“For now, taking into account each jewel’s value, craftsmanship, and rarity… I’d say around 600,000 gold coins.”
“Six hundred thousand? If we factor in practical utility, I think we could go a bit higher?”
“It’s an estimate, but if we stretch it a little… let’s settle on 630,500.”
The weapon shop under the Construction Union Trident is known as the Trident Trading Company. A lizardman clerk, wearing a uniform designed for non-human races and dangling a three-horned Viking helmet from a chin strap around his neck, gazes intently at the items through his tiny pupils while stating their appraised value.
Ariel gasps in shock at the figure, while Rose and Sieg furrow their brows slightly.
“I believe I can go up to 880,000.”
“As for me… well, even if I make a concession, it’s still 800,000.”
The lizardman clerk flicks his tongue with an expressionless face. It may not be obvious at first glance, but this gesture conveys frustration.
“Look, the financial settlement is coming up soon. At this time of year, I need to dispose of items quickly at reasonable prices; otherwise, I’ll be in trouble myself. Sure, if we find enthusiastic buyers later, we might fetch a higher price—but if there’s too much delay before disposal, all these values will turn into losses on our books, and that becomes a liability issue.”
“Let me just say I bought them out of selfishness. I’ll sell them slowly afterward.”
“Sis… well, fine by me then.”
“880,000.”
“Hey, hey. Honestly, I don’t know what kind of favor this is, but I never thought I’d have to handle the same item twice in one day.”
The jeweled knife, once taken from a tavern as payment for Lyra’s drink, has now come full circle and been repurchased by the Trident Trading Company.
“By the way, just for reference—how much did you buy it from the tavern?”
“…180,000.”
“What a scoundrel, huh, you old man.”
Sieg lightly taps the lizardman clerk on the shoulder. At least, he thinks, it’s better than having it bought by someone who truly doesn’t understand its value.
“Oh, um, that… uh, 880,000—is that in gold coins?” Ariel looks up at Sieg and Rose with a worried expression. For reference, one gold coin of the Celesta currency buys a single non-alcoholic drink; ten coins can usually get you a decent meal at most eateries. With 880,000 coins, even in a large city like Tark, one could purchase a quite sizable house with land. Of course, compared to Ariel’s debts, this amount is still trivial.
“Goodbye, my jeweled knife…”
“H-Really, Sieg-san? Are you sure!?”
“It’s fine. I’m capable enough to handle things myself. Besides, it’s just a hobby item; no one will suffer if I sell it… Uuuuh.”
Sieg pretends to be strong despite shedding tears earnestly. For some reason, the lizardman clerk begins to cry along with him.
“How much is Ariel’s debt?”
“Y-Yes, 42,000 coins…”
“Well, they’ll surely tack on interest when they present it, so… Clerk, set aside 70,000 as a base gem value and hand them over now.”
“Yes, yes. You’re a man, aren’t you, old fellow?”
“Yeah. I’m becoming a man. But becoming a man… it hurts.”
Though still clinging to lingering feelings, Sieg takes action without backing down. The lizardman clerk looks at him with eyes full of respect (though his face remains expressionless) and pats his shoulder repeatedly in comfort. ”…It’s like a ransom payment.”
Seeing Ariel’s eyes spinning with the prospect of easy money, Rose mocked him.
“Don’t say such ill-natured things. I’ll first cut off Ariel’s troublesome entanglements and then pursue a proper relationship.”
“Understood, understood… By the way, you’d better understand exactly what it means to give and receive a sword.”
“Huh?”
“Do you intend to pay with the money from selling it now? Or will you hand over the sword and have that dark elf sell it instead? The implications are entirely different.”
“Hmm…”
Zieg knew only the customs, but whether he truly grasped their weight remained questionable.
He stroked his scruffy beard and glanced at Ariel for the moment.
Handing over money directly felt too cheap and unpleasant, yet being bound by a custom he didn’t fully understand also seemed problematic.
“Well, take it as you wish, Ariel. For now, I’ll personally handle clearing any debts. Consider this my reckless act born of infatuation with you. But beyond that, I’d be delighted if you’d stay with me. Even though your time with a dark elf may be fleeting, give me your love in return for my life. Please.”
”…Even if you say such things…”
Ariel looked troubled.
Having been left to decide on his own regarding the knife he received, and hearing Zieg casually dismiss such a great kindness as something that could be taken lightly, Ariel—who had been walking straight toward misfortune—found this single half-day’s encounter with luck and decisive choices far too overwhelming.
