Chapter 661: Conquering the 4th Floor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 661: Conquering the 4th Floor
A pressure that seemed to dominate not just the air, but everything around me, myself included, just by breathing.
The moment that hand moved, I would die without even being able to put up a decent struggle, without even registering the fact that it had moved.
An intense killing intent that made me lose the will to fight back before I even knew it, that made my skin tingle and my stomach churn with acid just by being near it.
And, a beauty so overwhelming it was completely at odds with such a murderous aura.
No. Perhaps it was because of that overwhelming beauty that the killing intent felt so much more palpable.
Staring at the woman standing before me, the Demon God, all I could do was tremble.
Goddess. I know you gave me some overpowered abilities, and I’m grateful for that.
But still, come on. How in the world am I supposed to fight that?
Even knowing I would die at the hands of this beautiful woman in a few moments, I could only stand there and stare at the Demon God.
So this is what happens when the difference in power is this absolute. A person doesn’t even have the will to resist.
Unable to suppress the hollow laugh that escaped me, I prepared for death.
So what if I have the Saint’s skills when my combat power is lacking?
Am I invincible against any opponent who can feel sexual pleasure?
Of course not.
The Saint’s skills are, in the end, skills used by a human. They would never work on a true god.
That overwhelming beauty, which made it impossible to look away even in the face of death, felt like it was completely ignoring the buffs from my Charm stat, just as Diana’s beauty had in her prime, not long after I first came to this world.
Seeing me just standing there blankly, not taking any defensive stance, the Demon God’s lips curled into a captivating smile.
And the moment I thought her delicate hand had vanished from my sight, a searing agony erupted in my chest.
The pain was so excruciating that I let out an unsightly scream.
The thought of dying with dignity, of facing my end with composure, never even crossed my mind.
“Ugh-ah-aaah-AAAAAGH!”
And at the same time, I opened my eyes.
…Huh? Huh?!
I couldn’t make sense of the situation.
A throbbing pain still lingered in my chest.
And before me, a beautiful woman with a murderous look in her eyes was staring down at me.
The only difference from before was that this time, the person wasn’t the Demon God, but someone I knew very well.
Well, in a way, she might as well be a demon god.
You would think she’d be a little surprised by me screaming as I shot up, but the woman before me, Sara, didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
It seemed her mind was already too full of other emotions to pay any attention to my reaction.
“You pervert! Idiot! Moron!”
Her face flushed crimson, Sara began slapping my chest with her open palm.
Thwack! Thwack!
It seemed she remembered everything from last night with perfect clarity.
I get it. When you remember everything you did while drunk, you really do want to die.
Especially after you’ve done a bunch of things you’d never do sober.
I completely understand, I really do.
“Keuk! Sara! Wai—Ow, that stings! Wait a second! Kugh! Wait! That actually hurts!”
“I don’t care! Pervert! You pervert! You deviant!”
“No, the deviant isn’t me, it’s you—I have sinned grievously!”
Seeing Sara’s hand begin to glow with mana, I, who had been about to retort with a serious face, had no choice but to apologize hastily.
Of course, I couldn’t stop her from stamping a perfect handprint onto my chest.
Still, she did dispel the mana gathered in her hand, so I guess the apology worked, right? Let’s just think of it that way.
In the end, the task of calming down Sara, who had lost all reason to extreme embarrassment, continued until Vanessa arrived.
Even then, she had only barely calmed down. All the way to the dining hall, Sara didn’t say a single word, her face still beet red as she refused to even meet my eyes.
Sara and I had engaged in some pretty interesting play before, but it seemed that doing it while drunk and not of her own free will had a much more devastating impact.
Thanks to that, I was already exhausted first thing in the morning.
Then again, I was the one who got her drunk in the first place, so I was just reaping what I sowed.
Oh, and for the record, the handprint Sara left on my chest is already gone.
To be precise, the handprint vanished the instant it was made.
Because even through all that, Sara hadn’t pulled out. All hail Healing Sex.
“Ahem! On that note, we’re heading back to the dungeon the day after tomorrow!”
After we had all gathered in the dining hall, I made my declaration to everyone.
“I fail to see how that follows from anything you just said,” Diana retorted on behalf of the group.
Was my explanation too lacking?
“We are a party acting on a mission from the Goddess herself! But right now, we lack awareness of that fact! We need to take the dungeon more seriously and improve our skills!”
The nightmare I had before waking up made me feel that need with utter desperation.
I need to get stronger.
Of course, it would be best if the situation from my dream never came to pass, and it was probably just a meaningless nightmare brought on by Sara’s killing intent, but one must always prepare for the worst.
If a situation like the one in my dream were to occur, I would be utterly powerless.
“Hmm. You’re not wrong, but it’s suspicious for you to bring this up so suddenly. Did you have a nightmare last night, perhaps?”
Seeing me argue so passionately, Diana’s suspicious eyes pierced right to the heart of the matter.
“Ugh! O-Of course not! I’m not a child! As an emissary of the Goddess, let’s just say I received a divine revelation!”
“So you had a nightmare.”
Diana said, then got up from her chair and trotted over to me.
She stood on her tiptoes and gently patted my head.
She’s treating me like a complete child.
Well, compared to Diana, I guess I am a child.
“Anyway, that’s the plan, so if any of you have things to take care of up here, get them done today or tomorrow.”
“Aah! What are you doing?!”
I pulled the head-patting Diana into a hug, carried her back to my chair, and sat down as I spoke.
