Chapter 342 Vague

It was probably somewhere around morning.

Actually, it was a bit vague to call it morning.

Since they were inside a dungeon where the sun couldn’t be seen, it was difficult to distinguish whether it was truly day or night. People just considered the time when the most people were awake as daytime.

In front of the tent, the members who had woken up were sitting together, and Tanya was preparing a simple meal beside them.

While preparing the bowls and looking around at the gathered group, Tanya noticed one person was missing.

Ian was not there.

’Has the Captain not woken up yet?’

Although there were no monsters, some had to stay awake just in case, so everyone’s sleeping and waking times were different.

The only time everyone was awake together was during the twice-daily meal times.

Finishing up the cooking, Tanya looked around for someone to ask to wake Ian.

’Airi. Could you wake the Captain?’

’Eh.’

Airi flinched in surprise at being called by Tanya.

Looking around frantically, Airi pointed to herself with an ’are you serious?’ expression while looking at Tanya.

’Is there another Airi besides you?’

’The... the Captain?’

’You’re just waking him up. What’s so hard about that?’

Tanya spoke first before Airi could even say ’It’s impossible.’

...I suppose so.

Unable to think of a reason why she couldn’t, Airi eventually took cautious steps and entered the tent where Ian was sleeping.

Ian was sleeping alone in the tent.

Airi approached his side carefully and whispered softly.

’Ca... Captain?’

A timid, tiny voice leaked from Airi’s mouth.

It was a whisper far too small to wake a deeply sleeping person.

Naturally, Ian showed no sign of waking up at all.

After calling him a few times from a distance, Airi finally moved even closer to Ian’s side.

Airi repeated the process of calling him and moving closer when there was no response. Before she knew it, Airi’s face was right up against Ian’s.

...The final resort.

Airi cautiously placed her hand on Ian’s shoulder and timidly gave him a couple of pokes and shakes.

Then, she whispered into Ian’s ear with a voice like a crawling ant.

’Captain...’

Ian, who had been deep in sleep, slowly woke up as he heard the tiny voice tickling his ear.

Perhaps due to fatigue, his eyes felt heavy and wouldn’t open properly.

In his slightly open, blurry vision, he heard the sound of someone calling him with their face close to his.

Is it morning...?

Ian closed his heavy eyelids again and let out a small sigh.

You’re full of energy since morning.

Mistaking the person who came to wake him, Ian muttered while still intoxicated by sleep.

’I got it...’

Ian reached out his hand, wrapped it around the neck of the person right in front of him, and pulled them close.

And, out of habit, he pressed his lips against theirs.

Just as some members who often came to wake him early in the morning always demanded.

’Mmph...’

Their lips met.

Airi couldn’t understand what had happened and was frozen stiff, unable to move a muscle.

The soft sensation felt on her lips.

Before she could even realize what it was, a tongue entered.

Hieek...?!

Airi tried to pull away in panic, but Ian’s arm was already holding her firmly in an embrace.

Through the gap of Airi’s defenseless, flustered lips, a tongue pushed in along with hot breath.

The sensation of a first kiss that happened before she even realized it.

She didn’t even have time to think about whether it felt like what she had imagined or not.

While Airi was flailing in a swirl of confused emotions, Ian’s tongue entered deep into Airi’s mouth of its own accord and entwined with her tongue.

Airi’s tongue was timid; unable to offer any resistance, it was dragged here and there as Ian’s tongue moved.

The sensation of soft tongues entwining and tangling. It was a strange sensation she had never even imagined.

Airi experienced a chilling pleasure she had never felt before, a completely different kind from when she masturbated.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t something that could be called pleasure; it was merely a soft texture. However, in Airi’s mind, it triggered the same reaction as the pleasure of reaching a climax.

Airi’s head heated up as if it were about to explode as she stored the sensation of her first-ever kiss into her memory.

Like that, for perhaps... about a minute.

After a brief moment, Airi was finally released from Ian.

Whether it was just an action done in his sleep, Ian was back to being fast asleep.

As the strength left the arm Ian had wrapped around Airi’s neck, Airi was finally able to be freed from Ian’s embrace. Airi slumped weakly to the floor.

Airi breathed barely, her face flushed bright red.

Because she had forgotten to breathe until just a moment ago, she was breathless as if she had been submerged in water.

