Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: At the Temple
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As Seriph drew closer to me, the vibrations from the necklace grew increasingly intense.
Finally, she stopped right in front of my nose.
She wasn't particularly tall, her head only reaching about my collarbone.
She looked up at me, swishing her tail gently and standing on tiptoe to bring her face as close to mine as possible.
If I hadn't been wearing my helmet, our lips might have almost touched.
Her blood-red eyes were eerily striking.
But things laced with foreboding often shine even more beautifully.
Seriph's crimson eyes reflected the sunlight streaming through the window, gleaming dazzlingly bright.
Through the narrow slits in my helmet, our eyes met.
Black pupils reflected in those red irises.
"…"
Seriph, locking eyes with me, froze like a statue, unable to speak, just staring straight at me.
Gazng intently, so very intently.
I couldn't hold back any longer and opened my mouth.
"What the hell do you think you're doing right now?"
My whole body was rigid like stone, but my mouth moved.
As I spoke, Seriph's tail shot straight up. Her fluffy ears twitched sharply.
It was like the reaction of someone deeply focused on admiring a work of art, startled by someone touching it.
But her expression lagged a few seconds behind her body's reaction, as if she were forcing it.
"Ah. Sorry. I got a bit excited without realizing it. Did I startle you too much?"
With a wave of her wand, Seriph released my body.
I'd been pretty shocked myself and wanted to draw my axe to think things over. My axe is my friend. It always provides mental support.
But now wasn't the time.
The woman before me was a high-ranking member of the church. Drawing my axe recklessly could lead to who-knows-what.
"No ill intent. This was my mistake. I didn't mean to go this far. I'm sorry."
Seriph bowed her head cautiously. Her perked-up tail drooped limply.
But my heightened wariness didn't subside easily, so I placed my hand on the axe at my waist.
She's awfully composed.
Seriph's demeanor was far too relaxed.
Not even flinching with a fully armed person standing before her.
It wasn't all that strange.
With a level that high, why would she blink?
In her eyes, I was probably on par with a goblin.
That made it even more puzzling. Why would someone that strong apologize to me so readily?
If I were as strong as her, I'd probably stiffen my neck and think, 'People make mistakes, don't be so arrogant.' But she bowed her head to me so easily.
She's apologizing readily, so probably not up to any dirty tricks...
Two possibilities flashed through my mind.
Either she's genuinely a kind-hearted saint apologizing to me, or she wants something from me and bowed her head easily for that reason.
A bit ambiguous, but after some thought, I dismissed the former.
Seriph stopped my movements without any explanation or consent. By force.
No matter how urgent, a true saint wouldn't do that lightly.
So, the latter it was.
She wants something from me?
– I have one question for you.
– Could we spend some quality time alone?
Recalling her earlier words, that seemed right.
But this guess also made me tilt my head slightly.
Me, of all people? Why?
This thought was influenced by her position in the temple.
In the labyrinth city of Balerus, the temple's influence was among the top handful. And Seriph was a high-ranking figure within it.
What could someone like that possibly want or need to ask from a first-floor labyrinth explorer who'd only gotten their license less than a month ago?
I had no strength, no power, not even any wealth.
All I had was this suspiciously bulky body.
But in this world, my body held plenty of value.
...Mostly for sexual purposes.
The images of countless people who'd flipped out and lunged at me to devour me flickered in my mind.
I was disappointed. Even the clergy in this world were like that?
"The reason I stopped you was—"
"Are you planning to fuck me too?"
I just blurted it out in frustration.
"Wha... yes?"
Seriph, who had been smiling and nodding mechanically, looked at me in bewilderment.
A brief silence.
Then, the strangely overwhelming atmosphere and mechanical expression shattered in an instant.
"N-no, that's not it?!!!"
With her tail and ears bristling, her face flushed bright red, Seriph shook her tail wildly as she spoke urgently.
"Why would you even think that?! Th-that... I, with a man...! It's irreverent...! Blasphemous! Against the teachings of the Great Earth Mother Goddess!"
It was a very different reaction from what I'd expected.
The subtly alluring, mechanical expression was gone from Seriph.
Her naturally flushed face from embarrassment and shame was, at a glance, the picture of an ideal female.
I thought since she shoved her face right up close, she was interested in 'that' stuff, but apparently not?
Honestly, I thought it was a pretty plausible guess.
It was partly her fault for saying stuff about quality time that led my imagination 'that' way.
