Chapter 237: 41st Floor: Escape
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 237: 41st Floor: Escape
Time to head back to the city.
We rode back on the winds created by Silvarion, the high-level wind spirit.
She guided the winds ahead of us, and the line of her hips and ass was a true work of art. I was tempted to grab her ass and use it to steer.
Grope...
"Hnngh... Shota, what are you doing all of a sudden...?"
Instead, it was Shota who hugged me from behind, his hands starting to fiddle with my breasts.
"Just getting my usual hug from you, Noona."
"Oh, is that so?"
The rich, musky scent of a man, radiating from the sweat of his training...
A slight tingle went through my pussy.
'No... Shota is like a little brother to me. He must just miss the comfort of a mother's embrace. I shouldn't be having these weird thoughts...'
Before long, the city walls came into view, and it was time to send Silvarion on her way.
"Silvarion, you did well. You can go back now."
"[I await your next summons...]"
I thanked Silvarion for silently watching over us all this time, and we parted ways. Thanks to her, I'd been able to relax without worry for the first time in a while.
She has no cooldown on her summon, either. I don't know what would happen if she died, but for now, it seems I can summon and dismiss her at will.
Once inside the city, the first thing we did was buy a suit of armor for Shota. As for the money... I used everything I'd earned from being forcibly(?) creampied.
The armor was a tin-can suit of full plate that covered even his face. It was clumsy to move in and didn't offer much protection, but it completely concealed his appearance.
'Why didn't I think of this sooner?'
Wouldn't it be fine as long as his blond hair and golden eyes were hidden? They'd figure it out eventually, but at least our enemies would be thoroughly confused at first.
They'd never imagine the curse could be broken, so they wouldn't connect this physique with Shota. They'd probably be busy searching for him, thinking he was hiding somewhere in the Great Forest.
Dressed like that, we headed for the meeting point in front of the Adventurer's Guild branch.
A crowd of adventurers hoping to make a quick buck by taking down the Red Drake had gathered there. And among them, I spotted Rodso, constantly looking around.
It was Rodso's acquaintances who recognized me first.
"Hey, Rodso, your wife's here. But... looks like she brought her husband along?"
"What?! Dona, wh-who is that man...?"
Rodso started to confront me, but then he froze.
He could feel an aura.
Despite the cheap, tin-can armor that hid his face, there was an undeniable aura emanating from the golden glint in his eyes, visible through the helmet's visor, and from his sheer physical presence.
In fact, Shota had grown again in his sleep and was now over 190 cm tall. On top of that, a faint golden aura was actually enveloping him. He was practicing the mana circulation I'd told him to work on whenever he had a spare moment, even while walking.
"Uh, who is that...?"
"Ahem, my younger brother. He's the older brother of the kid you saw last time."
"......"
Rodso recalled what he'd done in the past and instinctively touched his neck. He remembered teaching the "younger brother" some strange things.
"Ahem... W-we should get going. Ah, have you registered as an adventurer as well?"
Shota also registered as a Wood Badge adventurer, and we set off together.
*
We set off in a slightly different direction from the way we'd come.
A carriage? Adventurers like us don't get luxuries like that.
In truth, these people were nothing more than meat shields.
The real subjugation party would be arriving separately anyway.
Our job was to serve as fodder and buy them some time.
After a full day of travel, we arrived at the area where the Red Drake was said to be wreaking havoc.
Just then, we spotted the Red Drake in the distance, attacking a merchant caravan.
The guards, as well as the merchants, abandoned their wagons and fled for their lives.
But they were all roasted to a crisp by the fireballs the drake spat out.
'Clearly, without Aura or magic, an ordinary person stands almost no chance of taking this thing down.'
Swords can't even pierce its thick, tough hide.
You could say it's about twice as strong as the T-Rex (a regular drake) we met on the 25th floor.
Of course, to me, it's a one-punch job.
"It's... it's so huge..."
"I think we made a mistake coming here..."
"W-wait. I-I'm heading back..."
