Argantir ordered the purge of a newly established dungeon located about five days away from Bainen on horseback.
Since the first exploration team hadn’t returned, detailed information remained unknown, but it was highly probable that, based on the flow of magical power and the size of the entrance, it was a mid-tier dungeon.
“Do you know how a new dungeon is born?”
“I heard that… a space magic malfunction creates and maintains deep dungeons, causing some sections to be teleported to different places.”
“Correct. You’re well-informed.”
Mom continued explaining with a gentle smile.
“In the case of low-tier dungeons, they are sometimes expanded from caves that already existed, but dungeons above the 6th floor can all be considered as having formed through teleportation.”
A malfunction of space magic.
According to the lore, it was because of the death of the former Demon King, the Archmage Ekashas, who had unleashed spatial expansion magic on deep dungeons, leading to chaos and loss of control.
That’s why there are dungeons not connected to the underground kingdoms of demons scattered throughout the world.
If you think about it, the monsters in those dungeons are nothing more than displaced individuals swept up in a sudden disaster, lost and unable to return home.
It seems unlikely that low-intelligence monsters have any concept of home, though.
“Dungeons that have been teleported for a long time develop their own order and structure, but the insides of newly teleported dungeons are chaotic. This dungeon will likely be the same. So, be careful.”
A newly born dungeon means danger. My mother said so. Perhaps that warning was the real reason she unexpectedly started lecturing about dungeons.
Out of concern for me.
“Yes, I will be careful.”
I nodded with a serious face, deeply engraving that warning in my heart.
“Alright. Then let’s wrap up the lesson here. I need to leave for tomorrow, so please rest well today.”
Was that the right answer? My mother smiled with mixed trust and relief, concluding her long lecture on dungeons.
“Whew….”
Friede, barely holding back her drowsiness, sighed in relief and slumped down.
◆◆
The next morning, we set off toward the dungeon, packing the supplies prepared by Mari.
“Um, mother. This sword….”
“Take it with you. Edelmut would prefer it to be wielded by a great knight rather than just displayed in the mansion.”
I was going to return the longsword my mother lent me before we left, but she insisted it would be more necessary for me than staying in the mansion.
I simply felt grateful.
“Oh, by the way, I forgot to ask. Did Edelmut help during the fight with the Abyss Priest?”
Help? It was an absolute game-changer.
“Uh… yes. Thanks to it, I managed to save my life.”
Edelmut saved my life. It wasn’t a humble expression of gratitude; rather, it was an unembellished truth.
Without Edelmut’s divine barrier, I would have had to endure considerable injuries to defeat Ganagl. And then, I might not have been able to withstand Ariane, leading to our total annihilation.
To exaggerate a bit, it was no different from my mother saving my life.
No, it wasn’t just mine; it was also Friede’s.
“That’s fortunate. It seems lending it was a good decision.”
My mother smiled at my response and lightly patted the hilt of Edelmut hanging at my waist as if praising a child.
“Then, travel safely. Don’t get hurt, and don’t cause any incidents.”
“Yes, I will return safely, mother.”
It was a farewell similar to last time. It felt a bit awkward to understand her added advice about not causing incidents, but I just smiled and nodded in response.
I figured nothing could go wrong since I wasn’t dealing with people, and it wasn’t that far away.
Tap, tap.
Shooting off toward the west, Schwarz carried me and Friede away from the mansion.
My mother stood at the door, watching our figures until we had gotten far enough, then turned back into the mansion.
It was then.
“…It seems you’ve really gotten used to calling her ‘mother,’ huh?”
Friede spoke to me, her face a mix of amusement and something else.
“Huh? Why all of a sudden? Is there a problem?”
I’m not some Robin Hood or anything. If I call her mother, then what else should I call her?
It would seem more heartless to suddenly address her as ‘Lord Veloren’ now, wouldn’t it?
Even though I’m not her biological daughter, a mother-daughter relationship is still a mother-daughter relationship.
“Mother… Since Lord Veloren said she’d treat me like a daughter, I should return the favor. Isn’t that only natural?”
