During the night, we had leveled up.
I think it was thanks to the monsters we killed in the cave. I woke up feeling stronger, more agile, and more reactive. It seems that leveling up improves all our characteristics.
"This is incredible," I thought to myself.
I saw Élise, as beautiful as ever in her priestess outfit that showed her off, beginning to glow softly, a sign of her own level-up.
"We have to go train! We aren't strong enough to fight monsters," she ordered me with a new intensity in her voice.
"Yes, that's true, we had a hard time killing them, but we gained a level, so it should be easier," I retorted, confident. "I don't think we need more training."
Élise suddenly stood up and turned to me.
"Why don't you want to train?" she asked me in a soft voice, while stroking my hair.
"I think we need to learn in the field, not in these training classes that don't let us level up, while killing monsters does."
"Yes, but there's no point in leveling up if you don't know how to handle a sword," she countered, her gaze determined.
"You can go, but I won't," I replied, annoyed.
Her gentle look changed, becoming an irritated and stern expression.
"If you don't want to go, I'll take you by force," she said, pulling me by the ear.
"No... Stop! Fine! I'll go, all by myself," I gave in, pain and surprise mixing with my irritation.
Élise took me back to the guild so I could go see my master.
When I arrived in front of my master, Suzanne, she was training on her dummy, attacking it without a break. Each strike could have sliced a goblin in half. I approached her, feeling as if the ground trembled from the violence of her attacks.
"Hello, Master, I've come to train," I said to her with a grumpy look.
My master turned around, her intense gaze fixed on mine.
"You don't seem very motivated," she replied, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"I came here because my wife forced me to, because she thinks we're too weak even after gaining a level."
"She's absolutely right, gaining a level isn't everything. Yes, it makes you stronger, but without knowing how to use that strength, it's useless," she replied in a professorial tone.
"Yes, Master."
"Alright, come on, you're going to train. You're going to do 100 laps around the field to improve your endurance."
"Yes, Master." I started jogging, then I was hit in the head with a rock, which made me fall.
"That's not how you're going to avoid my projectiles," Suzanne said, preparing new ones.
I got up as fast as I could and started running with all my might, while Suzanne continued to shoot projectiles at me. She bombarded me relentlessly for two hours. She seemed to take a cruel pleasure in watching me suffer and run, chasing me all over the room.
When my hundred laps were finally finished, I fell to the ground, out of breath, my muscles burning with pain. I felt like my lungs were going to explode. Suzanne came and stood over me.
"Now you know how to run away in case of danger," she said, laughing in my face.
She handed me her special drink. "Here's your reward," she said in a dry tone, her gaze piercing.
I took the drink and felt the cold glass against my palm. It still had that peculiar smell, a mixture of musk and a strange animal sweetness. I started to drink it. It was slimy and thick, and I had a hard time swallowing it, as if I were swallowing mud. Its taste was bitter, with an iron aftertaste that stung my tongue.
"I made it with you in mind," she said with a mocking smile, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
Suzanne took her sword and brandished it so I could see it. "Alright, I'm going to continue to teach you how to fight."
She got into a combat stance and showed me several feints, and how to have better footwork to dodge. I felt my sore muscles protest with every movement she showed me. The clang of her blade cutting through the air reminded me that she was both my master and a threat.
Élise's POV
After dropping Mark off at his master's place, I headed towards the church to also become stronger. I arrived in front of the church, crossed the large forecourt, and went inside. I joined my master, who was waiting for me.
"Hello, Master, I would like to become stronger," I said in a respectful voice.
"If you want to become stronger, you will have to read the Holy Scriptures of the Goddess of Love. They are in the library," she replied, her face filled with serenity.
"Thank you, Master," I replied, a slight smile on my lips.
I headed towards the library and chose some books about the Goddess of Love at random. The first one I opened spoke about artifacts for priestesses. What surprised me was that each artifact was designed for a man. I understood, with a kind of shock, that the priestess of love had to be always accompanied by a man to channel her powers. It was a form of sacred partnership, but also a troubling dependence.
The first artifact was the chastity cage. The text explained that, once placed on the man, it allowed the excitement to be divided between the two partners. I felt a warmth rise in me as I read this. But the most fascinating part was the bonus it conferred on the man: the more excited he was, the harder he would strike.
I turned the page, my heart still pounding from the discovery of the chastity cage. The second artifact was an item that granted the Cuckold Knight class.
The text described the class with cold precision. The more a woman slept with other men, the more powerful her partner became, his sword striking harder and his body becoming more resistant. My breath caught. A wave of dizziness washed over me. Stéphanie's sentence came back to my mind, clear and sharp: "you should give him more freedom or he'll eventually betray you."
This was not a simple power; it was a dark pact. The book described the man's strength as being fueled by his wife's infidelity. Betrayal became the source of power. It was both the most frightening and the most fascinating thing I had ever read.
This Demon King was not a simple warlord, but the supreme entity, designed to rule over all demonic races without a rival. His power was limitless, his ambition devouring. Legend told of his clash with the former Saint of Love, a titanic duel where light and darkness had collided. Against all odds, he had been defeated by her powers.
After all that reading, I decided to train to aim better with my arrows and fight better with my staff. I chose to use my arrows on moving targets. At first, it was complicated, but by the end, I was able to hit most of them. Then, I trained by hitting dummies with my staff.
After all this reading and my training with the staff and bow, I decided to go look for Mark.
