Chapter 73: Jonah Is No Longer A Baby

“Gweeeeeee…”

A strange groan escapes my lips. At the same time, my knees give way and my body collapses.

This was expected. To capitalize on agility, the only advantage I have over the King of Thorns, I ran around non-stop, swinging my dagger.

On top of that, I drank potions to recover my magic power, only to exhaust it all and even triggered mana exhaustion.

Plain exhaustion + mana exhaustion = uh, I’m dead.

This simple equation comes to mind right before my head hits the ground.

With a soft thud.

“…Good job.”

Before I knew it, Ellie, who had run over, embraced me with her one arm.

The unique softness of a woman’s body is vividly conveyed through her skin. Yet, beneath that lies densely packed, resilient muscles, providing a strange sense of security.

Ellie’s scent arrives a beat later, a mix of body odor and the slightly musty smell from her ears and tail fur. And then, the familiar aroma blended with a hint of tobacco finally eases my tension.

At the same time, the fatigue that had been building up hits me all at once.

“Ah, we’re in big trouble, Ellie.”

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me something else is going to come out here?”

“It’s not that… I’m so drained I can’t even move a finger.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. You’ve become surprisingly strong, but it was still too early for Jonah to face such an opponent.”

“If things stay this way, I won’t be able to resist whatever Ellie does to me…!”

“What?”

“Oh no~ To be left defenseless like this, at the mercy of a wolf like Ellie. I’m definitely going to be devoured!”

“No, I’m not going to eat you?”

“Miss Wolf, Miss Wolf. If you’re going to eat me, please do it quickly and painlessly.”

“……”

Ellie, who looked to be at a loss for words, managed to lift the corners of her mouth that hardly moved and chuckled.

Only then did Ellie snort with laughter and sighed.

“Jonah, you…even in such a situation, you want to do this?”

“But wasn’t Ellie making a scary face? As if it was Ellie’s fault that I got hurt.”

“That’s…”

Ellie’s eyes drooped sadly, her ears perked up, and her tail lost its strength, pointing towards the ground.

“Again. That’s why I’m telling you not to make that face. Anyway, not only did we thwart the plan of One Who Devours the Twilight, but we also took down a leader, and I’ve grown strong enough to fight and win one-on-one against a Floor Guardian. It’s a day to be happy, isn’t it? You should smile!”

“…Yes. That’s right. It’s a happy day, just like you said, Jonah.”

With a faint smile, Ellie skillfully lifted me up with one hand and carried me on her back.

Perhaps because she was wearing a full-body suit that clung tightly to her, I can feel Ellie’s touch distinctly.

As I bury my head in the unprotected nape of Ellie’s neck and secretly sniff, Ellie adjusts her hold on me and says,

“We’ll go to the surface like this. Just rest deeply.”

“Is that really okay? We took down The One Who Devours the Twilight, and it’s the first time we’ve summoned the Floor Guardian of the first floor. It seems like there will be a lot to testify about at the Guild…”

“There will be a lot. But the Guild isn’t crazy enough to detain the injured and force testimony. Besides, I’ll be watching sharply from behind, how could they dare?”

“Ah, right. I’m just bringing this up now…what exactly is Ellie’s identity? I knew you were a retired high-ranking adventurer, but you’re too strong for just that.”

Regarding Ellie, I only conceptualized the important charm points and personality-defining traits, without specifically thinking about how strong she was or how much she had achieved in her youth.

That’s because settings that are not directly related to the story, that exist only for the sake of the setting, tend to strangle the writer’s neck as the series progresses.

It’s true that as settings accumulate, the depth of the character deepens, but as a side effect, the episodes that can be used become limited.

For that reason, I tend to make settings as open as possible. Except for what’s absolutely necessary, it might as well be considered left blank.

In Ellie’s case, it’s about her active days, and for Eve, it would be about her time as a queen.

Anyway, the important thing is that Ellie is a retired adventurer who has never even held hands with a man, and Eve is historically a virgin.

Everything else is just a side story, a side story.

…Somehow, it started to feel like the unicorn’s horn being pulled from the gacha wasn’t a coincidence. Could this have been intentional?

While seriously considering the theory of a dark plot by the Goddess of Love internally, Lydia, who had approached unnoticed, spoke up in place of the hesitating Ellie.

“The Hero Ellie. Until five years ago, it was a famous name.”

“He…ro?”

Surprised by the grander than expected nickname, Lydia nodded expressionlessly and continued.

“You know, once you’re a high-level adventurer, mastering either aura or magic is essential, right?”

“Right. Both are versatile and effective.”

