Chapter 41: The Strange Love Triangle Between Mother and Daughter
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 41: The Strange Love Triangle Between Mother and Daughter
“You’re saying he’s yours?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah? ‘Yeah’?! How can you just say ‘yeah’?!”
Moira stared at her daughter as if she couldn't comprehend a single word. She looked deeply wronged.
“I spent months building up his affection points, and you just swoop in and snatch the prize? Are you a thief?”
“Calling your own daughter a thief! I was building up my own points too! What do you know, Mom?!”
“What do I know? Every time you saw Sion, you tried to set him up with me! Didn't you? You did! If you were going to eat him yourself, why did you keep pushing him on me?”
“Th-that’s... I was too embarrassed to say I liked him openly. That’s why I did it. Hehe.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?! You used me as a shield? I thought you were giving me permission to make him your stepdad!”
“Eww. What are you talking about? A stepdad? I hate the idea of a stepdad.”
“You brat! You’re the one who gave Sion and me your blessing first! I thought that little girl who used to hate the idea of a stepfather had finally grown up and wanted her mother to be happy. But no. Hah. You ungrateful wench.”
“Oh, Mom. It’s not like that. Ugh... I just don't want a stepdad.”
“What? You don't want a stepdad? Then what about me? What about me?!”
Yuria flinched, startled by Moira’s fury. It seemed Yuria had been blocking Moira’s love life from childhood all the way into adulthood.
In the end, Moira hadn't taken in a new man for the sake of her daughter, and now that the daughter was independent and she’d finally found a potential husband, her own daughter had snatched him away.
Wait, the more I understood the situation, the weirder it got.
What the hell was going on?
This bizarre love triangle between Yuria, Moira, and me was more labyrinthine than the Labyrinth itself. No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn't find a strategy to clear this.
In the Labyrinth, you could eventually find a way through trial and error. But the human heart? I had no idea which way it was leaning.
“No. I absolutely will not allow the two of you to be together. He’s my husband material. Hands off, Yuria. I don't care if you’re my daughter; I won't listen to any more of this nonsense about making your potential stepfather your boyfriend. You need to compromise.”
“B-but... Sion and I have already done everything.”
“Already what? Done everything? No, wait. You two. How far did you go?”
Moira demanded to know our progress. For a moment, I couldn't say a word. It seemed Moira mistakenly believed Yuria and I had barely reached the hand-holding stage.
‘We’ve already enjoyed full-blown slave play.’
The moment I recalled Yuria’s naked body, Moira glared at me.
“Don't tell me. You two... did you even kiss?”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, Mom. Don't be so embarrassing. Of course we kissed.”
“...”
Moira clutched her face as if she’d been struck by a physical blow. Yuria, for some reason, was acting shy and twisting her body bashfully.
This situation was getting dangerous. Moira looked like she was about to explode, while Yuria was grinning foolishly, completely failing to read the room.
What was even worse was that Lady Leah would likely join this chaos before long.
‘I’m going crazy.’
My thought process ground to a halt under the weight of these consecutive anomalies. I never wanted to be this popular. Above all, every single person who liked me was far from normal. It felt like I was walking on thin ice.
“Phew. Fine. Arguing isn't going to change anything. Since it’s come to this, there’s no other choice.”
“No other choice? About what?”
“The only way for you to keep your boyfriend and for me to get married.”
Moira pointed a finger at me as if she’d made a final decision.
“Let’s share him.”
“Cough! Hack!”
Saliva went down the wrong pipe. Share me? I wasn't some kind of object.
“Mom!”
“Yuria, you said you hated the idea of a stepdad. You probably feel repulsed by the thought of me being with a man you don't know. So, we do this: use the familiar Sion as both your lord and your stepfather. Well? Isn't it perfect?”
“Wait, hold on. Does that mean I’m Yuria’s boyfriend and the Guild Master’s lover at the same time?”
“Exactly. Think about it, Sion. You’ve just become the luckiest man in the Labyrinth City.”
So this was what it meant to be a Platinum Badge adventurer. To derive such a solution from this situation... I suppose I should expect nothing less from an adventurer who had reached the 7th Floor.
“Sion... what do you think?”
“Huh? Uh, well...”
I was at a loss for words at Yuria’s question. To have both Yuria and Moira? Honestly, from my perspective, having both was a win.
But could I really tell Yuria that?
