Chapter 148: Heeheehee…Ddu-ddaa…Puhihi… (3)

Chapter 148:
Heeheehee…Ddu-ddaa…Puhihi… (3)

The
box was wrapped in a fine cloth, like a wedding ring case.

Perched
high on the white cloth, like an artifact, was a brilliant blue
granule that I had often seen in the⋯Labyrinth.

“Mana?”

“Often
called elixirs.”

Nuer
chuckled.

“It’s
a mana elixir from the 21st floor that has been gathering and
crystallizing for decades, and since the 21st floor is a cold region,
it contains cold mana.”

I
roughly understood that it was an elixir that contained ice elemental
magic.

“It’s
a precious thing that not only increases your body’s magical power,
but also permanently enhances your physical abilities⋯There
is a minor drawback that if a man eats it, his already low libido
decreases even more⋯”

An
elixir that increases your physical strength and also your wisdom,
which is related to magic power.

However,
the downside is quite irritating.

Decreased
libido.

“For
you, it doesn’t seem to be a problem?”

Nuer
said, glancing at the silhouette of my cock next to my thigh.

She
wasn’t wrong.

The
decreased libido would be a disadvantage for a normal man, but for
the man I am now, it has its advantages.

I’ve
been taking a break for the past few days and checking out the
different types of status effects that come with the Nightmare Curse.

Sage,
full of desires, neediness, very severe neediness.

There
are four stages, and as I progressed to very severe neediness, I
became more easily swayed by my sex drive and found it harder to
maintain my sanity.

‘In
the worst case scenario, I might lunge to impale myself on a
monster.’

I
mean, I could give a goblin a dick pounding.

The
thought of the worst-case scenario sent shivers down my spine.

To
prevent such a situation, I needed some means of controlling my
libido.

In
that sense, that 21st-tier magic elixir would be quite helpful in
controlling my libido.

After
all, Ellie and Diana’s bodies were already erotic enough to make me
get hard just looking at them, so it wouldn’t cause any problems for
our relationship.

This
elixir could only be beneficial in so many ways so I reached out to
it, mesmerized.

“Uh-huh.”

Nuer
quickly closed the box and retrieved the elixir.

“Don’t
try to take the goods without a contract. I’ll give you the elixir
when you’re done with the job.”

Nuer
smirked as she tucked the elixir back into her waistband.

“What
do you say?”

Go
to the Outlaw District, help capture succubi, and get the elixir.

Or
will I just ignore the nameless men and turn down the offer from a
mid-level explorer belonging to the Alliance, which will create an
uncomfortable relationship?

After
a moment’s deliberation, I rose to my feet.

“I’m
sorry, sir.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll
pretend I didn’t hear about today, then.”

“No,
wait!”

As
I spun around and grabbed the doorknob, I heard an urgent voice
behind me.

“Why?
I mean, how valuable is this elixir, and you’re not going to take
it?”

Of
course I’d like to have it but the risks still outweigh the benefits.

“Even
without it, I’m sure I’ll grow stronger if I’m good and steady in the
Labyrinth.”

“No,
you don’t think dogs and cows get stronger in a stair-step fashion by
going through labyrinth after labyrinth after labyrinth, you’re an
explorer, you should know better!”

“Well,
I guess that’s about it.”

“Huh,
what is this⋯”

Nuer
paused, frowning for a moment.

“⋯Aha.”

Perhaps
sensing something in my tone, her expression breaks into a smile.

“You’re
being cryptic, aren’t you?”

She
then revealed the reason for my rejection.

“You’re
a greedy man. Is the elixir not enough for you?”

I’m
underpaid.

Apparently,
there’s no one else to replace me, and a single elixir isn’t enough
to get me moving.

“Ten
gold coins per intermediate succubi. Five contribution points. ”

My
eyes naturally turned to Nuer at the outrageous amount of money to
begin with.

“Don’t
you think you’re being a bit pushy?”

“Because
it’s worth it.”

Ten
gold coins per succubi. Not silver coins, but gold coins.

I
wouldn’t get this much for killing a mid-level succubi in the
Labyrinth unless it yielded a Soulstone.

Plus
5 contribution points.

Fifteen
contribution points remain before I become a mid-level explorer.

I
only need to kill three monsters to become a mid-level explorer and
receive a little more support and benefits from the Alliance.

I
wonder if they’re more expensive because they’re supposedly
associated with demon worshipers.

Given
the way she’d been blabbering on about my background as an apprentice
of Idelbert’s, it was possible that she’d been trying to curry favor.

