The beginning was bad.
Sieg Becker always thought so.
For example, if you step into a labyrinth and immediately get caught in a trap, no matter how easy the rest of the path is, it’s hard not to feel discouraged.
If a lump of salt gets into the first bite of your meal, no matter how delicious the rest of it is, it’s impossible to make up for it.
So having a bad start in life is pretty serious bad luck. At least that’s what Sieg thought.
“Damn it. That’s so unfair. They look so happy. What the hell, you jerk!”
Sieg sat cross-legged in the shallow end of the water bath oasis, enjoying the sight of others.
The oasis, known as a mixed bathing spot even among the dwarves, was not without its fair share of young couples and families.
Here and there, couples and families made the most of the shared bathing experience, flirting in the nude—organs and all—orcs and dark elves who clearly didn’t look like parents and their daughters (or whatever they were).
Watching the young orcs and dark elves playfully splashing around with their friends in the oasis made Sieg feel happy, but seeing couples and families made him feel sad.
Sieg erected a mental partition, focusing on groups of girls without partners or just girls together, spacing out as he gazed around the oasis.
Though he had once been furious about Andy’s harem-like situation, imagining whether it could actually happen—or if it had—only brought him sadness, and over time, he grew more and more dejected.
“Even I could have avoided the worst at first…”
When it comes to whether a guy is popular with girls, Sieg stands out. His looks are on par with theater actors, he’s tall and has a decent social status, he’s good at getting along, and he’s strong-willed. In terms of being popular, he’s definitely in the top tier.
In a rural area where there are fewer men and fewer opportunities for women to marry, if you go all out and pursue them relentlessly, it’s probably not impossible to build something like Andy’s harem.
Even from a legal standpoint, Celesta has no issues with marriage.
So, is it actually possible?
In Sieg’s case, the answer is no.
He’s actually still a virgin.
Sieg Becker was born in the western part of Celesta, near the shores of the Great Almonica River, and he’s an orphan.
Shortly after he was born, his family home was raided by a band of bandits, and he lost both parents. He was on the verge of death from starvation when he was rescued by an adventurer named Reed Becker and raised by him.
This adoptive father, Reed Becker, specializes in looting ruins and is also a member of the birdman minority race—though only capable of flight for short periods.
His style is to charge into the heart of what would normally be considered reckless ruins, steal treasures, and then use his wings to shake off hordes of monsters before escaping in one go.
And Sieg… often snuck along on his father’s adventures and ended up being chased by the monster horde instead of his adoptive father.
Its speed was far beyond that of an ordinary human, having bloomed from this point onward. When a human is on the brink of death, they awaken to many things.
“Hey, you bourgeois knife guy from yesterday.”
“Huh?”
Sieg looked up and saw a towering ogre standing there with its arms crossed.
It was the man who had been acting as a bouncer at the bar last night.
The ogre, unbothered by any attempt to hide it, swayed its massive member in a manner befitting its size. It was right at eye level.
“Back off. Your dick stinks.”
“Don’t lick it.”
“I’ll hit you.”
“Hahaha.”
The ogre stepped back about a meter and sat down next to Sieg.
“But that was quite the knife. Even I, who took it from you, have to ask— are you sure? That thing could’ve bought you a whole house.”
“I wouldn’t do that. That’s serious treasure, you know. Look, I’ve gotta make sure she pays up before it’s seized as collateral.”
”…Wait, what? Aren’t those two your women?”
“No, no they’re not… This is…”
“Then why don’t you just run away without handing over the knife? Nah, that’s not my call to make either.”
“But if I did, something even worse might happen…”
I couldn’t exactly tell them that the woman I was drinking with last night was actually a dragon. I couldn’t, but it seemed they got the gist of how dire things were. The ogre pursed his lips into a frown and looked genuinely sympathetic.
“Speaking of which, you haven’t pawned it yet, have you?”
“That’s not my business to know. It’s up to the boss.”
“Hey, hey, hey, come on… So you know a pawnshop or something? In case things go bad, I’ll try there, so tell me.”
“The Trident Merchant Company on Lazona Street. If it’s about weapons, they’re the experts.”
