I Became a Gallery Manager in Another World

Chapter 100: Exclusive Consort Vs. Lewd Consort (4)

“Can you make condoms with this material?”

“Co…condom?!? If, if, if… you mean…condoms…for…that…are you talking about using them for sex?”

“Are there other condoms besides the ones used for sex?”

“Uh…what?!”

Evelyn’s question made Poporing step back as she answered.

“That…that…I…haven’t…thought about…that…”

“You make all sorts of sex toys but never thought about condoms?”

“Wha, what are you talking about!! That…that’s not a sex toy!! It’s…unfair!!”

Poporing, with her mouth agape, clenched her fist tightly.

“It, it’s originally a massage device!! It’s a tool made for massaging!! People just use it weirdly!!! I, I don’t sell sex toys!”

As a craftswoman, she had never once made a ‘magic tool’ for such lewd purposes, not even once until now.

Be it ‘vibrating massage devices,’ ‘vibrators,’ or ‘ultra-precision suction devices’!

It was only after making them that she realized they were being used far more for ‘those purposes’ than their original intended use…

But she couldn’t stop selling them because too much development cost had gone into them.

‘..And…it’s not the product’s fault!’

Yes, the bad thing wasn’t the product but the people.

Even with the same sword, if it’s in the hands of a hero, it could become a holy sword, and in the hands of a demon king, it could become a demonic sword!

The innocent pink-haired customer who bought the ‘vibrating massage machine’ definitely wouldn’t use it for lewd purposes, unlike the blonde customer in front of her!

“Hmph! Then why did you add waterproof functionality?”

“Uh?!…I, it might sound like an excuse but…that…that’s because…I sweat a lot…It’s not really made for that purpose…”

“Alright, let’s assume that’s the case. So, can you make it or not?”

“Uh…uh…”

Obviously, she could make it.

Being stuck in such a rundown shop was just bad luck; based on her skills alone, Poporing was confident she ranked among the top of her generation of magic scholars.

But…

“I…I usually don’t…take…requests for…such…lewd…items…”

“Didn’t you need money?”

─Gurgle!!

Just then, Poporing’s stomach loudly rumbled.

“Sniff…sniff…”

Many claimed they would rather starve than compromise their dignity, but from Poporing’s perspective, that was only because they weren’t hungry enough.

When it really came down to starving, she just wanted to put anything in her stomach.

“Sniff…sniff…I…need…it…”

“Then make it. I’ll pay you generously.”

“Yes…sniff…sniff…I’m sorry but…then…how big…?”

“As big as possible.”

“…Yes?”

“Make it big… the small ones don’t fit.”

“Just saying ‘big’ is difficult… Could you…maybe…give a rough idea…how much…”

Swish─

At Poporing’s question, Evelyn extended her forearm.

“…?”

What did showing her forearm mean when asked about size?

Was it some joke Poporing, as someone who might be oblivious, couldn’t grasp?

Poporing racked her brain but couldn’t understand.

‘Sniff…. How did my life come to this…’

As a child, she imagined dating a lot once she became an adult…

But she never imagined she’d end up living a life where she couldn’t even properly speak to a man, let alone date.

“Sniff…I’m sorry…I don’t…understand what you mean…”

“No, just this big.”

“…..Yes?”

Poporing, despite her demon race’s characteristic dark skin, blushed visibly as she alternated her gaze between Evelyn’s forearm and Ian’s face.

“It, it can’t be…you’re saying…there are people…as big as…an arm? That doesn’t seem like…a joke…ugh!”

“Why do you keep mumbling to yourself? Can’t make it?”

“Sniff!…I’m sorry…just…panicked…It seems…possible to make it…”

“How long will it take?”

“…Well…to re-extract the material…and make a prototype…it’ll cost quite…a bit…Of course, you just bought one…but that’s just enough to cover the overdue rent…so, if you’re officially requesting it…excluding the cost of the goods…research fees…will be necessary…”

“Stop, just tell me how much you need.”

“Just a moment…!!”

Calculations whirred in Poporing’s head.

“Roughly…300,000 Eris…”

“300,000?”

“No, I mean…about 270,000 Eris should do it…”

In reality, even 300,000 Eris was tight, but she lowered the price as much as possible, fearing Evelyn might cancel the request.

Swoosh-!!

Then, four 100,000 Eris bills were drawn from Evelyn’s wallet.

“400,000 Eris, as an advance. Have it ready by the next time I come.”

“Yes…Yes! I’ll do my best!!”

Poporing clutched the bills in both hands and bowed deeply at a right angle.

---

The room, shielded from the window with thick curtains, was filled with light, making it hard to believe it was dawn.

This was the result of gathering all the electric lights and candles used by the Blackdahlia family and cramming them into one place.

