Chapter 230: Secret Meeting (1)

Chapter 230: Secret Meeting
(1)

A
terrible chill enveloped the banquet hall.

Even
just quietly breathing out caused white vapor to flow from the mouth
and dissipate in the air.

‘…Did
I do this?’

Looking
at the frozen scenery of the banquet hall, Balkan shook his head.

This
was only possible because of Diana’s magic power, his holy power, and
Celsia’s guidance.

He
stood up, holding onto his mental strings that were trying to loosen
up.

The
enemy didn’t come alone so the battle wasn’t over yet.

His
eyes met with Ignorion, the Peacock Kin and Pride’s Worshiper, who
had opened a portal to bring the Wrath’s Worshiper.

It
wasn’t just his imagination.

She
was looking down at Balkan with a face full of deep admiration as she
spread her gorgeous and beautiful peacock kin wings, observing the
situation from the air.

‘…This
is beyond imagination. In many ways.’

The
fragment of holy power that the Sloth’s Worshiper had shown was truly
just a fragment.

The
holy power he just unleashed against Gott was enough to rival even
that saint but there wasn’t much time to stand in admiration like
this.

‘If
Gott really dies, it would become troublesome.’

The
Demon of Wrath sealed in the 30th floor.

Because
the kingdom and the Explorer Union were investing significant
resources to prevent the revival of the demon with the strongest and
deepest grudge, the seals of other demons were relatively less
affected by surveillance and such.

For
the revival of other demons as well, Gott needed to continue
spreading her notoriety as the Wrath Demon’s Worshiper and continue
her rampage in the Labyrinth City.

“Kugh,
you, son of a…”

A
voice forced out through gritted teeth, filled with rage, was heard.

Even
with half her right body including her arm blown away and coughing
blood, that voice was reciting anger towards the one who made her
like this rather than pain.

“Ignorion!
Do something about those bastards! Now’s the chance while they’re
tired!!”

“Shut
up. I came because you asked, not to be chased by the royal family
for the rest of my life.”

Although
bringing her here was already a hostile sign, there was something
like an implicit line.

The
Peacock Kin plucked a feather from her wing and threw it at Gott.

The
wing that instantly went under Gott brought her to Ignorion’s side.

-Crash!

Perhaps
because the seams had become faint due to the fierce battle, the
items Gott was carrying fell to the floor with a thud.

“This
bitch. My artifacts…!”

“There’s
no time to collect those things now.”

Ignorion
examined Gott’s wound.

‘Even
with healing water, she’ll need several years of recovery.’

Not
only was half her body blown away, but Diana Ordia’s ice magic that
ate away at wounds was holding onto Gott and wouldn’t let go.

From
experience, that ice probably had tracking magic mixed in, but now
wasn’t the time to be picky.

Ignorion
entered through the portal with Gott while keeping him in her sight.

-Crack.

The
portal that appeared in the air disappeared again, and the cracks
that had formed around it were reconnected.

-Bang!

“Tsk…she
got away.”

Diana,
who had been shooting ice arrows at the portal until the end, sat
down with a sigh mixed with regret.

The
ice arrows were much smaller than the ones she had shot before.

She
showed signs of fatigue from consuming considerable magic power in
the recent battle.

“Ah…”

Celsia
let out a blank sigh as she looked at the wrecked banquet hall.

It
was hard to imagine how it felt to be attacked by demon worshipers on
every birthday.

“Ugh…”

Balkan
lay against a nearby wall with a dying voice.

He
couldn’t even think about caring about the surrounding gazes.

The
enemy had fled, and the portal they opened was completely closed.

When
the tension released, all sorts of fatigue came rushing in at once.

Magic
exhaustion, side effects of the elixir, and on top of that, the
sudden weakness that came from squeezing the blessing of radiance to
its limit after a long time.

‘This
is…a week’s worth of fatigue.’

Perhaps
because he had fainted so many times, he could now roughly estimate
it.

Hoping
that the situation would be resolved when he opened his eyes, he
surrendered to the approaching fatigue.

***

The
smell of formula milk lingered in my nose.

It
was a strangely familiar scent, somehow humid yet sweet, a warmth
that gently wrapped my fatigue-worn body, like being held in a
mother’s embrace…

Although
I had never felt warmth from my parents, it certainly gave me a
motherly comfort.

Naturally,
my hand reached out toward that warmth.

‘Waaah.
I’m baby Balkan.’

Such
a vulgar milk bottle…

-Slurp
slurp…

***

“Huu,
huuu…”

When
he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Diana, drooling and
breathing heavily.

At
the same time, notifications popped up about making Diana climax and
sucking her breast milk to absorb stats.

When
he wiped his mouth, the white liquid that stained his palm was
Diana’s all-too-familiar baby-exclusive milk.

“W-why
did I…”

“Huuu…
I approached because you seemed to be having a bad dream during
nursing… Suddenly like this, huu…”

Come
to think of it, he seemed to have dreamed of being nestled in Diana’s
breasts.

Maybe
it wasn’t just a dream.

Apart
from feeling good about putting moist and sweet liquid in his parched
throat, a slight sense of guilt rose up.

He
had sucked Diana’s breasts for stats again.

Except
for when the strings of reason broke or during pseudo-sex, he had
been trying to refrain from nipple climaxes as much as possible, but
who would have thought he would drink breast milk unconsciously.

[LV.
6■
Diana Ordia]

Diana’s
level was still in the 60s.

