We arrived at a city governed by a Margrave. As we stepped through the enormous gate, the roar of the crowd crashed down upon us, far louder than anything I’d ever heard before. I glanced around and saw a man shouldering a weapon—clearly he was an adventurer—and beside him a man in a merchant’s stall, loudly hawking suspicious foodstuffs. Nearby, children in fancy clothes ran around laughing together.
“Whoa, what a crowd! This must be a festival or something.”
Thibault, a merchant whom we had befriended over the past few days,
looked upon the clamor with a gleam of pride. “Heh. They need a lot of labor for the development plan, so people have been flocking here to get in on the action. It’s still nothing compared to the capital’s population, but you can tell the Magne Kingdom’s metropolitan area is enthusiastic about their new lord.”
He’d said he would let us join his convoy to the city, and it turned out he had business at the temple as well, so we would be continuing together a little while longer yet. On our journey there, we’d learned that he was an apprentice under the age-old Botter merchant group in the capital. Thanks to his status as a natural-born citizen of this city, he’d been authorized by the group to set up a branch shop near the temple.
The building that would house the shop was already completed, so all that remained was for him to carry in his cargo and complete the legal proceedings at the temple itself. Because he had been such a big help to us, I decided to help him with his cargo. Olivia had offered to help, but we men had refused to impose on her. However, I couldn’t very well ask her to wait at some nearby café; I dreaded the thought of my (soon-to-be) wife, the most beautiful woman in the world, getting hit on by some loser.
Apparently just a little help with the cargo was a boon to him, and more than enough to repay his letting us ride along in his convoy, so I used my inventory magic to move the cargo into the building. I would’ve liked to help with sorting and stocking and the like, but I decided now was the time to get going.
“That magic stuff is pretty useful. Thanks, Chris. Once we open up, come on by and I’ll set you up with some freebies.”
“No, thank you, Thibault. You really helped out my wife. I look forward to becoming a regular customer.”
After thanking the man who had helped us these past days, we headed toward the temple. Unfortunately, it was impossible for the most beautiful girl in the world, Olivia, to not attract attention as we walked through the city. Thanks to her daily calming semen treatments, she had improved somewhat recently. However, her androphobia ran deep and would not be fully undone so quickly. I could feel the tension in her grip as she clung to my arm.
To passersby, we probably looked like we were overly affectionate. At one point, I heard the sound of a man punching a wall, off within the crowd. I couldn’t blame them for their envy; my wife truly was the cutest girl in the
world, after all.
“So, Olivia. First off, I’ll have to submit a request to the temple so that we can undo the curse. But since it’s such a high-level curse, it’ll take time to prepare. I’d say a week at the very least.”
What with all the dark magic I’d studied, I was something of a specialist in curses, so I could say with authority that the one affecting Olivia was powerful indeed. But if I could get the help of a respectable priest, the kind willing to perform the necessary preparation and put the proper time into their work, I was confident we would be able to remove it just fine.
Of course, we would have to make a monetary contribution. Thankfully, the curse should have been weakened substantially now, thanks to my diligent nightly application of semen, making it that much easier to beat. Ha, and you thought I was some libidinous animal! Well, I am, actually, but that’s beside the point.
“Oh, um, Lord Chris? I should have thought of this sooner, but what are we to do about the donation to the temple? And besides that, we’ll have to spend money on lodging, won’t we?”
“No problem there. I killed a ton of monsters back when I was training, so I probably have enough money from selling monster parts to build a home.
If not, I’ll just go kill more.”
Our journey so far had been managed almost entirely by using stuff from my inventory, but we would be able to get by fine in the city with the money I’d deposited with the commerce guilds.
“Don’t worry about the money, okay? It’s my duty as your husband to keep you fed and clothed, happy and healthy.”
“Oh, Lord Chris…”
Ahh, Olivia was always particularly adorable when her face flushed in embarrassment. Vigor suffused me, leaving me feeling as though I could exterminate every monster in the kingdom at once.
Again, I heard the distinctive thunk of a fist hitting a wall, this time even louder than before. Heh. How I relished those jealous glares. As a wizard, I wasn’t merely immune to their curses; they in fact made me stronger.
“Let’s go talk to the people at the temple, and then we can get a good night’s sleep. It may have only been a few days, but you must be fatigued from the journey.”
“Yes, Lord Chris. I’m excited for my first ever night staying at an inn.”
Though my magic had shielded us from danger on our journey, whether from humans or monsters, we had spent every night roughing it; that must have been hard on Olivia. She needs a good night’s sleep. Though I was a little uncertain whether I’d be able to summon the restraint to let her actually rest.
No, I could. Of course I could. Probably. Maybe. Anyway, we’re young, and it’s just one night, so surely… No, no, no! I have to let Olivia rest! I resolved to do my best to lock away my lust until we’d successfully removed the curse.