“How
do you like it, is it a more attractive proposition now?”

I
held out my hand to Nuer, who looked up with a confident smile.

On
these terms, it was worth the risk.

“I
am not very good at it, but I ask that you take good care of me.”

“Good
for you for being honest about your desires. Let’s do this together.”

We
grinned at each other, grabbed hands, and shook.

***

As
I walked out of the office after my conversation with Noir, I saw two
people with their ears pressed up against the wall.

“What
are you two doing?”

“Hmmm.
Nothing.”

“We
were listening in on your conversation. We have no particular reason,
we were just curious.”

With
an apologetic Joy Hog and an outspoken Jubeel, I returned to the
Alliance lobby table to discuss the settlement.

“We’ll
subtract the succubus soulstone, which Balkan practically
single-handedly captured, and divide the rest equally as usual.”

“I
have no objection.”

“Neither
do I.”

“I
see. Then put some of the byproducts in here. I’ll exchange them.”

I
handed the byproducts in my subspace backpack to Joy Hog.

I
have harvested quite a bit by carefully collecting various monster
byproducts, including winter saplings used in necromancy and black
magic to raise corpses, three soulstones of snowy kobolds, and the
soulstone of the leader of the snowy kobolds.

After
an hour or so of jubilant jousting, Joy Hog returned from exchanging
currency with a big grin on her face.

“26
gold coins! Heh heh. Is this why everyone is desperately trying to
get to the middle floors?!”

Income
has skyrocketed compared to the past when we would laugh at a few
silver coins.

Even
though it was a bit of an inflated income due to the large amount of
soul stones, it brought a smile to Joy Hog and Jubeel’s faces.

The
Labyrinth becomes a different kind of money-maker the more risky you
take.

As
I looked at the five gold and twenty silver coins that came my way,
divided by headcount, I realized once again how outrageous Nuer’s
reward was.

“Balkan.
You’re not going to sell the succubus soulstone?”

“Anything
related to succubi is going to sell for a fortune, as the supply is
low compared to the demand.”

Joy
Hogg drooled over the succubus soulstone, and Jubeel formed a ring
around her finger and slipped it onto her index finger.

“I
don’t need the money right away, so I’m going to keep it. I’m sure
I’ll find a good use for it.”

I
now had six gold and seventy silver coins.

More
money will come if I successfully complete my commission with Nuer.

Later,
when I need money, I can sell the soulstone through the business card
of Claudia’s top executive, Delmitri Claudia, which I got at
graduation.

She
said she’d always give me a good price.

“Yeah.
That might be better than selling it now.”

Joy
Hog chuckled, and after a moment of silence, she spoke up.

“Well,
I’m afraid I won’t be joining you on your next trip to the Labyrinth.
In fact, I think I’ll have to leave the city altogether for a while.”

The
bombshell dropped out of nowhere.

“What?
Why all of a sudden?”

“What
the hell. What’s going on?”

Even
Jubeel asked, her expression grave at the sudden absence of her party
leader and trusty tank.

“While
I was on this labyrinth expedition, I heard that my parents, who were
running a shop outside the walls of the labyrinth city, were attacked
by some strange thugs. Fortunately, they were not seriously injured,
but since they are both old, I think they will need someone to help
them out.”

“Oh.”

“How
dare they!”

Jubeel
slammed his fist on the table and jumped to her feet.

“I
don’t know. They say that a lunatic who muttered something about
‘punishing the greedy’ wielded a knife. Before the escort could
come out, his head suddenly burst and he fell. I don’t know if it
was fortunate or unfortunate… Anyway, everyone, be careful. There
are a lot of lunatics in this city.”

Joy
Hog sighed heavily with a bitter face.

“I’m
sorry I swore at you, but you’d better get your act together.”

“Make
sure they get their asses kicked. Way to go, Joy Hog!”

“Ha
ha. Thanks guys. That makes me feel better.”

Joy
Hog chuckled at the brief consolation.

“So.
Since you’re going to the Labyrinth while I’m gone, shouldn’t someone
be the party leader?”

“⋯Leader.”

“Hmm.”

Party
leader, the head of the party, leading the party and being called
upon to exercise sound judgment in all cases, including emergencies.

“Hitolis
is a priest in the temple, and Lammel doesn’t care for this position,
so that leaves only two.”

Joy
Hog’s words made me stare at Jubeel.

I
looked at her face, which was shaggy and plain, like a country
maiden’s, unlike a tramp’s, and I looked at her cow-horned hair, and
I looked at the sword scabbard at her waist.

