Chapter 87
Chapter 87
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Cherished Dildo Carried Another Woman's Scent (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Edelbert furrowed her brow as she asked,
"Disciple. What in the world happened?"
"Pardon?"
Edelbert's gaze slowly drifted downward.
Eventually, her eyes settled on my crotch.
"⋯⋯"
Edelbert stared intently at my groin for a moment before gently closing her eyes.
A shiver ran down my spine—
'⋯What the hell?'
A chilling sensation prickled along my vertebrae, racing straight to my brain.
What was that? I swear I just got eye-raped.
I'd been ogled plenty of times while working at the tavern, but never this blatantly and instantly.
'⋯Nah, no way.'
I smacked my head to shake off the stray thoughts. Hopefully, it was just my imagination running wild.
"Never mind. We'll talk later."
Edelbert turned her gaze away from me as she spoke.
"Hm. And this gentleman is⋯"
This time, the middle-aged woman standing beside Edelbert eyed me up like she was appraising livestock.
Her gaze wasn't subtle—it slithered from my forearms to my pecs, tracing down my abs with sticky intensity.
"⋯"
Edelbert shot the woman a frown before beckoning me over with a flick of her hand.
I approached her side without a word.
Edelbert rarely showed expressions, so if even she was frowning, it meant she was seriously pissed.
Best to play it safe and obey.
Swish.
As I stood next to her, Edelbert casually rested a hand on my waist.
"Introduce yourself. This is my dildo."
""⋯Pardon?""
Both I and the middle-aged woman stared blankly at Edelbert.
Edelbert clicked her tongue at our reactions.
"Lighten up. You're killing the joke. For now, he's just my disciple."
It didn't feel like a joke at all, so relaxing my face was impossible.
The "for now" part grated on me especially.
"Ah, haha. I see. So you're the Union Leader's disciple⋯"
The woman's flustered expression shifted to keen interest the moment she heard I was Edelbert's disciple.
"Ahem. I'm Arpo, a Labyrinth ecologist and academy professor."
Professor Arpo extended her hand to me naturally.
'Arpo?'
A familiar name.
The advisor to Rayhem, the rogue mage specializing in illusion magic and a fallen grad student.
The one who'd posted the commission for the Shaman Hobgoblin's staff to save her son, who'd been turned into a vegetable after getting mauled by a monster in the Labyrinth.
And also,
The devil incarnate who'd delayed a grad student's graduation by a full ten years.
'Not my advisor, thank god.'
Professors pulled insane stunts like ten-year graduation delays all the time, but their victims were usually undergrads and TAs.
To everyone else outside the grad programs, they were just fonts of vast knowledge and authority.
People you couldn't easily befriend even if you wanted to.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Balkan, a Junior Explorer."
This was a chance to build connections. I shook Arpo's hand firmly.
Her eyes flickered slightly at "Junior Explorer," but she quickly composed herself.
"A Junior Explorer, yet you've become the Union Leader's disciple?"
"I got lucky."
"Luck⋯ Becoming the Union Leader's disciple isn't something you snag with just luck."
Arpo's eyes drifted to the left side of my jaw, exposed by my cracked helmet.
"You look young. Must be quite skilled."
"You're too kind. More importantly, did you receive the Shaman Hobgoblin's staff alright?"
"⋯How did you—? Ah, don't tell me?"
Arpo burst into laughter as she pieced it together.
"You were with that Junior Dwarf's party. What a coincidence!"
Looked like Joey Hogg had handled the job well. Payday couldn't come soon enough.
"You done talking?"
Edelbert stared piercingly at Professor Arpo, who'd been chatting with me.
Her look was sharper than I'd expected.
"Ah, yes!"
"The illusion magic tuning is perfectly complete, I assume?"
Edelbert held up something in her hand and asked Professor Arpo.
'A coin?'
It resembled a gold coin with a hole in the center, a thin thread tied through it.
Looked like something out of an old-school hypnosis manga.
"Ready for use anytime. Want to try it now?"
"No. I'll test it personally later. You can go."
"Understood."
Professor Arpo bowed politely and withdrew—via the stairs, not the elevator.
I was a bit surprised to see Edelbert talking down to a professor like that.
'I knew Edelbert's status was high, but this much?'
Even an academy professor bowing her head like that? Impressive.
