Chapter 121: The 2nd Floor
Chapter 121: The 2nd Floor
“Ugh. That perverted bastard getting turned on by monsters woke me up for no reason. I should just go back to sleep.”
Of course, Guwon paid no mind to the man’s screams and returned to his spot.
That’s what you call just deserts. This is why people should just live virtuously from the start.
I’ve dealt with that guy for now, but what should I do moving forward?
For a Guild employee to gossip like that, it seems the rumors about me aren’t very good.
Am I seen as some kept man with no skills of his own, who just uses his pretty face to leech off talented women?
Honestly, I don’t really care if I’m treated that way. They’re just jealous, after all.
But I don’t like the idea of my women being seen as empty-headed girls who fall for a guy who only has his looks to offer.
The best way to dispel a rumor is to properly show them that I have skills of my own.
But what would be the best way to do that?
Right now, it’s impossible. Other people kill all the monsters before I can even get close.
And it’s useless to show off when there’s no one around to see it.
It was a difficult problem.
As Guwon mulled it over, he suddenly felt a gaze on him.
He turned his head to see Sara, who was lying next to him, staring at him intently.
“Hm? What? Why?”
“You were the one who did that earlier, weren’t you?”
“Yeah. Of course. Didn’t you know and play along?”
“Then I suppose you were also the one who made that pervert cum at the orphanage yesterday?”
“No. I didn’t frame an innocent man as a pervert. That bastard was about to touch Leia’s ass. It was suspicious for someone so young to be trying to touch a girl’s butt, so I separated them and questioned him, and it was just as I expected.”
“So it’s true that he’s a pervert, but you framed him for cumming while touching her.”
“You could see it that way. But I had no choice, did I?”
“Then why don’t you tell Leia the truth and explain that you had no choice?”
“What? S-Sara? What’s this all of a sudden…?”
“In my opinion, if Leia finds out the truth, she’ll be utterly disgusted with you.”
Guwon thought so, too.
As pure and upright as Leia was, she seemed to hate lies.
“Y-You’re not actually thinking of telling her, are you?”
“I don’t know. What should I do?”
The look on Sara’s face as she said this wasn’t a joke; she seemed to be genuinely contemplating it.
“S-Sara? Do you suddenly have a problem with me?”
“No, it’s not that, but it’s not good for party members who will be traveling together to lie to each other. It’s better to clear things like this up….”
“Hey, why are you suddenly being like this? Sometimes, a person needs to tell a white lie to get by.”
“That lie was for your benefit, not Leia’s, wasn’t it?”
Ugh. She hit the nail right on the head.
This was seriously dangerous. I don’t think I could go on living if our angel came to hate me.
“What do you want?”
Somehow, it felt like our positions from last time had been completely reversed.
“I wonder. I don’t have any perverted desires like wanting to bathe with you….”
“F-Fine! Then how about we cancel that promise!” Guwon said, holding back tears.
Dammit. A man’s dream is slipping away.
“No. A promise is a promise. Besides, I’d feel like I was getting the short end of the stick if I let you buy my silence with just that.”
“Urk. Th-Then tell me what you want. I’ll do anything.”
“You just said ‘anything,’ right?”
Sara’s eyes glinted sharply.
Why is she being so scary? What kind of demand is she going to make?
“Y-Yeah.”
“Hmm… Okay. Then, later, you have to grant one request of mine, no matter what.”
Sara said with a smile, as if she’d just thought of something.
“What? You’re not going to tell me the condition now?”
“No. I can’t think of anything in particular at the moment.”
Dammit. That’s definitely the face of someone who just thought of something. What kind of demand is she planning to make that she’s putting off telling me?
Guwon stared intently into Sara’s eyes.
Sara met his gaze without looking away, but he couldn’t read what kind of request she had in mind from her eyes at all.
…Well, no use thinking too deeply about it.
It seemed she would keep my secret for now, and besides, how bad could her request possibly be?
Guwon decided to take it easy.
One of Guwon’s many strengths was not bothering to worry about problems that had no answer.
*
When he opened his eyes, Guwon was, as usual, pressed right up against Sara.
This always happens after sleeping in the dungeon.
Is it my sleeping habits that are bad, or is it my party members’?
Well, we did fall asleep facing each other like we were having a staring contest yesterday, so I guess this was unavoidable.
Guwon closed his eyes and decided to enjoy the soft sensation a little longer.
Since we ended up in this position while sleeping, Sara can’t really complain if I grope her a little now, right?
“If you’re awake, then get up. What are you doing?”
But Guwon’s ambitious morning plan was thwarted from the very beginning.
“Ah. Good morning, Diana.”
“Hmph. You seem to have slept well, too. So, what are you doing instead of getting up?”
As expected, a clumsy attempt to change the subject didn’t work.
“Well, if I get up from this position, I’ll definitely wake Sara up. We still have a little time, so isn’t it better to let her sleep as long as she can?”
“Hmm….”
As if in response to Guwon’s words, Sara snuggled even closer to him.
“…It seems to this body that Miss Sara is also awake?”
“No, what are you talking about? She’s completely asleep.”
Knowing Sara’s personality, there’s no way she’d cling to me like this in front of other people if she were awake.
Though I do suspect she’s started to like me recently, so maybe there’s a small chance if we were alone.
“Mmm…. Hehe.”
Sara snuggled closer to Guwon with a happy smile, as if she were having a pleasant dream.
She pressed so close that her lips were practically touching his cheek.
“Hah!”
Unable to watch any longer, Diana gave Sara’s butt a sharp smack.
Mmm. That’s Sara for you. Even the sound is firm.
“Kyaa! Wh-What was that?”
