Chapter 329: I Was Wrong, Please Forgive Me (2)

Chapter
329: I Was Wrong, Please Forgive Me (2)

The
battle in the Outlaw Zone was more or less over, and all procedures
proceeded very quickly.

About
8 hours later.

I
was in a carriage heading to a building located on the outskirts of
the temple district.

The
cushions in the carriage, emblazoned with the royal seal, helped to
relieve my weary body even amidst the rough ride.

I
had even taken off my helmet to recover my exhausted body as quickly
as possible.

“Here.”

Celsia,
who was sitting in front of me, handed me a backpack.

Celsia,
who had looked so weak a few hours ago, was back to her plump self.

Thanks
to that, her large breasts, which couldn’t be seen in her small form,
jiggled every time the carriage shook.

They
were encased in a breastplate that changed shape to fit Celsia’s body
size, so the movement was minimal, but it was still quite a sight.

“These
are the things you asked for… I asked around and got you better
stuff. Think of it as royal support.”

Having
succeeded in capturing the Puppeteer, I received direct support from
the royal family.

This
meant that Celsia had accepted my judgment and granted the person who
contributed most to capturing the demon the right to punish the
Puppeteer directly.

I
nodded at her words and looked inside the backpack.

20
top-grade healing potions.

7
top-grade stamina-boosting herbs.

7
top-grade mana recovery herbs.

And
other miscellaneous items.

Things
that even a decent mid-level explorer couldn’t get their hands on.

“Nice.”

I
took out a mana recovery herb and ate it whole, leaves and all.

Woooong—

The
reaction was immediate.

Every
time the mana contained in the herb was crushed by my teeth and
seeped into my body, my heart pounded.

[Dragon
Heart Blessing] absorbed the mana taken in by consuming the herb
without losing a single drop, and quickly recovered my mana.

“Hoo.”

Only
then did my head feel clearer and my breathing easier.

The
fatigue from mana exhaustion was alleviated by the replenishment of
mana.

Of
course, this was only a temporary measure to postpone the fatigue.

I
would need to rest for several days to fully recover.

“Thank
you, Celsia.”

I
bowed to Celsia with a much more relaxed face.

Strictly
speaking, my proposal to interrogate the Puppeteer to obtain
information was almost a forced one.

It
was the royal family that had set up a camp in the Outlaw Zone to
control the rioters and prepare for the Puppeteer’s attack.

Celsia
was also one of the key forces in punishing the Puppeteer, so I
couldn’t unilaterally claim the right to dispose of the Puppeteer.

“No
need to thank me. We should be the ones thanking you…”

But
Celsia shook her head at my words.

“If
you hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t have been able to properly defend
against the Puppeteer’s attack. We might have failed to subdue the
Puppeteer, let alone capture them, and even if the operation had
succeeded, it would have been accompanied by terrible damage.”

Her
eyes sparkled as if telling only the truth, without a hint of
falsehood.

“The
knights who participated in this battle said that they wanted to run
away because it was so hard and they felt like they were going to
die, but they got up and grabbed their swords again thanks to the
flag that appeared in the sky.”

“…”

“Everyone
wanted to give up and felt powerless in the face of the huge number
of puppets… We were able to endure thanks to the miracle you
performed.”

“…”

“That
was something only you could do. Everyone there gained strength from
seeing your miracle.”

Celsia
gazed at me intently with her green eyes full of sincerity, then
bowed her head.

“I,
Celsia de Arlonia, will speak on behalf of the royal family. Balkan
Auster. Thank you so much for taking our side in that battle.”

Celsia
sometimes showed aspects of being a shut-in, but she also showed the
dignity of a princess like this.

The
unfamiliar feeling coming from that extreme and the feeling of
receiving sincere gratitude mixed together, making my spine tingle
for no reason.

The
man who had once been saved by her had now grown enough to protect
her.

Feeling
strangely embarrassed, I scratched the back of my head and replied.

“…I
just did what was natural.”

Celsia
smiled slightly at my answer.

“If
the guys in the noble district who just fatten themselves up and make
noise heard you say that, they’d be horrified, wouldn’t they?”

