Chapter 64. < 28. A Guest Has Arrived >
"……What is this?"
"......."
Lumian asked a question.
However, Morgan stood silently with a stiff expression.
Lumian, who had been staring at him blankly, soon shook his head and looked inside the splendid box again.
Two strangely shaped objects caught his eye.
'One is…… a stick?'
It wasn't an ordinary stick.
The beginning of the stick was flat so it could be stood on the floor.
If there was an adhesive component, it seemed like it could be attached vertically to a wall.
The end of the stick, which curved gently like a banana, was somehow blunt, and the more he looked at it, the dirtier he felt for some reason.
He didn't know why.
Lumian, whose mood had worsened, observed the object next to it.
'This is…… what?'
Lumian made an expression of wonder.
It was because he was seeing a form of object for the first time in his life.
A cylinder of a size that could be held with both hands or even one hand. There was a slight curve in the middle, which seemed to be made for easy gripping.
The inside of the cylinder was filled with something soft yet tenacious, and there was a hole of subtle size in the center.
Curious about the interior, Lumian tried to put his hand inside but hesitated.
He thought he might suffer a mishap if he touched an object he didn't even know.
He looked at Morgan. His sworn brother, having finally emerged from the shock, was looking at the objects with a sour expression.
"Do you know what these are? You know, right?"
"Yes, I know."
"Is it something good? No, putting that aside, what kind of objects are these? I can't figure out their purpose at all."
"......."
"With this many locks attached, it must be something important…… but I can't figure out the purpose at all."
"The names of these are……"
Morgan opened his mouth reluctantly.
It was an expression that said he didn't want to explain, that he couldn't accept the fact that these were his final spoils of war.
Lumian looked at his sworn brother with an even more puzzled face, and soon the names of the objects flowed from his mouth.
"The cylindrical object is called Incubus's Pleasure, and th…… that banana-like object is named Succubus's Pleasure."
"Really? Magic tools used to seduce people……"
"No. They're just tools used to comfort oneself."
"......."
"Incubus's Pleasure is a tool for men, and Succubus's Pleasure is a tool for women. For reference, the usage method is……"
"No, it's fine. You don't need to tell me that far."
Lumian said with a serious expression.
But Morgan didn't listen to his sworn brother's words.
He continued explaining in a dazed state.
"There are rumors that some perverts used these tools and couldn't forget the taste, so they sought them out, and stories that merchants and magicians created similar tools based on this. But they say they couldn't make objects as excellent as these, perhaps because of some mysterious power. For reference, if you sell these on the black market or at underground auctions, you could get quite a value but……"
Morgan, who cut off his words, lightly touched the Incubus's Pleasure.
It was an expression like touching something he didn't want to touch.
"These are objects that the guys in the hideout used for a long time……"
"......."
"I don't want to go as far as to sell such objects…… I should burn these."
Having closed the box with a tap, Morgan made a depressed expression.
He couldn't help it.
His brother had been considerate enough to give him three boxes of compensation, but the thing he most expected was a dud.
It ended up being worse than just getting one stamina enhancer.
But a moment later, words containing unbelievable content flowed into his ears.
"Stamina enhancer, do you want to use it?"
"What? Really?"
Morgan's head spun around.
It was enough force to nearly break his neck. Lumian, who stepped back one pace, answered.
"Yeah. Well, I'm still young, and I function well, and I became a Sword Master at a young age so I'd probably be even more excellent……"
"Of course, of course! That's right! It's true that the younger one becomes a Sword Master, the superior their physical ability, so brother doesn't need such things as stamina enhancers!"
'He's a Sword Master too, acting so special.'
Lumian made an expression that said he couldn't understand.
For a typical man in his late 40s, acting like that would be normal, but seeing someone who was a Sword Master doing that was utterly baffling.
"Alright, I said I'd give it without you buttering me up. Instead."
"Instead?"
"Let's trade for the Succubus's beauty potion."
"Huh? Brother, you're going to use this? There's no need to go that far……"
Morgan trailed off.
In his view, the current Lumian was excellent enough.
His face, which used to look just weak-hearted, had changed after eating the Incubus's demon stone to become a handsome man with fatal charm hidden within purity.
