Chapter 11

I saw a dream. A repulsive dream. A bewitching dream. I saw the woman I love melting at the touch of another man—a vision equal parts stimulating and nausea-inducing, a spectacle of defilement. “It happened again… I had the dream again…” Stunk awoke in the late afternoon, his heart and body in shambles. He was a run-down man in a run-down room. Two candelabras sat on a small table next to his old, worn bed. These were the only things in his room. His lodgings were rustic and very affordable. “Goddamn you…cucking bastard…” One week had passed since Stunk visited The Crack in the Door, the cuckold specialty shop. For several days afterward, he did nothing but meander back and forth between the first and second floors of Ye Pubbe. He lacked even the motivation to go out to make money. If he hadn’t already had some saved up, he would have been in a tight spot for sure. “I can’t believe the place messed me up this badly… Shit…” Yet he still got aroused. The moment he awoke each morning, his manhood stood ready to take on the world. Under normal circumstances, he would have gotten out of bed, grabbed a bite to eat, and then headed straight to the nearest succubus joint— “C’mon, up and at ’em! A whole world of deviant delights awaits me…!” Like a curled-up pill bug, Stunk struggled to roll out of bed. He ended up merely wriggling in place, unable to even lift his upper body. All his energy had collected in his crotch. He finally managed to roll over onto his stomach. His eager companion rubbed up against the bed, causing him to let out a fleeting moan. “…Maybe I should rub one out first.” Stunk shifted his gaze to the table. The crystal letter was lying on its side. The video of the woman he had promised his future to (according to the script) having sex with another man was actually quite useful. He had finished himself off to it a number of times. But after each load was blown, he felt that much more mentally drained, and so his will to move depleted. I can’t sink any deeper into this swamp. Cuckold roleplay was a drug that drove people to madness. It had to be avoided at all costs. “No, I can’t lose… Suck it up, Stunk! Don’t give in to temptation…! But goddamn it, my hands are reaching out on their own…! My left hand to the crystal letter and my right to my crotch…!” There was considerable distance between the bed and the table. Stunk wasn’t sure if this was a blessing or a curse, but either way, he couldn’t reach the crystal with his outstretched hand. This forced him to change his position bit by bit. He rolled over onto his back again and thrust his crotch toward the ceiling, reaching out as far as possible with his hand. “Oh god, I’m gonna get it… The forbidden treasure…! My right hand hath already neared my fabled great sword… It need only delve beneath the sheath and pull it free…!” Weaving through his forest of manhood, the fingertips of his right hand found his red-hot rod of shame. In the same moment, the fingertips of his left hand grazed the cold crystal. And then the door flew open with a thud. “Hey, Stunk, how long were you planning on sleeping, exactly?!” Meidri stood in the doorway with a tray of steaming-hot breakfast. Her eyes smoldered with rage as she assessed the situation unfolding in front of her. Stunk was performing a bridge pose in bed, his turgid member in one hand and the other reaching for the table. This was arguably the most disastrous situation a man could find himself in. Meidri’s glare went even colder than the crystal for which Stunk reached. “This is a gift from the proprietress. On the house. Anyway…good luck with that.” Meidri placed the tray on the table and opened the window to let in some fresh air. Then she turned on her heel to leave the room, fully intending to ignore Stunk’s predicament. “Please let me explain myself. I beg of you.” “Hmm? You have something to say to me, you bridge-posing exhibitionist?” “…No, now that I think about it, there’s no way for me to talk my way out of this one. It’s exactly as you see it.” It was too much of a pain in the ass for Stunk to even adjust his appearance. “Ugh…you’re such an idiot.” “Yep. I’m an idiot. I have no excuse.” “I’ll say this once. If you keep acting like a washed-up loser, I will run you out of here as soon as your lodging fees run dry. No arguments whatsoever. Got it? You have skills, so get to work—that’s a message from the proprietress. And here’s one from me, too. Rip it off.” “I don’t wanna rip it off. It’s my source of male pride.” “And who the hell is running his precious pride into the ground with endless womanizing?” Meidri slammed the door violently behind her. Her footsteps, like bird feet pattering against the floorboards, echoed off into the distance. “…Guess I’ll eat.” Stunk was able to rouse himself far easier than he imagined. Thanks to Meidri, he’d started feeling like his old self again, even if only a little. Breakfast today was chunky vegetable-and-bean soup and water. Soup was cheap but filling and a popular item besides. The one downside was that the only meat the soup had in it was a few floating bits of bacon. “I think I still have some