”…The Trident Merchant Company? Wait, hold on. Isn’t that the one with the Tricorn Ogres?”
“You know a lot about them. So you’re an adventurer or what—no, wait, a businessman?”
“Either way is fine.”
Sieg held his head in frustration.
“Oh man… Tricon… If we’re talking about Tricon in the south, there’s a high chance it’s connected…”
“What’s up, bro? You got some bad memories with Tricon or something?”
“Back in the day, yeah. Guess I’ll just have to hope it doesn’t matter…”
The Tricon Ogre is exactly what it sounds like—a three-horned ogre.
Even among the standard Plains Ogres, which are called “Plain Ogres,” Tricon Ogres are known for their smaller numbers compared to one- or two-horned types, leading to tighter bonds.
“Ugh… My Jewel Knife… Damn it…”
“Well, I’ll just hope luck turns our way.”
“Yeah… You’re a good guy. Kinda lame, though.”
“Shut up. It’s proof I’ve been using it for a while, leave it be.”
Encouraged by the unexpectedly decent ogre bodyguard, we left the bathing oasis.
Even though it was just a hobby, Sieg couldn’t hide his shock at the potential loss of such an expensive item—a house made of sun-dried bricks could easily have been built with it.
“Damn… but I doubt that girl has any way to make money so soon after yesterday…”
Even if he were desperate to rush to the tavern, there was nothing he could do without money.
Though Sieg’s job involved sneaking around for information and important people, he couldn’t bring himself to steal from civilians. That’s why it was so important to maintain a sense of professional ethics, even in such a precarious profession.
”…Damn it. Guess I’ll just have to wait. I’ll make sure she doesn’t leave without me.”
He’d only used the Jewel Knife as payment for drinks, so his wallet hadn’t been touched, leaving him with a bit of extra cash.
With that money, he could kill some time.
Since he’d been robbed of his drink, he didn’t feel like drinking anymore.
“So… maybe a woman?”
Sieg felt the weight of his wallet and began walking through the backstreets, searching for a cheap brothel.
Buying women was one of his hobbies.
He’d never been able to settle down with just one woman, but while on assignment, he often found himself in different towns, so it wasn’t a problem.
[User]: “Ugh… That jerk Smaysen, he’s got six or seven beauties by his side, and he thinks he can just do whatever he wants without paying a dime. It’s pathetic…”
Sieg didn’t look as frustrated as he sounded in his muttering.
[User]: “Seriously, I’d love to know the secret. How does he get so close to such fine women?”
It was a sarcastic remark, but it lacked the bite of its tone.
In an instant, his gaze turned hollow, reflecting disappointment in himself more than admiration for the situation.
”…Guess it’s not worth thinking about things that don’t suit you.”
When Sieg was twelve years old, Lead Becker set out for the Western Continent, where many untouched mazes and ruins remained.
However, Sieg’s reckless pursuit had been exposed multiple times, and he was entrusted to one of Lead’s acquaintances. Even as a fearless adventurer, his parents couldn’t bear to see him risk himself further.
After spending several months in the port town of Timbales at the mouth of the Great Almonica River, Sieg moved to Quica. That year, he passed the Ace Night trials, becoming an Ace Knight at the age of twelve (the youngest record holder at the time).
Immediately after, his unique style of evasion earned him direct assignment to the Special Intelligence Brigade.
Several missions later, Sieg’s first love came when he was fifteen.
Sieg, who had been pampered as the youngest Ace Knight, was treated more like a prodigy or a curiosity—a far cry from someone his age.
It was a comfortable arrangement that satisfied the boy’s vanity, but it did nothing to heal his loneliness. It might have fueled his passion for his work, but it couldn’t become the balm for his solitude.
Dealing with most of the night class members, who were nearly twice his age, was never easy for a teenage boy. Nor could he find companions among his peers—most military cadets around his age were officers-in-training rather than combatants, and they were all spoiled brats, with no common ground.
Amidst admiration and reverence, he remained alone.
The one who healed his loneliness was a girl two years older, the daughter of a merchant from the Affilm Empire. Her name was Elsa.
