Chapter 56: The Beastkin Priestess
Chapter 56: The Beastkin Priestess
After leaving the Arachne Clan, Guwon sat blankly on a bench in the square.
This time, it wasn't for a one-night stand.
After witnessing that paradise on earth with his own two eyes, his motivation for that sort of thing had completely died.
A one-night stand, or anything else for that matter, all felt pointless.
Having lost his goal for the day, Guwon was once again at a loss for how to kill time.
It was just a little past noon.
There was still a long day ahead.
He considered heading back to the inn for lunch, but quickly gave up on the idea.
He didn't want to feel that same misery he'd felt this morning.
Ugh. Instead of wasting time like this, I might as well do something productive.
Guwon shot up from his seat.
There were still plenty of things to do as an adventurer.
He could gather information, or he could find a new companion.
As his conversation with Alicia had revealed, despite his progress in the dungeon and his level, Guwon was still a rookie adventurer who didn't know much.
To be honest, he’d been neglecting that part of things, since he could just ask Diana whenever he had a question and get an immediate answer.
But Diana wouldn't always be by his side like she was today.
And then there was recruiting a new companion.
Now that they'd easily taken down even a Transcendent Werewolf, the only being left on the 1st Floor that could threaten his party was the Layer Boss.
Diana had recommended that they reinforce the party, even if only temporarily, to take on the Layer Boss.
But he didn't really want to bring in a temporary member.
He couldn't just reveal the existence of the secret passage to someone who would be leaving the party, but he also didn't want to take the long, standard route all the way to the Layer Boss's location just for one temporary member.
Ultimately, that meant if they were going to take down the Layer Boss, they needed to recruit a companion who would stay with the party for the long haul.
And so, Guwon decided to head to the guild again today.
Whether for gathering information or recruiting a companion, the best place to go was where the most adventurers gathered.
And when you thought of where the most adventurers gathered, it was, of course, the guild.
The guild was bustling with people today, as always.
Alright, shall we give this a try?
Gathering information wasn't anything special.
It was just a matter of keeping his ears open and paying attention to the conversations happening all around him.
It wasn't like he had a specific piece of information he needed to find right now; he just wanted to learn about general knowledge related to adventurers, so this was the best way.
With his ears open, Guwon headed toward one of the guild's walls.
It was a wall plastered with papers, but not the one with the quests.
It was the wall where adventurers posted their party recruitment ads.
Not all adventurers started out with a pre-formed party.
There were people looking for companions because they didn't have a party, and there were people looking for temporary members due to a sudden vacancy.
This wall was where such adventurers posted their recruitment ads.
His plan was to check if there were any healers looking for a party and meet with them.
The first time he recruited a companion, he was so sex-crazed that he only cared about looks and didn't even think of using a place like this. But things were different now.
Back then, he could get by just hunting wolfdogs on his own until he found a party member. Now, he had a clear goal: to get stronger to defeat the Demon King.
Diana had also pinpointed that they needed a healer, and even if she hadn't, he knew full well how important a healer was.
They had managed without one so far thanks to their superior stats, but there was no telling how long that would last.
Besides, he was more than satisfied with just Sara and Diana when it came to sex.
To be honest, it wasn't like he had no reservations about finding a party member this way.
Both of his current party members were peerless beauties.
It would be a lie to say he didn't have the desire to build his entire party that way now that things had turned out like this.
But that was just a dream.
He was already lucky enough to have Sara and Diana.
Guwon coached himself as he examined the recruitment ads on the wall one by one.
But, as expected, healers seemed to be a rare commodity.
He checked every single ad on the wall, but there wasn't a single healer looking for a party.
How can this be?
Are healers so sought-after that they can find a party without needing to post an ad?
Damn it. Then I'll have to post a recruitment ad myself.
Guwon sat down at a corner table in the guild and wrote up an ad.
Job wanted: Healer. Required level: 20-50.
These requirements should be enough, right?
The minimum level might be a bit low, but it was a range he could cover by working hard day and night.
As Guwon held up the paper to check it, a delicate voice spoke to him from the side.
"Um..."
Huh? Whoa!
Guwon turned toward the voice and gasped.
Standing next to him was another woman so beautiful it took his breath away.
Brilliant, bright blonde hair and a gentle-looking face.
On top of her head, a pair of triangular animal ears perked up.
A Beastkin? What kind?
The soft smile playing on her face seemed to tell him all he needed to know about her personality.
She was the kind of beauty who perfectly fit the description of a big-sister type who would indulge your every whim.
And above all else, they were huge.
The way they swelled up like rockets, as if about to burst through her clothes, was so immense that even her loose priestess's robe couldn't hide them at all.
Is this on the same level as Diana before her reincarnation?
Without thinking, Guwon recalled the sensation of Diana's breasts from before she reincarnated and compared them to the ones before his eyes.
No, I'd have to touch them to be sure, but they're probably even bigger.
From head to toe, her appearance was a direct hit on his preferences.
"Um... are you alright?"
As Guwon stared, speechless, at the woman's chest, she gave a troubled smile and gently asked again.
"Huh? Ah, yes! Of course! Absolutely! What can I do for you?"
Guwon finally snapped out of it and turned his gaze to the woman's face.
This is dangerous. For me to lose my composure after being trained by the beauty of Sara and Diana... Her destructive power is immense.
"That paper... are you looking for a healer?"