”…”
Rose, who had silently watched Zieg’s advances, noticed the silence between them and corrected her posture before speaking.
“Can we discuss that later?”
”…Yes.”
After confirming with Ariel, she turned back to Zieg.
“Now, let me handle my side first… I won’t allow you to gloss over the fact that I accepted your knife, Becker.”
”…Y-yes, of course.”
“You were gentle with that dark elf, but don’t expect the same from me… Zieg Becker, you’ve already accepted her proposal. You’re aware that using this knife separately after accepting it means there’s no going back, correct?”
”…Yeah.”
Completely opposite to Ariel, who distrusts humans and men while bearing all misfortune alone with a timid demeanor, was Rose Alderia, the former captive princess who pursued him relentlessly like a fastball.
She had been kidnapped by the thieves’ guild when she was probably seventeen. Now at twenty-seven, for an ogre woman where early marriages are common, she’s already behind schedule.
Yet her status, her spirit, and her mature beauty, which has settled into full adulthood, are qualities that cannot simply be ignored even in an ogre. She is certainly not an ugly woman who was destined to fall behind.
Though small for an ogre, the robustness of her physique—capable of punching Zieg into the air—is well within the standards for a “good woman” among ogres. Having rejected many suitors and waited patiently for the chance to propose to Zieg, she now declares:
“If you wish, I could gift you that jewel knife again. No matter what, if you become my husband, it will be yours once more. Come on, Zieg Becker, do you understand that it’s time to pay your tribute?”
“U-um…”
However, Zieg is not quite the selfless warrior of love who would recklessly accept everything like Andy.
He wants to flee when chased and chase when he can escape—he’s just an ordinary man.
Is this really what I want?
Is it truly right to be tied down by this woman?
Really, Zieg Becker, is this truly the right path?
Such groundless doubts surged within his chest.
Zieg stepped back hesitantly while Rose stared him down.
A lizardman shopkeeper, excitedly gazing at the situation despite having no clear idea of what’s going on.
And then—
”……Just give an answer already! You’re the worst guy ever——!!”
“Eh, w-wait, nngghuh?!”
Suddenly, Rose’s fist erupted with flames. Zieg was slammed sideways, skidding across the wooden floor for about three meters. Rose left the stunned lizardman shopkeeper and Ariel behind, grabbed the back of the fallen Becker’s belt, and lifted him up. “You got in my way. Deliver that knife to my house.” With a swift motion, she dragged the folded Zieg out of the store. “Ah, w-wait, please don’t leave me behind?!” Ariel hurriedly chased after them. The lizardman shopkeeper watched them go with a blank expression, tongue flicking in and out. ”……I really don’t want to hit my wife.” Fortunately, no one heard his muttered complaint to the group president.
Zieg regained consciousness in a dimly lit room.
“Huuh…”
“You’re awake.”
The ceiling.
The color of the sunset sky.
The bed.
And then, three sharp angles.
”……Rose?”
“I’m sorry. But I made it easier for you to make your decision.”
He checked the situation. The dim room was likely an inn; given its upscale furnishings, it was probably one of Tark’s high-end hotels or something similar. And in the bed were himself and Rose. Judging by the shoulder peeking out from under the sheets, Rose was half-naked. Sitting at the edge of the bed was Ariel, slightly hunched over, staring intently at him sideways.
“How are you doing, Becker? A man’s shame is to refuse food when it’s served to him… I don’t know what made you act that way back then, but you hurt me deeply.”
”……I’m sorry.”
“Although I say that, I’m not actually too angry. Maybe the song reminded you of something from your past love life?”
”…………”
It was troublesome enough for his trauma to become public knowledge. And yet, she had hit the mark on the main points. ”……Yeah, that’s right. I just can’t handle unreciprocated affection from someone I don’t fully understand. It makes me anxious that there might be something shady hiding behind it.”
“I…”
”…No, I wasn’t doubting you. It’s just that things were getting too delicious for my liking. That reminds me—when I was obsessed with that woman, the situation escalated to an almost unbearable level of ‘deliciousness.’ A wave of unpleasant sweat broke out over me.”
That’s right. Siegfried was nothing more than an orphan, hailed as a prodigy yet having defeated not a single enemy while passing his trials—a hollow, nameless figurehead ace knight. Stripped of all pretense, Siegfried was merely a child pretending to grow taller; yet it was Elsa who loved him, and pretended to love him in return.
Behind that love lay espionage. By now, she had uncovered everything about him, leaving no room for further pretense. If he had realized her true nature sooner, perhaps he could have fled before the wounds became fatal. That regret has plagued Siegfried for years, making him reject any easy, physical affection.
