Chapter 58: I can do it myself

The five-member hero party, formed by the will of the Goddess.

Ludric, the Hero of the Holy Spear, Estelle, the Saintess, Violeta, the genius mage and Imperial Princess, Luina, the elf archer, and finally, Kim Yu-won, the mercenary.

The five of them shared joys and sorrows, overcoming countless crises together.

Ludric, annoyingly handsome, possessed a heroic personality and outstanding skills, and Violeta, unlike most princesses, wasn’t arrogant.

Luina, being the only elf, tended to be a bit of a show-off, but it wasn’t bothersome, and Estelle… She was clearly flirting with him.

Everyone in the party knew Estelle was interested in him, and as a married man with experience, he couldn’t help but notice her obvious advances.

But whether she genuinely believed he hadn’t noticed, or simply didn’t care about others’ opinions, she continued to tempt him, pressing her ample bosom against him.

He was already struggling to control his urges, and with her constantly clinging to him, he’d lost count of how many times he’d snuck out of the tent at night to relieve himself.

Whenever he returned to the tent after taking care of business, Estelle, awakened by the rustling, would be watching him with a knowing smile.

Feeling a pang of guilt under her knowing gaze, he would pretend to sleep, and he had no idea what she did after he heard her get up.

“It seems… we have to split into two teams.”

One day, they received two requests simultaneously, both of which they couldn’t refuse.

One was to rescue a unit on the verge of annihilation by a demon army, and the other was to intercept a demon group transporting a divine relic, seemingly towards their main base.

Maintaining the already dwindling numbers of the Human Alliance Army was crucial, as was preventing the powerful divine relic from falling into demon hands, so they had to handle both requests simultaneously.

“It’s best to split Estelle and me, since we can use holy magic, right?”

Everyone agreed.

Holy magic was a threat to demons, and it was ideal for any party to have a paladin or a priest. So there were no objections to splitting them up.

“Yu-won and I are the front-liners, so we need to split up as well… and since I lack long-range attacks, Luina should come with me.”

Everyone agreed with that as well. The question was which team Violeta would join.

“It seems like two people should go for the relic and three for the rescue mission. Which one of us, Yu-won or me, should go after the relic…?”

As Ludric was speaking, Estelle interrupted.

“Yu-won and I will retrieve the relic. No objections, Violeta?”

Violeta nodded. She probably wanted to be with Ludric, considering her feelings for him.

“Um… what about my opinion..?”

Where did his opinion, as a party member, go?

“Oppa… do you not want to go on a mission with me, just the two of us?”

Her voice was chilling. Ludric chuckled and spoke.

“Ahem… I think it’s best to do as Estelle says. Then, you two… good luck?”

‘Hey!’

Ludric had thrown him under the bus.

“Of course. See you later, Ludric.”

With a smile, she saw Ludric and the others off. He and Estelle were left alone at the inn.

“Now that the distractions… I mean, our companions are gone, shall we depart? This is a time-sensitive matter.”

“…Right.”

He’d expected something to happen now that they were alone, but she seemed to be maintaining her composure. Retrieving the divine relic was urgent, so they couldn’t afford to waste time.

“But after the mission… we can take our time…”

Seeing her smile like that, he couldn’t say anything.

Three days later, they caught up with the demons transporting the relic, defeated them, and successfully retrieved it.

Perhaps they’d suffered heavy losses in the dungeon where they obtained the relic, but the demons were weaker than expected, so he and Estelle quickly dispatched them with her wide-area holy magic and his martial arts.

“Oppa, can you appraise this?”

“Sure.”

He used Observe on the relic, which was in the form of a bow.

‘Observe.’

[Bow of the Spirit God (Mythical)]

A simple-looking bow with high stat bonuses and various spirit-related special effects. It was a perfect fit for Luina.

“This is perfect for Luina. The abilities are a perfect match.”

A bow with spirit-related effects for the spirit archer. It was a custom-made weapon.

“She’s the only one without a divine relic, so she’ll be overjoyed.”

“Yeah. Though it’ll be a pain to carry.”

Unfortunately, divine relics couldn’t be stored in subspace pockets or inventories and had to be carried physically.

While most divine relics had additional effects like transformation or miniaturization for convenience, they had to be bound to the user first.

‘We can’t just bind it to make it easier to carry.’

