Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: I Believed in You
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The dim light of a flickering lamp swayed in the dark room.
The Labyrinth City, practically in full festival mode, was still rowdy even deep into the night.
No one seemed interested in sleep, and the clamor rising from the first-floor tavern showed no signs of letting up.
In the midst of that distant uproar, Mika and Ian sat on the edge of the bed without a word.
Even as noisy sounds poured in from all directions, the atmosphere inside the room hung quiet and heavy.
Mika's flushed face met Ian's gaze.
"...I'll do it."
Mika nodded, replying in a small voice.
Wearing only light sleepwear instead of her usual thick robe, Mika climbed onto Ian's bed.
She hesitated as she approached him, then asked cautiously.
"Just... with my mouth...?"
"Yeah. We can't push it too far in your current state."
It made sense both in the game's mechanics and in reality.
Sex was an act that consumed a significant amount of stamina.
Just like training drained stamina, spending the night with a mercenary like this depleted their stamina just as much.
If you went overboard without considering stamina, it could prevent full recovery overnight, or in severe cases, lead to exhaustion.
Especially for mages like Mika, who had low base stamina to begin with—they often collapsed midway, making pace control extremely tricky.
With her stamina even lower due to the curse, Mika would pass out if pushed even a little, so she needed to be handled with utmost care.
For now, lifting the curse was the top priority.
In the end, Ian chose the training command that used the least stamina while still counting as sex: fellatio.
"Alright... I'll do it then."
Mika fiddled with the blanket for a long while, dragging out the time, before finally steeling herself with a nod.
Having made up her mind, she boldly pulled down Ian's pants.
"...!"
Ian's member sprang free into Mika's hand.
Already swollen, it loomed before her eyes like it had suddenly erupted.
Mika gulped hard at the sight.
This was the first time seeing one up close...
...No, not quite. Strictly speaking, it wasn't her first glimpse.
The day Ian had caught a cold, when she'd stumbled upon Tanya secretly touching it, Mika had caught a fleeting look.
She just hadn't been able to observe properly in her panic.
Now, confronted directly, it exuded a presence far more imposing than she'd imagined.
Mika glanced up at Ian's face, hesitating.
Her eyes sought permission, like asking if it was okay to start, and Ian nodded.
Mika tentatively reached out with her hand.
Her slender fingers brushed Ian's member ever so carefully, transmitting a hot sensation through her fingertips.
She'd started, but...
Mika had no idea what to do with it.
I wonder if Tanya knew something.
Maybe she should've been honest with both of them and asked how it worked...
Harboring such thoughts, Mika carefully wrapped both hands around Ian's member for now.
As her fingers gripped and slowly moved it, a small twitch responded from within her grasp.
Mika stroked it intently, observing every detail.
Her fingers gripped awkwardly, then slowly shifted, tickling here and there.
Those clumsy motions left a subtle mix of ticklishness and faint pleasure in their wake.
Mika recalled what Ian had told her.
With her mouth... right?
She stared down at the member clutched in both her hands.
She didn't know the exact method, but from the phrasing, she could roughly guess what it entailed.
Mika checked Ian's expression once more, their eyes meeting.
As Ian nodded encouragingly, she swallowed hard and lowered her gaze.
This thing...?
Putting such an unfamiliar object into her mouth naturally brought some reluctance.
But it was for her own treatment.
And honestly... it sparked a bit of curiosity about that realm, which had been completely unknown to her until now.
Mika's face slowly drew toward Ian's member.
A shallow breath escaped her parted lips, tickling the skin.
After a slight hesitation right in front, she gingerly pressed her lips to the tip.
The soft touch brushed lightly against Ian's sensitive skin.
Mika's lips paused there, as if pondering what to do next.
Each tense little breath she took sent hot air seeping from the gap, teasing the sensitive spot below.
Soon, they pressed briefly, then shifted slowly elsewhere.
Like a kiss, Mika applied her lips here and there on Ian's member.
A moment later, growing a bit accustomed, Mika parted her lips and slowly extended her tongue.
The soft tip, hot and slick, made contact, and Ian's member twitched sharply.
As her tongue glided over, it left sticky trails of pleasure, caressing the sensitive skin smoothly.
A jolt.
Feeling a much stronger twitch than from her hands, Mika pulled back her tongue in mild alarm.
"A-Are you... okay?"
"I'm fine. That's good—just like that."
"It didn't... hurt, right?"
"No. It felt good."
Ian soothed her, gently stroking her head.
Mika let out a small chuckle and lowered her head again.
