Chapter 225: Shouting Love in the Center of the Lord's Castle
Chapter 225: Shouting Love in the Center of the Lord's Castle
“Then why did you run away when I approached you?”
“Th-that’s… because when you actually came close, I didn’t know how to react….”
It was the reaction of a girl completely in love.
Even now, as we were talking, Silvia couldn’t meet my eyes, looking down and fidgeting restlessly.
“No, that’s a weird reaction. What you want from me is pleasure, right? Or what? Do you like me? I mean, I am pretty amazing….”
“L-like you…? …Maybe so.”
I’d only asked, but Silvia’s reaction was unusual.
Her eyes widened, and she placed a hand on her chest as if to confirm her own feelings.
“From the moment you gave me that final pleasure, Sir Guwon, your face has been the only thing lingering in my mind. And a corner of my heart feels constantly warm, ticklish, and wistful. That’s why I wanted to see your face, even just for a moment. Is… is this feeling what it means to like someone? I’ve never felt this way before, so I don’t really know.”
Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to answer a question with a question? The words absolutely refused to come out of my mouth.
How could I say something like that seeing Silvia asking me with one hand still placed over her heart?
What the? Did she fall for me because I was too good to her at the end?
No, that can’t be it. All I did was give her pleasure.
She’s just mistaken this unfamiliar feeling for something else. That’s all.
“No. It was just so good with me that you can’t forget it, that’s all.”
“…Is that what it is?”
Honestly, I wasn’t confident enough to declare it with certainty either.
But since I’ve already refused to accept her, isn’t it better for both of us to leave it at that?
“Right. So stop following me and go home.”
To be honest, the more she acted like this, the cuter she started to seem, so I deliberately spoke harshly.
But Silvia shook her head.
“I refuse.”
“Wh-what? Why?”
I never imagined she’d refuse, so I was momentarily flustered.
“It doesn’t matter what the true nature of my feelings is. I just want to be able to see your face a little longer, Sir Guwon. I won’t be a bother. Just watching you from afar is enough. So please, allow me just that.”
Silvia had the nerve to boldly declare that she would continue stalking me.
For someone who couldn’t even meet my gaze, she was quite the young lady.
“No, it’s dangerous. Do you even know where you are?”
“I’ve heard rumors about the dungeon. Monsters on the level of the 2nd Floor are no problem for me.”
Still, there’s always a ‘what if.’
Somehow, trying to persuade her was starting to feel more and more like a hassle.
“…Miss Silvia.”
“Y-yes!”
When Diana spoke to her, I could see Silvia’s body stiffen in a way different from when she was talking to me.
“You should just follow us.”
“Y-you’ll allow it?”
“I don’t mean following from a distance. I mean you should join us.”
“W-what?!”
“Diana?”
“What choice do we have? Miss Silvia doesn’t seem to have any intention of giving up on following you, so isn’t this at least safer? And with her skills, Miss Silvia would be a great asset to our party’s strength.”
That’s what Diana said, but I suspected there was more to it.
She seemed to still feel sorry for Silvia, so maybe this was her way of at least letting her see my face up close?
She’s just too nice. You know, if you keep this up, another woman might steal me away from you before you know it.
Well, not that it would ever happen.
“Alright. I guess we have no choice, at least for this expedition. Here, Silvia. You wanted to see my face, right? It’s easier to see when I’m this close.”
I grabbed Silvia’s downturned face with both hands, forced her to look up, and brought my own face extremely close to hers.
“Ah, ahh… ahhh.”
Silvia fell into a complete panic, desperately averting her gaze by darting her eyes to the side.
She said she wanted to see my face. So why does she look away when I shove it right in front of her?
Just then, Diana launched an attack from the side, patting me lightly.
“I said to accept her as a party member, not to seduce her!”
“I-I’m not seducing her! I was just letting her get a good look!”
“With a face like yours, how many women wouldn’t think you were trying to seduce them! Use your head!”
“What’s wrong with my face?!”
“W-well… that is….”
Ah, I shouted out of frustration, but then I realized she meant I was handsome.
