Chapter 349: The Counterattack of Guwon
Chapter 349: The Counterattack of Guwon
On our way back to the village on the 3rd floor, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Diana. Come to think of it, we left without properly investigating that giant magic stone. I'm sorry. It completely slipped my mind. Should we go back?”
Diana had come here in the first place to analyze the magical treatments carved into the giant magic stone and further her research.
And I'd forgotten all about it and just left.
Even though I'd resolved to think positively, it seemed I wasn't in a completely level-headed state after all.
“No. It's fine.”
But Diana shook her head as if it were no big deal.
“Are you sure? You came here to investigate that, didn't you?”
She was probably just being considerate, worried about my state.
Thinking that, I asked again, but Diana truly looked like she was fine.
“The magical treatments applied to the magic stone here seemed broadly similar to the ones on the stone we found in the ant nest. Besides, it's not as if I could have deciphered the finer details with just a brief look, so I'll have to be satisfied with this for now.”
With that, Diana went back to focusing on enjoying the fluffy sensation, hugging Leia's tails with both arms and rubbing her cheek against them.
Just as she had been throughout our exploration of the 3rd floor, Diana was still nestled in Leia's arms.
Humans truly are creatures of habit.
I've even stopped reacting to Leia's chest.
No, wait. Is she deliberately focusing on the tails to forget about it?
Either way, I'm jealous. I want to be held by Leia too, resting my head on her chest while fiddling with those fluffy tails.
In any case, Diana was being kind enough to say that.
I don't know if she's being sincere or just saying that for my sake, but for now, I'll just be grateful and head back.
“F-Finally, we can see the sun again! Ugh!”
After marching for several days, we returned to the village and immediately took a teleport to the surface.
Matilda must have missed the sunlight dearly; she cried out in a voice filled with emotion as she looked up, only to clutch her eyes.
Is she an idiot? No matter how much you miss it, who's dumb enough to stare directly at the sun?
“Alright, I'm going to go settle up for the magic stones and collect the rescue fee. You all go on ahead.”
I said this, as always, and was about to head toward Elder Sister Rachel.
Honestly, I felt like collapsing into bed right away today, but I still had things to do.
If I act differently from usual, I'll only make the girls worry.
“I'm coming with you.”
But it seemed I wasn't the only one acting differently from usual.
Sara said, linking her arm with mine.
“Huh? Why? Do you have some business there?”
“No. I just want to be with you, Guwon. Why? Is that not allowed?”
What's with her all of a sudden? Ah, could it be that she's worried about me?
She's always so considerate without showing it. That's a thankless role to play.
“No, of course not. Alright. Let's go together.”
I answered, placing my hand near the Apostle's Seal on her butt.
Sara shot me a glare, but instead of pushing my hand away, she pulled it to the side, making me wrap it around her waist.
“I-I shall also… Ugh! Hey! Let go! It's not even cold anymore, is it!”
Seeing us, Diana tried to run over but ended up struggling in Leia's arms.
Don't you start with our angel now, not after you've been happily petting her tails this whole time.
“Can't we stay like this just a little longer?”
“Absolutely not!”
“What a shame….”
When Leia let Diana go with a genuinely disappointed look, Diana scurried over and clung to my other arm.
Wait, was Leia not hugging Diana just because she was cold?
Come to think of it, she does have a thing for kids. Could it be that she was using Diana, the smallest among us, as a substitute...? Leia, if Diana finds that out, she's going to be furious.
“I shall accompany you as well.”
“Then let's all go together today.”
With Leia saying so too, we decided to all go settle the magic stones together for the first time in a while.
Even so, we couldn't just swarm the desk where the receptionists were lined up in a neat row.
Everyone waited behind me, and as always, I was the only one who spoke with Elder Sister Rachel.
“Hello! Elder Sister Rachel!”
“Ah, hello, Guwon-ssi. You're full of energy.”
I deliberately greeted her in a bright, energetic voice, and Elder Sister Rachel replied in a slightly weary tone.
“You, on the other hand, seem a little down. Is something wrong? Did something else happen after that?!”
“Hehe. No, not at all. You escorted us all the way to the 3rd floor village, what are you talking about? What could possibly happen between there and here? It's just a quick teleport away.”
“Still...”
“Yes. We arrived safely, thanks to you. You're here to settle up for magic stones, right? Please hand them over.”
“Oh? Are we getting straight to business today? You seem a bit cold, Elder Sister.”
“I'm doing this for your sake, Guwon-ssi. If we keep chatting like this, you're the one who's going to get an earful later from the people staring daggers at you from behind.”
Hearing her words, I almost turned around instinctively.
But I managed to stop myself before my torso could turn.
Good. Well done. If I had looked back, it would have only made them more suspicious.
I quickly took the magic stones out of my inventory.
She took the stones and began feeding them into the processing machine.
And while the machine was running, I started chatting again.
“Did those adventurers all make it back safely?”
“Yes. They asked me to thank you once again. Greg-ssi was particularly insistent.”
“Greg?”
“The Beastkin bard from the party you rescued. Don't tell me you don't remember?”
“Ah, ahh! Right, that guy. Ah, yes.”
Of course I don't remember. I think I've said this before, but why would I bother remembering the name of some dude I'll never see again? I don't lie about things like that.
“Come to think of it, Elder Sister. What's your relationship with that party? You went pale and rushed to save them, so it must not have been an ordinary connection.”