It all started with a mistake. A terrible one. After becoming obsessed, in the end, he ended up stabbing and killing that woman while kissing her. There was no other choice. It was an absurdly, horribly over-the-top situation.
”…Well, I’m not at an age where trauma makes my body uncontrollable anymore. And yet, I can’t just keep stewing in this forever. That’s when I ran into Ariel.” And then… he fell for her.
“So, logically, I should be fine too, right?”
“I-I mean, but I still don’t know much about you as you are now.”
“You haven’t changed since ten years ago. The morning you rescued me—that day to this very moment, I haven’t changed!”
With a sudden gasp, Rose sat up abruptly. Wrapped around her body was nothing but a single piece of cloth.
”…”
”…”
”…No, I thought you were wearing something neat and presentable that morning.”
“Ugh…”
“Just an apron? That’s not what I expected!”
“U-Uuuuhh! Shut up!! You’re the one who loudly told that woman ‘I want this’ back then!”
Upon closer inspection, Ariel was also clad in nothing but a bare apron. …Honestly, trying to have a serious conversation in such a state felt utterly pointless.
”…Let’s start over. I demand a redo of my worst memories with you, the lowest man.” Fuming, her face flushed red and eyes glistening with tears, Rose vigorously rubbed Siegfried’s member. Ariel watched the scene unfold, feeling increasingly uneasy.
“Oh, um… should I take over? I’m used to it…”
“Ugh…”
Since Siegfried’s arousal hadn’t progressed beyond a half-erection, Rose found herself at a loss for what to do next. To put it bluntly, Rose was quite inept.
“Is this your first time?”
”…Yeah.”
Rose nodded. Ariel snatched his member from her hands, then attacked with her fingers, tongue, and nipples, letting out a soft chuckle.
“Don’t laugh!”
“I-I didn’t laugh, I just thought Rose was cute…”
“W-Well, I’m cute too! If I’d had my first experience ten years ago, I probably would’ve… by now…”
Zieg gently stroked the small horns on Rose’s head, his fingers brushing against them as he imagined. If Rose had simply gone along with it that day and completed her first experience… …she wouldn’t have ended up in such a terrible situation, having her skirt thrown over her waist just because of unfulfilled expectations. She might have cherished Zieg somewhere in her heart as a fond memory and gotten properly married by now.
“I did something awful, but thinking about how you waited for me to become beautiful for my sake… it’s not all bad luck. For me, at least.” Rose tried to suppress a slightly pleased expression at being called beautiful. That tiny pride of hers was undeniably adorable.
“For me, it’s bad luck. I’ve spent ten years wondering why you treated me so terribly. Ten years! Give it back, you idiot!”
”…Is there anything to give back?”
“Ten years! That’s not cheap!”
“Then let’s run away.”
“If you try running away again, I absolutely won’t forgive you.”
”…Then let’s pay for it.”
As they spoke, Ariel thrust the rigid phallus cultivated by a prostitute’s technique toward Rose’s nose. After a moment of shock, Rose turned her back on him and got down on all fours, still looking displeased as she made her demand.
“Don’t run away? If you do, I won’t forgive you!”
“Yes… then I’m going…”
From those glaring eyes, the remnants of suppressed love began to burn once more, filled with a newly born sweetness and sourness. This was the first time Zieg entered someone he had waited so long for. It was also the first time he truly connected physically with someone bound by love or affection.
”…U-Guh…!?”
And so, Zieg finally lost his virginity.
“Nn, ku…!”
Zieg held Rose’s large breasts beneath her apron tightly, struggling to endure the sudden surge of excitement that made him feel like he might ejaculate immediately.
Fundamentally, it was different. The pleasure of buying a woman and the pleasure of being enveloped by a woman’s love were entirely distinct experiences. “Oh, hey, Rose… are you really a virgin?!?” So overwhelmed by how perfect her vagina felt, Zieg recoiled in disbelief. He had never held a virgin before, given that his partners had all been prostitutes, but Rose’s vagina was exquisite. From the very beginning, it offered him hot, soft, and abundant pleasure, greedily trying to drain every drop of his essence.
“It’s definitely my first time… no way…!! Oh, don’t compare an ogre’s body to a human’s!!”
“So you were an ogre all along, huh… ku, ogres have vaginas this big…”
He only realized now that Rose had been an ogre after all.
Ogres have an exceptionally high tolerance in their vaginas, likely because ogre males possess extremely large penises, requiring such adaptation.
