The Collector Ch 018 019

Chapter 18

Zoe walked by my side, still holding my hand. She was looking around, observing all the people and stalls around us. Various items were spread out on them, and it seemed like everything interested her. She was like a small girl, curious about everything surrounding her.

As I watched her pink eyes shone with excitement, I had a strange feeling that something was off about her appearance. After a brief moment of focusing on her, I realized that I was expecting her tail to stand high behind her and swing, completing the image of her excitement.

I took a deep breath and averted my eyes, choosing to focus on the city around me rather than my cute demon. I was supposed to fuck every hot woman that I stumbled upon in this world--not get attached to the first one I met.

There was something about Zoe that really attracted me. Could it be her succubus abilities? From her status, it didn't seem like that was the case. She had a skill that raised her attractiveness, but I doubted it could be so strong.

Perhaps it was her beauty and the constant sex, but there was also something in her behavior that brought my instincts to take care of her. She was so hurt by everything and everyone, and I wanted to make her feel better, safe, and happy.

Was that even a problem? If I got attached to her? She was mine, and she didn't block me from having sex with other women.

I could still fuck every hot woman that I wanted and have her always ready for me. What if I could get more women like her? Perhaps that was an even better idea than my initial plan.

To have attractive women like Zoe, all ready and willing whenever I wanted. To create a harem of gorgeous and horny women, always ready to please me.

I stumbled, barely stopping myself from falling, as I was completely lost in my thoughts. With Zoe still holding my hand, I looked around--we were already deeper in the city. The road we walked on seemed like a main one.

There were a few stalls around us, selling food, clothes, and all sorts of tools. Nothing around indicated they had electronics. I shifted my eyes to the houses. They seemed to be built from bricks, all of them two-story, and looked rather well-maintained.

I noticed a stall where a woman caught my attention. She was around thirty--not extremely attractive, but definitely above average, especially compared to the crowd around. She was a little chubby and might have looked even better if she lost some weight. But her extra weight gave her a cute look and was clearly visible in her figure. She had massive tits, covered by a colorful shirt with a large cleavage.

I pulled Zoe toward the stall where the clothes were displayed.

"Good evening, how can I help you?" the woman asked immediately with a smile as I stopped by the stall.

"Hey," I answered, smiling. "I'm looking for a place to sleep. Could you suggest something?" I glanced at her cleavage, not caring if she noticed. Her tits were really big and exposed in a way that made it clear she was showing them off on purpose--probably to grab customers' attention and flirt with them. She wanted people to look, so I wasn't going to pretend I wasn't doing it.

"There are two taverns here," she said, leaning forward and resting her hands on the table in front of her, which did amazing things to her tits. She exposed more of her skin, and because she held her hands close, she pushed them together even more toward me.

I was lost in the enticing view.

"The first one is along this street on the left," she continued.

I reluctantly pulled my gaze back to her face and noticed a smirk there as she pointed forward along the street.

"It's Mark's Inn. There's a mug on the sign," she added. I frowned, unhappy that Mark wouldn't fall victim to my class.

"That's a place for wealthier visitors. The second option is for less..." The woman straightened her back, depriving me of the view of her tits as she frowned. "Demanding guests."

"Where's the second one?" I asked. Even if we would get some money, it might be better to choose the cheaper option.

The clerk glanced at Zoe but shifted her eyes back to me.

"You follow this road, then turn right. The sign has a mug pierced by a sword. It'll be on the right side," she said, pointing toward one of the roads branching from the main street.

"How much does it cost to stay in those places?" I asked, smiling. It was better to learn the normal price to avoid being scammed by the owners.

"Mark charges five ryns for a night. I don't know about the cheaper one--I've never been there."

I nodded. Without understanding their monetary system, I had no idea if five ryns was a lot or not.

"Is there a place where I can look for a job?" I asked. It was getting late today, so I wouldn't earn anything to pay for the night, but I could try to find something to earn money for future nights. I didn't want a normal all-day job, but I had to consider it, at least at the beginning, to get some money to start.

