True Consciousness (7)

Baby.

A byproduct of the act of procreation, another life form with the same blood as oneself.

A symbol of life, the culmination of love.

Such an existence.

“……”

Is on the other side of this.

Inside Diana’s room.

Balkan, with his ear pressed against Diana’s lower abdomen, trembled at the profound sensation.

It was different from the mental excitement he felt fighting Monsters, or the physically pleasurable mating.

Was it a sense of duty, or a sense of responsibility?

An emotion that could not be expressed filled a corner of his heart, while the satisfaction of a male spreading his seed brought him an indescribably happy feeling.

Was that the sound of a heartbeat? Footsteps? It felt like he could hear the baby making noise.

“It’s not quite at that stage yet…”

Of course, it wouldn’t have grown that much yet… but that was just the feeling.

Gurgle…

“Hyaa…!”

A cute gurgling sound came from the belly his ear was pressed against, and a startled Diana pushed Balkan away and covered her lower abdomen.

She made the jjubeok jjubeok sound when his Dick came out every day, but she seemed embarrassed by the sound of her stomach.

Balkan, still lost in the afterglow, was pushed away and rolled onto the bed.

He lay blankly on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and said.

“How did you end up checking the pregnancy test? I don’t know much about it, but you wouldn’t have had morning sickness yet.”

Diana’s period of wooing his baby seed… he didn’t know her menstrual cycle well, but he had heard somewhere that you find out about pregnancy due to irregular periods.

Was that the case for Diana too?

Balkan, hearing his question, looked at Diana, who had come to his side and carefully laid down, resting on one arm.

“I’ve been checking every day since we first got together.”

“……”

At the truth that she had been using pregnancy tests every day with the single-minded desire to have his child, he immediately turned and hugged Diana tightly.

“Thank you.”

It was difficult to express all the complex emotions he was feeling right now in words.

But one thing was certain.

“Really, really… thank you.”

This woman, who carried his child in her slender, soft belly, was so, so… lovely and grateful.

He was not loved by his parents.

An orphan who was abandoned as soon as he was born, living under the gaze of a harsh world… had become a parent.

“…Can I, can I do it well?”

Could an orphan who had not been loved properly play the role of a parent?

Tightly…

Diana gently hugged Balkan, who was making a confused expression, weighed down by responsibility.

She didn’t want him to bear such a heavy burden.

Because…

“Balkan.”

“……”

“It’s not ‘I.’ You’re not alone.”

“……”

“This child is our child.”

The birth of a baby is not a responsibility to be borne by only one person.

At least, that’s what Diana thought.

If this child was proof that they loved each other.

“Let’s raise them together, as a couple, with love.”

Diana, having faced an unexpected side of the man who was much younger than herself but still reliable, smiled gently inside.

Balkan felt the tension gradually leaving him as he felt the touch of her hand patting his back.

And, he thought of one thing.

‘…Let’s do our best.’

He couldn’t let his child be born in a Monster field.

He couldn’t just stand by and watch those who would defile and threaten the world this fragile life would live in continue to live and breathe.

Like a warrior making a resolution before going to war.

Having made up his mind, he finished his tiring day in Diana’s arms.

There was little time to prepare for the Labyrinth trip, but there was no shortage of preparation.

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry.”

After a passionate goodbye hug with Diana, he entrusted the supplies to Denji early in the morning and headed to Jirnier’s Weaponry.

‘I told her to protect the house and the surface since she’s pregnant.’

Diana would participate in this city defense, but she would not join the journey into the Labyrinth like the Pacification Ritual.

Creak.

Opening the back door of Jirnier’s Weaponry, he immediately felt the intense heat concentrated in the workshop.

“Yo.”

In the center of the workshop, a sweat-soaked half-dwarf waved his arms.

Perhaps it was due to the fatigue of excessive overnight repairs, combined with being soaked in alcohol, his condition was terrible.

The tightly fastened overalls had slipped down halfway, revealing his chocolate-tanned breasts and apricot-colored areolas precariously.

