[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 205: Business proposal. (Patreon)

For Will, and he guessed it would be the same for everyone who happened to be in his position, there was a familiar elation at starting a new physical and romantic relationship with a woman. Comparing it to getting a new you fell short and was rude to the girls, but the feeling WAS similar, if exponentially more meaningful.

After breakfast, Ruth and Anna volunteered to wash the dishes while the rest group moved to the living area and sat around the coffee table. Aoi sat next to Will, and he had an arm around her waist to keep her close. Not that he needed to, since his dear teacher had her own arm around him.

“So? Feeling alright, then?” Aoi asked Will, her face very close to his.

Will rotated his neck a bit. “Kinda numb in places that don’t exist, but infinitely better than yesterday. Thank you.” He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Aoi’s lips. She closed her eyes and reciprocated, letting out soft moans and nibbling Will’s lower lip.

Beside them, Nanami giggled as she looked. “Enjoy it while you can, auntie. Will and I need to get back to potion making after he’s had his rest.”

“Ah. Speaking of…” Aoi broke the kiss and pulled slightly away. “There’s something I need to discuss with you all. mainly William, Amelia and Cynthia.”

The two other older women perked up at that on their seat across from them.

“Us? What did we do?” Amelia asked.

“Nothing. Yet, at least.” Aoi let go of Will and sat straight, assuming a more professional tone as well. “I have a proposal for you three. A business proposal.”

Amelia and Cynthia’s faces changed. Before, they were all smiles and relaxation. Now, their eyes were laser focused.

“Business, you say,” Cynthia said. “Am I right in assuming this is no conventional business you’re talking about?”

“Correct. I know you two have expressed interest in entering the underworld’s black market.”

“Wait, wait!” Reina stopped them, eyes wide. “Isn’t the back market… where they sell some really shady stuff? Like… organs and such?”

Aoi sighed. “You’re not exactly wrong, but you’re thinking about the regular black market. The one in the underworld deals in the supernatural, in magic artifacts, potions and more. There are shady deals going on there, yes, but it’s really the best and safest place to buy and sell supernatural items. You, Reina, along with Ruth, have had a more direct encounter with the other world than most black market clients ever will, but you still underestimate the impact that magic has had on our world. There are organizations, mafias and secret police all fighting for what little they can find while also agreeing to keeping it all hidden from the general public.”

Nanami swallowed. “We were part of such an organization, even though I was only there for a few days before everyone…”

Aoi closed her eyes for a moment. Will noticed her shaking hand and took it, giving it a gentle squeeze. Aoi looked taken aback at first, but then she smiled gratefully at him.

“A little reminder, in case you’ve forgotten,” Aoi continued. “Ours was a nameless organization that dealt in investigation and suppression of dangerous supernatural phenomena. We would track wandering spirits and eliminate them before they could possess anyone, or exorcize those already possessed. We would also search for magical artifacts and prevent them from falling in the wrong hands or take them away from those misusing them. Of course, items bought from the black market come with… a guarantee of protection from the organizers, so whatever it is they bought, they can use it for whatever they want, mostly. We could’ve gone after them, too, but we’d have no backing and we’d make powerful enemies. Well, I suppose we did make one powerful enemy, and we paid for it.”

Reina grimaced, biting her lip and holding herself. “That all sounds way too dangerous.”

Aoi nodded. “It is, which is why people like me have been trained since an early age in magic and some martial art or another.”

“Can’t you just… use guns?” Amelia asked.

“We can, but as a rule, only magic can truly hurt the supernatural. For example, right now you could pull out a pistol and shoot me or William, and we’d be fine. Strengthening magic can make you bulletproof. However, if the bullet itself was enchanted with magic, then it becomes more dangerous. The catch is that enchanting a single bullet is too much effort for the average mage, so they end up enchanting things like swords and knives that take about as much effort but can be reused. And then you have the above average mages who can cast spells that are as strong if not stronger than a firearm. William himself now knows one such spell.”

Will nodded. “It even makes a ‘boom’ sound.”

Anna and Ruth snickered back in the kitchen while they finished washing the dishes, though Reina and Aoi sighed and shook their heads at his comment.

“I think I understand,” Cynthia said, nodding along. “But from the sound of it, yours was a non-profit organization, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Aoi answered. “We received a small budget from the police department, but that was it.”

“Then… What is this business proposal you have for us?” Amelia asked.

“I may be an idealist, but I’m also a pragmatists. The reason I do what I do is because I believe in protecting the people, especially from the things they can’t see. I took up the sword to save people, and I’ll do it even if I have to sleep under a bridge. But to do anything meaningful, I need resources, connections… money. So here’s my proposal.” Aoi took a deep breath. “Nanami, William and I will open a hunting agency, and I want you two to be our sponsors.”

Will’s eyes went wide. This was the first he was hearing about Aoi’s plan, but looking at Nanami, it seemed that she already knew her aunt had been thinking about this.

Meanwhile, Amelia’s and Cynthia’s interest was piqued.