“…Damn bitch.”

Despite the brightness that left no shadows in the room, its owner, ‘Estelle Blackdahlia’, emitted an infinitely dark and gloomy aura, as black as her hair color.

“Die…Delphicia….Die…just die…”

Estelle incessantly bit her nails, spewing negative emotions.

She had bitten her nails so much that it was more like she was chewing raw flesh than nails.

Crunch- Crunch-

Each time she bit her nails, blood flowed from her swollen fingers, bringing a sharp pain, but Estelle showed no sign of stopping.

“Die…die…sniff…please, die…Delphicia…damn bitch…”

With each surge of pain, she bit her hands more fiercely, pouring curses on Delphicia.

However….

Ssshh- Ssshhh─

“Die…die…please…sleep……….”

No matter how much she tried to fend off sleep with bright light and pain, her eyelids grew too heavy.

“……!?…Haah!…Ah!…Ah..sniff…No!!”

She had intended to close her eyes for just a moment, but she fell asleep.

“Sniff…!Can’t…sleep….Huhuhu…can’t sleep…please..sniff…if I sleep……ah..ahh! Don’t sleep!!…..Don’t sleep…huhuhu…please..”

Estelle, muffling her sobs, picked up a pair of pliers with trembling hands.

“Ah…ah…ah…sniff…sniff!!”

Scary.

Painful.

Torturous.

Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.

Tears streamed down Estelle’s cheeks as she imagined the pain that was to come.

Still, it had to be done.

“Haah…sniff…huh!…huh!!”

Estelle stuffed a cloth into her mouth to prevent any screams from escaping and grasped a nail with the pliers.

Crackle-! Crackle-!!

“…uhh!!!…uhh!!!”

Estelle’s eyes widened in agony.

Even with the cloth stuffed in her mouth, her teeth felt like they would shatter from the pain.

Pulling it out quickly would have lessened the pain, but Estelle slowly pulled on the nail as much as possible.

“Uhh..!!…uhh!!..huh!”

This act of pulling out a nail was not an end in itself but to wake herself up with pain.

Crackle—! Clang-!

“…uhh!!”

As Estelle pulled out the nail, the pliers dropped to the floor.

She wanted to scream from the pain, but she couldn’t in case her sister Frederica heard her.

She had ordered her to stay away, but…

The kind-hearted Maid Frederica would surely be nearby, finding any excuse to check on her.

“Sniff…! Haah…! Haah…haah….”

Still, pulling out a live nail allowed her to stave off the onslaught of sleep for a moment.

But she couldn’t be relieved yet.

Sleepiness.

Along with hunger and sexual desire, it was one of the three basic human desires.

The moment she let her guard down, she would fall asleep.

Crawling to the medicine bottle, Estelle grabbed a handful of stimulants and gulped them down with coffee.

Crunch- Gulp- Gulp-

Coffee, not fully swallowed, ran down Estelle’s white neck, mixing with tears.

Her head felt foggy.

She didn’t know how many days it had passed since she last slept.

Despite consuming a near-lethal dose of stimulants and drinking coffee, she felt she was reaching her limit.

‘I…should have…hurt…more…’

She had to hurt Delphicia by any means necessary.

Then she wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.

No…

That wasn’t true.

It was just an excuse.

If she hadn’t thought of confessing my feelings to Ian…

If she hadn’t relied on Ian’s kindness…

It was her weakness that hurt everyone.

“Ugh…?!”

Remembering how she hurt Ian, nausea surged up again.

“Ugh…ack…ugh…ugh!”

What was inside spilled onto her legs, but fortunately, it was mostly just stimulants and coffee.

“Sniff…! Ha…huh…haah…sniff…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…”

Unbearable self-loathing filled Estelle.

After hearing from Sister Frederica that Ian was safe, she felt relieved.

Estelle, who had already hurt Ian once and then hurt him again.

Estelle, who should suffer more than anyone else.

Estelle, who must atone for her sins.

Estelle, who had no right to feel relief.

Yet, she felt relieved.

She couldn’t even make the excuse that she didn’t know this would happen.

Hadn’t she already known that everyone connected to her ended up unhappy?

“…Ha…haah…ha…ha..haha!…I’m…sorry for being born…sorry for living…sorry I can’t die…sniff…huh…ahh!”

Dry sobs flowed from Estelle’s mouth.

She knew that even crying was a waste of energy, but she couldn’t help but cry.

“I…I did wrong!…So…please!…sniff…please…please!…”

Ssshh- Ssshhh-

“…Let it……”

Despite her will, Estelle’s eyelids slowly closed.

As her consciousness faded, Estelle thought.

─Cursed woman.

That despised phrase perfectly described her.