GILF Hunter

A soft knock on the door.

Opening the door to Ian’s office slightly, Rin poked her head in and asked.

’Um, Captain. Do you have a moment later?’

’Sorry. This is urgent right now.’

Seeing that Ian was busy, Rin checked the time and asked once more.

’Ah… then I’ll come by in the evening. You’ll be free then, right?’

’…Sure.’

Rin left after making an evening appointment with Ian.

Mika, who arrived late, saw this, clicked her tongue, and turned away.

A short while later, Tanya brought coffee to Ian.

After setting down the cup of coffee Ian had requested.

Tanya, hesitating while holding the tray, cautiously asked Ian.

’Um… by any chance.’

’…Sorry. Rin is coming by this evening.’

’I see…’

Tanya left, looking at Ian with a slightly disappointed expression.

’….’

Letting out a small sigh, Ian picked up his coffee cup and looked out the window.

The city was facing a crisis, but for now, knowing nothing, it was as peaceful as usual.

Ian opened the status windows of the members to check their conditions.

Everyone had returned safely from the labyrinth, but the erosion still remained.

Since the erosion hadn’t been dealt with, they were still riddled with curses.

This erosion, which did not disappear even after leaving the labyrinth, was the most troublesome obstacle in labyrinth exploration.

How to properly handle this erosion was the most important point of labyrinth exploration.

The simplest method was using a purifier.

In the laboratory where facilities had been hurriedly expanded, Louise was still making purifiers whenever she had time.

However, potions take time to manufacture, and quantities are limited.

Thanks to the materials brought back from the labyrinth this time, the quantity was more generous than at first, but the fact that they couldn’t be made infinitely remained the same.

Ian wanted to stockpile as much as possible for the next exploration.

Everyone agreed with that opinion.

After experiencing it firsthand in the labyrinth, they felt that they should have as many purifiers as possible.

So, using purifiers was excluded.

Another method was going to the temple.

Thanks to Ian raising his donation rank, it was possible to rent an infirmary room at the temple.

Staying there allowed one to purify erosion through the effect of the Goddess statue.

The problem was that, besides the cost, it took a long time.

Furthermore, everyone was repulsed by the idea of having to recuperate at the temple for a while.

Life in a temple.

Waking up early to pray, eating temple food, and studying scriptures.

Since recovery only happens while staying in the temple, one couldn’t even go out for fun.

All the mercenaries gave a categorical refusal.

Ian wasn’t very keen on this method either.

Having to hospitalize mercenaries for nearly a month while they did nothing was too much of a loss.

Even if it was the simplest and cleanest way, keeping them in an infirmary where they couldn’t be sent on missions or trained was too costly.

Finally…

There was one other method.

A method everyone knew.

It was for Ian to treat them.

Because of the incident where he treated Mika, everyone knew that Ian had a unique constitution capable of purifying erosion.

He hadn’t used it inside the labyrinth because it consumed too much stamina, but now that they were out and resting, it was a method well worth considering.

Paying a high price to be shut in a temple and pray.

Boring and pedantic.

Or… rolling around with Ian.

Well. Everyone was already close enough to know the deal.

Everyone chose the latter.

It seemed even Lia hated the temple.

As a result of that brief meeting.

Since Ian himself had no other way, he decided to drink the manufactured potions.

And the rest decided to receive treatment from Ian.

At first glance, it seemed like a much more rational choice than using purifiers with limited quantities or living a long recuperation life in an infirmary.

However, the amount of recovery Ian could produce was very minute.

In the first place, it wasn’t a proper healing ability, but a temporary measure hurriedly prepared for Mika.

In Mika’s case, it was a minor penalty that could hardly be called a curse, so it could be finished in one go, but…

The erosion accumulated in earnest while exploring the labyrinth was not an amount that could be resolved in just a day or two.

The result.

Ian woke up from his sleep, squinting slightly at the light leaking through the gaps in the curtains.

’…Ah.’

As soon as Ian opened his eyes, he met the gaze of Rin, who was up on the bed.

’…Rin?’

’Hehe, I thought now might be the only time.’

Moving the blanket aside, Rin, who was holding onto Ian’s trousers, answered with an awkward smile.

’Could you give me a moment?’

’Sorry, right after waking up is a bit…’

’…It looks like things are ready over here, though?’

Rin answered while pointing toward Ian’s lower half.

