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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Chapter 41
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Diana opened her eyes in bed.
Sunlight streamed through the window.
For Diana, who always started her day in the dark hours before dawn, a morning accompanied by the sun felt unfamiliar.
Her mind felt strangely hazy, like she was floating on clouds.
Her back was damp, as if she were a storm cloud heavy with rain. Cautiously, she put a hand behind her back and felt the mattress, thoroughly soaked as if with water.
The bed had felt subtly off, and indeed, this was not Diana's room.
'I even put a sealing spell on my room, but I still managed to get out...'
Whenever the curse flared up once a quarter, her reason would blur, leaving only instinct and primal lust.
It meant she would crave a penis like mad.
However, with five curses fantastically intertwined, Diana could not lose her virginity to a man, no matter what she did.
This was the fundamental reason Diana remained a virgin to this day.
Her body craved a man like crazy, yet the complex interaction of various curses made it impossible.
Because of this, when the curse flared, Diana would lock herself in her room for about a week and masturbate like crazy.
She'd send everyone from the inn away and close the establishment.
Thanks to such precautions, no incidents had occurred so far, but given that she was in a different room entirely, this flare-up seemed to have been a bit more intense.
If she had to pick what was different from the last flare-up, it was definitely...
'Balkan...'
It must be because of the boy she recently took in as a guest.
At first, she had certainly taken him in without any ulterior motives.
She had simply felt pity for him, trembling in the cold, dark Labyrinth city, and offered him soup.
But at some point... more precisely, from the day he tightly grasped Diana's chest.
Every time Diana thought of him, her lower abdomen would throb, and her body would heat up.
While the curse's full flare-up occurred once a quarter, its precursors would wash over her once a week.
As if to prepare her body for a major outburst, her uterus would throb hundreds of times a day, turning her mind into that of a foolish pervert.
Whenever that happened, Diana would recall the tableware he used, the wet towel he used to clean himself, and the bed he slept in... but she endured with desperate patience.
'I will not succumb to this curse.'
Even with occasional discomfort, she had lived well so far. She believed there would be no major issues.
"Haa... haa... Balkan... Balkan..."
But that, too, was merely a foolish thought, as she hadn't experienced a flare-up since he arrived.
Diana frantically thrust her hips on his bed, wrapped in the blanket he had used, her nose buried in the pillow he must have slept on.
A deep inhale of Balkan's scent would numb her mind. In reaction, she'd thrust her hips even more wildly.
She'd smell Balkan again. Thrust her hips again. It was the completion of perpetual motion.
She didn't remember much after that.
But seeing how soaked the bed was, it was obvious she had continued to masturbate like crazy afterward.
What on earth was she thinking to do something so unforgivable?
It could only be explained as acting on primal lust and instinct while in a state of flare-up.
'I'm the worst...'
Diana felt a profound sense of self-loathing. It was a feeling of disgust toward herself.
But what she hated most was that, even while committing such an act, the desire to appear even slightly favorable to him had driven her.
'I must never let him find out about this situation...!'
What if she was caught masturbating on his bed?
The mere thought was horrifying.
A trip to the Labyrinth involved many variables. Though it was late for someone who said he was just going to the second floor, Diana had long since realized he wasn't someone who would struggle on just the second floor.
He would surely return safely. So she had to move immediately.
*SQUEEZE!*
"H-huh...?!"
Diana, trying to rise from the bed with her hazy mind, instantly crumpled back down as a rough hand seized her breast.
"H-heugh..."
The large, soft mass of flesh, caught in a big, firm hand, squished and bulged through the gaps between the fingers.
'No way... Haa...'
There absolutely should not have been anyone beside her right now.
And she should absolutely not have felt the touch of 'this hand'.
A large, thick, firm hand, with pronounced knuckles, that mercilessly left red handprints on a woman's soft breast—a reliable hand.
How could she ever forget?
This was the hand of the man who had made Diana's subconscious realize she was a 'female'.
Diana gritted her teeth, ignoring her uterus which had begun to throb and tremble again, and looked at the owner of that familiar touch.
Slowly. The memories of last night began to resurface.
The memory of forcibly embracing, molesting, and overwhelming him when he returned exhausted from the Labyrinth.
"Ah..."
A frustrated groan echoed in his room.
