Chapter 82
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Next Schedule (2)
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"Since everyone woke up late today, we'll hold off on training until tomorrow. You three head to the guild, pick up a gathering request, and come straight back."
"Got it, Cain."
"With Sis!"
"Sure thing."
I pulled 5 silver from the party funds pouch and handed it to Loren.
"Huh? Why... why the money?"
Loren's eyes went wide at the sight of the five shiny silver coins, her face full of confusion.
"Sia, Loren only has the one outfit."
"Yeah! It's all grubby, hehe."
"Ugh...!"
Exploring the labyrinth wrecked clothes even more, turning anyone into a ragamuffin, so neither Sia nor Claude had said anything about Loren's getup. But Loren flushed red with embarrassment all the same.
"So you two go shopping together for clothes and underwear. Hmm... And Loren, grab whatever you need for the city or the labyrinth, then head back to the lodging."
"Tha... thank you..."
"That's the plan for today. Tomorrow, you and I are going gear shopping."
"G... gear too?"
"What're you so shocked about? You're a party member now—it's only natural. We'll buy it with party funds. As long as it's not crazy expensive, we can just deduct it from the pot."
Claude, who had been lounging on the bed, suddenly shot to his feet.
This guy's gear obsession was flaring up again; he was about to bolt.
"Hey...! What about me?"
"You? Fuck off. You're already paying installments on a pile of pricey gear—shut it."
"Yessir...."
Claude deflated at my words and plopped back down on the bed.
"Claude, you're on escort duty. Sia's naive, and Loren's green too—stick with them."
"Gotcha...."
"Loren."
"Y... yeah? Wh... why?"
"No need to give Claude any cash. Sia's got zero money sense, so you're holding the purse."
"O... okay."
"Hand over the gathering reward separately when you get back, and don't blow all 5 silver. Bring whatever's left and just report what you spent it on."
"W... wait, lemme jot that down..."
"Here."
I handed her a sheet of paper with a pre-written list of things she'd probably need—easy stuff to note down.
"Whoa...."
"That should cover you without any big hassles in the city. Alright, you three—move out!"
"D... depart!"
"Sis, hurry!!!"
Sia bounced around in excitement, shoving Loren toward the door. Claude turned to me as they left.
"Hey, isn't Loren stupid cute?"
"Huh? What about her?"
"The way she tries to play it cool and stiff, but freaks out and slips into casual talk—kek!"
"That laugh just now? Straight-up middle-aged pervert uncle vibes. Get your ass ready."
"Sure thing. But seriously, why aren't you coming?"
"Got a stop to make."
"Where?"
"Loren's solid at gathering, so I'm heading to the potion workshop. Gotta check if they need any herbs beyond the guild's standard requests."
"Oh."
I watched them head off toward the guild, then made my way to the mage tower.
Recovery potions came from the church, while other consumables were brewed at potion workshops near the tower and shipped out to general stores.
Aphrodisiacs, stamina boosters, poisons—that sketchy stuff trickled in from the black market.
I'd pictured the mage tower as some massive spire at first, like the ones back in the empire. But here, it was just a big building, nothing more.
"Alley next to the mage tower..."
I spotted grim-faced folks in pointy hats and robes shuffling in and out. Nearby was a row of shops.
Wholesale only—no retail. Nothing but wagons everywhere.
I poked around the biggest one, and an employee who finished unloading a cart approached me.
"No small orders here. Hit up a general store."
"Yeah, I know. You guys buy gathering materials? Where at?"
"Huh? Gathering stuff? Basics go through the guild. For the rest, ask over at the guild office."
"Thanks."
The guy explained while handling cargo, so I headed to the guild office inside. Busy workers hauled materials around, and one guy was bellowing.
"Hey!!! Where's the neutralizer!!! Huh? Who're you?"
"Hi. Just checking if you buy any special gathering materials."
"Hoo... Over there! Hey! Leo, take this consult!!!"
"Yes!!! Senior!!!"
The foreman—or manager—yelled at the frantic crew before assigning a worker to me.
He was decent-looking but sported heavy dark circles, the picture of a burnt-out office drone.
"Hello... Gathering materials? Beyond the guild's standard request stuff?"
"Yeah. Just added an elf to the party, so I wanna know what herbs you buy outside the commons."
"Oh..! Elf.. elf? You mean Ju...?"
"Nah, not Juri."
"Phew, good. She messed with our supplies once—blacklisted her. Anyway, this way."
Relieved it wasn't her, the guy led me to what looked like an office.
Supply department? Procurement side, probably.
"Leo, what's... who's this?"
"Ah, wants our herb buy list."
"Huh?"
"New elf in his party. Give him the list of what we purchase besides guild commons."
"Ah... right!! This way."
The whole department looked hollow-eyed—like a black company where overtime and all-nighters were the norm.
"Here's the list of materials we handle for potions. I've marked just the herbs."