“Hm? What about my face? Hm? C’mon, tell me.”
“Y-you… you’re so annoying!”
Hahaha. Your little pat-pat attacks don’t even tickle!
“Hmph. You’re pretty too, Diana.”
“Ughh!”
“…Guwon. That’s enough fooling around inside the dungeon.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.”
In the end, Sara, who couldn’t watch any longer, cut in with a cold tone, and I immediately bowed my head and apologized.
Think I’m being too weak? You’d react the same way if you saw that look on Sara’s face.
The truth is, because they had both hugged me at the same time yesterday, Sara and Diana had been avoiding eye contact with each other all morning.
They were all gathered and talking, but there was a subtle tension where only Sara and Diana wouldn’t look at each other or speak directly.
For her to interrupt my conversation with Diana like that must mean she was really annoyed by the sight.
She was even using formal speech.
“A-anyway, Sara, Leia, are you two okay with having Silvia as a temporary party member?”
“…Sigh. Yeah. I guess we don’t have a choice in this situation.”
“It will only be for a short time, but it’s a pleasure to have you with us, Miss Silvia.”
And so, Silvia ended up temporarily joining our party and traveling with us.
“Eh, eh?!”
Of course, Silvia herself, who had never actually agreed to join us, looked completely bewildered.
If you’re going to stalk someone, you should at least be prepared for this to happen.
But honestly, even though we were exploring a dungeon, I didn’t feel a shred of tension.
Of course, I hadn’t felt much tension back then either, thinking I could just use my Saint skills if things got dicey, but the situation was even more extreme now.
My level had skyrocketed.
Thanks to my Saint job, leveling up meant all my stats increased.
On top of that, this world has level-based bonuses.
In other words, even without using my Saint skills, I had no doubt I could win against the monsters on this floor just by fighting as a Martial Artist.
Plus, I had my Saint skills as an insurance policy, and an even stronger, higher-leveled Diana as a secondary insurance policy.
It was a situation where I couldn’t feel tense even if I tried.
At this level, we could head straight to the 3rd Floor without any problems.
No, we might even find the monsters on the 3rd Floor to be easy.
But I didn’t head for the 3rd Floor.
If my goal was to get stronger like before, I would have, but…
We came to the dungeon for one reason only.
We just needed a reason for Diana to not have to go home for a few days.
So, we’re not going to the 3rd Floor.
Instead of striving to get stronger like before, we decided to just wander around with the feeling of a true exploration.
And we know the perfect place for an exploration.
A place where no other adventurer in this city has ever set foot.
“…Just as I thought. It’s respawned.”
As we neared the entrance to the ant nest, the buzzing of a noisy swarm of mosquitoes began to fill the air.
The Transcendent Mosquito Swarm.
Well, it’s been a while since we were last here, so I expected as much.
“Hmph. I see. I shall take care of it.”
“No. Wait.”
Diana raised her hand to draw a magic circle in the air, but I stepped forward before she could.
“Leave those things to me.”
“…After all the trouble you went through last time, you’re saying that again? You never get tired of it, do you?”
Diana said with a weary expression, probably thinking I was going to use Holy Ground Proclamation again.
“Guwon. Don’t try to show off just because Miss Silvia is here. Let’s leave this to Diana.”
“Sir Guwon, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
H-hey, guys? Don’t you trust me?
This won’t do. As the party leader—no, before that, as a man—I have to restore their faith in me.
“No. Leave it to me. This is different from Holy Ground Proclamation, I tell you!”
“Hmm? Did you learn another new skill?”
Come to think of it, I haven’t told them yet.
I need to tell Diana about that skill, too.
Well, I’ll do that later.
“Hmph. Just watch.”
As I got a little closer, the Transcendent Mosquito Swarm, which resembled a black cloud, seemed to spot us and began to approach rapidly.
Alright, come on!
Watching them approach, I confidently used Saint's Sincerity.
With this, I’m perfect.
From now on, you’ll feel pleasure when I attack you, and you’ll feel pleasure when you attack me.
