Chapter 51: Guild Quest
Chapter 51: Guild Quest
It wasn’t until they reached the final floor that Guwon was finally free from Diana and Sara’s sharp glares.
For some reason, however, Diana was walking a little farther away from him than usual. It seemed she thought he might try some ‘outdoor play’ if she got too close.
I told you I’m not into that kind of thing.
Didn’t you see I couldn’t even get it up when I was naked by myself before?
“Diana.”
“Wh-what is it?”
“Nothing. Just wanted to say your name.”
“Guwon. That’s enough,” Sara chided.
Deciding to enjoy it if he couldn’t avoid it, Guwon amused himself with Diana’s flinching reactions whenever he tried to get closer.
Even Sara seemed to have noticed that Guwon was toying with Diana, eventually telling him to knock it off.
Sorry. She’s just so cute, I can’t help myself.
After exiting the passage, the first thing Guwon did was compare his map to the one from the Guild.
He had completely filled out the map of this area by walking in circles, so the layout of the paths was clear.
But just as he’d suspected, there didn’t seem to be any section that matched the Guild’s map.
So this place isn’t connected to the regular route after all.
If that was the case, then the right move was to head for the other side of the werewolves’ hidden space.
With their objective set, the party set off.
“Say… isn’t this a little strange?”
“Wh-what is?”
“There are hardly any werewolves.”
“Now that you mention it, you’re right.”
He didn’t know what it was like on the regular route, but here at least, werewolves and orcs had originally appeared at a roughly 50-50 ratio.
But for some reason, they hadn’t encountered a single werewolf today.
They hadn’t been in many fights yet, but still, this was a bit much.
“Hmm. Perhaps that was the only path the werewolves used to get here,” Diana mused.
That’s probably the most logical explanation, right?
What if the werewolves’ main den was on the other side of that passage we haven’t explored yet?
When we came out of that space, we had used the same boulder that was blocking this side to seal the tunnel the Transcendent had bored through.
On top of that, after exiting the tunnel, we had blocked it with another rock from above, creating a double barrier. If they still hadn’t managed to clear those rocks, this situation made perfect sense.
While there were no werewolves in sight, hordes of orcs still swarmed the area.
The party continued to fight their way through the orcs, heading toward the werewolves’ secret space.
Before long, it was afternoon.
“Should we stop here and grab a bite to eat?”
After clearing out the orcs in a reasonably wide area, Guwon suggested lunch, and the party sat down to rest.
He took some orc meat out of his inventory, and just like before, Diana used her magic to cook it.
This time, he had been thorough enough to bring salt, and he seasoned the meat as it sizzled for several minutes.
“Grrrrr.”
Just as the mouth-watering smell of cooking meat began to spread through the dungeon, a lone werewolf finally appeared—the first one they’d seen all day.
But one look was enough to tell that the creature was not in good shape.
Its eyes were severely bloodshot, and its fur looked strangely matted and dull. It was clearly unwell.
“What’s wrong with that thing?”
Annoyed at having his mealtime interrupted, Guwon enveloped his fist with Saint’s Touch and swung hard, intending to finish it quickly.
“Gack!”
Huh? What the?
The werewolf collapsed anticlimactically from a single punch, its legs giving out.
It was still twitching, so it wasn’t dead. What was going on?
Saint’s Touch had a stun effect, but it wasn’t this powerful.
“It probably hasn’t been sleeping well,” Sara commented.
Ah, I see.
Sara’s simple remark made everything click into place for Guwon.
It made sense. If their den was on the other side of that secret passage, they wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Even though we had blocked the path, there must have been a fair number of werewolves left on this side.
He had thought it was strange that there were no werewolves at all, but if all the ones on this side were in this condition, it was perfectly understandable.
Well, whatever the reason, if all the werewolves were like this, it made things easier for them.
Guwon finished off the downed werewolf and returned to his spot to eat.
“Hey, how could you start eating without me? That’s cheap!”
“First come, first served.”
