Chapter 25
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”…”
”…”
Iris lay on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling.
I watched her from the side.
She was completely naked, her body from her firm breasts to her lower abdomen stained with a white liquid.
The culprit, of course, was none other than me, standing here naked as well.
Let me clarify that it’s not because I have some sort of fetish, but rather, I tried to be considerate and keep the middle and the bed as clean as possible, which led to this situation.
Well, I can’t say I dislike it, and the bed has seen some… action because of it.
Now, the time must be around evening, judging by the light coming in through the window, which wasn’t made of glass.
The noise outside had grown slightly louder, and it seemed that the young adventurers active in the shallower areas of the dungeon were calling it a day and heading back.
Considering the possibility that “Gem Snake” had their eyes on Iris, it might be better if I wasn’t seen by too many people when leaving this room, or even the inn itself.
However, since we had been together since exiting the dungeon and entering this inn, there were probably quite a few people who had seen us together, even if we hadn’t drawn much attention.
In that case, it might be better to just walk out of the inn proudly, claiming that I had helped Iris when she was in danger in the dungeon, and received a physical reward for my efforts.
After all, we had been here for quite some time.
That excuse might not sound too pleasant, but at least it would make it seem like we had simply met by chance in the dungeon.
Then, when I was with Iris, I could use Magic Armor to hide my appearance and pretend to be someone else. That way, “Koji” would be seen as just a guy who had gotten lucky once.
In that case, there was no need to rush out of here, especially since I hadn’t even heard her purpose yet.
So I was thinking… and then Iris turned her face towards me.
”…”
”What’s up?”
Without saying a word, I gaze at her and ask.
Is there something bothering her about the ‘encounter’?
Well, I did use a secret medicine to heal the wound and alleviate the “initial pain,” and I’ve been make it full for her several times, after all.
Iris opened her mouth.
”That… ‘feels good’. My body’s like this, and you’re putting it so much…”
As she said that, she pointed to the dirt on her chest.
Of course, there’s no denying the evidence, so
”It’s obvious.”
I replied, and Iris looked relieved.
”I’m glad. If it were just me who felt good, that promise might be broken…”
”Well, today’s the first time we’ve had a proper conversation, after all. But haven’t you forgotten something?”
”Huh?”
”I’m the one who went out of my way for someone who didn’t even talk to me.”
”Oh, I-I’m so sorry!”
She suddenly remembered that I’m the guy who helped her without expecting anything in return, and she got up and apologized in a pose similar to dogeza.
”It’s okay, I’m not mad or anything. I’m just worried about ‘this’.”
”Mmm.”
Her chest, which was still wobbling, caught my attention, so I casually reached out and gave it a squeeze.
I’d played with it a lot, but I never got tired of it, and for a little while, I just enjoyed it… and of course, I went back to normal.
Maybe it’s because I also made and drank a nutritional drink?
”Ah… are you going to do it again?”
Iris said that, but for now, I’ll hold back.
”No, we still haven’t had the important conversation yet.”
”Serious talk?”
”It’s about your goal, Iris.”
I responded, and she listened with a serious face.
”That’s, are you really okay with this? You can leave now if you don’t want to hear it.”
”Have you gotten ‘tired of being used’ by me in the future?”
”There’s no such thing. But I’m sure it’s tough, so…”
I asked with a slightly teasing tone, but Iris shook her head sideways and replied.
I answered her.
”I won’t abandon what I promised. So, don’t hesitate to talk… even if the conversation ends, I’ll ‘use you’ again like this.”
I pointed to her chest and said that, and Iris smiled and replied.
”…Hehe, that’s fine, anytime you want.”
And so, Iris began to talk about her goal.
”To put it simply… I want to lift a curse cast on a certain noblewoman.”
”A curse?”
”Yes. One day, she woke up and her arms and legs had turned to stone. She’s been unable to move since then. If she moves carelessly, they might break or crack.”
”That’s tough. If it’s just her arms and legs…”
”That’s right, she can’t even eat or take care of herself. If it were due to injury, illness, or age, it would be more understandable… but this woman is a healthy young lady. So, she must be feeling immense mental pain.”
”If it’s a young woman, it’s even more so… Can you really say that the curse is the cause of her turning to stone?”
”If it were an illness, it wouldn’t suddenly do that, and there were signs that magic was used.”
”Hmm? So, you suspect it’s a curse because magic was used, which means the curse is a type of magic?”
”That’s right? Curses require a specific aptitude, just like Cleric’s healing magic, and the catalyst is hard to obtain, so there are very few people who can use it.”
”Is that so… what about the magic’s traces?”
”Magic, when you use it, it creates a disturbance in the magical power at the scene, and it remains for a while. It’s hard to explain… it’s like muddy water mixed into clear water, making it all murky. But after a while, it settles down and disappears.”
”Hmm… but if the traces remain at the scene, doesn’t that mean someone broke into the noble’s mansion and cast a curse?”
