CH 208.2

A few days later, the guards raided Elsailles.

「Don’t move!」

They jump into the playroom and shout to the men and women that were in the middle of a joint task.

The men and women were torn apart like ripping up a log, and instructed them to gather in the lobby.

This is how they were all gathered, but Elder was not among them.

「Where did she live?」

The captain of the guard rushes the concierge and quickly sends his men. But she had already pulled away and disappeared.

「She ran away huh」

The number one woman in Elsailles was the most suspicious. The captain of the guard’s expression was bitter as he could not catch said woman.

At any rate, everyone present, from the employees to the customers, was investigated.

What they found out was a horrible fact.

「What the hell is this!」

It was no wonder the captain of the guard shouted. Many of the customers had fallen into abnormal states.

Moreover, the power was so strong that it required a D-ranked means of curing status abnormality.

「Lesser salamander!?」

The captain of the guard stares at the sky with a stunned expression. The only thing that comes to his mind is the matter with 『Robust』 who are praised as the best adventurers in the kingdom.

Last year, they had defeated a lesser salamander in the mines and returned to the royal capital in triumph. But after that, they suffered from burns that kept getting worse.

『The cause is a curse called 『Serious Burn』. It must have been cast by the lesser salamander』

That was the report from the Royal Magic Academy, which was in charge of the investigation.

To lift the curse, it was said that they require a D-rank or higher cure status abnormality recovery magic. Everyone at the time was horrified by the ferocity of the curse.

『We have to save our saviors!』

The country’s leading magicians responded to the call, and the merchant guild gathered up the potions.

As a result, they managed to save everyone’s lives.

(The strength this time is comparable to that time, moreover, there are more number of victims this time)

The captain of the guard could not stop his body from trembling.

「The country is in danger! Contact the royal capital immediately!」

He immediately sent a messenger to deal with the unparalleled large-scale brainwashing incident that had occurred.

***

At the time when the messenger who left Awoke was driving his golem horse with clenched teeth.

In the Knight’s hangar near the eastern gate of the royal capital, two men were standing side by side, looking up at the Old Lady.

「I wonder if you have any good ideas?」

The skinny young man raises his eyebrows at my question.

「Strengthening the Old Lady, is it?」

The one with his arms folded and a sullen expression on his face was the herbivore mechanic. I couldn’t come up with an idea on my own, so I gave up and consulted a professional.

Of course, I’m still not going to reveal the Akashic Magic, which was lent to me by the stone statue.

「It was to fight against the elven Knights right?」

The herbivore mechanic said with a sigh.

「That would be difficult. I think the only way would be to develop your strengths instead, Tauro-san」

Developing my strengths.

That means shooting attack magic from even farther away and with more power, and escaping faster than the elven Knights.

「Isn’t the problem here lies on the pilot rather than the Knight?」

This requires a great deal of magic power and the ability to manipulate magic to handle it. It was certainly not a problem that lies on the Knight’s side, but on the pilot’s side.

「There is also a way to increase efficiency by using auxiliary magic circles. But somehow that doesn’t seem to work for you, Tauro-san」

It must have reminded him of my close combat battle with the Heavy Stone Golem in the mountains. The herbivore mechanic shrugged his shoulders.

The auxiliary magic circle that had become an obstacle to the flow due to the excessive amount of magic power. That time I almost died from lack of power.

(I have a lot of magic power, but the Knight can’t hold it. I can’t really say that, can I?)

Fortunately, the herbivore mechanic believed that I’m a human being with the same amount of magic power as an elf.

『Actually, it’s even better than that』

I’m sure there would be an uproar if I said such a thing.

A chill ran down my spine as I remembered the way he had looked at me when he suspected I was an elf.

「Can you give me some time? I’ll give it some more thought」

The herbivore mechanic sees me stiffen up and says comfortingly. Here, we decided to take a break.

(Still, it’s really big when you see it indoors, huh)

Sitting on a repurposed wooden box, I look up at the Old Lady while sipping coffee from a mug.

She is about seventeen meters tall, with the appearance of a Western-style armor.

Her chest armor is open at the top, slightly revealing the pilot’s seat at the lung level.

As a B-class knight, she is rather small and slender. That’s why she’s called a Lady, but she has an overwhelming presence in the hangar.

「By the way, Tauro-san. I’m really thankful for coming to the wedding party the other day」

He called out to me and I turned my gaze from the Old lady to the herbivore mechanic.

「I was really saved. If Tauro-san hadn’t come, it will be our loss」

I was invited to his sister’s wedding party because of the balance of power among the relatives. Apparently my title of a pilot seemed to be the highest among the invited guests.

「No, no, I’m glad I could be of help」

I replied, and the herbivore mechanic added with a troubled look on his face.

「Actually my sister asked me to do something for her. She want to introduce Tauro-san to a friend」

「I will politely refuse!」

The herbivore mechanic smiled at me as I gave him an instant reply. It seems that he knew, but still asked anyway.

「You were chased around at the party after all」

I guess she must have been provoked by her friend’s marriage. I kept getting approached by the butcher girl, the grocery girl, and the liquor store girl.

The only reason for this is because I am a 『pilot』.

This was the end of the conversation as the herbivore mechanic brought up another topic.

「Have you ever wanted to work in a brothel, Tauro-san? With Doctor Slime’s skills, you’ll be sought after for part-time work」

When I asked him why he suddenly asked me about it, he told me that it was his father’s dream job.

Indeed, in this world, the status of women working in brothels is high. Even in the mid-range brothels, they are on par with actresses, idols, and broadcasters.

And if that’s the case for women prostitutes, so it must be the same for men.

「I mean, you can’t choose your partner when you’re working, can you? For me, I think it’s better to pay the woman of your choice to play with you」

To be honest, I don’t have trouble with money. And my social status is good enough.

There is no need for me to sit on the platform and aim for the top.

Nodding his head in agreement, the herbivore mechanic asked another question.

「Then, how about a tuner?」

「A tuner?」

When I asked him about the unfamiliar words, he began to explain with a proud face.

Apparently, this was also the career her father wanted to have. He must have had many opportunities to talk with his father during the event of his sister’s marriage.

「They are those who teach the women who work in a brothel. They teach them techniques and develop newcomers」

「Hou?」

「They say that if you become a first-class tuner, you can travel around the world. I’m sure that’s because you will be invited from every brothel in the world」

That sounds like a lot of fun.

「A job to create your own seasoning and having many people taste it. My father said it was a man’s dream come true」

I fell silent. I had never even imagined that such a profession existed.

「….That sounds wonderful」

「How wonderful indeed」

We nodded at each other.

It’s a different world, and you only live once. It’s good to travel and interact with women.

Besides, I’m sure I’ll reach my physical limit sooner or later. When that time comes, I might as well move from the consumer side to the supplier side.

I’m sure my experience and skills will come in handy.

(It’s not in the foreseeable future, though, with Imosuke and the others and the garden forest)

A long-lived turtle who knows a lot about things has also just joined us. It might be a good idea to consult them sometime soon

(Next time, let’s analyze sensei’s 『Guillotine』)

Enjoy and learn. Depending on the intentions of the person who goes to the brothel, it can change into a place of entertainment, or learning, and training.

I was amazed at how deep this was.