Yes, his room.
Balkan.
"Wh-what... what on earth have I...?"
He lay beside her, unconscious, wearing his helmet, a torn breastplate, and otherwise half-naked.
*Squeeze-squeeze—*
Unconsciously, kneading her breast.
***
I used the Blessing of Radiance at maximum output and immediately lost consciousness. It was a blessing with a greater risk than I'd anticipated.
When I opened my eyes, Diana was right there.
"Ah..."
Diana let out a blank groan.
I stared at her blankly, then realized where my hand was, unconsciously kneaded a few more times, and then withdrew my hand.
My hand, drenched in sweat, was quite warm.
How long had I been kneading? My handprints were still visible on Diana's ample breasts, encased in her gray dress.
Diana just stared at me blankly, as if her thoughts had stopped.
My brain had stopped too. Facing Diana, who was gasping and staring at me right after waking up, was a bit detrimental to my heart.
"Um..."
"Ah..."
Our words overlapped. Silence fell once more.
When I gestured for her to speak first, Diana nodded quickly.
"Uh, Balkan... Th-this situation, you see... Um... so... ah..."
Diana stammered, unable to form words. She was definitely not herself.
Her brain seemed to have completely frozen, preventing her from speaking, and her usually closed eyes darted around frantically, surveying her surroundings in confusion.
In the end, I spoke first.
"It's because of the curse, isn't it?"
Let's just look at the facts.
What was the fundamental cause of Diana's flare-up?
'It must be the curse of L-wdness, W-akness, and the M-rk of Corruption.'
Diana isn't the type of woman to do something so reckless. It's correct to assume that something, a curse, had paralyzed her reason.
In fact, I had seen that lewd and ominous mark, like some perverted symbol.
"...That's right."
Diana explained the details of one of the curses she was afflicted with.
She didn't seem to have told me everything, but it was roughly as I'd expected.
Her libido increased once a week, and once a quarter, her sexual desire would surge to the point of losing consciousness.
"..."
Diana bowed her head to me like a sinner. She couldn't even open her mouth properly to offer an apology.
She just couldn't say anything, her head deeply bowed, simply offering me a bow. It wasn't an attempt to gloss over the situation with silence.
For Diana, who always quickly acknowledged, accepted, and apologized for her mistakes, to react by freezing up so completely that she couldn't say anything, meant...
...she knew very well that what she had done was something unforgivable to men in this world.
"To have such a terrible curse. You must have suffered a lot, Diana."
"Huh...?"
But I wasn't a man born in this world. A beauty admirable to anyone had pleasured herself on my bed?
Frankly, it was too fantastical to feel real.
And, if I were to simply weigh whether I liked or disliked the situation... I was extremely fond of it.
Last night, I too had been on the verge of losing my reason.
'If Diana hadn't regained consciousness midway and stopped herself...'
I would have just gone with the flow and filled Diana's womb with my healthy, two-month concentrated baby seeds.
The fact that Diana stopped was proof that even while consumed by the curse and not in her right mind, she had tried to respect and consider me.
Therefore, I wanted to help her too.
At my words about her suffering, Diana blankly raised her head. And stared intently at me.
"Diana, actually, I gained a Blessing on this trip to the Labyrinth."
Given the circumstances, Diana must have been a highly skilled explorer in the past. There could only be two reasons why she hadn't removed the curse:
'Either she didn't have the money to remove the curse, or it was a curse that even the temple couldn't lift.'
It didn't seem like Diana would be short on funds. So the answer must be the latter...
'It must be because of that darkness.'
That unsettling, ominous darkness. The darkness that enveloped and threatened the unknown [entity].
I suspected that even the temple couldn't do anything about that darkness.
"Do you remember what happened last night?"
"...Ah, yes... I-I remember..."
"When I pressed down firmly on your lower abdomen, the mark disappeared, didn't it?"
"......!"
At my words, Diana flinched in surprise and stroked her lower abdomen.
Her smooth lower abdomen, covered by the gray dress, no longer bore the mark.
The Blessing's effect had been verified last night.
This Blessing would surely help suppress Diana's flare-ups.
"If your libido rises again or a flare-up occurs... my Blessing might be able to help."
Diana stared at me blankly. By this point, she seemed a little flustered.
