Chapter 101
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Cultists in the Underground Sewers
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The festival had ended, and people returned to their daily routines.
The wildly twisted, Halloween-like frenzy was over, and the city had regained its original drab appearance. The adventurers who had cheered while holding up undead heads also needed to snap out of it and get back to work.
I'd heard that the church which collected the most undead heads was the Brass Celestial Society. They had even put up placards and made a huge fuss about it.
Each church sold off their merchandise, and they divvied up the undead heads based on the number of talents earned. In short, sell one item worth 100 talents, and you got 100 heads.
They gathered those heads and held some massive ritual at each church (a shocking cremation show). It was some bizarre ceremony to console the souls of the unfortunate victims and offer them to their god. The worshippers who put on that spectacle had wept in utter ecstasy.
Of course, contrary to their hopes, there was no divine response, and no one could tell if paradise was any closer. But at least they'd wiped out the undead, so the world had to be a bit more peaceful, right?
That was the whole point of the festival, after all.
Applause for all the hardworking religious folk.
"Huu..."
I woke up to find Cloudy sleeping on her side, facing away from me.
For some reason, it annoyed me, so I hugged her from behind and grabbed her breast. A small moan escaped her lips as she slept. I kneaded it endlessly with the hand wearing her ring.
We'd already been living like newlyweds, but ever since putting the ring on her finger, we'd truly become one.
The only change was that Cloudy had grown a bit more docile.
I burned for her soft, yielding body every single day.
"U, uu... Katt? You're awake?"
"Yeah. Sleep well?"
I'd been groping her breasts when my girl woke up, rubbing her eyes.
I love how Cloudy never complains no matter when I touch her...
Come to think of it, there was something I'd been noticing lately.
"Cloudy, haven't your breasts gotten bigger lately?"
They definitely had.
Compared to when we first met, Cloudy's breasts had noticeably grown.
They'd gone from "subtly large" straight into "huge tits" territory. The weight and the way they filled my hand felt completely different. I could fondle them all day and never get tired. That was the magic of huge tits.
No man could know the joy of watching their woman's growth like this.
Was this the feeling parents get watching their kids grow...?
It was downright criminal bliss. If she lactated, it'd be perfect. I'd milk her every day, no problem.
"It's because you knead them every day... haat, w-wait. The n-nipples...!"
Her reaction was so cute I couldn't hold back. I took one of her twitching ears into my mouth and nibbled it while rubbing her nipple. I wrapped my thigh around her to pin her down, and she began writhing in pleasure.
"Really, from the morning...! Hiiik?! D-don't bite my ear!"
My teeth caught on her three metal earrings. My questions about her age only deepened.
Those earrings had to be the key clue.
Three of them. If each one represented ten or twenty years, that made her either 30 or 60. Worst case, 90, but elves generally lived around 300 years, and half-elves a bit less—maybe 200 to 250. Aging still happened, so 90 wasn't impossible. But likely 30 or 60. And it was said that most elves wandering the world were over a hundred anyway.
Which meant...
Could Cloudy actually be around a hundred years older than me?
"Cloudy, you..."
"Ha... haa..."
I couldn't bring myself to voice that extreme guess while she moaned, her face flushed, reacting to my hands.
What did age matter anyway? She looked gorgeous to me. By human standards, she appeared late teens to mid-twenties. Flawless skin, no wrinkles. Sensual curves, slim waist, firm and bouncy flesh—what more could I want? Plus, as a half-elf, she always smelled amazing.
With that thought, I slid my hand from her nipple downward.
"Hik!"
"What was that noise?"
Cloudy's pussy was already soaking wet. My hand got drenched too. I rubbed vigorously without mercy, and her lewd cries rang out as her back arched.
"Kyaa, kyaak!! S-so sensitive right now! Slower! Please?!"
Like I could hold back.
Excited, I sat up and spread her legs wide.
Cloudy clasped her hands to her chest and looked up at me with teary eyes.
"So I found us a job!"
Thud.
Kobson said as he chugged his beer and slammed the mug on the table like always. Downing half in one go looked pretty refreshing.
It was around noon, lunchtime.
With the festival over, it was time for us to get back to work too. I headed to the Adventurer's Guild for a job and found Kobson drinking, so I joined him. Surprisingly, he'd already picked up a quest.
"Tell me the details."
"E-rank quest. I took it already. Total reward's 2 silver. Should be fine with a 3- or 4-man party."
"2 silver?"
...2 silver split four ways was...?
50 copper, right?
"..."
A serious cognitive dissonance hit me, scrambling my brain. My mind briefly turned to mush and flew off to distant places before snapping back.
