Meanwhile…
Louie Permarten's request created a huge commotion in the Adventurer's Guild.
"How much gold is he paying per gem?"
"That's enough money to buy a house in the Empire's capital!"
"I could get enough gold to build a ten-story building if he's looking to buy twelve. Why is that scumbag paying so much for them?"
Louie Permarten is paying top price for gems!
Anyways, what are these gems?
Louie personally described them for people—
"Green, perfect cube, with dimples on the surface. White, trigonal pyramid, with a smooth tip… These descriptions are so specific. Even his taste in gems is perverted."
"We might as well craft something based on these descriptions. He should've put in a request at the jeweller's, not at the guild. These are essentially…"
"Pretty but useless pieces of shit."
Serika, the silver-haired swordswoman, cautiously joined the discussion.
"The sword maiden! You're intrigued by this as well?"
"...I heard everyone talking about the huge bounty the Scion put on these gems. I just wanted to check it out for myself."
"Haha! Of course. Even you would be curious when a lunatic declares he'll buy these useless pieces of shit for an entire house's worth of gold. Although, I'm not sure if this request would suit you—I heard they're going to be used for some indecent stuff."
"Indecent?"
"That's right. Umm…"
The adventurers whispered under their snickering.
"He's going to turn those gems into underwear that barely cover anything!"
"Haa…"
"Oh, did that make you uncomfortable? But this is Louie Permarten we're talking about. Look at that blue gem. It's a semicircle with an indent on one side. Can't you see what that's for? It's a nipple cover! Heheheh."
"Isn't that just your disgusting imagination?"
"I'm only saying this because it's Louie Permarten looking for these. You know what's going on, don't you? He just took in a young adventurer. Just imagine what he's doing with her right now."
"..."
Serika frowned in utter disgust.
"You're still crass when it comes to women."
"Hah! You must be uncomfortable with what I said. Wow, I'm so sorry! I feel so bad for making you feel so disgusted because of my filthy words! Sorry, Sword Maiden!"
"...Are you picking a fight with me?"
"Oh no, I can't believe how rude I was to someone who can easily clear the Labyrinth all the way down to the 50th floor. Hahah!"
The adventurers loudly yelled obscenities at each other despite Serika's visible irritation.
"Is it possible you're defending the Permartens? Oh, maybe you're interested in him? I heard he's looking for a miner—hahaha—I mean, a miner knight to fetch him those gems!"
"A miner knight?"
"You would carry a pickaxe instead of a sword and mine gems for him! How ridiculous. Think about it, the gems they fetched with their lives on the line are going to be used for anal beads! Hahahahah!"
The roar of laughter and unfiltered animosity towards Louie Permarten, as well as obscenities about those around him, flooded the guild.
The guild's atmosphere was that of a cheap bar full of thugs, and there was nothing Serika could do about it.
It can't be helped.
It's the burden Louie Permarten has to carry, and it's not like they're making up lies about him.
"Heh, I guess I'll have to go back to the Labyrinth for the sake of Scion Louie's shiny new dildo! Who wants to join me in finding the gems for the anal beads of his newest fucktoy?"
"Let me come with you! Let's split the money in half!"
"Hahah! Let's find some pretty trash to rip him off with!"
"...Tsk."
Serika picked up a leaflet, avoiding contact with the adventurers.
"Oh, could you also be interested in finding some pretty pieces of shit, or—"
"Shut the fuck up."
"Hahah! You're so sexy even when you swear!"
"..."
The information about Louie Permarten's request was written on a flyer. Serika left the guild with it in her hand.
"There's no way he would've offered so much money if the gems were actually useless. Something's going on, but I don't have a clue as to what… He wouldn't have made such a public request if the gems were actually valuable, right?
She neatly folded the flyer and placed it in her inside pocket.
"...I might as well have a look."
She laid her eyes on Castle Permarten.
Clink
With a firm grasp on the sword she wore at her hip, she made her way towards the entrance of the Infinite Labyrinth.
◇◇◇
"Scion, is it really a good idea to tell people about something as important as the legendary stones?"
"Of course not."
Legendary stones are invaluable.
Not only are they bound to the user, they can only be owned a certain number of times. Once the stone is used, it can never be undone. On top of that, they can only be acquired during story mode, which means there's a hard limit on the number of stones you can acquire in the game.
It may even be more valuable than the 'Pick the Character You Want' pass, which the developers rarely released during anniversary events.
If you pour an endless amount of money into the game, you could overcome the terrible odds and eventually get the character you want. On the other hand, legendary stones are impossible to acquire after finishing the storyline.
Thankfully, I know what all of those stones look like.
