If You Want to Look, Keep Looking, Pervert
The inside of the ruins was unusually hot.
Maybe taking a short break wasn't such a bad idea after all.
After walking a little farther down the corridor, we came upon another large resting area.
There were practitioners who looked like they'd arrived ahead of us as the vanguard.
……What are they all doing?
Was it just my imagination?
We'd come pretty deep into the ruins, yet there were surprisingly many people who, like us, had decided to rest instead of exploring.
In the center of the resting area stood a voluptuous female statue, posed with both hands clutching her own breasts—an unmistakably lewd piece of stonework.
About ten men and women sat resting on benches arranged in a semicircle around the statue.
They didn't look like they were reorganizing their gear.
And the atmosphere between them felt strangely intimate.
“Let's rest here for a bit.”
“Ah, mm… okay.”
Sera slowly walked over to an empty bench and sat down.
I hesitated for a moment before sitting beside her, leaving a little distance between us.
Three seconds of awkward silence.
“……Seriously, why is it so damn hot in here…?”
Complaining in an irritated voice, Sera unbuttoned the top of her collar with one hand.
Before long, as if she couldn't stand it anymore, she began unfastening the belts securing her armor and removing her shoulder guards one by one.
After setting the guards aside, she also undid the belt running across her chest, freeing herself from the stifling outfit.
“Ugh, it's seriously way too hot—”
Still facing forward and muttering to herself, Sera loosened the buttons over her chest as well, exposing her skin in an instant.
As if it were nothing.
………………
Sera's breasts, glistening with sweat.
Droplets of perspiration trailed slowly down her cleavage over her lively skin, and the soft flesh revealed through the loosened fabric held my gaze captive.
Her exposed chest was fuller than I'd imagined, and the strange sheen from the sweat made it oddly difficult to look away.
It didn't feel particularly lewd, but… my eyes kept drifting there anyway.
Then I heard Sera take a deep breath.
Only then did I snap back to my senses.
Realizing my mistake, I quickly raised my head and glanced at her face.
Sera had rolled her eyes toward me and was staring straight at me.
“………Hey. Where exactly were you looking just now?”
“Huh!? N-no, I mean… I-I wasn't…”
When I stammered in panic, Sera quietly looked at me once before turning her gaze away.
She didn't bother covering her chest.
Instead, she focused on fanning herself with one hand near her cleavage to cool down.
Every time she fanned, her body swayed slightly, making her large breasts jiggle heavily.
Still speaking in a casual tone, Sera turned back toward me and furrowed her brows.
“Hey, you should get comfortable too… Aren't you hot?”
“Yeah, it is pretty warm in here…”
“Exactly. So just take your top off already.”
“Huh? Ah, no, I'm fine. It's not that bad.”
“…………Suit yourself.”
That strange atmosphere lingered for several minutes.
“……I'm tired. Hey, can I lean on you for a bit?”
Before I could answer, Sera naturally scooted closer.
I tried to turn away slightly, but she pressed her body right up against mine.
Her deep cleavage and the sweat-slicked sheen became even more vivid.
The warmth of her body and the faint scent of sweat brushed against my nose, making me tense up involuntarily.
“……Rowen. You were staring at my chest just now, weren't you?”
“Th-that's… I couldn't really help it…”
“Agh, you idiot. If you looked, just admit it like a man. Don't hide it… Ah, whatever…! I'm resting like this, so if you want to keep looking, go ahead. You pervert.”
………Her language had suddenly become rougher than usual.
But while the words were crude, her voice was strangely soft and quiet.
How to put it… it almost sounded feminine.
Another minute of silence.
At some point, Sera had tilted her body so that her large breasts were gently pressing against my arm.
Though I couldn't see it, I could feel her lightly touching my hand.
After a few awkward pokes, she softly placed her hand on the back of mine.
Then, in an unusually gentle voice, she spoke.
“You know, Rowen… back when we did our first request together, you said you'd trust and rely on me… So you know you have to listen to me, right…? It's not a threat or anything… If you listen well… I'll take good care of you from now on… okay?”
