“What I mean is, they can be artisans, but they can’t be true mages.”
“So what is a true mage? Entering the Magic Tower and going through formal procedures? Does magic vanish if they don’t? It sounds like a territorial dispute.”
“Territorial dispute…! That formal procedure is crucial in the magical world, and you’re calling it a territorial dispute? Jenin, you don’t know much about mages!”
“That’s true.”
During dinner, Jenin and Dain had a heated debate disguised as a discussion. The rest of us continued to eat leisurely, treating their argument as background music. I had grown quite used to it by now.
Suddenly, something came to mind, and I made a sound. Jenin and Dain, who had been arguing intensely, turned to look at me simultaneously.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t given you this.”
I rummaged through my inventory and took out small, transparent gems called Akils, placing one in front of each of them.
The shopkeeper had said that carrying these would bring peace of mind, and they were often bought by party members to match. I had bought them secretly because my companions seemed to dislike me spending money. I remembered the effort it took to purchase them without being noticed.
“What is this?”
Sayiris asked expressionlessly.
“They’re called Akil stones. They’re said to bring peace of mind. I thought it would be nice for everyone to have one. You can just keep it in your inventory if you’d like…”
It had cost me quite a bit, but compared to what they had done for me, it was nothing. Maybe I should have saved more money and bought something better… My shoulders slumped as they remained silent.
“If you don’t have space in your inventory, I can hold onto them… or you can just throw them away…”
As my excuses grew more pitiful in the face of their silence, Sayiris finally tugged at the corners of her mouth into a light smile.
“It’s cute.”
Cute… Following her, the others also reacted.
“Do you have one too, Aine? Then our whole party has them? Wow, that’s a first. Thank you, Aine!”
Jenin expressed her joy straightforwardly,
“Childish…”
Dain called it childish but smiled as he put the gem into his inventory, seemingly pleased with the idea of the whole party having matching items.
“This is a first for me too. Thanks.”
Barkrud seemed to be contemplating how to carry the gem, while Kelian…
“I’ll head up first.”
He picked me up and carried me up the stairs. I didn’t understand why he was doing this, but since we had finished eating, there was no reason not to go up, so I quietly held onto his neck. I didn’t forget to bid the others goodnight.
“Good night!”
“Good night to you too, Aine.”
Jenin’s response sounded distant as we were already climbing the stairs.
As the door opened and Kelian stepped into the room, his strides seemed urgent. Just as I was about to properly look at his face, he laid me down on the bed and kissed me passionately, almost as if he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Mm, mm…”
I was curious why he suddenly acted this way, but the sensation of his tongue entwining with mine left me unable to think clearly. My robe flew off, and his hand slipped under my skirt.
However, I felt we wouldn’t get to have the conversation we had promised if this continued. I managed to push his shoulders and pull my face away.
“Ah… Kelian, wait, stop, just a moment!”
“…Is there a problem?”
He shamelessly asked me as I turned my head away from him. Was there a problem, he asked…
“We… we agreed to talk tonight.”
To be precise, I wanted to know more about him and hear his story. Maybe he planned to cleanse me first because of my curse? But no matter how I thought about it, if we started that, we wouldn’t have time to talk all night.
“Talk… you mean?”
Surprisingly, Kelian seemed puzzled by my words. His confusion made me even more puzzled.
“Yes. Earlier at the shop, I said I wanted to know more about you. Of course, if you don’t want to talk…”
He had answered that he didn’t mind, so I thought he’d tell me once we returned to the room. Was he reluctant after all?
“Oh…”
Kelian paused, seemingly recalling the moment. He had an expression I couldn’t read, a slight hint of distress flashing across his face, making me call his name questioningly.
“Kelian…?”
“…Weren’t you trying to seduce me?”
Seduce…? I blinked, not understanding why that word came up. Kelian, who had been silently watching me, raised himself off of me.
“It seems I misunderstood… I’m sorry, Aine.”
“No, there’s no need to apologize…”
What did he misunderstand? I slowly went over what I had said to him earlier. I want to know more about you, could you tell me tonight? Ah.
I finally realized why the misunderstanding happened. Thinking back, it could be interpreted as a suggestion for an intimate night together.
Realizing what Kelian had misunderstood, I sprang up from the bed, my face burning.
“I-I misspoke. I wanted to know about your hometown, like I learned earlier. I wasn’t trying to seduce you, not that I wouldn’t want to… but…”
The more I spoke, the deeper I felt I was sinking. Kelian shook his head.
“I made the mistake.”
He smiled lightly as if it was fine and adjusted my disheveled clothes. Then he sat down next to me.
“I just wanted to know more about you.”
“If you’re curious, ask anything.”
Kelian shrugged as if willing to satisfy my curiosity. But my interest stemmed from affection, so I couldn’t help but watch his reactions.
