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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Encounter
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“Did you, by any chance, meet Edelbert Adeline?”
‘How did she know that by smell?’
Well, she’s a cat Beastkin, so maybe it’s not impossible? But how would Seraph know Edelbert’s scent?
It’s never easy to accurately identify someone just by the scent clinging to their body.
It’s nearly impossible unless you’re extremely familiar with that scent, or have had a long enough relationship with the person to know exactly who it is the moment you smell them.
‘Do they have some kind of relationship? Come to think of it, their last names are the same.’
Adeline. It’s not a common surname. No way.
‘Are they sisters?’
“Yes. She’s my master.”
“Your master?! That woman?!”
“Yes.”
“Ugh, ugh…!”
Her pointed cat ears and tail bristled, reflecting her vexed feelings.
Seraph ran her hand down her divine power dispenser as if trying to swallow bad words.
Bwoooom—
Then she flinched, feeling the necklace vibrate, and then.
“Hmph…!”
She realized how incredibly close she was to me, and her face flushed as she startled and stepped back.
“S-sorry. I made such a mistake…”
“It’s fine. I’m quite used to this kind of thing.”
Perhaps it was because of the intense training I’d been undergoing with Edelbert recently, but I’d developed a bit of immunity to seeing ample chests jiggle violently.
Of course, it was only a little, and even though Seraph’s magnificent bosom was tightly wrapped in her priestly robes, unable to conceal its grandeur, it still held a distinct charm and was plenty stimulating.
“Ah…”
My remark deepened the look of apology on Seraph’s face.
It was a look of pity, as if she were gazing at a victim of assault.
‘Come to think of it, Seraph had some absurd misunderstanding about me.’
“More importantly, were you acquainted with my master?”
I changed the subject, feeling a prick of guilt, and Seraph’s expression turned fierce again. She clutched her necklace, muttering under her breath as if consumed by indignation.
“…A wicked fiend who abandoned her faith, a treacherous traitor…”
‘Doesn’t sound like a good relationship.’
Whatever happened between them, her trembling voice was unsettling.
“…We just know each other by sight. She hasn’t done anything suspicious, has she…?”
“Suspicious things?”
“H-heaven forbid… under the guise of training… she didn’t… do anything contrary to the Earth Mother Goddess’s teachings, did she…?”
Though I wasn’t affiliated with the temple, I knew the Earth Mother Goddess sect was a group that forbade all sorts of promiscuous behavior, including sexual acts.
What would be contrary to the Earth Mother Goddess’s teachings? It was obvious.
I recalled my training with Edelbert.
‘She often choked me with her ample thighs and gave me lap pillows, but there was no overtly sexual touching.’
“Nothing of the sort. In fact, thanks to my master, I feel stronger than before these days. She’s a bit rough, but she takes good care of me.”
With the axe strapped to my waist, a sense of peace naturally settled over me. It was the axe Edelbert herself had gifted me.
“I-is that so. Th-that’s a relief… Yes…”
Seraph’s face somehow looked as if she had suffered a bitter defeat.
“I, I can take care of you just as much as Edelbert, no, even more than that woman. If you ever need a miracle or the feeling of a blessing, please come find me anytime…!”
“Ah, yes…”
She spoke with such fervent desperation that I nodded unconsciously.
Her red eyes shimmered like rubies, reflecting me.
It was like watching a cat clutching its beloved stuffed animal, afraid its owner might take it away.
“Lady Seraph. It’s almost time. There are so many explorers wounded by the omens…”
Just then, a paladin in golden armor appeared behind Seraph.
[Nate Elin LV. 4■]
[Blessings and Curses possessed by Nate Elin: 2]
Perhaps it was because I had leveled up so much during my last labyrinth expedition, but there were fewer censored parts in the Status Window, even when facing an opponent of almost intermediate explorer level.
I couldn’t see the details of the blessings and curses, but I could see the number.
“Ah… I understand. I’ll be right there, Sir Balkan. Would you mind extending your hand?”
After a moment of hesitation, I extended my hand, and a warm light settled on my fingertips.
It felt similar to, yet different from, when I used the Blessing of Radiance.
“It’s the Miracle of Mental Barrier. It’ll block all mental attacks below intermediate level, just once. Always be careful, Sir Balkan. You are a precious person.”
More than the sudden granting of a miracle, it was the words that followed that truly struck me.
A precious person, she said. I was just a low-level explorer grunt from the labor camps.
‘Is this what an upper-rank priest of the Earth Mother Goddess sect, which values and respects all people, is like?’
Having grown up in an orphanage without parents, never having been treated as someone’s precious child, this was a fresh shock to me.
I believe you, Seraph. You truly are a devout priestess.
“Thank you, Lady Seraph. I will definitely come to see you again next time.”
“Yes! I’ll be waiting!”
Smiling brightly, Seraph swayed her cat ears and tail, then headed towards the Grand Temple with the golden paladin.
I watched her quietly for a moment, then headed to the library.
Damn it. Time to read. My head already hurts.
Isn’t this a kind of mental attack too?
***
“Lady Seraph. Why did you expend such a precious miracle on a man like that?!”
Nate Elin, the temple paladin in golden armor, simply could not comprehend the situation.
“There are over a hundred intermediate-level explorers lining up to receive Lady Seraph’s miracles. Is that all? Even those haughty nobles are lobbying the temple with all sorts of bribes just to get a glimpse of Lady Seraph’s face! That’s the current situation!”
Seraph Adeline. An upper-rank priestess of the Grand Temple.
She was not a woman who would seek anyone out on her own accord.
Dozens, even hundreds, of explorers waited impatiently every day for the temple’s approval, longing to receive the dazzling miracles she bestowed.
