Chapter 85: Clan Founding
Chapter 85: Clan Founding
Guwon decided to run a quick test.
First, he lay down flat on his back, staring at the ceiling, and rolled slightly to one side. Sara’s profile came into view.
This time, he rolled in the opposite direction. His eyes met Diana’s, who was still blushing.
“Wh-what is it.”
Still so stiff. I’m not going to bite, you know.
Besides, she was still clutching her bag, on high alert.
“Oh, nothing. But are you going to keep holding your bag like that? Give it here. I’ll put it away again.”
“Wh-what do you intend to do with this if you take it!”
“Do what with it…”
Did she really think I’d try something like that again, after she’d scolded me so sternly?
Well, I’ll admit I haven’t exactly been the most obedient person.
“U-uhm…”
Diana hesitated but handed over the bag.
Guwon took it, stored it in his inventory, and lay down again, facing the ceiling.
Good. Perfect. As long as I don’t do something bizarre like stretching my arms straight up in my sleep, there’s no way I’ll touch Leia.
I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t strike such a pose, but at least it was safer than having her right next to me.
With a peaceful mind, Guwon drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Guwon awoke refreshed after a deep slumber.
And, as expected, he felt a soft sensation in his hand.
Even without opening his eyes, Guwon knew exactly what that feeling was.
It seemed that sleeping with women so often lately had given me an unconscious habit of reaching for things like this in my sleep.
It was fluffy and soft, but compared to Leia’s, which didn’t even fit in one hand, this was an adorable size, almost embarrassingly so.
Without opening his eyes, Guwon squeezed the soft object in his hand a few more times, savoring the feeling with a smile.
Good. Things are going just as I predicted.
“…Are you enjoying yourself?”
But a chilling voice cut through his pleasant mood.
Guwon’s eyes flew open, and he found himself face-to-face with a hollow-eyed Diana.
“Hm? I am asking you a question. Answer me. Are you enjoying yourself?”
How should I get out of this situation?
First, don’t panic. Stay calm.
Guwon squeezed Diana’s breast a few more times.
There. I feel calmer now.
Now that I was calm enough to think, it seemed like she would probably forgive me if I just apologized.
After all, this was the magnanimous Diana, and it’s not like I did this on purpose, right?
“Sorry. I must have been talking in my sleep and my hand ended up there by accident.”
“Is what you’re doing right now also sleep-talking?”
But Diana’s voice was still icy.
Only then did Guwon grasp the situation. He was screwed.
“Gah! Sorry! C-could you possibly forgive me?”
“Does it look like I will?”
“N-no.”
As Guwon answered, Diana’s expression shifted abruptly from blank to furious. A vein even popped on her forehead.
Wow, that’s actually possible. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen that in my life.
“Do you know how I… all night…!”
As Diana spoke, her voice grew heated, but she couldn’t finish her sentence, just seething with rage.
Did I really grope her all night? She should have just moved my hand.
Of course, seeing Diana’s sunken eyes, which looked like she hadn’t slept a wink, he didn’t have the courage to say that out loud.
Before Diana could say another word, Guwon dropped to his knees on the blanket.
“Sit up straight and… just listen like that!”
In the end, his day had to begin with a lecture from Diana.
But he had no regrets.
First of all, if a breast is in your hand, it’s a man’s instinct to touch it.
And after enjoying that sensation so much, getting off with just a lecture was a bargain. I was satisfied!
While keeping his face fixed in an expression of rapt attention to Diana’s sermon, Guwon calculated his profits and losses and felt pleased.
*
“Are you sure you’re okay? Wouldn’t it be better to just head back today?”
Guwon asked, carrying Diana on his back.
“I am fine. When I am deep in my research, it is common to stay up for several nights. This is nothing.”
I wasn’t sure when she was talking about, but considering her age now… If I said something like that, my life really wouldn’t be guaranteed, would it?
Guwon reflexively bit back the joke that was about to slip out.
In any case, if Diana insisted she was fine, she probably was. She wasn’t some rookie who couldn’t gauge her own condition.
Guwon immediately headed toward the Orc territory.
“Oh? I see Orcs.”
Just as the entrance to the Orc territory came into view in the distance, Sara spoke while looking at the burnt-down settlement.
Well, we did cause quite a commotion yesterday. If nothing else, the flames would have been clearly visible from the other settlements.
