Chapter 80: Drunken Jokes (2)

Chapter 80: Drunken Jokes
(2)

Ellie.

Diana’s
foster daughter. Prodigy mage. A student about to graduate from the
Academy.

Why
is she here when she’s supposed to be buried in reports and papers
until graduation?

“Just
get up. People are staring.”

I
walked over to Ellie, who was stumbling and frozen with embarrassment,
and offered her a hand.

The
stares of passersby on the sidewalk began to gather.

“Mom.
She’s weird. She’s lying down with her skirt up.”

“Uh-huh.
My daughter, you need to study hard if you don’t want to be one of
those girls who shows her panties to guys later? ⋯No,
wait. Isn’t that an academy uniform?”

“They
say the more you learn, the better, and now she can do some really
amazing perverted things.”

“No.
Watch me. It’s not enough that she boldly targeted a guy behind his
back, she casually showed him her panties. That girl is a
professional of the highest order.”

The
red-haired elf’s panty-trap pose in her academy uniform drew quite a
bit of aggro.

People
with conspiratorial expressions were showering Ellie with outrageous
comments.

“Oooh,
thanks, mister⋯”

An
embarrassed Ellie grabbed my hand and stood up.

“⋯She’s
calling him Uncle with that body?”

“I
don’t think she knows a real uncle yet because she’s a kid, but at
that level he’s a daddy.”

Ignoring
the people around me who were discussing the difference between an
uncle and a daddy, just like the difference between an auntie and a
MILF, I picked up the papers that had fallen around me and handed
them to Ellie.

“Oh,
no, I’ll pick them up⋯!”

“I
already picked them up. What are you doing anyway, weren’t you at the
academy?”

“I’m
done with my report and graduation assignments, I don’t have classes
anymore, and graduation is in two weeks, so I just moved out of the
dorm.”

Ellie
explained.

Apparently,
graduation was coming soon.

“So
you’re staying at Diana’s inn, then?”

“Ah,
well, uh, that’s…”

Ellie
stuttered, unable to answer easily.

Her
ruby-red eyes darted around, avoiding my gaze.

‘Is
something wrong?’

Just
as I was thinking about it, Ellie snapped her index fingers together
and answered cautiously.

“Well,
it’s just that⋯
actually, it’s that⋯
I’m not as brave as I was last time when I went to visit my foster
mom⋯
or should I say, I’m a little embarrassed to go by myself⋯?”

After
hesitating for a long time, Ellie scratched the back of her head with a
wry smile.

“Actually,
it’s been about three days since I left the academy, and I’ve been
staying at cheap inns around here for meals and stuff, but I’ve run
out of money now⋯
Hehe.”

I
got the picture.

Ellie
had made a vague attempt at reconciliation with Diana the other day,
but she still hadn’t fully accepted her as her adoptive mother and
felt overwhelmed.

She
ran out of money and moved from one inn to another, and when she
finally gathered the courage to go to Diana’s inn, she met me.

‘Three
years of no communication was too much for a short conversation.’

Still,
it wasn’t all bad news.

It
took some circling around, but in the end, Ellie finally mustered up
the courage to go to Diana.

It
was a positive sign of family reconciliation.

“Then
why did you jump on my back?”

I
instinctively dodged, but I wanted to know why.

Ellie
blushed, rolled her eyes awkwardly, and then blurted out, “The
Academy is so hard.”

I
wondered how such a culture came to be among the elite.

‘No,
it’s because they’re geniuses that such a ridiculous culture
develops.’

As
a blue-collar laborer, I couldn’t easily cut the people leading the
culture.

I
just let it go and accepted Ellie’s words.

“I
happen to be on my way to the inn, so why don’t you join me?”

“Okay,
okay!”

Ellie
chewed on her tongue as she replied impatiently. She immediately
clapped her hand over his mouth.

She’s
a weird kid. Maybe it’s because she’s a magical genius.

So
I walked with Ellie through the streets of the Labyrinth City to
Diana’s inn.

