Chapter 317: Guwon's Counterattack
Chapter 317: Guwon's Counterattack
The next morning.
The first thing I did after waking up was get a massage from Diana.
“Do you! Even! Use your brain! When you! Live your life! Huh?! Huh?! What are you going to do now! How are we supposed to face the others?!”
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Diana clenched her tiny fists and beat my chest without mercy.
She must have been furious, because she kept hitting me for much longer than usual.
Lacking stamina, Diana paused her assault to pant and catch her breath before raising her fists and resuming her thumping.
Is this the power of 500 Charm? Even her angry pouting looks incredibly cute.
No, maybe it’s not the Charm stat. Maybe Diana is just cute by nature.
I want to see more.
“Diana. Not there, a little higher. No, a bit more to the side.”
“You mean here?”
“Yeah. Right there. Ah, that feels good.”
At my sly response, Diana unconsciously moved her thumping fists from my chest to my shoulder.
Her full-swing punches make for a decent massage.
“I am not giving you a massage!”
After hitting my shoulder for a moment, Diana realized what she was doing and, growing angry again, went back to pounding my chest.
“What were you thinking! What are you going to do now?! Huh?! Say something!”
“What do you mean? We just have to face them.”
“How can we just face them after what you did so openly yesterday!”
“What I did… All I did was show everyone that you and I are in love. What’s the problem? Or what? Do you not want other people to see us as a couple?”
“That is not the issue! Stop trying to deflect!”
Tch. She saw through me. I thought that would work. As expected of the great Archmage.
But I still have a trump card to win against Diana.
No, it’s not even a trump card. My actions yesterday were completely justified self-defense.
I wasn’t just acting like a cold-hearted sex machine for fun.
“But I couldn’t help it. I was too worked up to go anywhere else. My attitude got weird yesterday because of how aroused I was, right? If anything, you should praise me for seeking you out directly instead of letting my eyes wander to another woman. You said so yourself yesterday. That if I got aroused while helping Johan, you would take it all.”
“Ngh! I did say that, but! Still, there are limits!”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t have the presence of mind to think about that. Thank you for accepting me. I really love you.”
“Ugh! Uuuugh!”
Unable to find a rebuttal, Diana, in a manner unbefitting an Archmage, could only resist me with actions, not words.
But soon, she stopped her thumping and let out a deep sigh.
“Haaah… Since I made that promise yesterday, I’ll let it slide this one time.”
“I love you so much, Diana.”
“I am well aware, so enough! Haaah. But how on earth am I supposed to face the others….”
“I told you not to worry about it. Leia and Silvia won’t say anything, and Sara… she’ll probably be too busy being mad at me to pay you any mind.”
I’m the one who should be worried.
It’s a damn good thing Sara’s attacks don’t work on me. All hail my defense stat.
“Hmph! More importantly than that right now!”
“Hnngh!”
I thrust into Diana’s core with my Dick, which was so erect it felt like it would explode.
After all, I hadn’t even pulled out.
With a girl with 500 Charm moving so vigorously on top of me, of course it would feel like it was about to burst.
“W-Wait, what are you doin—.”
“You’re just too beautiful, Diana. I don’t think I can pull out just like this. Let’s go one more time.”
“Didn’t we do it all night long?!”
“So, you don’t want to go one more time with me?”
“W-Well, it’s not that I don’t….”
“Then it’s settled.”
In the end, Diana and I had one more round in the morning before heading down to the dining hall.
“Morning.”
“Yes. Did you sleep well?”
“…”
When we entered the dining hall, everyone, as expected, had their own unique reaction.
Leia blushed slightly and couldn’t meet my gaze, while Matilda turned her head away with a somewhat angry expression.
The moment I walked in, Silvia scurried to a corner of the room and began peeking at me furtively.
Oh, Silvia. You’re so wonderfully consistent. Please stay that way forever.
As for Sara, she stood up as if to say something and walked straight toward me.
Damn it. So, it’s finally come. How should I evade this crisis?
Unlike Diana, Sara feels like she’ll actually explode when she’s angry. The logical excuse that I lost my senses won’t work on her.
But as she approached, Sara suddenly looked at Diana next to me and stopped dead in her tracks.
“Hm? What is it?”
“Diana… why are you so… that….”
“Hm? Is something wrong?”
“I think it’s because Diana has gotten so much prettier.”
“Hmm? Ooh! Come to think of it, I’ve passed level 100. No wonder I could surprisingly keep up with you last night, despite everything we did… Ahem! Hmm!”
Realizing what she’d just said, Diana cleared her throat, looking a little embarrassed.
“Now that Diana’s over level 100, all her stats have reached their limit. I was really surprised when your Charm suddenly hit 500.”
“Hm? My Charm is 500?”
“Yep. As expected of you, Diana. Not just Intelligence and Spirit, but your Charm is at the max, too.”
“Hmph. Well, that’s only natural.”
Diana puffed out her chest as she spoke.
Seeing that, Leia seemed to grow curious about her own stats and asked a question.
“Guwon. How about me?”
“Leia? You’re at… 271. But you were at the max of 250 at level 100, so I bet you’ll hit 500 before you even reach level 250. Your Charm stat grows exceptionally fast, after all. Anyone else would think it’s a cheat. But since you’re so beautiful, it’s a growth rate I can fully accept.”
“Oh, Guwon, you. You’ll make me blush if you flatter me like that.”
It was true. Whether it was a trait of a Gumiho, a priestess, or both, Leia’s Charm grew at an incredible rate.
If it weren’t for my bonus stats, her growth would have been even faster than mine.
“C-Come to think of it, Leia is getting prettier and prettier…. Guwon! What about me?! Me?!”
Hearing our conversation, Sara asked about her stats with an anxious look on her face.