You’d best collapse in a state of helpless pleasure!
Even as the swarm rushed to cover my body, I just stood there with my arms spread wide.
The moment they touch me to stick their proboscises in, they’ll drop like flies.
All I have to do is stand still and revel in the pleasure of victory.
Before long, the swarm enveloped my entire body.
From the outside, my body, surrounded by mosquitoes, probably looked like a human-shaped black cloud.
But that was only for a moment! The instant they landed on my body, they would fall away as if by magic... except they didn’t.
As I felt a light, stinging pain, I shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Lady Diana! A little magic, please!”
Swoooosh.
The moment I shouted, a torrent of water poured down on me like a waterfall, drenching my entire body.
Thanks to that, the swarm of mosquitoes was washed away in one go.
“Nice, Diana! Is it because your level went up? Your casting speed is incredible!”
“No, my level increase certainly helped, but I had a feeling this would happen, so I was already preparing the spell.”
I got a reply that I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about.
Couldn’t you have trusted me a little? Well, I guess I’m alive thanks to you.
I felt a wave of sadness as I coated my feet with Saint's Touch and stomped on the mosquitoes that had been washed to the ground.
The only comfort was Leia’s touch as she immediately ran over to heal me.
“What were you even trying to do? You said it wasn’t Holy Ground Proclamation, so why did you just stand there? Were you trying to commit suicide?”
Sara, clearly surprised, spoke in a slightly reproachful tone.
Dammit. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
“I learned a skill that has the same effect as covering my whole body in Saint's Touch. Normally, these things should have collapsed the moment they touched me, but I guess the skill’s proficiency is too low for it to be that powerful yet.”
“S-Saint's Touch… all over your body?!”
“Yep. Now I can draw the monsters’ attention just by defending, without even having to attack. Super convenient, right?”
“R-right.”
But Sara had a slightly horrified look on her face.
“B-but it’s not as powerful as the regular Saint's Touch, is it?”
“Not at the moment. The proficiency is still so low that it’s not even 1/20th of the power.”
“I-I see. That’s a relief… I mean, a shame.”
Even Diana looked a little appalled.
Why are they making that face? A relief?
Ah, I see. They’re scared I’ll use it on them in bed.
Then again, if Saint's Sincerity had the full, original power of Saint's Touch, it would definitely be insane.
Alright. Since they seem to be looking forward to it, I’ll have to test it on them next time.
Ah, of course, my angel here, who’s diligently healing my body with an innocent face, is an exception.
My angel has never experienced Saint's Touch while fully conscious, so maybe she just doesn’t realize its true power.
Anyway, now that we’ve dealt with the Transcendent Mosquito Swarm, it’s time to enter the ant nest and begin our real exploration.
Ah, come to think of it, to go there, Silvia… well, she’s not an adventurer, so maybe it doesn’t matter.
No, I should still keep it a secret.
“Silvia.”
“Y-yes!”
Silvia still couldn’t look me straight in the eye.
She’d been staring right at me until a moment ago, but the instant I look at her, she turns away.
“Close your eyes.”
“W-what?!”
As I stood in front of her and said it, Silvia’s face flushed as if she were expecting something.
She was so flustered that she finally looked me straight in the eyes.
Though she quickly turned her head away again.
Why is she so surprised?
“What do you think you’re doing! I trusted you and accepted Miss Silvia into the party!”
“…Huh? What do you mean… Ah, no! I wasn’t trying to kiss her!”
“You philanderer!”
“I told you, that’s not it!”
They weren’t even looking at each other a minute ago, so why is their timing so perfect for something like this?!
I guess this is the effect of spending the night together… If I said that out loud, they’d probably beat me to death, right?
“Sir Guwon… I believe in you.”
“You’re the only angel for me!”
“Ah! Leia, that’s cheating!”
“I-I believe in him just as much! That’s why I suggested we bring Miss Silvia along in the first place!”
“I-I do too…!”
Thanks to Leia changing the flow of the conversation, the suspicion directed at me fizzled out, and they started arguing about who trusted me more.
My angel really is the best.