“⋯The
door is locked?”

The
entrance door of the inn we arrived at was firmly locked.

It
was nighttime so it should be open for the evening business.

I
knock on the door, but there’s no sound from inside.

“I
see⋯
maybe she’s out shopping?”

“No.
Ms. Diana always leaves the door open when she goes out.”

“⋯Hehe.
I see.”

“⋯⋯”

The
last time Diana locked the inn’s entrance door was when the head of
the Royal Knights came to visit.

I
wondered if someone important visited now.

As
I approached to knock once more, I heard footsteps coming from inside
the inn.

-Squeak.

The
door opened, and a familiar gray milky dress came into view.

“Ahhh.”

My
mouth dropped open in stunned admiration at the stimulating sight.

I
was tall enough to see her sternum if I tilted my head slightly.

After
widening the angle of view of the helmet, even the white collarbone
was revealed more clearly.

A
voluptuous breast that equally stimulates a man’s maternal instinct
and reproductive desire.

There
can’t be two people in the world with a body like this.

“How
are you, Balkan?”

“I’m
back, Ms. Diana.”

I
gasped a little, and looked up to see her smiling softly, her eyes
still closed.

It
was only then that I realized I was out of the labyrinth and back on
the surface.

So
much had happened, but this time, I had made it out alive.

And
that’s when I locked eyes with Diana.

“Hey,
I’m here too!”

Ellie
poked her head out from behind me urgently.

“Eh,
Ellie?”

Diana’s
eyes widened.

***

Balkan
resisted the urge to hug her in ignorance.

It
had been a long time since he’d seen her, but today she seemed more
erotic than usual.

Her
body felt warm, even heated, and her clothes were wrinkled in places
as if she’d put them on in a hurry.

Besides,
now that he was home, she couldn’t be satisfied without a hug but she
felt strangely hesitant to approach Ellie, whose eyes were wide open.

‘But
you beat me to it.’

Balkan
slapped Ellie on the back.

Ellie
turned to look at him with a bemused expression.

“A
trendy greeting.”

“Oh⋯!”

Ellie’s
eyes widened at the short word.

Whether
it was true or not, it was a greeting that Ellie had heard was recently
trending at the Academy.

The
act of hugging someone tightly when you see them.

I
can’t swallow it back because I’ve already spit it out, and by not
hugging her, I’m telling her I’m not happy to see her.

She’s
already tried to hug Balkan, who isn’t even related to her.

It’s
a quandary.

Ellie’s
eyes darted around as if in confusion.

Then,
as if steeling herself, she squeezed her eyes shut.

“What’s
wrong? Is something wrong?”

Seeing
Balkan and Ellie whispering in close proximity, Diana rushed to
intervene, and Ellie lunged at her.

“What,
Ellie?!”

Diana
was embarrassed to see Ellie suddenly in her arms, but she didn’t shy
away from her daughter.

She
had been distant from her ever since she entered the Academy.

‘It’s
been a while since I’ve seen her like this⋯’

A
faint smile tugged at the corners of Diana’s mouth.

“⋯It’s
been a long time.”

Diana
smiled softly, grateful that Ellie had accepted her.

Then
she gently patted Ellie on the back.

“⋯Neeee.”

Ellie
nodded in Diana’s arms, her voice slightly shaky, her emotions
overflowing with memories of the Academy and the past.

After
hugging each other for a while, they pulled away, looking strangely
embarrassed.

Balkan
felt a pang of regret at the sight.

Ellie
had hugged Diana so hard that her tits had been crushed against Ellie’s
tits.

What
man wouldn’t sigh at the sight of a mother and daughter’s tits being
squeezed and rubbed together?

“Ellie’s
turn is over, and now it’s⋯

“Ms.
Diana.”

I
walked over to Diana with my arms wide open.

“Dah,
why are you all suddenly trying to hug⋯?”

Diana
looked puzzled as Ellie and then Balkan hugged.

“I
heard it’s fashionable at the Academy these days to hug someone
tightly when you meet them.”

