Chapter 314: Catching the B.J. Thief

Chapter
314: Catching the B.J. Thief

It
was a strange feeling.

A
sensation of souls intertwining, Lilith and I spiritually merging.

An
indescribable feeling, beyond human perception.

Like
male and female, master and slave, and more.

Far
beyond the relationships humans have established with language, the
very essence of Lilith was mixing into my soul at that moment.

——!!

Besides
me, I faintly sensed the presence of another being with a stake in
Lilith’s soul.

The
one who was Lilith’s sole master before me.

The
one who directly bestowed a part of their womb upon Lilith.

The
Demon of Lust.

Saaaah—!

The
remnants of the Demon of Lust within Lilith’s womb emitted a sinister
aura.

“…What
is this?”

I
tilted my head, sensing the aura.

The
reaction of the energy was weaker than expected.

The
quality of the aura itself was quite high.

Similar
to Gott, the Wrath Demon worshiper whose axe I once faced… no, even
more eerie.

However,
I didn’t sense any particular hostility or murderous intent from the
emotions emanating from the aura.

‘Is
it sealed and unable to move as it pleases?’

That
was a likely possibility.

Otherwise,
there was no way it would remain silent while its subordinate, to
whom it had given a precious part of its womb, was declaring eternal
servitude to a complete stranger.

I
embraced Lilith’s soul as it increasingly submitted to me and shouted
towards the aura of the Demon of Lust.

“Too
bad for you. I’ll make good use of your subordinate from now on.”

Actually,
I wasn’t sorry at all.

It
was the demon who cursed and tormented Diana, after all.

There
was no reason to like it, and plenty of reasons to hate it.

Even
with the declaration that I would devour the subordinate with whom a
third of its womb was fused, the sealed aura of the Demon of Lust
showed no particular reaction.

It
merely trembled, emitting a lewd and suggestive aura.

Soon,
the strange sensation of souls connecting faded away, and when I
opened my eyes.

Chomp…♡

Lilith
was planting kisses on my instep.

“Lilith.”

“Chomp,
chomp. Chomp…♡
Ah, ehehe, Master…”

She
was frantically kissing my instep, barely regaining her senses and
looking up at me. I roughly stroked her hair.

“Ugh…
hehe…”

I
roughly stroked not only her hair but also her face, sometimes poking
her eyes, but she maintained a smile and accepted my touch.

Indeed,
the results of the pussy training using a Phaju dildo modeled after
my cock were remarkable.

Lilith,
who had been desperately trying to find a way out of her predicament,
was now completely ruined by pleasure, even signing a familiar
contract that would bind her for life.

“Hand.”

I
held out my right hand and said that.

“Yes!”

Lilith
giggled and placed her right hand on top of mine.

“The
other one.”

“Yes…!”

The
same with the left.

“Good.
Good. Well done.”

“Hehe…
Did I do well…?”

“Yes,
yes. Good girl. You did well.”

I
roughly stroked the head of Lilith, who had become a commendable
familiar, and she squatted on the floor, rubbing her soft cheeks
against my thigh with a silly grin.

“…Turning
a succubus into a puppy…”

Ramel,
who had sent the party members out of the store and remained alone to
broker the familiar contract, watched the scene with a dazed
expression, rubbing her thigh.

I
had been testing how well Lilith would follow my orders and hadn’t
paid attention to the surroundings.

Well,
even so, this level of success wasn’t too bad.

‘At
least I won’t be backstabbed by Lilith now.’

If
I were to be backstabbed even after subjugating her mind and signing
a familiar contract, it would be a betrayal close to fate, and I
would simply have to accept it humbly.

“Thank
you for helping with the contract brokerage, Ramel. It was urgent,
but thanks to you, I finished it quickly.”

“Ah,
uh. Uh-huh… Sure.”

Ramel,
who blankly grabbed my outstretched hand, nodded.

“I’ll
stop by whenever I have business. You sell such good potions and
herbs.”

“I’d
appreciate that. If you come often, I’ll feel more motivated to
procure good items. These days, the streets are uneasy, so it
wouldn’t hurt to carry extra potions.”