“Then, can you tell me about living here in Rilkai?”
Rilkai, his hometown and the empire’s capital, where everyone seemed to know and adore him. I was curious about his life here.
“Hmm. I don’t have particularly memorable memories.”
He answered as if genuinely unable to recall anything, frowning slightly in thought before finally coming up with a memory.
“I remember liking swords and sleeping with one under my pillow as a child.”
“A sword under your pillow?”
“Yes. I wanted to practice swordsmanship even in my dreams. But it was just uncomfortable.”
Imagining young Kelian tossing and turning all night made me smile. I grabbed his arm with both hands.
“And?”
“And…”
He looked down at my hands for a moment, then continued to recall his memories.
“I remember being happy when I first defeated my swordsmanship master.”
“Wow, you beat your master? How old were you?”
“I think I was thirteen.”
“…”
…Impressive.
Kelian, the genius who surpassed his swordsmanship master at thirteen, continued to dredge up more memories of his childhood, then suddenly took my hand.
“I’m curious about you too. What was your childhood like, and who were your friends?”
“Should we take turns talking?”
Unlike him, I didn’t have a brilliant childhood, but I had nothing to hide. It would be strange if only he shared his stories.
“As I mentioned before, I lived alone for a long time. Until recently, I rented a room at an inn run by my friend, Marli. The inn is called the Deer Inn.”
“I’d like to ask that friend Marli about you too. How you were as a child.”
Kelian said, kissing my cheek. If I took him to meet Marli… it would be chaotic. Marli loved Warrior stories; she might recognize him as the Warrior immediately.
“What about you, Kelian? Do you remember any childhood friends? Besides you all, Marli is my only friend, both in childhood and now.”
“I don’t have any.”
He answered without hesitation. Considering how many friends must have approached him, it was surprising.
“It would have been nice to meet you earlier.”
His voice was oddly melancholic as he whispered, leaning into me. It made my heart ache. Was he lonely as a child?
Even if he was a genius admired by all, it didn’t mean he lacked hardships. He still showed occasional instability even now.
“It’s a shame, though it’s good we met now. Talking about childhood makes me a bit wistful.”
I stroked his cheek with one hand as he genuinely expressed his regret.
“I feel the same, Kelian.”
If I had met Kelian as a child, I might have been even more obsessed. I would have thought of him all the time.
“Kelian…”
I trailed off, feeling the deep connection we had formed.
Kelian, who was calmly leaving his cheek in my hand, looked at me curiously as I carefully asked.
“Do you still… have those thoughts?”
He had once confessed that there were times when he wanted to destroy everything. Thankfully, he said that ‘everything’ did not include me or the other companions, but that didn’t make it a good thing.
At the time, he didn’t explain why he had such destructive urges.
“No.”
“Oh, thank goodness…”
“As long as you are by my side, Aine, I am okay.”
He tilted his head and gently bit one of my fingers that had been stroking his cheek. It didn’t hurt at all, but the spot where he bit felt like it was burning.
“You heal me.”
Our eyes met, his teal eyes staring intensely into mine. It felt like I was caught in a trap, unable to look away. His red tongue licked my finger, and just watching that made my mind freeze, taking a long time before I could speak again.
“I haven’t done anything. It’s you who is healing me, Kelian. You’re cleansing my curse…”
“The curse isn’t fully cleansed yet.”
“Even so, you’ve been a tremendous help.”
“I hope you can be freed from the curse soon.”
That was also my deepest wish, but hearing him say it like that was incredibly touching.
“I’ll do anything I can to help you avoid those urges…”
“Then it seems we both have something to do for each other.”
Huh…?
Kelian smiled kindly. Then his large hand slipped under my dress and underwear, touching my skin directly.
“Ah!”
All he did was kiss me, yet I was already wet down there. Every time he rubbed his fingers, there was a squelching sound from my underwear.
“Wait, ah, that, mmph…!”
As I floundered in sudden pleasure, he laid me down and positioned himself between my legs. When did he take it out, and how did it become so hard? His penis pressed against me below.
“Ah, and we were supposed to take turns asking questions. We do need to cleanse the curse, but I think we can continue our conversation.”
How could we continue the conversation in this situation…?! My initial shock faded as the tip of his penis pressed inside, causing my head to fall back.
“…Do you have more questions?”
His indifferent eyes had turned dark and murky. Seeing that made me feel even more desperate, but his urging left me no choice but to throw out a random question.
“Then, uh, more about your childhood…”
While my mouth rambled on, my lower body tightened with anxiety and anticipation for the large part pressing in. Despite not intending it, the wet interior squeezed him tightly, eliciting a low groan from him. The veins on his forearm, supporting himself next to me, bulged out prominently.
“Yes. Childhood stories…”
“Ah! K-Kel…!”
