Giant Subjugation Quest #8
Giant Subjugation Quest #8
"You have a present... for me?"
"Yes!"
The moment I heard that, my heart lurched with anxiety.
Because Kate had slipped her hand into the pocket of her nun's habit.
She said she had a 'present' for me, but I doubted it was an actual present.
The hand sign for mountain!
That was my gift to Kate in the carriage yesterday. I'd flashed her a fuck you gesture right in the face without flinching under her glare. Honestly, retaliation wouldn't be weird at all.
I watched Kate's hand disappear into her pocket with intense focus. Was she seriously planning to pull off the advanced technique of casually producing a 'fuck you' from her pocket? No matter what, wasn't she a nun of the church?
I opened my mouth, flustered.
"Hey, everyone's watching...!"
"What does that matter? It's between me and Mongma-nim."
"W-well, I guess so..."
My relationship with Kate was at a point where it wouldn't be strange if we bit each other's heads off at any moment. The adventurers in the carriage were sneaking glances our way, but Kate didn't look the least bit bothered.
This crazy bitch was actually going to go through with it.
"Calm down and think again."
"Ta-da!"
That was the moment I tried to stop Kate. She extended her hand toward me, and surprisingly, it wasn't an insult.
There was a transparent Holy Water bottle in Kate's hand.
"It's a Holy Water bottle, Mongma-nim!"
"Huh?"
The bottle just contained some sloshing water.
It wasn't radiating any holy aura; it was just ordinary water.
"There was still some of the water you drew for me inside the church last time, Mongma-nim. I intend to use it to create Holy Water right now."
"Here?"
"Yes. Since there's nothing else to do anyway."
Kate meant it.
She set the bottle on her knees and began to pray. Divine Power immediately began to flow from her body. A short time later, Holy Water had formed on Kate's lap.
"Hah. Hah."
Kate breathed heavily and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
The adventurers in the carriage stared at her and chattered in surprised voices.
"Holy Water, it's Holy Water!"
"The sister made Holy Water."
"To witness the freshly made, piping hot water of the sister is an honor."
The adventurers were cheering.
The male adventurers especially were eyeing the Holy Water on Kate's lap with greedy eyes.
What the fuck, is this supposed to be schoolgirl sweat? You goddamn perverts.
Rebecca, beside me, spoke with an expression of admiration.
"Wow, so that's how you make Holy Water."
"I've seen her make Holy Water at the church."
"How come?"
"While I was trying to get Holy Water to bring to you."
"Oh."
A faint smile flickered across Rebecca's face. Kate, who was sweating, looked over at the two of us chattering with a dissatisfied expression, then immediately thrust out the completed Holy Water.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and take it."
"Huh?"
"It's something I wanted to give you."
You're telling me the thing she wanted to give me was Holy Water?
I'd been dead certain she was going to flip me off.
I took the Holy Water Kate offered with a dumbfounded look.
I asked Kate for confirmation.
"Is this free...?"
"Of course! It's my present to you, Mongma-nim!"
"How much is this normally?"
"A low-grade Holy Water costs 30 copper. It restores far more stamina than the lowest grade, and it also has the efficacy to drive out lesser spirits."
"30 copper! Jesus."
I only then realized Kate had given me a truly incredible gift—a price three times that of the lowest-grade Holy Water. If I sold this Holy Water off, I could cover two days' worth of living expenses.
"You look very tired. Wouldn't it be best to drink it now?"
Kate spoke while suddenly looking at my face.
As she said, I had a face drenched in fatigue. Between the mana charging with Rebecca last night and standing watch, I hadn't slept a wink.
Honestly, I wanted to sell the Holy Water.
But undertaking a quest with accumulated fatigue was a problem. I might even pass out from sheer drowsiness once the giant subjugation battle started. I humbly accepted Kate's advice and drank the Holy Water.
"Lu-Luke! Just one sip for me-!"
"Are you a sip-leech? I'm disappointed, Rebecca."
"Hey, I'm so tired I feel like I'm dying too."
Rebecca was pestering me for the Holy Water from the side. Her eyes had deep shadows under them as well.
Well, it made sense she'd be tired after climaxing outdoors at a man's hands. My milking technique had been a bit intense after all.
"Here."
"Thanks."
Rebecca gulped down the Holy Water I'd left—about half the bottle.
At that moment, I felt a strange gaze and turned my head to see Kate staring at me with a displeased expression. Surely she wasn't going to ask for money now?
"Ask for money? No take-backs."
"No? I won't take it back."
So if it wasn't about money, was she displeased that I'd handed the Holy Water over to Rebecca?
What did that matter?
"...Hmph."
Kate turned her head away with a wounded look.
"What's with her? Was our Holy Water drinking method wrong? Do I have to dilute this with honey or something?"
"There's no way that's it! Stop talking nonsense."
"Bark bark bark bark bark bark."
"Ah, seriously, you're really just barking nonsense. ...Come see me later."
"Bark bark, what?"
Kate checked to make sure Rebecca wasn't paying attention and silently mouthed the words. Rebecca was looking at the empty Holy Water bottle, so she didn't notice Kate's actions.
Me et
Me jus t the two of us
"...You've both recovered from your fatigue, right? I can be satisfied with that."
Kate quickly covered her mouth and spoke aloud. It was a clever trick no one in the carriage would have caught besides me. I couldn't help but feel my thoughts grow complicated at Kate's message.
Meet just the two of us?
For what reason?
Didn't we get everything off our chests in the square before we departed?
I agonized deeply over whether to grant Kate's request. Refusing purely on principle was complicated because the 30 copper Holy Water I'd gotten from her weighed on my mind. Besides, we were riding in a carriage—when would a chance to meet alone ever come up?
