Chapter 388 Part 1
With the change of season from spring to early summer, the temperature of the sun has also turned 『stinging hot』 from 『warm』. While feeling such a heat from my back, I headed for the merchant guild.
Today is the time I make my regular potion delivery. This is my main source of income, and also a valuable opportunity to get information from the tough-looking chief who’s in charge of dealing with me.
「The middle-class brothel festival the other day was really fun. I even made a profit, though it was only enough for two brothel visits.」
After inspecting the potion I made, the chief said with a smile on his rough face. Apparently, he hit the jackpot when he bet on which store’s mobile stage would win.
「That store’s signature princess comes from a family of soldiers. I expected her to know how to fight.」
The tough-looking chief nodded to himself while he boastfully explained the reason behind his choice.
It’s true that the commander of the brothel that won the competition had clearly defined abdominal muscles and sharp eyes.
(There was a saying about how a flock of sheep led by a wolf is stronger than a flock of wolves led by a sheep.)
The scene of their Dashi, or rather, mobile stage, rammed on the side and boarded by the other store’s mobile stage was certainly like what you would see in pirate movies.
I thought that the roughness feel of their mobile stage might be the characteristic of their store, but it might have been due to the influence of the woman who led the mobile stage.
「Congratulations. As I thought, festivals are great, aren’t they?」
While thinking about such things, I nonchalantly congratulate him.
「By the way, did you know that there’s a village that frequently holds festivals?」
The chief replied back with a question.
『An orgy in the village square every weekend.』
I didn’t know, so I let him continue, and this seemed to be what the festival he was talking about.
The location is deep in the mountains north of the royal capital. The mining village there is completely unsuitable for agriculture, so food, clothing, medicine, and all other daily necessities are provided by exchanging ores.
「A merchant caravan leaves from the royal capital once a week and they hold the festivals along with the people from that merchant caravan.」
“Intriguing, isn’t it?”, The tough-looking chief continued with confidence, but I’m not that interested honestly.
(Sure, it’s a lot since they held it every week, but a village holding an orgy itself isn’t that uncommon.)
After all, in this world, sex is not a taboo, but rather a form of entertainment that’s viewed highly in society, and it permeates every corner of people’s lives.
『When relatives or friends come to stay, it’s normal to treat them to sexual activity.』
This is the most basic common practice in this world.
(Besides, there’s no guarantee that it feels good.)
It’s like a tough situation where 『you are served a dish you don’t like, but you have to finish it and show that you’re satisfied with the dish』.
So I shrugged my shoulders, but it seemed like he had expected this reaction. He lifted the corners of his mouth upwards into a grin and he swung his index finger in front of his face from side to side like a metronome.
(Just what is…)
I raised my eyebrows at his smug attitude, but the continuation did not just raise my eyebrows, it also made me widen my eyes.
「Actually in this festival… even though not all of them, but a good percentage of the girls are mostly joining without contraception!」
It would be impossible not to be surprised.
STDs have been eradicated and birth control is perfect by the use of magic. But I don’t understand why they would dare to revoke it in an orgy just to seek sexual pleasure.
(If I were to come up with a possibility, is it the need to bring new blood into a closed village? No, could it be a religion-related thing?)
There were similar groups in my previous life. Since they were strong enough to divide the country in some areas, they must have been quite a powerful group.
As I was making these guesses, the tough-looking chief’s voice rang in my ear.
「Of course, there’s a reason for this.」
What he told me afterward was the origin of this custom. My prediction was not far from being right, and it was because of the mining industry that supports the village.
『We need the seed of a golem operator.』
If I had to sum it up in one sentence, it would be this.
The mining method at this mine is not 『Hunting mineral-eating Golems that spawn naturally』 like at the Empire’s mine southeast of Landbarn, but 『Digging a mineshaft to look for ore vein』.
And the excavation is not done by humans, but by using woodpecker golems operated by the miners.
