This is why humans…

Muho clicked his tongue and approached Rosé. He saw her small face, pale with fear.

Her eyes kept moving, perhaps still thinking she could escape.

Well. Could she really think that after taking the adult form of a white tiger?

“You and I seem to have something to do today.”

Muho pulled the corner of his mouth into a smirk as black wind blew around him. His purple hair turned white, and white fur sprouted on his face and body.

The moment his human form transformed into a tiger with striped tail, a new notification appeared before Rosé.

〈SYSTEM〉 The hardcore index has exceeded 100. The abnormal status ‘S*xual Dysfunction’ occurs.

Hardcore Index: 100

Hint: Eternal Vow

* * *

Delmayer City.

Located at the eastern edge of the Kithlode continent, the coastal city closest to the Delje Port, which was closed by an unclosed boundary.

Due to monsters that frequently broke through the breakwater, only a few elderly people with canes remained in the city.

In the middle of this place—where administration and trade barely functioned, now called the City of Sea Monsters rather than Delmayer—a man in a black cloak appeared holding a sword.

“Kueeek!”

A giant crab that had just invaded the village by crossing the breakwater died instantly from the man’s strike.

An old man who nearly lost his life barely managed to stand up with his cane. He looked surprised to see a young person in Delmayer for the first time in 10 years.

“Th-thank you, young man. You saved my life.”

The old man thoroughly searched his bag and pockets, wondering if he had anything to give in return. But all he had was a piece of paper with edible weeds drawn on it and a small hoe.

The old man scratched the back of his head and eventually handed the cane he was holding to the man.

“It’s just an old man’s humble cane, but please take this if nothing else……”

The cane, which had accompanied the old man for many years, was worn and weathered, but its handle was made of gold, making it a luxury item.

Before Delmayer City became so desolate, back when trade through Delje Port flourished, the old man had been a well-known moneylender in the area.

He mainly provided initial capital to merchants who traveled to and from the East, and his interest income rivaled that of most nobles.

But now, with Delje conquered by monsters, the old man had spent all his money on relocation costs for his children and became penniless.

So this cane was the only thing he had to repay the young man.

The young man looked at the cane for a moment, then gently pushed away the old man’s hand.

The old man looked up at him with anxious eyes, wondering if he had made the young man uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry. This is all I have……”

“It’s fine. I didn’t do it expecting payment.”

The old man’s eyes widened at the young man’s refreshing and neat voice. It was a familiar voice. But the old man soon shook his head, thinking it couldn’t be.

He was already dead, wasn’t he? Even if alive, he would be middle-aged by now.

“May I ask for directions instead?”

“Ask away, anywhere you need.”

Finally able to be helpful, the old man nodded eagerly. The young man looked around the village briefly before asking,

“I heard there’s a large mountain nearby. Do you happen to know where it is?”

“A large mountain……”

The old man rested both hands on his cane and quietly searched his memories.

Delmayer became famous along with Delje Port as a coastal city, not a place known for mountains. Even the old man, who had lived his entire life here, had never seen anything that could be called a large mountain. However…

— Dad, my friend Laura says flowers are blooming on that mountain over there! Can I go see them?

The old man suddenly remembered and looked toward the west.

Thirty-five years ago, one of his daughters had said something like that and gone to the hill with her friend. But it had been a snowy winter then.

When he went looking for his daughter, suspicious of her claim, she was holding a bouquet of wildflowers. He never found the mountain she mentioned, though.

“Go west. The mountain you’re looking for might be there.”

The old man turned his head toward the invisible mountain beyond the west. He felt grateful to the young man who had brought back old memories after so long.

His daughter had died in a carriage accident last year. The death of a loved one… That’s how cruel time had been to him.

“Thank you.”

The young man politely bowed to the old man after checking if there were more monsters around. Just as he was about to leave, he turned to the old man and said,

“The cane really suits you well.”

The old man pondered this odd remark while examining his cane, then suddenly opened his eyes wide. But the young man had already disappeared.

