Chapter 209: Getting Ready to go Home (2)

Chapter 209: Getting Ready
to go Home (2)

Nuer’s
palm, covering her red-flushed face, was shaking.

“Khung.
Huk, heu…”

Crouched
on the reception sofa, she buried her face in a posture that seemed
to scream she couldn’t possibly look up.

“Khem…”

Balkan
was sitting on the sofa facing her, but he was a bit worried.

After
pondering for a moment, he carefully opened his mouth.

“Um…
Lady Nuer.”

“…Just
call me Nuer. We’re similar in rank now, so what’s with…”

“Then
I’ll speak comfortably, Nuer. Is your head okay?”

“Wh-What…!”

Isn’t
he speaking too casually?

Nuer
blushed deeply, greatly flustered.

But
for Balkan, it was a genuine concern.

“No,
earlier you were ‘doing that.'”

“……”

“I
wonder if you didn’t fully receive the healing effects of the grand
fountain.”

Though
he tried to phrase it carefully, he essentially meant to ask if she’d
lost her mind.

Indeed,
it was something that couldn’t be done unless there was a problem
with one’s head.

‘A
grown adult, and an elf who lives longer than other races at that,
wearing diapers and playing baby like some age regression…’

-Osooso.

As
goosebumps rose slightly on Nuer’s skin, her shy clitoris hidden
beneath the diaper became slightly erect.

It
was because the memory of being treated like a child and receiving
all sorts of care from Balkan came flooding back.

Quite
some time had passed since Nuer recovered from the side effects of
the puppet curse and returned to daily life.

Though
it was short compared to the time she spent as a ‘baby,’ it was
enough time for self-reflection.

And
Nuer had realized that over the past few weeks, she had long since
crossed a river of no return.

When
she regained her memories at the grand fountain and heard Balkan’s
orders.

When
she unknowingly crawled on all fours like a baby in front of
Idelbert.

When
she masturbated to relieve her sexual desires while resting, and
unknowingly climaxed while shouting “ddutta.”

Though
her stupidity was completely cured, Nuer, who had received Balkan’s
full course of infant care service…had already become a ruined
woman.

She
had become someone who would feel an unbearable thirst if she didn’t
periodically act like a ‘baby’ in her daily life.

‘…There’s
no way I could tell anyone about this.’

An
adult dark elf voluntarily sucking on a pacifier, shaking a rattle,
wearing cute diapers, and feeling sexual arousal while looking at
herself in the mirror…it was something she could never tell anyone.

It
was a sexual preference that had to be buried until death.

‘Why
couldn’t I endure that moment…no, why did you come in without
knocking in the first place…!’

Though
she grumbled internally, what’s done was done.

Nuer
had to respond to Balkan’s question.

Did
she dress up as a baby and shake a rattle in the office of her own
will, or did she act like a ‘baby’ because she lost her mind?

Among
these deadly binary choices, Nuer…

“I
received the healing effects of the grand fountain. But…I don’t
think I’m completely healed yet.”

Choose
the latter.

It
was a bright red lie.

She
had already lost face. But if she chose the latter?

‘…If
I use my mental state as an excuse, couldn’t I act like a baby a bit
more legitimately?’

It
was a crazy idea, but to Nuer, it seemed like an attractive option.

“Hmm.
Well, since you were a baby for such a long time… it’s going to be
tough.”

“……”

Nuer
didn’t take Balkan’s words kindly.

His
tone sounded as if he had the upper hand.

His
expression seemed to ask, how long can you last without my baby care
and coddling?

Nuer
trembled at that confident demeanor.

The
feeling of being manipulated by a male who held her weakness was
incredibly thrilling.

Though
cold reason desperately cried out that it wasn’t like that, that he
was just worried… Nuer had long since been consumed by instinct.

“Should
we monitor your progress? We’re planning to head up to the surface
soon.”

“Th-Then
I’ll accompany you too. I need to report to the Vice Union Leader
about my recovery, and handle the tasks the Union Leader assigned
me…Ah, right.”

Nuer
took something out of her pocket and placed it on the table. Balkan
looked at it intently.

It
was a few papers and a pouch heavy with coins.

“This
is the contribution points and arrest bounty for the back alley turf
clan members you caught last time. They were all mid-rank or higher,
so it should be quite substantial.”