“Well.
The Labyrinth City is always like this.”

I
shrugged with a nonchalant smile, and Ramel shook her head.

“But
it’s a bit serious these days, isn’t it? Even the Union Master was
attacked last week.”

“Pardon?”

My
thoughts momentarily stopped at the unexpected words.

What
did I just hear?

“The
Explorer Union Master… you mean my teacher was attacked?”

A
small sense of relief washed over me at the fact that it wasn’t
Idelbert who had been attacked, but only for a moment.

I
could only nod blankly at Ramel’s question.

Well,
we had only arrived on the surface a few hours ago.

“Ah.
Well, you guys do look like you just came back from the labyrinth…
I should let the others know.”

“Last
week was when we left Eden. What happened in the meantime?”

“I
don’t know. I’m retired, so I don’t know the details… I just
overheard some customers talking about it. They said she was ambushed
while sleeping in her mansion? The culprit hasn’t been caught yet.”

“Hoo…”

Hearing
that the Explorer Vice-Union Master had been attacked by an
unidentified assailant brought a sense of unease.

‘There’s
a crazy bastard like that?’

It
meant that a deranged being capable of attacking a figure of
authority in such a position was already active in the Labyrinth
City.

But
the worse part was…

‘I
have to report the Elder Lich subjugation reward to the Vice-Union
Master…’

Moreover,
the vault I had seized from Bio, the head of the back-alley turf clan
and a minion of the Sloth Worshiper, was also entrusted to the
Vice-Union Master.

The
Vice-Union Master had confidently promised to unlock it, and I was
curious if there had been any progress.

‘Come
to think of it, Lilith said that the Sloth Worshiper had headed to
the surface…’

Could
it be that they attacked the Vice-Union Master to retrieve it?

I
shook my head at the sprawling thoughts.

Since
nothing was certain yet, I had to check on the Vice-Union Master’s
condition first.

“Is
she conscious?”

“Yes.
I heard she went to the Union a few days ago.”

Fortunately,
it didn’t seem like she was seriously injured.

Well,
Vice-Union Master Yonel Freyja was a person with a strange power
called the Blessing of the Protected Species.

It
would be very difficult to kill the girl to whom all sorts of gentle
small animals flocked, and whose hostility faded the closer one got.

“Thanks
for the good information.”

“It’s
nothing. Just buy a lot of my merchandise next time.”

“Heh.
Make sure you have plenty prepared.”

I
waved to Ramel, who handed me the packaged goods and saw me off, and
left the store, dragging Lilith, who had finished the familiar
contract, by the leash.

And
as soon as I came outside, the party members, looking like dogs
waiting for their owner, rushed towards me with anxious expressions.

“Hey,
Balkan. We overheard some serious talk from the explorers who just
passed by…”

“We
heard the Vice-Union Master was attacked.”

“Oh,
how did you know? Did you hear it from Ramel too?”

Jubel,
who had stepped forward as the representative, tilted her head, and I
nodded, looking at them.

“Let’s
go to the Union first.”

***

The
Explorer Union building, which stood taller than other buildings in
the center of the Explorer District, was shrouded in an unusual
silence, unlike usual.

The
Explorer Union, which had been managed by the Vice-Union Master
instead of Idelbert and had a slightly calmer atmosphere, was now
even more so.

The
reason for this could be guessed from the entrance of the Explorer
Union.

Clang!!

“Identification
first.”

An
Explorer Union member, heavily armed and guarding the entrance,
stopped us from entering the building.

A
glance.

I
felt a gaze trying to pierce through the helmet.

The
explorer guarding the entrance seemed to recognize me as well.

In
the first place, it would be difficult for any explorer who had been
on the surface not to know me, Idelbert’s disciple.

The
fact that even I was being blocked like this was proof that the
security was stricter than imagined.

“…When
did the Explorer Union’s security become so strict?”

“Recently.
Looks like you just returned from the labyrinth?”

“I
was in the labyrinth for quite a while.”