For some reason, Diana seemed to resist, but when I ignored her and held her tight so she couldn’t move, she seemed to give up and settled quietly in my arms.
“Hehe. Yes, I will. Oh, then I should visit the temple sometime today. But Cardinal Matilda is…”
Leia, seemingly pleased by the sight of me and Diana, chuckled and began to speak.
She trailed off mid-sentence, glancing between my face and Matilda’s.
It seemed she was thinking of going to the temple with Matilda, but figured I might have business with her.
Ah, crap. Come to think of it, I shouldn’t be worrying about everyone else’s schedules. Mine is the biggest problem.
Sometime in the next two days, I have to help Matilda with her curse, satisfy Felicia’s lust, and pay attention to Silvia.
On top of that, I already have a prior engagement this afternoon.
Just yesterday I was thinking I could take it easy this time, but now it looks like I’m going to be incredibly busy.
I desperately tried to calculate if I could cram all of that into the next two days.
“…Let’s go to the dungeon in three days.”
“I take it you just did the math and realized it’s impossible.”
Seeing me, Diana, still trapped in my arms, muttered in a dumbfounded voice.
Why is she pouting now?
I mean, she’s right, but still.
“Ahem! Anyway, sorry about this, but I’ll take you tomorrow, Matilda. For today, Leia, please go by yourself. I have a prior engagement.”
As I said that, Vanessa, who had been standing at her post since entering the dining hall, flinched slightly.
Thankfully, it seemed she remembered the promise we made yesterday.
“Is that so… Yes. I understand.”
Leia looked like she was prepared to go to the temple alone with Matilda if she had to, but I couldn’t let that happen.
Who knows if some other scoundrel might try to latch onto my Matilda.
No, of course, I think the chances of that are close to zero.
By now, the composition of our party was so well-known that it was the talk of the entire city.
I mean, even Diana, who used to hide her identity so carefully, no longer bothered to pull the hood of her robe all the way down. That said it all.
For the record, it seemed the elder mages at the Mage Association had pulled some strings, because even when adventurer mages saw our party, none of them ever rushed up to Diana.
They did, however, send looks of immense respect our way until we were out of sight.
Anyway, the fact that our party members were known meant that Matilda was known, too.
Besides, Matilda’s curse was apparently quite famous, so most men would probably keep their distance rather than intentionally approach her.
But you never know what might happen in life, right?
Who’s to say some lunatic won’t charge at her, willing to be castrated just to taste the love of a peerless beauty?
I’d rather die than see that happen.
Only I get to experience Matilda’s pink mode.
With that in mind, I had resolved to accompany Matilda whenever she went out.
“Is that okay with you, Matilda?”
“Y-Yes… Of course. Anything you say, I…”
Why is she in pink mode first thing in the morning?
Seriously, she’s been slipping into pink mode strangely often lately.
It really makes me anxious.
After discussing our future plans and finishing our meal, I remained seated and waited as everyone began to leave the dining hall one by one to attend to their business.
The first to leave was Sara, who was still dying of embarrassment and fled in a hurry. As soon as Diana finished her meal, she also escaped my arms as if she’d finally been freed.
Leia left to prepare for her trip to the temple, and finally, Matilda was so stuck in her pink mode that I had to forcibly return her to her usual state.
What about Silvia, you ask? She’s still here. Over there, in the corner.
She pretended to leave a moment ago but is now sneakily spying on us.
That girl still hasn’t managed to shake her stalker tendencies.
She’d probably just stalk me in secret even if I told her to go, so I decided to just leave her be.
She’s good at reading the room and knows not to follow when she thinks she shouldn’t.
Anyway, after everyone else had left the dining hall, I turned my eyes to the one other person in the room.
To Vanessa, who had been standing at her post from the start of the meal until now.
“Did you make time, properly?”
“…Yes.”
At my question, Vanessa nodded, her expression as stoic as ever.
“Does that mean, from now on, I can treat you not as my butler, but as my woman?”
“Ngh!”
As I approached her and murmured this, Vanessa finally flinched, her body trembling as she showed a hint of nervousness.
Of course, her face remained a perfect, expressionless mask.
I placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and gave her a wide grin.
“Then go get changed.”
“…Huh?”
Staring at me, Vanessa’s expressionless facade finally cracked, replaced by a slightly dazed look.
She looked like she didn’t quite understand what I meant.
“You weren’t planning on going out for fun dressed like that, were you?”
“…We are going out for fun now?”
“What did you think we were going to do?”
“……”
Vanessa didn’t answer my question.
She didn’t answer, but her eyes were telling me everything. You know damn well, so don’t ask.
It seemed she had interpreted what I said yesterday as a request to clear her schedule so we could do that.
Well, to be fair, she was right.
When I told Vanessa to clear her schedule yesterday, I was fully intending to have sex with her.
I hadn’t said it out loud, but she must have sensed it.
But after spending the night with Sara, I felt refreshed, and it occurred to me that it would be a waste to just do lewd things and call it a day, especially since Vanessa had gone to the trouble of making time.
And it was even more true when I considered the reason Diana had entrusted Vanessa to me.
Therefore, I had decided to take Vanessa on a date, starting now.
In fact, the biggest reason my calculations from earlier showed that two days wasn’t enough was because I was planning on going on a date with Vanessa today.
“Well, anyway, it’s a date. So please go change out of your butler uniform and into some proper clothes.”