“Guys
who make noise?”

She
clicked her tongue at my question.

“I
don’t know where they heard the rumors, but some middle and
lower-ranking nobles are saying that giving too much authority to a
man who just received a castle is not a good idea.”

“Don’t
tell me, are they saying that because of the right to punish the
Puppeteer?”

Celsia
nodded with an uneasy face.

Huh.

I
was about to let out a hollow laugh because it was so absurd, but
Celsia clenched her fist with a more angry expression than I did.

“That’s
ridiculous. Authority? If they had any conscience, no… if they had
the intelligence to think for themselves, they wouldn’t say that.”

Even
in her plump state, it was a much stronger expression than Celsia
usually used.

“What
you did, and what you’re about to do, is clearly a sacrifice. What
man would do such a thing because he likes it? And yet those guys…”

Celsia,
who had been grinding her teeth, sighed deeply and then stared at me
with worried eyes.

“I
only told you things that would make you worry for no reason. Anyway,
I’ll take care of things so that these kinds of stories don’t
circulate, so don’t worry too much.”

“It’s
okay. I know that not all nobles are clean, and there are many ugly
ones.”

“They’re
all jealous. How long has it been since you received the Hero’s
Castle, and you’ve already achieved the feat of capturing the Demon
of Greed, which was a long-standing disaster, and there’s no
precedent for someone growing and achieving feats as quickly as you,
Balkan.”

Jealousy,
huh.

Having
seen the ugly face of that emotion while catching the Jealousy
Worshiper, I chuckled and said.

“Then,
I’ll have to achieve even greater feats that they can’t even dare to
be jealous of.”

Flutter!

The
moment I chuckled and answered, I heard the sound of a horse’s reins
in front of me, and the carriage stopped.

The
outskirts of the temple district.

A
place secured by the royal family through the Great Mother Church.

We
had arrived at the entrance of a building with a demon-suppressing
barrier.

“…As
expected, you are…”

Celsia,
who had smiled slightly at my bold answer, opened the carriage door
and went outside.

And
she reached out to me, who was about to get up from the comfortable
cushion and go outside.

“Then,
I’ll have to bring good news and new rewards too.”

“You
haven’t even properly enjoyed your noble title yet.”

“Hehe.
Once this is over, I’ll let you properly enjoy the value of a noble.”

I
got out of the carriage with Celsia’s escort.

Thud.

A
woman wearing a mask in the driver’s seat also got out, following me.

“Incubus-nim.”

“Go
ahead.”

The
masked woman nodded at my words and entered the building with the
barrier.

I
stood in front of the building and faced Celsia.

“I
shouldn’t say this as a princess… but don’t push yourself too
hard.”

I
knew very well what her worried words meant.

‘She
must be worried about my mental state, now that I’m going to mingle
with the Puppeteer.’

I
smiled inwardly at her words.

Who
should really be worried, me, who made even the Worshiper of Lust
kneel?

Or
the Puppeteer trapped in Densi’s body?

The
result will soon be known.

“Don’t
worry too much, Celsia.”

“…”

Gaze—

Celsia
stared at me intently.

To
be exact, at my lips.

In
her plump state, she could look me straight in the eye.

If
she were in her young body, I would have had to look up at her
unilaterally, but we were now looking at each other intently from the
same perspective.

Hoo—

She
closed the distance in an instant.

Smack.

After
touching her soft lips for a brief moment, she immediately pulled
away.

Celsia,
whose cheeks were as red as apples, asked cautiously.

“…Did
you not like it?”

I
blankly caressed my lips that had touched hers and smiled.

“…It’s
not that I didn’t like it.”

I
was just a little surprised.

Plump
Celsia was much tougher and more proactive than small Celsia.

Could
it be that her lust had grown as much as her body had changed
destructively?

“…Then,
c-can I do it one more time…?”

Even
so, she still hadn’t completely overcome her shyness and
embarrassment, and she nodded to Celsia, who was blushing and asking
cautiously.

“……!”