Her lips approached slowly once more, touching Ian's member.
Knowing her method wasn't wrong.
Or perhaps because of Ian's praise—that it felt good.
A little more confidently than before, her tongue extended without hesitation.
Cautiously. And boldly...
Mika licked indiscriminately at the unfamiliar member she was touching for the first time today.
From the very tip, slowly downward.
Not missing a spot, she carefully kissed, pressed her tongue tip, extended it softly, and licked.
She explored every nook of a man's member for the first time, memorizing it with her tongue.
Occasional small twitches rippled through with each pass.
At first, she'd hesitated, wondering if she was doing something wrong, but now Mika began to understand their meaning.
...It felt good, he'd said.
So this reaction meant pleasure?
Her tongue cautiously returned to the spot that had reacted.
A twitch.
Retracing the path her tongue tip had taken, she slowly located the sensitive areas drawing Ian's responses.
I'm starting to get it...
But this didn't seem enough.
More than this ticklish play—something with bigger stimulation, maybe?
Pondering, Mika parted her lips carefully and slowly took Ian's member into her mouth.
Hot mucous membranes enveloped it, her tongue coiling around from within.
A pulsing heat and trembling throbbed inside her mouth.
Ian's hand unconsciously rested on Mika's head.
It stroked her hair slowly, and Mika sensed he was feeling even better.
She took it deeper into her mouth, rolling her tongue softly.
Along the spots she'd discovered made him feel good.
Her tongue slithered like a snake, wrapping waves of chilling pleasure around it.
And then—a different reaction from before.
Mika instinctively felt a strange, heart-pounding thrill.
Ian's hand, which had been gently stroking, twitched and unconsciously pressed down on her head.
Mika knew that with her stamina so low, rough actions were off-limits, yet...
Irresistible pleasure and instinct moved Ian's body.
"Mmph..."
Ian poured everything he'd been holding back deep into Mika's throat.
The sheer volume surprised even him.
A slightly pained sound leaked from Mika.
Startled but compliant, she let Ian's hand hold her in place as she swallowed what flowed into her mouth.
The sensation of hot liquid sliding down her throat.
As Mika swallowed the sticky fluid, her body ignited like it was aflame.
That heat spread from within to every corner, bringing an unfamiliar warmth and pleasure she'd never felt before.
After the scorching wave passed, as if trying to burn her body...
Mika felt the negative force lodged inside her melt away and vanish.
Like the shackles weighing her down had shattered.
She realized the curse Ian had spoken of was gone.
"Mmph, pwah... *cough*."
Only after Ian belatedly released her head did Mika lift it, breathing raggedly.
But too preoccupied to mind the discomfort, she looked down at her body, then up at Ian.
"I-It really worked! It was true!"
"...You didn't believe me?"
At Ian's question, Mika flinched and glanced sideways guiltily.
"...W-Well, half of me did."
Should he feel disappointed that she hadn't fully trusted him?
Or pleased that she'd believed even half of such a suspicious story?
Ian felt a mix of emotions but first checked that Mika's curse was indeed gone.
He couldn't purify all the corrosion at once, but it'd dropped to single digits, so the curse had vanished.
Corrosion needed to build past a threshold to trigger the curse, so the remnants were negligible.
Just then, a loud noise came from outside Ian's room.
With the outside already so noisy, he first thought it was from the tavern below, but soon the lock clicked open, and the door swung wide.
Besides Ian, only Rin had a key to this room.
And sure enough, Rin and Tanya stepped in.
"Mika! You're really better?"
"R-Rin?! Tanya too, how did you...?"
How could they just let Mika go off alone without explanation?
Of course they'd secretly followed her, eavesdropping quietly outside Ian's door.
Mika realized it instantly.
"Y-You guys... how much did you hear?"
"Uh..."
Their expressions said it all.
Everything, from the start.
Ian hastily pulled the blanket over himself, but what had happened in the room was obvious without seeing.
Recalling the embarrassingly intimate acts she'd done in the heat of the moment, Mika's face turned beet red.
Realizing the two had overheard it all, she shoved past them in a panic to flee the humiliating situation.
"Ah, Mika! Where are you going!"
"She really must be better..."
Rin started to chase after Mika but paused, turning back to Ian with an awkward look.
"C-Captain. We believed in you. We just came to check, just in case."
"...Thanks."
Rin dashed off after leaving those words, followed by Tanya, who bowed her bright red face shyly before quietly closing the door behind her.
Mika, who'd bolted at full speed, was caught by Rin just a minute later.
