Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Royal Road Hero Tale (21)
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"Know your enemy and know yourself, and you shall win a hundred battles", "Know thyself, or get hit if you don't"... and so on.
Proverbs emphasizing the importance of information are overflowing endlessly.
Probably every country has at least one famous saying related to intel, right?
And,
That's why Observation is a cheat skill without peer.
It shows the weakness and attack route too—if that's not cheating, what is?
I simply dodged the goblin's attack, circled to the other side, and cleaved it from shoulder to torso in one stroke.
-Kieeeek!
The bisected goblin let out a grotesque screech before falling silent moments later.
Normal goblins, unmodified ones at that, were no match for me whatsoever.
"Phew... Feels so refreshing."
Even if it was a whole herd—no, an entire group.
I shook the blood from my blade and turned around to see dozens of goblin corpses strewn about.
Satisfied with the sight, I headed back to my companions.
Instead of heading to Asellen Forest, we came to the goblin village east of Marta.
Before tackling the main quest, we figured we'd do a self-check.
Unlike the last unexpected battle, we needed some organized party hunting.
And honestly, there were two other goals too.
One was to kill even more goblins if possible,
and the other was to show my companions just how much stronger I'd gotten.
Ever since that modified goblin incident, goblins pissed me off on sight, so I couldn't pass up the goblin extermination request.
And before the real quest kicked off, they needed to know ahead of time that I'd powered up. That way, the kids wouldn't freak out or get needless misunderstandings.
Ah, but I didn't bother telling them I could use Sophia's skills like Heal and Purify. Felt like she'd get upset if I did. Didn't want to steal her moments to shine either.
"Oppa! That's insane! You really got power from the Goddess! Total congrats!"
My prepared excuse was a plausible story: I'd been on the brink of death when the Aria Goddess bestowed her power upon me.
After syncing up a bit and thinning the goblins, I dropped the tale on them, and the innocents bought it hook, line, and sinker without a shred of doubt.
And when I really started soloing the goblins, they congratulated me from the heart.
What good kids.
"Hyung, congrats!"
"...Thanks."
But that guy... ever since ditching Ada, he's definitely changed.
Not even batting an eye at Sophia hugging me tight in celebration.
No, he's flashing that warm guy-next-door smile like, "Yeah, that makes sense."
What the hell, seriously! Are you really Siwoo?
The Siwoo I knew would've given her this anxious look and said, "Um... even for close friends, isn't that a bit too close?"
But in just one day, he's a whole different person.
"Thanks, Sopi... It's all thanks to you. I prayed to the Goddess for the power to protect you."
"Oppa...!"
Wondering how long he'd keep it up, I hugged Sophia tight right in front of him, making a show of it.
She startled for a second, then burrowed into me even harder, like she wouldn't be outdone.
"I'll pray for you every day too, Oppa!"
A sweet wave of her body scent wafted from the Sophia in my arms. It's the kind that always makes you happy, no matter when you catch it.
And so soft... her waist, her shoulders, her breasts.
Sophia rubbed up against me shamelessly, not giving a damn if Siwoo saw.
Ah, Sophia, you...!
And in a shocking twist, this naughty girl— from an angle Siwoo couldn't see—nipped at my chest, then swirled her tongue over my nipple.
When did she learn this? I proudly stroked her hair.
Now then, could Siwoo stay unfazed?
I glanced up at him—cracks were forming in that warm smile.
Sweat beading on his forehead, he had no clue how to react.
Yeah, that's more like it.
"Alright, shall we head back?"
I stifled a laugh and gently peeled Sophia off me.
Siwoo let out a sigh of relief and flashed his friendly smile again.
But to the end, he never noticed the wet spot on my shirt.
We wrapped up the simple request and returned to the guild for our reward.
It wasn't even a full gold coin at first, but thanks to overdoing it while syncing up, we scored extra pay—totaling one gold.
Pretty satisfying result. I was grinning as I pocketed the gold when Siwoo approached with a serious face.
"Hyung. From now on, can we split the party funds? Got some personal stuff to spend on..."
"Three-way split?"
"Yeah."
Sigh. What a hassle.
Before setting out on the adventure, we'd agreed I'd handle the funds.
These naive kids could get fleeced easy if they managed money themselves.
But on our second day in Marta, Siwoo's pushing for a split.
Your goal's so obvious, dude...