The nobility and other upper-class individuals, desperate to forge connections, resorted to all sorts of desperate measures, offering gifts and backroom payments just to catch a glimpse of her.
But what was this situation now?
Seraph Adeline herself had left the paladin assigned to her, Nate Elin, at the temple counter, just to greet a mere low-level explorer.
And upon hearing the news that this unknown man had arrived, she had dropped her duties and rushed out barefoot, panting!
‘And what’s more! A miracle I’ve never even received myself!’
This situation was a shocking event that Nate Elin had never experienced in her ten years of serving as Seraph’s paladin.
“Hmm… Nate. I know all that. There are so many people who bother me, you know.”
Seraph Adeline smiled gently.
But that smile was slightly different from the one Nate Elin had just seen.
‘No. Rather, this smile now is Lady Seraph’s usual one.’
It was so subtly different that she hadn’t noticed it immediately.
Even now, it was clearly a beautiful, dazzling smile, imbued with a noble and benevolent heart.
Yet, it felt like an artificial smile, almost a mask.
Most others wouldn’t even notice it.
It was a very subtle difference that Nate, who had attended Seraph for ten years, could discern.
‘…The expression she had when looking at that man was far more varied and natural—’
“He is a precious person. Far more valuable than someone like me.”
Nate’s thoughts halted at Seraph’s quiet murmur.
What in the world did that mean? How many people in the current Labyrinth City were more valuable than Seraph?
“He is merely a low-level explorer, Lady Seraph!”
“Yes. For now, he is just a common low-level explorer. But will he be so in the future?”
Seraph smiled brightly. It was that natural smile again. Who was Seraph thinking of now?
The answer was obvious.
“He will one day shine as a tremendous blessing and a dazzling radiance.”
Muttering this, Seraph clasped her hands tightly and prayed.
Her cat ears and tail, symbols of a Beastkin, drooped slightly, then immediately perked up.
*Crrrk-crrk-crrack.*
An ominous sound echoed from her clasped hands as if in prayer.
“Therefore, I cannot let him be taken by that wicked fiend.”
Seraph gripped the cross necklace trembling subtly on her chest, making a vow.
“Never.”
She thought of the wicked fiend who had once been her sister, but who had betrayed the temple and her.
***
The temple library was quite spacious. Though I’d never been to a public library in my previous world, it seemed about twice the size of one.
However, despite the number of books and the size of the building, few people actually came to read.
At most, a few temple staff members. With the librarian’s help, I found a few books with the content I wanted.
[Proper Sexual Relations Between Men and Women]
[Why Monsters Are Dangerous: Male Corruption Pheromones (Illustrated Edition)]
The book about Male Corruption Pheromones (Illustrated Edition), supposedly emitted by Goblins and other monsters, was so dog-eared from how many times it had been read that its cover was tattered.
The librarian looked at me as if I were a very suspicious person, so I picked up a few other books as well.
[Mysterious and Wonderful Labyrinth Stories]
[The Earth Mother Goddess and the Myth of Light]
“Are there any books about portals?”
“Such specialized books would only be found at the Academy’s Grand Library.”
Books related to fountains, or portals, were what I needed and was most curious about, but the temple seemed to have none.
‘How am I supposed to get to the Academy…?’
It was practically impossible to obtain them, I figured.
I sat down and read for a while.
[Proper Sexual Relations Between Men and Women] was full of incomprehensible, mind-numbing content, so I just returned it.
[Why Monsters Are Dangerous: Male Corruption Pheromones (Illustrated Edition)] was also full of mind-numbing content.
– Male Corruption Pheromones cause men to go mad with pleasure when violated by monsters, through a special effect.
– Men who cannot overcome this pheromone are said to either willingly become rugs for monsters for life or commit suicide in their madness. To this day, no man is known to have overcome Male Corruption Pheromones.
It seemed this was why the men tormented by goblins had been screaming such lewd obscenities.
– The stronger a man violated by a monster, the stronger the monster’s seed becomes. The growth period of the seed is up to…
My pure, clean brain was saved from further defilement, or so I told myself, as pages from a certain point onward were torn out of the book.
Considering what I had read so far, someone probably tore out the explicit illustrations and took them.
Since this was a world without porn or anything of the sort, it was an understandable action. Even kids in this other world did the same kind of thing.
[Mysterious and Wonderful Labyrinth Stories] had no special content either. Just lively adventure tales filled with fantasies about the labyrinth.
If labyrinth exploration were truly as bright and hopeful as described in this book, I would have delved into its depths long ago.
I wanted to read the children’s book [The Earth Mother Goddess and the Myth of Light] too, but time was tight. I needed to leave to make it for the evening’s business hours.
I paid half a silver coin and checked out the books. They were quite expensive, perhaps classified as luxuries.
Before leaving, I was about to put the [Mysterious and Wonderful Labyrinth Stories], which I had briefly skimmed, back on the returns shelf.
“Mister.”
A strange voice spoke right beside me.
I turned my head to see a red-haired, red-eyed elf looking straight up at me.
A sharp yet soft-featured elf girl with long, pointed ears, a large wizard’s hat and robe, a white dress shirt, and a tennis skirt.
“If you’re not going to read that book, give it to me.”
On the surface, it sounded like a perfectly natural question, but I was already provoked.
‘Mister?’
Me? Mister? I’m only twenty-two, you know. Haha.
Just as I was about to open my mouth to teach this cheeky elf a lesson.
“But, Mister. Are you… an explorer?”
I met her eyes, which sparkled with curiosity.
“Then, did you, by any chance, ride a labyrinth portal?!”
Naturally, my gaze drifted to the book the girl was holding.
[Ellie Ordia: Portal and Dimensional Magic Research Log 1]
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