"You can go to the posting hall, it's a little bit past Mark's Inn--just a few buildings down. Look for a sign with a sword and a book."

I took another glance at her cleavage, wondering if I should seduce her to have a place to sleep. I raised my eyes back to her face and smiled.

"Thanks. I'm Tobias," I said, reaching out my hand.

"Samara," she replied and squeezed my hand gently.

"Samara," I repeated. "A name as striking as the woman it belongs to."

Her plump lips curved into a smile.

I spoke before she even had a chance to answer. "I don't have any money right now, but I should get some soon. Do you know anyone who would host me on credit in their bed?" I asked, hoping she would be that person.

Samara observed me for a brief moment, thinking, but then her eyes shifted to Zoe. "Only you, or your... friend too?" she asked.

"Both of us could show our gratitude for the hospitality," I answered.

She fixed her eyes on me but I noticed her gaze shifting lower, checking me out in silence.

An older woman approached Samara's stall and started to look through the clothes on display.

"I'm closing in an hour. Come back then, and maybe I will help you," Samara said before turning to the new customer.

I moved away from the stall, following further into the city along the main road. There was a chance I had found a place to sleep for free. More importantly, I could fulfill another of my fantasies--to have a threesome.

Zoe grabbed my hand again. "It's amazing!" she exclaimed.

I squeezed her hand, smiling. "We have an hour, let's go check this posting hall to see if they have anything interesting to offer," I said.

Zoe nodded without answering, too occupied with observing the people around us. The crowd was getting thinner, but still, a lot of people wandered around the street. I headed forward, while still holding Zoe's hand. She followed me silently as we walked, listening to the bustle of the city.

I noticed a sign with a mug on it--Mark's Inn. It was full of people, it was pretty late, and it seemed like many of them had already finished their day and grabbed something to drink.

We moved past it, walking further. It didn't take us long before we reached a place with a sign of a book and sword.

"It's here," I said, pulling Zoe toward the entrance.

We entered a brightly lit room that was mostly empty. On the walls to the left and right were cabinets, in which behind a glass were displayed cards. At the far end of the room, behind a desk, sat a fat, older man.

I let go of Zoe's hand and moved to look through the cards, which were divided into different display cases. The first one seemed to contain rather general announcements--rentals, missing items or people, and offers to buy or sell items.

I noticed that Zoe was looking at the cards on the other side of the room. I assumed she could read, which wasn't obvious after so many years spent in the wild. I could read too, which surprised me a little, because the letters here were different. Yet, when I looked at them, I just knew how they sounded and how to connect them into words, even though I had never learned them. That must have been due to Gemma's spells.

I decided to ask the man who was busy writing something, rather than look through the cards blindly.

"Good evening," I greeted.

"Good evening," he answered without looking at me.

"Could you tell me where I can find some job announcements?" I asked, regretting that he wasn't a woman. That would have made things easier. He sighed theatrically but set his pen aside. At least it looked like a pen, though it had small glowing symbols on the side, which I assumed were magical enhancements enabling him to write.

"The notices are organized into sections," the man explained, gesturing toward the wall. "On the left, you'll find announcements from all federations. The ones on the right are local. The first section is for missions, the second is for job postings, the third has city announcements, and the fourth is for general notices."

"Thank you," I said, exaggeratedly polite, and turned toward the cards with local missions. There were only four here. I could tell there were many more on the other side, but if those were global announcements, they would require travel and were probably more difficult, given they looked for help across a wider area.

I focused on the local missions, the first one was about transporting a package to another city. According to the description, the package was in this building, and to complete this mission, I would need to transport it to the posting hall in Ortas City. The next two missions involved catching bandits. The fourth was about a monster that was killing farmers's animals near the city.

I wasn't going to hunt bandits--it was too dangerous and too easy to make enemies. The quest to kill the monster wasn't convincing either. It might just be a wild animal, which Zoe could kill, but if it was something more dangerous, it could end up badly.

That left only the quest to transport a package. I could earn something and get to a new city where there might be more missions.