“Is that so… Hmmm… Hmmm….”
Friede turned her head slightly towards the distant mountains, as if she had more questions to ask.
“Um, is having two mothers a good thing for you…?”
What?
“Uh… What do you mean?”
A sudden absurd remark. I was taken aback and questioned the meaning of her words.
Who would have thought such bad language would come from our Friede?
I wasn’t angry, just bewildered.
“Friede? What on earth are you trying to say….”
“…I was just wondering if having a stepmother makes you that happy.”
Friede let out a faint sigh, clarifying that her earlier comment wasn’t a slip of the tongue but a sincere inquiry.
“At first, you said it was just a facade, but… now it feels believable that you’re like real mother and daughter. It seems you’ve grown close…”
A tone of complaint, as if she felt like the eldest child losing their parents’ attention to a younger sibling.
…Wait, is she feeling jealous?
I looked down at Friede, blinking my blue eyes.
Jealous because of the special bond between me and my mother? No way, how childish could she be…?
“The person closest to Hilde is me, yet sometimes it feels as if it’s her more….”
Oh my, she really is jealous. This is indeed jealousy.
So cute…!
I felt an indescribable warmth filling my chest, and my cheeks turned slightly red as I couldn’t help but smile.
With my head lowered slightly, Friede was playing with her two fingers, fidgeting.
She was desperately trying to hide her feelings of envy, but in reality, she wasn’t hiding them at all. It was unbearably cute.
…I’ve really become soft to such adorable scenes compared to before. Maybe it’s because I’ve transformed into a woman?
You know, the mind and body are more closely connected than one might imagine. When the body changes, the heart changes too.
I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but… at least, I didn’t need to think about what I should do right now; it was crystal clear.
“Perhaps… perhaps what Hilde truly desires… and needs… might not be me…”
“What? Were you worrying about that?”
I lifted Friede slightly from behind, turning her to face me and hugged her tightly.
“Ugh, huh?! Uh, um, uhh…?”
Friede instinctively wrapped her legs around my waist, making strange sounds. Her bright red face was utterly hilarious, causing me to burst into joyous laughter.
“You really worry too much. Look at me, Friede. Cast aside those anxieties and look right at me.”
Friede lifted her head to look at me. My face, grinning wildly, was reflected in her trembling golden stare.
“Um… uh, that is….”
“Shh.”
I bent down and kissed her eyelids.
Hik! she gasped, her shoulders shuddering as if she had been electrocuted.
Without pulling my lips away from her eyelids, I slowly glided down to her small lips.
Lick.
As my tongue lightly traced her glistening lips, I pried open the gap between her lips, forcing a passageway to slip inside.
“Ugh…!”
Friede’s quivering tongue tangled with the intruder, sharing heated warmth.
Drip.
As our bodies intertwined, the saliva that leaked from the space between us dripped down her chin and splashed onto my armor.
A sweet, murky puddle formed between the revealed cleavage on my chest.
“Mmm….”
A delightful blend of lemon and subtle strawberry scents saturated the droplet puddle.
Warm, viscous liquid steadily flowed between our bodies, creating sensations that were hard to describe.
It felt like something warm and soft was sliding across the inside of my chest. It wasn’t unpleasant; it was almost a little nice.
I continued to hold Friede closer, indulging in her mouth, until Schwarz emitted a long wail as if to say, “Get a grip!”
Phew…!
Finally, I released my lips.
I sucked up the string of saliva that stretched between our mouths and smiled dreamily at Friede, who looked at me with a dazed expression.
“Still feeling uneasy?”
Friede shook her head. Her cheeks were so flushed that they couldn’t get any redder, now showing no signs of fear.
The jealousy in her golden eyes had vanished without a trace, replaced by boundless affection and longing that overflowed from the empty space.
Our lips touched again, and a warm breath transformed into a mist that spread like fog.
“Heeheeheehee!”
With a piteous yet annoyed wail, Schwarz complained about our antics on her back.
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