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Night fell.

Even out in the countryside, Bota City was still fairly lively at night.

That liveliness, though, was confined to the noble class that ran the city.

Commoners didn’t have the energy to enjoy it.

Just getting food on the table was a struggle. They had no spare thought for entertainment or leisure.

They couldn’t afford oil lamps, let alone magic devices. Once night fell, commoners had no choice but to turn in early to pass the time.

And so, the contrast between the two districts was stark.

One side was quiet and deserted, so lifeless it felt like stepping into a haunted house—or the underworld itself. The other was all bright lights, drink, and music. It was obvious which side to go to for a good time—bleh! I mean, to look for information that could solve Bota City’s crisis.

This absolutely wasn’t Lin Ge looking to slack off and sneak in a little break again.

Absolutely not!

“Wonder if I can find a place with some cute girls.”

With a spring in his step, Lin Ge strolled down the street. Before long, he’d picked out a shop. Its storefront looked tattered and long neglected—so run-down it made the mud-brick homes of poor families look respectable.

Long experience told Lin Ge that this place had to be worth checking out.

He’d never been here before, but among all the flowers, this shop was the lone turd. It had to have something special going for it to survive in such a harsh environment.

Maybe this was where the long-awaited side quest Lin Ge had been hoping for would turn up.

So, did this place have any fair-skinned beauties… or…?!

“Mm-hmm, what a pretty little chrysanthemum. Come on in, quick, and let big brother teach you a thing or two about wrestling…”

Clang—

……

“Wrong place…”

Even a horse can stumble, so why wouldn’t a person make a mistake?

He’d been in this world for over half a month, and Lin Ge still hadn’t gotten used to this country…

This was a country ruled by its queen, where women outranked men…

He didn’t know if other races were the same, and there was no need to find out right now… But here… none of the common sense he’d learned before applied.

A place with cute girls… Ha. In your dreams! In nine out of ten shops, everyone serving drinks was a burly man in a little skirt, aside from the proprietress. Shops with pretty girls as servers were few and far between.

Might as well go home, wash up, and get some sleep. He had to keep slacking off tomorrow.

Lin Ge sighed and turned away, all alone. But he hadn’t gone far when a familiar-looking shadow brushed past him…

That massive build was unmistakable. Even in disguise, Lin Ge recognized him.

The scarred man he’d run into just a few hours ago.

What was he doing here?

Wait, had he just gone into that shop?

Huh?! Did all beastmen have a taste for that sort of thing?

An icy, sinister breeze slid down his back, making Lin Ge shudder from head to toe.

He stared at the doorway, as if every sin in the world had gathered behind it. Lin Ge wanted nothing to do with going inside, but then he thought of the future… Sigh. If he wanted his territory to make it through this crisis and his easygoing life as a kept pretty boy to carry on afterward…

Lin Ge steeled himself.

“Welcome! Oh my, aren’t you the handsome young man from earlier?”

The person behind the bar polished a crystal glass and smiled at Lin Ge… smiled… Sure enough, even if he could do it all over again, opening that door would still reveal the exact same sight.

“Good evening…”

Lin Ge’s face twitched. He deliberately chose a secluded corner far from the bar.

He glanced around. His brows drew together, and his nose twitched slightly. Why were there so many beastfolk here…?

The customers around him had disguised their appearances, but the distinctive animal scent in the air could never be completely masked.

After looking around, he realized that more than half the customers were beastfolk.

And yet, the one from earlier was nowhere to be seen…

Where had he gone?

“You look new around here, handsome. Did you come from out of town?”

He hadn’t found the person he was looking for. Instead, he’d attracted the attention of the beefy, buff Barbie from earlier.

With a kind smile, the person set a cup of sake in front of Lin Ge. A thick, rough palm deliberately brushed across his tender hand… prickly leg hair grazed him… Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it… He felt nothing down there. Nothing at all!

“You could say that.”

Lin Ge scooted sideways. He managed to keep the corner of his mouth from twitching—barely. He took a tiny sip of the sake.

“Then this drink’s on big sister, handsome.”

“Pfft! Cough, cough.”

Big sister?! Was this person serious?

It felt like someone had fed him something indescribable. Cold sweat broke out all over Lin Ge.

He looked the person in front of him up and down: bulging chest muscles, rolls of flesh, and sexy leg hair… a lady—no, a burly man… him? Her? They had to be joking, right?

“Sigh, looks like another clueless newcomer is about to get himself into trouble.”

“You can say that again. Getting eyed by that beefy jackhammer is rough luck for the pretty-faced kid.”

“Wanna bet how long he’ll last? I say half an hour.”

“Half an hour? Don’t make me laugh. With a frame like his, he’d be lucky to last ten minutes.”

“In that case, I bet three minutes. You know what they say about the three-minute rule!”

“I’m in on the bet too…”

……

The people next door seemed to be betting on something that sounded pretty fun, but would be terrifying to actually do.

Lin Ge stared coldly at the pervert calling himself ‘big sister.’ For the sake of his chastity—no, for Bota City’s future—he needed to get down to business. Fast.

So Lin Ge gave a gentlemanly smile and declined:

“Sorry, maybe some other time. I’m here to find someone.”

“Is that so? What a shame.” The beefy Barbie rubbed the stubble on his chin and asked with a grin, “Who are you looking for, handsome? Could it be me?”

“I’m looking for the beastman who just came in. Please call him out. I need to talk to him.”

The moment he finished speaking, the whole place fell silent. Everyone who’d been chatting noisily shut their mouths.

Every single person turned to look at Lin Ge.

After a long pause, the beefy Barbie finally stood up and put on a professional smile.

“Dear customer, you must be joking. How could there be any beastfolk here? Everyone knows Bota City is at war with the beastfolk…”

“If you won’t call him out, then get your boss, Kaji-ji—no, Carnegie. Tell him we need to talk about our partnership again.”

If Lin Ge remembered correctly, Carnegie managed all the businesses in this district.

If his underlings wouldn’t listen, then he’d have to bring the boss out to handle them. He could also ask what was going on with all the beastfolk in the area.

“Dear customer, our boss is busy right now. Perhaps you could come back another day…”

“Just call him. And tell him that if he doesn’t come out, I won’t hesitate to expose his plans to rebel.”

When being polite didn’t work, Lin Ge took a slightly firmer tone.

The beefy Barbie frowned, clapped his hands, and shouted:

“Grab your weapons! Shut the doors and sic the dogs on them! Someone’s causing trouble!”