His skin, baked by the intense heat of the furnace, was glistening with sweat like high-quality beef.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Yeah. I’ve worked hard. Thanks to whom, though. Do you know that?”

“Haha…”

“I originally had appointments to repair other people’s Weaponry today, but I canceled them to fix your Weaponry. Thanks to you, Jirnier had to postpone repair appointments. I haven’t made a mistake like this since I was a novice blacksmith.”

Balkan smiled bitterly at Jirnier, who was taking credit.

It was something he deserved to take credit for.

The work of restoring the Armor that had been half-melted back to its original state.

It was something that other blacksmiths wouldn’t have even attempted in the first place, and it was a crazy feat that Jirnier was able to accomplish just in time.

“Thanks to Jirnier’s Weaponry, I can avoid dying. Really, if it weren’t for this Armor, I would have lost my head several times.”

“Heh. It’s rewarding to hear you say that. Follow me.”

“Where to?”

“You have to try it on before you leave. I’m confident that I’ve restored it to its original state, but there might be places that don’t fit, and, ahem, there might be some places I need to look at a little more closely? As a blacksmith, I can’t let my customers wear uncomfortable defensive gear.”

Certainly, he wasn’t wrong.

As he followed Jirnier to the Weaponry storage in the corner of the workshop, a familiar material caught his eye.

“That’s Black Dragon’s…”

“Tail and legs? As soon as I heard the news yesterday, I had my employees get them.”

As expected, it was Jirnier who had purchased the Black Dragon’s byproducts.

“It takes quite a while to refine that. Your Armor also has Black Dragon’s claws in it, so it would be good to make it into a Relic and use it together, it’ll have good synergy.”

He felt strange at the implication that he would naturally give it to him.

The thought of ‘I have a child now’ and ‘Wouldn’t it be okay for a business partner who is a friend of my wife and has similar goals to receive that much?’ crossed his mind.

‘Still, I have to do what I have to do…’

Balkan nodded inwardly and stared at the Armor hanging on the mannequin in the center of the Weaponry storage.

There, was an item that had been transformed from the melted, tattered Armor he had entrusted to Jirnier into a shiny, high-quality Full body armor that couldn’t even be compared to what it was before.

“The functions as a Relic are the same. I didn’t have time to add more.”

“It’s already good enough, so it’s okay.”

It was a pleasure just to be able to wear the Armor again.

As he took the Armor off the mannequin to wear it, he immediately felt a subtle gaze.

It was naturally Jirnier’s gaze.

“Gulp…”

Even the sound of swallowing saliva was clearly audible.

Balkan heard the sound of a woman suppressing a strong impulse and put on the Armor in front of her.

Fortunately, there were no uncomfortable points.

“Ah……”

The sigh of regret that he heard after putting on the Armor must have been what he heard.

“Don’t treat it roughly this time. If it gets that damaged again, it’ll be difficult for even me to fix it.”

“I didn’t damage it on purpose… but you’ll still fix it again, right?”

“…You’ve become so sly. I don’t know! Fix it yourself.”

“Thank you as always. Business partner.”

“……Eugh…!”

Clang! Clang clang!

Balkan chuckled as he watched the half-dwarf, who seemed to be telling him to leave quickly because she was embarrassed, hit the back of the Armor with a hammer.

He had the Armor, so all the preparations were now complete.

Labyrinth Entrance.

Even though it was the day the Labyrinth Entrance Portal opened, the number of explorers around it was less than half of what it usually was.

“With all this commotion going on around here, only the really desperate guys would go into the Labyrinth.”

Jubel clicked his tongue as he looked around the Labyrinth Entrance.

Explorer Association employees were busily moving around, setting up barricades and Monster interception Relics around the Labyrinth Entrance.

Their numbers had doubled since last night.

As the cycle of the Omen Phenomenon had come to be about ten days, the Explorer Association, the royal family, and the Order were all doing their best.

“Krrr! Thank you for your help to the temple. Sir Balkan!”

While watching those preparing for security, a lion Beast-man with a familiar face smiled, baring his teeth, and approached.

