Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Maria's Bargains
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6th Floor.
Plain chainmail armor, thief's cowhide boots, a seed of unknown origin, an iridescent flame potion that somehow resembled a cocktail...
The items Maria had brought were nothing but low-rarity goods compared to what a shady merchant might display on their stall.
But the prices were dirt cheap—most in the double digits.
The most expensive piece of gear barely topped 200 GOLD.
Having the Sad Ghost tag along as a subquest reward meant getting these consumables at heartwarming prices every time they crossed into a new region.
'That pint-sized succubus gouged me for 700 on some potions and scraps of paper.'
The one and only conscience in this ruthless dungeon...!
The thought was so touching it brought tears to my eyes.
"I heard you'd follow me, but I've never actually sensed you tagging along. How'd you do it? Were you just circling the area the whole time?"
I couldn't hold back the sudden question while pondering which of Maria's items to buy. Honestly, being a ghost, she probably found her way somehow, but if she'd been watching my every move, that'd be pretty unsettling.
'If that's the case, then she saw me using the onaholes too...'
Just imagining it was awkward as hell.
And if she'd overheard all the trash talk I spewed at Severa while scheming to break her...
"The path a hero takes is predetermined. My friends and I did it that way, and so did the great adventurers of old."
"Predetermined?"
Luckily, it didn't seem like Maria had caught wind of what I did to Severa, but the words still rubbed me the wrong way.
"The path you're on, advancing toward that indescribably terrifying end, is one countless heroes have walked before—while also serving as the bridgehead the end laid to devour the world. So if we wait somewhere along it, we'll naturally run into you, Hero."
So basically, she got there first and waited for me to catch up.
Made sense. As someone experienced with dungeons and not drawing aggro, she could move way faster than me.
"Gotcha. Ah, I'll take this and this."
No sign of the curse-lifting object yet, so I pointed to the chainmail for swapping on the next floor and the holy-looking flame potion.
I hoped I wouldn't need to throw it, but if push came to shove, I'd hurl it without hesitation.
Save the nature-loving for the real world. No one wanted a jungle crawling with these monsters anyway—I was basically doing pest control.
Come to think of it, shouldn't every nation in this world pay me hazard pay?
"I'm glad I had something useful. Could you share some of the feats you've gathered with me?"
"Ah, yeah, go ahead."
I held out my hand like with the shady merchant, but Maria tilted her head as if wondering why.
She stared at my hand, then my face, back to my hand, repeating it a few times. Starting to think I had it wrong, I started pulling my hand back.
Thinking about it, the shady merchant was a succubus—her method of taking GOLD wasn't exactly standard.
"May I touch you for a moment?"
In the awkward moment, Maria asked politely, and I nodded. If only Severa took after even half of Maria...
Maria's translucent hand touched my chest.
A cool sensation pierced the lion-head ornament and reached my skin.
Slowly, something flowed from the point of contact. Was this my soul?
But unlike the shady merchant, the flow wasn't a squeezing pleasure—it felt more like a consensual embrace.
"Oh... so that's how it works."
No exact amount showed up this time either. I wondered how she measured something immaterial, but she probably had her ways.
No point digging into every little detail like this.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ My backpack and holsters were stuffed full with purchases from Maria.
I could buy more on the next floor, so at least I wouldn't burn through all the consumables and end up empty.
"I'm off."
"Um... Hero? I have something to ask."
I'd turned to wrap up exploration of the 6th floor when her voice stopped me, and I looked back.
Maria hesitated as if debating whether to speak, but I had a pretty good guess what she wanted to say.
It had to be about Severa.
"You want to talk to Severa or something?"
"You know that name...!"
Honestly, I debated pulling out Severa to show her face.
"Saw it on that angel statue. You two must've been pretty close when you were alive?"
Maria had written that phrase screaming her affection for Severa—probably more than friends.
Way too politically correct for a low-res dot-game like D.D., but whatever.
Maria didn't deny it, just hung her head.
"What do you want to say? I can pass it along."
"Ah..."
Stone-cold refusal.
Seeing her disappointed face pricked my conscience a bit, but I had no intention of showing Severa to her right now.
I didn't think our relationship was that bad, but a masturbator and his toy didn't make for a pretty picture.
It'd be tough watching someone you liked get manhandled like that, so at least until Severa begged for it herself, showing her off felt awkward.
Either way, it'd break Maria's heart, but I didn't really have a choice.
She was the one who'd asked me to stop Severa in the first place.
"But next time, I'll let you two talk. Just not now."
"I see."
Her deeply disappointed expression softened a little, and as I turned away again, she gave me a smile.
'No clue how to react to that.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "You..."
"Was I too nosy? Sorry, it's a Korean thing."
After leaving Maria's clearing and walking down the passage for a while, I summoned Severa. She'd apparently overheard my chat with Maria, because her vibe was off from usual.
Glum and subdued, maybe.
She glanced back the way we'd come, looking like she had lingering regrets, but she shook her head in denial.
"No, I don't want to meet her like this. Not until we confirm that Maria's and my beliefs are right."
"Beliefs? Like, that I'm the hero?"
"Whether you're really the stuff to stop that end. Or just another weirdo who showed up."
I hoped I was that stuff too—otherwise, I'd end up dead in this dungeon.
"Least I decided I'm hero material. You telling me I'm not?"
No combat training in my life, yet I'd reached floor 6. A monster hunter who'd butchered countless beasts. A collector of powerful onaholes to fight for me.
Et cetera.
With all those titles, how could I not be hero material?
Even Severa couldn't resist becoming an onahole.
No arguments on that.
She stared at me with that "what weird crap is he spouting now" look, which pissed me off enough to give her what she liked.
Pang—!
"Eek—?!"
Her jiggling butt flashed the gem before it vanished.
Severa yelped sweetly, snapped her hips, grabbed her ass, and sidled up against the wall.
Surrounded by vines and leaves, she backed away in terror, eyes watery, as if trying to burrow through the thick plant wall and flee.
But I wasn't allowing ethereal form, so her material body just flailed in vain.
"Where you gonna find a cooler master than me? The more badass I am, the better shot I am at being the hero—which is good for you too, right?"
"B-being treated like a t-toy for your amusement... Hn! I hate it!"
She pressed her legs together primly and rubbed her thighs, so the stimulation must've been intense.
"I could stomach being a spirit aiding a hero... but not a tool for vile lusts... Nyah! Uh, haah..."
I leisurely enjoyed her stream of sweet moans.
Reckless in a passage where enemies could pop up anytime, but with FUEL hitting 0, I decided to call it.
"Didn't wanna go this far."
"Liar!"
"Well... you like getting roughed up, your ass is your weak spot, but you act all tough—makes me wanna tease the cute little thing."
If she'd been obedient, I'd have pampered her. But there was fun in the torment, right? That's just human nature.
Any normal, healthy-minded person would get it.
"P-pervert...!"
"Hoo... I feel the ache of those three scars etched on my heart..."
I trailed a hand wistfully down my chest, and Severa's face flushed beet red. Lost for words, she clamped her mouth shut.
"A pretty, kind, thoughtful ghost who plugs her own ass and gives hugs would be nice..."
Wonder where I'd find a perfect ghost like that.
Severa's face turned crimson, losing all its pallor, before she squeezed her eyes shut and shuffled over to hug me.
The lion-knight armor blocked any real embrace sensation, but her cutely trembling face from the humiliation was satisfying.
Poof—
FUEL hit 0, and Severa reverted to onahole form.
"Hm. Cute."
Gotta do that again next time.