31: S.E.C.R.E.T. Guild
“That was... I don’t have any words,” Ember gasped as sweat rolled down her entire body. After her climax, her temporary magical dick softened and quickly shriveled, smaller and smaller until it disappeared. Finally, the redhead asked, “Was that one of your new powers?”
“Yes,” Beatrice answered.
“Then did your powers fully return to you?”
“No, not yet,” Beatrice said. “It will probably take some time, but I am getting stronger with each passing moment.”
Beatrice checked her stats to see how much progression she made toward her level five.
Half a level, huh? Beatrice thought. Not bad, but not spectacular also.
Then the futanari looked at her recovering bodyguard. Who cares about levels? Beatrice thought while she gazed deep into the redhead’s green eyes. She’d do this again even if she would not get a single experience percentage. But Beatrice knew she had to proceed forward, otherwise, she’d make no progress at all at this rate.
“We should go,” Beatrice said with a deep breath and got up. She then extended her hand to help her bodyguard up too.
After a couple of minutes of cleaning themselves up and getting dressed (which for Beatrice wasn’t much, but she wasn’t complaining thanks to her [Succubus's Thermoregulation] passive), the girls moved further down the tunnel.
The route was monotone. The girls took care not to venture into any side tunnels that connected to this tunnel and not to deviate from their sloping and twisting path. To kill some time Beatrice sparked up a conversation about something princess Mary had mentioned before.
“Do you know anything about that S.E.C.R.E.T. guild the princess talked about?” Beatrice asked her bodyguard. “She mentioned ranks, but was never clear on what that guild was all about. Although I have a suspicion.”
“You really are not from this world,” Ember concluded and sighed a little. “At least not from this kingdom. What little is left of it that is.”
Ember was silent for a moment, thinking how to approach the subject, and finally said, “Unlike what the guild’s acronym would suggest that guild is anything but “secret”. Sexual Entertainment and Carnal Rapture Expertise and Talent Guild, that’s what it stands for. And it ranks its members accordingly.”
“Haa, so it’s basically a sex club?” Beatrice asked.
“Club?” Ember raised an eyebrow. “It has nothing to do with weapons.”
“No, no, I meant as an organization for sexual activities… It’s a term we used in our world, ah never mind.”
“Ah, how foolish of me!” Ember exclaimed. “Of course, you would also have such guilds in your world!”
“Yes, well, they are illegal in many places,” Beatrice said. “More importantly—how did the royal princess end up wrapped up with such a guild?”
“As the princess said, there are very few people that aren’t,” Ember said calmly. “Without a doubt that guild’s buildings are the most popular in the entire capital.”
“Buildings?”
“The guild rapidly expanded and took over the surrounding area. Now it is an entire district with its own tavern, shop, lodgings.”
“Nobody has anything better to do?”
“Exactly! The Kingdom of Larpsus is in ruin. This is one of the last cities in the entire kingdom that is still deemed completely safe from the monsters and demons from beyond. It also has become completely isolated. Which is one of the reasons everyone must have a citizen’s badge on them. The guards are always on the lookout for any potential infiltrators or refugees that might try to sneak in during supply deliveries.
Food is more often stale than not. Morale is low. Even in better times, people were looking for distractions in this overcrowded city. That’s how the S.E.C.R.E.T. guild formed originally. And although the guild has never been recognized officially—that would require a royal degree—restrictions have been lifted and laws softened over time.
Public nudity, masturbation, consensual sexual activities are not only legal, they are all but encouraged. As long as nobody involved is under the age of eighteen, anyone can have sex with anyone anywhere. With a few exceptions. And the S.E.C.R.E.T. guild provides a handy service in this regard. Anyone who is registered in the guild and has a rank within it is guaranteed to be eighteen years old or older.”
“By being a member of this guild, you’re basically signaling you’re up for guilt-free sex,” Beatrice concluded.
“Exactly! It lets both parties skip formalities and lets you know how skilled your potential partner is. Needless to say, the ranking is more forgiving for women, but in this city, nobody is left without plenty of sex.”
As they walked, Beatrice looked at her bodyguard, paused, and finally asked, “Are you a part of this guild?”
“I am,” Ember said and got out a badge that was different from Beatrice’s citizen badge. Ember’s badge was metal, small enough to easily fit in the palm of the girl's hand. It had the shape of an eggplant and even had leaves engraved on one end. In the middle, a prominent letter “C” was engraved with two signatures below it.