Ch.1414. The Priest Who Gives Generously

I couldn’t understand the current situation.

First, Shiro apologized and pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve.

I understood up to this point.

“Do you think I like smelling your scent, Shiro?”

“Yes.”

But from here, I couldn’t quite understand.

I tried to hide my genuine confusion and asked as calmly as possible.

“Why?”

“This morning, you did.”

No, I never said anything like that.

Just as I was feeling wronged, I remembered something I had said.

-It smells like lavender.

I had joked about the bedding being full of lavender scent, but she seemed to have misunderstood my words.

“…Really?”

Shiro placed her index finger on her chin and tilted her head to the side.

She seemed doubtful. From her perspective, I must have appeared to be a clear pervert.

I’m really not.

“I don’t have that kind of preference.”

I pleaded with emotion.

“…You don’t like arms?”

She looked down at her own body while saying that. Crazy.

“No, Shiro, not that. I don’t have that strange preference of smelling people and getting excited.”

“I see.”

Far from dispelling her doubts, her attitude suggested that no matter how much I denied it, she knew the truth.

She still seemed suspicious, but then, as if deciding to believe me, she asked one question.

“Then, do you dislike the scent of a woman’s body?”

“…”

Well, no. Um.

“I’m not… really sure.”

“…”

When I answered ambiguously, she gave me a suspicious look.

This is really frustrating.

***

Afterward, we didn’t have any more conversations like that.

We just discussed how to handle the party and how to move in the next Labyrinth.

After talking about such things, we left the park.

‘This is awkward.’

Since Shiro had been expressionless throughout our conversation, I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking at all.

Does she still think I like her body scent?

It’s somewhat ambiguous.

Anyway, we stopped in front of the fountain in the square.

“Adel.”

Shiro looked at me and spoke.

Since we had to go in different directions from the fountain, she seemed to want to say something final.

I maintained a slight tension as I answered her.

“Yes, Shiro.”

“See you when the Labyrinth opens. And…”

Shiro suddenly grabbed my hand.

I was too surprised to speak.

“Here.”

She placed something in my hand and disappeared into the crowd.

By the time I came to my senses, she had already vanished.

“…What is this?”

I felt something soft in my hand.

Curious about what it was, I opened my palm and saw something quite embarrassing.

…It was a handkerchief with the scent of lavender.

***

Nothing special happened until the next Labyrinth opening.

Just that one item that should never be touched was added to the nightstand beside my bed.

‘I should return it.’

During the past days, I didn’t even glance at ‘that’ object, keeping it far away.

I wasn’t that kind of person, and we were comrades who would be working together in the same party.

Unless it was pure love, looking at her with eyes full of desire would disqualify me as a human being.

Calming my pounding heart, I grabbed the handkerchief just before leaving.

“Adel.”

When I arrived at the square, Shiro was walking toward me from the opposite side, calling my name.

“Hello. It’s been a while.”

“Yes.”

And then she just stood there silently. She didn’t seem to care about the handkerchief she had given me last time.

‘Was I being too sensitive?’

Actually, do all elves have a body scent fetish?

So she gave me the gift as if it were natural, and there wasn’t any misunderstanding or strange incident?

…Such thoughts crossed my mind briefly, but I dismissed them. If that were the crazy setting, the original work would have been an adult game.

I took out the handkerchief I had stored in my spatial inventory.

“Here. You gave this to me last time, so I’m returning it.”

“…”

Shiro received the handkerchief, stared at it for a moment, then raised her eyes to meet mine.

“…It’s intact?”

What do you take me for?

“I don’t have that kind of preference.”

“So it’s not just arms you dislike…”

Then where was this from if not from your arm?

I really wanted to ask but barely held back.

Instead, I decided to ask Shiro a different question.

“Have you ever given gifts like this before?”

“Exactly what?”

She tilted her head and asked innocently.

Are you pretending not to understand to mess with me?

“Things that were attached to your body… similar to this handkerchief.”

When I finally spoke directly, she frowned slightly and replied with a puzzled expression.

“Of course not.”

Her answer suggested that I was asking about something obvious.

“Then why did you give it to me?”

