Affection (2)
Affection (2)
Kkuk kkuk, Lastina's breasts pressed down on Dojin's face. Unlike humans, demi-humans each had their own distinct body scents.
The beastkin Ho-yang smelled faintly of the fields.
From the elf Orion came the scent of a lush, natural forest.
And from the dwarf Lastina wafted a sweet, earthy aroma.
It was indescribable, but there wasn't a single bad thing about the natural scent emanating from a woman.
"All done."
After checking his chest circumference, she measured his waist and hip circumferences before asking.
"But aren't you a swordsman?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Hmm... For a swordsman to wear, light armor would be..."
"Full plate armor would be fine too."
"What are you talking about? You gonna wear a lump of metal like that and fight dungeon monsters?"
Lastina looked at Dojin with an expression like she was questioning if he was really an adventurer. Dojin, who had only ever worn the cheap leather armor he'd bought for his first dungeon dive, couldn't even imagine how much a big, heavy metal suit would hinder his movement.
But she was an artisan whose family had been making a living in this city for three generations. And dealing with adventurers at that. If it kept her fed, there had to be good reason for it.
Thinking that way, Dojin took her advice and ordered light armor.
"Don't worry. I'll make you my best masterpiece."
"Whatever. Oh, the material costs from earlier."
"Hmm? ...The bet was supposed to be free."
"I'm ordering armor too."
"...Well, true."
Somehow managing to get the material costs out of him, Lastina inwardly sighed in relief. Truth was, she'd recently splurged on ridiculously expensive materials and was flat broke right now.
If Dojin had just left without paying, she really would've had to sell weapons to unqualified adventurers while holding back tears.
Sure, they'd be mass-produced junk, but considering she was one of the few dwarf blacksmiths in the city, even that held considerable value.
"Oh, and... got any decent swords?"
"A decent sword? You already ordered one."
"No, I need something to use right now."
"Hmm... Nothing like the one you ordered."
"Doesn't matter. I'm not picky about weapons."
Hearing that, Lastina felt both admiration and pity for Dojin.
It was admirable for a warrior not to be choosy about weapons, but heartbreaking that a swordsman of his caliber didn't have one of his own.
'This guy...'
Lastina thought of an item rotting away in the corner of her workshop's storeroom.
"...Wait a sec."
With that, she headed into the back storeroom. And there, at the very back, she gazed at the pitch-black sword on display.
Her father's final masterpiece and memento, the sword so fiercely ominous they'd named it a magic sword.
'Father...'
Looking at this sword brought back memories of her late father. He'd poured his soul into it before collapsing from exhaustion, ultimately succumbing to illness.
Even the priests were powerless against the disease. Her father left one last will and passed away.
[The sword... give it to the princess knight who suits bikini armor well... my daughter....]
Thinking back now, it wasn't all that nostalgic. It was such an absurd request, she had no intention of honoring it.
On the contrary, her father probably would've loved to see it in the hands of an excellent swordsman like Dojin.
'It'll be fine.'
She was the owner of this workshop. The owner of everything inside it too. Meaning, she was free to do whatever she wanted with this sword.
She picked up the magic sword and exited the storeroom. Then plunked it down right in front of Dojin.
"...This is."
"Our house's finest named sword. It'll serve you well."
"...May I take a look?"
Dojin's speech turned polite. It had to. This was a kind of rite. Like a father artisan handing his daughter to his son-in-law swordsman at a wedding.
With Lastina's nod granting permission, Dojin carefully lifted the sword. The pitch-black scabbard bore two patterns like iron chains.
What would this sword be like? Brimming with anticipation, he gripped the hilt. Wooong, the sword began to hum.
□□□─. Not even the sound of it being drawn. An edge so extreme it sliced the air itself.
The drawn blade absorbed even light, dyed pitch black. Magic Sword. That was the first name Dojin thought of upon seeing it.
"What's this sword's name?"
"Magic Sword Crow."
"Crow... Fitting name."
True to its name of crow, the blade to the scabbard was entirely black. If swung in the dead of night, the opponent wouldn't even see the blade before dying.
And that held true even in the perpetually dark dungeon.
"This... is great."
"Of course. So? Buying it?"
"Haha, obviously."
Dojin handed over the gold coin pouch Lastina had returned earlier as he spoke.
"In full, upfront."
"This won't quite cover it..."
"Oh."
Magic swords were expensive.
Ridiculously so.
Leaving the forge, Dojin walked down the street humming like a kid who'd gotten a toy as a gift.
Orion found the sight so adorable that she smiled along and asked.
"Leader, you that happy about it?"
"Of course. Look at this. Does it look bad?"
Dojin said that while pointing to the magic sword he'd just bought from the shop. The ink-black blade looked precious enough at a glance to scream high-end.
