Chapter 104: The True Paywall (R-18)
"What do you want?" Zerena asked as she led him upstairs above the shop.
The entire floor carried the rich scent of dried herbs. Shelves stretched across the room, packed with carefully stored medicinal plants. Some radiated such dense mana that faint whirlpools formed around them—subtle distortions that most people would’ve never noticed. Only someone with exceptionally sensitive mana perception could sense them at all.
Max didn’t answer her question.
Instead, he smiled.
"Weren’t the notes I gave you last time mind-blowing?" Max asked. "You learned a lot from them, right?"
"...Yeah?" Yennefer replied, looking at him in confusion.
Of course they had been.
Even her grandson—who, if she was being completely honest, wasn’t exactly a once-in-a-generation talent—had managed to learn every rune mentioned in those notes.
"So," Max said with a satisfied grin, "if those were already that amazing... you should’ve guessed I’d bring something even better this time."
He pulled out a chair in the middle of the storeroom and sat down before pointing at the empty one opposite him.
As Yennefer took the seat, she paused for a moment.
Come to think of it...
He was right.
She slowly nodded.
"...Then why did you choose to bargain over a few measly potions?"
She didn’t have an answer.
The realization only made her more annoyed. Somehow, she’d let herself get cornered by a brat who wasn’t even half her age.
"...Shut up," she snapped. "Just tell me what you want in exchange for them."
Max let out a quiet chuckle.
"You haven’t even paid me for the last ones," he said. "And you already think you can afford these?"
Yennefer’s jaw tightened.
Her teeth ground together as her brown eyes locked onto him in a sharp glare.
"...Just tell me what you want," she said through gritted teeth. "If you tell me what you need, I’ll gladly pay for it."
Max looked thoroughly amused and leaned back in his chair.
"This is getting boring," he said. "Show me your breasts first."
His eyes drifted toward her corset, which stubbornly kept her chest lifted despite everything gravity had apparently been trying to negotiate over the years.
"Looking at them on my phone just made me curious," he admitted. "Seriously... how are they still standing? They’re hanging on with more determination than I expected."
Yennefer blinked at the sudden request.
Still, the way Max said it—so casually, as though he were asking to inspect another herb—made it strangely difficult to react. After all, she’d already been sending him pictures of them every night for the past several days.
"...Fine," she said at last.
"But after that..."
She fixed him with a steady look.
"You’re going to tell me how I can pay for those notes."
Max nodded, doing his best to hide the excitement creeping onto his face.
Yennefer slowly lowered the shoulders of her dress.
At first...
Nothing happened.
The corset continued holding everything firmly in place.
Only when she slipped a hand inside, cupped one breast, and lifted it free did the reason become obvious. She repeated the motion with the other, freeing both from the corset’s determined grip.
Max’s eyes immediately settled on them.
They weren’t quite as enormous as Zerena’s, but they were still undeniably huge. Their shape was noticeably rounder, holding together with a surprising amount of firmness despite their weight. The dark brown nipples sat proudly at the center, facing almost straight toward him instead of downward like Zerena’s usually did.
There was something almost striking about the contrast.
Her breasts were a shade lighter than the warm honey-colored skin of the rest of her body, giving them a soft, creamy tone that made the glossy brown nipples and the darker, equally smooth areolas stand out even more.
Max’s attention naturally drifted to their shape.
They were noticeably rounder than Zerena’s.
Although they began high across her chest—making even her upper chest look softer and fuller—they didn’t stretch downward nearly as much. Most of their weight remained gathered around the middle, giving them a surprisingly full, bouncy appearance despite her age.
’...So that’s why they don’t sag as much.’
Max nodded to himself.
At moments like these, he liked to think there was a difference between an ordinary pervert and a cultured one.
An ordinary pervert looked at breasts.
Max, naturally, was busy conducting highly unnecessary research into why one pair of giant breasts sagged differently from another.
He reached forward and gently cupped one of them, giving it a slow fondle.
"...Ngh..."
A small, surprised moan escaped Yennefer’s lips.
Max barely seemed to notice. His attention remained fixed on the breast in his hand as though he were inspecting some particularly interesting magical artifact.
"You know..." he said thoughtfully, "if you were a little younger, I would’ve made you pay with your body instead."
Under different circumstances, Yennefer probably would’ve snapped at him.
Now?
She’d already played every card she had.
Money hadn’t interested him.
Herbs hadn’t interested him.
Even blackmail had somehow circled back around on her.
Compared to all that, paying with her body almost sounded refreshingly straightforward.
"...You still can," she replied, meeting his eyes without looking away.
"I would have," Max said with a quiet chuckle, continuing to fondle one breast before his other hand wandered over to occupy the second. "But your body’s nowhere near valuable enough to match what I’m giving you in return."
Yennefer looked noticeably annoyed.
She slapped both of his hands away before folding her arms across her chest.
"Then what do you want?" she asked.
Max smiled.
He’d come here with a plan.
And, thanks to Zerena refusing to help with a certain morning problem, a very persistent reminder of it. Long before stepping into the shop, he’d already decided what kind of payment he wanted.
The amusing part was...
Even that payment wasn’t remotely equal to what he was offering. The ability to brew potions wasn’t just another useful skill.
It was a fortune.
Even a mediocre potion brewer could make an excellent living. Someone who could consistently produce high-grade potions could become wealthy without much difficulty. Three or four batches a day were entirely reasonable for a competent mage.
Anyone producing only one batch a week was either unbelievably lazy...
Or spectacularly bad at their job.
Compared to that...
The price Max intended to ask for was practically a bargain.
Of course, things were a little different for Max.
Depending on the recipe, he could brew two or even three times as many batches as an ordinary potion mage if he really pushed himself. Most mages needed an entire day just to finish a single batch.
"To be honest," Max said, casually holding up the notes, "you don’t really have anything valuable enough to trade for these."
Crossing one leg over the other, he continued, "My master explained how to improve mana control during potion brewing. These notes only cover the beginner level, but even that much is worth a lot. Learning the same thing from ordinary books—or even under most teachers—could easily take a year, maybe a year and a half. With these..." He lightly tapped the pages. "You could probably get there in a month. Maybe even a few weeks."
Inside, Max smiled to himself.
The bait had been cast.
And judging by the way Yennefer’s eyes refused to leave the notes...
She was already circling it.
"Enough," she said, trying to sound impatient even though her gaze remained fixed on the pages. "I know they’re valuable. Just tell me what I have to do for you to hand them over."