Diana, who seemed to be getting back to her usual self, greeted Guwon with her cheeks puffed out with meat, a nonchalant look on her face.
Seriously? You ate all the cooked meat?
Don’t tell me this is her idea of revenge.
In the end, Guwon had to take out more meat and cook it from scratch.
After finishing their meal, they set off again, soon arriving at a place where the explored portion of his map shrank drastically.
This was the area where he had stopped mapping and started tailing the werewolf last time.
Considering how long it took to get back before, if they took the shortest route from here, they should arrive around 8 PM.
But arriving at that time would be awkward for checking the other side.
Maybe we should fill out the map a bit on our way back?
Orcs were still roaming around actively, which meant they might have a hidden passage of their own.
Besides, they had already decided to stay here for four days.
Of course, their top priority was investigating the other side, but raising their job levels and mapping the area were just as important.
After consulting with the party, they decided to explore this side for the rest of the day.
They wandered around, filling in the map, but didn’t make any particular discoveries.
If he had to name one, it would be that they ran into a few more listless werewolves along the way.
It was night by the time the party arrived at the tunnel leading to the werewolves’ secret hideout.
“This is still here.”
“Hmm. It seems the theory that they were trapped and isolated was correct.”
There were werewolf claw marks all over the boulder they had used to block the entrance, but it seemed they hadn’t been able to move it after all.
Guwon immediately moved the rock aside and went in first.
There was always a chance that even if they couldn’t move this rock, they might have moved the one on the other side.
But remembering what he’d done to the Transcendent last time made him reluctant to go through a tunnel like this.
That incident had been a direct assault on a man’s trauma.
Even though he had done it himself, once he came to his senses and faced the reality of the event, he’d developed a slight aversion to tunnels.
Of course, the werewolves had no way of getting his member to stand at attention, so it was a needless worry.
Still, if they timed an ambush for the moment he stuck his head through, he’d end up a punching bag just like that Transcendent.
…Just in case, I’ll put my hands through first.
As long as he could move his hands, he could buy time with Saint’s Touch.
Just to be safe, Guwon went through the trouble of passing through the tunnel with his hands stretched above his head as if he were being punished, but the rock blocking the other side was still firmly in place.
Alright. That guarantees this place is safe.
“It’s clear! Come on in!”
Guwon exited the tunnel again and let Sara and Diana enter.
Why did he come back out?
To block this entrance, of course.
After investing a few more bonus stats into Strength, Guwon lifted the boulder over his head, went back into the tunnel, and sealed the entrance completely.
“Wow! We have a completely safe resting spot now!”
“Indeed. With this, we can rest without having to worry about a night watch.”
Sara and Diana both had wide smiles on their faces, clearly pleased.
They had to stay for three nights, so of course they’d be happy.
Guwon, who was also sick and tired of standing watch, was quite delighted himself.
The party leisurely finished their meal and decided to get some sleep.
Thanks to his inventory, they didn’t have to worry about carrying things and had brought plenty of blankets and even cotton quilts. If they laid the blankets down first and put the quilts on top, their sleeping arrangement would be quite comfortable.
“Ah, lay all three out next to each other.”
As Guwon hurried to prepare the bedding, Diana, who was setting up an alarm spell, spoke up.
“Hmm? Why? You want to sleep next to me?”
“Wh-what are you talking about! I am saying this for the sake of safety! Do not forget that we are in a dungeon!”
He was just joking, but Diana’s face turned beet red as she protested.
Well, she had a point. There was no harm in being careful.
Still, there was no need to get so red-faced and angry about it.
Does she still think I’m going to try something kinky in a place like this?
…Well, I did do it right over her and Sara’s heads.
Come to think of it, by date, today was his turn with Sara.
She wouldn’t ask to do it again today, would she?
Guwon glanced at Sara’s profile as she laid a blanket on the ground.
She had her usual cool expression, a face that made it hard to imagine she would instigate something like that at night.
“Hm? What is it?”
