Chapter 154: Do (1)

Chapter 154: Do (1)

The
conversation with Nate Elin ended late at night.

I
told her I’d visit the temple tomorrow and carefully opened the inn
door.

“Balkan,
is that you?”

Diana’s
voice came immediately.

She
was sitting at a corner table and waved at me.

Ellie
was napping with her chin propped up beside Diana.

“It’s
way past closing time, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Hmm,
I was worried because you didn’t come back for so long…”

Ah,
a woman who stays up waiting for her man.

How
could she be so sweet?

I
naturally approached Diana and hugged her.

“Whew…”

Crushed
by my thick, solid body, Diana buried her face in my chest and let
out a sweet sigh.

“Mmm…?”

Ellie,
who had been dozing off, woke up with a start.

“Oh,
you two again!”

Seeing
me and Diana hugging, Ellie joined us from behind.

After
our night together, the mother and daughter had grown closer, and
their breasts pressed against me from both sides, testing my
patience.

We
hugged tightly for a while before reluctantly separating.

Our
eyes then turned to the person we had neglected.

“Taa-taaa…”

The
dark elf, Nuer, was crawling on the floor, sucking her thumb.

“Is
this…an elf?”

“She’s
one of Idelbert’s subordinates. Why is she like this…?”

Ellie
muttered something that sounded almost profane, and Diana looked
confused.

I
briefly explained the situation to them.

My
encounter with the succubi, the battle, and the Puppeteer.

I
couldn’t trust anyone else but them.

“The
succubi again…”

Ellie
frowned, remembering her experience with them. Diana reacted
sensitively to the mention of the Puppeteer.

‘So
the Puppeteer is a woman.’

I
learned a piece of insignificant information.

“Do
you know about the Puppeteer?”

“Balkan,
you shouldn’t get involved with such a woman. It’ll only cause you
trouble. Besides, the succubi are more of a problem.”

Diana
changed the subject, avoiding my question about the Puppeteer.

“Isn’t
it because of the curse? If we remove the nightmare curse, the
succubi might leave you alone.”

Ellie
mumbled, stroking her lower abdomen with a slightly regretful tone.

Even
though she enjoyed the mark of servitude, she seemed to care more
about my safety.

I
gently stroked Ellie’s head. Diana looked hesitant.

“I
don’t think so. The succubi have already discovered your superior
yang energy. If we remove the curse, they might resort to even more
extreme measures to make you an incubus. It would be better to take
advantage of the current situation where they are friendly towards
you.”

“That’s
true…”

I
thought deeper about it. Just removing the curse wouldn’t necessarily
make the succubi lose interest in me.

The
succubi, or rather, the worshiper of lust, had been unusually
interested in me.

Perhaps
I could use this situation to my advantage.

‘They
didn’t say when they would come back…’

The
marks on my wound, where the magic had been inscribed, had already
faded naturally. They were very thorough.

“Yawnn…”

Ellie
yawned. She tried to hide her tiredness, but it was obvious to both
of us.

“Thank
you both for waiting. Shall we go to sleep?”

“Of
course. You’ve worked hard. Go and rest.”

I
decided that worrying about them wouldn’t solve anything.

Resting
and refreshing my mind would be more helpful.

“Taauu…”

“Oh,
Nuer. What should we do with her?”

“Since
it’s late, we should let her stay at the inn for now, but…”

Ellie
looked at Nuer, who was trying to pull at my pants.

“Even
though she’s mentally a child, she’s still physically an adult elf. I
think she should have a separate room.”

“Yes,
I agree.”

We
decided to give Nuer a separate room.

I
carried Nuer to the bed again.

“Taau.
Taauu!”

“Hush
now, Nuer. It’s time to sleep.”

“Taau!!!”

Ellie
gave her a pacifier.

Suck,
suck.

Nuer
closed her eyes and fell asleep immediately.

I
gave Ellie a thumbs up and went to my room.