For some reason, Sera was squeezing her thighs together and fidgeting restlessly.
She kept stealing glances up at my face, her cheeks flushed red.
“Hey, you pervert… say something already………mm……”
“……………………”
I stayed silent and kept watch on our surroundings.
By now, even I could tell something was wrong.
Sure enough, the atmosphere around us was strange.
One man was groping a woman's rear while she let out an oddly sweet voice.
Another party was arguing over a single woman, their voices growing louder and more hostile by the second.
The tension was so thick it felt like weapons might be drawn at any moment.
………Is there some kind of mental magic array set up here?
Without wasting any more time, I opened my ether pocket with my free left hand.
Among the potions the priestess had given me, there should be one with mental resistance… This one!
“Eek!? H-hey, what are you trying to do to me right now?”
“Just hold still for a second…! Open your mouth, Sera.”
“………Wh-why do I have to open my mouth……? Let go of that first……!”
When I grabbed her, Sera twisted and resisted.
But it was resistance in name only—she didn't actually push me away roughly.
I forced the potion down her throat.
A moment later.
.
.
.
“Ugh……………Shit. Shitshitshit!! ………Aaaagh!!”
I glanced over at Sera, who was crouched in the corner cursing up a storm.
She seemed to remember everything.
Her swearing was especially vicious, and thinking back to how she'd acted earlier… maybe this was closer to her original personality before we started traveling together.
“…………………Hey.”
“Ah, y-yeah!”
“You were just under the influence of that mental effect. Forget what happened. Got it? Otherwise…”
“I-I forgot. I forgot already, so don't worry.”
“Good…………By the way, you seem strangely fine?”
“Mm. Maybe I've built up some resistance from taking so many medicines all the time…”
“………I see?”
Sera frowned, looking somewhat dissatisfied.
Then she slowly scanned the area around us.
“Sera, what about those people?”
“What about them? We don't have any more resistance potions left, do we? They'll figure it out themselves.”
“Yeah……….”
I sighed inwardly and agreed with her.
Right. There was nothing we could do, and getting involved would only risk casualties on our side.
It wasn't like we had any obligation to help……
Setting aside my half-baked sense of justice, I followed after Sera.
Behind us, the arguments were growing increasingly heated.
.
.
The deeper we went, the fewer people we encountered.
It was probably because of the mental anomalies.
If everyone else was in that state, this was a huge opportunity.
The only two people we met in the deeper sections were a man and a woman.
They were so absorbed in kissing each other that they didn't even notice us.
The man was pinned against the wall while the woman kissed him passionately.
Seeing that, Sera lowered her head.
She clicked her tongue lightly and walked past without a word.
.
.
Thirty minutes later, we arrived smoothly at the deepest part of the ruins.
Fortunately, there were no signs that anyone else had been here!
I looked around excitedly.
The altar located at the very deepest point was made of black marble.
A large circular altar stood in the center, with a red ether crystal resting atop it, illuminating the surroundings. It was roughly the size of a human head, and more importantly, it wasn't embedded—it was simply placed there, ready to be taken.
Around the altar, female statues in lewd poses maintained their sensual stances, and ancient inscriptions were carved here and there.
It was obvious this was no ordinary altar.
We exchanged glances and began thoroughly searching the area.
.
.
“So these two are all there is……?”
“Yeah, seems like it.”
One ether crystal that had been lighting the altar.
And a single ring set with a red gemstone.
“Rowen, what's that black fragment?”
“I just picked it up in case it might be useful.”
“Got it. You can keep that one.”
Sera spoke with her arms crossed.
“We'll take both to Roanne for appraisal. We can trust her. Don't go showing them off to anyone, and when you get them appraised, make sure to send everyone else away…… You understand what I mean, right?”
“Yeah, I got it. Don't worry.”
Still uneasy from the earlier incident, Sera decided to entrust both items to me.
Then she gave my shoulder a light pat.
“If you've got everything, let's get out of here quickly. If we stay any longer, I feel like my head's going to get weird again.”
I nodded and stepped away from the altar with a light step.
For our first dungeon exploration, this had been very satisfying.