Since
promotion to mid-rank adventurer was confirmed once they went to the
surface, he wasn’t particularly interested in the contribution point
papers.

He
immediately opened the coin pouch to check, and among the abundant
silver coins, there were quite a few gold coins mixed in.

Counting
revealed 41 gold coins and 70 silver coins.

At
this amount beyond imagination, money he’d never held in his life,
his mouth fell open in a daze.

With
this money, how many thousands, no, tens of thousands of bowls of
Diana’s soup could he buy?

“If
you give out this much, what’s left for the Union?”

“What
are you saying? You took down the boss and main members of a
mid-sized criminal clan of nearly 40 people in one go. Though quite a
few remnants remain, you dealt them a devastating blow, so of course
you deserve at least this much.”

Balkan
swallowed hard and pocketed the money pouch.

Though
he should reinvest in elixirs or equipment for the future, he
couldn’t help but smile, never having held this much money before.

“Cleaning
up trash seems quite profitable.”

“Right.
There’s even worse trash here. If you catch the vermin that gather
around them too, you can get even more. And society becomes cleaner
too.”

At
Nuer’s words, Balkan began seriously considering Idelbert’s proposal.

The
work of cleaning up trash and exterminating pests.

Both
Idelbert and Diana said they built their practical experience hunting
such people, and if it provided such definite returns…it really was
attractive work.

Moreover,
for one of the Demon of Sloth’s requests, he needed the information
Idelbert and Nuer had to catch the Sloth worshippers trying to
resurrect her.

It
seemed not bad to help with such work and share information.

“I
understand for now. If you’re accompanying us, does the schedule work
for you?”

“Since
the Sloth worshipper experiment records I received from the Union
Leader aren’t an immediate problem either, anytime is fine.”

Fortunately,
it seemed there wouldn’t be any schedule conflicts.

After
telling the time and leaving Nuer’s office, Balkan looked around the
Union lobby and headed toward a table where familiar faces were
gathered.

“Amel
Drexia’s party and…Ms. Fusilini?”

“Hmm.
It’s you.”

“Prrrr!
Long time no see! Did you use the anal plug well?”

“Dduru
ddu para papa!”

“Aldente
says she’s here too.”

The
black mage Amel Drexia wearing an eye patch, and her party member
Kentarina, a horse beastkin who sells adult goods, along with the
mage Fusilini and the slime Aldente were sitting at one table
talking.

Though
the faces were familiar, it was an unfamiliar combination.

As
he looked on with a puzzled expression, Fusilini explained the
situation.

“I
happened to form a party with Amel Drexia for a while, looks like
we’ll stay in Eden for some time. Hope and Gellen caught a mental
illness so we need to earn some money.”

Hope.
A priest of the Earth Mother church who was raped by the back alley
turf clan members.

It
seemed they were trying to earn money for treatment of Gellen, their
former party leader.

“Are
they doing better?”

“Though
the male priest who maintained his chastity all his life seems deeply
hurt from such an incident, he seems to be somehow overcoming it.
Gellen…his stupefied state has gotten worse.”

“Dduru
ddu ppubap pi…”

The
situation didn’t seem entirely good.

Though
Fusilini tried to maintain a positive expression while speaking,
Aldente’s expression wasn’t good.

The
deflated slime was stuck to the desk listlessly.

Balkan
could understand the words Aldente muttered weakly.

Bicorn
tears was an ingredient that could somewhat neutralize the stupefied
symptoms of males who were violated by monsters.

It
seemed they would have to really tighten their belts to obtain it.

No
wonder, since it was an ingredient worth 25 gold coins.

Even
as a mid-rank adventurer, they couldn’t immediately gather such a
large sum.

Hope
was one of the few normal men worth looking at in this world where
there weren’t many, so it was a bitter situation.

Perhaps
because his pocket had become more comfortable, unnecessary sympathy
sprouted.

Balkan
fidgeted with the heavy money pouch he had just received.

‘…Hah…’

And
let out a deep sigh.

This
must be why people say to save money right away when you get it.
Having it on hand makes strange feelings arise.

-Jingle.

He
took his share from the money pouch received from Nuer.

And

-Clank!

