Chapter 118: Ego Axe Bunny (2)

Chapter 118: Ego Axe Bunny
(2)

After
a hearty breakfast as a mother-daughter trio, Ellie and I headed
straight to the Explorers’ Union.

I
was going there to claim the reward Professor Mankostil had sent me.

“But
Ellie. Why are you following me?”

“Hmph.
I’m bored, I don’t have to go to the Academy for classes anymore, and
I have the next two months off.”

Last
night, in the carriage ride back to the inn, Ellie had decided on her
own path and told me and Diana.

She
was going to be a royal mage.

Considering
that most mages make it their lifelong goal to become a noble vassal,
let alone a royal mage, Ellie was literally off the starting line.

After
agreeing to be scouted by the royal family, Ellie was given a
two-month break.

In
other words, she’s just a bored idler for now.

“If
you don’t want to, I’ll just stay at the inn.”

“I
don’t mean no, I’m just curious. Do you want to come with me?”

“⋯Hihihi.
Yes!”

She
was in a state of panic mode when she saw my dick in the morning and
ran out in surprise but when I asked her if she wanted to come with
me, she was back to positive mode.

She
gingerly grabbed my arm and trotted after me.

As
soon as we entered the Explorers’ Union, I saw a lot of people
struggling with the morning.

“Are
all of them explorers?”

“Mostly?
Not all, but there are a lot of clients. Well, most of them are
low-level or mid-level.”

From
what I’d heard at Diana’s tavern, most high-level Explorers who were
serious about tackling the Labyrinth stayed in Eden, a safe zone on
the 15th floor.

‘I
heard there’s an Explorers’ Union branch there.’

That’s
why it’s rare to see high-level Explorers in the Explorers’ Union
branches on the ground.

Well,
that’s one thing.

“Junior
Explorer Balkan. We’ve got you, please take your package to the
right.”

I
went to the window, verified my identity, and took the package.

I
don’t know what was inside, but it was lighter than I expected.

“It’s
from the professor, so it must be something magical, right?”

“I
don’t know. She said she’d send me something to help me explore the
Labyrinth.”

I
wondered. What could it be?

We
sat down at a suitable table and carefully opened the package.

What
we found was.

“It’s
a backpack.”

“⋯Backpack.”

It
was a very ordinary-looking bag.

A
very lightweight backpack, not too big, not too small.

“This
is it?”

A
wave of resentment washed over me.

This
is what she gives me as a reward? She didn’t even give me an Outlaw
Slayer’s Certificate to hide the fact that outlaws had infiltrated
the Academy?

I
opened the backpack and stuck my arm in, wondering if this was it.

-Swoosh.

My
arm went right in. I stuck my arm through the backpack, but my hand
didn’t even touch the bottom of the backpack.

“What
the hell, Balkan, is that a subspace backpack?!!”

That’s
when I heard a voice behind me.

I
turned around to see Jubeel and Joy Hog approaching the table we were
sitting at.

Seeing
them, Ellie whispered quietly to me.

“⋯Who
are they?”

“My
party. That cow over there is Jubeel, and the dwarf is Joy Hog.”

“Oppa
coworkers⋯?
Oh, hi, I’m Ellie, and I’m, uh, a wizard, uh, um. I’m especially good
with fire elemental magic!”

Ellie
jumped to her feet and smiled broadly at them both.

“Uhhh.
An earwig? Well, you must be a nice earwig, seeing as you’re next to
Balkan. I’m Joy Hog.”

“I’m
Jubeel. My specialty is shooting breast milk far away. My hobby is
developing mammary glands. When I wake up in the morning, I always
drink my breast milk to wake up. If I drink the fresh breast milk
that I pumped first thing every morning, I can tell what my condition
will be like that day.”

“⋯⋯⋯ah.
Yes⋯”

Ellie
nodded dazedly, her face a mask of confusion.

I
knew that sensation all too well, because it made me feel frazzled
just being around her.

“What’s
going on with you two all of a sudden?”

“I’ve
been resting for a month, so I’m feeling a bit bored. I came here
to see if there was any commission I could take on. Anyway, is that a
subspace backpack?!”

Joy
Hog and Jubeel gawked at the backpack Professor Mankostil had sent
me.

“What’s
so great about this?”

“It’s
a scarce artifact! I’ve been scouring the black market in the
shopping districts and Outlaw District for months, and the listings
have dried up!”

“Compared
to the personal subspace used by the real pros, it has a lot of
limitations, but still, it’s something, right? Whenever one comes
out, it gets auctioned off at the highest bid right away. The most
recent one sold for 30 gold coins, I think? It had a capacity of 20
kg.”

The
artifact backpack was worth 30 gold coins.

That
was the true value of this backpack.

‘My
whole life’s savings is worth 5 gold coins⋯’

As
expected of the professor. The gift it’s a bit overwhelming, but so
what?

According
to her, it’s a fair reward for my hard work.

I
apologized for calling her old and looked at my subspace backpack.

“If
you aim for the middle floor or higher, there are a lot of things you
have to bring with you. Hehe. I’m jealous.”

“I’m
tired of packing before I even start fighting monsters.”

The
two joined the table and talked casually.

“Soon
we’ll have to decide where to go next.”

“I
honestly think the twelfth floor is a possibility.”

I
frowned slightly at Joy Hog’s words.

The
Labyrinth had a total of 34 floors.

If
the first through eleventh floors were the upper levels, used by
low-level explorers.

