EP.203 Dragon’s Nest
It’s been five days since I spent a tumultuous night with the Hero.
Despite having more than enough time to collect my thoughts, the intoxication from that day has only grown denser, refusing to fade away.
After making a firm decision to join the Hero Party in taking down the Demon King, my comrades are now fully occupied preparing to enter the dungeon.
There should be no room for trivial thoughts in my mind.
Yet, every time I snap back to reality, I find myself voyeuristically gazing at the Hero’s sensual body contours.
With each darkening day, the heat from that encounter burns in my body against my will, making it quite the ordeal.
The Hero seems to have noticed my pent-up desires as well.
Just a fleeting glance would cause my movements to become awkward, as if I were an improperly oiled machine.
Whenever I take a step closer, the Hero takes ten steps back; what a bizarre situation we’ve found ourselves in.
The reversal of roles in this situation brings nothing but wry smiles to my face.
I’ve tried to handle this uncontrollable impulse on my own, but ever since that day, the Saintess has been sticking to me like gum, making it impossible.
It’s not the first time the Saintess has acted this way toward me, but this particular tantrum carries a strange dissonance that can’t be explained with mere words.
It feels like a confusing wave of affection mixed with some nameless, stubborn emotion directed at me.
Confronting that ominously heavy atmosphere feels like having a ticking bomb beside me.
Could it be that the Saintess found out that the Hero and I crossed paths physically?
Such a thin possibility, but given who the Saintess is, I can’t rule it out entirely.
“Pet me. Give me a peck on the forehead. Tell Welna she’s pretty. Say there’s no one but Welna.”
With an annoyed whine, the Saintess clings to me as if to engulf me in her embrace.
While I’m currently going along with her demands, after several hours, I can’t help but feel exhausted.
Even though the Saintess is petite, petting her while riding a griffin is quite the daunting task.
For someone like me, who’s naturally timid, this dizzying acrobatics is too overwhelming to bear.
“Welna is the prettiest in the world. You’re only for Welna, right?”
“Really? Is it true? Am I really the only one?”
“Of course. So could you just sit still for a bit? After we land…”
“No way.”
“……”
How long has it been since I’ve seen the Saintess act so stubbornly?
I’d almost completely forgotten, but just a few months ago, this defiant attitude was basically her default setting.
Back then, I found it tiresome and annoying; now it feels oddly endearing. Does this mean my impression of the Saintess has changed that much?
My mind is all over the place.
“Sister~ please help me with the Saintess~”
As if declaring my surrender, I sent out a distress signal, but it was useless.
Since that day, it wasn’t just the Hero and the Saintess whose behaviors became strange.
“Dear God, please save this poor soul. With your grace, have mercy on me, who is in turmoil over earthly desires…”
“Haa……”
The holy hymns being sung against the howling wind belong to Sister Beltein.
Before being thrown into this mess with the Saintess, Sister Beltein used to pray for just one or two hours a day.
But recently, her prayer times have increased drastically to about six hours—almost three times as long as before.
Most of her prayers consist of confessing the sins she’s committed.
While I can understand her feelings, isn’t it a bit unnecessary for Sister Beltein—who has been wronged rather than having committed any wrongdoing—to be so hard on herself?
If only she would scold me instead, it would have made me feel a bit better.
In this era, where even clergy are allowed to have families and, in some cases, polygamy is accepted, it makes Sister Beltein’s self-flagellation for just one night of fun all the more pitiful given my current shabby state.
Unlike me, who has completely succumbed to lust after just one physical relationship, Sister Beltein’s piety, fighting her lonely battle, could well serve as a model for any clergyman.
Just this morning, my thoughts were filled with the memory of her soft chest and curvy thighs, and I found myself questioning if I had become nothing more than a beast.
Surely, Sister Beltein is thinking thoughts of integrity and nobility that a filthy creature like me could never imagine.
The sudden wave of self-loathing lingers on my brow, haunting me for a while.
“Dawna… could you swap places with me for a moment?”
“……”
“Dawna?”
I tried asking Dawna for help, but like before, there was no response.
Right next to me, where Bigtim was riding the griffin, Dawna leaned weakly against him, her eyes glazed over as she stared vacantly into space.