"Appreciate it. You got fixed weights or quantities?"
"One sec. I'll add buy prices and minimums."
"Cool."
About 10 minutes of furious scribbling later, he handed me the sheet.
"Here."
"Thanks."
"We always welcome material suppliers. Come back anytime—straight here next time."
"Will do. Take care."
Mission accomplished—time to bounce.
As I left the office and headed for the exit, I overheard two mages who looked like they'd come from the tower murmuring at the entrance.
"Sealed borders? For a duke house?"
"Maybe for a regular family, but it's Gresha."
"Ah...."
"Word is, they even dropped the search for the second daughter last month."
"One less headache, eh?"
"Eh, one fewer empire-related task is nice, but..."
"What?"
"You'd get it if you'd seen Sion even once. That face..."
"Turning you on?"
"Crown prince lost his shit over her—marriage talks flew. She's unreal. Whew!"
"Oho..."
"But now? Who knows if she's alive or dead. Just fading away."
"So why'd they come to this city?"
"That's... Hey, outsider. Zip it."
Damn, so close to more.
An imperial duke house the mage tower knew about. And they mentioned alchemy or magic—sis's family tied to the tower?
Narrowed it down nicely. Gotta dig into tower records sometime.
The two mages eyed me warily, so I skipped the tower and bailed.
"Man, it's been ages since I checked on Sis."
Too tight on time today. Tomorrow, after kitting out Loren.
Rest of the day? Off to see Camella.
"Haa... honey.."
"Been slammed lately with the new teammate and all—came late."
"Hehe, if you skipped today too..."
"You'd cry?"
"Eek!"
Smack!
I hit Camella's shop; a few customers milling about. Some dude was lurking by the counter, whispering to her on the sly, backing off, pretending to browse, then sidling up again for tense chit-chat.
"That'll be 1 silver 20 bronze total."
"Thanks."
"Come again!"
Ding-a-ling-
Thud thud thud!!!
Click-!
Last customer paid and split. Camella bolted to lock the door, dropped the blinds, and rushed me.
"What, you can just shutter the place like that?"
"Johnson said it's fine now that the baby's on the way. Just give the shop a quick once-over and take it easy, hehe..."
She rubbed her belly with a smile as she answered.
"No other staff? Running it solo?"
"Yup. He's so swamped he doesn't even come home like usual— that's the real head-scratcher!"
"What, if he starts doting and acting different, you thinking of crawling back?"
She'd gotten worked up mentioning Johnson out of the blue, so I pounced on it. Camella jumped in shock.
"N... no!! It's just so ridiculous..."
Finally, she grabbed my hand in a panic, fidgeting like mad.
"Honey, for real—you're the only one... right?"
"I know. Just messing with you. Easy, Camella."
"You're awful... mwah..!"
She pinched my chest lightly, then leaned in for a kiss.
I groped her body, slipping a hand between her ass cheeks to tease her hole—and felt something hard instead of the pucker.
"Hngt!! H... hold on..!"
"What? You've been practicing good, huh?"
"Idiot! For real!!"
Slap!!
She smacked my arm hard—must've been mortified.
"Next month, taking the new teammate and restarting from layer 1."
"Huh? New teammate...? For real?"
"Yeah. Found a kid with insane potential. Recruited her—we're gonna train her up from scratch."
"Ahh..."
Camella nodded, getting the gist.
"But first, lemme check your progress."
"Kyaa!"
I slid my hand deeper into her panties this time. There it was—the pussy plug I'd jammed in her last time to knock her up, now repurposed in her ass.
"Using this to keep it open now?"
"Y... yes... Got one from the shop... but it's still... ugh..."
"Bought bigger ones too, but practicing with this first since they're too much?"
"Y... yeah..."
Ears beet red, she nodded quietly, thumping my chest weakly.
"Shop's got oil—lube up good. Skip that, you'll get hurt."
"I kn... know that much!!"
I hugged her feisty self tight, stroking all over. Felt like some of the flab had melted off.
"Camella, you eating less lately?"
"Eh? H... how...?"
"I'm all over your body—if I can feel you've slimmed down, how little are you eating? Fasting for this practice or what?"
"Not that..."
"Then to look hot for me? Nah. Think of the baby—mom's gotta eat right for a strong kid."
"Hiiing..."
I'd playfully squeezed her thighs and ass a ton during and after sex. Guess she decided to slim down.
"Answer me."
"O... okay..."
"That's my good girl."
"Heeheehee!"
She giggled like a kid. I slid my hand back to her ass.
"Gonna need more practice, though?"
Squelch-!
"Haaaang!!!"
"Before month's out—practice hard. You want it, right?"
"O... okay."
After that, I gently twisted the plug to loosen her up a bit more, then got a heap of her blowjobs.
Camella's head game had leveled up big time—I could barely hold out anymore.
Fed her a thick load, chatted prenatal care, then headed back to the dorm.