The
twelfth floor is where the lowest of the mid-level explorers operate,
in other words, the gateway to the middle tier.

This
isn’t to say that low-level Explorers shouldn’t go there, but rather
that on average, you should be an intermediate level Explorer to be
able to act on the 12th floor.

“Isn’t
this a bit too fast, we went to the 8th floor last time?”

“That’s
because we went to the eighth floor. The only thing that changes from
level 8 to level 11 are the monsters and terrain, but the overall
exploration difficulty is the same.”

“Gellan’s
party, who were close to being mid-level explorers, reached the 12th
floor.”

Gellan,
the man who had accompanied us to the eighth floor last time, was
turned into an idiot by outlaws and trolling.

Hearing
that he had made it to the 12th floor, I suddenly felt an
unexplainable surge of confidence.

‘If
he could do it, why can’t I?’

But
such impulsive overconfidence has always been a danger in the
Labyrinth.

I
have to be objective about my own and my party’s power, and I can’t
afford to be unnecessarily arrogant.

“So
far, our party has gained blessings, changed equipment, fought that
abomination to the death, and gained enlightenment. With this level
of spec increase, we are ready to challenge the realm of mid-level
explorers.”

“Hmph.”

But
Joy Hog had a point.

Due
to the various events in the Labyrinth, our party had grown even
more.

Aside
from me, they were originally a party that belonged to the top tier
of low-level explorers.

“Moreover.
You’ve officially joined the party. Don’t you realize that your level
has already surpassed that of a normal low-level explorer?”

“⋯⋯”

“In
my three years as an explorer, I’ve never seen such a monstrous
growth rate as yours.”

“That’s
right. It seems like it was just yesterday that I saved you on the
5th floor.”

Joy
Hog and Jubeel’s words reminded me of the battle with the outlaw
Kalino.

It
was a life-or-death encounter with an outlaw who was the equivalent
of a mid-level explorer and I wasn’t even wearing my main gear at the
time.

Although
I couldn’t simply compare hand-to-hand combat to fighting monsters, I
had done quite well even in that state.

“Hmm.”

While
I was pondering, Ellie, who was sitting next to me, quietly snorted
as if she wanted us to recognize her.

Jubeel
caught it.

“What
is it, Ellie? Are you interested in the Labyrinth too?”

“Hmph.
Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, wouldn’t I?”

“⋯Wait
a minute. So, you’re that kid from the academy, the one who melted
the minotaur?”

Damn.
I had underestimated Jubeel’s intelligence.

I
thought she would have forgotten, but she clearly remembered Ellie’s
performance.

“Ah,
her!”

Jubeel’s
words seemed to jog Joy Hog’s memory as well.

Their
eyes changed as they looked at Ellie.

That’s
the look of someone who wants to recruit a rolling gem.

“Stop
moving.”

“What?!”

I
grabbed Ellie’s shoulders as she slowly tried to pull her hips away,
pulling her closer to my body.

“Uhhhh!”

Ellie
came hard into my arms. Her face was buried in my pectoralis major.

“You
want to take a barely grown kid to the 12^th
floor? Are you all out of your mind?”

Ellie
may be free for the next two months, but she’s about to become a
royal mage.

Why
drag her into the world of explorers, with all its dangers, when she
could easily succeed in the open?

Of
course, a companion would be a great help, but I was more worried
than that.

“Hmmm.
Well. I’m not saying we’re going to recruit her right away.”

“It’s
a possibility. Judging by her magic power, she’ll be able to take on
even mid-tier beasts.”

“Hmph!”

Ellie
snorted at their words but my pectoralis major muscle tickled.

Ellie’s
shoulders shook. Her flapping elf ears slapped the back of her hand.

“Ah.
I’m sorry, Ellie.”

I
must have hugged her too hard in my haste.

I
released my grip on her shoulders, and she slowly slid away from me,
her face flushed red.

“Haa.”

Red
liquid trickled from Ellie’s nose as she breathed out in a daze.

A
nosebleed.

In
hindsight, I realized that the T-shirt Diana had bought her was also
slightly stained with blood.

“Are
you okay? Here’s a tissue.”

“⋯⋯Ah,
no. Thanks for the tissues,
oppa.”

I
grabbed some tissues from the tissue box on the table and held them
up to Ellie’s nose.

“Oh,
I’ll do it⋯
Oooh⋯”

“It’s
okay, hold still.”

I
carefully wiped Ellie’s nosebleed and looked at Joy Hog and Jubeel.

“Anyway,
I’ll do better, so don’t even think about touching Ellie. I’ll
think positively about the 12th floor.”

“Uhhh.
Okay.”

I
said we’d meet again later and left.

I
was thinking of taking Ellie back to the inn because she didn’t seem
to be feeling well.

“⋯It’s
like watching a father doting on his daughter.”

“Heh.
Papa pang⋯
Baby seed milk⋯
Papa I want to give birth to a child⋯
Papa impregnate your daughter with your cum⋯
Kwah-uh. Ogo-go-go-gogogog⋯”

“Jubeel.
Please⋯
please get a grip⋯
I’m so ashamed of myself
for going with you⋯”

I
pretended not to hear the conversation behind me.

***

A
few days later, I headed to Zirnier’s workshop.

Last
night. The manager of Zirnier’s workshop had come to the inn.

—Is
it you, Lord Balkan? Lord Zirnier Besil is looking for you.

As
a blacksmith, she had only one reason to seek me out.

The
armor forged from the Soulstone of [Gluttony] is finally complete.