So, did the guys from another settlement move in to replenish their numbers? Or are they investigating what happened?
One thing was certain: we no longer had to go all the way to a distant settlement to hunt.
“This is great, we don’t have to go far. Let’s hunt here today.”
In fact, this narrow path was easier to hunt in than the wide-open field.
The first battle went smoothly.
Then, when Sara loosed an arrow to start the next fight, something unexpected happened.
“Kurororo!”
Or maybe it wasn’t so unexpected; it was a scene we’d witnessed yesterday.
The number was a little smaller than the entire settlement from yesterday, but it was still more than enough.
Moreover, the one leading the charge was, by anyone’s standards, a Transcendent Species.
Could it be that the Transcendent Species itself was here investigating?
But today was different from yesterday.
Instead of running away like last time, Guwon chose to stand his ground.
This wasn’t a wide-open field. No matter how many of them charged, only a limited number could pass through this path at once.
His calculation was that if they used that to their advantage, fighting this many wouldn’t be impossible.
“We’re fighting them right here!”
“What? But!”
“It’s fine!”
My angel was flustered and fidgeting anxiously, but Guwon gave her a thumbs-up over his shoulder as a sign that everything was okay and clenched his fists.
Using the same combo from yesterday—Sara’s mana arrow and his Saint’s Touch—he stunned the Transcendent Species at the front of the charge, then immediately threw punches at the ones following it to draw their aggro.
The path was a little too wide for Guwon to block all by himself, but it seemed manageable enough.
Let’s take it easy.
Even if some of them slipped past, Sara and Diana would take care of them.
As if on cue, without a word needing to be said, Sara and Diana began to prioritize dealing with the ones that got past Guwon.
Thanks to them, the time Guwon spent fighting the Transcendent Species naturally grew longer.
I hadn’t realized it yesterday since I’d dealt with it so quickly, but this thing was surprisingly tricky to fight.
Its attacks had a technique to them that went beyond simple strength. Was it skill with a weapon?
The only opponents I’d faced with weapons so far were Goblins and Orcs.
But they were just holding weapons; they swung them around wildly, which didn’t make them difficult to fight.
This Transcendent Species, however, swung its saber as if it had learned swordsmanship—or maybe blade techniques? It was completely different from a game where an enemy’s attack patterns just repeat, no matter how high their level.
Ignoring its stats, its actual combat prowess might be even greater than the Werewolf Transcendent.
Because of this, more Orcs slipped past him, and Sara and Diana were too busy dealing with them to have a chance to attack the Transcendent.
“Kurorororo!”
In the end, even when the number of Orcs had been reduced to less than half, the fight with the Transcendent was still not over.
It seemed the Transcendent had also realized that the longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantageous it was for them.
It let out a strange cry, switched its one-handed grip on the saber to two hands, and attacked with even greater speed than before.
Is this its skill? It certainly looks powerful.
There was no need to face something like that head-on.
Guwon backstepped to create distance until the skill’s casting time was over.
Then, the creature raised its saber and swung it straight down.
What is it doing? Did it get so desperate it forgot its own weapon’s reach?
But that wasn’t it.
“Keuk!”
A crescent-shaped wave of energy shot out from the tip of the Transcendent’s weapon, leaving a straight gash across Guwon’s body.
Because Guwon’s defense was ridiculously high for the 1st floor, he fortunately wasn’t seriously injured for a direct hit from a Transcendent’s skill.
However, his leather armor was torn, and blood sprayed out from the opening, making it look like he had suffered a massive wound from a distance.
“Guwon-ssi!”
From behind him, Leia cried out in a tearful voice and cast a heal.
A single heal didn’t make the wound disappear completely, but it closed it enough for him to move.
“I-I don’t have enough divine power for another ranged heal…!”
It seemed she had used up all her divine power.
It’s okay. This is more than enough. So please don’t cry.
Guwon gestured to Leia to let her know he was fine, then immediately turned to face the Transcendent.
This bastard dared to make my angel cry!
Though he had been hit due to his own carelessness, Guwon, unwilling to admit he’d played a part in making his angel cry, directed all his fury at the Transcendent.
Guwon got into a stance to charge forward, but something else flew toward the Transcendent before he could.
It was Sara’s arrow.
KABOOM!
Don’t be surprised. That was the sound of an arrow.
The arrow, now visibly packed with far more mana than when it had pierced the Orc before—to the point it looked more like a solid mass of mana—slammed into the Transcendent and exploded.
