Kazuma let out a pained groan as he reluctantly produced the succubus shop's discount vouchers.
"Look, I'll admit I'm very interested in anything involving succubi I've never seen before," he said seriously, "but when even the infamous 'Sadistic Kazuma' of Axel is offering to treat someone, that's honestly kind of terrifying.
"So just be straight with me. What do you actually need my help with? If this is about borrowing money, don't even think about it. You and Aqua already owe so much debt it's legendary. Lending you money would basically be throwing meat buns to a dog."
So why would Kazuma, notorious cheapskate that he was, grit his teeth and fork over something as precious as succubus discount coupons?Was it really to repay Ren Kuroda for all the help he'd given him?
Naive. Absolutely naive.
If Kazuma didn't need something from someone, would he ever part with something as priceless as a succubus coupon? According to his two so-called friends, Chris and Dust, the succubus shop's prices were ridiculously high.(Which, in truth, was a complete scam—they planned to resell the coupons to Kazuma at an even higher price.)
The only reason Kazuma was willing to bleed his wallet dry was because he had finally managed to pry the truth out of Aqua's mouth about how she'd suddenly gotten rich.
Aqua loved to brag, and with her IQ permanently in arrears, she was no match for Kazuma. Before long, she'd been thoroughly trapped by his malicious questioning and spilled everything about what had happened yesterday.
When Kazuma learned that Ren Kuroda had actually paid fifty million Eris to commission Aqua—a walking decorative vase—and that the two of them had later walked away from the lord's mansion carrying bags upon bags of loot, Kazuma nearly collapsed from emotional pain.
(Which was ninety percent envy.)
If even someone like Aqua could earn fifty million Eris from Ren Kuroda, then surely asking for eighty million wouldn't be unreasonable, right?
After all, compared to that useless goddess, Kazuma at least had a functioning brain—and, well, some combat ability.
And looting—No, no, redistributing wealth from the lord's mansion—how could a noble cause like that exclude Kazuma? He even had the thief skill Steal, for crying out loud!
As fellow modern people reincarnated into another world, Kazuma's definition of a true bro was simple: someone you'd fought alongside… and someone you'd visited brothels with.
When Beldia led the undead knights in their siege, Kazuma had technically fought alongside Ren Kuroda. So as long as they went to a brothel together once, they'd be brothers for real.
In short, Kazuma's current strategy was simple: grind Ren Kuroda's affection meter as hard as possible, so the next time something this good came up, Ren would definitely bring him along.
"So it really was Aqua, huh. I knew that idiot couldn't keep her mouth shut…" Ren said with a sigh."But Kazuma, the reward I paid her was actually worth it. Even if, in the end, she didn't contribute all that much."
Was fifty million Eris too much to hire a goddess?
Honestly, it was cheap.
Leaving aside Aqua's absurd buff skills, just her genuine resurrection ability alone was more than worth the price.
"No way! Aqua is worth fifty million?!" Kazuma shook his head violently."Are you sure you didn't just fall for her sleazy body?"
Kazuma shook his head so hard he started doubting himself. Maybe he'd just been using Aqua wrong this whole time.
The two chatted as they walked, soon arriving at Axel's most famous establishment among male adventurers—the succubus café.
Against the pitch-black night, the shop's pink exterior stood out strikingly. Though located in a relatively secluded area, the constant stream of male adventurers entering and leaving made its popularity obvious.
Ren even spotted several familiar faces among the customers. Chris and Dust, in particular, froze when they saw Kazuma—and then immediately fled like their shoes were on fire, not even stopping to say hello.
When Ren and Kazuma entered, they were greeted by a voluptuous succubus with long pink hair. Judging by her demeanor, she appeared to be the owner of the café.
Since both men were first-time visitors, the succubus owner kindly explained the shop's rules and services.
Simply put, the service provided by this succubus café was completely different from what Kazuma had imagined.
Adventurers could choose a succubus they liked, and once night fell, that succubus would visit their home and use her powers to grant them erotic dreams.