Being foreign, she didn’t seem fazed by “the genius ace night,” Sieg, who had become a celebrity among Quica at the time. Nor did she carry the air of a shallow, uncultured woman—she was exactly what Sieg’s ideal was.
It didn’t take long for the young Sieg to fall for her.
As if trying to shake off his memories of youth, Sieg passed through the entrance of a curtain-like veil made of layers of thin fabric.
Inside, there was one young dark elf woman, dressed in something that could hardly be called clothing, waiting for him.
“Dark elf, huh?”
“You’re looking at me like you’ve never seen one before.”
“I’m sorry. This is the first time I’ve seen a dark elf in a brothel.”
“This is a dark elf colony, isn’t it?”
“You’d think a scoundrel like me wouldn’t have a job that lets them open their legs for a long-lived species at such an affordable inn. I’d think it’s more for desperate humans or beastfolk.”
The dark elf laughed.
“It’s not like dark elves live on mist alone. We use money to buy bread and don’t rent houses for free. Sometimes we fall in love, sometimes we get fooled… and sometimes, when there’s nothing left to sell but our bodies, well…”
“That makes sense.”
It was a common story. An ordinary part of social structure.
There are men and women, money and business, and if there’s the desire to outsmart others, this kind of thing is bound to happen.
There will always be women like this.
Sieg felt neither pity nor sympathy for them. He was no longer in an age where he could burn with righteous anger.
He wasn’t that young anymore.
“Well then, let’s begin. It was agreed we’d go by the hour, right?”
“Yes. You can ejaculate as much as you like until the noon bell rings. Though, for a client… I suppose it’ll be more of a slow, drawn-out affair until the very end.”
“You really know your stuff.”
Even if I’m told to give it my all, it’s not like I can just ejaculate on command.
I wonder what’s going on with Smayson. Is he struggling to keep up with all the women he’s taken in?
It’s not like his cock can keep up with him, so maybe he’s just getting better at using his fingers. Imagining this, Sieg leans over the woman, kneading her almost fully exposed breasts, which are only partially covered by cloth or metal, and kisses his way from the base of her ear to its tip, then uses his fingers to part her lightly draped genitals, moving them in small circles.
“Ah…! M-Master, don’t just go at it like that… You’re the customer, and I’m the service provider…”
“I sometimes want to check if my fingers still remember how to make a woman feel good. Come on, we’ve got time, right? Just let me see you cum once.”
“Nngh…! Ugh…!”
The dark elf quietens down.
Sieg continues to move his fingers.
He rolls her nipple with his tongue, peels back the clitoral hood, massages her anus, and lures her love juices from inside her labia.
“Haaah…”
“Nhaaah…!”
Sometimes he surprises her with a kiss to her ear, wetting it with saliva.
The dark elf surrendered herself to pleasure unreservedly.
Or, rather, she pretended to surrender herself to it.
”…………”
Even if it was just an act, she wasn’t childish enough to get angry over it.
That’s the way of her profession—a woman of that profession, after all.
Sieg could compartmentalize it so easily.
Suddenly, he felt disgusted with himself for always playing the role of someone he knew.
(……Lying, exhausted, pretending to be deceived, pretending to believe in the deception, pretending to be engrossed……)
In the end, would this woman, too, make a fool of herself by feigning climax just to maintain her thick layer of lies?
Would she pay money just to hide her true self—her self filled with nothing but defense mechanisms, unable to get truly invested in anything?
……Suddenly feeling a surge of disgust for himself, Sie whispered to the dark elf girl.
“What’s your name?”
”…?”
“It’s not a stage name. I can’t bring myself to climax unless I call the person I’m holding by their real name.”
”…I see. Ariel.”
“What a nice name. …Ariel.”
I gave in to one of my selfish desires.
With that sense of satisfaction, I thrust into the dark elf’s crotch.
Sieg’s habit of delving into others’ secrets is a trait he’s had since his first love.
He wants to know.
He wants to know the truth.
He wants to know what the other person is hiding.
He wants to see the side of them that they think no one else sees.
That’s how he feels secure.
I know. I can feel it.
Even the names I just learned might be stage names.