But unexpectedly, the time to meet Kate came quickly.
*
"Rest period! We will halt here on the road for a time!"
The driver's voice rang out, and soon the four carriages came to a stop on the road. The rest period had come again without fail on the second day since the subjugation team departed. But unlike the first day, an atmosphere of tension was palpable even during the break.
Because the number of monsters appearing near the beach had increased.
"Goblins..."
"Was there a goblin den nearby?"
Goblins were appearing intermittently on the sandy shore. On top of that, several of the hermit crabs we had fought yesterday were watching the carriages from afar. Corpu Beach had always been a restricted area due to frequent monster appearances. The deeper we went, the more monsters would naturally show up.
"We will organize a patrol squad to stand guard while we take our break. Those who did not stand night watch yesterday will be assigned first, so please bear with us."
The subjugation captain formed a patrol squad to guard against monsters. The monsters were too intimidated by the subjugation team's sheer size to approach right now, but the story would change if they called more of their kin. The team could be ambushed again, like before when the hermit crabs had gathered into a swarm.
"Luke. My name's on the patrol roster."
"You didn't stand night watch yesterday, did you? Have fun."
Rebecca, who hadn't stood watch yesterday, had no choice but to go on patrol. Kate didn't seem to have stood watch either, but she was naturally excluded from the list. Nuns probably get special treatment. Even during the caravan escort, Kate had never once stood night watch.
"Fufufufufu."
The moment Rebecca got off the carriage and was far away, Kate spoke to me as if she'd been waiting.
"The chance to speak has finally come. I've been waiting since earlier."
"You could just talk instead of waiting."
"There's a conversation I want to have just between us. So you'll follow me, right? You wouldn't just take my Holy Water and pretend not to know me."
"What if I pretend not to know you?"
"That's exactly what it means to freeload. Mr. Dealer, who detests freeloaders."
"Ahem."
Kate was emphasizing the word Holy Water in particular.
Since it wouldn't be great for me, who usually cusses out freeloaders, to be a freeloader myself, I had no choice but to grant Kate's request. It also felt like she'd roast me relentlessly until the subjugation quest was over if I didn't have this conversation.
"Fine. Let's not go too far. It's dangerous."
"Yes~."
I reluctantly followed Kate out of the carriage. The shape of Kate's ass under her nun's habit was subtly bewitching.
A moment later, we found a large rock by the roadside, so Kate and I decided to talk behind it. It was a spot hidden by shadow, not easily visible from the surroundings.
"So, what's the story you wanted to tell?"
I crossed my arms and spoke.
Kate was looking at me with a smile.
"To tell you the truth, there's something I haven't said yet regarding the 'compatibility' of Divine Power and magic power. The compatibility theory I went on about at Yoen-su's square."
"That my water helps make Holy Water? So what?"
What exactly did she want to say?
Don't tell me she's implying it's better if people with matching compatibility bang each other?
I let my eyes trace over Kate's body and couldn't help but secretly look forward to it. It had already happened once with Rebecca; could it not happen twice with this blonde nun? To be honest, Kate's figure was attractive. It was ridiculous for a noble nun to have that kind of childbearing body.
"Actually, your compatibility with me, Mongma-nim..."
"M-my compatibility?"
"It is utterly optimized for creating Holy Water."
"You said that before."
"The water you gave me, Mongma-nim. The higher the quality of magic power contained within it, the more the Holy Water's efficacy increases. That means the more you grow as a mage, the higher the grade of my Holy Water will rise."
"The more I grow as a mage?"
"Yes! It means I, as a nun, have no choice but to place my hopes in your growth, Mongma-nim. If you one day grow to match the level of the Magic Tower's professor-class mages, I might even be able to create the highest-grade Holy Water. The highest-grade Holy Water capable of exorcising genuine demons-!"
"I see..."
The moment I heard the explanation, I felt the strength drain from my body for some reason.
So sex isn't part of that process?
That's too wholesome, you bitch!
But the moment I heard the next words, my strength came rushing back in an instant.
"The price of the highest-grade Holy Water is a full 3 gold-! That means Mongma-nim and I could churn out that Holy Water every single day!! This is truly a jackpot!!"
"3 gold...?!"
3 gold!
A full three glittering gold coins!
We could churn out such an ultra-expensive product like a factory every single day?
Just imagining it warped my economic sense.
"The high-ranking nuns who work in the Papal Office make the highest-grade Holy Water every day. Those people live like nouveau riche off the money they make selling it. Maybe we could live that kind of life too!"
Kate's eyes, as she chattered excitedly, were full of greed for material things. A money-making scheme utterly unthinkable for a nun.
Where the hell did she learn that capitalist smile.
However, hearing Kate's words, I didn't think we'd be able to make money that easily. The prerequisite for making the highest-grade Holy Water was, first of all, me growing as a mage.
"Professor-class mages of the Magic Tower? Professors are amazing people. Could a wandering mage like me ever become that amazing?"
Truthfully, I didn't know how high the skill of the Magic Tower's professors actually was.
I'd never seen them cast magic with my own eyes. But if they worked as professors at the Magic Tower, they must be people who had devoted their entire lives to magical training. People born into families with good bloodlines, who learned magic from infancy. Their very environment was different from a wandering mage like me.
"You don't have to obsess over only the highest-grade Holy Water. Even the lower grades bring in enough money. What's important is that you must grow as a mage, Mongma-nim."
"I see."
"So, what I mean is..."
Kate spoke with a confident expression.
"━Will you form a fixed party with me? Mongma-nim."
And then she added,
"Excluding Rebecca, just the two of us-."