As for the price—it wasn't anywhere near as outrageous as Chris and Dust had claimed.It cost only five hundred Eris, plus one instance of energy absorption.
In other words, the two half-price coupons Kazuma held were only worth two hundred and fifty Eris each—basically nothing. They were the kind of freebies usually handed out to repeat customers.
And Kazuma had emptied his entire savings just to get them from Chris and Dust.
"Damn it! No wonder those two ran the moment they saw me!" Kazuma snarled."They're afraid I'll make them pay!"
Staring at the coupons he'd once treasured like priceless artifacts, Kazuma felt utterly hollow.
Each coupon saved two hundred and fifty Eris—an amount that could barely buy a loaf of bread at the Adventurers' Guild.
At this moment, Satou Kazuma truly felt like a complete idiot.
Still, even though the café's services weren't exactly what he'd imagined, the moment Kazuma laid eyes on the curvy succubi inside, his expression immediately turned blissful, and all thoughts of being scammed flew right out of his head.
Erotic dreams and the real thing were different, sure—but at this price, the service was undeniably worth it.
With five hundred Eris per night, even on Kazuma's income, as long as his body could handle it, nightly sweet dreams were absolutely doable.
Succubi were technically part of the demon race. However, due to their low racial rank and lack of combat ability, they'd always been among the weakest groups in Hell.
To survive, they relied on absorbing energy. As long as they controlled the amount, it was harmless to humans—making them relatively benign demons.
The succubus café existed primarily to gather the energy they needed to survive. The five hundred Eris was almost secondary.
After all, even during the day, the café attracted plenty of dirty old men.
Sure, most adventurers preferred alcohol to coffee—but when the girls were beautiful, busty, and enthusiastically attentive, who could resist?
"Excuse me… are you perhaps Ren Kuroda?"The succubus owner's eyes lit up."To think the hero who saved Axel would visit our humble shop—what an honor!"
Both Ren and Kazuma were famous in Axel—just for very different reasons.
Like now: the moment the succubi recognized Ren, they swarmed him eagerly, peppering him with questions. His reputation and strength were well known throughout the city.
As members of the demon race, succubi were different from humans. They cared less about appearances and more about raw power. In Hell, the strong devouring the weak was simply the natural order.
The fact that Ren had defeated the Headless Knight, a commander of the Demon King's army, made him an object of admiration—arguably even more so among demons than humans.
"How strange… Ren-sama smells human, but there are other powerful presences mixed in," the owner murmured."One is the scent of a lich… and the other is an incredibly strong demon…"
Succubi possessed heightened senses. Lacking combat power, they relied heavily on scent to gauge strength.
Curious about Axel's hero, the owner had taken a closer look—and discovered multiple powerful auras clinging to Ren.
The lich's presence was obvious. As a fellow non-human business owner in Axel, she knew that scent belonged to Wiz.
But the other demonic aura…As far as she knew, there were no powerful demons residing in Axel. And the demonic presence on Ren was, at minimum, that of a high-ranking demon.
"A demon's scent?" Ren muttered."Did that guy Maxwell leave some kind of mark on me? That shouldn't be possible… I nearly killed him last time. Revenge? I'll have Aqua check me later."
The owner froze.
Succubi didn't just have sharp senses—they had exceptional hearing. Ren's quiet muttering reached her ears clearly.
And within those few words was an overwhelming amount of information.
Others might not recognize the name Maxwell, but for someone who lived in Hell, it was unmistakable.
The succubi came from the territory of Duke Vanir, another demon duke. They knew exactly what a demon duke represented in Hell.
Vanir was the being they revered most.
And yet—according to Ren's casual words, Maxwell, a demon duke equal to Vanir… had nearly been killed by this man?
No one joked about demon dukes. Beings of that level possessed unfathomable power. And Ren's tone made it clear he wasn't joking.
Which meant—
The man standing before them hadn't just defeated a commander of the Demon King's army.
He had nearly slain a demon duke.