Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Drunken Confessions (2)
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Eli.
Diana's foster daughter. A genius mage. A student on the verge of graduating from the Academy.
Why was she here? The girl who'd said she'd be buried in reports and theses until graduation?
"Get up for now. People are staring."
I approached Eli, frozen in embarrassment after her fall, and offered her my hand.
The gazes of passersby walking the main street were starting to gather.
"Mommy, that big sis is weird. She's lying there with her skirt hiked up."
"Hey now, shush. Shush. My little girl. You gotta study hard if you don't wanna end up flashing your panties at guys like that someday? ...Wait a sec. Isn't that an Academy uniform?"
"They say the educated go further, and sure enough—even their pervy antics are next-level."
"Nah, take a good look. Not satisfied with boldly zeroing in on a guy from behind, she casually flashes her panties too. That one's a pro on a whole other plane."
The red-haired elf in her Academy uniform striking a panty-peek pose had pulled in massive aggro.
People with sleazy smirks were unleashing all sorts of ridiculous slander on Eli.
"Ugh... thanks, mister..."
Eli grabbed my hand and stood, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"...Calling me 'mister' with a body like yours?"
"Kid probably doesn't know a real mister yet? At that age, it's 'daddy.' Daddy. Cum bucket."
I ignored the crowd debating the fine line between 'mister' and 'daddy'—much like auntie versus milf—and gathered up the scattered papers around us before handing them to Eli.
"Ah, n-no, I'll get them...!"
"Already did. So, what's the deal? Weren't you at the Academy?"
"I finished my reports and graduation project, classes are done, and there's only two weeks till graduation ceremony. So I just left the dorm."
Eli gave a rough rundown of her situation.
Looks like with graduation right around the corner, she'd bailed from the dorm.
"Staying at Diana's inn then?"
"Uh, um, well... th-that's..."
Eli trailed off, unable to answer easily.
Her ruby-red eyes spun in circles, dodging my gaze.
'Something up?'
Right as the thought crossed my mind, Eli tentatively pressed her index fingers together and answered cautiously.
"Thing is... when it actually came time to go see my foster mom, I kinda lost my nerve again... like, it's embarrassing to show up alone...?"
After hemming and hawing for a good while, Eli scratched the back of her head with an awkward grin.
"Truth is, it's been about three days since I left the Academy. Been bouncing between cheap inns, but now I'm out of cash for food and stuff... hehe."
I got the picture.
Eli had patched things up somewhat with Diana last time, but she still hadn't fully accepted her foster mother and felt burdened by it.
Couldn't bring herself to go to Diana's inn, so she'd drifted between others until her money dried up. And right when she mustered the courage to head there, she ran into me.
'Guess you can't fix three years of radio silence with one chat.'
Still, it wasn't all bad.
She'd circled around plenty, but in the end, Eli had worked up the guts on her own to go find Diana.
A positive sign for family reconciliation.
"So why'd you tackle my back?"
I'd dodged on instinct, but I was curious about the reason.
"Uh, th-that's... um... Ah! L-lately at the Academy! Hugging your friends tight when you see 'em—that's the hot new trend!"
Eli's face turned beet red as her eyes darted awkwardly, then she blurted it out like a yelp.
'Academy sure ain't for the faint of heart.'
How the hell does a trend like that catch on among the elite crowd?
'Or maybe 'cause they're all geniuses, they spawn these offbeat cultures?'
A simple laborer like me couldn't easily pass judgment on the talents steering cultural trends.
I just rolled with it and took Eli's word.
"Perfect timing—I'm headed to the Cozy Winter Night inn myself. Wanna tag along?"
"G-g-good!"
Eli answered in a rush and bit her tongue. She immediately clapped a hand over her mouth.
What a quirky one. Must be the magic genius thing.
And so, Eli and I strolled through the streets of Labyrinth City all the way to Diana's inn.
"...Door's locked?"
The inn's entrance was shut tight.
It was nighttime now—the hour they should've opened for dinner rush.
But knocking yielded no response from inside.
"Yeah... maybe she went shopping?"
"Nah. Diana leaves the door open even when she steps out."
"...Heh. You know your stuff."
"Employee tenure, y'know."
"......"
The one time Diana had locked the front door was when that Royal Knight Commander showed up last time.
Wonder if some VIP on that level was here now.
I stepped up to knock again—then faint footsteps sounded from inside the inn.
Creak—
The door swung open, and a familiar gray milf dress filled my view.
"Ah..."
The sight hit so hard a dazed sigh slipped out.
I'm tall enough that a slight dip of my head laid her cleavage bare.
Ever since widening my helmet's field of view, even her white collarbones were on stark display.
Tits that stroked every chord of a man's maternal instincts and breeding urges.
No way two women in the world packed a body like that.
"Balkan... welcome home."
Diana Ordia.
"I'm back, Diana."
For some reason, she was panting softly, eyes gently shut as she gazed at me with a tender smile.
That finally made it real: I'd returned from the labyrinth to the surface.
A lot had gone down, but I'd survived intact once more.
Right as our eyes met—
"H-hey, I'm here too!"
Eli popped her head out urgently from behind me.
"E-Eli?"
Diana's eyes went wide.
Balkan fought down the mindless urge to throw his arms around Diana.
Maybe it was the long time apart, but today's Diana felt even more erotic than usual.
Her body radiated a strange heat, like she was aroused, and her clothes were rumpled in spots, as if hastily thrown on.