The mother and daughter, both with hair like flickering flames, were staring at me simultaneously. Somehow, I had been given the power to decide the direction of this bizarre triangle.
“I’ll follow Sion’s judgment.”
“Make your choice, Sion.”
Both were incredibly beautiful. Their figures went without saying. Furthermore, if I accepted Moira’s proposal, I would gain the opportunity to pursue a new route.
‘The Mother-Daughter Route.’
I felt like I was losing my mind. Realistically, a "Mother-Daughter Rice Bowl" usually had its flaws. Assuming the daughter was an adult, the mother would naturally be aged. Inevitably, one side would have "spoiled" with time.
But what if she hadn't aged? What if she still maintained the firm skin of her youth? Moreover, in a situation where her only male experience was presumably her deceased husband...
This was definitely a passing grade.
“Wait a minute. Let’s... let’s talk about this later. I don't think this is something we should decide so suddenly.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
My heart was telling me to accept Moira, but it had only been one day since I started dating Yuria. I felt it was wrong to shove someone else between us so soon. I hadn't even gone on a proper date with Yuria yet; wouldn't adding her mother be premature?
Above all, once Lady Leah joined us, it would turn into a mindless disaster.
“Fine. If that’s what the party involved says... Tsk.”
“Hehe. Did you hear that? Stay out of it, Mom!”
“You brat!”
It looked like they were about to start fighting again, so I quickly shouted.
“I-I’ll be heading out now!”
“Where to?”
“I’m going to rest for the day. It’s about time for dinner anyway.”
“Is it? Then come over to our place and have dinner before you go.”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah. Yuria, you come home and eat too. It’s been a while. Stop eating that weird street food all the time.”
“Dinner? Should I? Let’s go together, Sion.”
“Right. We can go together and eat. It’s about time to clock out anyway.”
I hadn't even agreed to go, but somehow I ended up visiting the Guild Master’s house.
“Oh, are you leaving for the day?”
“Yes. I’m heading out first. Good work.”
“Understood! Have a good evening!”
As we went down to the first floor, Ms. Edwin saw us off. The Adventurer’s Guild operated 24 hours a day because they never knew when adventurers would emerge from the Labyrinth. I knew the counter girls worked in three shifts. For some reason, Ms. Edwin seemed to be there every time I visited, but that was probably just my imagination.
‘The Guild Master lives in the south.’
Following her, we arrived at a wealthy district in the southern part of the city. It was a clean street, devoid of the typical clutter and roughness of the Labyrinth City. No homeless people were in sight, and there were hardly any adventurers. It was truly a neighborhood where the big shots of the city would live.
Most of the houses were mansion-sized. At this scale, there had to be maids.
‘Wait, there really is one!?’
To my surprise, there was a maid at the Guild Master’s manor. A maid in a proper maid uniform. Living in the Labyrinth City, this was the first time I’d seen a genuine, traditional maid outfit. It was different from the maid-cosplay prostitutes in the Red Light District.
“Are you surprised by the maid?”
“Ah, yes. It’s my first time seeing one.”
“The house is too big for me to clean alone. For busy adventurers, slaves are a necessity.”
The Guild Master was right. Yuria’s place had been a mess, too. Slaves really were a necessity for adventurers.
“You’ve returned, Lady Moira.”
“Yes. This man is my guest. Dinner for three tonight.”
“Understood. I shall serve you shortly.”
She was a well-trained maid. She looked to be of a certain age, and she carried herself with corresponding maturity. What was most interesting was that she was an Easterner. Black hair and black eyes. She was of the same Asian-coded race as me. In this world, she would be someone who had crossed over from the East.
How did she become a slave? Perhaps becoming a slave was her only way to survive. Or maybe she died in the Labyrinth and became a slave because she didn't have the money to pay for her resurrection. After all, one of the biggest criteria for becoming a slave was the presence of relatives. Foreigners who lacked kin to pay the Church for their resurrection usually ended up on the slave route.
Given that, it was only natural that the ratio of slaves among Barbarians and Easterners—who lacked guarantors or roots—was high.
Regardless, by the standards of this world, she was a compatriot. Of course, since I was from Earth, we weren't actually from the same place, but racially, it was enough to think of her that way.
“Sion.”
“Yeah?”
“Should we buy a slave too?”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah. If you want one, we should buy one. Do you want a young woman?”
“Uh. I guess a woman would be better than a man?”
“Then should we go check out the slave trader together tomorrow?”
“What? For real?”
