Chapter 82: Wish Fulfillment (2)

Suffocating silence.

Ellie stood up, lighting the end of her Magic Herb cigarette.

“Alright. I’m going to step out to go kill Eve or whatever for a bit.”

“Stop with the murder threat…!”

Why is she speaking so calmly! It sounds like she really means it!

I hugged Ellie from behind, trying to hold her back. But maybe it’s the difference in strength. She kept walking, dragging my body along.

“C-calm down, Ellie! I properly rejected it! It’s not like I’m having an affair or anything!”

“…That’s good. But what I see as a problem isn’t that. Even if we’re being generous, the age difference is over 100 years. Does it make sense to propose to such a young child?!”

“I’m not a child, okay? I’m a full-grown adult! And you getting aroused by me is just the same, so how can you say that?!”

“Ugh…!”

You were turned on too.

The words seemed to have some effect as Ellie stopped with a sound. Now is the time to keep pushing.

“From the beginning, it was you, Ellie, who did nothing even though I said we should get married and left the door open today. And now you’re getting angry just because I got a proposal?”

“That’s…!”

“Luckily, I decided that you would be my first no matter what! What if I had accepted out of exhaustion from your cold attitude? Would you get mad then too?”

“…I-I don’t think I treated you that coldly.”

“Is that important right now?!”

Ellie flinched at the loud shout. With her ears and tail drooping, she even looked somewhat pitiful.

“Haa…Ellie. Look at me.”

“Okay.”

With a sullen expression, Ellie turned around. Pulling her cheeks sideways, I continued speaking.

“I think Ellie has something else to do right now. What do you think, Ellie?”

“Um…sorry?”

“I don’t want an apology. Now, follow me, Ellie.”

Saying that, I spread my arms wide. Ellie, somewhat hesitant, followed suit and spread her remaining arm.

Her body line was blatantly visible, perhaps because she was still in a full-body suit.

Starting from her large chest, to her slender waist, and then her rising hips. The concave part presumed to be her navel….

I approached, seemingly enchanted by the alluring curves unique to a woman’s body, and hugged her tightly.

“Yap.”

“Huh? Oh, oh…?”

Ellie, flustered with her arm still spread. While this look could be considered cute…it wasn’t without its drawbacks.

“Shouldn’t you be getting used to this by now?”

“Hmm. It’s not easy.”

With a sigh, I responded awkwardly in a hesitant posture.

“What did I say? I told you to follow me, right? Am I spreading my arms now?”

“…No?”

“Good. Now hug me the same way.”

“…Okay.”

Ellie follows my words as if mesmerized. Her arm gently wrapped around my shoulders and back, pulling me towards her.

A position with no gaps between us. But unlike usual, there’s no suggestive atmosphere.

A pure hug, exchanging each other’s warmth without any sly intentions.

In that state, I spoke in a low voice.

“Ellie.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’m not going to marry Eve.”

“Okay.”

“And I’m not going to marry you either.”

“…Huh?”

I hugged Ellie’s back tightly in disbelief. Then Ellie reflexively hugged me back.

Being wrapped with a bit too much strength brings a peculiar sense of stability. …Though it also brings along a certain responsibility.

I plan to handle the dangerous bait I’ve scattered ahead in Pangrave. Ellie, no matter how dangerous the task, would try to help me.

Thinking of that makes a part of my chest ache.

“Technically, it means we can’t get married right now.”

“Ah. Is that what you mean?”

“Yes. I have things to do. Quite a lot, actually.”

“That’s how it is.”

Ellie briefly answers while stroking my back.

To be honest, at first, I had no thoughts of doing anything about this world.

And that’s because the dangerous elements I’ve scattered are just bait to be used in intermediate episodes.

In other words, it’s not an inevitable end that often appears in the final chapter.

At first, I was too busy surviving, and even when I had some leeway from pickpocketing, I thought about leaving Pangrave with Ellie.

I believed that the protagonist would handle the problems on his own even if I didn’t do anything. I didn’t think that the flames would reach me even if I missed a few.

But the protagonist died. I killed him with my own hands.

Now I have no choice but to do something myself.

“Someday. If I finish all the things I need to do. I’ll propose again then.”

“…Just asking, but when will that be? You’ll be over 20, right?”