My near-misses with nuns and beggars felt like just yesterday.
"...So you weren't planning to fuck me nonstop for three days and nights like those explorers and beggars, until not a single drop of semen was left?"
"N-no! The sacred Church of the Earth Mother Goddess strictly forbids such indecent and obscene acts by doctrine... Wa-wait a minute."
Seriph's eyes shook as if an earthquake had hit.
"Y-you too were going to be... fucked...? Like by explorers and beggars...? No way..."
Seriph was speechless. Her trembling eyes blankly scanned my body.
The way they trailed from my face to my abdomen, chest, and finally my crotch was definitely not my imagination.
Soon, Seriph squeezed her eyes shut. Her lower lip trembled as she bit it hard.
"Th-that... how, how could such a thing... Ahh..."
Seriph's face paled as she looked at me.
Seriph felt her heart sink.
The reason was none other than the words and behavior of the man before her.
Intense wariness toward "obscene acts that deviate from the Great Earth Mother Goddess's teachings."
His statements suggested he'd suffered and been traumatized by "such acts" before.
Seriph had never masturbated once in her life as a devout believer, but she'd seen countless people react similarly to the man before her.
Male explorers driven mad after being ravaged by monsters, screaming about their genitals. Men traumatized after being gang-raped by beggars or explorers.
As a priestess, she naturally encountered such people, and the man before her showed the same wariness.
For Seriph, a woman and priestess, guessing what he'd gone through in the past was all too easy.
Of course, now a senior priestess, Seriph no longer felt the same shock seeing men who'd suffered "that" as she once did.
"...I'm sorry. I questioned you too aggressively. Forgive my rudeness."
"...Ah. Uh... Wa-wait..."
But now, she was deeply shocked, her breath catching.
Seriph clutched her throbbing head and steadied her breathing for a moment.
Buzzzzzz—
"Eek..."
She'd placed one hand on her chest to breathe deeply, but that stimulated her breasts with the necklace again.
– When the compatible one approaches, the necklace will tremble and let you know. Intensely, like a magic dildo. Pfft.
The evil spirit's crude, obscene words came to mind.
The evil spirit was cunning and sly but never lied. The necklace was genuine holy relic.
...If this necklace is truly a holy relic, then he...
The man before her was truly.
...the Compatible One.
The figure Seriph had long sought following a single oracle from the Earth Mother Goddess. The one who would upend the world's fate. A massive, brilliant blessing.
It was unexpected enough that the Compatible One was a man.
...And that he'd even suffered... that kind of thing...
Seriph felt an indescribable frustration.
She hadn't imagined the brilliant blessing she'd finally found after great hardship would be covered in women's filthy saliva and fluids.
If only I'd found him sooner... Would he have been spared 'that'?
It was a vain wish. The events had already happened, and he'd likely bear deep mental scars.
...In that case.
"...May I ask your name?"
"...Balkan."
"Balkan. Balkan..."
Seriph repeated the name for a while, then gazed at the helmeted man before her, Balkan.
Black eyes shrouded in helmet darkness met Seriph's red ones.
Gazing into his eyes, Seriph felt an inexplicable sense of mission.
The immense blessing. This man. Balkan.
I must. Save him.
She wanted to ward off those who would defile Balkan just to sate their lust, ignoring the future, and heal the trauma in his heart.
So he can walk the right path.
But the temple's power wasn't whole. The labyrinth city's situation was more turbulent than ever.
Sadly, there wasn't much she could do for him.
...But at least some guidance...
"Mr. Balkan. First off, I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories."
"Ah. Yeah..."
She's massively misunderstanding something...
I scratched my head, looking into Seriph's red eyes, which swirled with a strange mix of sorrow, sympathy, anger, and more.
But I saw no reason to correct her misunderstanding.
If she'd shown hostility, I'd have responded accordingly, but her gaze was filled with goodwill.
Any further caution seemed pointless.
"The reason I stopped you, Mr. Balkan, was to make one request."
"...Not a question, but a request?"
"Yes. A request. But I'm not forcing you to accept. You can refuse with no penalty. However."
Seriph clasped her hands tightly, tense. Her tail and ears, which had been shaking wildly moments ago, had settled calmly.
"If you accept my personal request... I promise on my name to reward you generously."
The flushed, embarrassed look was gone; her eyes were utterly serious and earnest.
"...I'll at least hear it."