"Disciple."
"Yes, Master."
And here I was, her disciple.
Connections, combat experience, Labyrinth advice—I could get everything I needed through her if I played it right.
The day she'd offered me the master-disciple bond was sheer heavenly luck, never to be repeated.
"Did you mate with Diana?"
My head went ice-cold, like a bucket of ice water over the warm fuzzies of master pride.
"⋯Pardon? I think I misheard."
"Did you mate with Diana?"
Edelbert stared at me with an expressionless gaze.
She said it casually, like everyday chit-chat⋯ but the content was anything but.
'⋯What the hell. How does she know?'
Did she spy on us? Catch me grunting away with Diana?
Suddenly, I recalled the black cat that had followed her during our first meeting.
Did she peep through her familiar?
Sniff sniff.
As suspicions swirled, Edelbert sniffed the air.
"The ripe semen stench has wafted all the way here."
Guess my guess was off.
'She sniffed it out?'
Even for a beastkin, what kind of nose does she have?
'Do level 70 powerhouses pull shit like this?'
I was floored.
"⋯Well, 'mating' feels a bit too grand for what happened⋯"
"Be honest. Your scent tells me everything."
Edelbert stepped right up to me.
Her massive, milk-dispensing udders, wrapped in that sleek leotard suit, stopped just shy of pressing against me.
Our eyes locked as she loomed in my face, interrogating me point-blank.
After a brief internal debate, I let out a deep sigh.
'Fuck it. I'm an adult.'
Frotting between consenting adults wasn't some grave sin. Right?
I decided to own it—no need to hide. So I laid it out straight.
"If mating means full sex, then no. But yeah, our junk rubbed together."
Embarrassment hit like a truck afterward, but I swallowed it down.
Edelbert nodded in apparent satisfaction at my honesty.
"Good to be straightforward, disciple. Fine. That much is⋯ acceptable."
I had no clue what made it acceptable, but she nodded anyway.
"If you've placed a preemptive bid, I can understand that much."
She nodded matter-of-factly again.
'⋯Preemptive bid?'
That phrasing made my head spin for some reason.
Like I'd become a communal dildo.
I shoved the negative thought aside.
"Still, put off full sex with Diana as long as possible. Even retired, we still need her power."
"Couldn't anyway. Curse blocks it."
"Heh. Lucky break."
Lucky? Who knew. But it wasn't her call to make—she had the same limp-dick rejection curse.
That aside, her words sparked a small question.
"⋯But what's Diana's power got to do with sex?"
"Ah. You don't know about Diana's blessing, do you?"
Edelbert seemed to know all about Diana's blessing.
She stroked her chin thoughtfully before chuckling.
"Spoiling it would ruin the fun. Once you're stronger than Diana, ask her yourself what blessing she has."
Stronger than Diana.
I nodded for now.
"Master. Can I really surpass Diana?"
"Hm. Her prime? Doubt it. But her current level⋯ minimum five years. Assuming you keep up this insane growth rate."
'Five years minimum⋯'
Considering vets like Javel or Joey Hogg around me, hitting Senior Explorer level in five years was near impossible.
Yet Edelbert said I'd reach it.
'Too long.'
Five years was an eternity. I couldn't wait that long.
Edelbert acknowledged my growth speed.
I'd overcome trials and leveled up fast.
But growth wasn't linear—plateaus and detours were inevitable.
'But if there's someone to grab my hand when I'm lost, and guide me down the right path⋯'
"How long with your hellish special training?"
Edelbert closed her eyes at my question.
Simulating the training regimen, probably.
It'd be harsher than anything before, no doubt.
After a moment, she opened her eyes.
"Assuming you ignore training intensity, risks, all the annoying bullshit, and just focus on what I tell you."
Edelbert's lips curved into a smirk.
"Three years, and you'll fuck her up."
Edelbert inwardly chuckled as she watched Balkan pledge himself enthusiastically to the training.
'Yes, disciple. You need to get stronger.'
Thump. Thump.
'So that my virginity can⋯'
Her womb clenched and released in anticipation, ovaries releasing eggs as she inhaled Balkan’s rising body scent and semen aroma just from standing near him.
'Diana. I'll take responsibility and train our dildo properly.'
In the training chamber, sealed like a vault.
Edelbert's special sparring session began.