I
took out a wooden box from my pocket.

It
was the reward Nuer had given me.

Whoosh!

As
soon as I opened the box, a bright blue light filled the room.

It
was a magic potion created on the 21st floor, filled with the magic
of frost.

I
took out the round potion.

‘I
guess I’ll just drink it.’

I
hadn’t even considered selling it for money.

My
encounter with the Puppeteer had made me realize just how powerless I
was.

I
needed to become stronger, much stronger than I am now, to protect
those within my reach and to find my missing sister.

I
gulped and swallowed the potion.

“Did
anything change?”

There
was no immediate change. Even when I checked my status, it was the
same.

It
seemed my body needed time to digest the power of the potion.

There
was nothing else to do so I lay down on the bed immediately.

I
closed my eyes as the sun began to rise outside.

I
was cold.

My
whole body was goosebumps and chills, and my neck was stiff.

When
I opened my eyes, I was walking on snow.

“What?”

Before
I could question where I was, I felt a strange presence behind me.

No,
it wasn’t just a presence.

“Grrr…”

It
was the roar of a beast, a sound no human could make.

On
the snowy field, a lion-like creature with white fur and mane stood
on four legs, glaring at me.

“What
are you looking at, you bastard?”

“Roar!”

As
soon as I muttered, the white lion roared and charged at me, ready to
bite.

I
had no weapon, but I was confident I could fight the white lion.

Weapons
were just tools.

As
long as my body was intact, I could tear apart any beast or monster.

Crack!

I
grabbed the beast’s wide-open mouth with both hands, ready to bite
me.

“Grrr?!”

It
tried to close its jaws, but I wouldn’t let it.

Instead,
I tightened my grip on its jaws and pulled them apart.

Crack,
crack!

The
beast’s fangs pierced my palms.

Blood
dripped onto the pristine white snow, but I didn’t care.

I
continued to pull its jaws apart with all my might.

Crack,
crack, crack!

The
muscles in the beast’s jaw, which was stretched to its limit, tore.

The
white lion roared louder, but it was no longer the brave and
confident roar it had been.

It
was the roar of a coward, filled with fear and desperation,
struggling to survive.

Soon,
my hands were free from the beast’s torn jaw.

Swoosh!

The
white lion’s blood, gushing from its torn jaw, drenched my head and
stained the white snow red.

I
blinked, and I was back in bed.

My
palms were sweaty, and my bed and pillow were stiff, as if they had
been frozen in the cold winter night.

The
freezing sensation had spread only as far as my bed, as the wooden
walls of the room were still dry.

‘So
this is the power of the frost magic.’

It
was very good news.

This
ability would be extremely helpful in the higher floors where each
floor had its own season.

Just
as I was about to check my status, I heard a desperate cry from the
next room.

“Waah!
Waah waah!”

It
was Nuer’s voice.

“What’s
going on?!”

I
rushed into Nuer’s room and saw Ellie and Diana looking down at Nuer.

“Ah,
ah…”

Diana
covered her face and sighed, while Ellie, who was more composed,
noticed me.

“Ellie,
what’s going on?”

“She…she
peed.”

“Waah!
Waah waah!”

Nuer
cried in a mature voice as she removed the pacifier from her mouth.

She’s
really coming around, I thought.

***

“Who’s
the woman behind you…? Wait, is that Nuer? Wasn’t she once under
Sir Idelbert, the former paladin…?”

“It
is Nuer, but…she’s just a baby now. Mentally, she’s very far gone.”

“Oooh…slurp,
suck…ummyam…”

“Hmm…well,
ahem. Understood.”

Nate
Elin, who was staring at Nuer on my back—wearing a diaper and
sucking on a pacifier—with a strange expression, finally nodded.

Then
she tilted her head toward the temple’s carriage she had arrived in.

“Get
in.”

We
headed to the temple to meet Serif and, at the same time, to remove
the arousal spell still on Nuer.