"Just when I thought we were done with you, here you are again, you incorrigible brats."
The mace swung and crushed the head of a small goblin. Mei didn't even watch the Goblin Soldier vanish without a scream, immediately meeting the second goblin with her left fist.
Immediately afterward, a flame flying from the enemy's rear was intercepted by Iris's Fire Bolt, and the Goblin Mage screamed as an arrow struck its staff-holding hand. Furi stabbed a knife into a goblin rushing toward them, and stalled the fourth one by kicking it away for the time being.
As a giant figure approached from behind the swift little goblins, Ren, floating in the air, shouted,
"Fire Bolt!"
She slammed a boosted Fire-attribute bolt directly into its face. The Orc Hero, blinded, stopped for a moment. Right away, a Goblin Healer positioned at the rear began healing the burns on the Orc's face.
Ren clicked her tongue and rained down a maximum-boost "Freeze Arrow" to shave off the enemies' overall HP. Unfortunately, the arrow aimed at the Healer was blocked by the body of the other Orc Hero.
Seizing the opening, a Goblin Archer jumped out from the shadows and shot an arrow into Ren's shoulder.
"That's a bit too many enemies! This isn't a boss fight!"
However, the four frontline goblins were soon eliminated. With Mei and Furi now able to face the two Orc Heroes, the situation was decided. Once Ren took care of the Mage with a standard Mana Bolt, all they had to do was reduce the number of enemies faster than the Healer could recover them. Towards the end, Ren used "Drain Bolt" to conserve MP.
When the battle was over, a considerable amount of dropped items was scattered on the floor.
"...It's over. Everyone, good job. Are you hurt?"
"Don't worry. Everyone except you just has a few scratches."
Furi said this as she walked over and pulled the arrow out of Ren's shoulder without asking. Ren winced in pain and immediately cast "Cure" and "Heal" back-to-back. She used Cure as a precaution against any strange germs entering the wound.
After casting Heal on everyone, she took a breather, only to be firmly pulled closer. Her lips were sealed by Mariabelle, the only member who hadn't participated in the fight, and Ren felt a sensation of MP being replenished with the soft touch. She was extremely embarrassed by the glances being sent from the other members.
"Hehe. ...It's a perk of the job."
"Mari-san. You came at me so suddenly, I couldn't breathe!"
"Oh my. You still need more training, Ren-san."
They recovered any usable arrows and put them back in Iris's quiver. Mei temporarily put her mace into Storage, and the recovered drop items were first tossed into Furi's Storage.
"As expected, the sixteenth floor is tough."
The dungeon's difficulty had increased again after the five-floor interval. The new threat was a combined force of Goblins and Orcs. One would think that Goblins wouldn't matter much now, but they were not to be underestimated. Focusing on the large Orcs made it easy to overlook the smaller Goblins, and their different movement rhythms easily broke the party's "rhythm." If an Orc managed to approach while the Goblins were holding the front line, as happened just now, Ren's group could be crushed along with the Goblins. Plus, the sheer increase in numbers made it difficult to clear them out.
"Yes. It seems we have no choice but to conquer this slowly, floor by floor."
Saying this, Mariabelle spread out the map of the sixteenth floor. It wasn't the one from the strategy guide but one they were mapping themselves. The dungeon was gradually getting wider, making it easier for them to wonder, "Wait, how far did we get last time?" Since knowing which enemies they had defeated and which they hadn't was crucial for future runs, they decided to meticulously record their progress to avoid confusion. For now, they asked Mariabelle, who tended to have free time, to be the mapper.
"Until now, most enemies resurrected, but now the enemies that do not resurrect are increasing. Conversely, the weight of each battle, as we just experienced, will increase."
A continuous streak of tense battles makes it easy to lose focus. They would have to be more careful than ever not to overdo it and know when to retreat. Fortunately, most of the non-resurrecting enemies were placed along the route from the stairs to the boss room. Once they were cleared out, challenging the boss would be much safer.
"Okay, everyone. Be careful where you step again. You must follow my instructions without fail."
"Understood."
"Yes."
"Affirmative."
Furi spoke up again because of a new trap introduced on this floor: the pitfall. Stepping on a specific spot of the seemingly ordinary stone floor causes the floor to give way, dropping the victim into a hole. The pit on this floor was about three meters deep. While there was no life-threatening danger unless they fell in an extremely awkward position, falling improperly could still lead to a head injury. Most importantly, it was vital to get used to being vigilant here, or they would face serious trouble later on. On deeper floors, the pits would be deeper, and there were also cases where the bottom of the hole was filled with spears or a pool of poison. A single fall could be instantly fatal. Even with the strategy guide, they could easily stumble if they didn't have a Thief.
"They had to explore places like this, one step at a time, without any guidance. ...I guess I can't completely blame the Sage for saying what he did."
The boss of the sixteenth floor was a Goblin Knight. As expected, it took them three runs to thoroughly explore the floor and defeat the boss.
--------------------
"It's been a while since you last came to the brothel, hasn't it, Ren-san?"
"That's right. Our waking hours don't align, and I rarely have a reason to visit."
One day, after clearing the sixteenth floor, Ren was walking with Mariabelle on the way to the brothel for her shift. It was mid-afternoon. This was the time when the women of the night began to wake up. Ren had brought a gift, and since Mariabelle had smoothed things over, she shouldn't be treated poorly.
"Oh my. You are welcome to come as a customer, you know? You could make full use of that skill as well."
"Ah. No, I don't need to go out of my way to visit a shop when I have so many beautiful women around me."
"Well, well, you are quite the charmer."
