I was in the forest with the blonde girl and Jelahagdome-san.
"Cannon," I said.
There was actually a cannon.
In a fantasy world?
Well… cannons existed on Earth quite a while ago, so maybe it wasn't that strange.
"Load it with gunpowder and blast this iron lump straight into the nest."
"Hmm, I see."
"Shopkeeper, the gunpowder."
"Yes, here."
I packed the barrel with powder.
"Once you light the fuse here, it's over."
"…Let's do this."
The blonde girl touched the flame to the fuse.
BOOOOOOOOM—!!!!
A deafening roar shook the trees.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH—!!!!"
A monstrous, ear-splitting screech tore through the air.
"Count: 42," the blonde girl announced calmly.
"What's that?"
"Huh? You can't hear it? Every time you kill a magical beast, you hear the count."
I had never killed one before, so I wouldn't know.
"Thanks. That helps a lot. Fifty-eight left. We just wiped out twenty-seven in one shot."
"If you head to Tiat Forest, you should be able to finish them off. You already know how. Just carry the gunpowder I gave you and this cannon. Whatever you do, never take the powder out of this box. The box is protected by magic. If you remove it, the slightest impact will make it explode."
"Thank you. That's really helpful."
The girl smiled gently at me.
"That forest is quite far. It'll take some time."
"Will we be able to return from the next forest?"
"Probably."
That felt like our final farewell…
"You don't look like you believe that at all," she said.
"N-no, it's nothing."
"I feel the same way. I've got a bad feeling. That woman is probably going to do something dangerous."
When we returned to the shop, Uorld Alips-san was already there.
"Oh, hello."
The wandering chef, Uorld Alips.
"Hmm. Shopkeeper, I have a little request."
"What is it?"
"I want to open a shop."
"…Huh?"
"I want to set up a shop here."
"Why?! With me?!"
"Because we get along."
What kind of reason is that?
"It's the alcohol. This sake is irreplaceable."
He gulped it down greedily.
"Ah… Boss, Uorld Alips-san's tab is getting insane," Raiza muttered.
"I'll work it off."
"So that's how it is."
I understood.
"I was actually thinking of opening a new store anyway, so that works, but…"
"I can make anything."
Reliable as always.
"Oh, in that case—"
"Please make soba."
Young-again Avael-san couldn't be in the shop all the time.
"My body still isn't used to it."
"Please don't push yourself."
The rejuvenation medicine wasn't perfect. On top of the mental corruption, even though her body had grown younger,
"My bones… they ache."
Yes, the bones. The old lower-back pain, all the accumulated wear and tear from her previous body, still lingered.
I didn't understand the principle behind it.
Her skin had returned to youthful smoothness, so I'd assumed everything had been fully restored… but that wasn't the case.
"Please don't force yourself until your body adjusts. The new store can wait."
"Yes… But I'm grateful. Since I've been rejuvenated, I'll accept these aches too. It's fine."
The new shop was aimed at male customers.
I was out with Yuira-san that day.
"Rather than a regular tavern, I was thinking something with a different atmosphere would be nice."
"That sounds wonderful~ For example, what kind of place~?"
"Yes, that's why I wanted your opinion."
I trusted Yuira-san's sense more than my own.
"Where I came from, we called it a 'kyabakura'—a cabaret club."
That's it!
"Women sit beside the customers, pour drinks, chat, and keep them company!"
"Kyabakura!"
"Kyabakura!"
"…? That sounds inefficient. You drink while talking?"
"In our current shop, Roiza and Avael-san sometimes get drinks bought for them by guests. This would make it official."
"I see~ So you're bringing the kind of noble entertainment usually reserved for aristocrats… and offering it to commoners~"
Ohhh. So that's how noble hospitality worked.
"I think it's a good idea~ The concern is the female staff, though~"
"Yes. That's exactly what I wanted to consult you about. I'm still unfamiliar with this world. Would it be possible to buy women from brothels, free them, and employ them here?"
Yuira-san blinked in surprise.
"Buy them? You mean liberate their status and hire them for the shop~?"
"Exactly. If they run away or steal, they go straight back to the brothel. In return, we'll pay high wages and offer excellent treatment—including proper days off."
"Hmm~…"
"I've been betrayed by employees before. It happened because there was nothing binding them. But if betraying this place means returning to hell… they'll think twice."
"It's a gamble~"
She didn't seem fully convinced.
"Still, the idea itself is interesting~ I'll think about it~"
"Please do."
Later, after closing Roiza's shop, we held a meeting.
I continued talking with Yuira-san over drinks, but I soon noticed something off.
"Usually your speech drags on at the end."
"My accent? When I'm excited or drinking, the drawn-out ending disappears."
"Oh, really?"
"But drinking makes the next day painful. I don't like it much."
"So you're not a strong drinker."
