Chapter 641: Guwon, the Faithful Man
Chapter 641: Guwon, the Faithful Man
“This is unbelievable! Leia! Diana…!”
I was furious with Sara and Diana for thinking this rumor would curb my womanizing ways, so I tried to tattle on them to my angel, who was always on my side.
But when even that angel averted her gaze slightly, a chill went down my spine.
Come to think of it… my angel didn’t try to stop Sara earlier.
“L-Leia?”
When I called her name in a trembling voice, Leia finally clenched her fists near her chest, looked at me, and offered some encouragement.
“I-It’s okay! Not many people would dare to speak ill of the Goddess’s messenger. That person just now was probably just a little hot-headed. I’m sure this rumor will die down in no time.”
Yes. Thank you for the encouragement.
But Leia, why is your tail wagging so erratically?
Don’t tell me even you think I’m a serious philanderer?!
“No. I mean, I admit I’ve been adding a lot of women lately, but…”
“Hmph. So you’re at least aware of it. And yet…”
Hearing my muttering, Sara once again dug into my weakness without a shred of mercy.
“F-Fine! All right! After Elder Sister Rachel, I swear I won’t add any more women! That should settle it, right?!”
At my shout, everyone looked quite surprised.
“Rachel!”
Sara even high-fived Elder Sister Rachel as if to say, “We finally did it!”
And the elder sister, though looking bewildered, accepted Sara’s high-five.
No, Elder Sister, you don’t have to accept that.
Still, I did get your permission for this, Sara.
Well, even taking that into account, I have to admit I’ve been adding a few too many women since then.
It seems Sara had been pretty stressed about it, too.
…But I’ve never been the one to actively make the first move. It feels a little unfair.
Besides, if it were anyone else, fine, but that pervert Sara gets turned on watching me with other women.
Well, in the end, I don’t have a leg to stand on, so I’ll just keep my mouth shut.
And it seemed Sara wasn’t the only one who had been worried, as everyone else was also looking quite pleased.
“W-Woah…”
Among them, Silvia’s reaction was surprisingly intense.
Hey. Don’t tell me you were thinking that, too.
I mean, Silvia has been giving off more and more of a pet-like vibe lately, but she’s not thoughtless. It’s possible she was worried, too.
Still, it was unexpected to see such a strong reaction from Silvia, who always politely treats Sara, Diana, and Leia as the main wives and rarely asserts herself, always taking a step back.
Her reaction was so intense, it almost looked less like she was happy and more like she was anxious about my declaration to not add any more women.
And amidst this atmosphere, there was one person who analyzed my words with the most composure.
It was, of course, our brilliant Diana.
“In the first place, when we gave you permission to have relationships with other women, it was under the assumption that, given your position as the Saint, there might be unavoidable circumstances that would force you to do so. And yet you declare you will not take any more women whatsoever?”
“……That’s an exception…”
Faced with Diana’s cool analysis, my resolve wavered.
Sorry. I didn’t really think it through before I said it.
“You damn philanderer!”
And at my answer, Sara, who had been the happiest just a moment ago, reacted fiercely again.
“B-But that’s something I really can’t help!”
And so, my declaration to not add any more women ended up fizzling out into a vague, half-hearted promise.
On top of that, I was now stuck with a weird rumor.
Well, it seems Elder Sister Rachel’s stock went up a bit with my girls as a result, so I guess I should just be happy with that.
After finishing our somewhat noisy party report, we headed straight for the teleportation circle.
To be honest, it was a huge nuisance to keep talking in front of Elder Sister Rachel, so we practically fled.
If any more bad rumors about the Saint start spreading, things could get a little dangerous, don’t you think?
I’d especially feel bad for the Pope, who officially recognized me as the Goddess’s messenger.
“All right, see you all on the 4th Floor.”
Before using the teleportation circle, I said that just in case we got separated, and was about to step on.
And just as I expected, my premonition hit the mark.