While the other adventurers were frozen in fear at the sight of the beast, Shota and I charged forward. Rodso followed slowly, shuffling along behind us.
"This is your first real battle, Shota. You can do this, right?"
KUUUWOOOOAAAAAR!!!!
It wasn't quite on the level of a Dragon Fear, but the powerful roar of the high-level monster turned Rodso and the other adventurers to stone.
Of course, Shota and I were different.
WHOOOOSH!!
Seeing us, the Red Drake launched a fireball the size of a house. The two of us split up, scattering to either side.
The Red Drake stood nearly ten meters tall.
I threw a spear through the sole of its foot, merely hindering its movement, and left the rest to Shota.
"Haaaaaaaah!!!"
Shota doesn't know how to use Aura, but he reinforced his body with mana and swung his sword at the drake's leg.
CLANG!!
However, the Red Drake's hide didn't yield to a mere iron sword.
'Alright, Shota, how are you going to handle this?'
KUUUWOOOOAAAAAR!!!
CRUNCH!
Shota barely dodged the drake's bite.
He tried slashing at its face, but the sword still wouldn't bite. He aimed for its eyes, but it simply shut them, and the blade couldn't get through.
THWACK!!
After trading a few more ineffective blows, the drake stopped trying to bite and instead rammed Shota like a rhinoceros, sending him flying.
Shota was launched into the air by the blow to its snout, and the Red Drake began to gather fire.
'Should I help him?'
Just then, right before the fire was unleashed.
The moment the Red Drake's mouth opened slightly, Shota threw his sword without hesitation!
SHWIIIIK!!
THUNK!
The thrown sword lodged itself squarely in the drake's uvula—one of its most vulnerable spots.
KIEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!
Thud!
Landing on the ground, Shota immediately charged toward the Red Drake.
He ran straight for the drake, which was gagging as if it had a fishbone stuck in its throat, and dove right into its mouth!
'Crazy bastard... Just like my student.'
K-Kegh!?
The Red Drake's body twitched and froze...
KIEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!
It let out a massive shriek and began to convulse.
As the ten-meter-tall behemoth thrashed about, the ground shook, and the nearby wagons were swept away and crushed.
About thirty seconds passed.
The Red Drake's body convulsed violently again, as if stabbed by something,
CRASH!!!
and then it collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
'That kid... he's trapped inside.'
I walked over and sliced open the Red Drake's chest, and a blood-soaked Shota stumbled out, gasping for air.
"You idiot. You're not supposed to go all the way inside its mouth. Next time, aim for the roof of its mouth."
"Keoheok... Noona, feedback later... I really thought I was going to die..."
"You big baby."
As he said, feedback could wait. It was finally time to get paid.
I quickly approached the supervisor dispatched from the Adventurer's Guild.
"Well now~ You saw us take it down, right?"
"...I-I saw."
"Let's be reasonable with the price. The heart's burst and it's lost a lot of blood, so I'd say it's worth about 400 gold. Pay up."
"What... I mean, setting the price aside, how am I supposed to pay you right now?"
"You have a magic communication device, right? Just use that to contact the guild. We have somewhere else to be, so we need to leave first. In exchange, we'll only take half the money. How about it?"
Normally, you'd have to transport the carcass, dismantle it, and then sell the parts. That process alone takes a little over a week.
And during that time, the Second Prince would pull all sorts of schemes, figuring out our objective and paralyzing the Warp Gate, among other things.
But the original Trial was designed for a party of sixteen. The Warp Gate fee is 50 gold per person, so with Shota included, we'd need 850 gold. That's why you'd have to earn more money even while dealing with their interference.
'But I don't need to do that.'
Our plan is to get to the Warp Gate quickly, before they realize who Shota is. You could almost call it a speedrun.
"Hmm..."
He thought for a moment...
"Alright. I'll see what I can do."
He agreed, just as I expected.
In the meantime, we took only Rodso and hurried back to the city. Of course, we took the Silvarion Express on the way home, too.
'This is way too convenient.'
Now that I've tried it, I see it's a total cheat.
