I killed the Demon King. With my levels, skills, items, and gear all perfectly optimized, it was way too easy.
I returned to the royal castle with the Demon King's head in hand. Reporting to the king would bring this godforsaken game to its conclusion.
'Maybe they'll send me back?'
I'd been forcibly inserted into this NTR Tsukuru Game without wanting it. Now that I'd seen the ending, perhaps I could return to my original world.
No such luck. I'd just had a fleeting pipe dream.
"Hero Dyke. Is there anything you desire?"
The king, with a benevolent expression, told me he would grant any wish. He was a rare wise ruler.
'While all the other guys are desperate to steal the heroines away.'
I shook my head. It was to shake off the tantalizing sex scenes with the heroines flickering in my mind.
The king seemed to interpret it differently.
"How humble. You've accomplished what no one else could and safeguarded the continent's peace."
"...."
I didn't really have any particular wishes anyway. I didn't bother correcting the king's misconception.
I left it to him to figure out on his own.
"I just want to rest."
I was mentally exhausted. Dealing with the heroines had stressed me out so much that I desperately needed a break.
"I see... That makes sense. It wouldn't be right for me to hold you here any longer."
The king readily accepted my words. He sent me off without further ado, as if agreeing not to detain me anymore.
I left the castle and stopped by the church.
"Thank you for entrusting it to us, Hero."
"...."
Returning the Holy Sword fully liberated me from my duty. I was free.
📰 Breaking News[Commemorating the 5th Anniversary of the Demon King's Subjugation— King Reinhardt's Speech]
The newspaper I received every morning. It carried a brief summary of the continental situation.
"Five years already..."
It had been five years since I slew the Demon King. The king was still spry and deeply involved in politics.
He seemed overdue for retirement. Apparently, he had no intention of handing things over to his heirs.
'Maybe the reduced stress is making him feel young again.'
Life must be more comfortable now. Back when the Demon King was alive and wreaking havoc, he had to worry about that too.
With half his workload gone, his vitality had naturally surged.
"Heh, control your expression a bit."
Some people were dissatisfied that the king wasn't stepping down. The prince's sullen face was plastered prominently on the front page.
His expression screamed, I've got a problem with this. It was hilarious.
"Mister, what's so funny?"
A girl came bounding over to ask. It was Lisa.
The innkeeper's daughter from the Cradle of Abundance Inn, which had served as our base during my adventures with the heroines. She was still helping out with serving duties in the first-floor hall.
"The prince's mug is hilarious."
"...."
I could badmouth the prince with impunity, but Lisa couldn't. One wrong move and she'd be arrested for insulting royalty.
"...What's so funny about that?!"
Once Lisa figured out why I was laughing, her eyes twitched as she backed away like she was fleeing.
"She asked me first, so why's she mad at me?"
What an airhead.
I finished reading the newspaper after shooing Lisa away.
Back in modern society, I never bothered with them, but here I had to diligently seek them out. Newspapers were the only window to information in this world.
"Have you finished cleaning?"
After chasing off Lisa, now the innkeeper herself showed up. A quick glance suggested Lisa had snitched on me.
Like I'm slacking off.
'The Four Heavenly Kings?'
You couldn't just kill the Demon King on a whim. You had to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings first to unlock his chamber. There were stages.
This Cradle of Abundance Inn felt similar. Defeat Lisa, and Innkeeper Denis would appear.
"Cleaning... I was just about to start."
"Just now? You mean you haven't done it yet?"
Denis was a tough woman. Running an inn solo demanded toughness—no room for weakness. She had to be strong for her daughter's sake.
"Why are you dawdling?"
That said, her appearance wasn't exactly imposing.
Feature one of NTR Tsukuru Games: Female characters are, of course, beauties. Innkeepers, unlike shopkeepers, were often designed to be pretty.
Denis was a beauty.
A married woman who'd borne a child, now a widow after losing her husband. Men everywhere were eyeing her.
"...I'm not dawdling. I was planning to do it later."
"Reading the newspaper again."
Denis peeked over my shoulder at the paper. Then she looked shocked.
"Five years. Has it really been five years since you killed the Demon King?"
"Yeah, it has."
"Already? That means I've aged five years too?"
Her eyes went wide as if truly stunned. It was kinda cute.
"I can't believe it."
"If you don't believe it, what're you gonna do about it?"
"If I don't believe..."
Hmm. After pondering, Denis snatched the newspaper away.
"You need to clean. Get to it."
