Chapter 23
Anger welled up.
‘Was Yubel playing me?’ The thought made heat rush to my head.
Even when I was enjoying the festival in Edelia, heading for the village attacked by orcs, or making idle small talk inside the carriage,
I was always thinking about Yubel.
Most of those thoughts were about how I could hear her laugh, how I could get a little closer to her, how I could soothe her wounds, and how I could...
“Ha.”
Looking back, all I ever thought about was worrying.
My head hurt.
Since coming to this world, all I'd thought about was killing the Demon King. These kinds of worries should have been a luxury.
Why was I only able to think about you now?
“……”
I didn't know.
I didn't know why I thought about you so much it made my head hurt.
Or why my heart seemed to tighten whenever I looked at you.
Or why I'd approached Yubel, who was naked now.
I didn't know any of it.
And the thing I understood least of all was Yubel's behavior in the dungeon.
What on earth were you thinking?
Yubel, who'd always treated me coldly whenever we talked,
had been trying to stay by my side ever since we came to the dungeon, making all sorts of excuses like she couldn't do without me or asking me not to leave her behind.
It felt good.
But at the same time, I felt uneasy.
‘Was she taking me too lightly?’
The thought crossed my mind.
So I acted a little spitefully.
Like this.
“G-Go away!”
Thump.
Yubel pushed me away with what little strength she had.
Of course, I didn't budge.
“Why? You like being seen, don't you? So why are you covering yourself up now?”
This was why Yubel couldn't push me away.
She was using one arm to cover her breasts.
There was no way she could push a man away with just her other hand.
“U-Umm, that's...”
Yubel's eyes darted around.
Was her head hurting as much as mine?
I hoped it would hurt a little more.
Like mine.
“If it feels good, wouldn't it be better for both of us if you moved that arm? You want to be seen, and I want to look. I'm tired of seeing only your panties by now.”
I was surprised by what I was saying.
Was the heat going to my head making me a little bolder?
Maybe I should take this opportunity to teach Yubel what shame was.
Someone as innocent and clueless as her probably needed that kind of lesson.
“Move your hand, already. Or do you want me to do it myself? Like this...?”
Tap.
I grabbed the arm covering her breasts.
Yubel's body jolted in surprise.
“Eek!? N-No! It's just...”
Yubel seemed a little frightened.
Of course, I had no intention of going any further.
I didn't want to hurt Yubel.
Just thinking about how she'd hate me afterward made my heart ache even now.
“A-Anxious...”
“Hm? Anxious?”
“I'm anxious!!”
Anxious?
“I-I'm anxious that someone other than you might see me! That adventurer from before is here, and... we don't know when the path will open, right? That's why...”
Yubel lowered her head.
Like a shy child.
“Ah...”
Thump, thump, thump.
Whose heartbeat was that?
Maybe Yubel wasn't the one who needed to be taught.
I didn't know why I was trembling like this, either.
Sigh.
This isn't good.
“……”
“……”
Time passed.
It was only a brief silence, so why was it so suffocating?
Yubel glanced up at my expression from below.
I hurriedly turned my head away.
I could imagine what my face looked like right now.
Damn it. What the hell was I doing?
“...Put this on.”
“Huh?”
I handed Yubel the top I'd been wearing.
The leather tunic I'd worn ever since coming to this world.
“Thank you...”
Yubel took the clothes right away.
And so my clothes ended up on Yubel.
Since they were a little big, they were enough to cover her lower half, too.
But was it just me, or did she look even more erotic now than when she wasn't wearing anything?
“H-Hehe...”
“Huh?”
Yubel sniffed the clothes she was wearing, then suddenly started staggering.
Fortunately, I caught her before she fell.
“W-What's wrong, Yubel?”
Did they smell that bad?
“I don't know... I just suddenly started feeling good...”
“I-Is that so?”
Phew. At least she wasn't sick.
But why was she feeling good now?
I didn't really understand what Yubel considered feeling good.
Ding!
Hm?
A clear notification chime sounded from somewhere. It felt like it was ringing inside my head, so I instinctively opened the skill window.
A blue window appeared before my eyes.
[Skill Points: 12]
“My skill points... went up?”
My skill points had suddenly increased by five.
Why on earth?
***
Meanwhile, the adventurer and Riella were staring blankly at the right-hand path that had closed.
“Se-on and Yubel are trapped!”
“Damn it...”
Riella's shout snapped the adventurer back to his senses.
The Hero and Lady Yubel had gone down the right-hand path, even though the harpy had warned them to take the left.
If a Hero's party that could defeat the Demon King came to harm here, he'd bear the entire responsibility.
“Lady Riella, let's hurry ahead—”
“Kyahaha! What's going on? I heard a huge noise! Don't tell me you went down the right-hand path?”
The dungeon harpy flew toward them from up ahead and asked.
She must have come to check on things because of the loud noise.
This was perfect timing.
“Ms. Harpy! Our companions accidentally went down the right-hand path. Is there any way to escape from there?”
