispatched from the Skycastle Merchant Guild to join the Brave Party.
He came highly recommended as a member of the party capable of appraising items and using healing magic.
But this was also part of Gray"s bad luck.
Cliff was a half-decent appraiser and healer, but he was completely useless otherwise.
But Cliff did have a good enough head on his shoulders to become an upper-level member of the Skycastle Merchant Guild, and he was able to quickly spot the abnormalities in the party and who was really leading it.
Cliff continuously humbled himself before Peach and acted spiritedly with Dams in order to ingratiate himself with the two.
This was the origin story of the Brave Party"s ‘Three Idiots."
Gise, on the other hand, was recommended by the Skycastle Thieve"s Guild.
Naturally he also quickly noticed the anomalies in the party.
Unlike Cliff though, Gise was loyal to his guild and held pride in his role.
That"s why Gise advised Gray to truncate Peach and Dams.
But Gray rejected this idea while chewing his lips.
The reason was unknown.
Until now.
Gray had referred to Gise by name while moaning in Marilyn"s chest.
“Even if I encounter the Demon Lord"s army, he"s the only person really fighting alongside me.”
Marilyn held his head between her famous twin hills, and while he was sobbing, she had silently stroked his head.
“I felt sorry for him and ended up giving him a little extra service, but don"t worry. When he made his reservation for next time, I charged him a little extra as a principle to Ellis.”
Marilyn was the type of person who always moved at her own pace.
Nevertheless, it seems like the Hero was completely infatuated by her.
Then Margherita jumped into the story.
“I also had an interesting customer recently.”
This interesting customer was a farmer that insisted he was a Demon Lord.
He paid a million ril after the first visit.
From the second time onwards he always left behind a 150,000 ril tip.
An oddly wealthy farmer.
Margherita continued on after catching Ellis"s interest.
“Also, his voice sounded uncannily similar to that Demon Lord"s.”
The Demon Lord had spread his message across the continent, so his voice would be ingrained into just about every citizen"s mind.
“So, what"s the content of his play?”
“Masochism. He likes being stepped on in particular.”
A m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic Demon Lord.
Does that even exist?
The odds of this farmer actually being the Demon Lord is looking a lot less likely all of the sudden.
So Ellis decided to temporarily mark this farmer as a person of interest.
“Tell me if there is anything else of note, and please tell me if the Hero and the Farmer"s reservations end up coinciding.”
Marilyn reacted to Ellis"s request with a small chuckle and a smile.
“I have a reservation with him for this afternoon.”
Subsequently, Margherita reacted in the exact same way.
“I also have a reservation for this afternoon.”
Ellis scratched her head.
It"s obvious that the Brave party is scattered.
The thief Gise is the only competent one of the bunch.
Meanwhile the Hero has become addicted to Marilyn.
If what the Hero had cried out to her was true, then his love for Marilyn would mean that Peach would no longer be needed.
Thus it would become possible for Gray to truncate Peach at any time.
But would Peach and Dams let go of their golden goose so easily?
On the other hand, this self-called Demon Lord could also be a problem.
It is obviously abnormal for someone to be able to pay a million ril up front on a farmer"s salary.
At the very least it is best to a.s.sume that there is a powerful figure behind the farmer.
“The farmer should be handled first.”
Ellis returned to the mansion once, and after she had everything prepared, returned to her hiding place in the store.
Inside Master"s Hideaway.
Although it was before noon, a young man dressed as an apprentice thief was sitting tall in his chair.
Then a man appearing to be a farmer wearing a straw hat came in.
The two sat side by side inside the waiting room.
Silence filled the air.
The air was heavy. Thick with tension. And embarra.s.sment.
……………
It was the farmer who broke the silence first.
“Hey brother, who are you here to visit? Oops. I suppose it"s only polite to introduce yourself first. I"m here for Margherita.”
The apprentice thief was a little thrown off by the apprentice farmer"s sudden question, but he quickly got over it and answered.
“I"m here for Marilyn.”
The farmer nodded his head.
“Marilyn is quite expensive isn"t she?”
The apprentice thief nodded his head as well.
“Margherita is as well right?”
At this point the two men had their faces close together, speaking intimately between one another.
“Yes she is quite high.”
The apprentice thief and farmer were synchronizing their thoughts.
“It"s pretty high here too.”
“But I"ve become addicted.”
“I know what you mean.”
“I have a few hobbies.”
“That can make things difficult.”
Over time, the two of them talked about their experiences, and they argued about who was superior between Marilyn and Margherita.
While doing so, they started to accept each other"s a.s.sertions.