“Yeah. Let’s go look together.”
Yuria gently took my hand and whispered in my ear. She sounded like a girlfriend offering to buy a video game. Since she knew I liked slaves, she was catering to my tastes.
“I’d love that...”
“Hehe.”
Buying a slave with Yuria. My heart pounded. I felt a strange sense of depravity. I was already looking forward to tomorrow.
After entering Moira’s house and waiting for a short while, dinner was served. Various dishes were laid out on the table. Stir-fried vegetables, a dish similar to Dongpo pork, and a wonton soup with dumpling-like morsels.
‘What? This is straight-up Chinese food.’
It wasn't the typical Western-style fare common in the Labyrinth City, but the kind of Chinese cuisine you’d find at a restaurant on Earth. Being an Easterner, the maid must have specialized in it. I never expected to eat proper Chinese food in the Labyrinth City. It was the first time I’d had it in nearly six months.
Of course, since the Labyrinth City attracted all sorts of races, I’m sure I could have found a Chinese restaurant if I looked hard enough. But I hadn't even had time to go on a food tour. The last six months had been a struggle for survival. I didn't have the luxury of hunting for good eats.
“Thank you for the food. Oh! This is delicious.”
“She’s quite the cook. It goes especially well with this.”
As I was slurping the wonton soup, the Guild Master brought out a bottle of liquor from somewhere.
“It’s Hwaju from the East. As an Easterner yourself, it should be familiar, right?”
“Ooh...!”
What the Guild Master brought out was a distilled liquor that sat somewhere between Soju and Kaoliang liquor. It was the perfect match for greasy, flavorful Chinese food. You couldn't exactly drink sweet wine with Dongpo pork. Hwaju was the right choice. The Guild Master knew her stuff.
“Here, have a glass.”
“Ah, thank you.”
I couldn't refuse a drink poured by the Guild Master. Above all, the dinner was such perfect bar food that I couldn't not drink. I just had to make sure I didn't get too drunk.
“Yuria, you have some too.”
“Alcohol? Sure. I’d love some!”
And so, one glass turned into two.
“Phew...”
The heat was rising fast. This stuff was stronger than I thought. My head wasn't spinning yet, but the intoxication was starting to set in.
“Phew. G-Guild Masther... I... I can’t drink any more...”
“Is that so? You’re a lightweight.”
“N-no, I’m not... It’s just that you... hic... you’re too strong...”
“I suppose.”
Yuria looked like she was already half-asleep, nodding off. This was bad. I had to get home before I got any drunker.
“Hey, Sion.”
“Yeees...?”
“You don't look so good. Just sleep here tonight. There are plenty of empty rooms.”
“Whaaat? N-no, I can’t...”
“Just stay, kid. I won't do anything to you. Just drink comfortably and sleep.”
“Uh... hic. Is that okay...”
What should I do? The world was starting to tilt. This was the kind of alcohol that hit you all at once. I felt dizzy and tired. I didn't feel like throwing up, but my body felt light, and walking seemed difficult. I was sleepy. Ah, what should I do...
“There, there. Lin, prepare a room.”
“Yes, Lady Moira.”
Before I knew it, I was being supported by Moira. My eyes were slowly closing. So sleepy. So tired. I just wanted to sleep.
“Is he asleep?”
“It appears so, Lady Moira.”
“Take care of Yuria.”
“Yes, Lady Moira. Shall I stay away from the second floor?”
“Yes. Do not come up unless I call for you.”
“Understood.”
The maid, Lin, returned to the first floor. Moira, looking down at the sleeping Sion, smirked.
“Foolish boy. I told you so many times to always be on your guard.”
Moira quietly lay down beside the sleeping Sion.
“How dare you kiss my daughter? I can’t forgive that. This is karma.”
Moira clumsily pulled Sion into an embrace. She couldn't hide her excitement at the feeling of Sion’s surprisingly firm body.
“This little guy... he’s sturdier than he looks. Hehe...”
Knowing he was asleep, Moira let herself go. She slid her hand under Sion’s clothes, fondling his muscles.
“Hehehe...”
Moira spent a long time hugging and touching Sion’s body. The problem was, she couldn't bring herself to go any further than that.
“Hehe. Easterners... so cute. Black hair... so cute...”
As it turned out, Moira was even more of a novice than Yuria. Furthermore, she had a specific preference for Easterners—which was evident from the fact that even her maid was an Easterner.