Mariabelle chuckled as she walked, looking perfectly comfortable, as was fitting for someone associated with the brothel. Ren, on the other hand, felt a little unsettled, even though she had walked this road several times... but the girl gripping her sleeve and walking beside her helped distract her.
"About that. I wondered what would happen if Ren gained more weapons, but it turned out to be a weakness instead, didn't it?"
The black-haired, black-eyed girl with the slender, cat-like physique was Furi. Whether due to a change of heart or simply finding it bothersome to cut her hair frequently, she had recently alternated between short and bob-length hairstyles. As Ren's companion since the early days—or perhaps even before they came here—she was the one Ren "slept" with most frequently, and they knew each other well. Since the "growing skill" wasn't very popular with the reserved Iris or the women-preferring Mariabelle, Furi was currently the one most interested in it.
"Well, it feels like I grew another tail, but please go easy on playing with me, okay?"
"Aw. But if I don't tease you like that, it'll always be at Ren's pace."
While all women's bodies were delicate, the Succubus body was particularly sensitive. Her tail, in particular, seemed to be full of nerves; a mere stroke could make her gasp. The mischievous Furi apparently loved playing with this tail and actively tormented Ren when they slept together. The thing created by the "growing skill" was treated similarly. This organ, with its clear reaction to stimulation and definite limits, was indeed a weakness. Ren honestly wished Furi would just follow her pace. Mariabelle, on the other hand, would completely tease Ren if she was slightly off guard. Despite the difference in experience, being completely at the mercy of the other person was still embarrassing. Without that magic item, strange sounds would have echoed throughout the house repeatedly.
"Speaking of which, I need to thank them for that item."
"Oh, yeah. It's really useful."
"In that case, I think having the two of you be their partners would be the best way to thank them."
"A thing. I'd prefer a thing, Mari-san."
Incidentally, Iris and Mei stayed home. Furi came along because she said, "You'll feel lonely on the way back by yourself, won't you?" Since Mariabelle was staying for work, Ren would have been alone without Furi. Ren wasn't a child, and she could fly if she got lost. However, she gladly accepted the offer since she felt nervous about dealing with the women at the brothel alone.
Well then. While they were talking, they arrived at the brothel. It seemed to be gradually coming to life, and lights were visible in a few rooms. Mariabelle had the key to the employee entrance, so they didn't need to be let in through the front.
Entering through the employees' back door rather than the customer-facing main entrance, they were soon greeted by a tall woman (or was it a man?) in simple attire.
"Welcome back, Sis... wait, you two!?"
The person, who expressed surprise in a lower voice than Ren expected, was Takuma, or rather, he was Takuma, a boy who was Ren and Furi's former party member. Judging by his reaction, he hadn't been told that Ren and Furi were the visitors.
"Wow, Takuma, you've gotten quite slender. Are women's clothes starting to suit you?"
"Shut up. Whose fault do you think that is?"
Ren's group was the reason Takuma and his two companions ended up working at the brothel. While it was Takuma's group who originally caused the trouble, Ren was the one who proposed, as a punishment for settling the dispute, that they should "become courtesans and work at the brothel." If anyone said that a different punishment would have been better, Ren could only reply, "You're right."
However,
"Rian. I've told you to watch your language."
When Mariabelle reprimanded him, he surprisingly quieted down immediately.
"...My apologies, Sis."
"Very well."
"Um, Mari-san? What's Rian?"
Takuma, or Rian (?), flinched and then glared at Ren's group. He looked like he wanted to say, Hey, don't touch on that subject, but Mariabelle answered without concern.
"It is a professional name taken from the English name for a sunflower. I initially called him 'Hima' (short for Himawari/Sunflower), but at some point, it became Himawari, and then Rian."
His name, written in Kanji, was "拓真" (Takuma). "Hima" was probably a forced cute reading of "Hi-mawari." Ren nodded in understanding.
"That's good, Takuma... I mean, Rian. You got a cute name."
"Like hell it is! I'll kill you!"
"Rian?"
"I apologize. ...I would appreciate it if customers would show a little more consideration for the feelings of us employees."
"Wow, Takuma, honorific language really doesn't suit you."
"Ugh."
Having learned his lesson, Rian trembled but endured Furi's teasing. Feeling a little sorry for him, Ren gave a wry smile.
"No, I'm not being sarcastic. Doesn't it hurt, being treated like a woman while being called a man's name?"
Looking at him again, the current Takuma looked like a different person from before. Since his race hadn't changed, the transformation wasn't as dramatic as Ren's. His basic features were the same, and his height hadn't changed much, but the loss of muscle, the change in fat distribution, the meticulous shaving of body hair (including his beard), and being dressed in women's clothes and adopting polite manners created a completely different impression.
He would change even more if he continued working at the brothel. What would it be like mentally when he was called "Takuma" and people who didn't know him asked, "Wait, is he a guy?"
"I think I'd feel more at ease if I were just called a woman's name."
"Ah. 'Ren' is a name that doesn't feel out of place for either a man or a woman."
"Yeah. I'm honestly grateful for that."
This seemed to surprise Rian, too. After blinking briefly, he murmured softly,
"...It really annoys me to hear it from you, but I understand perfectly."
"I didn't become a woman for nothing."
It was a moment where a strange empathy blossomed between two people who were unwillingly forced to change their self-perception.
"This is perfect. Rian, please guide Ren-san's group. Be sure to treat them with respect."
"Yes. ...Even I wouldn't dare to be rude to my Sis's customers."
He was likely disciplined strictly on a daily basis. After a wry smile, he politely said, "Please, this way," and led Ren and Furi.
At this rate, he'll quickly adapt to the brothel.
Ren thought this but kept it to herself, as she suspected she would only anger him again if she said it out loud.
============
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