Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: In Front of Gloria
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While carrying out various requests, I ventured into the Labyrinth from time to time, occasionally headed to the commercial district (usually the brothel), and went to learn cooking from Lillian, but I never skipped Alensia's massages during that period. This time too, I stayed a bit longer at the exam hall during the promotion exam period, but fortunately, I passed early enough not to miss my massage appointment with Alensia.
Usually, we did the massages once a week, and at the same time, Alensia—who was also doing rehab training with Gloria—would often update me on how the rehab was progressing.
And recently, even though she was still under continuous healing magic from the outside, she managed to successfully move her mana a little.
Why am I bringing this up all of a sudden...
"Today, Gloria said she wants to observe the treatment process."
That's why. Come to think of it, Gloria had eventually sworn not to leak it outside and learned about my skills. On top of that, when she heard the treatment method was massage, she insisted on watching the process herself in case there were any side effects we might have missed.
And when I woke up at the temple last time, I'd heard Gloria say she'd come by soon, so I'd mentally prepared myself to some extent.
"I'll just watch quietly, so please don't mind me and proceed as usual."
"Ah, yes..."
"By the way, I heard you passed the Intermediate Adventurer exam on the first try. Congratulations!"
"Ah, thank you."
I have no idea where she hears these things. Did Alensia tell her?
And since the promotion exam came up, a question popped into my mind, so I asked Gloria.
"But after going through the promotion exam myself, it seems almost impossible for priests to pass. How do priests get through the exam?"
"Oh, priests don't take the Labyrinth promotion exam. They have a separate one at the temple. It's generally less dangerous than the adventurer promotion exam."
Yeah, I can't imagine priests safely navigating fields full of monsters or traps.
"What about mages? I heard it's tough for them too."
"Mages take the same exam. Why? How was the one you went through?"
Can I tell other people? I asked Alensia, and she said it was fine to tell Intermediate Adventurers or higher who'd already taken it, so I explained what I'd gone through in the exam. It'd be hard to explain in detail, so I skipped the goblin stuff on the fifth floor.
"...Among all the promotion exam stories I've heard so far, yours ranks among the toughest."
"I knew it?"
It felt ridiculously hard. I felt a bit wronged, but whatever, I passed, so it doesn't matter? Lately in the Labyrinth too, I'd gotten used to these unfair twists. Or rather, I mentally won by telling myself that's just how it is. Anyway, I passed on the first try, so I'm the winner!
"...Well, please take good care of her today."
Still, with a bit of melancholy creeping in, I wrapped up the conversation.
"That's my line. Take care of Sia."
Hmm... I wonder if she'll say that after seeing the massage. By the way, since Gloria will be watching, Alensia should wear something normal like what she did at first, not that thin outfit, right?
Gloria and Alensia said they had something to discuss briefly, so while waiting for them, I went into the massage room first to prepare. Since there'd been progress lately, would I finally be massaging Alensia herself soon?
I smoothly changed into clean clothes like always, prepared hot water and scented oil, and waited for Alensia and Gloria to enter.
'...They're taking a while. Do they have a lot to talk about?'
The wait dragged on longer than expected, so to kill time, I wandered around the room. Times like this make me miss Earth badly. If I had a smartphone when time was vaguely free like this, I could erase it in an instant.
Ah, thinking of Earth unnecessarily. Manga I read there comes to mind. Did the Straw Hat become Pirate King? The one about dreaming of being a hero probably ended as a masterpiece, right?
My mood soured for no reason, and I lightly kicked the innocent wardrobe to cheer up.
-Thud.
Huh? Something fell from above. Feels like déjà vu... Uh, what the—?!
"Gah... you scared me."
For a split second, I thought the thing that fell from the wardrobe was a severed male organ, and my legs involuntarily clenched as I checked inside my pants.
Looking closely, it was a dildo that looked strikingly like a man's dick. Wow, this gives me déjà vu. Didn't I find something similar in Alensia's room last time?
The one back then was just colorless and transparent, but this one looks real.
Looking at it like this, it kinda resembles mine? Length and color... though mine seems a bit thicker... But why is this in the massage room instead of Alensia's room?
"...!"
"...That thing..."
'Oops.'
Hearing voices from the hallway beyond the door, I hurriedly put the dildo back. Best to pretend I don't know about stuff like this.
Soon the door opened, and seeing Alensia enter with Gloria left me speechless.
".........."
".........."
The same precarious outfit as last massage time. It clung tightly to her body, and peering closely, her breasts poked out slightly—probably no underwear underneath...
No, with Gloria coming to watch, I naturally assumed Alensia would wear something modest like the first time, but shattering my expectations, she came in that provocative getup. Glancing at Gloria beside her, her expression was a bit stiff, so Gloria seemed shocked too.
Someone who's always expressionless in armor outside would naturally surprise anyone in clothes like that.
"Hoo..."
Alensia brazenly lay on the bed as if nothing was wrong. Gloria hesitated a moment, then gave up saying anything to her and sat on the pre-prepared chair by the bed.
Yeah, so what if the outfit's embarrassing to look at? I'm not doing anything shady! What? Massaging might involve touching the breasts, so it's awkward to show? So what! It's not like I feel anything anyway!
This is purely medical treatment! Yeah, Alensia came in confidently like that, so if I hesitate, it'll look even weirder!
...I rationalized it to myself like that, sneaking glances at Gloria while placing my hands on Alensia lying on the bed.
For now, as usual...
Sensory Block
Block vision, block touch. Good, this prevents any arousal... Yeah, just do it like always. Like always...
'Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. Oh my.'
Gloria had been extremely shocked ever since seeing Sia return after changing clothes.