“Don’t worry. Yours is at the max, too. It’s just stuck at 250 because your level is capped.”
“So you’re saying it’s going to be fixed at 250 for a while?!”
“Well, I guess so.”
“Let’s go to the dungeon! Right now!”
Sara declared, her fighting spirit blazing for the first time in a while.
It seemed she was getting anxious about being the only one left behind while everyone else’s Charm surpassed 250.
“There’s nothing to worry about. Even if your Charm is the lowest…” “Let’s go! Now! Right now!”
Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have said her Charm was the lowest.
I just ended up fanning the flames of her determination even more.
“No, even if we wanted to, it’s impossible right now. My armor is shattered in the first place… Aaaah! I forgot to get a referral for another blacksmith from Hanna!”
I finally realized the grave mistake I had made.
What was the whole reason we went to the blacksmith yesterday?!
I was so drained from giving that pointless lecture that I completely forgot and left.
“Hmph. If that’s the case, I can have someone look into it for you.”
“Hmm. I guess I have no choice this time. I wanted to entrust my gear to someone I vetted myself, rather than someone recommended by others.”
It wouldn’t be a problem if my party members judged the person to be trustworthy, but from the way Diana was talking, it didn’t seem like she knew the blacksmith personally.
“U-Um!”
Just then, Silvia raised her hand from the far corner of the dining hall.
I walked over to her and quickly wrapped her in a hug.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Hieeek! W-Why?”
“What do you mean, why? I can’t hear you well if you speak from all the way over there. Now, come here.”
I hugged Silvia and forcibly dragged her over to our table.
“So? What were you trying to say?”
“Um, that is… uh….”
“Would you stop tormenting Miss Silvia and let her go?”
“Tormenting her? Silvia, you don’t like this?”
“I-I like it!” Silvia exclaimed, her eyes squeezed shut, even as she trembled from head to toe.
“See?”
“Haaah. How is she supposed to speak properly like that?”
“I suppose you have a point. Silvia, I’m going to let you go, so you can’t run away. That’s an order.”
Only after seeing Silvia nod her head frantically did I release my arms from around her.
Freed from my embrace, Silvia gasped for air, a slightly disappointed look on her face.
“Haah, haah, haah, u-um… if you need a trustworthy blacksmith, I can introduce you to the Barbet family’s blacksmith.”
“You mean your family’s?”
“Y-Yes. Since we have been a family of knights for generations, we have a blacksmith affiliated with our house. He is skilled and a good person. I always entrusted my armor to him.”
“I see. The person who handled your armor would certainly be reliable. But your family is far away, isn’t it? Going all the way there just to drop off some armor is….”
“If we go to the Lord’s Castle, we can use the teleportation circle to exchange the items directly.”
The Lord’s Castle? Can we just use the teleportation circle there as we please… Ah, right. She’s still a member of the Royal Guard.
But the Lord’s Castle… I’d rather not go there if I can help it.
Even if we use the teleportation circle, we still have to carry the armor and materials to it, which means I’ll have to go along.
“If we’re just using a teleportation circle, can’t we go through the Mage Association?”
“The Mage Association is a possibility, but their teleportation circles are fundamentally linked only to other Mage Associations. The one at the Lord’s Castle, on the other hand, can likely connect directly to the Barbet estate.”
Ugh. So I guess I have no choice but to go to the Lord’s Castle to use the Barbet family’s blacksmith.
No. Let’s think positively. It’s about time I released the Saint’s Holy Water I used on Felicia anyway.
“I see. Then we have no choice. After we eat, Silvia, you and I are going to the Lord’s Castle.”
“Hm? You don’t mean you’re going alone, do you?”
“Yeah. It’s the Lord’s Castle, after all. We can’t just show up with a whole crowd of people who have no business there.”
“That is true, but.”
“But Guwon! Last time, with that princess….”
The whole reason I was rushing to get my armor enhanced was because Sara was pestering me to go to the dungeon, yet now she was the one objecting.
I guess that means I’m more important to her, right?
“It’s fine. My level is higher than last time, and more importantly… Silvia.”
“Y-Yes?!”
“If the princess and I give you conflicting orders, whose will you obey?”
“Umm…”
“Silvia, I trust you.”
“…It would be yours, Guwon.”
Silvia muttered a tiny, “Sorry, Felicia,” before giving her answer.
“See? There’s no problem.”
Besides, if we all go together, they’ll find out I just left after using Saint’s Holy Water on Felicia.
Who knows what kind of scolding I’d get if they found that out.
“And after what Diana did last time, do you really think Felicia would try to make a move on me again?”
“Hmm… Considering the princess’s personality, I am a little worried.”
As expected of Diana. She sees right through it.
“Well, it should be fine. I will trust you.”
“Right. We’re just going to use the teleporter for a moment and come right back. If I’m not back by dinner, then you can storm the castle again with the ladies from the Mage Association. That works, right?”
“Hmph. Very well. And I will add one more precaution.”
“Hm? A precaution?”
“You will take my carriage. And I will have Vanessa serve as the driver.”
I see. The idea is to have Vanessa raise hell if any trouble starts.
And since Vanessa would be accompanying us as a servant, there wouldn’t be any issues.
“Guwon. Please be careful.”
“Don’t worry. I was late last time and even saw Leia’s tears. I won’t let that happen again.”
Since it was Leia’s turn tonight anyway, I held both of her hands tightly as I spoke.
“Okay. I’ll trust you.”
Leia clutched my hands to her chest and gave me a warm look.
Her feelings were transmitted to me through her eyes and hands.
Haaah. This is so healing.
In any case, after finishing our meal, Silvia and I headed for the Lord’s Castle in a carriage driven by Vanessa.