“I
hope you understand. There’s also the Vice-Union Master’s attack…
Right now, a slightly higher-ranking person is here.”

“A
higher-ranking person?”

“I’m
sorry, but I can’t tell you that.”

The
guard explorer slightly bowed his head.

I
felt anew that I had become stronger at that polite attitude.

‘Until
this labyrinth trip, there were subtle signs of disregard.’

Was
it because the atmosphere and aura emanating from me had changed?

A
drop of cold sweat ran down the foreheads of the explorers who were
glancing at me.

Tap
tap.

I
patted the guard’s shoulder and handed over my Intermediate Explorer
pass.

“Okay.
Take care.”

“…!
Thank you. Intermediate Explorer Balkan, Nuer, and the other party
members. Confirmed.”

The
female guard explorer, surprised by my lack of a special power
struggle and even offering words of encouragement, smiled slightly.

“…Did
you see that just now? He was worried about me? Ha. What should I do?
I might be a little popular?”

“You’ve
caught a disease. Have you not been to the tavern where he works? As
long as you don’t act like a horny beast, he’s very kind to
customers.”

“…A
guy with that much aura works at a tavern? Wow… Do they have a
secret menu there?”

Leaving
behind the guard explorers who were immediately excited and
chattering, I entered the Explorer Union, and a slightly deserted
lobby came into view.

“I’ve
come to see the Vice-Union Master.”

“Ah.
V-Vice-Union Master is currently unavailable…!”

Since
there were no long lines as usual, I immediately went to the counter
and asked, but the flustered employee drew an X with her arms.

“Unavailable?
Did she even come in?”

“W-Well,
she did… B-But not right now!”

I
tilted my head, watching the employee desperately shaking her head.

Judging
from the atmosphere, it seemed like the Vice-Union Master was at the
Union.

“It’s
still not allowed even with me here?”

“Hiek!
N-Nuer-nim?!”

Nuer,
who peeked out from behind me, glared at the counter employee, and
the counter employee shook her head.

“S-Still
not allowed! I’m sorry! There were orders not to let anyone else in
today…! Kyaak?!”

Chirp
chirp!!

A
yellow chick landed on the head of the counter employee, who was
shaking her head.

A
small animal that Yonel Freyja used when guarding the surroundings.

Chirp
chirp!

The
chick pecked at the employee’s head and cried out, and the employee
tilted her head as if asking if it was true.

“A-Are
you saying it’s okay to let them in…? Only Balkan…?”

Watching
the chick peck at the employee’s crown as if saying, “Can’t you
even understand that?”, I felt an intense sense of unease.

“…Why
only me?”

***

Why
did the Vice-Union Master, who had ordered not to let anyone in
today, revoke that order only for me?

That
question was answered as soon as I arrived in front of the Vice-Union
Master’s office.

‘…Is
this what they meant by a higher-ranking person?’

Bow.

The
knights of the Royal Knights, standing in front of the Vice-Union
Master’s office, gave me a small bow.

Creak.

As
they opened the door, the scenery inside the Vice-Union Master’s
office came into view, along with…

Two
girls sipping tea.

The
person sitting in the guest seat was none other than the Vice-Union
Master, Yonel Freyja.

She
gestured to me with bandages wrapped around her head.

“Ah.
You’ve come, Balkan. Let me introduce you. This person is…”

“No.
There’s no need to be so formal.”

A
calm yet haughty voice.

“He
and I… are very well acquainted.”

Drawn
by that voice, I looked again at the girl sitting in the seat of
honor.

“L-L-L-Long…
time… no… hiccup…!”

The
girl, who had tried to speak casually, bit her tongue, and tears
welled up in her green eyes, which seemed to contain nature.

The
blonde girl, who had ruined her plan to greet me naturally, turned
her burning face away and waved at me.

“L-Long
time no see… B-Balkan…”

At
that gesture, I deeply bowed my head.

“It’s
been a long time for me as well… Princess.”

The
armored knight who saved me, and the Second Princess I saved.

Celsia
smiled faintly.