Ogre’s, penis as large as a human fist is an issue beyond whether they can have sex with a human-sized vagina at all.
An Ogre woman who must swallow such an abnormality from her first experience may technically possess a hymen, but it poses no problem when faced with a human anomaly like this.
Yet she is by no means loose. She contracts properly and responds with intense sensitivity. After all, while being gang-banged by both an Ogre and a human in such a short timeframe would be extraordinary, the Ogre woman’s genitalia are indeed compatible with humans.
That mysterious organ is so remarkable that it has even attracted enthusiasts of Ogre-themed adult entertainment from other species. Zieg found himself overwhelmed by the double punch of pleasure: her natural masterpiece combined with the passionate union fueled by affection.
“U-uh… k-kuso… damn, you’re feeling too good…!!”
“Aa, ahaha… I’m happy, so happy, Mr. Becker…♪”
Rose swayed her hips and gradually became more sincere. Little by little, she returned to the girl she had been a decade ago. Her firm tone softened into that of a young girl; the blunt “Becker” reverted to the old “Mr. Becker,” and as she was held by Zieg while shaking her mature body—one she could never regain again—she became intoxicated by the reality of it all. With no technique whatsoever, she began to drain Zieg’s seed with powerful, forceful grinding. “Gh… gggh!!”
Zieg endured that pleasure. Almost an act of stubborn will, nearly unconscious. Then, after ravaging her vagina wildly in every direction and controlling the ecstasy through his breathing— “Nn, kuaaaaaaahhh♪♪” —he finally succeeded in bringing Rose to climax.
He withdrew the abnormality from her.
While staring blankly at Ariel, who watched Rose’s dynamic sex with stunned silence despite her clumsy attempts to please a man with fingers and mouth, Zieg pinned her down, biting his lip.
“Kyaa!?”
”…O-okai… I… I’m… y-you… haah, haah…”
He calmed her head, which seemed ready to steam from the pleasure, trying to form words.
Gently stroking Zieg’s back, Ariel smiled.
”…It’s fine.”
”…!!”
This girl had accepted him too. At least not as a prostitute, but as someone willing to embrace his embrace.
Feeling giddy about what amounted to his first real experience, Zieg became even more buoyant and, without hesitation, thrust the slick, abnormal member directly into the genitalia beneath her apron’s front flap.
“Aa, an… fu-fu, I knew it… would be…”
“N-what do you mean ‘I knew it’… what is that supposed to mean…!?”
”…”
Ariel narrowed her eyes. “Sensual sex feels different, doesn’t it…♪”
Ariel felt the same thing Zieg did. Chaotic, yes—but still a form of group intimacy.
As love exists, emotions accelerate pleasure.
Ariel, who had been long denied more than mere physical intimacy, began to drown in ecstasy with a look of pure innocence, utterly at odds with her hips’ vigorous motion.
“Yaaan… hahfu… Sieg-san… me… you love… me…!?”
“Aaaah… I want to love you… again and again, forever!!”
“Heheh… is it okay…? Me… ahun… am I still seeking something like that… is it okay…♪”
“Yes… if it’s with me…!!”
Zuchuu, zuchuu… With every thrust of her hips, sounds rang out as they vigorously pressed each other’s pleasure points in an intense act of sex.
Rose once again tried to intrude upon this union.
“Mr. Becker, I want too… please love me… am I not allowed…?”
“You’re not forbidden… damn it, this is bliss!!”
Then, he thrust his hand into Rose’s vagina.
“Kyyu!?”
“There, there, there!!”
Rose’s vagina was torn apart by the sheer presence of Becker’s hand, rupturing her hymen with forceful precision.
Though Rose recoiled in instant shock at such rough treatment, she still offered a tearful smile. ”…Idiot… you’re terrible… so cruel…♪”
Dark elves were ravaged between her thighs, while ogres were assaulted by his fists.
Sieg finally lost control of his pleasure.
He climbed to the peak, firmly connecting himself with both women he had served in their bare aprons.
“Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!”
“Nn, ku, aaaaahh!!”
“Uoooh!!”
And then, he released his seed in grand fashion.
Afterward, Ariel returned to her rented house deep within the slums—a labyrinth of earthen walls—accompanied by Sieg only after night had fully fallen.
She had repaid the Tower Emblem-affiliated loan sharks who held her debts, leaving no lingering worries behind.
On the way back, they whispered quietly about how she might change her life moving forward.
“I can’t offer much hospitality, but I can at least make tea.”
“That’s fine. My throat is parched.”