Balkan
explained Ellie’s assertion moderately.

“That,
that⋯kids
are fast these days⋯”

Diana
blushed, quite shocked by the advanced academy education.

Diana’s
gaze gradually shifted to Balkan.

He
was still spreading his arms wide.

They
cautiously approached each other, neither knowing who would make the
first move.

Balkan’s
hand slipped between Diana’s armpits and carefully wrapped around her
back.

Mmmmmmmmmm.

A
heartfelt hug, arms locked around each other and hugged tightly.

“Hooh,
hooh⋯”

As
they stood upright and embraced, Balkan’s pectoralis major was right
in front of Diana’s face.

Diana
squeezed her eyes shut tighter to keep her sanity.

Then
she became more aware of the sensation of her breasts rubbing against
Balkan’s abdominal line.

Her
back relaxed slightly at the unexpected stimulation, and the curse
responded immediately.

“Nghhhhhh!”

Diana
stifled the searing pleasure rising from her lower abdomen.

‘Balkan’s
here earlier than I thought⋯’

The
Curse of Decadence had prevented her from fully quenching her
ever-building libido.

To
be precise, she had been working hard to relieve it until just now,
when she heard Balkan’s knock on the door and rushed out of the room.

Not
anyone else’s room, but Balkan’s.

The
curse that had been on the verge of dissolution and then repressed
once again, tortured her womb more fiercely than before.

Diana
felt like she was about to go insane, but she tried to keep her
libido in check as best she could, forcing a soft, gentle smile on
her face.

Mmmmmmmm.

Still,
her body was honest. She felt his embrace, taking care not to crush
Balkan.

“⋯Aren’t
you two hugging too long?!”

Ellie
exclaimed in a panicked voice as she stared at her foster mom and
Balkan’s heartfelt embrace.

“⋯⋯”

“⋯⋯”

In
the silence, they hugged, feeling each other’s bodies, and only after
hearing Ellie’s words did they come to their senses.

They
hugged for so long and so hard that their bodies broke apart, making
a lustful sound.

Balkan
and Diana looked at each other for a moment.

“⋯Diana.
Are you in business this evening?”

“⋯Yes⋯Uh,
no.”

“Then
it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Anyway, shall we
have a drink together? Let’s reminisce about the past.”

“⋯Yes..”

Diana
nodded at Balkan’s words, her face somewhat dazed.

Then
Balkan’s gaze shifted to Ellie.

“Ahem.
Ahem. Ellie, go up to my room. The adults have something to talk
about.”

At
Balkan’s words, both Ellie and Diana shuddered as if a seizure button
had been pushed.

Ellie’s
keyword was “adults” and Diana’s was “Balkan’s room.”

“I’m
an adult now, right?!”

“Well,
then! Ellie is an adult now. How can a man and a woman share the same
room? Oh, and Balkan. Please use a different room today. I, it’s
not for any other reason… I was cleaning the room.”

While
Balkan was still reeling from the more intense reaction than he had
expected, Ellie came over to the bar table and pulled out a bottle of
the Dwarven brew, which was rumored to be strong.

“I,
I can drink!”

She
said and took a seat at the table.

Sinking
into her stool, Ellie glared at Balkan and Diana.

‘Something⋯
dangerous.’

Ellie’s
instincts warned her.

The
mood between Balkan and Diana was unnerving and it felt like
something was about to happen.

And
if there was alcohol involved?

Maybe,
really maybe. One in a million. One in a hundred thousand.

‘⋯I
might get a little brother.’

That
had to be stopped.

‘I’m
going to be stuck between my foster mom and you, and I’m going to
have to keep an eye on you!’

Faced
with Ellie’s determined face, Diana sat down at the table, smiling
broadly as if she were watching her daughter play a cute prank.

“You
should come too!”

Balkan
sighed as he watched Ellie pat the chair next to her.

In
an inn in the Labyrinth City, just as the sun was setting and the
stars were beginning to shine brightly in the dark sky.

The
drinking has begun.