He had zero talent for spirit arts. As they prepared to return with the relic, Estelle tugged on his sleeve and spoke.

“I’m exhausted after traveling for three days straight. How about we rest for a bit..?”

Hearing her words, he suddenly felt the fatigue from the past three days. The Saintess’s healing magic restored physical injuries but didn’t eliminate accumulated fatigue.

“Should we set up the tent here?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

As he took the tent out of his inventory, he heard her gasp.

“Ah..!”

“What’s wrong?”

“My subspace pocket ripped, and the tent is broken…”

He looked at her pocket and saw a cut from a weapon, and the items inside were indeed damaged.

One of the tent poles was completely broken, making it impossible to set up.

“What should we do…? I don’t have a spare…”

He didn’t carry two tents either. They each already had one, and items stored in his inventory were protected from damage, so there was no need to carry spares.

“Well, it’ll be a bit cramped, but we could share one…”

‘Huh…?’

A thought suddenly struck him.

‘Those exhausted demons damaged her barrier…?’

Her barrier was strong enough to withstand even one of his full-powered punches.

It didn’t make sense for it to be breached by exhausted demons in a battle without any high-ranking demons.

Of course, considering their weakened state, she might not have bothered using a barrier, thinking it unnecessary.

But what were the chances of a demon’s attack precisely grazing her subspace pocket? Her clothes were undamaged, except for that one tear.

‘It would make more sense if she damaged the pocket herself…’

Just as he thought that, she smiled and spoke.

“Oppa, why did you stop talking..?”

While she was smiling, it didn’t feel like a genuine smile. It felt more like a smile of accomplishment, not relief.

The kind of smile someone would wear after successfully executing a plan.

“It’ll be uncomfortable for you to share a tent, so you can sleep inside, and I’ll sleep outside…”

“I won’t be uncomfortable.”

She spoke firmly.

“Not at all. And I can’t let my master sleep outside, so let’s go in together.”

“…Alright.”

Overwhelmed by her assertiveness, he had no choice but to enter the tent with her.

Since it was a small, one-person tent, it was a bit cramped for two people.

They lay down, their bodies pressed close together.

“Then I’ll sleep first…”

He’d expected something else, but she simply lay down and closed her eyes.

Wondering if he’d been overthinking things, he continued to observe her, but even after 10, 20 minutes, she didn’t make a move.

‘I guess I was being paranoid. She must be really tired.’

Feeling tired himself, he closed his eyes after confirming she was asleep.

‘Is he finally asleep…?’

Estelle, who had been pretending to sleep for 20 minutes to lower Yu-won’s guard, finally started to move 30 minutes after he closed his eyes.

First, she nuzzled her face against his broad chest and inhaled deeply.

Sniff Sniff

Her face flushed, and her body tingled with excitement every time she inhaled his scent.

‘Oppa’s scent…’

The most handsome, capable, kind, and warm man she’d ever met. Even his scent was perfect for her, as if he was made for her.

Just looking at him made her heart flutter and her body heat up.

When he’d grabbed her breasts before, she’d been so excited she thought she might explode.

She’d been about to cross the line, but she was interrupted, and even after becoming part of his party, she hadn’t found another opportunity due to their constant companions.

Her love and lust for him grew with each passing day, but unable to express them, she felt like she was going crazy.

She resented Yu-won for not touching her, despite her constant advances, but at the same time, it was his self-control that made her desire to conquer him burn even brighter.

When she’d seen him sneaking out at night, calling her name while pleasuring himself, she thought her heart would burst.

After secretly watching him, she would return to her tent, imagining him, and soothe her heated body.

‘You don’t have to take care of yourself while thinking of me…♡’

After a few ragged breaths, she stopped inhaling his scent and started kissing his lips.

Not just a light kiss, but a deep one, her tongue exploring his mouth.

Slurp Slurp

Even unconscious, his tongue intertwined with hers, and they continued kissing, the sound of their saliva mixing filling the tent.

‘Delicious…♡’

The food he cooked was delicious, but his saliva was just as much to her liking.

Worried he might wake up, she didn’t prolong the kiss, pulling away after a while.

‘Next…’

Since he was exhausted and fast asleep, she had plenty of time.

As long as she didn’t cross the line, it would be fine. With that thought, Estelle began to explore Yu-won’s body.

Very thoroughly.