Clutching her chest, which was thumping as if it would burst, Airi barely managed to crawl out of the tent.

Seeing Airi come out of the tent alone, Tanya asked.

’The Captain?’

’Im-impossible...’

Leaving those words behind, Airi collapsed.

...Even if she’s timid, is she really unable to even wake him up?

Tanya, who had no idea what had happened inside, stared at Airi with a fed-up look.

She wondered if she should hold a few more parties so they could get closer to the mercenary group. Thinking that, Tanya eventually asked Rin instead.

’Rin. Wake the Captain up.’

’Okay.’

Meanwhile, Airi, who had barely regained her senses, lifted her head and touched her lips.

Was that just now... a kiss?

...My first kiss?

As Airi’s consciousness, which had disappeared somewhere for a moment, finally returned, she slowly began to understand what had just happened.

So, the tongue suddenly came in and...

The tongue...

Airi, who was whispering soundlessly, quietly picked herself up.

’Where are you going?’

’The, the bathroom...’

Answering like that, Airi hurried away somewhere.

Airi telah masturbasi sebanyak 2 kali.

＊ ＊ ＊

After finishing the meal, Ian looked around at the gathered members.

For some reason, everyone seemed fine except for Airi, who was sitting blankly and touching her lips.

Ian turned his head toward the door where the exploration team was located.

Seeing that the area where the exploration team gathered was somewhat noisy, it seemed they had discovered something.

As if he had something to report, Ellen was approaching the mercenary tent.

’Is there any progress?’

’We’ve found the circuit guarding the door. Looking at the composition, it seems to be a Black Mage’s workshop.’

Ellen nodded and replied to Ian’s question.

’It looks like we’ll have to go out and hire a Black Mage.’

’A Black Mage?’

’Since it’s a circuit made with Black Magic, there’s great resistance to the mana of other mages. There are ways to bypass it, but it takes too long. If we have a Black Mage, we can solve it much more simply.’

At the mention of a Black Mage, everyone’s eyes turned toward Airi.

Airi hadn’t noticed because she was preoccupied with other thoughts, but she later realized everyone was looking at her and shrank back in surprise.

Ellen saw the members’ reactions and asked Ian with a look of ’could it be?’

’Perhaps...?’

’We happen to have a member who learned Black Magic.’

’Is that true!’

Ellen’s gaze snapped toward Airi.

Receiving that gaze, Airi flinched and stepped backward.

’I-I’m not a mage, I just read a bit from a magic book...’

’That’s fine! We can help with the complex parts, so we just need the mana of Black Magic!’

Ellen, who had hurriedly run to his tent and back, immediately wrote a new employment contract for Airi.

It was an additional amount comparable to the employment cost of the entire mercenary group.

Airi, who was reading the document, flinched and spoke cautiously.

’Th-the amount is strange...’

’Eh? Is it too small? If so, I can increase it by about 10%.’

’O-oh, no! It’s just, it seems too large...’

’Since we’re on the subject, let’s just apply it with a 10% increase.’

’Hiik...’

Airi trembled as she saw the amount go up even further because of her words.

They didn’t know how much more time it would take if they stopped the exploration now, went out, refitted, found a Black Mage, and came back in.

But it turned out there was a Black Mage in the mercenary group.

Thinking of the time and cost they could save, it was a natural amount.

Airi tried to refuse, saying it was absolutely impossible, but she eventually shut her mouth after seeing the amount written on the contract.

It wasn’t that she was thinking about her share of the distribution; she simply didn’t have the courage to personally scrap a contract of this magnitude.

In the end, the signatures of Ian, Airi, and Ellen were written on the new contract.

Airi was now in a position where she had to use Black Magic surrounded by many people, with everyone watching.

The members who were listening to the explanation nearby spoke up.

’So, does this mean it’s over once Airi opens the door?’

’Do your best, Airi.’

’Go open it quickly!’

’Hieeeek...’

They had found a way to open the door, and once Airi opened it with Black Magic, the exploration would be over.

Everyone cheered for Airi with expectant faces, but that only added several times more to Airi’s burden.

’Shall we start right away?’

’If you don’t mind, please do.’

’Let’s go, Airi.’

’...’

Airi was led toward the exploration team’s investigation zone, where many people were teeming, with the expression of a slave being sold off.