Chapter 476: A Step Forward
Chapter 476: A Step Forward
The next morning.
As I woke, I heard a small voice whispering near my ear.
Diana? My girls have been waking up earlier than me quite often these days.
My own wake-up time hasn't changed, though.
Does this mean they've gotten used to my schedule?
It was a small thing, but it made me a little happy to realize just how deep our bond had become.
In any case, Diana seemed to be muttering something. Even without hearing the words, I had a good idea of what she was saying.
She was probably feeling down because, in the end, she couldn't beat me last night either.
Poor thing. Maybe I should comfort her a little.
“…There is a possibility. Hmm. I am certain. This has potential!”
No. Let’s listen a little longer before I do anything.
“Last night, had my Polymorph not worn off at that exact moment, my victory would have been obvious to anyone.”
No, Diana. If your Polymorph hadn't worn off, I would have wrecked you far more thoroughly.
“It was worth enduring such humiliation to have Leia-yang teach me her secret techniques.”
Such humiliation? No. What in the world did you do?
“Yes. Come to think of it, it was strange that I was the one on the receiving end all this time. What does it matter if he is the Saint! If I show him a bit of my mature charm, there is no way my dear husband won’t fall for me! After all, my dear husband is head over heels for me!”
…Well, she’s not wrong about that.
You’ve gotten incredibly confident from almost winning just once yesterday.
I was a fool for thinking she’d be discouraged.
I guess a little setback like this is nothing to our great Archmage.
Besides, thinking about it, Diana didn't really have a reason to be dejected yesterday.
Even though I eventually seized the initiative, I had only done just that—purely taken the lead.
I didn't tease her by stimulating her exhibitionism, nor did I torment her in any particular way.
My original plan was to lift her spirits as high as possible before plunging her into complete despair, but…
Even if it was to beat me, she had seduced me so beautifully.
Even I couldn't bring myself to do anything too cruel.
So, for the first time in a while, we just enjoyed ourselves normally.
The whole reason Diana wanted to beat me in the first place was because I was always playing pranks on her whenever I had the chance, so there was no reason for her to be upset.
Could you say she halfway achieved her goal?
“Next time, I shall properly control the duration of my Polymorph… No. There is no need to take such a risk. The point is simply to show him my mature charms. My dear husband is smitten with me even when I do not use Polymorph, so perhaps it is better to just….”
Well, it seemed Diana wasn't satisfied with that and was plotting to beat me for sure next time.
You’re right, Diana. Everything you said is true.
No matter what you look like, I’m head over heels for you, and if you were to seduce me with all your heart, I probably wouldn't be able to resist.
…If only I hadn't heard your entire plan!
Diana, why are you so unlucky?
No, in the first place, if you're going to make a plan like that, why not just think it to yourself? Why are you muttering it all out loud?
Is it a habit from your magic research?
Even if it's a quiet voice, if you're going to chatter right next to my ear, I have no choice but to hear it, even if I don't want to.
Are you letting your guard down just because you think I'm asleep?
At this point, it was starting to feel like it was Diana's destiny to lose to me.
Was fate itself, or whatever governs it, manipulating things so that she could never beat me?
Well, for now, I’ll let her dream on.
“Ugh… Diana…?”
I slowly opened my eyes, calling her name in a groggy voice as if I had just woken up.
“Whoa! Y-You, when did you wake up?!”
“When…? Just now, of course….”
“O-Oh! W-Well, of course! Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. You too, Diana. Did you sleep well?”
“Mm!”
Right. From what I heard you saying earlier, you weren't dejected at all and seemed to have slept soundly.
I chatted with Diana, pretending I hadn't heard a single word she’d said.
But it only strengthened my resolve that I couldn't afford to lose to her, now more than ever….
“Mmm! Hehe. You’re always like this, even after all that. Well, we have a little time before Vanessa arrives.”
Diana, in a good mood from the morning, brought it up herself for a change, before I even had to say anything.
Naturally, my Dick was still inside her.
Come to think of it, the reason she was whispering so close to my ear was because she hadn't bothered to pull away.
Her habit of muttering her thoughts aside, if she had pulled out and moved away, she at least wouldn't have been whispering right into my ear.
The thought made me feel a little proud of her.
Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let her win on purpose, just once.
With that thought in my mind, I slowly began to move my hips.
*
“This is the equipment for preventing slips?”
“Yeah. You can just take them off when you’re walking on flat ground, so it’s more convenient than treating the gear itself, right?”
“That’s true….”
After breakfast, we headed straight for Hanna’s blacksmith shop.
Sara looked at the crampons we had ordered, her expression filled with admiration.
“You’re amazing as always, Guwon. Couldn’t you mass-produce and sell these?”
“No. Not here, at least. The demand is too low.”
“Huh? But they seem incredibly useful for the 3rd Layer.”
She had a point. Even if it wasn't an ice cave, the 3rd Layer was covered in snow, making the ground just as slippery.
We had managed without any special measures, but that was because the 3rd Layer wasn't so slippery that you'd fall if you were a little careful. More importantly, our levels were so high that we just steamrolled through the 3rd Layer monsters.
“Adventurers who frequent the 3rd Layer just install anti-slip studs directly onto their boots. There aren't many adventurers who climb through the layers as quickly as you all do.”
I see. That makes sense.
If you were going to be on the 3rd Layer for a long time, it would be more convenient to just have them built into your shoes rather than bothering with putting on and taking off crampons every time.
“Anyway, with these, we can finally do some proper exploring. Alright. Let’s go.”
I paid Hanna and we immediately headed for the Guild.
Of course, there was still one more hurdle to overcome before we could enter the dungeon.
“Hello, Guwon. You just got back, but you’re already heading into the dungeon again?”