"Yes, that's right."
"If I join that party, can we hunt Orcs?"
"O-Orcs? Well, of course we can."
"Wow!"
At Guwon's words, the woman clasped his hand with both of hers, bringing it to her chest as she looked up at him with sparkling eyes.
Um... my hand is, shall we say, touching her chest. No, it's buried in them.
Of course, he would never say that out loud.
In times like these, the gentlemanly thing to do is to simply bask in the blissful feeling.
"Then, could you let me accompany your party?"
Guwon took another slow look at the woman.
Judging by her clothes, her job seemed to be a priestess.
So, her job was a pass.
Her looks were an unconditional pass without a second thought. No, it was at a level where he wanted to beg her to join the party.
Her level...
Guwon used Analyze and saw that the woman's level was 18.
Honestly, seeing how beautiful she was, he expected her to be a pretty high level, but it was surprisingly low.
Still, it was just barely within the acceptable range.
With her other parts being so outstanding, he could overlook something like that.
Then there weren't many conditions left.
Still, he had to check.
"We're looking for someone who can be with us for the long term. Is that possible for you?"
At that, the woman's face clouded over slightly.
"Well, that's a little..."
Huh?
He never expected to pass all the other conditions only to get stuck here.
"Is there a problem?"
"Well... if we're together for a long time, does that mean we'll be leveling up and aiming for the deeper parts of the dungeon?"
"Well, of course."
At his words, the woman's expression grew even darker.
Could it be? Is this woman, like Sara, the type who's averse to sex?
Why are there so many adventurers in a world like this who are averse to sex?
Well, I guess that's why her level is still so low despite her beauty.
"I'm sorry. Excuse me."
The woman gave Guwon a quick bow and turned to leave as if fleeing.
"W-Wait a minute!"
Her beauty was something he was reluctant to let go of, and Guwon tried to chase after her out of regret, but she was swept up in the wave of adventurers and vanished in an instant.
Damn it. To let a beauty like that get away.
She was so beautiful, he didn't know when he'd ever see someone like her again.
Her face, her body, her aura—she was my perfect ideal type.
He searched around the guild for a while in disappointment, but in the end, he couldn't find the beautiful woman again.
Having let a huge jackpot slip through his fingers, Guwon trudged back to the inn with heavy steps.
He returned to the inn and started up the stairs to go back to his room.
Then, he saw a strange sight: Sara and Diana were facing off in front of his door.
"I believe it is this one's turn today."
"Yes. But it's for skill research. Is there a need to start so early?"
"One cannot know. Because it is research, it is all the more reason to hold on and observe for a longer time."
"I see. I wouldn't know, as I've never done it for research purposes."
"Hmm. And you, I suppose, for the sake of leveling up..."
They were whispering face-to-face, but their voices were so low he couldn't make out the exact details of their conversation.
However, their faces looked serious, as if they were discussing something important.
Are they plotting something in front of my door?
"...What are you two doing here?"
"G-Guwon! Welcome back."
"Ah, um. It is nothing. Welcome back."
The two, who had been facing each other, greeted Guwon as if nothing had happened.
...Suspicious. What on earth were they talking about?
In any case, judging by their faces, both seemed to have recovered their composure to some extent.
Sara's face was still a little red, as if she was still embarrassed, but she didn't seem to be avoiding his gaze.
Diana, too, must have slept well, as the dark circles under her eyes were gone, and her skin was back to its usual white and smooth state.
"Yeah. What were you talking about?"
"Just some girl talk. More importantly, aren't you hungry?"
"Indeed. Let us go to the dining hall."
Come to think of it, he'd skipped lunch and was quite hungry.
Guwon went down to the dining hall with Sara and Diana.
Yes. This is it. This is what I'm talking about.
Don't be fooled, I'm the kind of guy who eats with beauties like these on either side of me.
This morning was just a little special, that's all!
No one had said a thing, but Guwon needlessly held his head high and scanned his surroundings as if showing off.
"Hmph. So, where were you wandering about?"
"Huh? Oh, just... here and there since it's my day off."
Recalling first the earthly paradise of the Arachne Clan, and then the magnificent figure of the nameless priestess, Guwon felt a twitch in his groin as he answered.
"Here and there? Where specifically?"
For some reason, Sara pressed for a more detailed answer on that topic.
"Just. Diana's words came to mind, so I went to see if I could find a healer."
How about that! This is me, working hard for the party even on my day off.
It wasn't a lie, so Guwon said it proudly.
"...Does that mean you went to the temple?"
But for some reason, both Sara's and Diana's gazes turned icy.
Huh? Wait, why? Isn't this the part where you're supposed to praise me?
"The, the temple? No, I went to the guild. But when I looked at the recruitment ads, there were no healers looking for a party."
At Guwon's answer, Sara's and Diana's gazes simultaneously softened.
What in the world is going on?
"Come to think of it, you're a foreigner, so you wouldn't know. It is common to find healers at the temple. This one shall accompany you tomorrow."
"That's right. I'll definitely go with you, too."
That makes sense. Healers are usually priests, after all. Of course you'd find them at the temple.
So that's why there weren't any recruitment ads for healers.
He was at the guild trying to gather some information, too, but he ended up showing his newbie colors again.
Huh? Then who in the world was that beautiful woman at the guild who was looking for a party?
The mystery only deepened.