After a couple of days of travel, running from city to city along the dirt path, I eventually arrived at the port city of Gulentina.
Jogging along the dirt path, I slowed down to a casual walk as I approached the entrance of Gulentina. 'The sea breeze always feels good.' Taking a big whiff of the salty air, I brushed aside my hair and stood in the short line entering the city.
"Man, I really miss phones; I can't even talk with my wives… I probably should've left one of you at home." Gazing off into the sea, I sighed while scratching my cheek. 'We're not communication devices, Master.' 'You're not knives either, but I've used you to butcher. If it works, it works.' Yawning, I dismissively shook my head at Zartha, causing her to scoff before going silent.
While communication devices existed, they were scarce. I mean, Master's SS-rank license was one such device, but if you had to reach her level to receive one, it was rather evidence of how rare they were. 'Hmm, maybe after the TV I'll try to make phones?' Although tempting, I shook my head. 'Nah, let me focus on one thing at a time.'
"Next!" Hearing the guard, I stepped forward, handing the demon my A-rank license, causing his eyes to briefly widen. "You may enter, Sir." Bowing slightly, he handed me back my license, prompting me to nod as I officially entered the city.
Since it was the evening, I decided to stop by a restaurant, where I sat outdoors, adjacent to the busy street, while also getting a decent view of the ocean. "I should make fish when I return." Tossing a sushi roll into my mouth, I looked around, just enjoying the city's atmosphere.
However, it was interrupted as a woman suddenly sat across from me, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. "Um, can I help you?" Glancing at the middle-aged succubus, she brushed aside her scarf and leaned forward, revealing her cleavage. "You just looked really lonely for a young man. I hope you don't mind this old lady joining you."
As I listened to her soft, borderline enchanting voice, her eyes faintly glowed, and a captivating scent wafted to my nose, making me frown. "No, I wouldn't mind, but you're being rather rude. To try and immediately bewitch me doesn't make me want to share a table with you." Leaning forward, I used [Spatial Lock] on her, freezing her in place for several seconds, enough time for me to take a bite before it finally wore off.
When it wore off, her confident, sultry gaze evaporated, replaced by fear as she quickly stopped trying to bewitch me. "I-I'm t-terribly sorry, S-Sir. I-I–" Averting her gaze, she lowered her head and stuttered through her apology, prompting me to dismissively wave my hand.
"It's whatever, you couldn't affect me, so I'll forget it. Anyway, can I ask why you targeted me?" Plopping another sushi roll into my mouth, I glanced at her with a raised eyebrow as she finally gained the courage to raise her head, though she still refrained from looking me in the eyes.
"N-Nothing bad, I-I promise! M-My lover has been i-ignoring me recently, s-so I tend to go out and b-bewtich young men into t-thinking I'm their lover. A-After a night together, I-I'll steal some of their money and then leave. T-That's all I've done!" Listening to her anxious voice, I could feel my smile twitch before I ended up sighing.
'Haa, if it were like 12 or 13 years ago, I probably would've gone along with it.' Rubbing my face, I glanced at the succubus milf, only to nod once more. 'No, I definitely would've gone along with her.' Thankfully, now, I wasn't a horny young man; I was a horny middle-aged man.
"I see. Anyway, do you live in this city?" Seeing her nod like a woodpecker, I faintly smirked. "I'm new to this city, so how about you tell me about it, mainly about the maritime schedules, and I'll buy you a plate." It didn't take much convincing as she widened her eyes in surprise before quickly nodding, causing me to signal one of the waiters.
Extending my dining time, the woman, whose name was Daisy, informed me of everything she knew about this city; since she was born and raised here, she had quite a bit of knowledge at her disposal.
"Which ships are the safest to take?" The last thing I wanted was to end up in the situation as before, even thinking about it makes me click my tongue; we all could've died. 'Now that I think about it, I hope the other people I helped managed to reach safety.'
"The safest ship? Probably ones managed by Divinci; they're a merchant business, so they don't move as frequently as some other groups, but they've never lost a ship since I was born. So for at least 39 years." Touching her chin with a thoughtful expression, Daisy took a bite of the sushi roll before glancing at me, causing me to faintly nod.
"I suppose you don't know they're scheduled?" "Sorry." "It's fine, didn't expect you to know. Though for the record, I'm not exactly a young man to you, I'm 31." Rubbing my chin, I took a sip from my cup while glancing at Daisy, who seemed a bit surprised. "R-Really? You don't look a day over 20!" Nodding at her, Daisy just lowered her head and sighed. "Haa, I thought you were an inexperienced adventurer, given your armor but no weapon, so I thought I could take advantage of you."
I just blankly stared at her as she revealed her inner thoughts, which she seemed to notice afterwards, as she blushed in embarrassment while quickly trying to change the topic. "A-Anyway, since the sun is starting to set, interested in spending the night with me?" This time, Daisy didn't try to bewitch; instead, she used the natural charms she was born with to seduce me.
Of course, as a married man, I intended to refuse her, but before I could, someone intervened. "D-DAISY!?" Daisy and I instantly looked to our left, where we saw a large, muscular man with red skin and two horns pointing to the sky with a young, petite female Elf at his side.
"D-DIXON!? W-What are you doing here!?" "Huh, I should be the one asking you that, Daisy! Are you out dining with another man!?" Furiously, Dixon stepped forward, glaring at Daisy while pointing at me, prompting her to meet his glare and point at the elf. "What about you!? What are you doing with that stick of a woman!?" "D-Don't change the subject, woman!" "Tch, since you've been having fun, why can't I?" "B-Because you're mine!?"
Seeing them argue, I stealthily paid for my meal and escaped from the scene. 'Man, I attract a lot of lonely wives for some reason.' Rubbing my head in confusion, I left the two of them to their argument and disappeared amid the crowd, heading to an Inn I'd passed earlier for the night.
"Hello, excuse me, I'd like one room." Entering the Inn, I approached the counter, where an Orc missing an eye was manning it. "Hmph, standard or luxury?" "Luxury." "A Silver a night." Whistling at its steep price, I gave the Orc three silver coins at once for three days; grunting, he handed me a key while gesturing to the stairs behind him. "Third floor, far right."
Arriving at my room a minute later, I closed the door and plopped onto the bed, which was sub-par by my standards, but for an Inn, it wasn't bad. "Heh, I've grown spoiled. Well, considering I've worked for it, that should be acceptable."
Faintly smirking, I removed my armor and sat on the bed, meditating well into the night before eventually falling asleep.
By morning, I left the Inn and searched the city for the Divinci headquarters, which I found after a bit of walking, and with my status as an A-rank adventurer, I was able to meet one of the captains relatively easily.
Sitting down, I snacked on the peanuts when the door suddenly swung open, revealing a man who looked like Dixine, but with two black leather wings on his back instead of horns. "E-Excuse me for my late arrival, Sir." Nervously, he removed his captain's hat and sat opposite of me.
"No, you're fine. Anyway, since you're probably busy, I'll get straight to the point. I'd like to board one of your ships to the Daemon Continent." Now, I was expecting some level of hesitance or at least a period of thinking for how he'd handle it, but there was none of that. "Y-YES!"
His intense excitement briefly took me aback. "I-I just need an id to put your information down, c-corporate standard, I-I hope you don't mind, Sir." Slowly shaking my head, I handed the man my license, which he looked at with love. "To have a genuine A-rank adventurer on our ship, I couldn't be happier." I just silently nodded while he copied the information, snacking on peanuts.
'Well, this was way easier than I imagined.'