(…No, that’s not it, me!)
I felt intense self-loathing.
With this wall of defenses and my voyeuristic tendencies, what is love, or romance, or sex?
In the end, Sigr is unable to focus on women because he doesn’t want to reveal his own foolishness.
When you get used to being an adult and getting used to knowing only the weaknesses of others, you can’t be honest with yourself.
Sigr is extremely bad at the act of colliding with someone, following nothing but his desires and passion without any lies or pretenses.
That’s why I envy the youth and immaturity that allows for such things.
“Ugh…!”
“A customer?”
The dark elf looked puzzled and sat up.
Sig’s treasure softened and slipped out.
“Ah, s-sorry… Seems like I’m not feeling too well.”
“I’m sorry… I…”
“Ariel, it’s not your fault. I’m just a little… flustered.”
The dark elf stood up and hurriedly buried her face between Sig’s legs.
Unlike the vagina, which could be somewhat mitigated with psychological factors, the blowjob targeting the erogenous zones left no room for excuses. It immediately made him hard and led to ejaculation.
“Ugh… ngh, ah!!”
”…Mmm, nn, …ng, mmph… nn, pfft…”
Then, she swallowed that semen.
With mixed feelings in his heart, Sig stroked the dark elf.
”…♪”
“Don’t look so happy just from a little stroke.”
I couldn’t believe it.
Was she mocking me behind that happy face?
”…Then stop petting me.”
The dark elf clasped my hand.
“It makes me happy when I’m praised. Even if it’s for something like sucking a cock.”
“Is that how it is?”
“Yes.”
The dark elf buried her face between Sigh’s thighs again.
This time, the attack was more relaxed, without any hurry.
Just as it reached another climax, the noon bell rang.
Sigh left the brothel, bought some thin bread from a stall, and quietly leaped onto the rooftop of a house to enjoy it.
With Sigh’s legs, jumping onto the roof of a three-story building was no big deal.
Compared to when I was a child, chasing after my stepfather in the mountain ruins and leaping three times to climb a vertical cliff, this is nothing.
”…Phew. Let’s just give it a shot. If the Dragon Onee-san can’t do anything, then either Smiley or Carlos can handle it, right?”
Muttering to myself, I pushed back the emptiness welling up in my chest.
Work and inanimate objects.
These two things would never betray Sieg.
I work diligently, adore inanimate objects, and occasionally buy a woman for a moment. If things go well, everything flows smoothly and I can live elegantly.
Before I knew it, I was 39.
That’s the only way I know how to live now.
“You can’t suddenly get close to a beauty like her. If there’s a way, tell me.”
This isn’t envy of Andy’s “situation.”
It’s yearning for Andy’s “innocent youth.”
Regret for having had to grow up early, for having stepped into the world of adults and lost my way. The pose I took ended up becoming everything to me, and there’s no other ground to stand on now.
In the midst of all this, Deiane was an exception for Sieg.
Deiane would never deceive Sieg. She was so strong, sincere, and filled with compassion that she could confidently assert there was no gain or amusement in deceiving him.
She was the only person Sieg could unconditionally trust, admire, and, on top of that, someone who perfectly matched his taste—a goddess, truly.
However, a habit of peeking into secrets and shame always got the better of her, and she couldn’t quite bring herself to commit. In the end, Andy ended up taking the lead.
“…Well, even Anzeros… if he had gotten closer, it would’ve been the same as before, wouldn’t it?”
She always held back with those who didn’t have enough reason to trust them.
There was no need to be so wary. No need to put on airs.
Deep down, she understood that, but the “adult pose” ingrained in her couldn’t be undone.
She had always used work as an excuse to escape from those who seemed like they could lead to deeper relationships.
When admired, she had always betrayed them before the wounds could grow too deep.
Beside the fleeting resentment of losing Anzeros to Andy, there was also a nine-tenths sense of relief that he would naturally maintain a suitable distance on his own.
In the end, this was just how life had always been for this man.
No matter how capable, handsome, or strong he was, he was still a cowardly, show-offy, and insecure man with a weak heart.
It was no longer possible to change things.