Anyone can learn aura and magic. Of course, the speed and the point where one hits a wall vary depending on the level of talent, but it is still possible to learn.

Usually, at this point, it is treated as a privilege granted only to a chosen few…but not so for adventurers.

As long as one can somehow return alive, there exists a Labyrinth that forcibly enhances one’s growth and elevates their rank based on their achievements.

Lacking the talent to accumulate more aura? No matter. The Labyrinth will provide you with aura!

Lacking mana sensitivity to handle high-level magic? This too doesn’t matter. If you relentlessly cast magic in the Labyrinth, eventually, as a reward, your sensitivity will increase!

The reward of the Labyrinth is in itself another miracle. Even though I haven’t gained much muscle, I’ve become much stronger than before.

So, if you want to achieve higher as an adventurer, you must learn aura and magic.

Isn’t it too inefficient to not carry a weapon like everyone else does?

“But Senior Ellie didn’t manage to do it.”

“Ehh?”

“Senior Ellie is, how should I say…beyond lacking talent, she was a hopeless case.”

“…???”

Despite trying to make sense of what was said, I briefly tilted my head in confusion. I was convinced by Lydia’s next words.

“She can feel aura and mana, but it’s impossible for her to accumulate it in her body.”

“Ah ha.”

“Moreover, she was so unlucky that she had never received aura or mana as a reward from the Labyrinth, despite having been an adventurer for a considerable time.”

“……”

Is that so? Is that how it is?

Did Ellie completely bomb in both the talent gacha and the Labyrinth reward gacha…

Feeling sorry, I rub my face against the nape of Ellie’s neck, and her skin slowly heats up. She seems to like it.

“But even without aura or magic, Senior Ellie was amazing. She faced formidable enemies with nothing but courage and won. That’s why she was labeled a hero.”

“Uh…wait a minute. You mean she had no abilities at all…not even divine powers?”

“Yes. She reached this point with just the body of a pure hybrid human.”

“……”

If I had known, I would have just seasoned it moderately and told Ellie to deliver the final blow.

Then at least she could have received the World Tree’s power.

Feeling guilty, I gently nibble on Ellie’s nape, recalling the way she fought.

The ground flips with a single step. Trees crumble just from the shockwave of a straight punch, and power enhanced lightning or even crystal spears are repelled with bare flesh.

The most basic reward.

Physical ability enhancement. Surely, she has reached a higher realm than anyone else by focusing solely on that.

Muscles that contain the strength of a giant. Durability harder than most metals. And on top of that, the acute senses unique to the hybrid human tribe.

At this point, Ellie’s body itself is practically a power.

As my thoughts reached there, a sudden question arose. Pulling my mouth away from Ellie’s saliva-drenched nape, I asked.

“Uh, hold on. Then how exactly was Ellie’s arm cut off?”

Ellie herself was strong. What kind of being could possibly have had the power to sever Ellie’s arm?

Ellie, flushed bright red, rubbed the saliva on her shoulder with the sleeve of her suit and spoke.

“What… Even I would lose an arm if hit by a dragon’s breath.”

“Dragon’s breath?!”

“The Floor Guardian of the 6th floor was a dragon who had gone mad. It even went berserk because of The One Who Devours the Twilight.”

“……”

A dragon that’s gone mad and berserk. There’s nothing to be done about that.

I didn’t include settings about dragons, but considering it’s a fantasy world, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be one.

The sixth floor, isn’t that where the Beast God sleeps? I hadn’t thought about what kind of monster or guardian might appear, but…seeing the dragon as the pinnacle of beasts makes sense.

It goes without saying that it had gone mad since it had been turned into a monster.

For a moment, I nod inwardly. But soon, overwhelming fatigue closes my eyes.

From a distance, Karen was gathering things that could serve as evidence, along with Lemon and Apple, when I was about to fall asleep.

“Ah.”

I remembered then.

I took out the statue of the Goddess from the Subspace Ring, unfolded the mini sanctuary, and then put it back immediately.

Even for me, it was a bit embarrassing to show the squishy, irresistible, warm, mini Goddess of Love in front of others.

A surge of vitality quickly filled me. I was still too exhausted to feel it, but my physical abilities must have certainly increased.

I was intoxicated by the atmosphere, and since I hadn’t thought of it immediately after acquiring it, I hadn’t used it during the battle with the King of Thorns…but now that I’ve remembered, isn’t that good enough?

As I nibbled and sucked on Ellie’s nape with a revived spirit, the surrounding gazes focused on us.

“A hero beside a saint… Yes. A fundamental combination.”

Lydia clapped her hands in satisfaction.