“Is that really important right now?”

It was a bit absurd, but Ellie seemed sincere, so I decided to answer honestly.

“Maybe so? It won’t take one or two years to reach the bottom of the Labyrinth.”

“That’s a relief. As long as you’re an adult… Wait. What did you say?”

Ellie released the hug and took a step back, holding one shoulder.

“Sigh. Did you want to hear it that much again? I can’t help it… Ahem. I won’t pester you to marry me for a while. But when I become an adult, can you hold me then?”

“No! Not that! It’s nice to hear, but there’s something more dangerous than that!”

“More dangerous than this? Could it be, Ellie… It’s not that you can’t wait until I become an adult, but you simply like me being young?!”

“That’s dangerous in its own way, but it’s a different kind! I’m talking about the Labyrinth! What do you mean by going to the bottom of the Labyrinth?!”

“It’s exactly as I said. I have to go to the deepest part and see the Goddess of Love.”

“An audience with the Goddess of Love…?”

Ellie frowned slightly. Could it be that she’s jealous of the Goddess of Love?

“Don’t worry, Ellie. I like you a little more than the Goddess!”

“That’s not what I’m worried about, okay? It’s just too grand in scale, I don’t know how to react.”

Ellie scratched her head with a complicated expression. Lydia, who was nodding contentedly from a short distance away, had a similar reaction.

“Jonah. No one has ever reached the end of the Labyrinth yet. The deepest part we call the front line is only the seventh floor. And the gods who survived the War of the Fallen Gods are….”

“Thirteen. If you exclude the Goddess of Love, there are twelve.”

“Yea. So the estimated number of floors in the Labyrinth is 12. And the number of floors adventurers have explored over a thousand years is only 7. They haven’t even conquered half yet. …And yet, you want to venture to the end of the Labyrinth?”

“Yes. I’m saying this fully aware of everything. I think it’s entirely possible. And whether it’s possible or not isn’t important. It’s something that must be done.”

I have already decided to take responsibility in this world. In that case, I just need to do what must be done.

I gave a broad smile to Ellie and Lydia, who wore astonished expressions.

“It’s okay. You saw today that I have something I can trust in, right? And there’s a reason I need to focus on the Labyrinth besides the Goddess.”

The third floor. The place where the God of Machinery slumbers.

During the War of the Fallen Gods, technology advanced rapidly, undergoing explosive evolution, resulting in the birth of a new discipline that combined magic, alchemy, and blacksmithing: magitek.

Even now, items frequently seen in daily life such as lighters, stoves, subspace, water and sewage systems, etc.

These oddly modern and convenient technologies are all products of magitek.

And new concepts tend to birth new gods.

The youngest god born during the war. The God of Machinery. An extraordinary being from the start.

This is because he was born by tearing open the belly of the Blacksmith God, devouring the corpse, and usurping the divine throne.

As a god born amidst the ruthlessness of war, his very nature was unrelentingly harsh.

He viewed the world as a precise mechanism, considering every being living upon it, including himself, as mere components.

However, that doesn’t mean he was an evil god.

The God of Machinery might have been cold and unfeeling, but he was clearly a benevolent god.

His goal was singular. To end this tiresome war as soon as possible and bring peace to the Continent.

For the greater good, the God of Machinery could unhesitatingly turn even his own followers into magical devices and ‘consume’ them, and he himself was no different.

At the end of the War of the Fallen Gods, he, who survived thanks to his cold reasoning that never suffered a loss, decided that an unfeeling god like himself was only harmful to the world.

Once he had decided, he did not hesitate. He stopped all external activities and began focusing on leaving behind his knowledge of magical engineering.

He gathered and disposed of techniques for killing people, inhumane technologies, and excessively advanced technologies to the greatest extent possible, and then entered eternal rest himself.

However, the time given was insufficient, and no matter how divine, one cannot control everything in the world at will.

Some of the artifacts that were discarded managed to slip out due to the impact of the Labyrinth.

Naturally, the adventurers gladly took and used them… What I’m aiming for is also such an over-technology product.

I touched Ellie’s empty sleeve with a faint smile.

“Ellie’s arm. I’ll get you a cool one.”

“…Huh?”

Ellie blinked her yellow eyes. As if she had heard something she couldn’t even conceive.