“Because you seemed to like it.”

“Would you do the same for anyone else who liked it?”

“…”

At this point, Shiro hesitated to answer.

As I spoke, it had turned into an interrogation.

“I’m sorry for asking so hastily. I’m not trying to question you, Shiro, so you don’t have to answer…”

“…You are… a comrade.”

Shiro muttered quietly.

“I thought I could trust you.”

“…”

Now I feel like the bad guy.

“Shiro, I really appreciate your feelings. And I’m sorry I didn’t realize your intentions sooner.”

Maybe Shiro was trying to express her gratitude to me in her own way.

“But you don’t need to do things like that for me.”

Perhaps she’s awkward with people and misunderstood my joke as a genuine preference, and gave me the gift because she felt indebted.

“Just having you by my side is enough for me. That’s sufficient.”

I smiled awkwardly at Shiro, expressing myself.

“…You seem like a somewhat strange person.”

“I hear that sometimes.”

“That might be why it’s okay.”

Shiro turned and headed toward the portal entrance line, and I followed behind her.

There was no further conversation until the Labyrinth portal opened, but the silence alone was enough for now.

***

We entered the first floor.

My equipment level could be considered mid-tier adventurer grade, and Shiro, with her silver elf hair and absorbed Source, was beyond question.

“Adel, there’s a gray wolf ahead.”

By now, the first floor was less challenging than a running game for us.

-Slash!

After all, hadn’t we experienced life-and-death battles last time?

Both of us had grown from pure combat experience, regardless of equipment or Source.

‘This is too easy.’

The reward for defeating the Shade Predator, growth from combat experience, armor reinforcement.

Each one was a significant change, and I had fulfilled all three after just one Labyrinth exploration.

If I had been an explorer for three years from the beginning of my possession, I wouldn’t have become this strong so quickly.

They say there’s joy after pain. Right now, I’m very satisfied with the present.

“We arrived really quickly this time.”

We reached the second floor after about half a day.

Perhaps because we arrived so quickly, there weren’t many people at the base camp.

The only ones present were explorers from large guilds. Those people could be overwhelmingly fast thanks to detection magic.

‘We should gather some party members when going to the third floor.’

Detection magic could be replaced with Source later, but for now, to create the ultimate party I envisioned, I needed to gather more priests.

One magic swordsman, one support-type vanguard mage, two priests.

By the way, I’m the magic swordsman. Being half-elf and half-barbarian, I have excellent magical talent.

Magic costs a lot to learn, so I haven’t learned it yet, but later I plan to focus entirely on physical enhancement magic.

“Shiro.”

After setting up camp and resting, I called out to her sitting next to me.

“Yes.”

“There’s something I didn’t explain properly before. After getting the Source on the second floor, I want to recruit priest party members. What do you think?”

By the way, this time we came as a two-person party under the pretext of Source farming.

We came as a duo because we needed to go to the Hidden Dungeon, but after getting the Source there, I planned to immediately recruit party members.

“…A two-person party seems fine too.”

But Shiro said something strange.

“You mean just the two of us without priests?”

“Yes.”

From the third floor onward, having priests makes things much more convenient.

The concept of the third floor is a volcanic area.

Priests can pull their weight just by casting heat resistance blessings there.

Of course, if you get lost outside the volcanic area, having priests can be a disadvantage, but that’s just bad luck, so let’s skip that.

“Is there any particular reason we should go just the two of us?”

I asked out of genuine curiosity.

If she presented a valid reason, I was willing to accept it, but…

“…”

At my question, Shiro showed signs of hesitation, then finally spoke with a reluctant expression.

“I… prefer just the two of us.”

She prefers having just the two of us in the party.

It wasn’t exactly reasonable, but I understood to some extent.

Since she doesn’t easily trust others and remains cautious,

‘…’

My heart tried to interpret Shiro’s words differently, but after an intense internal conflict, I dismissed the thought.

She simply finds other people awkward.

If there’s any objection to this conclusion, it’s probably a misunderstanding.

…Probably.

“Still, from the third floor onward, it’s better to have priests. Can’t we work something out?”