Of course, if he used the beauty potion, he would become even more handsome, but it didn't seem worth trading for a stamina enhancer.
"I'm not going to use it."
"Ah, is that so? Are you thinking of giving it to a future girlfriend?"
"Don't pry and just decide whether you'll trade or not……"
"Of course I'll trade. Here it is."
Morgan quickly handed over the Succubus's beauty potion. And at lightning speed, he took the Incubus's stamina enhancer.
His appearance hugging the spatial backpack containing the stamina enhancer looked very happy.
It felt even more moving than when he first faced his resurrected self.
"Let's stop and go."
"Yes! Brother! I'll proceed with the purification ritual myself!"
"Do that."
As soon as he heard the answer, Morgan moved.
His figure sprinkling holy water throughout the dungeon was like a well-disciplined soldier. Seeing that figure, Lumian burst into chuckles.
About an hour passed like that, and the purification ritual was completed.
The cave that had been filled with magi found its original appearance, and the surrounding area that had looked gloomy found life again.
"The atmosphere has definitely changed."
"Yes. Since it's not an ancient dungeon or anything like that…… it will probably find its original form within a day. No. It feels like vegetation is already stretching…… Huh?"
Morgan suddenly brightened his eyes.
Looking somewhere with a hawk's gaze, he moved his body quickly. Lumian, making an expression that said 'What is this guy doing again?', also followed behind him. Soon, Morgan's excited voice was heard.
"It's a turtle-head mushroom!"
"What is that…… Is that also a stamina enhancer?"
"Of course! To describe this mushroom……"
Lumian shook his head looking at his sworn brother launching into another lengthy explanation.
This guy, who treated him like a strange person for wanting to see a succubus, was now going around finding this and that like a dog in heat.
Of course, he wasn't uninterested.
Just as one would start listening even if they weren't interested if someone kept talking next to them, Lumian began to gradually become curious about the unknown world of 'stamina.'
While the two stood at the mountainside talking for a while, suddenly an outlandish creature flew in from the sky.
Flap flap flutter-
Feathers glossy and beautiful as if made from a beauty's golden hair.
A parrot with a divine aura distinctly different from commonly seen ones landed before their eyes.
And it quickly began to eat the turtle-head mushroom.
Gulp gulp
Crunch crunch
Chomp chomp chomp
It was incredibly fast, like a pig that hadn't eaten for three days devouring its feed.
The two could only watch it stuff itself with foolish expressions.
***
"What is this fellow."
-What is this fellow!
"What, it mimics words."
-What, it mimics words!
"Fool, bastard."
-Fool! Bastard!
"Sex."
-Sex! Sex! Sex!
The golden parrot didn't stop.
It kept shouting 'sex' while waddling around the two.
It wasn't just moving around. It showed behavior like a person dancing, alternately wiggling its wings.
That appearance didn't look ordinary.
The problem was that it was being frivolous.
"What kind of fellow is it?"
"……Probably a spirit beast?"
"Spirit beast?"
"Yes. A spirit beast of this mountain…… It seems it was elsewhere because of the magi and has returned…… I don't know why it's acting like this."
"I've never heard of spirit beasts among parrots……"
-Sex, sex!
"It seems it really likes the word sex."
"No, that's too much. It's mentally exhausting. Hey, stop it!"
-Hey, stop it!
"I am a fool."
-.......
"This guy is really smart? It chooses what to say."
It was very fascinating. Lumian quickly reached out to try to catch the golden parrot.
But surprisingly, the fellow dodged his hand.
It flew up and landed on the top of Lumian's head, shouting vigorously.
-Sex!
"It must really be a spirit beast. It dodged my hand."
"That's impressive."
The two said with surprised expressions.
Of course, they hadn't used their full power, but the fact that a mere flying creature dodged a Sword Master's hand was remarkable.
"Let's make it say other things too."
"Let's do that. I'll try too."
At the sudden appearance of the spirit beast, the two excitedly blurted out various words.
Words so childish and vulgar that it was hard to believe they came from two men with a combined age of 108 years—60 from their previous life and 48 from their current life—echoed through the mountain.
Each time, the golden parrot chose and mimicked words that suited its taste.
Most were incredibly lewd and lascivious.