“Hmm, oh? So that cheeky mage and the dark-haired man went in. Kyahaha! It's a shame about the human, but good for that mage bitch!”
“Ms. Harpy...”
The dungeon harpy was known as a kind demon who helped adventurers, but as expected, a demon was still a demon.
Damn it, I couldn't lose those two here.
“Kyahaha! Don't look so serious! Actually, is it that serious? There are lots of traps down that path, and a really dangerous creature lives there! Ugh! You'll die if you run into it!”
A dangerous creature?
“Phew, that's a relief!”
“Lady Riella? What exactly is a relief...?”
“Se-on and Yubel are super strong! They can take anyone down in one hit! One hit!”
Riella said, thrusting out her fist.
Her unwavering eyes showed just how much she trusted Se-on and Yubel.
The adventurer's hands trembled as he was moved by the sight.
So this was the Hero's party...!
Right! They wouldn't lose their composure even in a crisis like this.
I should pull myself together and press on, too.
***
How annoying!
Maybe the Hero bastard was upset that I'd gotten in his way, because he suddenly picked a fight with me.
He must've been planning to rack up some skill points in this erotic-trap dungeon.
That still didn't mean he had to stare so intently at my body!
And I don't know if he knew or not, but he seemed suspicious that I was exposing myself because it felt good.
In the end, though, I managed to smooth things over.
I said I only wanted to show myself to the Hero.
With that answer, I had a perfectly good reason to expose myself whenever we fought, and now I had an outer layer to wear, too.
“Heh, heh-heh.”
Things had worked out so well I couldn't help humming.
But why had I been losing my strength so often lately?
Was the Demon King's body just frail? Maybe I should exercise.
Meanwhile, Se-on was extremely worried to see Yubel skipping along so cheerfully.
Was she aware of all the traps and walking accordingly?
Right, if it was Yubel...
Just then, Se-on noticed something glinting on the wall.
Unaware of it, Yubel kept walking forward.
Wait.
“Watch out!!”
“Hm?”
Zing! Thunk!
“W-What was that!?”
Fortunately, Se-on grabbed Yubel before an arrow could shoot out of the wall.
“Haa... haa...”
His hands were trembling at the thought that Yubel had almost died.
“An arrow? Why is there a trap like this...? Ah, could it be!”
“Yubel... are you okay?”
“Hey! Move your arm! I think Riella's on the other side of this wall!”
“H-Huh?”
“Riella!! We're over here!”
Yubel suddenly started shouting toward the wall.
Se-on flinched in alarm at the sight.
If you listed the five stupidest things to do in a dungeon, shouting loudly would be one of them.
It was the kind of thing that provoked the monsters and demons inside.
“We're over here!! Over here, mrbph!”
“Yubel! Please be quiet...!”
Se-on covered Yubel's mouth with his hand.
Yubel started struggling.
“Mmph, you've finally shown your true colors...!”
“Kyao!!”
Whip!
Yubel and Se-on both turned toward the direction of the sound.
“Damn it, don't tell me already...”
“Kyao! Kyao!”
Huh?
The sound had come from somewhere quite low down.
Looking down, they saw a lizard-like monster(?) with two horns.
It was about the size of Yubel's upper body.
“Gasp! W-What is this cute thing?!”
Flash!
Unable to resist something cute, Yubel picked the creature up.
“Kyao! Kyao!”
It didn't seem to dislike it, either.
It nestled right into her modest but nicely soft breasts.
What an utterly shameless creature.
“Kyaha! That tickles!”
I want to do that, too...
No! That's not it!
“Yubel, what are you going to do with it? Hmm, it looks like a demon that got lost to me. Maybe it got separated from its family and wandered all the way here.”
If a creature this young wandered around inside a dungeon, it could become prey to other monsters or demons.
That's why most of them traveled in groups of their own kind, but this young one seemed to have gotten lost.
“Its family...? Hmm, you have horns like me, too?”
“……”
Yubel quietly stroked its head.
Yubel...
Could she be feeling sympathy for it?
Yubel had been abandoned by her parents as a child and raised as an orphan, too. Maybe she saw her past self in that young horned creature.
Se-on clenched his fist without realizing it.
Damn it. Who the hell had done this to Yubel...?
If I ever met them, I wouldn't let them get away with it.
“Hmm, I want to give this little one a name... Any ideas?”
Yubel asked as she stroked the creature nestled against her chest.
A name, huh...
“How about ‘Edelweiss’?”
Edelweiss was the name of a flower from my hometown.
Its flower language was ‘noble love, precious memories, and courage.’ I suggested the name for Yubel, who had painful memories of childhood and had never been loved.
I hoped Yubel would like it.
“Edelweiss? Hmm, not bad, but isn't it too long? Let's call you ‘Eva’ for short!”
“Kyao! Kyao!”
“Wow! It likes the name, too!”
“Uh, uhm... sure...”
And so, the creature was named ‘Eva.’
That's a bit much.