After defeating the first sentry, Rei and his party continued deeper into the cave.
Naturally, they encountered several more groups of guards along the way, but it was clear none of them had any inkling that an attack was imminent. One after another, they were effortlessly cut down.
Of course, in terms of sheer skill, Rei's group was already overwhelmingly superior. Add to that the guards' complete lack of vigilance, and it was a truly fatal combination.
Those who had been speaking in a manner that didn't offend Elena and the others were lucky to escape with nothing more than unconsciousness. At worst, they suffered a broken bone or two. However, those who had been casually discussing wanting to visit Mejougo themselves, or bragging about which prostitute felt best in bed, were beaten half to death.
Had they been talking in ignorance about Mejougo and the prostitutes, Elena and the others might have felt somewhat offended but would have left it at that. Yet the men Elena's group brutalized had spoken with full knowledge of the prostitutes' circumstances—women dragged to this place by force, made to desire prostitution through Slave Collars, their bodies reduced to commodities. Knowing all of that, they had still spoken so callously.
(Come to think of it, the Black Crystal has already been destroyed... I wonder what's happening over there right now?)
As he advanced through the cave, Rei found himself pondering that question.
The Slave Collars had been used to make women abducted from various lands want to become prostitutes. It was an effect that could only be called brainwashing, and it was made possible solely because the Black Crystal existed. But since Rei had destroyed it, the crystal was no more. If that was the case, then what was happening in Mejougo at this very moment?
(Hopefully, it hasn't turned into too terrible a situation.)
With that thought, Rei pressed on through the cave.
"Don't screw with me! Why the hell should I have to work as a prostitute?!"
"Uwah! W-wait, sto—stop it!"
In Mejougo, at a brothel situated on the outer edge of the district, a prostitute had mounted the man who ran the establishment and was unleashing her fists with abandon. Her knuckles were already stained bright red with blood spraying from his face.
He had been trying to talk her down, to make her behave—but a devastating blow finally connected with his face, and he lost consciousness then and there.
The woman, having been roused from what was close to sleep, was dressed quite scantily. It was summer, after all. Depending on the observer, her appearance might even be more arousing than an actual prostitute's outfit. For an ordinary man, being pinned down by a woman dressed like that would have been a welcome fantasy.
But that was only if the woman in question were a willing prostitute—not an enraged former D-Rank Adventurer.
"Haa, haa, haa..."
Under normal circumstances, she would still have been asleep, or at most just stirring awake. The only reason she had risen earlier than usual was the commotion erupting across Mejougo.
Fortunately, this brothel sat on the outer fringe of the district, so it was completely untouched by the turmoil raging in the center. Even so, the din echoing through the streets was loud enough to rouse anyone, and that was why she had woken earlier than planned.
Given their line of work—selling their bodies to men—the women had to take meticulous care of their skin, a crucial element of their appeal. That was precisely why they had gotten up grumbling with dissatisfaction... only to suddenly find the collars around their necks falling away.
To be precise, it was more accurate to say the collars crumbled into a fine black powder.
They had been accessories fitting for a prostitute to wear, but their true nature was that of Slave Collars. And when a Slave Collar broke, the person wearing it naturally regained her freedom.
Worst of all, the memories from while they had worn the collars remained seared into the women's minds. Every moment of letting someone they didn't love—someone they would normally feel nothing but revulsion toward—have his way with their bodies.
Of course, among the customers, there had been gentlemen, and some had even been to the women's tastes. But even so... there was no way they could forget that they had surrendered their bodies without any will of their own.
The instant those memories came rushing back, screams of despair tore from the women's throats.
Naturally. Women who had lovers. Women who had someone they cherished. Married women. Women who had never been with a man before. All of them had just recalled everything they had done while working as prostitutes.
No— saying they "regained their memories" wasn't quite right. While wearing the collars, they had been entirely different people, or rather, they had existed in a state of semi-brainwashing.
In any case, with the prostitutes all screaming in unison, it was no wonder the man managing the brothel had panicked.
As a member of Jaya, if any harm befell the prostitutes under his watch, he would face certain punishment. Frantic to calm the women down, he had reached for the first one he could—and that had been a former D-Rank Adventurer.
That woman had also been screaming in despair at first. But the moment the man laid a hand on her, fury had overtaken everything else.
To his misfortune, he had taken a particular liking to this woman and had exploited his position as the brothel manager to have her repeatedly. Just last night, in fact, he had savored her body to his heart's content.
What happened when a D-Rank Adventurer with those memories freshly restored was touched by the man who had used her without a shred of regard for her will? The scene before him was the answer.
Yet even with the manager lying bloodied and unconscious on the floor, the other women paid him no mind whatsoever. It was as if they believed that by screaming, they might somehow purge the wretched memories burning inside them.
"Settle down!"
The woman with bloodied fists barked sharply at the others.