The reward was thirty ryns--enough for three nights in the better tavern for Zoe and me, though it didn't account for food. Not a lot, but at least it was something. I wasn't sure how far away Ortas City was. With a sigh, not really happy about that, I walked back to the man behind the desk.

"I'm interested in the mission of transporting a package to Ortas. How far away is this city?" I asked.

"Three days," the man answered, still busy writing.

It didn't seem like a lot of money for a three-day trip, but there weren't many missions here, and I didn't want to take a normal job. There might be better opportunities in Ortas.

"I will transport the package," I said.

The man lifted his eyes to me. "You need to pay one hundred ryns as a deposit, returned at the place of delivery."

I stared at him for a moment without answering. Of course. Why would they give me a package without any security?

"I'll pass, then," I said.

The man snorted and resumed his work.

I moved toward the exit, glancing at the cabinets with job cards on my way out, but I decided not to check them. For now, I'd try to handle everything without relying on those jobs.

Chapter 19

We left the building of the posting hall, Zoe followed just behind me. Stopping outside, I looked around at the people walking along the streets. With every passing minute, there were fewer of them, as it was getting darker.

"Is everything alright?" Zoe asked. I glanced at her standing by my side. She had a worried expression on her face.

I smiled softly. "Yeah, we need money, but we can't get them here. We should try to sleep at Samara's place. If that doesn't work out, we'll need to sleep in the forest, I think."

Zoe grabbed the hem of her skirt and hiked it up, putting her hand under it. I looked at her with a frown, but she quickly pulled her hand back, holding a pouch.

"Here," Zoe said, pushing it into my hands.

I felt something that seemed like coins in the pouch. I glanced at Zoe and then down at her skirt.

"First of all, how did you hold it there?" I asked, imagining how she could keep something like that between her legs.

"With my tail," she replied simply.

Right. With her tail. My imagination went in a very different direction.

"Where did you get this from?" I asked. She had traveled all the way here naked--there was no way she could have hidden it from me.

"I stole it," she announced proudly. I glanced around quickly. She had said it way too loudly, but fortunately, no one was close enough to hear.

"Keep it down," I commanded. The smile vanished from her face, replaced by a frown.

"I'm sorry. I thought we needed money, so I wanted to--" I interrupted her with a kiss, pulling her body against mine and grabbing her ass. She kissed me back as we stood there in the open. When I stopped our kiss, I moved my lips to her ear.

"Good job, Zoe. Just don't brag about it so loudly in public," I whispered and nibbled on her ear. I stepped back from her. She nodded but had a wide smile on her cute face. She glanced around and then moved closer to me. She grabbed my head to pull me down into another kiss. She pushed her tongue into my mouth and kissed me passionately.

I stopped the kiss and tousled her hair.

Zoe shivered, as she closed her eyes, licking her pink lips.

I looked around checking if anyone was nearby, but everyone was at a safe distance, paying no attention to us.

After opening the pouch I spilled the coins into my hand. They looked like they were made of silver, though I wasn't a specialist in metals. They were a little smaller than coins in my old world. In the center of each was the number one on a shield. Around it were strange symbols I couldn't recognize. The same pattern was on both sides.

All the coins were singles--sixteen ryns in total. I wasn't sure how she had stolen them, but she had provided us with enough for a room at the tavern, in case I couldn't convince Samara to take us in. Fortunately, no one had caught Zoe stealing. That could have caused a lot of problems.

"Is it enough for the deposit?" Zoe asked. When I was talking with the man earlier, she had been looking at the cards, but it seemed she had been listening too.

"No," I replied. Zoe glanced around us, then stepped as close to me as possible, pressing her chest against mine. She stood on tiptoes so her lips were next to my ear.

"I have two more," she whispered, licked my ear, and moved back.

She looked around as I stood there dumbfounded. When had she even stolen that money? She had been by my side the entire time, holding my hand, and I hadn't noticed anything. I reached my hand to her, indicating for her to pass them to me.

She glanced around and reached under her skirt, pulling out two more pouches.

"How did you even do that?" I asked, checking them. In the first one, I found eleven singles, and in the second, there were four coins--two tens and two ones. Together, we had forty-nine ryns.