It was Jellishi, a mid-level Priest of The Great Mother Goddess Order, dressed in a neat Priest robe.

“Are you going to this Pacification Ritual as well, Jellishi?”

As they had a connection in Eden before, Balkan showed goodwill and extended his hand first.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The lion Beast-man’s fangs shone sharply as he roughly grabbed and shook his hand.

“Of course. Not only me, but more than half of the Order’s elite Priests and Paladins have been dispatched. If we can’t prevent the disaster and the people of this city are harmed, The Great Mother Goddess will surely be saddened! Krrr!”

The lion Beast-man Priest, laughing heartily, shook hands with the party members as well.

“Are these Sir Balkan’s party members! I’ve heard rumors about you, so please take care of me!”

“I am Denji, the master’s exclusive stress relief punching bag, secretary, pet, baby seed receiver, and shield and slave who will not be able to give birth to the first child first, but will definitely get pregnant with the second child.”

“……Uh, ah, uh… Krrr…?”

“Eungae…”

“Ahem! Ah! Sir Nuer! Long time no see! When I saw you in the past, you were dressed like a Dark Elf, so I didn’t know where to look, but now… um. A yellow kindergarten uniform. I’m glad you found a healthy hobby!”

“Ttyuttaat…”

“………”

“Please take care of me. I am Jubel, the best swordsman in the Balkan party. Although I am the only swordsman.”

“Um! You seem to have a bright look in your eyes, so I think we’ll get along well! Please take ca… Krr, krrr…! W, why are you suddenly touching your chest while greeting me?!! Krr!!!”

“It’s to make a favorable impression when greeting someone for the first time, so understand… Ah, kkuh… Strong Milk Sandaat…”

“…Oh my god. Ah! The Great Mother Goddess! Why this ordeal!!! How could the party members of Sir Balkan, who even caught the Demon Worshiper of Arrogance, be such devils!! What did that faithful lamb who wields dazzling Divinity do wrong to deserve this ordeal!!”

There was a bit of noise, but it wasn’t a big problem.

“……Sir Balkan. You’ve been through a lot.”

“I think I’ve been through a lot too, but they’re all kind.”

Even after hearing the answer, Jellishi, whose eyes seemed even more pitiful, looked at the trash can Relic on his back.

“Is that the Demon Worshiper of Arrogance?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good. Serif asked if you could bring Sir Balkan along with the Arrogance Worshiper.”

“Us?”

“They said that considerable consumption is expected due to the Black Dragon on the 9th floor, so they were wondering if they could move you with Portal Magic.”

The big turd Ignorion shat out, the Black Dragon, is still on the 9th floor.

With the Omen Phenomenon and the Monsters of the middle floors being pushed up from the Labyrinth to the surface, it was certain that this would happen.

In that situation, would the Black Dragon, who was even injured, make the decision to break through the oncoming Monsters and return to the 32nd floor, or would it make the decision to go to the surface along with the Monster’s backflow?

No one knows the answer yet, but looking at Jellishi’s expression, the latter was probably more likely.

In order to prevent the terrible disaster of a Monster from the 32nd floor roaming the skies of the surface and spewing Breath, the handling of the Black Dragon had to be discussed.

Clunk. Clunk!

The trash can in which Ignorion was tied up shook violently. It meant he could give an answer.

“Please guide us to Serif. I think I can give you an answer.”

“I understand! Krrr!”

Jellishi, nodding, immediately guided us to the center of the Labyrinth Entrance, and there.

“Ah, Sir Balkan…!”

There was Serif, the white cat Nun, who turned around as soon as she smelled his scent.

…For some reason, she was wearing clothes with more exposure than the Priest robe she usually wore, and the clothes around her butt were torn.

Perhaps sensing the gaze.

“Ah, th, this is! It’s a Combat suit for high-ranking Priests… I wore it after a long time, and it’s slightly torn…! Ahaha…”

Serif, hastily curling her white cat tail to cover her exposed butt, wore an expression of embarrassment, awkwardness, and.

…A slightly lewd smile.