Chapter 221 – Second Deal – 2
“Now, rest comfortably, child.”
“…Thank you.”
I leaned back on the sofa with a drained expression. My body was tired, and so was my mind.
“How were my apprentices? Did they have fun together?”
“I’m not sure if they had fun, and it doesn’t seem like they did well.”
Upon hearing my answer, Minerva chuckled softly. It didn’t seem like mockery; by her expression, it was more like she found my answer amusing.
Unfortunately, those three who dragged me into the whirlwind weren’t the end of it. As soon as I entered the Mage Tower, a multitude of mages who had been waiting inside rushed at me.
Some were people who claimed it was their first time seeing a man in nearly a decade. Most had spent an average of 4 to 5 years without interacting with men, even if it wasn’t a full ten years.
The inside of the Mage Tower was all women, and the Imperial Palace had a significantly higher female ratio when you counted it all up, and they hardly ever went outside of the Mage Tower or Imperial Palace.
One of the shortest said it had been two and a half years since seeing a man.
In such a situation, a man—especially one who had a close relationship with their Mage Tower leader and had been beside them while searching for an Ancient Scroll—showed up.
It was impossible not to attract attention.
Thanks to that, I got surrounded by over a hundred mages in the brief time I was separated from Minerva, bombarded with thousands of questions.
There were so many questions that I didn’t even have time to properly listen, let alone answer.
Some of them even tried to smell me or touch me here and there, and there were bizarre ones attempting to rip my clothes to take as souvenirs, but they were swiftly punished and dragged away.
Of course, the others didn’t engage in such perverted acts, but they were still showing quite a keen interest.
“Hehe, that’s unfortunate.”
“You don’t look unfortunate at all, though.”
“If it looked that way, I apologize.”
After calmly replying, Minerva attempted to sit on the sofa across from me but hesitated, then came over and sat beside me with a realization on her face. Then she grabbed my shoulder and pulled me towards her.
The back of my head touched her bare thigh. The scent of Minerva’s body wafted into my nostrils. I could hear the sound of her bathrobe fluttering just above me.
I found myself lying against Minerva’s thigh.
I tried to look at her, but apart from her body wrapped in the bathrobe, I couldn’t see anything else. Almost everywhere my gaze landed was on her chest. It struck me again how she was indeed incredibly well-endowed.
I couldn’t help but wonder what the people in this world—where breast sizes were significantly higher on average—would think. They’d probably just assume she was a few sizes above average.
“Um—”
The chest blocked my head as I tried to lift it. The moment she noticed I was trying to get up, she leaned down and shoved her chest right in front of my eyes.
Thanks to that, I plunged my nose into her cleavage and fell right back onto her thigh. Minerva began to stroke my head, as if befuddled by my actions.
“…Why are you suddenly doing this, Minerva?”
“It seems like the child is very interested in the female body? My body also ranks quite high, you know, did you like it?”
“If I said I didn’t, that would be a lie. I’m just a man with normal values. However, being presented with a chest like this without warning doesn’t exactly make me happy.”
“Oh, really? I must have misjudged. Considering I spent nearly a day entwined with the Empress, I thought you would enjoy such things a lot.”
“……”
As I lay quietly on her thigh, dumbfounded, Minerva whispered in a seductive tone.
“Child, where is the next scroll? Where do we need to go?”
“Before that, may I ask one question? How much do you know about the Ancient Scrolls?”
“Hmm… I understand all there is to know about the Crystal Scroll, but I know nothing about the others. May I ask why you’re asking this?”
“If you have something you desire, I thought I’d head there first.”
It seemed like she would enjoy wherever I took her, but I wondered if she had any particular desires.
Upon hearing my words, Minerva abruptly stopped petting my head, then slightly shivered. Before I could understand her intentions, she pressed her chest against my face.
As if she couldn’t take it any longer, a honey-dripping voice came through.
“You really choose the cutest things to do, child.”
“……”
I couldn’t respond. Her chest had firmly sealed my mouth shut.
Minerva hugged my head tightly against her chest, and once my nostrils were filled with the scent of her body, she finally straightened up. The pressure on my face vanished, replaced by a rush of cool air.
“It doesn’t matter what you find first. The scroll itself is a huge reward for me.”
“Then understood.”
“But first, let’s hear what the child wants. What cost do you want? You can say anything.”
“…Can I really say anything?”
There’s a long-standing tradition that says if someone makes a request with “anything goes,” the person who responds with “really?” is the most terrifying one.
I didn’t know if Minerva would react that way, but she gently smiled and grabbed my wrist with her left hand.
“Do you think this eternal magician would say something she couldn’t keep, child?”
As her right hand pulled me closer to her chest, my whole hand got submerged within. The warmth and soft texture flooded over me.
“Literally, anything is possible.”
Minerva moved her arm.
My hand slid deeper inside the bathrobe. It lingered momentarily at her armpit before brushing by her side and going down to her bottom chest.
