Chapter 720: The Turtle Den
Chapter 720: The Turtle Den
But that’s life, isn’t it? You can’t just not go because you don’t want to.
If I threw a fit about not wanting to go, it would only bring down the party’s morale.
I had to think positively. A positive mindset.
Right. Maybe being underwater is actually better.
This is a sub-layer our goddess made just for me. Surely she wouldn’t have filled it with water for no reason, right?
She must have created it this way because it was necessary.
This must be essential for my growth.
It’s a common trope in old manga and novels.
Characters would tie rocks to their bodies and train in the water, growing stronger by pushing against its immense resistance.
I’m sure I can become stronger in the same way through underwater combat!
…You say my problem isn’t a lack of stats but a lack of skill levels, so that kind of training wouldn’t be very helpful?
D-don’t worry about the little details! You lose if you think about it!
“Alright, shall we go?”
“Right now?”
I had managed to muster my spirits and was about to dive into the pool of water, but Diana’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“How about we rest here for today?”
“But it’s still…”
It was 5 p.m.
It was still a little too early to even have dinner.
But she wasn’t suggesting we eat; she was saying we should call it a day?
Having been freshly reminded of how far behind the other party members I was in terms of combat, I honestly wanted to hunt a little more rather than take it easy.
Why else would I have turned down Sara’s kind offers to handle the monsters herself and fought a desperate battle with a turtle, armed with a dagger that could barely pierce its shell?
Besides, aside from the first two fights, it was just me and Silvia who had been struggling today.
So the others couldn’t have been that tired, could they?
Of course, it would be a different story if Silvia said she was tired, but our dependable Silvia still looked perfectly fine.
So, for the life of me, I couldn’t understand Diana’s suggestion to wrap things up for the day already.
“Are you tired from walking on these bumpy, slippery rocks? Should I carry you on my back when we’re not fighting monsters?”
I approached Diana with a playful expression and said as much.
I held out both hands, wiggling all ten of them suggestively.
I’ll carry you and grope that cute butt of yours to my heart’s content. Kekeke.
My intentions were crystal clear.
I didn’t say it out loud, but I was sure our brilliant exhibitionist Archmage would grasp my meaning and blush.
“It is not that. The path ahead is water, is it not?”
But contrary to my expectations, Diana showed no reaction to my hand gestures. She simply sighed and spoke.
Oops, how could I have made such a mistake!
“Ah, right. Carrying you would be useless in the water.”
“I told you, that is not it.”
At my clueless response, Diana shook her head and lightly poked my forehead with the tip of her staff.
“Even if we enter the water now, we do not know how long we will have to remain submerged. We might be in the water until we reach the end of the layer. That is why I suggest we rest here. Is it not better to sleep on land than in the water?”
Only after hearing Diana’s words did I realize how shortsighted I had been.
She was right. If the entire area was submerged like the 4th layer, we’d have no choice. But in a place like this, where we have a space to rest on dry land, it might be better to pause for a bit, even if we still have time.
Still, it felt like a waste to end the day’s hunt this early.
“Ah, right. Then how about we go back a little and try a different path? We might not have to go through the water if we take another route.”
We had passed countless forks in the road while navigating this maze-like, winding cave.
In fact, if we just backtracked for ten minutes or so, we’d find a path we hadn’t taken yet.
So maybe it would be a good idea to go back and try a different route.
We still had time, so we could fight more turtles, and if we were lucky, we might really be able to proceed without getting wet.
Yes. I don’t mean to praise myself, but that’s an excellent judgment call.
I’m not just a party leader for show, you know. I can get things done when it counts.
“Guwon-ssi, I’m sorry, but could we please just rest here for today? It’s so difficult to walk here, I think I’ve gotten tired a little faster than usual. I’m so sorry to be a burden when I haven’t even done anything special today…”
But just then, Leia clung to my arm, looking up at me with anxious eyes.
Right. Get things done, my ass.
“N-No! No! Don’t be like that! Don’t apologize! A burden? If anything, I’m the one who’s sorry. For not noticing sooner.”
My offer to carry Diana earlier had been a joke.
Even Diana wouldn’t be able to explore dungeons if she got tired this easily, and she could always just float with magic if she had to.
But I never expected Leia, who had more stamina than Diana, to say something like this.
Was walking through this mossy cave far more draining than I thought?
Was I just a stamina-filled idiot who failed to notice?
“No. I’m sorry for being so selfish… Ah. I’m not supposed to apologize, am I? Fufu.”
“Right! Good! Then let’s rest here for today!”
When an angel sticks her tongue out slightly and says something like that, I couldn’t possibly insist on hunting any longer.
And so, we decided to end our hunt early and rest for the night.
To be honest, I was desperate to grow stronger and catch up to my girls’ level as quickly as possible, but I couldn’t force them to overexert themselves because of my stubbornness.
“Haaah…”
Watching me, Sara shook her head.
Just like earlier in the day, it seemed our Hero was once again slightly displeased with my interactions with Leia.
In any case, we finished our meal right there and decided to get to sleep quickly.
Of course, we still had to stand watch.
Given the nature of this layer, with turtles embedded in the walls everywhere, it was unlikely we’d be attacked by monsters in our sleep, but there were no absolutes in the dungeon.
It might be a different story if we were in an enclosed space like the male penguin’s room from the other night.