50 copper. That realistic amount sparked a sudden thought.
Yeah.
Lately, I'd been handling big money, but originally, I was a pathetic E-rank adventurer scraping by on less than 50 copper a day.
I'd knock out quests like that two to four times a week just to survive.
"50 copper, huh..."
50 copper was the kind of money I could make by slicing up a thug or two in a back alley and taking it fair and square.
Suddenly, 50 copper didn't seem like much. Just two years ago, I'd gone hungry plenty of times without even 1 copper.
This was bad. My sense of money was getting messed up. Classic early symptoms of squandering myself into ruin. I needed to reset it with something real.
"Sounds fine. So what's the job?"
"Not that tough, I reckon."
Earning money through honest labor was always hard.
That was normal, and it was right that way.
Labor was sacred, wasn't it? (Marx vibes.) Beating down bandit scum was a gamble with some risk—not something to make a daily routine.
I'd learned the hard way that offing people paid better than hunting monsters or doing quests, but as a cultured modern guy, I couldn't go down that villainous path.
The life of a human butcher wasn't for me.
"Undead invaded the sewers. With so many around, a few slipping in isn't weird. It's causing trouble, so they want them exterminated and proof brought back. Just lop off the heads."
"The sewers? Wait, heads again?"
"Yup. Tedious, but nothing easier. Not hard, right? Go down, clear 'em out, done. 50 copper for four of us. Great haul."
Right, 50 copper was big money.
Live frugally, and it'd last two weeks.
Plus, a straight extermination request wasn't that tough.
"Cloudy, you ever been in the sewers?"
"Not really."
She shook her head.
Sewers were familiar territory for me. Back in F-rank, I'd gone down to clean trash sometimes. And for Isvant's sewers, I'd worked part-time shifts while learning swordplay from Karin.
The boss there was Mr. Merman, I think. I'd patrol with that old guy.
Super laid-back, good dude. Might get to see him this time.
"Meet at the guild front early tomorrow morning."
"Sure. But that's three of us. What about a fourth? Or just three?"
"I'll round up someone suitable. If not, three's fine."
Elise would be perfect.
Dark down there—handy to have her around.
Wonder what she's up to lately. Haven't seen her since the flesh golem. Probably headed back to the Krasheim church with Sera.
Like she said, we'll meet again someday.
"Alright then. See you tomorrow. What now?"
"Work starts tomorrow, so play today. Thinking drinks."
"Alcoholic bastard."
"Heh heh heh. How else to live?"
I gave Kobson a casual goodbye and headed out with Cloudy.
Truth was, this isekai world didn't have much to do. Drink, gamble at the arena, spend time with the opposite sex—that was it for entertainment.
The constructive types might borrow books from the library or train, but whether modern Earth or this world, honest folks like that were rare. Most ended up like Kobson, drowning in booze.
Adventuring was a brutal 3D job second only to banditry—booze was inseparable.
"Katt, what're we doing today?"
"Dunno..."
Cloudy wrapped her arm around my waist as she spoke. We'd had fun that morning, but it was still midday. We'd even eaten. Nothing much left to fill the time.
"Timing's awkward. Hit a shop, then nothing else. You got something in mind, Cloudy?"
"Hmm..."
She tapped her finger to her lips thoughtfully, then said it like it was the most obvious thing.
"Sex?"
"W-what?! We did it this morning!"
Don't shout it, sis!
I quickly checked around—no one heard. Broad daylight, and she's saying that outside...
"Hee hee hee. Shall we?"
I wanted to, sure. But if I fell for her temptation, she'd milk me dry all day. So I forced myself to find something else.
"Save that for tonight... Let's hit the general store first. Need a few things for the sewers tomorrow."
"Okay."
At the store, I bought a few bottles of oil and some rations.
I also grabbed some bandage-like cloth big enough for a mask. Cover nose and mouth with it in the sewers.
Still time left, so off to the blacksmith.
Already geared with cuirass, gauntlets, and greaves—no buys needed. Just sharpen my sword. The blade had dulled bad from mangling that flesh golem.
"Boss, can you sharpen this by today?"
"Bit busy now. Leave it, ready by tomorrow evening."
"It's urgent. Any idle shops nearby?"
"Hard to say who's busy or not. Check around."
I found a less busy smithy and left the sword. Come back later, they said.
"Katt, let's look around here."
"Sure."
Cloudy got excited seeing the lined-up weapons and pulled my hand. Fitting for a woman faithful to the warrior god Hel-Khan—she loved weapons.
Dating through a blacksmith district, admiring arms—what a dreamy setup.
We killed time like that and headed back to the room.
Work starts tomorrow.