jerky…” Stunk searched around in his knapsack, which was at the side of his bed. A loud gust of wind forced its way inside from the open window. Stunk’s hair fluttered in the breeze, and the trace beads of sweat from his troubled sleep evaporated. He felt cool. “What a nice breeze…” There was always a pleasant wind blowing in from the outside world. Stunk had forgotten even this while sequestering himself. He let out a hearty sigh. “I can’t believe I get to enjoy such a pleasant breeze just from opening the window… Staying in isn’t so bad after all. Maybe I’ll just hold out for a little while longer.” After all that, Stunk still couldn’t find the motivation to go outside. He found the jerky and used his knife to cut it into bite-size pieces before dropping them into his soup. He stirred up the concoction and let the flavors blend before digging in. “Ah yes, the saltiness of the jerky mixed into the soup is excellent.” Ye Pubbe made great use of vegetables and prided itself on delicate, subtle flavors—or so Zel liked to say, pretending he was a gourmand. Stunk loved meat and rich flavors, so he didn’t get it whatsoever. Stunk cleaned his bowl in no time at all. Proportionally, it was less than half of an average meal, but for some reason, he was much fuller than he expected. This was likely because it had been a long time since he had gotten any proper exercise. “I really need to get up and move around, or I’ll waste away in here.” All living beings were ruled by hunger. It controlled their base instincts. The change in Stunk’s eating habits informed his body that deterioration was imminent. You could say he finally felt a sense of impending danger. “But…” Just what did he have to say but… about? Just what was he so afraid of? And just how long did he plan to be haunted by his experience at The Crack in the Door? “I put way too much detail into that scene…” Stunk was ashamed he had underestimated the fine line between roleplay and reality. A spellbinding performance was one thing, but even then, the spell should have broken the moment he left the establishment. It was no more than some fleeting playtime with a lady companion. Stunk found the lasting effect it had on him pitiful. “Hahhh…” He sighed again. Though in truth, he was yawning. His spirits were so heavy that they weighed down his eyelids. “Hahhh…” Another yawn. Before getting back in bed, Stunk was putting the bag of jerky back in his knapsack when something fell out. It was a thin white piece of paper as big as the palm of his hand. Probably just a card from some succubus joint. Stunk watched the paper as it fluttered to the ground. He reached out with laser accuracy and grabbed it. “Hmm… I guess someone slipped their card into my bag. I wonder which place it’s from.” As Stunk eyed it from the side, he saw a design and letters he didn’t recognize. It wasn’t a girl’s name but rather a guide map he had received from a barker. Just as Stunk reached to stuff it back in his bag, the letters caught his eye. NOW OFFERING ESCORT SERVICES! “…This is it.” Stunk found hope to dispel the curse of malaise that the cuckolding had placed upon him. Any damage caused by eroticism was best healed through eroticism. If he didn’t have the will to leave his room, then he just needed to bring the girl to him. “Now I get it… Escort services should definitely be used at times like this. I feel bad for dissing them this whole time… Maybe I’ll write a review that depicts escort services as the allies of shut-ins everywhere, and maybe they’ll forgive me…” From the explanation on the front of the card, Stunk gathered there was no special theme or predetermined species. If anything, the vast variety of girls available was the establishment’s strong point. Additionally, for a succubus joint, the tagline was extremely generic: IT’S TIME TO RELAX AND HAVE SOME FUN. “For now, I think I’ll avoid the busty, well-mannered girls…” If Stunk wanted to heal, he would have to choose a partner who bore no similarities to the one who’d traumatized him. He racked his sleepy brain for options. Option A was the petite, innocent, youthful type with almost no sexual aura to speak of. A girl like this would probably heal him. Of course, Stunk didn’t want to run the risk of encountering an actual adolescent by choosing a youthful human, so it would be safer to choose a species that only looked young, like a halfling. Option B was the moderately experienced woman who didn’t play any games—a real harlot. In order for Stunk to remember what real fun in the sack felt like, a woman like that might just do the trick. There was a girl Stunk remembered from a past visit to a succubus joint. She wore a scowl that screamed I ran away from home. Someone like her could work. “I’m definitely torn between options A and B.” Considering the different types of girls he could pick from, it was hard not to get excited. At his core, Stunk was a playboy himself. He enjoyed the luxury of poring over his options. “I might as well spend all my cash on a double escort… That way, even if I’m still bummed afterward, I’ll be forced to go outside and make more money.” Stunk had