The comfortable ride was one thing, but gazing at Sister Silvarion's ass while having my own breasts groped meant there was never a dull moment.
"Heuuungh..."
Rodso tried to touch my breasts too, but...
"Ahem, may I touch them as well?"
"......."
Rodso silently lowered his head under Shota's chilling gaze.
We covered a day's journey in about three hours.
After arriving at the Adventurer's Guild and collecting our money, we gave Rodso 10 gold.
We didn't need much money anyway, and this was hush money for him to forget about us and go start a farm in the countryside.
Rodso parted ways with us, dejected by the fact that he'd never get to taste my pussy again.
Then, without delay, we went straight to the Warp Gate.
"Yes, identity confirmed."
They don't really do proper checks for warps to places near the border.
Just a bunch of slave mages who take your money and operate the gate.
They're graduate students from the Magic Tower, which basically makes them slaves.
Anyway, just like that, we easily completed the escape from Valterion City—the part of this Trial that was supposed to take the longest.
And after I was gone...
"Hm? A new wanted list?"
The slave mage who had sent me on my way received a new directive.
On the wanted poster were the very same me and the tin-can knight he had just sent through.
The charge: serial murder.
It was a charge hastily fabricated by the city guard, who had been bribed by the Second Prince's faction, in order to block our passage through the Warp Gate.
"Uh...? But I already sent them through?"
The problem was, my movements had been far faster than they'd anticipated.
*
A cold wind blew.
We had taken the Warp Gate to the largest city in the north, the one closest to the Khelum Kingdom.
There was no need to linger here. This city was ruled by a noble loyal to the House of Duke Thermion, the Second Prince's backers, so we had to get out as fast as possible.
'None of that matters now. We can just break through by force if we have to.'
The Khelum Kingdom isn't far now, anyway. It doesn't matter if we're wanted criminals or traitors.
From here on out, all we have to do is summon a Bicorn and ride.
With that in mind, we tried to leave the city, but...
'Ha... How did they figure it out so fast? No, wait, would they be idiots not to?'
The city gates suddenly slammed shut, and the city's main forces and knights swarmed toward us. On the walls above, soldiers with tense expressions scrambled into position.
"(Shota, it's starting.)"
Shota nodded, his expression taut with tension.
"Come forth, Bicorn!!!"
HIIIIIIIIIGH~~!!
The air split open, and a massive, jet-black horse with two horns was summoned.
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
"Wh-what is that thing!!!"
"Run!!"
The people nearby scattered in shock, and the guards were thrown into confusion.
In the chaos, I mounted in front and Shota got on behind me, ready to go.
"Th-the wanted criminals are on horseback! All units, attack!!"
The commander finally came to his senses and gave the order, and the archers who had been hiding on the battlements, bows drawn, let loose a volley of arrows, but...
"No time to play around! Let's go!!"
HIIIIIIIGH!!!
Th-th-th-th-th...!! KRAAAASH!!!
With the Bicorn's charge skill, the city gate was utterly demolished in the blink of an eye, and we were instantly clear of the walls.
"Uwaaaaaaaah!!"
"Kya-hooooot!!! Hnngh-et!!"
SQUEEZE!!
Startled by the sudden burst of speed, Shota grabbed a handful of my pleasantly firm breasts, causing me to let out a strange, surprised yelp, but we escaped safely.
"Shota~ It's really dangerous if you touch me there... Why don't you hold onto my waist?"
"S-sorry, Noona. But we've escaped now, right?"
"Probably?"
Th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th!!
The Bicorn galloped exhilaratingly down the road.
Nothing could stand in our way.
Somehow, they knew where we were going, and enemies kept appearing, but they were no match for the Bicorn.
A group of assassins appeared ahead? We just charged through.
They blocked the road? We broke through and charged.
They set a trap? We broke through and charged.
Knights charging on horseback? A single lightning strike, then we charged.
Sharing my stats through its Sacred Beast trait, the Bicorn was far stronger than before. There was nothing in this world that could harm it.