Mark's POV
When I came out of training, Élise was waiting for me. She was leaning against a wall, so beautiful that every man was looking at her with envy.
"So, how was your training?" Élise asked me in an innocent tone.
"It was hell. She drained all my energy," I replied, panting.
She took me by the hand and pulled me towards a place we had never been before: the pleasure district. The further we went, the more we saw women in revealing outfits who would have made anyone hard, trying to lure them into their rooms. The pleasure district buzzed around us. Élise was red with shame because she had taken the wrong path, but she didn't want to admit it. She continued to walk, her hesitant steps betraying her embarrassment.
As we passed a man, he slapped her butt. The dry sound of his hand on her flesh, so unexpected, hit me full force.
"Nyan!" she exclaimed.
Her sound, both cute and absurd, made the man laugh as he continued on his way. I turned to Élise. Her face, already red, was now a scarlet color of shame. She didn't dare look at me. But instead of scolding her, I felt a powerful desire rise in me, fueled by the shame and the man's audacity.
A man approached me, with a polite smile that was strangely at odds with the place.
"Hello, sir. I noticed your wife is very charming. Would you be interested in having her sleep with real men?" he asked me, in a courteous and casual tone.
Élise hadn't heard anything, her attention captured by a woman dancing on a balcony further away. If she had heard, I knew she would have gotten angry.
"Sorry," I replied, my voice choked and my face all red. "I still have a hard time letting my wife be with other men."
The man gave me a smile that said nothing more than "I understand" before walking away with a calm step, leaving me alone with my embarrassment.
We continued to walk down the street, which was full of prostitutes. Élise was getting stared at by everyone. A prostitute came towards us.
"Hello! Do you want to come work in our strip club?" she said in a playful tone.
Élise blushed and shook her head back. "No, thank you. I'm already a priestess and I can't do that."
The woman laughed. "That's a shame! You have a beautiful body, but I understand. But you could use those charms in another way, you know?"
"How?" Élise asked, visibly curious despite her shyness.
"Well, a priestess doesn't just have healing powers. You can also charm people. But I bet you can also charm monsters to make them drop their guard, or even calm them down."
Élise listened attentively, her eyes shining with understanding. "That's... that's incredible! I never thought of that."
"To charm them," the prostitute continued, "you have to show them things that turn them on. Monsters are pretty simple. You often show them a pair of tits and they get disoriented, or you show them your butt," she said as she left.
I had never thought of doing that with my body, but if it could help Mark, I wouldn't hesitate. We finally got out of the pleasure district. We continued on our way in silence. We arrived at the inn.
"I have to go see Stéphanie; I have to work for her. In the meantime, you can do whatever you want," she said, going to see Stéphanie.
Élise's POV
Arriving in front of Stéphanie, I exclaimed, "Hi! I've come to work here as a maid."
Stéphanie turned around, a mischievous smile on her lips, as if she had been expecting me.
"Ah, you've finally decided to come and work," she said. "I have to warn you: the customer is king. You can't refuse them anything. Now, go put on your outfit."
I went to put on my outfit, then I came back downstairs. When Stéphanie saw me, her gaze swept over my body, a look of satisfaction on her face.
"You are very charming in that outfit. It really shows off your butt and your breasts," she said, giving my chest a little tap.
I blushed, caught off guard by her gesture.
"You're going to go see the clientele and ask them what they need. You bring them their orders, got it? And also, here, you call me Mistress," she said proudly, her eyes shining with malice.
"Yes, Mistress," I replied, my voice barely audible.
"What can I get for you, my dear sirs?" I asked them with a shyness I was trying to hide.
The men turned to me. Their gazes swept over my body from bottom to top, and I saw their faces fill with a bestial excitement. One of them, a big guy with a red beard, pointed at my breasts.
"We'd like four beers and a pair of tits," he said, grabbing me by the breast.
"Nyan!" I exclaimed, surprised by what he had just done. He squeezed my breasts so hard it was like he wanted to grab them whole.
"I'll bring that right away," I replied, gently pulling away from his grasp.
I turned around to go get the beers. As I walked away, I heard a sharp sound behind me. Smack! Someone had slapped my butt.
"Nyan!" a high-pitched cry escaped me.
I went to the kitchen right away to get the beers. I was still in shock, my hands trembling.
"Mistress, the customers touched my breasts and my butt," I complained to Stéphanie, my voice broken.
She turned to me and started laughing, without a trace of empathy on her face.
"Haha! Of course, men are like that. Keep working," she said, turning her back on me.
I took the four beers and brought them back to the table, my heart pounding. As I put them down, one of the men stared up my skirt, his mouth stretching into a vicious smile. At the same time, one hand began to grope my butt while another rested on my breasts. I felt their fingers sink into my flesh; it disgusted me that another man besides Mark was touching me like that.
I pulled away and went to another table where everything went well. Then, another table of adventurers invited me to drink with them. With a brief nod, Stéphanie gave her consent. I walked to the table, my body trembling, and the men placed me between them. They gave me a beer which I drank in one go, hoping to be able to leave.
But they held me back and served me a second beer. My heart raced, and a feeling of panic overwhelmed me. That's when one man began to knead my chest while another stroked my thighs. Their hands were heavy and intrusive, and I felt like I was trapped.
One of the adventurers offered to go to the bathroom with me in exchange for money. I was filled with terrible shame, but I desperately needed the money to survive because we no longer had any to pay for the inn. We had spent it all on equipment. Without giving me time to think, he took me by the arm and dragged me down the hallway to the toilets.