Jubeel,
who was looking at me as well, opened her mouth.

“Don’t
you think it would be better if Balkan did it?”

“What?”

“Jubeel.
Are you okay with that?”

“Ugh.”

I
was baffled by the tidy answer, which seemed to have come without
even going through my frontal lobe, but Joy Hog didn’t seem to mind
Jubeel’s comment.

“Then
I’ll let Balkan lead the party while I’m gone.”

“No,
wait, are you both okay with that?”

Joy
Hog was leaving the party she’d built in my care.

Jubeel,
as a future party member, is now subject to my wishes.

It
wasn’t a simple conversation.

“But
there’s no one else to do it but you.”

“Exactly.
Your judgment in times of crisis, the strength of mind and will to
fight that abomination alone in the fifth floor to give the party a
chance to escape. Honestly, I can’t think of anyone better suited for
the job.”

The
two nodded, as if it were obvious.

The
sudden praise tickles the nape of my neck, but embarrassment
overtakes me.

‘When
I was in charge, the party was shit.’

I’ve
only been a party leader twice.

Once,
the party was destroyed upon entering the Labyrinth, and the other
time, they were attacked by outlaws and torn to shreds.

“Are
you sure you’re okay with me being the leader?”

“Of
course. I may not have known you when we first met back on the fifth
floor, but you’re honestly the strongest member of our party now.”

“That’s
right, Balkan. You’re on par with this Jubeel, or even better.”

Apparently,
they already recognized me.

I
didn’t mind them saying so.

“What
the heck. Let me just fuck you once.”

“You
don’t have to try so hard, because if a man gets fucked, he ceases to
exist.”

“Jubeel.
Please⋯”

I
sighed, then suddenly laughed.

Somehow,
I’d grown to like them.

I
left the Explorers’ Alliance, feeling a bit of responsibility as the
leader of the party that would lead us through the labyrinth ahead.

***

The
next afternoon I carried Bunny on my back and wore simple armor.

I’m
just a decoy.

[It’s
almost bedtime, where are you going again?]

[To
get rice.]

[⋯Rice?
Uh, what kind of rice?]

I
gave a vague answer to Bernie’s mumbling in my head, told Diana I
was going to do some explorer work, and left the inn.

As
the sun set over the streets of the Labyrinth City, I took a carriage
to the Outlaw District to the west of the city.

To
get to the west, I had to pass through the Temple District to the
south, so I cleared the Temple District and made it to the Outlaw
District’s walls without incident.

I
had traveled quite a distance, and the sky had already turned dark.

“You’re
late.”

Nuer
muttered as the dark elf leaned back against the ramparts, oblivious
to the eerie atmosphere around her.

“Ten
minutes before our appointment.”

“I
was here twenty minutes ago.”

After
muttering that, Nuer approached me.

She
wore black bikini armor, it was an incredibly daring outfit for a
mage, or even if she wasn’t a mage.

I
couldn’t help but stare at her, not only because of her beautiful
elven features, but also because I could see her dark-skinned sternum
and eleven-pack abs, but also because there was no reason to look
away.

Her
weapon of choice is a staff, the symbol of a wizard, and a short but
well-honed dagger at her waist.

I
flicked the ‘thing’ at her.

Pow!

Uh-oh.

I
try to make it land on her hand, but it misses slightly.

The
‘thing’ sticks to the sternum of Noir’s bikini armor.

“⋯What
is this?”

With
a puzzled look on her face, Noir pulled the steaming, squishy,
liquid-filled ‘thing’ away from her sternum.

Tsk!

She
held it in both hands, staring at it as it stuck to her skin and then
fell away with a sticky sound.

“Lukewarm,
a bit heavy for water⋯no
ordinary liquid.”

Noir
poked at the balloon object with a black manicured finger.

The
sticky liquid inside quivered with each poke.

“It’s
a condom. What’s inside is semen.”

“⋯What?”

Nuer’s
face went blank at the bland answer.

“That’s
a direct line to a succubus, so let’s go.”

“⋯Uh,
uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, yeah. Okay. Yeah.”

Peering
over the ramparts, Nuer nodded, suddenly looking more alert, and tied
a condom to the waistband of her bikini armor, showing her ID to the
guards on the ramparts.

“You
are under the command of the Union Leader. Proceed.”

The
guards nodded and let us through the gates.

A
district steeped in luxury, indulgence, and decadence, isolated from
the rest, that was the outlaw territory.

It
was an unknown place I’d heard so much about, but had never been
to…and now I’m here with a dark elf wearing a used condom.

I
stepped forward cautiously.