At this point, I was curious despite myself.
What personal request could a level 50+ church higher-up have for someone far weaker like me, going so far as to say this?
I could decide after hearing it.
Seriph gazed at me for a moment, then quietly spoke.
"Ah, where did you go?! You vanished while receiving the silver coins, and I was shocked!"
I stopped Kakchi as she came running and tried to throw herself into my arms.
"Something came up suddenly."
Kakchi said I'd disappeared midway through receiving the silver coins.
She guessed Seriph had used some magic, and I vaguely brushed it off without mentioning what happened with Seriph.
"...Hmph. Is that so? Ah, I got the silver coins, including your share, Master."
Kakchi said this and handed over three silver coins.
"Why only three? Weren't there five?"
"Heh heh. Do you want them? Would you like to receive them?"
"Want to get hit for them? Or just hand them over?"
"Eek... Of course I'd have to choose the former... Hi-hit me hard..."
I gave the shoulder-trembling Kakchi, who offered her solar plexus, a taste of the punching bag experience. I was about to take her share too, since she was essentially my slave now, but a sliver of modern conscience kicked in, and I left it as is.
"Hiiik... Hngh..."
"Where's Jermi?"
"Ah... He said if it took any longer, his girlfriend would achieve enlightenment, so he grabbed his head and went for preservation magic."
Jermi had said they'd settle the labyrinth haul in a few days and left.
"So what are you going to do now?"
"My master died, so now I need to put the past behind me. I'll swipe the slave contract Deluna hid away and some small items, then start a new identity and life in the explorer district."
Kakchi declared her future plans boldly.
"What are you talking about? A new identity?"
"Yes? Kek—!"
I grabbed Kakchi's collar and yanked.
"A slave just changes owners. Isn't it as simple as swapping the name on the contract?"
"...!!"
Kakchi, choking on the collar, looked up at me as if it were a demonic idea.
"Th-that... Well, it is..."
"What? Don't like it?"
"...I'd actually prefer that..."
I made plans to meet Kakchi in a few days, her body twitching excitedly for a while, then she headed back to the lawless western district.
Finally alone, I headed to the temple counter.
"Name's Adolf. Dwarf race."
Handing over Adolf's cross necklace and staff, the counter woman nodded businesslike.
"Received. May he safely embark on his journey to the Earth Mother Goddess."
One staff member took the staff and necklace to store them.
"Hey! Adolf's a priest exiled for four counts of bestiality! No need for honors—just toss it aside."
"Yes, understood."
"Whew. Close call. We can't let scum like that reach the Goddess."
The clerk rifling through papers sighed in relief.
Now I knew why Adolf had done those cow things.
The gear I'd carefully brought was casually stashed out of sight.
Because he'd been exiled from the church, perhaps.
The staff didn't seem interested in how he'd met his end.
I felt a strange relief at that, while also disgusted with myself, but it seemed I needed to adapt to this world.
I'd probably be here for a while.
– Head to the labyrinth.
Seriph's "personal request" came to mind.
Fortunate or suspicious, it aligned with my goals.
– Gain experience there, make companions, grow strong. No matter the dangers, become resilient enough to endure.
I'd planned to anyway.
– That's my personal request.
Why had Seriph gone so far as to request I grow strong?
What was the Explorer's Union? What were the cursed puppets?
Diana at level 70+, Seriph at 50+, and other shady figures.
The labyrinth city was complex, chaotic, unpleasant, and labyrinthine.
Everyone saw different things. Each had their own thoughts and intentions.
One month into this world, it all felt alien and difficult to me.
The gap between me, fresh from my first expedition, and them hit home.
Feeling my powerlessness, what lay ahead was simple.
Get stronger.
Strong enough to smash through all the complicated intentions and survive.
But running forward blindly just wears you out.
"Oh my, Balkan! You're back! Welcome home!"
"Diana!"
Diana spotted me instantly while serving food at the tavern and waved with a pure, bright smile.
Yeah. Sometimes you gotta look around and rest. Honestly, this labyrinth trip was exhausting.
Too much stress, too many worries.
On impulse, I ran to Diana and hugged her tightly.
"Ba-Balkan?! Eek...!"
"I missed you, Diana..."
"...?!?!"
Clinging to the one person who didn't lust after me but cared like a mother, fatigue suddenly washed over me.
"Diana, Mom..."
This is the true Great Earth Mother Goddess...