It
was just a guess, but probably around the mid-range. Still, the total
stats absorbed didn’t exceed 10.

Whenever
I saw Diana getting weaker, a complex emotion mixed with strange
domination desire and guilt would arise, especially now.

I
didn’t expect that Diana would be pushed back even though the
opponent was a strong person in their 70s.

“I’m
sorry.”

“…If
you’re apologizing for drinking breast milk, take it back. It’s not
Balkan’s fault but…my fault for having such pathetic nipples that
climax even with just a little sucking.”

“……”

“And
thanks to that, Balkan could become stronger. I don’t regret it.”

Balkan
couldn’t overcome the rushing embarrassment and hugged her tightly.

She
who always cherished him was so lovely and thankful.

While
sharing each other’s body heat and patting each other’s backs to
comfort…

“H-haaah…”

Another
voice was heard besides Diana’s.

I
blankly looked at the person who made that sound.

There
was no need to turn his head since she was right in front of him.

Wearing
a more neat and luxurious outfit than the dress seen at the banquet
hall with flowing blonde hair and emerald-like green eyes.

Fingers
spread in a peace sign that seemed like they would cover those eyes
but ultimately didn’t.

Although
there was an intention to cover her eyes, her hands didn’t cover
anything.

“Huu,
uuu…!”

The
one watching the intense embrace with Diana while letting out strange
moans was none other than Celsia, the second princess of the Arlonia
Kingdom.

“Ah,
hello.”

“Ah,
uh, u, um…”

The
awkwardness was brief, and greetings immediately came out.

I
wanted to jump up and bow my head, but since my body hadn’t recovered
enough for that yet, I ended up greeting while being held in Diana’s
embrace.

Celsia
was also quite flustered, unable to take her eyes off that intense
embrace and answering awkwardly.

Did
she only see the embrace, or had she been watching from before?

Judging
by her bright red face, it seemed she had been watching from before.

What
would it feel like to see someone you saved in the past and were
saved by in the present sucking another person’s breast milk?

“Ah,
um…well…”

While
having meaningless thoughts, she opened her mouth again while
awkwardly looking around.

“Her
Majesty is looking for…those who helped in this incident…”

***

In
the Labyrinth City, and from Celsia’s mouth, there was only one
person who could be called Her Majesty.

The
Queen of the Arlonia Kingdom, Teles de Arlonia.

Considerable
preparation was needed to meet such a person.

Putting
royal chef-made food into my body that desperately called for
nutrients after being unconscious for over a week.

“Sip…Feels
like it was cut a bit short.”

“Hehe.
I think it rather suits Balkan.”

“Well,
I guess it’s fine then.”

Getting
my overgrown hair trimmed by a hairdresser.

“We
are Makao and Joma, here to assist with your bath—”

“Get
out. Let me bathe alone.”

Driving
out the sweaty muscular male bath attendants and such.

Only
after thoroughly washing my dirty body and putting on proper formal
attire was I ready to have an audience with the queen.

I
took off the half-mask I had been carefully wearing throughout all
the preparations.

There
was no way such a thing would be allowed before the queen.

“I
wonder why the queen is looking for us.”

Since
Celsia had disappeared somewhere in the middle, I conversed with
Diana while heading to the reception room.

“Probably
to give a reward for saving the second princess from the demon
worshiper’s attack. And…rather than us, I think she might be
curious about Balkan.”

“About
me?”

“It’s
an old story, but I also had a similar experience to Balkan. I saved
the second princess and received the position of vice captain of the
royal knights. At the time, I couldn’t stand staying in one place, so
I left again after a few weeks.”

This
was the first time I heard this story. To think Diana had been in
such a position.

No
wonder the knight captain would sometimes visit the inn, perhaps it
was due to the connection from that time.

My
thoughts deepened at her words.

Vice
captain of the knights. Could I receive a reward comparable to that?

‘Once
I open this door, I’ll know.’

While
talking and walking, we arrived at the reception room door.

-Creeak.

As
soon as we stood at the door, it opened as if it had been waiting
just for us to arrive.

“Welcome.”

The
one who greeted me was an old woman with white streaks showing
through dull blonde hair.

Wrinkles
mixed with a warm smile.

Intelligence
could be glimpsed in her eyes that were a mix of blue and green.

This
person was none other than the ruler of the kingdom that embraced the
Labyrinth City, and Celsia’s bloodline.

Next
to the queen stood the royal knight captain, looking this way with
her sword stuck in the ground.

Where
had she gone during that battle, perhaps she had been protecting the
queen?

“Pleased
to meet you. I am Balkan, an explorer.”

When
I slightly bent one knee in greeting, using the etiquette learned
from Diana on the way, the queen waved her hand with a satisfied
expression.

“Your
face is more splendid than I heard. Don’t be so formal, have a seat.
I’ve heard stories from Diana often.”

“Thank
you.”

When
I bowed my head in response and glanced at Diana, she slightly
blushed and turned her head away.

What
kind of stories did she tell to make her blush like that?

As
I sat on the sofa, the trinkets placed on the table began to move on
their own and started brewing tea.

Each
of those trinkets was an artifact emitting a brilliant light.

“Here
you go.”

“Thank
you.”

Tea
brewed with artifacts, what luxury is this?

As
I carefully sipped the tea like drinking Diana’s breast milk, the
queen came with a proposal in a comfortable voice as if going out for
a drink.

“Young
man, would you like to marry my daughter?”