She seemed unaware of the seriousness since she had never died in the Labyrinth, but the Labyrinth was a real-life battle where lives were at stake.

I, who had invested my life in this game and learned from countless deaths, knew the dangers of the Labyrinth best.

‘Actually, using scrolls would be the best option.’

Protecting priests is also a task, so using heat resistance scrolls would be ideal if possible.

The catch is that they’re monopolized by large guilds, so you can’t get them even if you have money.

“…Alright. I think I was being stubborn.”

I didn’t mention that we would be hunting just the two of us until we consumed the Source, since we planned to stay on the second floor until then.

After visiting the Hidden Dungeon this time, both of us would obtain Source, and then it would be time to go beyond the third floor to the fourth.

“Thank you for understanding.”

All I could do was smile and express my gratitude.

So, we were resting while looking at the sky approaching summer when…

“Adel and Shiro. It’s been a while.”

A gentle voice came from the side.

“Ah, Priestess.”

Light golden hair and jewel-like blue eyes.

It was Priestess Airi.

“Thank you so much for last time.”

“No, it’s my guild and I who should be thankful.”

When Airi said this with a pure smile, it felt as if a holy radiance emanated from her body.

In the game, high-tier priests were like that. I was surprised to see that even mid-tier priests were like this in reality.

“So, our Polaris Guild decided to give you and Shiro a thank-you gift.”

“A gift?”

I glanced at Shiro. She was looking at the sky, seemingly uninterested.

Should I accept on behalf of both of us?

“Are you and Shiro in the same fixed party?”

“Yes. We’ve decided to stay together from this Labyrinth onward.”

“That makes things a bit easier then.”

Airi took out a spatial pouch from somewhere. Where did that come from?

“With your skills, you’ll soon be heading to the third floor, right? In preparation for that… here are heat resistance scrolls provided by the guild.”

“…You’re giving us these?”

She handed me five or six scrolls.

Heat resistance scrolls, like monsters, are divided into five grades.

Grades 4-5 are sufficient for the third floor, but what she gave me were grade 3 scrolls.

With these, you could easily withstand diving into magma for about 10 seconds.

“Yes! And if you need anything else, please let me know. I have most things prepared in my pouch.”

“…Then, would cold resistance scrolls be possible?”

This was to prepare for the cold region you might encounter on the third floor if you’re unlucky.

The chances are low, but since you only have one life, it’s best to prepare if possible.

“Yes, of course. Here you go!”

She took out grade 3 cold resistance scrolls from her spatial inventory. Again, there were five or six of them.

“Is there anything else you might need?”

“Am I allowed to receive more than this?”

“Yes, of course. The guild master… no, our guild said to support you two as much as possible.”

I don’t know why the guild is supporting me, but they don’t seem to be planning anything strange.

Since mid-tier priests and above lose their holy power if they commit sins, the person in front of me was at least trustworthy.

‘But why give so much?’

The average price of a grade 3 scroll is around 1 million Ars. Moreover, they’re monopolized by certain guilds, making them hard to obtain even with money.

Yet, after giving me several of these items, she’s asking if I want more?

“Then, would poison resistance scrolls be possible?”

Let’s see if she’ll give me these too.

Poison resistance scrolls are extremely rare, priced about three times higher than scrolls of the same grade.

Monsters that use poison appear from at least the fifth floor, but there was no harm in receiving scrolls in advance.

“Hmm… just a moment.”

She began searching for items in her spatial inventory.

‘I guess not.’

Such scrolls are so rare that people don’t use them unless they’re fighting basilisks that appear around the seventh floor.

So I was ready to be satisfied with the heat and cold scrolls, but…

“…Ah! Found it. I’m sorry, but I only have one of these, here you go.”

At that moment, a grade 3 poison resistance scroll was placed in my hand.

Grade 3 means it could withstand the poison of the basilisk, the seventh floor field boss, for about a minute.

“Then, could I possibly get an antidote? Just to prepare for unforeseen situations…”

“Ah! Of course I can give you that.”

She immediately took out a grade 3 universal antidote and placed it in my hand.

‘This must be worth around 1 million Ars too.’

…What’s going on?