Chapter 38 – Irian Of The Forgotten Temple (2)

Silence.

The cold wind in the darkening mountains swept past the group. Irian, who had been staring with a blank face, suddenly chuckled and waved her hand.

“Don’t joke around, Yurian. It’s not funny.”
“……”
“……No, right?”
“……”
“……Really?”

Speechless.
Feeling like a criminal, I just held Karsilla tightly, and Karsilla started tapping my arm.

“Why?”
“Let go.”

Thinking she was feeling suffocated, I released my arms, and she scurried over to Irian and hugged her instead. She even glared at me. …Is this what it feels like to have your heart broken? Is this a father’s heart? Is she already going through puberty? Is she being rebellious?

“It’s okay, Yurian. Everyone makes mistakes.”

Ah, Diana is the only one for me. Diana, who comforted me kindly, took the initiative and started setting up the tent first. Irian and Karsilla also hesitantly began to help. Irian set up the tent in place of Diana, and Karsilla picked up and threw the jagged stones on the ground, leveling the area.
While the two were busy making camp, Diana, who had quietly approached, gently stroked my shoulder.

“Yurian, don’t blame yourself too much. I’m okay.”
“Thank you, Diana.”
“Hehe, how much?”
“I’m very grateful.”

She smiled sweetly and snuggled up to me, and Diana’s unique scent wafted over. Maybe it was because we had rolled around so much yesterday that my body reacted quickly, and I had slightly crossed my legs. The hand that had been stroking my shoulder slowly moved down.

“Hey, hey. Let’s restrain ourselves here. The kids are watching.”
“Should we?”

She patted my cheek as if I were cute and then got up. I was just staring blankly at her back when a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘Isn’t Diana more cunning than I thought?’

Maybe I was underestimating her. Anyway, that girl didn’t do any work in the end. I felt sorry watching Irian diligently setting up the tent and Karsilla running around, sweating profusely. I wanted to help, but… if I got up, a disaster would happen. It wasn’t like I was wearing a voluminous priest’s robe, but pants…

“Oh, Lady Diana. I’ll do this!”
“No, Sir Irian. I should help too. Heave-ho.”
“Lady Diana! …Yurian! Why are you just sitting there!”
“……”

Look at her showing off. I was dumbfounded, watching Diana’s back as she moved as if she had been working hard when it was nothing, and Irian started yelling.

“Hey! Are you really going to be like that?”
“……Wait.”
“Help with this. Karsilla is working hard too, ugh.”
“……M-My leg cramped.”
“Hmm? Oh, is that so?”

Now is the time I’m most grateful for the ‘Undying Archduke’s Mark.’ I pretended to be weak like Kosupre and groaned as if I was in pain, and Irian, with an awkward expression, came over and even massaged my leg.

“Are you okay? You should have said something if it was that hard.”
“Hey, hey. It’s okay. It’s better now. Let go, let go.”
“It’s okay. Massaging it will make it better… You pervert.”

Ah, crap.
Because she pulled my leg while massaging it, my crossed legs straightened out, and my huge, proud member was revealed in all its glory.
Although it was dark, Irian’s face, as red as her characteristic high-saturation red hair, flung my leg away as if she had touched something dirty.

“Hey, we’re both guys, what’s the big deal? You already massaged it, so massage it more.”
“Get lost!”

I chuckled, watching her stomp back to setting up the tent, and my member calmed down as if nothing had happened. Ugh, it’s too inconvenient when it’s too big.

* * *

The next morning, after the four of us slept side by side in a large tent.
Karsilla, who had been sleeping between me and Diana, had somehow snuggled up to me, so I hugged her tightly. But when I woke up, she was far away.

‘……Is she really going through puberty?’

Does she not like her dad’s embrace anymore? Seeing her sleeping alone made me feel empty. Ugh… I clearly remember her snuggling into my arms while we were sleeping.

“Yurian, are you awake?”
“Diana. You woke up early. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. I made breakfast.”