“Not the 3rd Floor? It’s faster to get to the Ice Cave from there, isn’t it?”
Sara said this with a slightly displeased look on her face.
“We’re not going to the Ice Cave this time.”
It’s true that the Ice Cave offers excellent conditions for raising one’s job level.
But that’s only relative to its difficulty. If we can fight monsters proficiently on the 4th Floor, then the time-to-efficiency ratio is bound to be better there.
That’s why I planned to focus on exploring the 4th Floor this time, but Sara pouted slightly at my words.
No, it wasn’t just Sara. Everyone was looking at me with slightly anxious expressions.
Well, I know exactly what they’re thinking.
They’re not upset about skipping the Ice Cave; they’re worried about me being on the 4th Floor.
“Don’t worry. And I told you, right? Dragging this out could actually make things worse. Think of it as part of my rehabilitation. Let’s have some fun on the 4th Floor this time.”
“I know that, but…”
“Then it’s settled. Everyone to the 4th Floor?”
I reassured them in a light tone and was about to step onto the teleportation circle again.
“I’m going first!”
But Sara grabbed my shoulder to stop me and used the teleportation circle herself.
Her destination was, as I’d said, the 4th Floor.
If I went first, I’d be left alone on the 4th Floor, even if for just a moment. She must have been worried about that, so she went ahead.
That Sara, for all her cool composure, is such a worrywart. How cute.
Sure enough, as soon as I arrived on the 4th Floor after her, Sara grabbed my arm tightly and pressed her body against mine.
I told her not to worry, that I wouldn’t suddenly have a trauma-induced fit, but she did it anyway.
“Alright, let’s get going!”
After everyone had arrived on the 4th Floor, I deliberately shouted the departure signal with more energy than usual.
“Are you really okay? If you start to feel even a little bit anxious, you have to tell us right away, okay?”
“Indeed. Above all, do not forget that your safety is the top priority.”
“If the worst happens, I can stand on the front lines with Silvia in your place.”
“I-I will protect you, Sir Guwon!”
But it seemed my voice alone wasn’t enough to dispel their anxiety, as they each said a word to me.
In the end, it wasn’t just Sara; they were all worrywarts.
In that case, let’s try something…
“R-Really? To be honest, I… I’m feeling a little anxious just being on the 4th Floor…”
I deliberately let my eyes tremble and muttered with the most anxious expression I could muster.
“A-Are you okay?”
Just as I’d planned, seeing my reaction, they all huddled close, staring into my face with worried expressions.
Sara, who was still holding my arm, squeezed so tightly it was starting to hurt.
“Y-Yeah… Just… just for a little while… like this…”
“Yes? Y-Yes? Like this?”
“No, wait. Let’s change positions a bit. Right. First, you two face each other…”
“Wait. You. What is this.”
“Hyaauut!”
I had Leia and Matilda face each other, and as I tried to bury my face between their pressed-together chests, I used both hands to pull Diana and Silvia in by their waists.
“Alright. Just like this… Gyaaaah!”
But just before the tip of my nose could bury itself in the valley between Leia’s and Matilda’s breasts, a searing pain shot through my side.
“Hey! Guwon! Are you kidding me!?”
“Kidding? This is how I stabilize my mind… Gyaaaah! Hey! Pinching the same spot you just pinched is cheating! W-Wait! Time! Time out!”
I tried to retort with a dead-serious expression, but all I got in return was another jolt of pain.
“Honestly, this idiot…”
“Hah… Hah… Hey, you. Lately, you’ve been casually calling me ‘you’ or ‘idiot’ and getting away with it. Are you breaking your promise?”
“Hmph! Oppa, oppa, oppa, oppa, oppa, oppa, oppa…”
“That’s terrifying, you brat! Call me that normally! Normally!”
“Guwon was in the wrong this time.”
Well, she’s got a point.
But I did it on purpose, with a plan in mind.