always been a spendthrift, never worrying about the next day. The scene he created, where he saved up diligently for his lover’s sake as young master Stunk (name pending), was a total farce. He made up his mind and recited the incantation on the back of the card with every intention to order a double escort. Even though he was an amateur with almost no magic ability, as long as he didn’t recite it incorrectly, he would probably be fine. Probably. Stunk’s incantation was muddled and sleepy, but after a moment, he heard a woman’s voice. “Heya. This is The Garden of Pleasure and Dreams— Sleeptopia.” “Can I order an escort?” Stunk requested a combination of options A and B. “Understood. I’ll dispatch the girls, so please put your card down on the floor and wait. You can change the girls out twice for free, though I have a feeling that won’t be necessary.” “Okay then, I’ll be waiting. I’m expecting great things.” Stunk put down the card as instructed and sat on the bed. A moment later, pink smoke swirled up from the floor. The mystical color filled Stunk’s vision, but only for an instant. When the smoke dissipated, a small, humanlike figure stood in its place. “Hello, sorry to keep you waiting. My name is Piltia.” Piltia was a halfling girl (?) who tossed her blue hair as she smiled broadly. Just as Stunk requested, she looked quite young. Her face barely came up to his chest. She was wearing the token outfit of a succu-girl: a nightie. She must have been in high demand with a select group of perverts. That said, there was something about her demeanor that gave off the impression of a mature adult. “I hate to ask, but…you are an adult, right?” “I’m pretty sure I’m older than you are.” “Seriously?” Stunk spoke without hesitation but furrowed his brow nonetheless. Something wasn’t right. “What’s wrong?” “Umm…it’s just a hunch…but well…what was I gonna say…?” Stunk couldn’t explain what felt off. Maybe he was still sleepy. There was a pink haze clouding his mind. “…Never mind. Where’s the other girl?” “Ohh, here I am, here I am!” A small figure jumped out from behind Piltia. The doll-like humanoid flapped her wings and flew into the air. She was smaller than a baby and had insect-like wings. She was a fairy. Without a doubt, many people had spotted the dainty figure of a fairy flitting about a field of flowers. They were innocent yet loved playing tricks on others. They were known to be quite mischievous. Yet looking at them closely, each fairy’s body matched their age, and they all had unique personalities. The fairy who appeared before Stunk was the mature, no-nonsense type. She had a full-figured adult body and twisted her face into an easy smile. She looked up at him with eyes full of cynicism. “I’m Aloe. If you’re not into me, you can request a change, so what’ll it be?” “…You’re definitely something new.” “I’m not really suited to childish partners myself. Ah, can I bum a cig?” Aloe smelled Stunk’s cigarettes and plucked one from his breast pocket. She stuck it into her pipe, which was only slightly larger than the cigarette, lit it with magic, and began puffing away. She had deep bags under her eyes and tattoos all over her body. It was a little intimidating. This is definitely the loose kinda woman I was hoping for. Stunk’s image of the typical fairy had been shattered. That said, she had an amazing body that he couldn’t look away from. Her proportionally thick behind and tight waist created the perfect hourglass shape. She must have had confidence in her body since she was showing it off with an outfit that amounted to little more than lingerie. This fact definitely added fuel to her loose persona. “What’s the matter? If you wanna change, just say so.” “What’s the matter, what’s the matter?” Stunk looked between the two women, the complete antithesis of each other. There was no questioning they were exactly what he’d asked for, but something just felt off. His head still hazy, he finally understood why. “Have we…met somewhere before?” “Bro, you don’t have to hit on me. I’m literally here to fuck you.” “Ohh, we might have met when I was tending to another customer. I’ve worked at lots of different places.” Stunk’s curiosity hadn’t been fully sated, but he let it go. He was already hard. He decided he would just take all his pent-up frustration out on these two. “Okay, let’s get to it!” “Roger! Piltia, reporting for duty!” “Heh-heh-heh, don’t you worry; we’ll take real good care of you.” The little fairy and the little-yet-bigger halfling climbed up onto the bed. Neither Piltia nor Aloe really hit the bull’s-eye for Stunk. He probably went for the loli type 10 percent of the time—like going out for a fancy dinner every once in a while. In truth, he typically avoided delinquent-looking fairies. He found them off-putting. That was all the more reason he was actually looking forward to this session. If it was going down no matter what, he was happy to treat himself to something different. If he went for the type that drove him crazy, the cuckold trauma could easily come back to haunt him. With this in mind, he asked the youthful Piltia to put on a certain persona.