“Hello, Rachel. Yes, well…”
Rachel, who greeted me, looked no different from her usual self at first glance.
But I could feel, more than anyone, that she wasn't her usual self.
We had gone into the dungeon, come out after just a few days, and were now going back in again after just a few more.
In other words, we were going back and forth to the Guild an awful lot.
If this were the Rachel from a little while ago, it was the perfect situation for her to say something like, “Hehe. You’re not intentionally popping in and out just to see my face more often, are you?”
But even as I trailed off vaguely, Rachel said nothing and just stared at me quietly.
“Well, we want to explore the new place we found and report back to the Guild as soon as possible.”
“I see. Doing it for the Guild’s sake. Thank you. On behalf of the Guild, I express our gratitude.”
…I can really feel the distance.
And when I added the fact that this was all my fault, I felt something prickling deep inside my chest.
“Well then, we’ll be off.”
“Yes. The party is the usual members. Take care.”
Unable to properly look at Rachel’s face as she gave me a bright, professional smile, I bowed my head and headed for the dungeon.
This is depressing. Will a day ever come when I get used to interacting with Rachel like this, when it doesn't feel like anything at all?
The thought, so unlike me, made me feel gloomy.
“Look at this, Guwon! I’m so stable even on the ice…!”
“Finally, freedom from my chest!”
“D-Diana-ssi. Your chest….”
But I couldn't afford to act depressed inside the dungeon.
I was the party leader, and more importantly, I was the shield on the front lines. If I let my guard down, everyone would be in danger.
I steeled myself and decided to focus on conquering the ice cave for now.
“Yeah. With these, we should be fine even if we have to run a bit. What about you, Silvia, Matilda? Do they feel okay?”
If I had to pick the three people in our party who needed to move their feet the most in a pinch, it would be me, Silvia, and Matilda.
Silvia and I were at the front, and Matilda was the final shield protecting the rear.
Sara would sometimes dodge while firing arrows, but her basic role was to find a safe position in the back and just shoot her bow.
That’s why I was double-checking with Silvia and Matilda.
“Yesh, sir!”
“……”
Silvia answered energetically, even if she bit her tongue a little, but for some reason, Matilda didn't reply.
“Matilda? Is something wrong? Ah, maybe it’s tough because we came back to the dungeon so soon….”
“N-No?! N-No! I’m fine! I’m sorry! I was just thinking about something. I’m fine. My footing is perfectly fine. Th-Thank you… for worrying… about me. You….”
When I spoke with a hint of concern, Matilda finally snapped out of it and answered.
It seemed she wasn't having trouble withstanding the dungeon's magic just yet. She even went into her pink mode a little at the end. She’d probably be fine.
But that Matilda. Ever since she came back from the temple yesterday, she’s often been lost in thought.
From the looks of it, she must have had an important conversation with the Pope, but I have no way of knowing if it’s something I can pry into, so there’s nothing I can do….
Should I have just pretended not to know and asked her yesterday?
“It looks like you have something on your mind, but please try not to get distracted inside the dungeon.”
My own mind was a mess over Rachel, so I said it as if I were telling myself.
“Yes. I’m sorry. I’ll be careful.”
“And if that problem is something I can help with, let me know. I’ll be there for you.”
“You… thank you…. I’ll always be there for you too….”
“No. I’m telling you to stop going into that mode in the dungeon.”
As Matilda started to slip back into her pink mode, I lightly flicked her on the forehead.
That alone was enough to snap her pink-tinted gaze back to normal.
Lately, I’m getting more and more used to handling her… or rather, handling her curse.
“Ouch! Y-You know it’s not something I can control. Anyway, I’m fine. I was just lost in thought about some internal church matters. More importantly, there’s one already.”
Matilda gently held her forehead as she spoke, then, as if to focus, she hardened her eyes and turned her gaze forward.
Well, if it’s nothing serious, that’s a relief.
In any case, even if it is serious, there’s nothing I can do about it here.
As I’d told myself earlier, I decided to focus on the dungeon for now.
“These are really convenient. If the floor wasn’t slippery, these monsters would be pretty easy to deal with.”
“Indeed. As long as one is mindful of their attack power, which surpasses that of the 4th Layer monsters, we can hunt them quite quickly. Once this area is made public, many of the adventurers who were stuck on the 3rd Layer will be able to advance to the 4th.”
“Must be nice for you guys. So easy.”
“Hm? What do you mean? Has it not become quite easy for you as well?”
“It has, but I never thought my assassination wouldn't work….”
Right. Thanks to the crampons, exploring the ice cave was much more stable, and combat had become a lot easier.
However, I could no longer use my old method of using Stealth to approach and take one out.
That was because the crampons were so noisy that the penguins could hear me even when I used Stealth.
“Leveling up my Assassin job was pretty lucrative, too….”
“That cannot be helped. In the first place, your Assassin level is a bit insufficient to deal with the monsters here,” Diana said.
“Hah… it’s weird in the first place. The way the Assassin level goes up in this world. It should go up when you assassinate something, right? We’ve been assassinating monsters this whole time.”
“Wha-?! W-What are you talking about? We’ve been assassinating them?”
Leia asked, her face a mask of shock as if she were hearing this for the first time.
I guess the word “assassination” itself doesn't have the best connotations.
Our little angel was probably worried that, without her knowledge, she had been doing something far worse to the monsters than simply hunting them.
“Listen up. In the world I came from, there’s a saying. If you kill all the witnesses, it’s the perfect assassination. We’ve been killing every monster we see, right? So why isn’t my Assassin level….”
“What kind of stupid saying is that….” Sara muttered, sounding completely dumbfounded by my lament.