Right. She'd be flustered.
It was a situation where it wouldn't be strange for me to despise her and run away, or to exploit her for every penny, thinking I had her trapped.
"I want to help you, Diana. The kindness you've shown me is immense."
Instead, I was covering for the situation and even trying to help her in return.
"Balkan. I've inflicted an irreversible wound upon you."
"Oh, come on, what kind of wound is this? Besides, you covered up one of my wounds, didn't you?"
Diana's eyes widened. She seemed to have realized what time I was referring to.
"Balkan, that was just..."
"Are you going to say 'just' again?"
I recalled my first meeting with Diana.
The first murder I'd ever witnessed, the terrifying and arduous Labyrinth, the people who would roll their eyes and rush to exploit me at every turn.
My first meeting with her, when she handed me warm soup and the inn's key as I shivered and tried to sleep on the dark, cold streets.
"Just. Without any special reason. Without expecting anything in return. You said that back then too, didn't you?"
"..."
"Then I also just want to help you, Diana. There's no special reason. I just want to help, and there's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
I met Diana's gaze, who was staring intently at me.
Diana had fully opened her eyes, which were usually half-closed.
From inside my helmet, I looked into her amber eyes.
Soon, a faint laugh escaped her lips.
"Truly. I can't win against you, Balkan."
Her voice was a mix of gratitude, guilt, and apology.
"Oh really? I feel like I can't win against you either, Diana."
Smiling, I firmly held Diana's hand. We looked at each other and laughed for a moment.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Diana cautiously opened her mouth.
"Then, I'm sorry to ask, but... could I ask this of you?"
To the woman who had saved me from nearly ruining the rest of my life consumed by paranoia, I nodded with a cheerful smile.
"Absolutely!"
And so, I would henceforth assist Diana in relieving her sexual urges.
***
"By the way, Diana. What's the name of that curse?"
Diana's faint smile, which had been directed at me, stiffened.
"Is the name also necessary to suppress the curse...?"
"No? I'm just curious. Such a curse probably isn't common."
Diana, silent for a moment, then cautiously opened her mouth, her face bright red.
"U-um... La, Lan... Gol..."
"Umlangol? Is it the Curse of Umlangol?"
"............ I-I'm sorry. I-I suddenly can't quite remember..."
Diana, quickly cutting off the conversation, sprang up from the bed, gathered all my bedding for laundry, and instantly went downstairs.
Literally in an instant. She was so incredibly fast that I barely saw a blur.
I casually got up, wiped my body with a wet towel for a vigorous start to the day, and thought.
The curse of L-wdness, W-akness, and the M-rk of Corruption.
Umlangol. The Obscene-gol.
The Curse of the Obscene, Weakling, Corrupted Mark.
"Wow, shit."
The Labyrinth is really something else.
***
"This boring academy. We're finally out!"
"Tell me about it."
About twenty students, including a red-haired elf and a dog Beastkin, smiled brightly and rejoiced at the long-awaited outdoor assignment.
"You are all excellent, but there's no telling what variables might arise in the Labyrinth. Everyone, please follow me, except for the top student, Ellie Ordia."
At Professor Mangosteen's words, the students looked at the red-haired elf, Ellie Ordia.
"Ellie. I'm jealous... free time."
"Is a genius recognized by even the professors different? I really feel a wall."
"Tch. She's just a commoner anyway."
"Don't you know? Her mother is..."
"......Really?"
Pure envy, admiration for talent, longing, jealousy.
Ellie Ordia showed no particular reaction to the various gazes, but the last comment was different.
Because in their words, Ellie's raw nerve was hidden.
"What about my mother?"
"No, well, just..."
As the possessor of talent acknowledged by the entire faculty stepped forward, the two students whispering behind her fell silent.
"Tch. Can't even speak up to my face."
"..."
Seeing them avoid her gaze, unable to bear the pressure, Ellie clicked her tongue.
She kicked the ground as if to vent her anger. Unable to shake off her irritation, she even scorched the ground with a fireball.
Ellie Ordia.
Royal Academy, third year. Overwhelmingly top student. Genius Mage.
Such titles were humbly overshadowed by her immensely prominent surname.
"That woman isn't my real mother."
Ellie, whose adolescence had arrived late, truly disliked her adoptive mother.
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