Chapter 62 The Obligation of Desire and a Comical Misunderstanding of Duty
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Sister Amelia, bless her heart, had actually stepped forward to volunteer for the ‘research.’ The goal, you see, was to increase the Frequency of Intercourse in order to reduce the Frequency of Masturbation—all in an attempt to deny any reliance on the ‘Tremble-Ddo-Buddy.’ I had a sinking feeling that if any real researcher heard this, they’d deliver a dropkick right to my backside, but I shuffled off to the living quarters regardless.
There, three dear women were busy compiling the data for me.
”Oh, Amelia-sama! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
The first to chime in was Lily, the experiment-subject slave who’d given my Live Ddo-Buddy a rather scathing rating of ‘8.’ She had, with all the objective cruelty of a true scholar, explained, “[Objectively speaking, this is all it is. I apologize, but it cannot be said to be twice as good as the ‘Tremble-Ddo-Buddy’ on its own.]”
When I badgered her—insisted, really—to tell me the subjective rating, she blushed a tiny bit and finally whispered, “…One hundred.” What a sweet, dear girl. ¹
”Hmm? Are you coming to help with ‘experiments’ again?”
Next to look up was Tania, the adventurer elf whose rating for the Live Ddo-Buddy was an easy ‘∞.’ Ever since I’d vowed to ‘take responsibility’ for her, her affection levels had utterly shattered their limits, it seemed. [Her golden pronouncement was that ‘it isn’t something one should even compare,’ and dear Lily, in her flustered outrage, had spluttered, ‘Th-that’s cheating!’] What a pair of sweethearts.
”Who’s that?”
Tilting her head was Laika, the dog beastkin who had mused, “[Probably about this much…?]” and assigned a value of ‘530,000.’ The inflation rate around here was simply horrific. Since that bizarre ‘Resonance’ incident, she hadn’t quite figured out how to deal with me, and she was still vaguely wary, refusing to meet my eyes. However, the moment she saw me, her tail would wag furiously, and she was putting in a truly pathetic, fruitless effort to hold it down. A dear girl, truly.
Stopping their work for a moment, I presented my foolish research to the women, making sure to introduce Amelia to Laika. I narrated the plan, thinking all the while how truly idiotic it sounded coming from my own mouth, and sure enough, all three women stared at me with expressions of utter exasperation. Lily, as their representative, decided to speak up.
”Haah, so you’ll simply be spending some time cuddling and flirting first, and then having SEX afterward, is that right?”
”Well, I mean, when you put it like that… yes. But Lily, are you… angry?” I asked, tilting my head.
”Not at all. ² [My Master being a lecher is nothing new, so that’s fine. Amelia-sama has clearly been restraining herself, so please, coddle her to your heart’s content.] But… recently, Master, you’ve become a little dangerous, you know?”
Amelia flushed a brilliant red, “C-cuddling and flirting…” as Lily spoke, but I was more concerned with the last bit of her warning.
”Dangerous…?”
”Yes, quite dangerous. [If things continue like this, I foresee a future where you make a great number of women quite miserable and end up being stabbed clean through with a knife!]”
”W-what?! Wait… are you saying I’m being loose with my lower half and need to watch myself?” I stammered.
”Hmm, I’d say it’s more the opposite, actually. [Amelia-sama is one example; you need to properly take responsibility for a variety of things, rather than…]”
While Amelia panicked, “Th-that wasn’t my intention at all!” I glanced at Tania. It was true; I had promised to ‘take responsibility’ for her, but I hadn’t made any concrete advances, having been too preoccupied with the Tremble-Ddo-Buddy verification.
”Um, Tania…?”
”Lily-sama’s words are understandable, but don’t worry too much about me, Kento,” Tania said, her voice a calm river. “I’m content as long as you live your short, mortal life to the fullest. Besides, I get rewarded quite often. Right, Laika?”
”Eh!? M-me!?” Laika squeaked.
Tania continued, unfazed: [“Oh, yes. I see you happily having your tail grabbed or your bottom fondled in passing. I understand completely—I, too, forgive everything when my ears are gently wiggled.”]
”I-I’m not happy at all about that…! [W-well, I mean, it’s practically a duty for a dominant male to have his females waiting on him, and it doesn’t bother me much…]” Laika sputtered defensively.
Tania had reached a realm beyond the understanding of a mere mortal’s mind, and Laika, it seemed, was actually enjoying the sexual harassment. Could these two really be the ones to stab me in the future? [Perhaps I should just fondle their bottoms a bit more often, I thought idly.]
It was at this moment that Lily’s eyes grew wide with realization, and she declared with wide eyes, “That’s it! Master, you haven’t fulfilled your duty!”
”D-duty…?”
”The members here are fine. As Tania-sama said, we’re being fed. ³ [The problem is the women who aren’t here—the ones Master hasn’t even touched yet!]”
Women I hadn’t ‘touched’ yet…? Was there even anyone like that? I mentally scrolled through the faces of the women I’d spoken to lately, but nothing came to mind.