Sara seemed to notice his gaze and tilted her head.
“Oh. It’s nothing.”
Surely she won’t do it today.
Of course, Guwon enjoyed it too, but there was no guarantee they could finish without Diana finding out like last time.
If you keep doing it, you’re bound to get caught.
In the end, they laid the blankets side by side and slept in a row, with Sara on the left, Guwon in the middle, and Diana on the right.
With all the passages blocked and Diana having set an alarm spell over the entire space just in case, they decided to forgo a night watch.
Sleeping side-by-side without a watch almost felt like a harem.
Right now, I feel like a Casanova who’s even experienced a one-on-many.
Guwon was about to drift off in satisfaction when something suddenly popped into his head.
Wait a minute. One-on-many?
Aaaah! What’s the date today?!
Guwon frantically calculated the days.
Goddammit! The day I was supposed to meet Amy and her friend is today!
How could I have forgotten something so important?!
Come to think of it, there was something yesterday that was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn’t remember… was this it?!
You idiot! No matter how out of it I was after getting lost in the dungeon, how could I forget this?!
“Guwon? What’s wrong?”
Sara, lying next to him, looked at him with confusion as he clutched his head in agony.
“It’s nothing… It’s nothing…”
Dammit. Let’s just sleep. I need to sleep and forget.
Guwon shed a tear at his own stupidity and fell asleep.
“Hah… Nngh… Haah.”
Guwon’s consciousness slowly returned as a pleasant sensation spread throughout his body.
What is this? I feel like I just fell asleep. Is it morning already?
He managed to lift his heavy eyelids and focus his blurry vision. Right before his eyes was a pair of beautiful amber pupils.
“Sa-Sar—mmph!”
“Shh. What will you do if Diana wakes up?” Sara whispered, covering his mouth with her hand.
If you were really worried about that, you wouldn’t be doing this in the first place, Sara!
Sara had somehow slipped into his blanket and was now pressing her body against his, one hand inside his pants, kneading his member.
“It’s my turn today, isn’t it? Did you forget? If you neglect my turn, I’ll go sleep with another man. Hmph!”
What?! No, you won’t!
There was no way Sara could find another man in the middle of a dungeon, but her words made Guwon’s eyes glaze over. He grabbed her waist, pulled her tight against him, and kissed her.
“Mmph. Hahmm. Churp.”
Guwon slipped his tongue into her mouth for a deep kiss, lifting her on top of him. He flicked his eyes to the side to check on Diana.
His gaze met a pair of mystical silver eyes.
Gah?! Guwon froze in place.
“Hahmm. Guwon? …Ah.”
Sensing that Guwon had gone rigid, Sara pulled away from the kiss and wiped her lips, finally seeming to notice that Diana was awake.
“Y-y-y-you two! What in the world do you think you’re doing in a dungeon! Kneel, right there!”
““Y-yes, ma’am!””
Diana’s face turned bright red and she trembled for a moment before shooting up and roaring at them.
“Your fundamentals as adventurers are completely rotten! In the first place!”
Facing a red-faced, furious Diana, Guwon and Sara could do nothing but kneel and listen.
She might look young, but her age was her age, and Diana’s lecture soon expanded to nitpick every aspect of their daily lives.
“Do you understand?! This sort of behavior is absolutely forbidden in the dungeon from now on!”
““Yes. We’re sorry.””
Diana’s long lecture finally came to an end as dawn began to break.
“…We got caught.”
As she watched Diana huff and puff her way back into her blanket, Sara had a strange smile on her face that was oddly impressive.
What’s she so happy about after getting scolded for that long?
Ignoring Guwon’s confusion, Sara quietly returned to her spot and pulled her blanket over herself.
She was smiling, but it seemed that even after such a long scolding, she had no intention of trying to level up again.
What on earth did that smile mean?
Did she remember her late grandfather or something?
…I have no idea. I’m just going to sleep.
Guwon gave up on thinking any further and decided to just go to sleep.