She shoved a mop into my hands.
Denis took the paper back to her spot at the counter.
'That ass of hers is no joke...'
She was just walking normally, but because it was so huge, it looked like she was swaying her hips on purpose.
My lower half was starting to react.
I forced my gaze away and got to work. I filled a bucket with water, soaked the mop, and scrubbed the floor.
"Do I really need to work this hard when it's not even my inn?"
The inn floor gleamed. I'd put in real effort.
Lisa marveled at the sparkling floor.
"Wow... When I clean, it never shines like this. How do you do it, mister?"
"Brute force does the trick."
This was the body that had reached level 99 and cleaved the Demon King.
Did a mere inn floor think it could withstand me? Covered in grime?
Impossible.
I took the mop outside. With the floor done, I planned to rinse it and hang it up.
I drew water from the well into the bucket. Gripping the mop, I wrung out the dirty water with all my might, back and forth.
As I squeezed the mop alone, some people approached from afar. They weren't heading my way.
They passed me by and went straight to the Cradle of Abundance Inn.
"Ugh, I'm wiped."
"I told you not to take requests like this. We suffered for nothing."
"But we got paid handsomely, right? Why keep whining?"
Three mercenaries made up the group. Their grubby looks suggested they'd just finished a job and stopped in the village.
They slipped into the inn like they were being absorbed.
I finished wringing the mop and followed the mercenaries inside.
"Got any rooms?"
The mercenaries were at the counter. One of them was talking to Denis.
"Yes, we do. Three rooms? What about meals and baths?"
"We'll take 'em."
The mercenaries huddled and whispered. They glanced at their filth-covered faces and nodded.
"You expect us to say no in this state? You even human?"
"Let's wash up first. Decide after."
"Add baths too."
I hadn't cleaned the bathhouse yet.
Denis shot me a glance, clearly thinking the same.
"I haven't cleaned the bathhouse yet. Could you wait a bit?"
"...Hm. We wanna wash now."
The mercenaries frowned. Denis calmed them.
"It'll be quick. Please just wait a moment."
"Hm..."
The mercenaries scowled, eyeing each other. Then they grinned slyly.
"Waiting a bit isn't hard."
"But we're not good at dealing with boredom."
"...If the lady owner keeps us company, waiting might be fun."
This world was inside an NTR Tsukuru Game. It felt realistic enough, but people's values centered heavily on lewd stuff.
Not as brazen as in the game, but overt advances were common.
The mercenaries leered at Denis with sleazy grins. It looked natural, like they'd pitched this plenty of times before.
Denis hesitated briefly, her face conflicted.
'...Well, that's her role.'
Depending on player preferences, you could proposition Denis for a night. Just pay up.
Denis would then sleep with the hero, Dyke.
'...I never slept with her during my hero days.'
After a certain number of times, a gimmick kicked in. Heroines discovering your trysts with Denis.
The moment they caught you, that heroine's affection plummeted.
Back then, I'd been frantic to protect the heroines' affection, so I deliberately avoided her.
Pointless in the end, as I learned too late.
Anyway, Denis wouldn't service only Dyke. She'd sleep with other men too.
To protect the Cradle of Abundance Inn.
Lately, though, she hadn't been with other men. Since about five years ago?
Not sure exactly.
"Dyke?"
Denis called me. She'd made up her mind.
"What."
"Wanna chase these bastards out?"
Her dilemma wasn't about sleeping with them.
"Rough 'em up just enough to cripple their junk and send 'em packing."
It was about whether to castrate them or not.
"Bitch."
"Innkeeper whore acting all high and mighty."
The mercenaries' faces twisted. Mercenaries without street smarts didn't survive long.
They read the room lightning-fast.
"Ah, so you like it rough?"
"Should've said so sooner. We can oblige."
The mercenaries twisted Denis's refusal to their liking. They licked their lips, ogling her.
Their eyes gleamed with lust.
"Those tits are disgustingly huge."
"I'll grope 'em good. After we deal with that punk."
"Kuhuhu, already getting hard."
The mercenaries scratched their crotches as they approached me. They moved with casual familiarity, like this was routine.
I picked my ear and said,
"Why do these types keep showing up? Cockroaches?"
"...Cockroaches? You calling us cockroaches?"
The mercenaries flew into a rage and charged.
"Do you know who we are?"
"We're silver-rank mercenaries, fucker!"
"Who the hell you think you are, inn staff punk?!"
Sigh.