As they smiled and reached for the door to open it, a letter was found wedged between the panels. “This…” Ariel opened the letter. Sieg read its contents faster than she could, a habit from his days in intelligence work that now filled him with regret. “Huh… that person…” A letter from her former lover, who had vanished after leaving Ariel behind.
Finally, business has taken off and funds for repayment have been secured; this note indicates an intention to come and collect. Examining the hurried scribbles in the corner of the envelope, it seems they were located somewhere in this vicinity, but since their exact whereabouts were unknown, delivery was entrusted to a neighbor who lives nearby.
“Such…” Ariel’s eyes tremble.
Zieg can feel Ariel’s thoughts as if grasping them directly. Even though she vanished so selfishly, the time she spent with her lover surely lasted more than one or two days. Behind Ariel’s resolve to work without fleeing, a lingering affection for him must still smolder. Yet Zieg cannot do anything about it; he simply cannot.
To begin with, Zieg is nothing more than an interloper who suddenly appeared this morning, confessed abruptly, and slipped into the cracks of Ariel’s heart like a fingernail pressing in. He is merely someone who used money and power to force his way in—a mere intruder. If he were to think calmly, how much weight could such a person possibly carry? Yes.
It was nothing more than a flashy daydream.
“Mr. Zieg…” With her head lowered, Ariel turns back as if seeking salvation, but before her eyes, no one remains. As if nothing had ever happened from the start, not even a footprint is left behind.
”…………”
Watching the moon from an alleyway, Zieg stands in a daze.
A shadow approaches, casting mockery upon him.
“Heh heh… Didn’t you say you’d sleep in a woman’s bed tonight?”
“Oh—hey there, you guys.”
The three Ace Knights’ bodyguards, clad entirely in leather armor and masks.
“Looks pretty cool on you.”
“Not as bad as yours. After you paid at the Tower office, the actual debtor showed up. And since you’re acting all pathetic alone… heh heh, hyahahaha!”
“That doesn’t matter to me.”
”…You weren’t hired by your employer just to be looked down upon, were you? That’s what they said…”
“Ah, right. So that’s why you’ve been looking for Zieg Becker.”
Maito tilts his head sharply and scans the area with darting eyes.
“We won’t tolerate anyone acting like an easy target; even a homeless rat has to be killed or he’ll lose his job… Ah, yet here you are, staring blankly while setting traps everywhere—stakes, wires, oil pools, all sorts of gadgets.”
“It’s just a habit. If I don’t think about anything, I end up setting them off before I know it.”
Zieg speaks with the casual tone of someone talking to an old friend.
Maito draws his new blade and thrusts it toward Zieg.
“I’ve figured out your style; tricks like needles won’t work anymore. Tonight, I want you to die in a spectacular way.”
“Ah? No way, that’s troublesome.”
Zieg waves his hands weakly, his spirit visibly drained.
“Just die already, Zieg Becker.”
Maito leaps. Leon runs along the wall, while Davis swings his mace as if leveling the ground, smashing traps and charging forward.
Zieg casually rises and instantly severs Maito’s head. ”!?!” The moment he stands up, it appears as though Maito’s torso and head have been split apart like a weeping figure. Davis and Leon freeze in shock.
Zieg cracks his neck with a series of pops, then flicks his blood-stained knife with a sharp shu.
“Well, I said earlier that even if I’m just some thug, I won’t kill the common folk during the day…”
With wide eyes, Zieg lets out a sinister grin.
“Lies, you bastards. Don’t come to kill people when they’re in a bad mood—you’ll end up feeling happy about it!”
The next morning, their bodies were discovered behind the Tower Emblem’s office.
“Haaah…” After taking breakfast at Carlos’s estate, Zieg slumped his shoulders and headed toward the carriage station. Originally, this was the time when he should have begun moving separately from Diane and the others, reporting on Lyra’s existence and Andy’s treatment, and seeking further instructions from Minister Ashton regarding future activities.
Being alone at a time like this felt refreshing. Still, recklessness wasn’t an option; he silently berated himself in his mind: Think about your age. For now, he decided to relax and enjoy the journey by carriage.
And then—
“BECKER!!”
“Mr. Zieg!”
A hand reached out from behind, dragging him down as he attempted to board the carriage.
It was Rose. Standing beside her was Ariel, both dressed in travel attire.
“What are you running off on your own for? Marriage isn’t a one-day event, you know.”
“Um, um… I mean… let’s just say I accepted the knife! Not as money!”
”…Huh?”
As Zieg stood there with his mouth agape, both women laughed.
“Proposal accepted!”
Now, it’s time to reclaim the worst beginning.