He
placed a money pouch containing exactly 25 gold coins in front of
Fusilini and Aldente.

“Uh…”

“…Dduru
ddu?”

Fusilini
and Aldente, who had been staring blankly at the money placed on the
table with their mouths open, turned their eyes.

Seeing
their surprised expressions, he spoke calmly.

“It’s
a hell of a lot of money, but use it. It’ll help.”

“…Don’t
people usually say it’s not much money?”

“Honestly
this isn’t a small amount, right? Look. My hands are shaking.”

It’s
killing me how precious it is. Not copper coins, not silver coins,
but 25 gold coins.

To
be coldly honest, Hope wasn’t an exceptionally skilled man.

Since
he didn’t show particular potential for growth either, coldly
speaking, he wasn’t worth helping with such a large sum.

Gellen
goes without saying. He was just a disgusting fellow full of
jealousy.

But
their party members, Fusilini and Aldente were different.

“…Still.
After all the help you’ve given us until now, we can’t just take this
much money…”

“Who
said I’m just giving it? Pay me back later. And get me as much of
that magic amplification elixir you gave me last time as you can. The
performance was quite good.”

I
had fully experienced the elixir’s performance while hunting the
chimera.

It
was an item that nearly doubled the wisdom stat so was worth
investing nearly 30 gold coins in.

Right.
This is an investment. It’s not that I particularly want to save
people. I’m giving money because there’s something in it for me.

Balkan
thought this as he looked at Fusilini.

Fusilini
looked at the money pouch with a complex expression, then bowed her
head in thanks.

“Thank
you so much Balkan. But…we can’t accept all this money.”

“…Why
not?”

“The
elixir isn’t worth this much, and we’ve already received so much help
from you, if we receive more help here…our party will never be able
to move forward.”

They
had their lives saved by Balkan, who rescued them when they were
about to be taken as slaves.

They
had already received much help from him, and hadn’t even fully repaid
that debt yet.

And
to receive more help here?

Fusilini
shook her head.

That
would truly be unconscionable.

Balkan
looked into Fusilini’s eyes and faced her determination.

And
finally, he retrieved the money pouch and took out only about 10 gold
coins to stuff into her pocket.

“I
don’t know about Gellen, but I can help Hope. Please think of it as
an offering to a temple priest.”

“…Another
debt has been created.”

“Pay
it back slowly. Slowly.”

“Thank
you. Really thank you.”

“It’s
nothing.”

Fusilini
bowed deeply at the waist toward Balkan who waved his hand as if it
were nothing.

To
think he could do this much for others not related by blood.

She
thought anew about where else such a genuine male adventurer could be
found.

Probably
nowhere in the adventurer industry or anywhere in the labyrinth city.

She
couldn’t just stay still after receiving help.

“Dduru
ddu ppupapa!”

“Aldente
says she wants to express her gratitude.”

At
those words, Balkan looked at the green slime Ain.

Something
was vigorously wriggling in her small gathered hands.

-Pyororong.

What
appeared in her hands with a small sound effect was a slime-shaped
sphere.

-Porong.
Porong.

The
bouncing slime’s pupils sparkled like stars.

It
was a cute slime doll design reminiscent of the slime mascot from a
certain normalization game.

“Dduru
ddu dduddutta…!”

“She
says it doesn’t have any special functions, but looking at it makes
you feel good.”

“Dduru
ddu!”

The
slime Ain Aldente putting her hands on her hips proudly.

She
was saying ‘Thank you Balkan! A token of friendship!’

Balkan
smiled softly and gently stroked her head with his large, thick hand.

“It’s
a cute doll gift. Thank you.”

“Dduru
ddudu…”

Seeing
Aldente melting into a puddle at the warm touch, Balkan smiled
slightly inside his helmet.

Though
none in the adventurer union lobby knew the face inside the helmet,
the moment he smiled and said thank you.

“……!”

“……Heut…”

The
wombs of the females soaked in that warm and cozy atmosphere began
throbbing all at once.

Fusilini,
who unknowingly let out an aroused moan as her womb tightened,
suddenly thought of her party members.

‘Are
those ones really women?’

Just
seeing him up close made her womb throb and declare defeat like this,
how on earth did they maintain their sanity?

For
her part, she simply couldn’t understand it.