The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!

"A pleasure Captain Redmane. We look forward to doing business with you again in the future." Ingrid spat into her palm to shake the hand of the large beast man who did the same, trading a small key in the process.

The size appeared to match the keyhole of the antimagic collar. At least Kanae knew there was a way to escape. His next problem was how to nab it.

Both of Ingrid's men gagged Kanae's mouth again and shoved him into a large crate. The woman waved goodbye with a smirk just as the lid was nailed shut. He committed her face to memory to get back at after escaping.

Despite being inside the box, Kanae could hear and guess everything that was going on. He was lifted onto a cart that transported him back out where the sound of the ocean was loudest. A brief tinge of fear of being possibly tossed into the waters entered his mind, unable to escape as the crate sank and waters slowly seeped in. Thankfully, no sane man would toss over fifty million gold just like that.

A succubus must be highly sought after if they thought one would earn all that wealth back.

"I heard the captain bought another lass," someone outside said.

"Idiot! Don't talk so loud," a second man scolded his companion. "If port guards find out we're running a brothel, our heads will roll."

Another chimed in, "Of all the ports in the kingdom, we're stuck at the one where prostitution is outlawed…"

Their heavy grunting followed as the crate was lifted again. Kanae jostled back and forth until he was finally put down. The teeth of a crowbar pried open the lid, and he was met with half a dozen curious and terrified gazes from sailors.

"You… brought something like this onto the ship, Cap?"

"A s-succubus?"

"I… I think I'm in love…"

"This here is our money cow." Captain Redmane kicked the crate sending Kanae tumbling out onto the deck of a ship.

Upon getting up, he realized that this wasn't an ordinary ship. It was a massive war galleon. Canons lined the edge of the deck. The many sailors manning the different parts of the ship were all rugged miscreants with cutlasses at their waist. But between their legs, bulging from underneath the pants…

Kanae was taken below deck where the illusion of a war vessel shattered instantly. Past the second deck where much of the cargo was held, they descended to a floor lit up by chandeliers, furnished with red carpet, and smelled of flowers. The hallway had many doors, evenly spaced out on either side.

Some people peeked out of their rooms, captured women whose eyes were much more lifeless than the ones in the cage at the auction. They all had collars around their necks.

Redmane opened one door and pushed Kanae into it. The room, illuminated by a candle by the nightstand, had a bed and hole in the ground at a corner to presumably relieve oneself in, feeling more like a prison than anything.

"You get your first customers soon, succubus. Look forward to it." The captain shut the door, leaving Kanae alone.

"Great." Kanae sighed. "Being captured seems like this world's running gag to play on me. If I'm out at sea, how am I supposed to escape?"

Especially with this collar.

No amount of pulling or ripping so much as left a wrinkle even though it seemed to be made of leather.

"Come on, baby—"

"Let go!"

There was a huge commotion going on in the adjacent room.

Kanae went for the door and was surprised that the doorknob turned. Redmane sure was confident that they wouldn't try to escape or rebel, but against that many sailors in a ship this big… the women were likely outnumbered.

Outside, several worried women were by the door where the scuffle was coming from. They backed away as Kanae emerged from his room.

"What's going on?" he asked.

No one answered. Instead, they quietly returned to their rooms.

Kanae threw open the door to a sailor, pinning a woman with cocoa-tinted skin and pointed ears who was undeniably a dark elf to the bed.

"What's a wench doing out of her— Wait… you're a succubus?" the sailor stammered.

The elf seized the distraction to knee him in the groin, causing him to roll to the ground and squeal.

"You… got some nerve, bitch." He pulled out his cutlass.

Kanae casted aside his fear and hesitation to step between them. "You're going to have to get through me, and I don't think Captain Redmane will be happy about you laying your hands on a fifty million gold investment."

The sailor cursed under his breath and scurried out of the room. When Kanae turned to check if the dark elf was okay, she put her guard up around him, too.

"Right… I'm a succubus. I won't bother you," Kanae said, shoulders slumping as he began to walk away.

The elf sighed. "Wait. My bad… You may be a succubus, but it doesn't change the fact that you helped me. We're both stuck in the same situation anyway. I'm Renya. You?"

"Kanae. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but this isn't exactly the best circumstance. Can you tell me what the hell's going on here?" he asked.

Renya went to peek up and down the hallway to check if the coast was clear, then shut the door behind her. Curly platinum hair draped down her shoulders. The simple purple robe brought out a slender, yet curvaceous figure. 

"We're whores, and not by choice if you haven't figured that out yet. This mercenary ship that Redmane commands? It's a front for a brothel. Ortesians who can't get their dicks wet come here to get their rocks off," she explained.

The guard-captain back in Port Kandis mentioned something about this. Prostitution was illegal in the empire called Ortesia, but legal in places where Kanae had come from. Due to a political agreement, both powers settled on also outlawing prostitution at the port. And so, that resulted in illegal brothel operations and sex slave trade operating out in sea.

"S-So how many people do you usually end up having sex with in a day?" Kanae gulped, failing hard to hide his excitement.

"Anywhere between five to ten… I bet this is a dream come true for a succubus, isn't it?" Renya raised a brow.

"No! I'm just preparing myself for what to expect." He cleared his throat.

Wouldn't a brothel be the best place to gain as much experience as possible? Having sex with maybe five to ten people a day, used like some sex toy for the pleasure of another…

"By the way, has anyone ever tried to escape?" Kanae asked.

"Some, but if we misbehave or act out of line, Redmane sells us to another ship. At least here, he gives us what we want if we earn enough to make him happy." Renya gestured to the much more furnished room which Kanae only now realized had a couch, desk, books, and some carpet. Even the elf wore somewhat fine clothing, including jewelry that adorned her pointed ears.

Comfortable enough to not want to escape. There has to be a way. If Kanae was going to escape, it needed to start with getting this damn collar off.

Redmane suddenly opened the door on them.

"Nice little chat?" He grinned.

"Aside from all the customers with bad breath you make me fuck, meeting a pretty succubus is a nice change of pace," Renya fired back.

"P-Pretty?" Kanae blushed.

Being complimented as a girl was still so new that it caught him by surprise. No one had ever said anything nice when he was a guy.

"You can talk later. The succubus has her first customer. Get going." Redmane gestured out the door.

First customer?

Kanae's heart was about to leap out of his ribcage from beating so hard. It would be his first time with a real man instead of mushrooms after having his chance with the minotaur robbed. To feel the thick, throbbing meat of another man again excited him.

A young, timid human man waited in the room, sitting at the foot of the bed with both fists clenched on top of his knees. Neatly combed over blonde hair and finely embroidered clothes was evidence to him being a wealthy individual.

"H-Hi…" Kanae greeted bashfully.

"H-Hello, nice to meet you. I'm— " The man stopped short of introducing himself, then gave what sounded like a hastily made-up name. "I'm Brix! I can't believe I'm meeting a succubus. I hear so much about how… attractive and dangerous your race can be, but… I didn't expect you to be so beautiful."

"Beautiful…?" 

Now his face was heating up. Who knew that a compliment, even from strangers, could do so much damage to him. 

Breathing heavily with anticipation, Kanae stood in front of the man named Brix.

"You paid for me, so… Please, do with me however you like," Kanae said.