“Hehe. Why? Are you curious?”
“Well... a little.”
“Just a little?”
“A... a little bit a lot?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Elder Sister Rachel chuckled as if she found my answer amusing.
I wasn't trying to be funny, though. Is my image in her mind that of a gag character?
“So, what is it?”
“They're just a party that always came to me to settle their magic stones. Just like your party, Guwon-ssi.”
“You went pale and rushed to save a party like that?”
“Hm? Are you doubting me? But it's the truth. No matter how long you do this job, it's hard to get used to familiar faces suddenly disappearing one day.”
Elder Sister Rachel said this with a slightly bitter smile.
Did I cross some kind of line I shouldn't have?
I decided to deliberately change the subject to shift the mood.
“More importantly, that's so harsh, Elder Sister. To say we're 'just a party that always came to settle magic stones.' Was our relationship really nothing more than that?”
“W-What? What are you talking about?”
My words must have been completely out of the blue, as Elder Sister Rachel said with a start.
“We're the man who will write the legend of the Saint, and the receptionist who will watch that legend unfold right beside him and pass it down for generations.”
“...I suppose so.”
Elder Sister Rachel's gaze turned cold again.
Huh? Wait a minute. Didn't she usually laugh whenever I brought this up?
“Yes. That's enough small talk. The calculation is finished. Here is the payment, including the rescue fee. And...”
She handed me the money, then suddenly bent down. It looked like she was getting something out of a drawer next to the table.
Bending over like that makes her already large breasts look even bigger.
This Elder Sister really is stacked.
It makes me regret only taking off her lower half when we had Healing Sex last time.
I should have taken a peek at her bare chest then... No! What am I thinking! Get a grip! Don't give in to the temptation of breasts!
Remember the girls watching me from behind!
“Here you go!”
While I was fighting my inner demons, Elder Sister Rachel took something from the drawer and handed it to me.
Is this... a towel?
“I washed it properly, as promised. Here, I'm returning it now.”
As she said that and handed me the towel, I found myself unconsciously staring at her face.
“G-Guwon-ssi? What's wrong?”
“Ah, no. It's nothing.”
There's no way I could say it. ‘This isn't the towel I gave you before,’ right?
She knows nothing about my game system.
When I receive an item, a simple description appears for me.
The one I gave her before was just a regular towel, but the one I just received was an ‘Elf's Towel’.
The item description said it was hand-stitched by an Elf with a delicate touch, making it extra absorbent.
Anyone could tell it was a different item. The 'Elf' must be referring to Elder Sister Rachel, right?
So this is her handmade towel? Then where did my original towel go?
I mean, of course, I'm the one who profits from trading a normal towel for one she made herself, but still.
Could this be her way of saying she didn't want to return a towel that had her bodily fluids on it to another man, no matter how much she washed it?
Of course, she didn't say it directly, but I'm surprisingly hurt.
No. Is this something to be hurt about? Is this actually the normal reaction?
“Uh... um... well, I'll be going now. Goodbye, Elder Sister.”
I gave up on thinking about it any further and just shoved the towel and money pouch into my inventory.
“Yes. Goodbye. Ah, and Guwon-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“Brace yourself.”
“Ah, yes.”
Brace myself? For what?
It felt strange, but I just answered and returned to the girls.
Just as I expected, Sara and Diana were looking at me with suspicious eyes.
“What was so amusing?”
“The smile never left your lips.”
“No. I just asked if the guys we rescued made it back okay. Elder Sister Rachel said to thank us again. That's all.”
I did get lost in the temptation of her breasts for a moment, but I managed to escape my worldly desires in the end, so it's fine. Cut me some slack.
“Anyway, let's hurry back. I want to lie down in bed and rest.”
“You always say such lecherous things.”
“Ughh….”
No. I didn't mean it like that, I genuinely, purely just want to lie down in bed.
Besides, Diana, you look pretty happy yourself.
Sara, on the other hand, looked a little teary-eyed, having lost her turn.
In any case, as soon as we stepped outside the Guild while chatting like that, I immediately understood why Elder Sister Rachel had told me to brace myself when we parted.
And as a bonus, I also understood why she had looked so tired in the first place.
“He's hereeee!”
“Woooah! Saint-niiiim!”
“It's the Saint-niiiiim!”
This city fundamentally revolves around the Dungeon.
Naturally, the place where the most people gather is the Guild, which was built to encircle the Dungeon, and because of that, the area around the Guild building is well-maintained with wide roads.
But those well-maintained, wide roads were completely filled with a massive crowd.
And most of them were men.
“Saint-niiiim! Please grant us salvatioooon!”
What is this all of a sudden? What's this commotion?
Could it be that word spread about me being a divine apostle because I healed Matilda?
No. Even if that were the case, this is strange.
Even if the news got out, it's weird for them to suddenly be shouting for salvation so fanatically.
Unless every single one of these guys was made impotent by Matilda.
But there was no way that could be true.
In the first place, Matilda didn't originally live in this city.
She used to live at the Holy See, far from here, so naturally, the countless men who were rendered impotent would be living near there.
Unless all the impotent men were important enough to use teleportation circles, it was hard to believe the guys here were victims of Matilda's curse.
Then who the hell are these guys?
I couldn't even begin to guess, but I decided to shout one thing first.
“Which one of you bastards just made a pun with my name?!”
I'm the only one who gets to make puns with the name Guwon!
I won't forgive any other bastard for doing it