Using the shield of his rigid reputation as Sieg Becker, he laughed off the glimpses of his own weakness as a joke and had no choice but to keep living like this.
He had given up.
Suddenly, he spotted a familiar face on the backstreet below.
It was the dark elf he had encountered earlier.
“The fishmonger has some good fish today.”
The dark elf—Ariel—smiled and opened her wallet at the words of the orc fishmonger.
“Ariel-chan, good work today. …If only I could pay you a better salary, you wouldn’t have to go to places like that.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve decided to make my mark at that inn.”
”…Yeah, I guess so. But don’t push yourself too hard.”
Ariel put on a brave face in front of the dark elf girl (or rather, she looked like a girl, though she might be quite old) from the clothing store.
”…It wasn’t a stage name, huh?”
Sieg felt embarrassed for doubting her, and he was surprised at his own embarrassment.
Doubting someone was only natural. Doubting others was the job of an intelligence agent.
…As that shock continued, a sudden roar echoed through the back alley.
“Ariel!! Ariel the Dark Elf!!”
”!?”
The air in the back alley grew tense.
Several horned orcs barged into the back alley, sweeping aside the stalls like they owned the place.
“You’re short on payments! What’s going on here?!”
“That’s… I was sick last month…”
“Who cares?! It’s none of my business what kind of illness you had! You should’ve borrowed the money from somewhere else to make up for it!!”
“There’s nowhere left to borrow from anymore…!!”
“Haah, then I’ll steal or do whatever! Don’t act all high and mighty now, you whore who gladly became a prostitute!!”
Ah, yes.
It’s a common story. A story that’s everywhere.
Falling in love, being deceived, women selling their bodies, even debt collectors.
It’s a story everywhere. Anywhere and everywhere.
North or south, among the long-lived elves, and among humans.
”…Haah.”
Sieg Becker closed his eyes for an instant, recalling the ending of his first love 24 years ago.
The end of his first love was the first woman he killed in his life.
Yes, that’s right. Spies never have a good ending. If I didn’t do it, Elsa would’ve been slowly broken and tortured, limb by limb.
It’s my fault for being deceived. It’s my fault for falling in love.
But still.
It’s embarrassing, but that’s all it is.
Even so, they love without fear of being deceived — anywhere, with anyone.
And so they live their lives with their heads held high.
All Ariel did was state her name honestly, not doubting Sieg, and smile because she was happy. That’s all.
But Sieg still didn’t believe it.
So what? The point is, that should be enough for Sieg to get up and wipe away his shame.
It’s childish, but it’s more than enough for him to put on a brave face in front of a woman and look cool — which, as it turns out, is the exact opposite of cool.
“Hey, you bunch of one-horned fools over there.”
“Ah!?”
Suddenly.
A tall, slender middle-aged man appeared beside Ariel.
“Hmm, I couldn’t just let that go.”
“Who the hell are you…? Disappear, you scrawny brat!!”
“You’ve got some nerve stealing in front of a soldier.”
“A soldier…!?”
“Calm down. This is our colony. If we fold him up and bury him, no one will ever know.”
The ogre spoke in unsettling tones.
Sieg grinned and knocked out one of the ogres in an instant.
“What…!?”
“What’s going on!? What happened, Guts!?”
Sieg had closed the distance in an instant, kicked the ogre in the temple, and returned to his original position. Yet, no one in the back alley saw a thing.
“And… having such a fine woman as this in front of me—what nerve you’ve got.”
“What the hell are you…?”
“Sieg Becker, 39 years old. Looking for a woman.”
Winking uncharacteristically, I smiled at Ariel, who was standing there dumbfounded.
“Personally, I like you.”
“This jewel knife… it’s made on the Western Continent.”
“Yes.”
“This type is only four in the entire Northwestern Plains. One is owned by the Sylphid Merchant Guild in Trot Royal Capital, one by the Central Museum of the Affirm Empire, and one by me.”
“The other must be…”
“Hmm… So that man is in this city, then… giggle giggle”
Shaking his three horns, a joyful laugh echoed.
“Keep it for now… I’ve been waiting ten years for this moment!”
(To be continued)