My fingers were pulled into the space between her lower chest and ribs. It felt much warmer than any other place. The weight of her substantial bosom came through my palm.
Minerva’s hand movements didn’t stop there. Her hand delved into the valley of her cleavage. The bathrobe was pushed aside due to my wrist, almost revealing her nipple.
Something pink peeked out at the edge of her chest.
With my hand tucked between her breasts, Minerva squeezed her arms together. The chest closed in from both sides, softly enveloping my hand. My entire hand sank into her bosom, completely disappearing.
They began to rub against each other, my hand still buried within.
“Remember this, child.”
Minerva whispered while squeezing my hand with her chest. Despite my head being above, the whisper sounded as if it was right beside my ear.
“If you desire it, you could have the entire Mage Tower….”
After a while, feeling not just warmth but heat, Minerva finally released my hand. The bathrobe returned to its original loose state, just shy of revealing her nipple.
The lingering scent of milk wafted from my palm that had been rubbed against her.
“Since you’ve given me so much, I must reciprocate. Now, have you thought about what you want?”
“…For now, let me think about it.”
“Of course. If we can resolve it here, we have plenty of time.”
Having just thoroughly enjoyed the Crystal Scroll, her voice felt significantly more relaxed. There was no sign of her urging me like before.
‘Nothing is really coming to mind.’
It wasn’t like I had anything pressing on my mind. I already had more than enough money, and I had hardly used the token I received from Minerva last time. Having absorbed the Golden Dusk Knights, it felt awkward to accept a title.
It’s not like I was interested in magic either, so seeking mentorship from Minerva wasn’t an option. It was truly ambiguous.
‘Ah.’
A thought suddenly flickered in my mind. It was something I had intended to finish somehow, but had let it slip away for lack of an opportunity.
“I just thought of something.”
“Go ahead, tell me.”
“Are you interested in dragons, by any chance?”
As I stepped onto the seemingly endless snow, it crunched beneath my feet with a crunch. It certainly seemed massive, yet it barely reached my ankles when I stepped on it.
It was piled up so much that it had clumped together and solidified, almost like a rock. A blizzard raged in the distance, making visibility nearly impossible.
Except around me.
Minerva had cleared all the clouds, and sunlight was pouring down on this area. I could hardly imagine seeing sunlight here.
Even so, the weather was still cold. Without the warmth spell, I would have frozen to death long ago.
“Is this the place?”
Minerva approached me. Even in the middle of a snow-covered mountain, she wore nothing but her bathrobe.
“Yes.”
“What an interesting creature. Living in the midst of this snowy mountain.”
This was the second DLC of Brightest Darkness 4, “Wailing Snowy Mountain.”
The area was designed with regions that forced slow movement like a poison swamp due to deep snow, and a constant blizzard that drastically reduced visibility.
Of course, it wasn’t like that right now. Minerva had changed the weather around us, and since we could teleport, the difficulty of moving was moot.
“And remember this, child.”
Her finger gently tugged at my cheek.
“The conditions set by you are far too insufficient to pay for the scroll. I’ll stack this as a debt, so you must tell me more of what you desire later. Understood?”
“Understood.”
It felt a bit peculiar that while I was trying to minimize my requests, she was pushing to give me more. I nodded reluctantly.
Having received my answer, Minerva moved us closer to the caldera of the snowy mountain. The caldera was completely empty. Minerva tilted her head for a moment, then let out a soft “Ah” in admiration.
“It’s an invisibility spell.”
“You saw it accurately.”
As expected, I had anticipated Minerva would catch on immediately.
The spell covering the caldera hid its true appearance. Even Minerva wouldn’t have noticed it at a quick glance; it was a masterfully concealed magic.
Normally, you would have to deactivate the spell by destroying the foundational stones scattered throughout the snowy mountain, but with Minerva present, that wouldn’t be necessary.
“Can you deactivate it?”
“Yes, please do.”
Minerva raised her staff. The mana flowed out from it, enveloping the entire transparent caldera. Dozens of layers of magic circles appeared in the air and glowed blue.
How much time passed before the magic circles melted away like wet tissue paper? The true appearance of the caldera was revealed.
Inside lay a dragon quietly asleep on its belly.
“……”
The dragon looked tiny due to the remarkably deep caldera, but it didn’t seem to pose any challenge for Minerva. Seeing the creature, her face slightly hardened.
Such an expression was indeed warranted. The agonized faces of frozen corpses were stuck to the dragon’s body like scales.
There were so many corpses clinging to it that the legs looked squat, and the body was so massive it resembled a winged pig instead of a dragon.
“Child, that dragon is…”
“As you can see.”
To learn the Draconic Language for the battle against the Creature that Devours the World, it was essential to slay a dragon, and I had brought back the most annoying one I had encountered during that process.
It was time to pay it back.
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