Reincarnated as incubus: I didn't mean to seduce you!

Chapter 53 - 51 The First Stop in the Royal Capital, Listening to Music in the Brothel District

The prevalence of various novels in the Bell Federation can be traced back to the strengthening of the Corelon faction, associated with the spring, beauty, and arts.

Or to be more precise, when the elves who worshipped Corelon once became the continent’s overlords in the past era, the ensuing elf ideology, along with their art, literature, and even language, spread to every corner of the continent.

This surge gave rise to the flourishing of the publishing industry and an increase in the number of bards.

"The Royal Capital has a vast population and a huge market for consumption. Why focus on such... such places!"

After some preparations, the carefree fish Kael was truly conflicted as he planned to begin his journey in the Royal Capital.

Who could have imagined that their first stop in the Royal Capital would be Joy Street?

Moving so quickly into brothel-crawling and music-listening mode made her want to let out a groundhog’s roar of "Can this even pass the review?" more than once.

This special area, which would make all men in the Royal Capital smile knowingly after hearing about it, actually became their first stop for pitching sales!

It hurts, it hurts so much!

But it seems like it could be interesting to look into it (muttering softly).

Kael admitted that she spoke too loudly at first and was too happy too soon, as where she lived in reality would never allow such things to surface publicly.

Now, she was boldly experiencing the atmosphere of strolling down the Blue Lane in the game.

However...

The three players looked at each other.

Nan Ke’s face started to turn red as though he felt going to such a place was beneath his dignity, considering he had never experienced such a spectacle in all his years in reality.

On the other hand, after Kael coughed, she said, "This time, the main goal is to complete the quest and, incidentally, to gather the latest information on behalf of the players and to collect an encyclopedia of different races that might exist in the game. It’s an investigation for justice. No problems with that, right?"

Sister Astate looked solemn, like a night watchman silently guarding the peace of a village in the darkness, and after a long moment of contemplation, she said, "This is a necessary sacrifice."

Kael had thought he would crack some cold, inappropriate jokes, but she never expected him to say something so risqué and was simultaneously amused and bewildered.

No matter what they were thinking, they had reached a rather unified agreement on the matter at hand: just do it. Why overthink it?

We are simply heartless machines for completing tasks. We’re not here for the brothels and music. It’s just a coincidence that the places we’re going have them!

...

Inside Kael’s private residence.

Lily glanced at Kael carefully.

She suddenly felt that this Lord of an age similar to hers was a little mischievous.

On the carriage, when she heard him dreaming about a cool summer under the grain and wanting the children of Shang-Ti Ya to help him collect seeds of staple crops and their variants from around the world, including creatures they had or hadn’t seen, she, as a bystander, was quite shocked.

But now, she was somewhat puzzled by the Lord’s actions.

Having lived in the Royal Capital for four years, even Lily was aware of the complex interests behind Joy Street and the myriad of sins that ebbed and flowed within.

It was a place that made hearts race, yet it was also an area that many who possessed compassion and a sense of justice didn’t want to confront.

It was said that even some of the Lionheart Knights would seek pleasure there in secret, such that despite repeated efforts by the Royal Capital to crack down on it every few years, they could never fully eradicate this gray industry chain.

Although she had yet to master the spell to identify factions, she could tell that those three Undead didn’t seem to be the kind of extreme self-serving individuals. People like that going to Joy Street might feel after coming out that the brilliance of humanity had been challenged—

Just like a few years ago, under the guidance of Mr. Luxius, she witnessed the darkness of Joy Street.

Back then, she had come to the city believing that "hard work pays off," but an accidental encounter with Joy Street showed her a world where even the hardest effort doesn’t guarantee a fair return.

It was that experience that suddenly made the young her realize that she felt "hard work pays off" because she had spent a long time living in the restricted Mage Academy.

There, people encouraged you, pushed you forward, held your hand, and acknowledged every small progress you made.

But in the unseen corners, there were people who worked hard yet received no reward, those who longed to work hard but didn’t even have the opportunity to do so, and those who worked so hard that they were left physically and mentally drained.

This was undoubtedly a cruel yet effective growth experience, but it left her with a significant shadow.

"Don’t understand? Why take them to that Joy Street?" said Kael in a soft voice.

Lily nodded.

She didn’t understand, she was only greatly shocked.

"How could they truly understand the stakes of the game if they don’t see it for themselves? Most players have not yet learned to respect life,"

Of course, Kael kept these words to himself, hidden in his heart.

Letting them go to Joy Street to explore the market, or more precisely, to distribute the published books in large quantities to the Slave Traders and Brothels for free.

This was the first round of market development strategy that Kael had established.

As for why such a bold move was taken...the level of education in the Yibel Federation was far less widespread than in the real Human Federation, and even within the Human Federation, there were many undereducated people in remote and backward areas.

Not to mention in the harsher living environment of the Underworld’s gate, the majority of commoners did not have the capability to read books.

Even many low-level professionals probably couldn’t recognize a single character.

On the other hand, at Joy Street, to increase the added value of the prostitutes, they often taught the women to read, and a select few "premium goods" even had some command of the Elf Language, which many Nobles couldn’t learn.

Perhaps because Elf Language wasn’t essential for Nobles, but for many prostitutes striving to survive, it could be the hope of turning their lives around?

Kael didn’t hide too much as he said, "Lily, commoners can’t afford books, but professionals with money to burn can.

Professionals may not understand the written word, but in the Brothels, where literary education is relatively widespread, many can read.

Compared to Nobles, professionals are the main clientele of the Brothels...

Especially the charming bards, who wander far and wide earning money that ends up in places like Joy Street, a pit of gold.

Those who are serviced by Brothels everywhere are the target audience for these books."

Lily vaguely realized something, but felt that behind this logic, there seemed to be another layer of reasoning that Kael had not disclosed.

Taking into account that her relationship with Kael was only that of a rescuer and the rescued, not close enough to speak freely, she didn’t dare to ask further.

But just then, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance, and a maid walked in following Hassaka, who bowed upon seeing Kael.

Hassaka, tail wagging, ran up to Kael, presenting a reply letter in her palms, and excitedly said, "Master, this was sent over by someone from the academy, see if it’s what you wanted!"

Kael’s eyes lit up, and he stood up to close in on Hassaka, taking the reply letter from her hands and carefully reading line by line.

Then, in Lily’s bewildered gaze, he suddenly looked up at her and clapped his hands with laughter:

"Good! Good! Good! Everything is ready; let’s see if the fish will take the bait!"