Chapter 746: A Novice's Misunderstanding in Love
Chapter 746: A Novice's Misunderstanding in Love
“Ah, right. You guys have a map, don’t you?”
As Alicia had predicted, the male penguin took a little longer to resurrect than the emperor penguin.
But after waiting for a few days, we were finally able to obtain the penis from the resurrected male penguin.
The male penguin looked truly pathetic. It hadn't even resurrected while we were sleeping; it was killed by a single blast of the Saint's Wave and one arrow the moment it revived, without even a chance to do anything.
It didn't even have time to let out a single cry between its resurrection and its death.
In any case, having finally acquired the male penguin's penis, it seemed Alicia was ready to begin her full-scale exploration of the Turtle Cave.
And before sending her off, I remembered that I hadn't given her the map yet.
“Of course we do. Why?”
“Let me see it. We haven't gone that far in ourselves, but I'll draw what we know for you.”
Of course, we had only traveled about a day's distance in, but it would still be more helpful than nothing. The place was narrow but had a lot of complex forks, so it would take a long time to check every single path.
I laid the map Alicia handed me on the ground, enlarged the map in the corner of my vision, and traced it.
“Drawing without looking... Do you have it all memorized? And you're surprisingly good at it. You might have a talent for drawing, you know?”
Alicia, unaware of my ability, muttered as she leaned in close, seemingly impressed by this unexpected side of me.
Seriously? Did you not notice I didn't pull out a map once on the way here?
I'm only good because it's basically tracing; it's not like I have any real talent.
So don't go falling for me all over again.
No, I mean, I’m happy and grateful for the sentiment, but can you really not feel the glares from my girls?
Please stop leaning in so close.
And don't bend over! I'm a man, so my eyes naturally drift...
“Hey! Guwon!”
“I'm just looking at the map!”
It seemed Sara hadn't missed the moment my gaze reflexively flickered upward, just for a second.
At Sara's angry shout, I hastily shook my head and fixed my eyes back on the map.
Dammit. I can't help it. It's a man's instinct.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“You don't have to worry about it! Sometimes even I don't know what I'm saying!”
Alicia, who had leaned over to watch me draw and inadvertently emphasized her chest, seemed oblivious to her own actions, a question mark floating above her head.
You. That's what I mean when I say you're not very ladylike.
You should be a little more conscious of where a man's gaze will go when you're in that position.
“Anyway, here.”
“Oh, ooh.”
When I finished copying the map and handed it to her, Alicia took it carefully so as not to wrinkle it, studied it for a moment, then folded it neatly and put it in her pocket.
...Wasn't that movement just now subtly feminine?
“Alright, we're heading out. Take care. See you later.”
“Yeah. Be careful.”
“Ha, hah! Look who's talking! I don't need you to worry about me; monsters of that level are no problem!”
“No, I know. It was just something to say.”
“What did you say, you bastard?!”
After an exchange that felt just like the ones we had before I rejected her, Alicia waved and disappeared into the Turtle Cave.
Once Alicia was gone and I confirmed the passage had closed, I turned around to see my girls looking at me with peculiar expressions.
“Wh-what? I just treated her normally this time.”
“...Haaah.”
In response to my words, they all let out a deep sigh in unison for some reason.
“Um, Guwon? Did you not notice that Alicia still has feelings for you?” Leia asked, her soft voice sounding like she was gently explaining something.
“No. That’s…”
Well, it would be a lie to say I hadn't noticed.
I'm not as clueless as you all think, you know. I knew, which is why I deliberately treated her like a friend.
“You knew, and you still treated her like that?”
“But what can I do? It's not like a person's feelings can be sorted out that easily. So what, should I be cold to her from now on?”
“……”
When I said that, they all fell silent.
No matter what, my girls are all too kind-hearted. It seemed they couldn't bring themselves to tell me to be cold to a girl I'd already rejected.
Not even Sara, who had been the most competitive with Alicia.
“It's fine. If I just treat her comfortably like a friend, time will eventually solve everything and she'll sort out her feelings...”
“We're telling you it's not that simple, you idiot.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“That woman is still hitting on you. Didn't you notice? Her tone is much softer than when we met her before. Even the occasional harsh words she uses, she's clearly saying them while watching your reaction.”
Huh? No. Wait a minute.
...C-come to think of it, her tone did seem a little softer than usual...
“N-no. She's not hitting on me. I'll skip the details, but I said something like that when I rejected her. That she'd be an even cooler woman if she had more confidence in herself and acted more feminine. So she's probably just trying to act more feminine now. Yeah.”
Even with my explanation, my girls didn't look convinced at all.
“...It would be good if that were the case.”
“We definitely warned you. Don't come crying to me if you end up having to reject the same woman twice.”
But it seemed they had no intention of saying anything more about how I handled Alicia.
Shaking their heads, they let the topic of Alicia drop.
In any case, having achieved our goal, we decided to return to the village on the 4th floor immediately.
The others had occasionally gone down into the Turtle Cave, but since I'd been on standby in the male penguin's room the whole time, I couldn't have been happier to finally leave it after several days.