Even at her command, some continued to wail. Still, the vast majority fell silent as if jolted back to their senses by the adventurer's voice.
"Settle down."
She repeated the words. But this time, unlike before, there was a softness in her tone that seemed to embrace anyone who heard it. That was likely what finally quelled the women's frenzy.
"Just to confirm—you were all brought here by force, fitted with Slave Collars... or whatever you want to call them, and forced into prostitution against your will. That's correct, isn't it?"
She glanced at the black powder pooled on the floor as she asked. The women, having come back to themselves, each nodded.
Every one of them nodded differently. Some with hatred, some with fury, others with despair or sorrow—and a host of other emotions playing across their faces as they did.
The woman who had spoken first continued, her voice trembling with unsurpassed anger.
"The fact that we've come back to our senses means something must have happened to Jaya. That much is certain."
Carrying the memories of their time as prostitutes was the ultimate humiliation. But at the same time, they also understood their current situation—that they were in Mejougo, an entertainment district within the nation of Reblurina, effectively controlled by an underground organization called Jaya.
...The fact that they had learned this through pillow talk was something they absolutely could not stomach.
"R-right. A slave necklace just suddenly breaking like that... you'd have to be crazy to think that's normal," one of the women who had managed to compose herself chimed in. Perhaps she knew a thing or two about Magic Items, or perhaps she had also picked it up from pillow talk.
"B-but... sniff... wh-what do we do? I don't want to stay here, but..."
At the words of a woman who still hadn't fully stopped crying, the adventurer paused to think before speaking.
"I'm leaving. Staying here any longer just means getting fitted with a new Slave Collar and being forced right back into it."
"Hey, what are you going to do if you get caught!? You'll have horrible things happen to you! Don't drag the rest of us into this!"
Another woman cried out in protest, and several others who lacked confidence in their physical abilities murmured in agreement.
But the adventurer paid their objections no mind.
"Listen. Nobody told you to follow me. Not once. If you want to stay, then stay. I just refuse to stick around somewhere I might be forced back into prostitution, so I'm leaving. That's all there is to it."
Silence fell.
The women went dead quiet. They had naturally assumed the adventurer would lead them to safety. But she had flatly declared she would leave behind anyone who didn't like it.
Even during her time as a prostitute under a fabricated personality, they had interacted with her enough that they never expected to hear something so blunt.
"Then I—"
The adventurer began preparing to head outside, but her movements stopped short.
A scream had echoed in from the street outside. She couldn't tell what kind of scream it was, but there was no mistaking that something had happened.
"...Get away from the center of the district! This disturbance is happening in the heart of Mejougo! If you distance yourselves from there, you'll be fine! Also, any women whose collars came off, gather over here! We're preparing to leave Mejougo right now!"
A voice carried in from outside.
A trap? The thought crossed the adventurer's mind for a split second. But given the current situation, it was entirely possible that many of the countless women in Mejougo—perhaps all of them—had just been freed from their Slave Collars. If that were true, could this be the perfect chance?
"You all heard that voice. I'm going. Figure out what you need to do, then act on it."
With nothing more than that, she walked out of the brothel, making it clear she was done listening to complaints.
The moment the adventurer left, the other women sprang into action. Some immediately chased after her. Others remained frozen, too afraid to step outside. A few began searching the brothel for anything they could use.
What saved the women was the absence of the bodyguards who would normally have been stationed at the brothel. Because Set was still on a rampage, anyone with even a shred of combat ability had been dragged away to deal with him. Had any bodyguards remained at this brothel, a fight would have been inevitable. And in a confrontation between armed guards and women who, despite being adventurers, had neither weapons nor Armor, the outcome would have been painfully obvious. Not to mention, very few among the women could even be counted as combat-capable.
In that sense, the timing could not have been more perfect.
"Hey, are you seriously leaving me behind!? You're strong—take care of me, will you!?"
Several women shouted after the adventurer as she strode away, but she didn't so much as glance back.
Seeing her indifference, the rest realized she truly would abandon them if they didn't move. They scrambled out of the brothel.
What greeted them outside was a sea of women just like themselves. Some had somehow managed to find proper clothes, but the majority were still in sleepwear or prostitute outfits—though there wasn't much difference between the two.
One look was all it took to understand exactly who these women were—and where they were headed.
Naturally, they streamed toward the source of the voice.
With their collars suddenly gone and their minds still half in turmoil, it was only natural for someone to think, If others are going, I should too. As that crowd swelled, still more followed in its wake.
The result was that a tremendous number of prostitutes in Mejougo ended up flocking to the Resistance—far more than the Resistance had ever anticipated. Though caught off guard by the sheer numbers, they had no choice but to respond; as the Resistance, they couldn't simply turn the women away.
If there was a silver lining for them, it was that a fair number of the women were former adventurers, providing at least some replenishment to their combat power.