Celsia,
who had taken a deep breath, rammed her lips into mine again.

Her
soft lips collided several times, and our lips gradually became more
and more moist.

***

Celsia,
who was embarrassed while caressing her moist lips with her
fingertips, got into the carriage.

“See
you, see you later…”

“Yes,
see you later.”

She
peeked her head out of the carriage window and whispered softly.

I
waved my hand slightly, and she closed the door with a smile.

The
next time I meet Celsia will be after I have subdued the Puppeteer
and obtained information.

After
seeing Celsia off, the smile disappeared from my face, where her
warmth had vanished.

Squeak.

I
opened the door of the building with the demon-suppressing barrier.

On
the outside, it looked like an ordinary house, but the inside of the
building was different.

“You’ve
come, disciple.”

“Oh,
Balkan! It’s been a while!”

“Hmm.
So that’s the one who received the Hero’s Castle…”

Three
people were standing guard in the empty building.

The
first person to greet me was Idelbert.

The
second was Professor Mancostil, the grandmother of the party’s tanker
Rubia and affiliated with the academy.

The
third was a middle-aged female knight I didn’t really know.

[LV.59
Eluoro Hart]

‘Was
it the Marquis Lohart?’

He
was a skilled person who had faced the Worshiper of the Demon of
Wrath Gott and the Worshiper of the Demon of Arrogance at the royal
palace with Professor Mancostil before.

An
elite force deployed in case my plan went wrong and the Puppeteer
escaped.

It
was the best force that could be used in the Labyrinth City right
now.

“I’m
Balkan Auster. Please take care of me.”

“I’ve
heard the rumors. I hope nothing unexpected happens.”

After
greeting Professor Mancostil, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, and
briefly introducing myself to Marquis Lohart, I nodded to Idelbert.

“I’ll
be back.”

“…Okay.”

Her
expression was uneasy, but she didn’t say anything else, as if she
sensed my will.

She
just wrapped her black cat tail tightly around my waist and led me to
the stairs in the center of the building.

“In
case of emergency, I’ve put a demon-suppressing restraint on your
slave’s… the Puppeteer’s body. I’m sorry, but it’s unavoidable
since she’s your slave.”

“Yes.
It’s a good thing for me.”

With
this, unless a real natural disaster occurred, the Puppeteer would
not be able to do any physical resistance until the puppet body
trapped in the cocoon was fully recovered.

Step.
Step.

I
went down the stairs and headed to the basement.

A
place with the stuffy humidity unique to the basement.

It
wasn’t neglected, but it wasn’t neatly maintained either, and a
demon-suppressing barrier and a soundproofing magic were in place.

“Number
2.”

I
called the masked woman, tearing off a stamina-boosting herb from my
backpack and eating it.

“Yes,
Incubus-nim.”

At
my words, a woman wearing a mask and with black horns on her head
came to me and handed me something.

After
the events in the Outlaw Zone were more or less over, it was a
succubus, a familiar summoned from the labyrinth by Lilith, who was
performing Diana’s curse.

One
of the most elite succubi among Lilith’s dream demon familiars, who
had subjected me to cock torture.

Number
2 was roughly called Number 2 because she was the second in rank
among Lilith’s dream demon familiars.

‘Number
1 ran away.’

She
ran away, saying that she couldn’t bear to see her true master Lilith
kneeling, but as a familiar, it was useless to run away.

I
couldn’t summon Number 2 directly, but since they were Lilith’s
familiars anyway, they followed my orders politely.

“You
brought it properly, right?”

“I
received it directly from Lilith-nim.”

I
checked the item I received from Number 2.

A
thick pink liquid in a small vial.

An
aphrodisiac extracted from Lilith’s tail.

‘I’m
not going to go easy on her.’

With
all my might.

I
will definitely subdue the Puppeteer.

Sigh.

I
took a short breath and continued down the basement stairs.

And
then.

Squeak—

I
opened the door at the end of the basement stairs.

The
center of the newly opened underground prison.

There,
the Puppeteer, chained up like Bernie in the old days, was staring at
me intently.

…Naked.