"A magic sword..."
"Shh. Leader? Better not say that outside."
"Huh?"
"Magic sword. People might hear and get greedy."
"It's just a sword."
"Just a sword?"
Orion often found it fascinating how this man sometimes lacked basic common sense.
In this otherworld, where human-made gear couldn't withstand a single blow from dwarf-forged weapons, dwarves essentially monopolized weapon supply.
Named swords by renowned dwarves naturally required magic power in their forging.
You couldn't infuse magic into a weapon already imbued with magic power, so magic swords had to be made from the start with a mage's involvement.
Proud dwarf artisans would never accept that.
Thus, the magic swords in existence were either works that broke a dwarf artisan's pride or swords made by dwarf artisans who'd learned magic themselves.
Supply was absurdly low, prices sky-high.
"Even if Lastina sold it just for material costs, it'd be fine?"
"...That much?"
"Yep. Resell it, and you could make a hundred times what you paid."
"...Should I sell it?"
"You could?"
Orion looked at Dojin as she asked. Hearing the question, Dojin pondered briefly before shaking his head.
This sword contained magic power. A special force that enchanted people. Captivated by that magic power, Dojin couldn't bear to part with it easily.
"...Thanks."
"Huh? For what?"
"Introducing me to the shop. If not for you, I wouldn't have even known it existed."
"No. I was just the legs. What won Lastina over was your skill, Leader."
If anything, Orion was the one who should be grateful.
"I told you, elves never forget favors?"
"...Yeah, you did."
"I've still got a long way to go to repay the favor you did me."
"What did I even do?"
"Oh my, you don't remember?"
Just as she expected. Orion gazed steadily at Dojin. This man tilting his head had no idea of her own worth.
"It was me who suggested going up in the dungeon. So if we got in danger... that'd be my fault."
"No, that's..."
"Of course, no one could've predicted the dungeon would move. But since it was unpredictable, we have to settle it all the more."
Compared to humans who lived a mere 100 years, elves lived near eternity. What elves valued most was karma—favors and grudges.
Gratitude must be remembered forever, grudges resolved on the spot.
Otherwise, accumulated sins would grow unbearable.
"If I hadn't been there, you, Raize, and Eunha wouldn't have been in danger..."
"Orion."
Every time he heard her words, Dojin felt like his heart was being carved out. Because the reason the dungeon moved was him.
'It's because of me...'
On the contrary, without Dojin, she would've reached the 30th floor without any danger.
But he couldn't say that. Explaining would require spilling about the Dungeon Ruler and all that.
The loss from saying it outweighed any gain from explaining. Consoling while holding back words was tough, but Dojin managed to get it out.
"It's not your fault."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. Without you, I'd have gone mad in the dungeon."
"Huh? What do you..."
"You didn't show me your breasts..."
"Kyaaak!"
Orion suddenly screamed and clamped Dojin's mouth shut. She quickly scanned the surroundings, checking people's gazes.
Luckily, it being early afternoon, not many people were on the street. They were all far from the two...
Confirming no one nearby, Orion cautiously removed her hand and said.
"...Leader? Don't say stuff like that on the street. I'm a maiden too, you know."
"...Maiden?"
Hearing that, Dojin stared fixedly at her breasts. Breasts too large for a maiden. Was it okay to call those maidenly?
Dojin stole a glance at Orion's breasts like that, then flinched as their eyes met.
Upturned eyes glaring at him, just like last night when she'd pounced.
"Where are you looking?"
"...Sorry."
"Hehe, it's fine, Leader. After all, you were amazing last night too."
Her blunt sexual harassment, far more explicit than his own words, made Dojin finally realize how his comment must've felt.
Empathy, huh. Humans really don't get it till it happens to them.
"If you're that worried, Leader, wanna grab a drink with me sometime?"
"...A drink?"
Dojin recalled the number of beer kegs she'd downed at the tavern before. If he'd matched that, he'd have died of acute alcohol poisoning.
But as if reading his mind, Orion waved off the worry.
"This time, I'll show you booze that can even get an elf drunk. It's killer stuff."
Smiling as she said that, Dojin smiled back.
"Just drinking, right?"
"Of course."
Dojin took care not to let his expression twist as he listened.
'...Still okay for now, I guess.'
Then he read her thoughts.
"When should we do it?"
"I'm good anytime."
─This is my chance. Get her blackout drunk alone... she'll spill.
"Yeah, looking forward to it then?"
"Look forward all you want. I'll prepare special elf cuisine too!"
─I want her to tell me who the traitor is...
"Thanks."
"No problem."
─Please, don't make me have to kill you.
Orion.
She was a spy from the Great Forest.