“S-Sara… Mr. Guwon had his reasons…”
Thankfully, my angel seemed to understand the meaning behind my actions and tried to stop Sara with a slightly troubled expression.
“Leia, you take Guwon’s side too much. If you keep that up, he’ll get spoiled.”
“O-Oh, is that so?”
Of course, she was immediately swayed by Sara’s words.
No, my angel. Don’t look at me like that. Don’t fall for such ridiculous nonsense.
Spoiled? I’m older than Sara, you know.
Though, considering how Leia acted when I was turned into a kid, I have to admit that if we left the kids with her alone, they’d probably end up spoiled.
Well, I’ll just have to do a good job then.
“Anyway, as you can see, I’m fine.”
“Honestly, you could have just said so from the start. You always try to turn things into a joke, and this is what happens.”
It seemed Diana also realized that I had acted that way deliberately to show them I wasn’t nervous.
Muttering this, she stood on her tiptoes and patted my head.
No, I told you I was fine at first, but you guys were so worried that I had to resort to joking around.
Well, whatever.
“Let’s get going. We’re already a bit late because of the equipment check. At this rate, the day will end before we get any real hunting done.”
And with that, we began our dungeon exploration after a long time.
Actually, if you count the days, it hadn’t been that long, but so many incidents had happened topside that it felt like it had been an incredibly long time.
In any case, I didn’t have a trauma-induced fit like my girls were worried about.
After all, I was just happy to see Paulson. I don’t have any trauma related to the 4th Floor.
And our exploration proceeded quite smoothly.
To be fair, all we had to do on the 4th Floor was get stronger and accustomed to underwater combat, so there weren’t any real obstacles.
We’ve already obtained the male penguin’s penis from the Ice Cave, so we’ve basically secured the path to the 4.5th Floor.
Of course, back then we had to leave in a hurry before the holes we made in the emperor penguin closed up, so we didn’t actually go to the 4.5th Floor, but the important thing is that we no longer need to wander around searching for the path.
The only real exploration left would be to hunt down the 4th Floor’s Layer Boss, both to test our abilities and in case Diana discovers another giant Magic Stone nearby.
But even that wouldn’t be too difficult, since its location is marked on the map we bought from the Guild.
Well, I suppose we can head in that general direction. This time, we’ll explore at a leisurely pace, with the mindset that it’d be nice if we reach the Layer Boss, but it’s fine if we don’t.
More importantly, the top priority had to be getting used to underwater combat.
Just as the Kobold Cave, Ant Nest, and Ice Cave all had environments similar to their preceding floors, the 4.5th Floor, which we hadn’t seen yet, would likely involve underwater combat as well.
And that most crucial element, underwater combat, was no longer much of a problem for us now.
That was because the biggest issue—Silvia’s and Matilda’s swimming abilities—had drastically improved.
Even after I stopped helping them with their swimming practice, it seemed they had been practicing in the bathroom whenever they had a spare moment.
Silvia’s swimming, in particular, was incredible.
Matilda’s improved swimming wasn’t as noticeable since her role was to defend the rear, but Silvia was moving freely despite wearing full plate armor, blocking monster attacks left and right.
Of course, most monsters were pierced by Sara’s arrows before they could even get close.
Hey, you guys. Aren’t you getting a little too carried away?
…Could it be that you’re still worried about me? Are they taking them out so I don’t even have a chance to draw the monsters’ aggro?
I want to properly test out my Wolyeongmusa abilities, you know.
If you kill them before I can even draw their aggro, I’ll have nothing to do.
And I can’t just use something like Saint’s Wave to draw aggro, because I might get hit by a busy Silvia.
Sara and Silvia’s performance was so incredible that I found myself bored with nothing to do.
It was to the point that Diana, who usually conserves her mana as a precaution, didn’t use a single attack spell that day.
Of course, with no incidents of monsters approaching the rear guard, we were able to finish the day’s exploration without any trouble.