Plus, his body wouldn't be satisfied anymore without that welcome-back hug.
But with Eli staring wide-eyed from the side, he hesitated to close the distance.
'Still, Eli handed me the opening.'
Balkan gave Eli's back a couple light taps.
Eli turned a blank face his way.
"Trending greeting."
"Hot...!"
Her eyes flashed wide at those two words.
True or not, it was the very greeting she'd claimed was sweeping the Academy lately.
A tight hug for anyone you were glad to see.
She couldn't take back her own words now, but skipping the hug would scream she wasn't happy to see Diana.
Heck, she'd already tried it on non-family Balkan.
A total no-win.
Eli's eyes spun like she was lost in confusion.
Soon enough, she steeled herself—eyes squeezed shut.
"What's wrong? Something happen?"
Diana cut in anxiously at the close whisper between Balkan and Eli. Eli lunged straight at her.
Squeeze!
"Eek, Eli?!"
Diana startled at her daughter suddenly burrowing into her chest, but she didn't push her away—instead embracing her fully.
This was the girl who'd kept her at arm's length ever since starting at the Academy.
'How long's it been since she acted this spoiled...'
A faint smile curved Diana's lips.
"...You've been through a lot."
Diana simply smiled softly, grateful that Eli had accepted her.
She gently patted her daughter's back.
"...Y-yeah..."
Eli nodded into the embrace, her voice trembling faintly as Academy memories and old times swirled into a surge of emotion.
The two held the hug for a quiet moment before pulling apart with awkward expressions.
'Tch.'
Balkan watched with massive regret.
Eli had squeezed so fiercely that her breasts had mashed right into Diana's rack.
What man wouldn't sigh at the sight of that mother-daughter titty mash coming undone?
'Eli's turn's done. Now for mine...'
"Diana."
He spread his arms wide and stepped toward her.
"Wh-why's everyone suddenly going for hugs...?"
First Eli, now Balkan—Diana looked flustered.
"Academy trend lately: tight hugs for folks you're happy to see."
Balkan tossed out Eli's excuse casually.
"R-really...? K-kids these days sure move fast..."
Diana flushed beet red, floored by this cutting-edge Academy custom.
Her gaze drifted to Balkan.
His arms were still flung wide.
No words needed—they drew toward each other cautiously.
Balkan's hands slipped under her armpits, wrapping gently around her back.
Squeeeeeze—
A heartfelt clinch, arms locking them tight.
"Hah... haaah..."
Standing straight in the embrace put Balkan's thick pecs right in Diana's face.
She squeezed her eyes shut tighter to cling to her sanity.
That only made her hypersensitive breasts grinding against his abs feel all the sharper.
The unexpected jolt slackened her waist—then the curse kicked in.
Zing—
"Nnhii...!"
Diana clamped down on the scorching pleasure rising from her core.
'Balkan's back sooner than I thought...'
She hadn't fully vented the lust piling up from that lewd weakling debauchee pattern curse.
More precisely—she'd been hard at work releasing it when his knock yanked her out of the room in a panic.
Not just any room. Balkan's room.
Denied release at the brink, the curse now tormented her womb fiercer than before.
Diana felt on the verge of madness, but she gritted through the lust, forcing a calm, gentle smile.
Squeeeeeze—
Her body stayed honest regardless. She focused on not crushing him, savoring the hug.
"...H-hey! You two hugging way too long, aren't you?!"
Eli, who'd been staring blankly at the earnest embrace, yelled in a panic.
"......"
"......"
Lost in the feel of each other's bodies amid the silence, they snapped to at Eli's voice.
Schlurp—
The hug had been so long and fierce that their bodies peeled apart with a lewd sound.
Balkan and Diana stared at each other for a beat.
"...Diana. Dinner service tonight?"
"...Y-yeah... n-no, not tonight..."
"Then how 'bout we catch up over drinks? First time proper, actually. Swap stories from the gap."
"...Y-yeah. S-sure..."
Diana nodded hazily at Balkan's words.
His gaze shifted to Eli.
"Ahem. Eli, head up to my room or something. Adults gotta talk."
Both Eli and Diana jolted like a switch flipped.
Eli zeroed in on 'adults,' Diana on 'Balkan's room.'
"I'm an adult now too, y'know!"
"R-right! Eli's all grown up now. Can't have proper adults sharing a room... Oh, and Balkan—use a different room tonight. N-no other reason... j-just been cleaning..."
While Balkan reeled from the over-the-top reactions, Eli bolted to the bar table and yanked out the notoriously potent dwarf brew.
"I-I can drink too!"
She plopped into a chair at the table, staking her spot.
Perched there, Eli fixed Balkan and Diana with a piercing glare.
'Something... dangerous.'
Her instincts screamed the warning.
The vibe between Balkan and Diana was anything but normal.
Felt like something was about to pop off.
And if booze got thrown in?
Maybe—just maybe. One-in-a-million shot.
'...I might get a little sibling.'
That, she had to stop.
'Gotta wedge myself between foster mom and mister—keep 'em under surveillance!!'
Diana met Eli's steely face with a soft smile, like watching her daughter pull a cute prank, and took her seat at the table.
"C'mon, mister—hurry up!"
Balkan sighed at Eli tapping the chair beside her insistently.
In one inn of Labyrinth City, as twilight faded and bright stars began twinkling in the darkening sky.
The drinking session kicked off.