'Following "Alensia," always maintaining a stiff expression and wearing armor outside, Sia appeared before another man in such indecent attire.'
Of course, you can't get a massage in armor, so thin clothes make sense...
'Isn't that... the kind usually bought for that purpose?'
If it were just thin clothes, Gloria would have brushed it off as normal. But the outfit Alensia wore was a type she knew all too well.
'That looks just like the one I bought to wear with my husband back then...'
To reiterate, wealthy Alensia simply went to a clothing store and asked for "thin clothes," and the embarrassed customer service rep recommended a Labyrinth-made special material outfit that transmits the fabric's texture directly to the skin, giving the sensation of being naked.
Naturally, buyers usually get it for sex, not massages.
'No matter how I look, it's the same type I wore on my husband's birthday... I remember not throwing it away...'
And Gloria, now with Clara and widowed, had lived a chaste life far from debauchery for years, but back when her husband was alive—that healthy adventurer made her extend his Labyrinth camping nights out of fear, her lust overflowed so much.
After marrying him, living chastely as a priestess, she first tasted sexual pleasure from him and indulged for a while, buying all sorts of outfits to seduce him.
She still remembered. Going to his room without underwear under this outfit, whispering in his ear, "It feels just like being naked," and he turned beastly, pouncing on her.
Shocked momentarily that Sia wore such clothes, but then Ian started the massage with a calm expression.
'R...right! What am I thinking! It's just massage attire!'
Dismissing it as an old lady's sentimentality, she lightly slapped her cheeks, refocused, and observed Ian's massage up close. She came today to check for any possible side effects. No distractions!
Gripping her mind, she infused holy power into Sia's body to diagnose internally while observing physical changes from Ian's massage.
Surprisingly, despite no flow of mana or holy power, every time Ian's hands brushed Sia's body, the entire body subtly activated and healed.
'This is Ian's skill...'
She inwardly marveled. Possible to achieve this effect purely through massage technique without mana or holy power? Even if skills make the impossible possible...
Still, her face flushed at nearly naked Sia, so she fanned herself and looked at Ian's expression.
'...Ah...!'
She was shaken just watching, but Ian's face was utterly impassive. His gaze was vacant as if looking elsewhere, and his hands touching Sia's skin moved without the slightest tremor, like rubbing a stone instead of a woman's body.
'Yes, Ian's so serious, what was I thinking...'
-Squeeze.
'...Huh? What?'
Imagination? For a moment, while massaging the upper body, Ian's hand seemed to grab Sia's breast...
-Knead♥Knead♥
'H...he's actually kneading the breasts!'
Aghast at him casually starting to knead them right in front of her, she looked at Ian again. But he massaged on with an indifferent expression, like a potter kneading clay, not breasts.
'R...right. That's necessary for the massage process too. Sia's calm...'
-Pinch♥
'......Sia?'
Struggling to stay composed, her eyes caught Sia's nipples—standing erect, no underwear inside—vividly.
She slightly pulled her chair back to peer at Sia's face beyond the partition. Still maintaining her usual blank expression from outside, but...
As someone who'd known Sia long and as a woman, she could instinctively tell. Behind that face, a woman enduring pleasure hid.
Those who know, know. Gloria swallowed once, superimposing her own experiences onto Sia feeling Ian's hands, starting to imagine.
'Grabbing the breasts so roughly, lightly tugging once, then pulling the protruding nipple at the end...'
Before she knew it, she recalled nights with her long-deceased husband. The same thick male hands toying with erect nipples. Kneading like precious treasure.
Already basing it on her experiences, she fantasized: if she were the one lying there...
-...Gulp.
'Oh my, oh my! Wh...what am I thinking? Have I been starved too long?'
Aghast at herself swallowing, she hastily pulled back her face, which had unconsciously leaned close to Ian's moving hands. Yet Ian maintained focus, massaging to the end.
-Drip...
'Sia... as expected...'
And thanks to the extremely thin clothes, she tried ignoring the single droplet trickling from Sia's shorts.
-...Drip...
Ignoring the feeling that a similar droplet might be trickling from her own body.
"Good work."
"No, let's head out first. Usually after the massage, Alensia sends me out while she washes up."
'...That's probably not washing, but masturbating.'
As a fellow woman, she could imagine what Sia was doing inside the room now with the door closed, but for her close little sister's honor, she erased the thought from her mind.
"W...well, I'll be going now."
"Pardon? Leaving already? Why not check on Alensia once more..."
"No, I've confirmed there's no issue with your treatment, Ian. Clara's probably waiting too."
"If that's the case..."
She hurriedly said goodbye and walked the cold night streets back to the temple. The chilly night breeze cooled her body, which had heated up after so long.
Back at the temple, she checked on early-sleeping Clara, then returned to her room and showered.
'Sia's that appearance...'
Does Sia have feelings for Ian? Hmm... As a close big sister, she seemed to have friendly human affection, but romantic attraction felt distant.
But Sia clearly enjoyed Ian's touch. Coming out in that outfit even in front of her... Did she think I wouldn't notice? Well, she'd only shown the chaste priestess side to Sia and the others...
"Haa..."
Unknowingly, Gloria let out an excited sigh, recalling oblivious-to-being-watched Sia's pleasure-enjoying face and Ian's serious expression perfectly stimulating a woman's sensitive spots.
".......It's been so long..."
How long? Probably since Clara grew enough to barge into her room...
"Eut..... Ha-ut..♥"
The ripe female body ignited after so long wouldn't settle easily, even trying all night.
In Gloria's mind as she comforted herself, she imagined some man's touch—husband's or another's, she couldn't distinguish.