”It’s possible that a cursed magic item was sent, but we didn’t find anything like that. So, the possibility of an intruder casting a curse is higher.”
”I see. So you want to lift the curse, but how do you plan to do it?”
When I asked that, she realized I didn’t know much about curses and started explaining the mechanism.
”Um… I’ve been researching this since the incident, but it seems that curses work by setting a ‘key’ to sustain their effects.”
”A key?”
”Yes. To use a magic analogy, it’s like locking a criminal in a prison cell. Basically, only the person who cast the curse can unlock it.”
”Huh? So the goal is to catch the person who cast the curse and make them lift it?”
”That would be ideal, but I don’t have any leads. However, while researching curses, I found a record of a magic item obtained in a dungeon that can lift curses. That’s why I came to this city to get it.”
”I see… but you said you’d take the minimum reward, so did you plan to get it on your own? You could’ve bought it somewhere else, right?”
”That person is a noble and unmarried, you see. If the records of the deal I made get leaked somewhere, it’ll be assumed that I’m working for her sake… and since she has experience with curses, it’ll become public knowledge outside, making it impossible to find a marriage partner.”
”No way, if those records exist, doesn’t that mean the curse can be lifted?”
”That’s true, but using those records would also serve as evidence that the culprit hasn’t been caught. If that’s the case, it’s likely shell be cursed again, and she won’t be considered a suitable marriage partner.”
”Ah, I suppose that’s a reasonable concern.”
”Yes. That’s why I want to obtain that magic item secretly.”
As she said that, Iris pressed in on me again.
Even though her chest was fluttering, I asked a crucial question.
”I understand why you want to get it directly, but do you know where you can get it?”
”According to the records… it seems to be deeper than the 4th District, but it’s not like you can get that magic item from a specific monster or anything…”
”So, it’s in the 5th District, then.”
I’d heard some rumors about the guild’s shallow areas, but wasn’t the 3rd District a cave, the 4th District a grassland, and the 5th District a forest?
But if that’s all the information there is…
”In other words, you don’t know, right?”
”Yes…”
She replied in a reserved tone, her eyes averted, still pressing in on me.
She seemed apologetic… probably because she was worried about how long it would take.
I continued questioning Iris, who was still like that.
”What about the shape, size, material, and other information about that magic item?”
”Huh? Uh… I think it was a silver ring with a gemstone, so the size should be around normal ring size.”
”A ring, huh? But doesn’t that mean anyone can use it? There are people who can’t wear it due to finger size, right?”
”Finger size doesn’t matter. What’s important is to keep touching the gemstone part, apparently.”
”Keep touching it?”
”Yeah. It’s like the gemstone absorbs the curse, and you need to keep touching it until it’s done.”
”Hmm… is that all?”
”Ugh, there’s no more information than this.”
”Is that so…”
I continued asking questions about the magic item, thinking that if I could create an “Imitation” of it, I’d try making one.
If I couldn’t even get my hands on the real thing, I wouldn’t bother investigating the fake magic item in detail.
So, I thought, if I could make it with my own power, I could solve the problem right away.
The issue is how much magical power it would consume, though.
At worst, even if my magical power ran out, I could still make it if I could buy a magic stone or defeat a monster and absorb its magic stone.
I don’t know since I didn’t have the chance to confirm, but even if my natural magical power is pretty low, I could still make it if I bought a magic stone or defeated a monster and absorbed its magic stone.
If I couldn’t make it, I don’t know if it’s a problem with my magical power or if there are restrictions on the creation target.
So, to increase the chances of success, I tried to gather more information about the magic item to reduce the creation cost… but it seems there’s no more information than this.
Well, I guess I have no choice but to try making it with what I have for now.
Well, I can’t show her the creation process, so even if I did make it, I’ll just pretend I stumbled upon it by myself in the dungeon.
After explaining the situation and finishing my questions, Iris once again confirms my intentions.
”So, about that… I don’t know how long it’ll take, but… can I really borrow your power?”
She’s checking with me multiple times because she recognizes it’s a difficult thing to do, and I can sense that she’s considering my feelings.
She’s a good girl.
Luckily, I have the combat power and the ability to quickly solve her problem.
That’s why I made the promise and did it.
So, I gave Iris my final answer.
”Well, I’ll do it, and if I just do it, I’ll leave it as is, so don’t worry.”
”!”
She jumped into my arms and hugged me in response to my answer.
”Thank you… *sniffles*.”
She had tears in her eyes, relieved that she had found someone to rely on.
I hugged her back and patted her on the back, but then…
”What’s going on? Suddenly…”
She replied with a smile, still tearful.
”You said we’d talk about it later, didn’t you? So… yeah?”
Iris pushed me down, and my thing was still flushed from the nutritional drink, so I got wrapped up in her arms again.
I thought Iris must be feeling all sorts of emotions inside, so I accepted it to calm her down.
As a result, it was pretty late by the time I ate dinner.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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