Chapter 105: Lap Pillow = Chest Pillow
When Kobayashi opened his eyes, what came into view was a black undergarment stretched taut over a full bust, incomparably round and perky in mid-air. It blocked most of his vision, and he could only see a small bit of a fair chin.
This is... this is... a lap pillow?!
He couldn't help but let out a light sigh. "What a superb view."
Hearing his voice.
"Ah, you're awake."
Darkness lowered her head slightly and asked with concern, "Are you alright? Does anywhere still hurt?"
"If you're asking where it hurts... it's probably just the back of my head that's still a bit sore."
Kobayashi turned over and buried his face between her voluptuous thighs, his voice muffled.
"K-Kobayashi...?!"
Darkness hadn't expected him to suddenly do that. And as he spoke, a warm current came from below, giving her a strange feeling.
"Wh-wh-wh... why are you doing that?"
"Didn't I say? The back of my head hurts, so naturally I have to lie on my stomach."
This is bad! This is really bad!
He had thought that flesh pillows were his favorite, but he hadn't expected Darkness's thighs to be so mesmerizing as well.
"Hiss— hah— hiss— hah—"
The stimulation was immense for the female knight.
"You'll have to endure it, Darkness," his stern voice entered her ears. "This is your punishment for not listening to me and for getting the back of my head injured."
"Y-yes..."
The blonde knight closed her eyes tightly and endured it silently. Coupled with the dungeon-like setting, it was truly inexplicably alluring.
"Have you learned your lesson, Darkness?"
"I... I was wrong..."
"No, that's not sincere enough. Punishment time is extended."
"Y-yes...!"
Back and forth, they repeated the same conversation many times.
After a long while.
Seeing that it was about time, Kobayashi slowly and reluctantly got up.
Seeing her flushed face, toyed with to the point of her breathing being chaotic and her being on the verge of fainting, he believed she had been sufficiently punished.
Let's stop here.
It wouldn't be good if she fainted from him continuing. After all, they were still in a collapsed mine, and there were still unknown dangers lurking.
He helped up the limp Darkness.
He looked around, then headed towards the upper level. Thanks to the cave-in not being too severe, the broken areas had been covered with dirt, forming an upward passage.
He and Darkness followed the path to the upper level.
They collected the scattered refined iron ore. Because of the explosion, a lot of it had been buried under the rubble and couldn't be collected. Fortunately, the refined iron ore that the leader had dropped was not buried.
This trip's harvest was once again plentiful.
"Let's call it a day. It's getting late. We'd better leave quickly."
"You're right."
He was also afraid of another accident.
After collecting the ore with Darkness, they immediately left the mine.
Walking out of the dark tunnel and into the wide-open plains, breathing in the refreshing air, his mood instantly relaxed.
Being in a narrow space always makes one anxious. Because you can't find the entrance, you often get anxious and sweaty. When you find it, you can't help but drive straight in. The exploration of the unknown is simply unbearable.
"Let's go, to the Guild."
Although there was no explicit rule, to prevent accidents, adventurers had to report such special situations to the Guild. This was the duty of every adventurer. Especially in a beginner town like Axel, it was important to keep novice adventurers from encountering danger as much as possible.
Only in this way could a healthy cycle be formed.
"In summary, the swarm of monsters that appeared in the mine has been successfully subjugated, but at the same time, there was a cave-in due to an explosion. Please send professional workers to clear the path."
"Yes, I understand."
As he recounted the events, Luna began to write it all down at high speed.
As a guild employee, she had to take such matters seriously. She also bowed slightly to express her gratitude.
"The Guild is very grateful for the information you've brought back, Kobayashi. It will be passed on to the Guild Master later. I'm sure there will be a corresponding reward. Please come back in a while to collect it."
"Oh, then I'll have to trouble you."
This was the other reason for reporting the information.
—There was a reward!
This was a necessary existence to promote the enthusiasm of adventurers. Only when there was a corresponding reward would people be willing to do it. Otherwise, if the adventurers' enthusiasm couldn't be mobilized, it would be the Guild that was restricted.
"By the way, are there any quests for refined iron ore at the moment?" he asked.
The refined iron ore they had collected from the mine this time was more than enough to forge armor for Darkness. So he was thinking of selling some of it to exchange for some cash to alleviate the embarrassment of the party's empty treasury.
"A quest for refined iron ore... Please wait a moment, I'll check now."
Luna began to search quickly.
Refined iron ore was a hot commodity. Although it wasn't so rare that it had a price but no market, it had always been in short supply, and its price remained high.
Soon, she found a posted request.
"Someone needs 3 pieces of refined iron ore. The purchase price is 1,000,000 Eris. Of course, if you have rare refined iron ore, the purchase price is 2,000,000 Eris per piece. And they will buy as much as you have, with no upper limit."
This price is inflated.
Even he could see that.
One Giant Toad was 22,000 Eris. A single piece of ore was worth 15 Giant Toads? (Note: 5 Giant Toads are 110,000 Eris)
However, he wasn't planning to sell all of it. After all, hunger marketing was the strategy that could maintain a higher selling price and profit margin for a product. A large sell-off would only reduce his own profits.
"Mmm... then I'll sell 3 pieces of refined iron ore."
He didn't sell the rare refined iron ore along with it. It was a widely used alchemy material, more suitable for making potions or magic items. He was thinking of using it on the party members. For example, for Megumin's staff.
He returned to the residence and told the little loli about it.
The child was overjoyed.
But then she asked with some concern, "Is it really okay for me to use such an expensive material? Wouldn't it be better to sell it?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Think of it as an investment."
The higher the power of Megumin's Explosion magic, the more threatening she would be when they encountered a powerful enemy. Even if she could only cast it once, as long as he had enough magic crystals, he could turn her into a magic turret, carpet-bombing the ground with Explosion magic in an instant.
Half a month passed after he handed the materials over to Bill.
"Is this my new equipment? Look at it! This pattern, these curves, this luster! It's really amazing!"
Darkness excitedly stroked her new armor.
She struck several different poses, showing it off in front of everyone, looking very happy.
But in reality, Kobayashi couldn't see any difference at all.
Isn't it the same as her previous armor?
It was just like when your girlfriend goes to the salon to get her hair done. Even though it looks no different from before, she can point out a whole bunch of changes and then make you pay an unreasonably high fee.
But the difference was, the strengthening of Darkness's armor was real.
It was just that on the outside, you really couldn't see any change.
And what surprised him the most was Megumin's staff.
"Because the material is very rare, I made a few small improvements," Aqua and Bill said with proud expressions.
Kobayashi said, exasperated, "You mean a few billion improvements."
The staff in Megumin's hand also looked unremarkable, but Aqua had crazily fused the rare refined iron ore with the [Magic Circuits], causing its mana conductivity to far surpass that of an ordinary staff.
Furthermore, because the rare material was scarce, in the spirit of not being wasteful, they had made the ore into a plug-and-play form. As long as she switched staves, it could be activated again.
—What is this, hot-swapping?!
But in any case, everything he had brought back from his world-crossing this time had been put to good use.
On the other side.
"Bill, your talent has been acknowledged by me, the Goddess of Water."
"To be acknowledged by a goddess is my honor."
"I have another big project here. Are you interested in participating?"
"That's really something to look forward to."
After a brief collaboration, the goddess and the blacksmith had reached some kind of consensus. He had a feeling they were going to create something ridiculous.
(End of Chapter)