“Then Guwon will take the last watch, and we’ll decide the rest of the order amongst ourselves.”
But for some reason, Sara said this out of the blue.
What’s more, the others nodded as if they’d planned it, and my watch was semi-permanently fixed as the very last one.
Usually, the first and last watches—the best ones for getting a full night’s sleep—were taken by Diana or Leia, who had less stamina.
“No. This is weird.”
“Just shut up and go to sleep, Guwon.”
“What do you mean…”
“You were panting about being out of mana after catching just one turtle. Hurry up and sleep so you can recover your mana.”
…Hey. No. I mean, it’s true, but I’ve told you so many times not to punch me in the gut with the facts like that…
“Guwon-ssi. You worked hard today, so please get a good rest.”
Even Leia’s gentle words offered no comfort at this moment.
“No. But.”
“Rest.”
“Rest.”
“……”
“…Good night.”
In the end, I had no choice but to be the first one to go to bed.
How sad. Is this the sorrow of a husband who’s lost a power struggle with his wives?
The ground was too bumpy and the space too narrow to pitch a tent, so we had to sleep on just a thick blanket spread on the floor, which somehow made me feel even more pathetic.
But there was a reason my girls had deliberately pushed me to the last watch and were now discussing the order among themselves.
I would only find out why after Diana, who must have been on watch right before me, woke me up.
“You. You. Wake up.”
“Hm? Ugh… Ah, is it my turn now?”
“Mm.”
“Okay. Thanks for your hard work. You should get back to sleep, Diana.”
“Mm.”
Though she responded to my words, Diana just stared at me intently, showing no intention of going to sleep.
“…Diana?”
“You, could you give me one of the Magic Stones you acquired in the dungeon today?”
As I tilted my head at her, Diana made a sudden request.
A Magic Stone? Why a Magic Stone all of a sudden? What was she going to do with it?
Though I had my questions, I obediently took a Magic Stone from my inventory and handed it to her.
Diana then took the stone, closed her eyes, and used some kind of magic.
The Magic Stone in her hand glowed brightly for several minutes.
When the light faded, Diana finally opened her eyes.
Honestly, I had no idea what she’d done. I couldn’t feel any change in the Magic Stone either.
“Hmph.”
But Diana gave a solemn nod as she looked at the stone in her hand, then stood up and began to draw what looked like a magic circle on the ground with it.
“You.”
After she finished drawing the entire circle, Diana beckoned me over with a gesture.
Was she telling me to come inside the magic circle?
“What’s wrong? And what is this magic circle?”
“Mm. Umm…”
When I did as she asked and stepped inside the circle to question her, Diana’s face turned red for some reason, and she just mumbled, unable to give a proper answer.
But soon, as if she’d made up her mind, she lifted her head, looked me straight in the eye, and opened her mouth.
“The truth is.”
“Yeah.”
“I have something important to tell you.”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“Well, the battle today was longer than usual, was it not?”
Ugh. Was that what this was about?
I mean, yeah. Usually, Sara’s arrows or my Saint skills would finish off the monsters in an instant, so it was longer compared to our usual fights.
No. It was me, fighting a desperate battle to catch a turtle on my own.
Even without comparing it to our party’s standards, it was probably slow compared to other parties, too.
“Are you aware that I was using flight magic throughout the entire battle?”
But it seemed Diana hadn’t brought it up to blame me.
“Huh? Ah, yeah. The ground was shaking a lot during the fight. What about it?”
“The truth is, I am short on mana because of it.”
Ah, so that was it.
“Then why were you so stubborn… You should have just been honest and said you were tired and taken the last watch. No. If you were really short on mana, I could have stood watch for you…”
“You are just as short on mana. And my mana consumption was not at a level that could be replenished by merely sleeping. S-so, what I am saying is.”
Diana spoke firmly, then suddenly blushed again.
In that moment, I realized something was strange.
“Huh?”
“For each other’s sake, shall we not… H-Heal?”
At Diana’s following words, my jaw dropped.
Wait a minute. What? Did I hear that right, coming from Diana’s mouth?
Diana, who had scolded me time and again, saying that such things were absolutely forbidden in the dungeon?
And with the others sleeping right next to us?
Huh? Come to think of it, then this magic circle on the floor is…
“It is a magic circle that prevents sound from leaking out.”
As if noticing my gaze shifting to the magic circle, Diana explained.
She’s serious. This girl is seriously planning to have sex with me, right here, right now.
No. Wait. Really? Is she serious?
It’s true I’d been bringing up Healing Sex since yesterday.
But that was just a joke. You all knew that and played along, right?
But you’re actually going to do it?
Don’t tell me… has your exhibitionism gotten that bad?!
“Here, sit.”
As I stood there, speechless and staring blankly at her, Diana placed her hands on my shoulders, pushed me down to a sitting position, and then straddled my lap, pressing her groin tightly against mine.
“H-how is it?”
She sent a seductive gaze my way and moved her hips back and forth, grinding her pussy against my Dick through our clothes.
Her face was beet red, as if it would pop if I touched it. And her hips moved back and forth awkwardly.
Normally, I would have pounced on her in an instant, but at that moment, I felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on my head.
Because Diana’s crotch wasn’t wet at all.
In a situation like this. When she was the one initiating. This exhibitionist, perverted Archmage.