What’s up with the sleepyhead? Come to think of it, Diana, who was always weak in the morning, has been waking up early ever since we started traveling. Is she enduring it with her willpower?

I drank a mouthful of water made with divine power in the makeshift shower room and sprinkled it on my body. I was so relieved. How blessed it is to not have to worry about drinking water while traveling!
The most important things for supplies are food and water. They are also the biggest problems.
Especially water. It’s very, very important.

You can survive for a week without food, but it’s almost impossible to survive for a week without water. Well, maybe Irian and Diana, who have monstrous physical abilities, could do it, but I don’t want to try that kind of experiment.

Just like how supplies are the most important thing in war, food and water are essential, but they are also the most annoying things to carry because they take up the most space and weigh the most.

Especially water. Even a six-pack of bottled water from a convenience store is heavy as hell, so how much water would you use while traveling? And if you drink any water from the side of the road, you’ll often die on the spot. So, finding water while traveling off the beaten path is the most important thing.

Fortunately, our group, except for Karsilla, can use divine magic, so we can create water with magic, making us free from this problem. If this was a real-world setting, I might have given up on being the Demon King and everything else.

Well… even if we pack food and all sorts of supplies, we still end up with a lot of luggage.

After taking a light shower, Irian was boiling soup. How short is this guy’s sleep time? Can she be okay with so little sleep?

“What are you putting in it?”

She glanced at me but didn’t answer. Is it because of what happened yesterday? I roughly ruffled her hair and sat next to her, and she held up a ladle full of boiling soup.

“Do you want to get hit with the soup?”
“…Sorry.”

It smells good. After waking up Karsilla, who was still half-asleep, washing her, and eating soup, we packed up the campsite.
We had worked hard to climb the mountain yesterday, but it was exhausting to go back down. But what can we do? This isn’t the right mountain. I told Cha Hyewon about it before going to bed yesterday, and she laughed like she was going to die.

Still, I talked to her and roughly confirmed our location. Surprisingly, she remembered the world map quite accurately, even though she was a newbie. After comparing notes, I was able to pinpoint our location to some extent. There won’t be another “wrong mountain” ending this time, right? If that happens again, I think even Diana will get angry.

We walked and climbed mountains all day again.
Irian and Diana might not be lacking in stamina, but I, who had a debuff, and even Karsilla, who surprisingly had great physical abilities, seemed to be struggling this time.
The initial picnic atmosphere was gone, and everyone looked like they were about to become guerrillas. Ugh, what would have happened if we didn’t have divine magic? I wiped the soot off Karsilla’s chubby cheeks and looked around. It seemed like this was about the right place.

The ‘Forgotten Temple’ is a hidden dungeon, so it’s hard to find, but the strategy itself isn’t difficult. It doesn’t randomly move around. It’s just that comparing it to the game’s pixel graphics is a pain in the ass. They all look so similar.

We wandered around for a while, but the day ended first. Are we going to fail again today? I was looking for a place to camp with the group when it happened.

“Huh!?”

I felt my feet sink, and the group shot up into the sky. …No, I’m the one falling.

“Yuria…n?”
“What is it? It’s still daytime. You scared me.”

…I was scared too.
When I fell, it was only a little higher than my height. About a 2-meter slope. It would be a dangerous height for an average person, but it wasn’t particularly dangerous for someone with my physical abilities.

It was strange that it was cut off as if with a knife, but what caught my eye more than that was the small but ornate stone gate in front of me. Divine characters and numerous reliefs were engraved on the solid stone gate. The group, who had followed me down, also seemed surprised by the appearance of the gate.

“Wow. What’s a stone gate doing in a place like this?”
“Because this is the Forgotten Temple.”

I nodded, looking at Irian’s wide red eyes. A bright smile spread across her pretty face at the fact that the tiresome mountain trek was finally over. Tsk. Is she really cross-dressing? She’s cute.