"Exactly! Now listen to my complaints! It's about my husband!"
"Y-yes!"
I remembered.
Yuira-san's husband had—
"Why is it that women have to be chaste, but men can impregnate other women?! It's completely unethical!!!"
"Y-yeah…"
He had admitted, while under hypnosis, that he had gotten another woman pregnant.
"And listen to me properly! If you had listened, I wouldn't have been sent to the frontier in the first place!!!"
Ah, so that was the root of her resentment.
I had given her husband advice, but he hadn't taken it.
"Raising Oumi all by myself was so hard! It was fun, sure, but during that time—yes, I know work was tough, but don't go knocking up other women!"
Yuira-san's eyes had gone scary.
Terrifying.
"Shopkeeper-san, in your homeland, did women cheat just like men?"
"W-well… it wasn't praised on either side. But the idea that it was okay for men but not for women… that was different."
"So if men can cheat, women should be allowed to as well."
"Not exactly, but—"
"That's how it should be fundamentally. Or, if you can't accept it, you separate."
"Right. And in my world, there was alimony and such."
Yuira-san gave a small, bitter laugh.
"Alimony… Did you know that in this country, women have no right to initiate divorce?"
"Huh?!"
"Divorce can only come from the man. Marriage is that kind of institution."
What the hell.
How unfair.
"If a woman is at fault—meaning she cheated—she gets demoted to a low-class prostitute."
"W-what is that…"
It was brutal. So the system itself demanded chastity from women.
Rai-san… you really were an extraordinary woman. I only just realized how much.
She could have ended up as a low-tier whore for real, not just roleplay?
"What a stupid story. How am I supposed to face Oumi? 'Hey, you have a little sister now'?"
She looked up at the ceiling.
"I won't leave my husband. But I can't forgive the cheating. And making a child? Absolutely not."
Yuira-san leaned against me.
"So, to forgive him…"
She smiled sweetly.
"Won't you help me?"
"W-with your ass?"
"I don't want to do the same thing my husband did."
Her memories were gone.
That much was clear from the entire conversation.
But her body still remembered.
"Have you ever done it in the ass before?"
"…No. But I'm curious…"
"First, we'll clean it properly."
"…Please do."
I pressed my fingers to her anus and released warm, thick cream.
"Ooooooh♡ It's coming♡ The cream is coming out♡♡♡"
"You're such a pervert, Yuira-san."
(Though I was the one who turned her into one.)
"But when I see your♡ thick cream♡ it makes me more and more curious♡"
Definitely conditioning.
"It's fine. I like perverted Yuira-san."
"Nnnn♡ I'm so happy♡"
Yuira-san was twisted deep inside.
"Yuira-san, you can spill out everything you want to say. Since I'm going to watch you poop anyway, nothing you say will change anything."
"Ah… ah…"
After a moment of hesitation, her face changed.
"I-I… I am…♡"
*BRRRRRT—BRRRRRT—BRRRRRRT!!!*
"Hiiiiiiiiiiii♡♡♡ It feels so good♡♡♡ Yuira feels so good pooping♡ I'm such a pervert♡♡♡"
"Yuira is♡ so smart♡ smarter than other men♡ so talented♡ and yet♡ she's cumming from pooping♡ cumming from her own shit♡♡♡"
Creamy poop.
I lifted Yuira-san into my arms.
"Hey, talented Yuira-san."
"Y-yes♡"
*ZUP—!*
"Fuuuuuuuuuuu!!!! My ass♡♡♡ It really went inside♡♡♡"
"How does it feel to have a dumb man's cock in your shithole?"
"It feels amazing♡♡♡ Anal sex feels so good♡ I love having my filthy poop-hole wrecked by a stupid man's dick♡♡♡"
"That's right. You're just a smart girl getting used like a toilet by a dumb guy's cock. From now on, I'll keep fucking your ass, so you'd better obey me."
"I'll obey♡ I'll use this smart head♡ for anal sex♡♡♡"
Yuira-san's arrogance.
I had caught glimpses of it before.
Her pride in being smarter than everyone else.
That pride—
"Your asshole exists to swallow stupid men's cocks. Today I'm going to teach you that until you understand it completely."
"Yes! Teach me♡♡♡"
"I'm going to cum inside."
"Yes♡♡♡"
I thrust deep into Yuira-san.
"I'm cummingggggggggg!!!!!!"
Her body arched violently as she climaxed hard.
'I said I'd take proper responsibility for the terrible things I've done.'
That's what I told Jelahagdome-san.
I sounded pretty cool, right?
And this "responsibility" looked like this:
"Ass♡ My ass♡ I love it so much♡"
Yuira-san was writhing in ecstasy, thick ropes of cum pouring out of her gaping asshole.
"…In the end, using medicine against medicine didn't solve anything at all."
Yeah… I really am the worst kind of person.