“…You were about to kiss him in your sleep in front of everyone, so I woke you up.”
“I-Is that so? Thank you. Wait, why am I so close to Guwon in the first place?”
“It must have happened while we were sleeping. I was in this position when I woke up, too.”
“Hmm… Well, I’ll believe you.”
Hey, it’s not a matter of believing me or not, it’s the truth.
“Honestly, I can’t let my guard down for a second.”
Diana said, looking dumbfounded.
“Hey, I’m telling you, I didn’t snuggle up to her on purpose.”
“I know.”
No, you don’t. Would someone who knows say something like that?
In any case, with no reason to lie down any longer, Guwon got up from his spot.
It took another two days to reach the secret base.
It had taken two days to get from the dungeon entrance to the final floor of the 1st Floor, and it was quite a distance from there to the secret base.
For the record, from the second night on, Diana and Leia started sleeping next to us as well.
Diana’s reason seemed to be for surveillance, while Leia’s was that she felt lonely sleeping by herself when all the other party members were sleeping together.
The reason our dear Leia slept with us was truly cute and heartwarming, but Diana, you completely distrust me, don’t you?
Anyway, when we arrived at the secret base, several Guild employees were already there, setting up some kind of massive device.
“Ah, you’ve arrived!”
The person who seemed to be in charge saw our party and approached us.
“We’ve just finished the preliminary preparations. All that’s left is for the mages to complete the magic circle.”
“Mm. Understood. We shall prepare, then.”
“How long will it take to complete the magic circle?”
“It will likely take quite a while. It would be a different story if this body was in its pre-reincarnation state, but now, I can only watch the flow of mana and direct. It should take a few days.”
“Really? Then in the meantime, we’ll guide the people from the Temple to the mana pool habitat.”
“Mm. Do so.”
Guwon decided to part with Diana for the time being and guide the Temple members to the mana pool habitat.
The group from the Temple consisted of two Holy Knights and one priest.
It doesn’t look like they have anyone for ranged attacks, so it seems I’ll finally be able to play an active role.
It was a shame the Guild employees who were gossiping weren’t here, but I had to show my skills to these guys at least.
…There was a time when I, too, thought such things.
For some reason, a mage had tagged along to guide the Temple members.
Apparently, this mage wasn’t here for the teleportation circle, but had been hired under contract by the Temple.
He seemed quite skilled, demonstrating the prowess to take down an Orc in a single blow.
And Sara, who had power-leveled to the point where she was now a higher level than me, was not to be outdone.
So she can now take out a 1st Floor Orc in one hit.
If Sara and I fought, would I actually lose?
That’s how strong Sara had become.
Thanks to them, there was nothing for me to do.
Hmm. I feel like this is just going to make my ‘kept man’ image even stronger.
Of course, it did make traveling easier.
The party arrived at the mana pool habitat in no time.
“Whoa!”
As soon as they arrived, Chris and the Holy Knights had a reaction not much different from Leia’s.
“It’s amazing to see so many mana pools gathered in one place! Are you really sure you want to hand over a place like this under those conditions?”
“I just like helping people. What do you think? Feel free to look up to me more.”
“Like this?”
Chris playfully lowered her body and looked up at Guwon.
She’s surprisingly good at playing along.
“Guwon, thank you again, so much.”
Leia also grabbed Guwon’s hand, her face filled with emotion once more.
Honestly, our angel is so full of feeling. Of course, that’s another thing I love about her.
“Don’t mention it. It’s not like we’re not getting paid. The Temple will be handling all the management, anyway. So, how do you plan to manage it from now on?”
“First, we’ll cast a spell at the entrance so no one can just wander in, and then we’ll take turns staying here for a few days at a time to keep watch. We’re the first shift.”
I see. So that’s why they hired that mage.
“Sounds like a lot of work.”
“Not at all. In a sealed-off place like this, monster invasions won’t be much of a problem. And with a teleportation circle nearby, traveling to and from town will be convenient.”
“Still, won’t it be uncomfortable to sleep here?”
“That’s why we brought so much luggage, isn’t it?”
Come to think of it, the people from the Temple were also carrying a ton of luggage.
Even though they were likely backpacks enchanted with spatial expansion magic, the volume was so immense that Guwon had stored it for them in his inventory.
“Huh? What on earth did you bring in those backpacks?”
Guwon took all the backpacks out of his inventory.
“Try taking something out.”
Guwon reached into a backpack and pulled out the first thing his hand touched.
What is this? A plank?
One by one, items of a size that should have been impossible to fit in a backpack emerged. Once everything was out, their true nature became clear.
They had brought an entire prefabricated building, piece by piece, in their backpacks.
What revolutionary thinkers. In a world with magic, even such a brute-force method is possible.
Guwon was thrilled by the Temple’s methods.
I have an inventory that’s far superior to something like a magic backpack, so why didn’t I ever think of that?
Until now, I’d thought of myself as a man with a truly free spirit, but to think I was so bound by a fixed mindset.
Should I try carrying a whole house around in my inventory?
If I asked Diana, she could probably get me a reasonably sized house without any trouble.
The thought crossed his mind for a moment, but he quickly gave up on it.
It wasn’t long ago that I was thinking I needed to shed this ‘kept man’ image, and here I am about to rely on Diana again.
A big reason for my reputation as a kept man was surely because I designated Diana’s mansion as our clan house.
At the very least, I’ll wait until I’ve bought a house with my own hard-earned money before I start carrying it around.
Of course, he hadn’t given up on the idea of carrying a house itself.
If I had a house made entirely of something like mana-infused steel, couldn’t I sleep safely anytime, even inside the dungeon?
The dream swelled, growing bigger and bigger.