While I had no interest in the story, I was deeply devoted to upgrading my characters. Which means I…
Don't really know what the stones look like.
Not exactly, anyway.
I just drew Bernhardt some pictures based on my memory and told him about their colours.
"I've only ever seen legendary stones in a record, Laura. I've never seen one in real life."
I've only ever seen it recorded in 0s and 1s so technically I'm not lying.
"I don't know if the illustrations are correct, nor if they really exist. But if they are real, it will allow Permarten to stand tall against foreign threats. Everyone just thinks of them as shiny rocks, but they hold the powers of a god."
"But you told everyone about them."
"I know. The news would've spread regardless. It always does."
The main story.
The player's story begins with the news of a discovery—a legendary stone.
I don't know whether it was a coincidence or a deliberate act from someone else in the know.
This means I have to be the one to act first.
"For now, no one will know they're legendary stones. The drawings I gave Bernhardt weren't that of the real stones, but rather random gems that look unique. No one will catch on to what we're doing since I'll be doing other stuff with them…"
"What other stuff?"
"Hmm… I'll set them on necklaces, or rings, or bras, or panties."
"...Excuse me?"
"If I do that, everyone will go:
Of course! That's why Louie the Trash has been collecting gems!"
"..."
It's just a means to an end.
And I think my plan has been successful so far.
"Someone came by to ask me to look at his gems. Even though they weren't what I wanted, I slightly overpaid for them."
"You bought them… even though they weren't what you wanted?"
"Yeah. I told them to buy anything that looked similar to my descriptions at slightly higher than market value. I might be able to find a legendary stone that way, and the sellers won't think of them as anything special."
My plan is perfect in theory.
"That's how I'll find the legendary stones."
"I know you're a Permarten, but aren't you spending too much money on this?
"Laura, no matter how expensive they may be, some things are just worth the price."
Legendary stones are one of those things.
"They're nothing but shiny stones to others, anyway."
I'm probably the only one in this world that knows how to use them so they're worth millions of dollars to me.
…Although, once other people find out what they really are, they'll be worth just as much to them as well.
"A legendary stone is worth as much as the entirety of the Empire! Think about buying one of them for a four-storey building's worth of gold. Wouldn't that be a steal?"
"Where did you learn about that?"
"From my ancestors, like I said."
"Really? Do you still have the record?"
"No. It was on paper, and I burnt it."
She tried to sneak an answer out of me to no avail.
I trust Laura completely, but it seems like she still has some reservations about this sort of thing.
The Infinite Labyrinth.
God.
She's very sensitive about these two subjects.
Maybe the reason why she came to me dressed in a bunny suit so willingly is because she figured out my true intent of collecting legendary stones after seeing my request at the Adventurer's Guild.
"..."
Well, that doesn't matter.
At the very least, our goals are aligned, and I don't expect any woman to approach scumbag Louie without an ulterior motive.
It's a win-win situation for the both of us.
(Haa… I love your cock so much… I'll die without it… ♥)
And if it so happens that our relationship progresses to the point where she can't live without me…
"Laura, we're in big trouble."
"Wh-what's up? Did you accidentally give out an accurate description of the legendary stones in the fliers?"
"I'm hard."
"..."
I glanced down at my dick, and Laura let out an uneasy laugh.
"...That's a big deal?"
"It just got hard in the middle of our conversation. Come here, Laura."
We were having an important conversation, but I can't be patient when it comes to sex.
"I was going to talk about heading down to the Labyrinth, but that has to wait. I have to fuck you first."
"Scion, but we won't be able to talk once we leave this room. Would that really be fine?"
"I have a lot of time."
I actually don't.
My time is very limited.
But my cock's already hard.
And I'll have to do something about it, especially now that Laura's here.
"Laura, let's first—"
Ding ding
Ding ding
The crystal ball on the table lit up.
Even though this room is completely isolated from the outside, my servants can always reach me in times of emergency.
But,
Now? Seriously?
"What is it?"
[I'm sorry, Scion.]
"Be brief. I was going to shower my pet with some cum. Tsk."
[Oh, I see! Um…]
I can't believe I got interrupted just as I'm about to have se—
[You have a guest from the Magic Tower. She's quite small…]
"I'll be there right away."
I hung up.
"Laura."
"...Yes."
"We'll fuck after I see her."
"S-Scion!!"
Laura shot up her hand.
"So, umm…"
"I said I'll fuck you after I get back."
"Umm… You're going to invite her here and fuck her too, right?"
"Well, yeah?"
"If so…"
Laura smirked to herself, as she rubbed her neck.
"Why don't you test her to see if she's worthy of becoming a knight of your order…"
Rustle
Laura stripped down to nothing.
"By using your pet?"