While it’s not uncommon for the ever-thoughtful Dawna to lose herself in her own world, this blank expression of hers, as if she can barely hold onto her soul, is something I’ve never seen before.
“Ugh… ugh…”
As I watched, I noticed she was drooling slightly, soaking Bigtim’s clothes.
Being the considerate person he is, he was probably letting it slide.
If it had been Apis in that position, there would have been a full-blown argument.
Had she eaten something odd?
Or perhaps something shocking had happened?
Knowing Dawna as someone whose pompous attitude is merely a facade hiding her fragile psyche, I couldn’t help but worry.
Maybe I should have a talk with her soon.
Just then, a thought crossed my mind.
“Hmm, what’s taking so long? Feels like we’ve been at it forever?”
“We’re almost there. Just need to cross this one mountain and we’ll be there in no time.”
“Really? Haa~”
Apis, who was napping skillfully on the griffin, stretched and urged me on.
Currently, we were heading to a necessary location before we can tackle the dungeon.
We have two main tasks ahead of us.
First, to acquire the means to reach the summit of the massive black pillar that marks the dungeon entrance found after several layers of detection.
Second, to find a safe place to leave the Saintess and Sister Beltein, who are non-combatants while we delve into the dungeon.
Initially, we planned to fly there on the griffin, but all the animals, including the griffin, were terrified and wouldn’t approach within kilometers of the black pillar, making that impossible.
As for the second task, I had initially considered asking the royal family for protection for the Saintess, but after the collapse of the Vatican, they were so panicked that they requested a Hero Party member as escort instead, causing Apis to throw a fit, making that option unfeasible.
A heavy silence loomed over our future, but fortunately, I had one capable acquaintance who could meet both conditions.
◈◈◈
“Long time no see! Haren-senpai─!”
“Hey! I told you, if I send another aphrodisiac to my wife, I’ll kill you─!?”
“Kugh─!”
As soon as I opened the door, Larry’s neat figure shot an arrow straight at my throat.
“I missed you! Uncle Regis!”
“Ugh!”
“Wow! Uncle Regis!”
“Augh!”
Then came the cannon-like impact on my abdomen and knees.
The first hit was just loud but otherwise harmless, but the follow-up strikes aimed squarely at my vital spots made my vision blur for a moment.
“Rulu, Ria, you’ve grown so much while I wasn’t looking… especially those impressive horns…”
“Right? Look at me! I’m this big now! Ria’s not even half my size~”
“What are you talking about~! The length of horns doesn’t matter! Mama said a Dragonkin’s horns are about sturdiness, not length!”
“You idiot! We’re half-dragon! Only pure Dragonkin can identify the sturdiness of horns!”
“Iiiit!”
As I curled up, moaning in pain, the growing children surrounding me dove into a heated debate.
“Hey! You two! When a guest arrives, you’re supposed to greet nicely with both hands together! Did your dad tell you that or not!?”
“Gah!”
“Oh right!”
While this common-sense remark from the one who shot Larry seemed very reasonable, I just wish they wouldn’t use their horned heads to greet guests with a forehead bash.
“So, what brings you here… If it’s about reinstating my clergy position, forget it. I’m too busy raising these little brats…”
“Crack… hah…”
With a humor-laden remark filled with regret, I responded with a hearty laugh.
Instead of a cigarette, he had a cute candy in his mouth—a sight that felt strange every time.
After all, he was the one who introduced me to the taste of cigarettes.
“Long time no see, Haren-senpai. Are you well?”
“Thanks to you. I’ll soon have my third child…”
“Wow…”
Now that I look closely, there’s a huge bundle wrapped in a baby blanket on his back.
“Ugh…”
His habit of curling his lips when feeling complicated hasn’t changed at all.
The woes he used to share without any emotional effect now resonate deeply with me; I wonder why that is.
I still don’t have the answer.
“Huh? Now that I see, you didn’t come alone, did you? What’s with all those people lurking outside? Who are they?”
“Umm, well, that is…”
As I cleared my throat, the weighty task I had kept buried began to slowly emerge.
“If you don’t mind… Could I borrow your newlywed room and Madam for a moment…?”
“…… What? You son of a bitch?”
Oh crap, I might’ve been a bit too blunt.
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