The Transcendent looked down at the massive hole blown through its stomach with an expression of disbelief, and then its body collapsed.
Heh, surprised? Yeah… actually, I’m surprised too. Even though I softened it up with some damage beforehand, I never thought it would have this much power.
Just how much did she level up in that time?
Even the Orcs, who knew nothing but charging forward, seemed shocked by this display of power.
“Kweeeek!”
The remaining ones started to flee, letting out pig-like squeals befitting their appearance.
“Sara! Nice… Sara?!”
When Guwon turned back to praise Sara, her body crumpled to the ground.
“She is fine. She merely collapsed from temporarily exhausting all the mana in her body.”
As Guwon rushed over, Diana, who had already checked on Sara, explained.
“Are you alright, Guwon-ssi?”
Leia, who had been checking on Sara with Diana, immediately turned her tear-filled eyes to Guwon once she confirmed Sara was safe.
Ugh. My heart aches. I need to comfort her right away.
“Don’t worry. Thanks to you, I’m all better.”
“But there’s no way my one heal could have fixed a wound like that…!”
“No, it was just a surface cut, so it only bled a lot. It wasn’t a big deal. Should I take this off and show you?”
“Yes.”
He had said it as a joke, but Leia nodded with a completely serious expression.
“Uh… r-really?”
“Yes. Hurry.”
“O-okay. I’m taking it off then?”
“Yes.”
It seemed she was serious.
Guwon had no choice but to take off the top of his leather armor.
Doing this outside is kind of embarrassing. I’ll never understand Diana’s fetish for getting excited over stuff like this.
“See, it’s not fully healed yet.”
“No, but it’s good enough to move…”
“Take off the bottom, too.”
“Th-the bottom is really just a small scratch on my lower abdomen…” “Take it off.” “Yes, ma’am.”
In the end, he had to take off his pants as well.
Guwon was by no means a pervert like Diana, but when his angelic Leia-nunim brought her face right in front of his underwear to carefully inspect his lower abdomen, he felt a slight reaction down below.
If this gets any bigger, it’ll be right in Leia’s mouth… No. Let’s not think any further.
The memory of last night’s activities suddenly resurfaced, making the fantasy all the more vivid.
Not now. Endure it, my son. Absolutely not now.
“Really, you have to be more careful. What is this?”
Leia said with a slightly pouting face.
Yes. Even that expression is beautiful. But it seemed Leia also thought the wound wasn’t serious.
Thank goodness. I should put my armor back on quickly.
“Lie down. I’ll treat you.”
But it seemed his time of torment was not yet over.
“L-like this?”
“Yes.”
Damn it. Could he really hold back while Leia was touching him?
But he couldn’t disobey her. Left with no choice, Guwon lay down on the ground.
“My apologies.”
Diana, who had been watching Leia tend to Guwon’s wound with a peculiar expression, suddenly apologized.
“Huh? For what?”
“The Transcendent’s fighting style was similar to that of a creature from the 2nd floor. I should have told you it might use a similar skill…”
“Why would you need to apologize for that? It would have been hard to tell me in the middle of a fight anyway.”
Today was probably the first time Diana had seen it fight properly, too.
There was no mention of seeing an Orc Transcendent on the main route, and yesterday we’d finished it off before it could even fight properly.
“No. If I had at least shouted for you to dodge when it used the skill…. I lost my focus for a moment. I am sorry.”
But Diana seemed to feel more guilt than he expected and kept apologizing.
“It’s not your fault. It was my fault for being careless.”
“But…”
“Then how about this? The reason your focus slipped was because you didn’t get any sleep, right? And that was because of me. So let’s just call it even.”
As Diana continued to try and apologize, Guwon made the suggestion.
Honestly, it was just his fault for being careless, and it was uncomfortable to keep receiving apologies for the wrong reason.
If anything, he should be the one apologizing.
“You… Very well. I will also completely forgive you for what happened yesterday.”
Only then did Diana smile and agree.
“Huh? You mean you hadn’t completely forgiven me?”
“Of course not. I only ended it there because we could not afford to waste any more time.”
…So she’s the type to hold a grudge more than I thought.
I’ll have to be more careful with my jokes from now on.
Even on his deathbed, Guwon wouldn’t say he’d stop completely.
Her reactions were just too much fun. How could he possibly stop entirely?