The most dangerous one, in more ways than one, was Aerith-jou of the Garou Merchant Guild, but she had actually attacked me the other day. Merluza felt like a fluke, and I’d also consummated a relationship with her recently. It certainly couldn’t be the Queen/Her Majesty, could it…?
”See? That’s exactly the problem. [You really are going to get stabbed if you keep this up.]”
”Eh… I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about…” I confessed.
”To give you names, [for example, Sera-sama of the Tasogare Merchant Guild, and Marm-sama, the receptionist at the Adventurer Guild, are major red flags.]”
”Sera-chan and Marm-san…?” I was utterly frozen in place, unable to comprehend. They were certainly among the closest women to me outside of this core group, and I had harassed them a bit, which made our relationship casual. But wouldn’t they just be annoyed by me?
”Think about it the other way around,” Lily pressed, launching into a dramatic hypothetical. [“Imagine you were a novice merchant. You have a good-natured, mischievous female shop owner who’s been supporting you since your rookie days, since she first opened her shop. Though it’s a wholesale-to-customer relationship, you feel something akin to a two-person team, a partnership, a sidekick to her.]”
”Ah, um… okay…?”
”[You go out of your way to do favors for her, you fill out tedious paperwork just for her sake, and you even procure difficult goods just for her.] On top of that, she frequently flirts with you, trying to provoke you with lewd words.”
”Ah, I see the setup…” I murmured.
”Now, imagine that woman, little by little, starts bringing more men into the picture, clearly leading several of them back to her shop. ⁴ [Every time you deliver goods, you get nervous and excited, but she just flirts as usual, never once showing that she’s aware of your feelings.]”
”Ah, right…”
”[Sometimes you gather your courage and ‘accidentally’ brush her fingertips, or undo a button on your collar, but she never reacts! She flirts with you constantly, yet she’s clearly wallowing around with other men! How would you feel, Master!?]” Lily’s voice rose to a crescendo.
”Uh… I’d feel… a deep sense of irritation, I guess.”
”Exactly! [You’d be consumed by jealousy!]” she cried.
”W-wait, would I really go that far…?” I questioned the dramatic claim.
”Your imagination is lacking! [Put me in the place of that shop owner!]” she demanded.
”Ah… in that case, yes, I’d probably lose my temper completely,” I admitted.
”There you go, there you go!” Lily said, nodding vigorously. It wasn’t just a happy nod of being understood; she seemed genuinely delighted to hear I’d lose my temper. I gave her nose a little pinch and tugged gently on her ear as I considered this.
If Lily were to act like that, I certainly wouldn’t be able to stay calm. I suspect I’d feel hostility toward the men leeching off Lily, but perhaps that’s the difference between men and women, or maybe just a figure of speech. Regardless, was I really doing this to Sera-chan? That seemed a little arrogant, didn’t it?
”It’s the same with Marm-san. [Imagine an older sister who is slightly overshadowed but earnest and childlike, someone you look out for, someone you worry desperately about every time she goes out because she’s totally unsuited to be an adventurer.] The moment she retires from being an adventurer and opens a shop, men start flocking to her, and she seems to be running some kind of shady business! What would you think, Master?”
”Ah, I’d be incredibly worried. I’d think those men were deceiving her. I’d probably tell her to quit that business!”
”Exactly! [You’d tell her to cut ties with those men and come back to you!]”
”Well, I’d certainly do that if you were the one involved, Lily, but…”
Lily was on a roll, preaching her gospel of obligation. Looking at Tania and Laika, they weren’t as fired up as Lily, but they wore matching expressions that said, “Well, of course, that’s right.” It seemed I was the only one who didn’t understand. I never thought of myself as one of those dense protagonists…
However, there seemed to be one major oversight in Lily’s passionate plea: Did Sera-chan and Marm-san feel the same level of intense emotion for me that I felt for Lily and Tania?
”I understand what you’re trying to say, but that whole scenario only works if Sera-chan and Marm-san are completely infatuated with me, right?”
”That’s the problem, Master,” Lily declared.
”That’s the problem, Kento,” Tania calmly agreed.
”That’s what I think the problem is, Shop Owner,” Laika mumbled.
”U-um, I also think that’s the problem, Kento-san…” Amelia added, with a soft voice.
I was completely shut down, even by Amelia. So, that was the problem, apparently. I was still only halfway convinced, but they ignored my lingering confusion and began preparing for the ‘experiment.’ My top was peeled off, my bottoms, including my underwear, were stripped away, and I was laid down flat.
”Wait, what was the entire point of that conversation, anyway?” I asked, still puzzled.
”Hmm? You don’t understand?”
”Sorry, I don’t. Please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me.”
”Well, here’s one more hint: [The discussion was about the ‘Frequency of Intercourse’ in the first place.]”
I pondered this new piece of the puzzle, still scratching my head. Tania came to my left side and nodded in agreement. Laika, though clearly reluctant, came to my right and also nodded. Amelia, a bit farther away, also seemed to be in the loop.
”Still can’t figure it out?”
”…I’m sorry, I cannot.”