Zoe shrugged. "People weren't paying attention."

I shook my head. Suddenly, we had three or four nights of stay at the tavern, probably with food included. I put all the money into the largest pouch, and passed it back to Zoe.

"Hide it," I said.

Zoe grabbed the pouch and put it under her skirt.

Hugging her tightly, I pressed my lips to hers. After a few long kisses, I shifted my lips to her ear.

"Good girl," I whispered.

She pressed her slim body against my chest, moaning softly.

"Don't steal anymore. We have enough, and it's better not to risk getting caught," I whispered and stepped back. I didn't want to be a bandit or a criminal. I doubted that going back and returning the money was a good idea, and we really needed them, but I preferred to earn them fairly in the future. Yet, I didn't want to rebuke her as that would probably end up with her crying again and I hoped that she would listen to me, and stop stealing.

Zoe stared at me with slightly parted lips and her eyes a darker shade of pink. I could tell she was getting aroused.

I chuckled. "First, let's go back to Samara. Even if we have money now, we can save it."

Zoe nodded as I grabbed her hand, and we headed toward the stall where we had spoken with Samara earlier.

It probably hadn't been an hour yet, but I had no idea what else to do, and we didn't have anything to measure time, which could make us late. As we approached the stall, Samara was talking with another woman, and it seemed she was finishing a transaction with her.

When the client left, Samara looked at me. "Already back?" she asked, smiling.

"I couldn't wait to see you again," I replied.

Samara giggled, then looked around the street, quickly focusing back at me.

"It's late. I don't think anyone else will come. I could use some help packing all this," she said, waving over the products on display.

"Sure," I answered.

Samara pulled wooden crates from under the table and passed them to me, watching me carefully. For a brief moment, her eyes flicked toward Zoe. I didn't think much of it and began packing the clothes under her direction.

It turned out that Samara lived in the building directly behind the stall.

As Samara and Zoe packed the clothes into crates, I carried them to her place, leaving them by the entrance, where more crates full of clothes were already stacked. She really had a lot of goods. As I was walking back and forth, Samara and Zoe were talking. But they fell silent every time I got close.

"Thank you," Samara said after I had placed the last crate by her door.

"No problem."

"Did you find a place for the night?" she asked.

"Not yet," I answered, looking at her with hope.

"If you want, you can sleep here. As a thank-you for helping," she offered.

"You're a lifesaver," I said.

"But... I only have one bed. If that's not a problem for you," she added with a soft blush, glancing between me and Zoe.

"At least we wouldn't be cold," I said, winking. It sounded lame, but Samara smiled softly. Maybe my passive skills were stronger than I thought.

Samara was cute--not as gorgeous as Zoe, but much better looking than Amelia. She also had more curves than either of them, resulting in larger tits and a fuller ass, which I had caught several glances of while helping her pack.

"Come in," Samara invited us, leading us inside. "Are you hungry?"

"Very. I'd gladly try something you've cooked," I said.

She looked at me and nodded.

I sat down in one of four chairs by the table. Zoe joined on one next to me, putting her hand on my thigh.

Samara heated up a pot on the counter.

"Do you run the stall yourself?" I asked, curious about how a relatively young woman managed a stall that seemed to do well.

"Yes," she answered while stirring the pot.

"You must be really talented and skilled," I said. Samara glanced at me, surprised.

"It seems like you are managing well, and your stall is prospering. You must be a great seller and take care of so many other things," I explained. After having to run my own company for years, I knew there was always more work than it seemed for people from the outside.

Samara didn't just sell clothes. She needed to take care of finances, taxes, negotiate with clients, find out what was in demand, discover the newest fashions, look for the best quality products, and find contacts looking for new occasions. A lot of work outside of just standing on the street and selling clothes.

Samara blushed, smiling. "Thank you."

"Are you from here?" I asked.

"No, I was born east of here. My parents are farmers."

"You didn't want to follow in their footsteps?"

"No. I always wanted to live in a big city. Where you can do different things and meet new people often," she said, looking at me over her shoulder.