The rest of him pushed in with a thud. The dizzying sensation made saliva escape my mouth.
“I hated everything.”
“Too fast…! Please, ah!”
“I wandered through dungeons as if to escape.”
He continued to talk, but neither of us was in our right mind.
The thoughts that my curse’s cleansing and his childhood stories were merely being exploited flashed through my mind… But even those thoughts were blown away by the pleasure points being pressed and rubbed by his penis.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Gyaaahhh—!”
The insect monster, Yarakya, withstood the blow from the mithril club, writhing its dozens of legs before disappearing.
[Level Up]
[You have acquired Superior Yarakya Legs.]
[Item Grade: B]
I had defeated a superior monster on my own. Although my companions had helped by keeping other monsters at bay, it was still an incredible feat for me, who had been grateful just to deal with intermediate monsters. And I even obtained a B-grade item.
“Well done, Aine.”
Jenin didn’t hold back on her praise, and she drove another monster towards me. This time, it was another superior Yarakya.
“If it seems too tough, don’t push yourself and use your skills; just fall back.”
“Thank you, Jenin.”
Since skills couldn’t be used indefinitely, it was crucial to use them at the right time in actual combat.
While dealing with multiple monsters, I was enveloped in a familiar light. It was Sayiris’s healing light. Her magnificent staff, adorned with the Akil I had given her recently, shone brightly. I gave her a grateful look and then tightened my grip on the club, focusing on fighting the Yarakya.
The multi-legged Yarakya would willingly sacrifice its legs when attacked and quickly lower its head to bite, making hit-and-run tactics easy but time-consuming.
[You have acquired Superior Yarakya Legs.]
[Item Grade: B]
I managed to defeat the second superior Yarakya. Even with Sayiris’s healing during the fight, dealing with a superior monster I wasn’t familiar with left me panting heavily.
“What’s your current level?”
“36.”
I checked my status screen and answered Dain’s question.
Yes, my level was no longer 29 or 30, but 36. It had been just three days since the “Level Up Aine” operation had begun, and this was the result. Kelian supported my panting body, letting me lean against him.
“Have you upgraded your skills?”
“Yes, I did earlier.”
From level 30 onwards, skills could be upgraded every five levels. So I had upgraded my skills once at level 30 and again at level 35, making it twice in total. My current skill status was as follows:
[Skills]
― Multiple Club Strikes (5) +6
Additionally, my strength had increased by 6.
“It seems you’ve practiced your skills enough. It’s better to focus on leveling up quickly now.”
Dain, who had stopped sending monsters my way and was instead clearing them all out, spoke casually. His tone suggested that leveling me up was a trivial matter for them, but I knew from experience that it was no exaggeration.
“We need to get you into the 40s today.”
Kelian agreed with Dain’s opinion. Once again, I was the only one surprised.
“…Level 40?”
“Does it seem difficult?”
He asked kindly, not about whether reaching level 40 today was possible, but only concerned about my stamina.
“No, I’m fine. I was just wondering if it’s possible. I’ve already gone up three levels today…”
“Why not?”
Dain walked ahead as if my concern was unnecessary, burning all the monsters blocking our path with magic. Watching that made it seem possible…
“Yeah. I think… it could work?”
Jenin followed Dain, speaking uncertainly. Her sword swiftly dealt with near-boss-level monsters.
In the past three days, we had cleared five dungeons, including this rare S-grade difficulty “Bug Nest” dungeon. Every monster we encountered here was either intermediate or superior, yet my companions treated it like a beginner’s hunting ground, driving monsters toward me or eliminating any distractions, making the dungeon my personal training ground.
The one who enjoyed and immersed himself in this the most was Barkrud.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had such a good fight.”
Barkrud, who enjoyed fighting monsters, seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the prolonged battle in the rare dungeon, either blocking or defeating monsters while I trained. This was the first time I saw him with such a bright expression.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes, Kelian.”
Naturally, I wasn’t yet capable of handling bosses in rare dungeons, so I watched quietly as my companions fought the boss, and they quickly cleared it.
[Dungeon Cleared]
[Rewards Granted]
[Level Up]
As the levels increased, the pace of leveling up slowed down, but it was still a norm to level up after clearing a boss.
“We just need to clear this a few more times.”
Following Dain’s suggestion, we repeatedly cleared the “Bug Nest” dungeon several more times.
To be precise, it was more like they cleared it for me. They had decided not to make me practice skills until I reached the 40s, so now that they no longer needed to wait, they quickly wiped out all the monsters as soon as we entered the dungeon again. I just watched in a daze as Kelian carried me for faster movement, and the surroundings flashed by.
The display of high-level skills was truly spectacular. It felt like it took just a few minutes to clear the dungeon each time.
After repeating this process several times…
[Level Up]
I really did reach level 40.