-Ah! A sturdy man's XX has entered my @@!
"No, crazy, what kind of words are you making it say? And how did it make a woman's voice?"
"When you work as a mercenary, you learn all sorts of useless things. When standing watch with other mercenaries, I woke them up with this voice, and they all woke up well."
"……Let's stop and go now. It's getting to be evening."
Lumian stood up with a defeated expression.
He thought that no matter how he looked at it, there was no pervert who could match his sworn brother.
If Homer Simpson continued to develop his current tendencies, perhaps he could reach a similar level.
"Yes. Let's go. We played well after a long time. It was a good time where we could return to childhood innocence."
"……Have you had such words in your mouth since you were young?"
"I was on the precocious side."
Lumian and Morgan continued to bicker endlessly.
They started to dust off their bottoms and go down the mountain.
They left the golden parrot as it was.
It was certainly a mysterious and tempting spirit beast, but they didn't feel the need to forcibly capture it.
'The magi will all disappear soon, so it will probably live peacefully like before.'
If unlucky, it could get caught and killed or captured by hunters, but that wasn't his concern.
Lumian moved his steps quickly, keeping only the memory of the parrot.
However.
Flutter flap flutter
-Sex! Sex!
Strangely, the golden parrot kept following the two.
To be precise, it was Lumian's side. The fellow wandered around Lumian's vicinity, sitting on his shoulder, sitting on his head, showing friendliness. Morgan said with interest.
"This fellow seems to like you, brother. How about raising it at this opportunity?"
"What? No. It's annoying."
"Looking at it, it seems smart too, so it probably won't be that annoying. Just tell it to do its business outside, and tell it to find its own food."
"Then is that raising? That's just letting it roam."
"Well, you could see it that way. Anyway, there doesn't seem to be any harm in keeping it. It looks quite cool, this fellow."
"Hmm."
Morgan's words were right.
Though small in size, it was incomparably more splendid than other birds. Its intelligence was high, and its body was quick.
He also thought it might earn bonus points with women who like animals.
Thinking that, his interest was slightly piqued.
Lumian quickly reached his hand toward the top of his head.
Tap!
-Gack!
"You, are you going to keep following?"
Nod nod
"Huh, it really understands words."
When asked more specifically, the golden parrot just rolled its eyes.
Lumian, who laughed in disbelief, made a serious expression.
He said with emphasis.
"It's fine when it's just the two of us, but you can't say the word 'sex' when there are other people around, okay? Got it?"
-Yes! Yes!
Nod nod
This time, the answer came clearly.
It felt like dealing with a person. Lumian nodded and released the golden parrot.
Then it fluttered again and came up on top of Lumian's head.
It was a smooth-talking fellow.
"In my 48 years of life, it seems to be the smartest bird I've seen."
"That's true."
"It's also the coolest. Doesn't it feel like a symbol of good fortune, a symbol of wealth? I think your luck will be good from now on. Probably."
"I don't need money, I'd just like a pretty woman to come along."
"That's always something to hope for."
The topic somehow flowed toward women.
Morgan told the hot and interesting stories from the past 10 years with added flavor, and Lumian, a lump of desire but pure, listened while swallowing his saliva.
Before they knew it, they were in front of the territory. They could see the territory's people working in the fields near the castle.
However, their atmosphere was strange.
"What is it? Is it because of the parrot?"
"Doesn't seem like it. Something seems to have happened."
"Hmm."
Lumian, who frowned, tried to enhance his hearing with aura.
But before that, a guard guarding the castle gate called out to Lumian.
He ran quickly, panting.
"Y-Young master! Hoo, hoo."
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"A g-guest! A guest has come. A truly great person……"
"Did Count Wellington come?"
Count Wellington was the greatest power in the area, encompassing the surrounding lords.
If he visited, he could understand why the guard was making such a fuss.
But Lumian's prediction was off.
A name he had forgotten for a while popped out of the guard's mouth.
"K-Knight Kingdom Zenas's high-ranking knight…… Sir Bucal Garcia has visited!"
"He also says he came to see the young lord! He is currently staying at the lord's mansion!"
Another guard who ran up late added.
Lumian and Morgan turned their heads to look at each other.