— You fool, if you don’t have money, you should bring more magic stones, not a cane!

— Ugh, the imperial palace takes everything, so what can I do? That cane, despite appearances, has a handle made of gold. It’s quite expensive. And I think it would suit you well…

— Amy, take this guy and hang him upside down! He’s treating me like an old man when my legs work perfectly fine, the damn bastard!

— Dad? Who could it be… My goodness, who is this handsome person?

— Amy, why is your face red… Damn it, Amy. Where are you looking! That guy is broke! Don’t even dream about it!

Lian Mora, who borrowed his money but eventually disappeared without repaying it.

The previous generation’s hero who boasted he would climb the tower to repay his debt but ultimately fell.

A womanizer who seduced his daughter with his handsome face, played with fire, and ran away!

“That young man…… Could it be?”

The old man’s face turned pale. But Lian Mora, that handsome but penniless young man, had been the same age as Amy. If alive, he would be well over 50 now.

“My senses must be off today…… Ah well.”

The old man shook his head, thinking it impossible, and continued on his way.

The cane Lian Mora had given instead of repaying his debt—now the old man’s only support, the “quite expensive” cane—made tapping sounds, urging the old man to walk faster.

* * *

West of Delmayer, in a large empty space with only a few broken huts remaining. In this barren land where even a blade of grass would be welcome, the “large mountain” indeed seemed not to exist.

That was natural. Delmayer was originally a coastal city built on flat land. Moreover, when Delje Port closed, all slightly elevated areas had been completely leveled, making it impossible for a “mountain” to exist.

But here, standing in the middle of the empty space, Lian Mora thought differently. Something invisible didn’t mean it didn’t exist.

After carefully examining the empty space, Lian looked up at the system window and said,

“What should I do now?”

〈SYSTEM〉 The ‘Mother of Lust and Depravity’ advises that you must break the divine beast’s veil with the Sword of Asker.

The divine beast’s veil. A kind of protective barrier created to hide their dwelling places from humans.

The form varied slightly depending on the divine beast, but white tigers often disguised entire mountains with thin cloud walls.

When Lian visited Muho for Jang Jangmi’s sword training, he had also been in a mountain hidden by a cloud wall. That location had also been near Delje Port.

Later, he learned that operating a cloud wall required proximity to the East. It made sense, since the power came from that world.

〈SYSTEM〉 The ‘Mother of Lust and Depravity’ says if Delje Port hadn’t been blocked, the tiger’s power would have been stronger than yours.

But thanks to that, he could have a protagonist from the East who was quite successful as his master.

His master, unable to return home, had to suffer the humiliation of suddenly falling from protagonist to supporting character.

Lian didn’t waste any more time and raised his sword. Two days ago, the hardcore index had exceeded 100. The situation wasn’t reassuring. If he delayed any longer…

〈SYSTEM〉 The ‘Mother of Lust and Depravity’ shrugs and says then you’ll have to find another vessel.

Lian pressed his lips together and swung his sword at the empty air. Another vessel. Easy to say, but how could he endure those long years again?

It had only been one year. In just one more year, he could escape this cursed game, so why should he…

“There is no other vessel in my life.”

Lian declared firmly and slashed his deeply embedded sword in a straight line. Screech. Soon, green leaves appeared through the gap in the trajectory he had drawn.

A corner of his mouth finally curled up as the tension left him. Simultaneously, the location tracking system began functioning properly.

〈SYSTEM〉 Displaying location tracking results for Nurturee ‘Rosé Mora’.

Current location: Valley of Celestial Purity

* * *

Under the waterfall, a man with hair flowing down to his waist bobbed his head. He persistently licked between the legs of a woman lying askew on a rock.

“Huang, ah, Master, Rosé’s p*ssy feels good…… Inside, hhngg! There, there feels good!”

The woman, Rosé, who had been having her lower parts licked for three hours already, grabbed Muho’s head and moved her hips.

“Hua, ah, aaaa!”