Still, hitting the brothel's a good sign, so I played dumb and went along, even though I knew.
"Sure, whatever. Wasn't forcing it. What about you, Sopi?"
"I'll just trust Oppa! Hehe."
Sophia didn't seem to care.
Makes sense—she lived without pocket money back in the village. Hand her cash, and she probably wouldn't even know what to do with it. Best if I keep managing.
"Here—split including today's haul. Check it."
"Nah, I trust you."
Siwoo's face lit up noticeably when I handed him the money.
Horney bastard... Fell that hard in just one day.
Late bloomers are scary, huh.
"Hyung, mind if I head out first?"
"Fine by me, but you're back before dinner, right?"
"Uh... might run late... Don't wait up, just crash. You too, Sophia."
What the hell's with this guy? Where's that confidence from!
Wrapped up quick yesterday, but today's gonna drag so don't wait?
Not the brothel? Actual business somewhere?
Hmm... nah.
Racked my brain, but nothing else fits.
Just baseless self-confidence? Yeah, Siwoo could pull that off.
"Alright, go on then. We're swinging by the weapon shop."
"Got it! Be back soon! See ya, Sophia!"
Siwoo gave a quick goodbye and bolted from the guild with bouncy steps.
First time seeing him like that. Shocking day all around.
"Sopi. Wanna go on a date? Been a while, just us."
"Yup yup! Hehe... Can I link arms now?"
Siwoo wields a holy sword that shifts forms freely, I use sword and shield—but Sophia's got nothing proper for a weapon right now. The green dagger's purely backup; no good as a main.
No way a mana-infused staff was lying around a tiny village. So she'd been swinging a plain old stick.
"Gasp! Oppa, what do we do! This..."
And today, that stick finally snapped.
With our solid party play, she never got her spotlight, so bored Sophia bashed a dying goblin's head with it—
but the stick was too flimsy and just broke clean off.
"Aang... My weapon!"
Perfect chance to buy her a decent staff.
Something with barrier magic or self-defense would put my mind at ease.
"For your girlfriend? How 'bout this? Hot seller lately."
"Ahhat! Girlfriend...!"
"Yeah? It is."
Sophia beamed like crazy when the merchant said "girlfriend." Guess she'd been bummed hiding it all this time because of Siwoo.
Feeling guilty, I wrapped one arm around her waist. Her face lit up with emotion, eyes misty as she clung to my arm.
"Oppa..."
"Hey! Enough PDA—check this out? Super popular with the ladies these days..."
We snagged a staff embedded with shield magic, then wandered the market, savoring our alone time.
Sophia wouldn't stop smiling and refused to let go of my arm.
And
"Lick... Wanna finish what you started earlier? Eheh..."
Back at the inn, we dove into some deeper, stickier time for two.
"Sopi, where'd you learn stuff like this?"
"Where else! It's what you do to me all the time. Unless... you hate it? Was it lame?"
How is she this sweet and cute?
She said she just wanted to make me feel as good as she did.
I caressed her ear and answered with loving words.
"Anything you do is perfect. Love you, Sopi."
"Opaaa... Mwah. Hehe..."
Like that, we confirmed our love and spent the deep night together.
"O... oh, you're here?"
"I'm here, Mary..."
The girl, flushed red to her ears, locked eyes with the man in nothing but panties and offered a cautious greeting.
The man gulped at the sight of her in underwear, then slowly sat beside her.
Their thighs and arms brushed, letting each feel the other's body heat.
"Today... um... mind if I... stay a while?"
She gasped in surprise at his words and bowed her head.
But feeling his limbs trembling eased her mind.
She steadied her breath, steeled herself, and forced out the words.
"Y-yeah... Truth is... I wanted that too..."
"Really...?"
Ecstatic at her reply, he looked her way—but all he could see was
her face, hidden by bowed head,
and those huge breasts that didn't match her frame at all.
"So happy... Haha."
Flustered, he turned away, but his mind was already stuffed full of her breasts.
The first woman's breasts he'd ever seen,
the first he'd ever touched,
the first he'd ever licked,
breasts, breasts, breasts...
"Ah... Y-you're... ready..."
Still head down, she spotted the massive tent in his lower half and spoke in an even shyer, trembling voice.
He flinched, placed a hand over his panties, and asked her.
"Ung... But, y'know... no other customers... right?"
"N-no! My only customer... is you, Siwoo-nim... for life..."