I didn't even need to use the Divine Shield I'd prepared just in case, or Shota's swordsmanship. We broke through everything just by sitting on the Bicorn's back.
'What does that make me, who prepared so diligently...?'
There was just one problem.
Shota, who was riding a horse for the first time in his life, seemed to need some time to adjust.
"Ughhhhh..."
Shota complained of dizziness.
"Are you okay, Shota?"
Confirming there were no enemies nearby, I slowed the Bicorn to a walk. I was fine, since it was my Sacred Beast and my riding skill was maxed out, but Shota seemed quite dizzy.
"No... I'm not doing so well, Noona. It's shaking so much..."
"Really...? Here, hold onto me tightly."
GRAB!
As if he'd been waiting for those words, Shota grabbed my breasts.
"Hnngh...! Shota, n-not there..."
"Oh? Then... is it okay if I hold here?"
Slide... Grope!
Shota took it a step further, sliding one hand between my legs and grabbing my pussy!
"Nnghyat!!! Th-that place is even more..."
"Noona, I feel better now. Let's keep going like this. It's nice, being pressed so close together."
'L-like this...?'
Shota's thick, now fully-grown hand had complete control over my pussy. He didn't put his fingers inside, but he was squeezing my entire mound so tightly that I could feel it with vivid clarity.
"Noona, this much is okay, right? Let's hurry."
As he spoke, he buried his face in the nape of my neck and breathed warmly against my skin.
"Haaah... Sh-should we?"
'Is it really okay to allow this...?'
Normally, it would have been out of the question, but with her pussy in his grasp, Do-hee's mind grew hazy again.
She was already starved for sex and just about to go into heat, and the fact that Shota had been casually groping her breasts and stealing her breast milk whenever he pleased—like getting a drink from a water cooler—had already lowered her psychological barriers significantly.
Besides, the Bicorn was auto-hunting the enemies for us, and it was true that the faster we went, the better...
In the end, she kept riding with Shota's hand clamped on her pussy.
"Hnngh..."
Every time my hips lifted and fell with the Bicorn's gait, I could feel his hand gripping my pussy. Before I knew it, my love juice was flowing freely, soaking me down there.
Squish... squish...
"Hehe... Noona, you seem to sweat a lot."
Before we knew it, the sun was setting.
As we continued to ride across the chilly plains, Shota ceaselessly kneaded my breasts and wiggled the hand he had on my pussy.
"Haaaaah... Huu... Nngh!"
'Th-this bastard... My pussy, my pussy is going to go crazy...'
My pussy was completely in heat, but whether Shota knew it or not, he just kept saying the strangest things.
"Noona, your pussy is so warm and slippery. I like it. I want to keep holding it. Can I?"
"Haaah... N-nooo..."
"You mean yes? Thanks! I'll keep a good grip on your pussy, Noona. Oh, and I'm hungry, so I'm going to drink some of your breast milk."
Sluuuuuuurp!!!
"Hnngh...! Ah, haaah... You... Hnngh...! Nnh!"
Even at night, Shota's caresses didn't stop.
Even as he slept leaning against my back, he instinctively continued to grope my pussy and breasts.
After riding like that for a full day, we finally arrived at the border gate.
For this moment, at least, Shota took his hands off my pussy and breasts and focused.
Originally, this was the place where you were supposed to have a final, bloody battle with the numerous elite legions from House Thermion.
But perhaps they hadn't had time to prepare, because there were only a few soldiers, and a man in an official's uniform, not a knight's armor, was blocking the gate.
'What's this?'
He didn't seem to have any hostile intent, so we stopped.
"Lord Shota! The Second Prince, Lord Chris, has a message for you!"
He raised both hands to show he was unarmed and watched us warily.
"Shota? What do you want to do? Should we just go?"
It was obviously some kind of strange plot... but what mattered was what Shota wanted.
"Ummm... I don't think we need to hear it, do we?"
As I raised my spear in acknowledgement,
"W-wait! It's about your mother. Are you truly going to leave without listening?"