“Yurian. Is this the place you were looking for?”

Diana, who had slipped between me and Irian, was examining the stone gate. Considering that Diana was also secretly annoyed, she must be quite pleased that we finally arrived at our destination.

“Yeah. Seeing this gate, I’m sure of it. Everyone, you’ve worked hard.”
“It’s nothing. Yurian, you’re the one who worked hard.”

Oh my, she speaks so beautifully. She looks even prettier compared to Irian, who nodded as if it was obvious.

“It must have been hidden because it was in such a low place. The top is covered with trees and bushes.”

That’s definitely the case. The gate, which had been hidden by the undergrowth, was clearly visible when we came down. Is that why it hadn’t been discovered? This area is mild even in winter, so maybe that’s why it’s a forgotten temple.

‘…Well, it’s a game world, so anything goes with just one setting.’

No matter how many reasons you come up with, one setting makes it all unnecessary. Even Irian in front of me is questionable whether she’s a cross-dressing boy or a pretty girl dressed in a boyish way, but everyone says she’s a boy.

“Let’s go inside and camp. The entrance should be okay.”

In the game, there wasn’t anything special at the entrance. Even if there was, it wouldn’t be dangerous considering our group’s level. We’re only at the beginning of the game, so I don’t want to take any risks yet. I don’t plan on leading the group to a difficult place. If we grow step by step, we’ll eventually face the Demon King, the main quest, and then dangerous situations will happen whether we want them to or not.

We passed through the stone gate, which opened surprisingly smoothly, and a pitch-black darkness spread out. When I, Diana, and Irian each created a ball of divine power, white flames began to surge, burning away the darkness.

“It looks wider than I thought. Did they dig into the mountain?”
“Most of the inside of the mountain is the temple. It’s much bigger than you think. For now, this side has a stone floor, so it’s good for camping. It’s also close to the entrance, so it’s easy to escape. Let’s rest here before going in.”

I helped Irian, who was diligently setting up the tent like yesterday, and while we were setting up alarm magic and a barrier, Diana and Karsilla prepared food. They grilled meat and boiled soup. After feeding us a hearty dinner, we made a makeshift shower room, took a shower, and then went to lie down in the tent. As if it was natural, Karsilla clung to me.

“Huh? Karsilla. Didn’t you want to sleep alone?”
“No.”

I hugged the small body that was clinging to me, afraid I would leave her, and said hello to Diana, whose blue eyes were shining even in the dark.

“Good night, Diana.”
“…Yes.”

Is she tired? Her answer isn’t very enthusiastic.
I thought she was going through puberty, but Karsilla is still a baby. She still likes her dad this much. Hehehe.

……?

Why is she sleeping alone again? Karsilla’s figure, sleeping far away, was strange, but Diana shook my small body, telling me to eat breakfast.

“Karsilla. Karsilla, it’s morning. Let’s eat.”
“……Ugh.”

I picked up Karsilla, who was rubbing her eyes with a dissatisfied expression, and went outside the tent. As expected, Diana and Irian were neatly preparing breakfast.

“Irian is like that, but Diana is surprising. She used to be weak in the morning, but these days she wakes up earlier than me.”
“Is that so? Hmm~ It’s not the main temple here, so I guess I’m a little uneasy.”
“I set up magic and a barrier, and Irian is here too. Are you worried?”
“It’s not that. You never know. Maybe a thief will come.”
“A thief? Diana, you’re making a joke that’s not funny.”

Karsilla also glanced at Diana, as if it wasn’t funny. I sat her in front of me and was feeding her the hot soup, blowing on it, when I felt a piercing gaze.

“Why?”
“No. I was just wondering if Karsilla isn’t old enough to eat by herself.”
“…No. I’m still a baby.”
“Of course~ Our Karsilla is a baby. Right?”
“Yeah!”
“…Is that so?”

Diana’s strange answer as she slurped her soup. But why is she so far away? Is she cold? I hugged Karsilla tightly.