It reached the point where even the water of the 4th floor felt cozy.
So it wasn't all that strange that I immediately used the teleportation magic circle to go up as soon as we arrived in the 4th-floor village.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
My plan was to stay in the 4th-floor village to raise my job and skill levels, so I had actually intended to start my special training right away.
But the wait for the male penguin to resurrect took surprisingly long.
Combined with my last, very brief trip to the dungeon, it ended up feeling like I'd spent another long period down there.
Though I hadn't really accomplished much for all that time.
Anyway, the important thing was that my work up on the surface had piled up.
The last time I was up here for a day, I ended up getting nothing done.
Well, no. I did spend some very meaningful time with Vanessa, but that's not what I'm talking about.
For one, I hadn't even had a proper conversation with Rachel, whom I'd promised to see at least once every time I returned, let alone spent any personal time with her.
When I came back from the dungeon last time, Diana was in a pretty dangerous situation, so I had to rush back to the mansion. And this time, when I went back into the dungeon, Alicia's party was with us, so there was no time for idle chat; I just registered the party matter-of-factly and went back down.
Rachel already gets anxious every time I go down into the dungeon.
I couldn't even imagine how anxious she must have been this time.
And besides Rachel, I also had a mission to relieve the princess's pent-up sexual frustration.
For those reasons, I came straight back up, sent the girls ahead, and approached Rachel to settle up my magic stones.
“Guwon! A-ahem! Welcome back. How may I help you?”
Rachel, whose face had looked a little down from a distance, greeted me with a bright smile and a happy voice, but she immediately cleared her throat and offered a receptionist-like greeting.
But, Rachel, you're trying so hard to be calm that you've become even stiffer than usual.
Was she worried after all?
“I'd like to settle up my magic stones, please.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
Taking the magic stones from me, Rachel began the calculation, her demeanor still slightly awkward.
Right, I should set up a time to meet right away.
“Rachel. When are you free? The sooner the better, if possible.”
“Huh? Soon? Is it something urgent?”
“No, not really, but there's something important I need to talk to you about.”
“S-something... important... to talk about...?”
The moment I said that, her professional demeanor, which had been perfectly maintained on the surface, finally wavered slightly.
And for some reason, it was in the complete opposite direction of what I'd expected.
Why? I thought she'd be happy.
If I'm not mistaken, her face has gone a little pale.
And her lips are trembling ever so slightly.
“I-is it something you can't talk about here?”
“Huh? Well, yeah... I can't keep the people behind me waiting for too long.”
When we meet this time, I have to talk to her about her puppy, which we couldn't finish discussing last time.
That's why I answered that way, but hearing my words, her expression grew even paler than before.
“D-does it take a long time to talk about?”
“No. More importantly, Rachel? Are you okay?”
She's misunderstanding something.
Sensing this, I tried to assess her condition to clear up the misunderstanding first.
“I'm fine. S-so, it's a long conversation, right? Then please wait just a moment. I'll get ready.”
“Huh? Right now?”
“Yes. I still have a lot of vacation days saved up. Enough that I can take them whenever I ask.”
No, Rachel. That's a bit concerning in its own right. Please take some time off to rest, even if it's not to meet with me.
“Or, is now inconvenient for you, Guwon?”
“No, now is fine for me too. I've already sorted out my thoughts...”
“S-sorted out your thoughts?!”
At my careless murmur, Rachel flinched, her body trembling as she reacted strongly.
And the moment she said that, I realized why she had been acting so strangely.
I mean, I'd have to be an idiot not to get it when she reacts like that to the phrase "sorted out my thoughts."
I don't know why she came to this conclusion, but...
In other words, Rachel thinks I'm about to break up with her.
No. Why on earth?! Is it because I now have a history of rejecting another woman?
Or did she think my affection had cooled because I haven't seen her much lately... Yeah. If there's a reason, this must be it.
The last time, I only came by when her lunch break was almost over and we barely talked. The time after that, I came back up but went right back into the dungeon without even meeting her separately, let alone having a real conversation.
Yeah. It's understandable she'd misunderstand and think my feelings have faded.
“Ah... um, Rachel?”
“Yes?!”
“It's not what you're thinking...”
“And what is it that I'm thinking?!”
Yeah. This isn't going to work.
Her tendency to react strangely in unexpected situations was starting to work against her.
I can't exactly film a melodrama in the middle of the Adventurer's Guild.
No, really. Doing that once when I was pulled over the receptionist's desk was more than enough.
I'm still conscious of the other receptionists' stares whenever I enter the Guild.
And I'm starting to draw attention right now.
“Calm down. Please, calm down. Anyway, you'll be free in a little bit, right? I'll be waiting right over there, so please get ready and come meet me.”
“Y-yes... Here. This is the settled amount...”
Though her eyes were welling up with tears at my words, she diligently fulfilled her duties as a receptionist.
I told her I'd never make her feel neglected, and yet I ended up being so neglectful that I caused this kind of misunderstanding. What a stupid bastard I am.
How can I call myself a Harem King when I can't even properly take care of one of my women if she's not living in the same mansion? I need to reflect on this.