It was a refreshing exchange between two men that revealed their tastes and personalities.
Thus, in their hearts, a splendid friendship began to form.
Towards these two men happily explaining their own propensity for pleasure, an indiscreet receptionist watched on with an increasingly incredulous look.
“Gise, Berudeus, sorry to have kept you waiting.”
Then two women walked into the waiting room.
The woman standing before Gise wore only a men"s white shirt, a pair of white shorts, and her feet were bare.
The shirt was pressed down in order to hug the woman"s skin to better show off the silhouette of the twin hills underneath. There was also a faint pink color showing through at the tips.
The woman standing in front of Berudeus wore a garter belt with fishnet tights and black shorts the same hue as her bra.
On her feet were a pair of glossy crimson stiletto heels, and in her hand was a black horse whip.
While Gise and Berudeus were stunned with the sight before them, the two women each held out their hands and lead them to the baths in the back.
Ahh Ahh
Ahhhn Ahhhn
Ahh Ahh
Ahhhn Ahhhn
Both men left the store at the same time.
“Well done.”
“You too, brother.”
The apprentice thief and the farmer shared a handshake before amicably splitting into separate directions.
Ellis, dressed in her modest receptionist outfit, followed the farmer as scheduled.
The farmer made his way to the outskirts of the city on foot.
n.o.body took notice of him or stopped him–he was just a farmer after all.
Upon arriving at an area with n.o.body around, the farmer cast a chantless spell.
Then the farmer slowly lifted up into the air.
“{Levitation}?”
Ellis tried to remain calm and a.n.a.lyzed what she was seeing.
But then the next moment Ellis wasn"t able to believe her eyes.
Because after raising himself a dozen feet off the ground, the farmer sped off into the distance like an arrow.
He was gone in an instant, and if you weren"t watching him carefully, you would have completely missed it.
“So there is a Demon Lord with those kinds of interests.”
Ellis had regained her calm demeanor and started to smooth out her next plan while smiling.
“I"ll have to ask Margherita to do a little information fishing.”
Ellis turned on her heel and then returned to her lair.
Gray made his way home as well.
As he did, he started to think.
With Marilyn here, there will be no more moments of shame.
Marilyn is above Peach after all.
Even if that woman makes a ruckus and whines, there is no need for me to give in because Marilyn is always gentle with me.
Gray made up his mind.
That"s right. It"s time to talk to Gise.
When Gray returned to Skycastle, he headed to Gise"s room to speak with him.
“I"ve been thinking. We should release Peach and Dams from the party contract, but what do you think Gise?”
Gray thought that Gise would agree with him immediately.
However, the man sitting before him shook his head back and forth with a frown.
“You didn"t notice the special clause placed in the contract the last time you renewed it?”
“No, what was it?”
“It"s a penalty clause.”
“What?”
“You"ve been wrapped around her finger so completely that you never even bothered to read the party contract.”
Gise held his aching head while looking down at the confused Gray.
He felt a little pity for the Hero, but he was too annoyed to give it to him gently.
“Take out the contract and read it carefully.”
Gray was starting to get annoyed as well with Gise"s att.i.tude, but he did what he was told and read through the contract.
………….
A cold sweat ran down Gray"s back.
“If the Hero cancels the party contract at his convenience before defeating the Demon Lord, then the Hero shall pay 5 billion ril as a penalty to said member.”
Gise coldly recited out loud the pa.s.sage that had stunned Gary.
“You have power, but you"re blind to the affairs of the world. Even if you were to make a new party now, it would probably end with the same result, so we might as well keep moving forward with what we have.”
But Gray wasn"t going to give up.
“No, it"s different now. I don"t have to lower my head to Peach.”
“Hmm.” Gise silently admired Gray"s new resolve.
At the very least the Hero was no longer a dog at Peach"s beck and call.
So Gise decided to remain Gray"s ally.
“If so, there is a solution to our problem. We keep the three of them as members of the Brave party–and everything that comes with it.”
In short, the plan was to work them until they drop.
“I understand. Let"s do it.”
Gray nodded his head, confident that his future would be a bright one.
But things won"t necessarily go as Gise and Gray think it will.
Gray hasn"t escaped his dependence on Peach–he has transferred that dependence to someone else.
Gise misjudged this point because he wasn"t aware of the whole story.
Now Ellis has an eye inside the Brave party.
The three idiots have lost their power, and they are easy enough to trick.
And Gray is willing do to anything for Marilyn and Ellis by proxy.
In this way, Ellis was able to influence and manipulate the Brave party from the shadows.