「I see. If there’s no one to operate the golems, they won’t be able to mine, which is the only industry in the village.」
What’s more, the golem is used not only for excavation but also for every aspect of the tunnel, from drainage to pumping and exhausting.
It is true that golems in this world are like machines in my previous life. There’s no way they can go back to using pickaxes and hammers now, and even if they did, it wouldn’t be as efficient and profitable.
「But, are golem pilots a hereditary thing?」
But I also had my doubts. In the past, the members of the Kingdom’s knight order used to say that 『a pilot is a noble even without their blood』 and they used to belittle the nobles who only became one just because of their family background.
In fact, my best friend Corneal, who is now the number three person in the knight order, came from a commoner’s background.
「Well, it’s not absolute, but it’s been said that there’s a tendency.」
The tough-looking chief replied seeing me puzzled. Since he is good with numbers, there must be some statistical basis for his claim.
『A child born into a family that has produced excellent pilots for generations, but ended up having little magic power and no talent for magical manipulation.』
I pictured someone who had an opposite situation to Corneal’s, and can’t help but feel a little gloomy, but I shook my head lightly to shake it off.
The tough-looking chief, who couldn’t possibly know what I was thinking, continued.
「As they only want the seed, they won’t demand you to marry them and stay in the village to help raise the child. Because of this, there has been a competition to get the seat as the coachman in the merchant caravan.」
The tough-looking chief paused here and continued with a bigger grin.
「What do you think, Tauro-san? As a living being, don’t you want to pass down your genes to the next generation?」
Naturally, these amateur village women cannot compare to the princesses in the brothels, who are carefully selected and trained. Even so, this is probably the reason why they are so popular with the men of the merchant caravan.
(Now I get it.)
I instantly felt a shiver down my spine that was different from a chilling sensation.
『Eat, sleep, and play.』
I was satisfied with that much and never thought about having children. I often say, 『Get pregnant!』 in some of my plays, but I said it out of excitement and didn’t really mean it.
And then I realize. I realized that in addition to my personal desires, there is another deep-seated desire that is woven into the fabric of my brain, or rather, into my DNA.
「…I do.」
To my mumbled answer, the tough-looking chief declared with a big smile on his face.
「It’s decided then! Please join the escort for the upcoming merchant caravan.」
When I deliver potions as a pharmacist, the tough-looking chief is put to handle the transaction with me. But when it comes to my job as a pilot for the merchant guild knight, he’s my superior.
Usually, it’s the Herbivore Mechanic who assigns work to me, but the tough-looking chief’s rank is higher than his so this works too.
「Understood.」
I straightened my back and answered, then we went straight discussing the details there. He told me that the caravan would leave the royal capital in two days and arrive in the village the following day.
「When you enter the mountainous area, please sweep the magic beasts in the surroundings.」
I nodded at his instructions.
There are only small-sized magic beasts left near the road to the village, and they are not strong enough to attack the merchant caravan.
However, if there are too many of them, they will attract medium-sized magic beasts that feed on small magic beasts, so he wants me to reduce their numbers.
(In other words, this escorting job itself is like a reward for me.)
They don’t necessarily need me as an escort at this point, since exterminating magic beasts is my job in the first place. The fact that the merchant guild still asked me to be the escort is probably their way of thanking me.
(So they’re giving me a chance to have an experience that I wouldn’t have had in a whorehouse.)
The merchant guild has jurisdiction over the red-light district. The 『Middle-class brothel Dashi Festival』 that I and my friends had organized seems to have had an unexpectedly positive impact on the red-light district.
(Well, but for a lone traveler, even a small-sized magic beast can be dangerous.)
I’ve heard that there are dog-shaped magic beasts that are large enough for a child to ride on.
If it were just one of them, a kick or a lunge from a mineral golem horse would be enough to defeat it. However, it would be very bad if you were surrounded by a group of them.
(Alright.)
I pulled myself together and pictured the map of the northern part of the Kingdom in my mind.
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