[298] Succubus Cafés

This world was strange—or perhaps it was just one of its peculiar rules that made it so.

In most respects, it resembled the typical fantasy world found in many other stories: a variety of races coexisted here, from humans and elves to beastmen and dragons. The world was filled with the romanticism of a classic otherworld, featuring magical beasts, adventurers, and dungeons.

But there was one unique characteristic, the defining "theme" of this world: the Succubus Cafés.

In this world, red-light districts and brothels were not only legal but had been normalized to the point where they were considered just another profession. What intrigued August the most was that anyone with succubus blood could work in one of these establishments.

Take this small town, for example—there were countless such establishments, catering to every conceivable taste. There were succubus girls from every race: bovine, cyclopean, winged, aquatic, demonic, and even dream demons who could be assembled from puppets.

In the original story, Stank and the others had once assembled a puppet in Meidri's image, only to be severely beaten by her when they returned.

As for the power system of this world, August didn't know much about it yet. There was magic, there were combat skills, but since the anime that this world was based on was more focused on ecchi content, the adventures and battles were largely glossed over.

Still, this was fascinating to August. As an embodiment of lust, this world seemed like the perfect playground for him.

"Hey, August, what are you daydreaming about?" Stank's voice broke through August's thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about what to do next."

"What do you mean, 'what to do next?'" Stank asked, curious.

"Well, I find you and Zel pretty interesting, so I was thinking of staying here for a while. Maybe I'll buy a place nearby, or rent one if buying isn't an option."

"You've got to be joking. The property prices here are sky-high," Stank replied, immediately categorizing August as a rich kid.

"Exactly, August," Zel chimed in. "Land here is insanely expensive. You'd need tens of thousands of gold coins just to get your foot in the door."

Tens of thousands of gold coins—Stank and Zel would need years of saving, even without spending anything, to amass that much. Of course, it wasn't that they were broke; they were quite well-known as adventurers in the area. But their extravagant spending habits, particularly their frequent visits to the Succubus Cafés, left them perpetually short on funds.

No matter the world, brothels were always money pits, draining wallets faster than anyone liked to admit.

"Money? Don't worry about that. If there's one thing I have plenty of, it's money," August said nonchalantly. With a wave of his hand, a golden ripple spread across the table, and coins began to spill out.

Stank and Zel were only mildly surprised by this display of spatial magic. In this world, while spatial magic wasn't exactly common, it wasn't rare enough to be shocking either.

Stank picked up one of the coins, examining the unfamiliar symbols and inscriptions on it. "Never seen this kind of coin before," he muttered.

Zel also took a coin, scrutinizing it carefully before setting it back down. "Hey, August, are these ancient coins from a dungeon? I've never seen anything like them, but they're definitely pure gold."

"I found them in an old dungeon deep in the mountains. There were plenty more where these came from," August replied casually.

"An ancient dungeon deep in the mountains, huh? That makes sense," Stank nodded, accepting the explanation.

Zel didn't doubt August's explanation. After all, this world had dungeons, and many mysterious and unknown items could be found within them. A few ancient gold coins weren't particularly surprising.

"Still, if these ancient coins were appraised and sold, they'd fetch a pretty high price."

Aside from the value of the pure gold, these coins held significant worth as collectibles and research items. The very nature of being 'unknown' added value. All these coins were stored within the treasury of a king, though which dynasty they came from, even August didn't know.

"So, Zel, how much do you think these coins are worth?"

"I'm not sure, but if you trust me, I can find out for you."

"Sure, I'll leave it to you."

Zel was taken aback by August's easy agreement. These were ancient gold coins—hundreds of them, in fact. And August was just handing them over without a second thought?

Stank, sitting nearby, was also surprised. In this world, people were often deceitful for the sake of money, but August seemed utterly unconcerned.

Whatever the reason, Zel felt pleased by August's trust.

"Alright then, I'll take care of it. I'll give you an update tomorrow. If the price is right, I'll bring you the cash."

"No problem."

August wasn't concerned about a few hundred gold coins. He had more gold bars and bricks than he could count, so these coins were nothing.

As for why he agreed so readily, it was partly because he wasn't lacking in wealth, but also because these two were the protagonists. Even if they weren't the heroes of a battle-focused anime, their credibility was trustworthy.

The three of them continued drinking and eating while Stank and Zel filled August in on some details about this world and the local town.

However, most of their conversation—over seventy percent—revolved around the various succubus cafés.

One topic, in particular, led to an endless debate between the two, with neither willing to concede.

It was the issue of age and mana.

Stank, being human, couldn't understand Zel's preference. Stank had a fondness for older, curvaceous elves, but Zel disagreed. In his view, older elves had poor mana quality, which made them unappealing.

On the other hand, Zel favored a human woman in her fifties, whom he saw as a young girl by elven standards. This made Stank feel disgusted—he couldn't stand the thought of someone in their fifties with all those wrinkles.

Because of this topic, the two argued endlessly, with neither able to convince the other.

"August, you tell us—who's right?"

Suddenly, Stank dragged August into the argument. After all, August was the only one observing from the sidelines.

"Me?"

"Yes, you! Who do you think is right?"

Stank and Zel both stared at August intently, making him feel a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm just a normal guy," August thought to himself. "But the way these two are looking at me, I might end up knocking them out if I'm not careful."

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