”Then, the final hint. [I am currently at about seven times a week, aren’t I?]”
”Oh? Ah, yes, you are.”
”Tania-sama is approaching that, and Laika-san is participating more often.”
”U-huh…”
”Amelia-sama is at two, and Aerith-sama and Merluza-sama are at one. [Sera-sama and Marm-sama are at zero. What do you think will happen next?]”
A cold sweat trickled down my back as the flow of the conversation finally clicked into place. [My Live Ddo-Buddy stirred to life.] This was the Live Ddo-Buddy they had rated higher than the magical device, after all.
”Do you remember the ‘promise’?” Lily asked, a slight smile on her lips.
”Eh? Ah… that’s what this was about… Of course, I remember.”
”Heh. Then I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Finally understanding, and to help raise their Frequency of Intercourse as promised, I grabbed the aphrodisiac offered to me and gulped it down.
—
Summary:
Kento walks right into a trap! The girls—Lily, Tania, and Laika—along with newcomer Amelia, are utterly fed up with his obliviousness to his emotional obligations. Lily, using a dramatic speech about two other women (Sera and Marm) who feel neglected, makes Kento realize his duty as a dominant male in their complex, relationship-based economy. The entire debate, it turns out, was a cleverly disguised demand to drastically increase their Frequency of Intercourse, a promise he’d made to them. The chapter ends with Kento gulping down an aphrodisiac, fully committing to his new, much busier schedule.
—
Character Insight:
Lily is the true puppet master here; her outrage at Kento’s potential neglect of others is actually a fierce manifestation of her own jealousy and desire to monopolize his time and attention to understand his social missteps.
—
Behind the Scene:
This chapter is the climax of the running gag about Kento’s sexual obligations. The ratings (8, 100, ∞, 530,000) are symbolic of the women’s emotional commitment, not just the physical tool. The threat of a stabbing is a dramatic metaphor for Kento’s life collapsing under the weight of his emotional neglect.
—
T/L:
¹ [What a dear girl] is an adaptation of ‘愛い奴め,’ a phrase Kento often uses to express affectionate exasperation for the girls’ sweet, but often baffling, actions. ↩
² Lily’s ‘Not at all’ is a classic case of tsundere behavior, immediately contradicting her angry tone with overly polite language. ↩
³ ‘Being fed’ refers to being rewarded with Kento’s sexual attention, treated here like an essential resource or ‘bait’ for the females. ↩
⁴ ‘Wallowing around’ (ニャンニャンしまくっている) is a softened but still highly descriptive translation of an onomatopoeia suggesting intense, casual sexual activity, fitting the R-15+ requirement. ↩
Notes:
• Amelia – The Sister of the Church of Demon-Subjugating, who usually buys from Kento, has light blue hair.
• Lily – the sl*ve and primary experiment subject for the magic shop, ‘Harvest.’ She has striking pink hair, Blue eyes, medium breasts, which the Protagonist associates with being ‘wanton’. She has a working knowledge of magic, which she kept hidden from the slave trader.
• Tania – An Elf adventurer who, despite her race’s reputation for low sex drive, is secretly quite passionate. She initially seemed ‘wasted’ (emotionally dry) to her friend Raika, but was easily introduced to the pleasure-items sold at ‘Harvest.’ She is easily embarrassed and attempts to maintain a dignified facade, despite her recent, frequent purchases. She wears practical but light armor over a simple cloth tunic and short pants, highlighting her grace and agility. Her primary relationship is one of friendly senior-junior with Raika.
• Laika – The beastwoman dog.
• Kento – The owner of the magic tool shop ‘Harvest,’ which discretely sells adult goods. He’s a former overworked, ordinary salaryman from modern Japan who was suddenly transported (isekai’d) to this fantasy world. He has dark hair and an unremarkable appearance, typically wearing a plain, slightly suspicious-looking shop owner’s clothes looks like Kazuma Satou from certain series. He has a minimal amount of magic power, enough to craft his specialty items.
• Merluza – The Captain of the Royal Guard, a veteran soldier and Lion Beast-person. She testifies to the military necessity and effectiveness of the ‘Tremble Ddo-Buddy’ (which she calls ‘Bob’) for female beast-person soldiers, ensuring job performance isn’t compromised by ‘heat’. Have dull yellow hair, large feline ears, wearing armor, and large scar over the right eye.
• Aerith – A wolf beast-person and Ouka’s daughter. She is intensely attracted to Kento’s creative genius and is not shy about showing her interest. Have gray fur hair and tail, wearing elegant dress.
• Marm – The attractive, red-haired, tanned receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild. She wears a uniform that emphasizes her ‘nice body.’ She is kind and acts like a supportive ‘big sister’ figure to Kento. Looks like Mirajane Strauss from certain series.
• Sera – A young, earnest salesperson from the Tasogare Merchant Guild, Kento’s supplier. She is characterized by her braided brown hair, large round glasses, and freckles. She’s serious about her job and easily flustered, especially by Kento’s adult goods business. Looks like Onodera from certain series.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply