Chapter 123
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Ego Axe Bunny (7)
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Cozy Winter Night Inn's tavern.
A corner seat slightly removed from the boisterous central table.
Zirnier sat on the table itself, clutching a long bottle of liquor to her chest as she mumbled on.
"I'm actually so happy right now? The world looks so beautiful. When I hammered that final blow on the axe, I just knew it. Ah, it's done. I've taken a decisive step toward my dream today—something like that. Heh heh heh."
Was she in a good mood?
Today's Zirnier was even more sentimental than usual.
"I only slept one day out of the whole month. Skipped meals and sleep, just hammering away every day. But it felt so good. I can't even count how few times in my life I've felt this kind of joy? Making a massive, rugged, barbaric axe out of materials like that... Heh heh heh..."
She grinned broadly at the end of every sentence, or chugged straight from the Dwarf-brewed high-proof bottle mid-sentence.
"Ughhh..."
Sometimes she flopped face-down on the table like she was blackout drunk.
Her bandaged, tanned breasts squished firmly against the table, accentuating them.
"Thanks, Balkan. Really... It's all thanks to you..."
"No big deal. I'm the one who got this weapon out of it. If anything, I came out ahead."
"Heh. Is that so? So we're in a mutually beneficial business relationship?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"Heh heh..."
Zirnier offered me her glass with a smile.
Still lying on the table, the bottle tilted halfway.
"My dear customer. From now on, let's keep going, together, always, every day. Looking forward to it."
Her cryptic drunken ramblings were somewhat familiar by now, so I just played along and clinked my glass against her bottle.
"Likewise. Looking forward to working with you, Boss."
"Heh heh heh..."
"Heh heh."
The glass filled right to the brim.
"To our brilliant business!"
"To our brilliant business!"
Zirnier let out a booming laugh and tilted the bottle to her lips while I raised my glass.
The two of us drank together, but neither showed our bare faces.
Honestly, I figured it might be okay to show Zirnier my real face.
'She already gropes my face now and then under the pretense of measuring for helmets.'
After getting a weapon like this, I felt we'd built some trust.
'But it feels weird to show mine first.'
It wasn't just me hiding my face, after all.
Zirnier hid hers behind a mask too.
"Balkan."
Diana approached our table, having watched me and Zirnier from afar with an anxious expression.
I'd already explained the situation, so there were no unnecessary misunderstandings.
"...You don't have to indulge her like this. You've been busy preparing for the labyrinth dive. Go rest. It's late."
"Shut it, you hag! For once, our Balkan's drinking with me—!"
Zirnier grumbled at Diana in her drunken state, then passed out in an instant.
I caught a faint glimpse of that split-second moment.
Diana targeted Zirnier's throat, and Zirnier reacted just barely but couldn't dodge.
A clean strike, and she was out.
Even as she collapsed onto the table, Zirnier clutched the bottle tightly between her thighs.
"What a kid. Still has terrible sleeping habits..."
Diana smiled softly with her eyes narrowed prettily and pulled Zirnier down from the table.
"I'll take care of her. You head up and rest."
"It's fine. There are still plenty of customers. Let me walk her home."
"Hmm..."
Diana glanced at the bustling inn with a thoughtful expression.
"Hey, Ellie! Look! The ideal angle for firing breast milk is..."
"Eek!"
Ellie was helping serve in the tavern when the cow beastkin Jubel grabbed her and forced her into some weird lecture.
Breast enlargement methods, long-range milk shooting techniques, ways to make sweet milk, milk duct development, nipple orgasms for females...
Her eyes, filled with thoughts of fleeing in terror, gradually took on a strange spark of interest.
I watched Ellie start listening to Jubel's lecture alongside Diana.
I hoped Ellie wouldn't pick up any weird tastes.
Diana seemed to think the same.
"Sorry about this, but could you take her home?"
"Of course."
I hoisted the limp Zirnier onto my back and left the inn.
"Gaaah! Any woman worth her salt has to know at least one way to make a man happy with her milk— Aaaagh! S-Sorry, Boss!!"
I ignored Jubel's scream from behind.
A quiet night.
The chatter of people and the tavern's heat faded as we moved away from the inn.
It was late; even the smithy row shops had closed long ago.
Only moonlight illuminated the desolate streets.
No one passed by, and it was so still...
"Come out. While I'm asking nicely."
The faint presence tailing us felt even more out of place.
"Heh heh. Sharp senses."
A figure in white armor emerged from behind with a small chuckle.
Familiar armor shape. A raspy voice I knew.
"...My apologies. I didn't expect the Royal Knight Captain herself."
Our pursuer was none other than the Royal Knight Captain grandma.
'I figured it'd be some beggar or street thug at worst.'
No wonder her presence felt faint even with Perception active.
Unlike her cautious trailing, the Knight Captain showed no hostility.
"Hm? Did I mention my affiliation?"
She just voiced mild curiosity.
"...I overheard you talking with Diana before."
"Ah, you heard then. Heh heh. That troublemaker actually mentioned it... Guess you're closer than I thought. Future son-in-law perks? Heh heh."
To be precise, I was more of a husband candidate, but that wasn't for a near-stranger.
"Why were you following us?"
"No need to worry. I'm not here to threaten you. I have a request for the one on your back."
The Knight Captain's goal was Zirnier, not me.
Made sense. No reason for her to approach me specifically.
My name was starting to spread among explorers lately, but not enough for a Knight Captain's interest.
Squish.
As I thought that, the firm, bouncy tanned breasts pressing into my back twitched.
"Ugh... Where are we now... Balkan?"
"Oh. You're awake?"
Zirnier looked around groggily and locked eyes with the Royal Knight Captain.
The Knight Captain bowed her head upon seeing Zirnier.
"I've come to escort you."
"Ah. Fuc—"
Zirnier nearly spat a curse in the Captain's face but barely clamped her mouth shut.
"...Sigh. Going all the way to the palace is such a hassle."
"Ha ha. I humbly request it. You're the only one who can repair that armor."
As the Captain bowed, Zirnier scratched her head with a resigned look.
"Fine, whatever. I've wrapped up my urgent work anyway... Have a carriage waiting at the smithy tomorrow. I'll take it myself."
"Thank you. I'll send ten servants."
"No need. Too annoying."
"Understood. Then... please visit the palace again."
"......"
With that, the Royal Knight Captain slipped away, vanishing from my Perception range.
I turned my head slightly to glance at Zirnier, still clinging to my back.
"What was that about just now?"
"Huh? Oh... Um..."
Zirnier groaned softly as she looked at me.
Like she was wondering if she should tell me.
"...Eh. It's fine to tell you, I guess."
But she soon seemed to reach an internal compromise and spoke up.
"Our Second Princess is such a total shut-in she never leaves the palace, so I go repair her armor now and then."
"...A princess? And she's a shut-in?"
"Yeah. She used to be so reliable back in the day, but now... Doubt she'll ever leave her room."
A shut-in princess. Quite the unique character.
But that didn't match what I'd heard of the Second Princess.
"I was at the academy graduation recently, and the Second Princess attended the banquet hall."
I'd heard she showed up, surrounded by crowds like a superstar.
"Huh? Really? You saw her?"
"No, not in person. Just heard she was there."
Lots had happened, but I never saw her myself.
When word spread of her arrival and everyone rushed over, I was having that bizarre encounter with the girl named Cellシア—no, Celsia.
After that, I'd been busy networking.
The Claudia Merchant Group's executive and the second daughter of the sword saint's family, Marquis Rohart's house—big catches.
"She doesn't seem the type to go out on her own, though. Was it her armor as a proxy? Hm..."
From her tone, she could apparently control armor remotely from afar.
Doing that from her room.
Fit for nobility? Impressive and mysterious ability.
Still, I hadn't realized Zirnier was close to someone of princess level.
'Her status is higher than I thought.'
A Knight Captain wouldn't use honorifics with just any blacksmith over repairs.
I shook off the swirling thoughts.
"Anyway, gonna get down?"
"......"
She'd been awake a while but stayed silent at my question.
"Um... Still got a hangover..."
"......"
A normal person would've been out for days after that much, but Zirnier was half-Dwarf.
Ten bottles wouldn't faze her.
In other words, she just wanted a free ride home on my back.
'...Might as well give her what she wants.'
Not just the bunny suit, but helmet, leather armor—lots of support.
This was no big deal.
'Honestly, it's a win for me too.'
Squish.
The tanned bandaged breasts pressing my back and the sturdy tanned thighs filling my hands were incredibly present.
Every time Zirnier slipped a bit and bounced to readjust, the soft breasts and squishy thighs tormented my back and hands mercilessly.
"Hold me tight so I don't fall."
"...Heh heh."
Feeling arms around my neck and a small chuckle, I headed to Zirnier's workshop.
"Well, I'll be off then."
"Yeah. Thanks."
Zirnier carefully saw off Balkan, who'd carried her all the way to the underground workshop.
Clank. Cli-clank.
The mechanical arm trio waved at Balkan too.
Balkan chuckled and waved back.
Zirnier watched him leave the underground workshop for a moment, then flopped onto the workshop table.
"Haa..."
A sweet sigh escaped her lips.
Her breasts, squished and rubbed against him on the way back, burned hot.
Her thighs even bore marks from his hands.
Seeing those marks made her chest heat up even more.
Her heart wouldn't calm.
Was it the alcohol?
More complex, hotter emotions than when she'd learned her birth secret churned uncontrollably in her chest.
Come to think of it, she'd hammered nonstop for a month, no chance to relieve her sexual tension.
Then something flashed through Zirnier's mind.
Right. Lust.
This was just pent-up lust.
Zirnier sat up from the table, grabbed the liquor bottle No. 1 brought, and headed deeper into the workshop.
Her private space for eating, sleeping, relaxing, and leisure.
In the center stood a marble statue.
Zirnier sat at the table before it, drinking as she gazed at the statue she'd carved herself.
A height so tall she'd have to look up naturally.
Sturdy, massive muscles positioned so ideally they could be god-sculpted.
Especially the enormous appendage on the lower body—her ultimate feat of imagination and craftsmanship.
It embodied perfect physical beauty, but even combined, it paled before the face atop it.
The face of Balkan, shaped by her own hands, touch, and fantasies...
But it wasn't right.
Not because she'd made it too perfect—her skill just fell short.
Even at her masterful level, she couldn't capture Balkan perfectly.
Zirnier stared blankly at the statue, downing bottle after bottle.
Clank. Clank.
No. 2 brought a beaker.
A month-aged beaker of Balkan's saliva.
A bit remained at the bottom, un-evaporated.
Zirnier carefully dipped her finger in.
Schlop—
The concentrated, aged saliva was incredibly thick.
Slurp.
She sucked gently on her finger, feeling like she was kissing Balkan.
Pwaah—
The finger emerging from her mouth was slick with her saliva mixed in.
Zirnier carefully unwound her bandages and shed her suspenders, stripping naked.
She dipped her finger in the beaker again, then began tapping her clit with Balkan's aged saliva.
"Hoo...!"
A lewd moan slipped out naturally.
It felt like Balkan was relentlessly licking her precious place with his tongue.
"Balkan... Hn, not there... Ah...!"
Glancing ahead, the statue stared down coldly.
Zirnier spread her legs in an M-shape and flicked her clit right before the watching Balkan statue.
"Heek♡"
He could see her precious place clearly.
Naked, masturbating vulgarly before his eyes.
Her mind went white amid surging pleasure.
Imagining his body—firm yet warmer than the hard, cold marble beyond.
Zirnier moved her fingers more fervently.