The excuse that it’s just a natural morning occurrence probably wouldn’t work at all.

Approaching that spot, Rin’s hand slipped gently inside Ian’s trousers.

….

When Ian was submerged in the hot water of the bathhouse.

With a small knock, the door opened and Tanya walked inside.

’Um, Captain.’

’Tanya…?’

Tanya, covering her body with a towel, approached with small steps.

Her face slightly flushed, Tanya smiled at Ian and spoke.

’Your hands are still uncomfortable, right? I’ll help you bathe.’

’I said my hands were fine…’

It seemed Ian’s answer didn’t particularly matter.

The towel covering Tanya’s body dropped to the floor with a thud.

Tanya cautiously entered the tub and sat right next to Ian.

As Tanya leaned against him, her breasts softly touched Ian’s arm.

….

In the middle of the night, with the sound of a door opening, Mika entered Ian’s room.

’…Mika?’

’I couldn’t sleep. Can we talk for a bit?’

Mika had indeed been unable to sleep properly for a while due to the insomnia she developed in the labyrinth.

This was the excuse Mika always used when visiting Ian in the middle of the night.

’The insomnia was cured recently.’

’Ehehe. It’s become a habit, so now I can’t sleep at night…’

But that insomnia had been treated a while ago.

Having been called out on it, Mika let out a laugh and avoided his gaze.

Dressed in her pajamas, Mika sat on Ian’s bed.

Then, Mika, who had slipped inside Ian’s blanket, stuck close to Ian’s side and wore a playful smile.

As Mika hugged one of Ian’s arms, her hair tickled his skin, and a slightly sweet scent wafted over.

Sneaking closer, Mika buried her face in the nape of Ian’s neck.

….

…And so, it had been a week.

Ian realized he had made a significantly wrong choice.

Lifting his heavy eyelids from the bed, Ian checked the time.

It was already past lunch.

Outside the window where the morning had passed, far from the sound of birds, the voices of pedestrians passing through the streets were echoing loudly.

He tried to get up slowly, but his body wouldn’t listen at all.

Ian’s will was being tested.

…If this continues, I feel like I’m going to die.

Ian barely managed to lift his head and opened the Potential window with trembling hands.

A brief moment of agony.

Placing his life and 3 points on the scale and contemplating for a moment, Ian decided to discard the 3 points.

[Increase Maximum Frequency]

[Energy Regeneration]

[Essence Absorption]

Ian, who invested 3 points into survival skills, closed the window.

…These were points I was going to use to take [Proof of Honor].

Still, it wasn’t a trait more important than his immediate life.

Ian flopped his body back down onto the bed.

＊ ＊ ＊

Having finally recovered his physical condition, Ian came down to the lounge and drank an energy recovery potion.

It was something he had sent someone to buy at a nearby potion shop, but the recovery value was quite poor.

It seemed the level of the alchemist over there was low.

Items made by Louise would be much better, but Louise was currently busy with research while making purifiers.

He felt bad asking her to make such trivial items.

He had no choice but to buy and use items from other shops for now.

…As soon as possible, let’s find another means to recover erosion.

Ian, who drank the energy recovery potions until no more recovery was possible, finally let out a sigh.

With his stamina somewhat restored and his mind clear, Ian picked up a few letters piled on the lounge table.

It seemed to be the mail that arrived in the morning.

Among them, Ian first opened the request list from the guild.

It was one of the things that became easier thanks to being promoted to C-rank and being selected as an outstanding activity guild.

Without having to go to the guild from the morning and struggle with other mercenary groups, they would organize and propose suitable missions on their own. It was the guild’s request subscription service.

Ian discovered a request among them that caught his eye.

The request content was a common merchant group escort mission.

However, the destination stood out.

It was a tourist city on the coast, slightly away from Labyrinth.

The sea…

Ian’s eyes lit up slightly.

Although it was a rest period after returning from the labyrinth, this was a simple escort request.

Since there wouldn’t be any major battles, he could easily handle this level of request.

Since it was a tourist spot, staying there for a few days would likely lower stress levels even further.

If they went to the beach to play, everyone would get tired from playing.

Maybe the frequency of them looking for Ian would decrease if they were distracted by the sea.

Since nothing but waiting remained for the future anyway, it seemed like a good idea.

Having come up with a good idea, Ian stared intently at the mission and then stood up abruptly to head to the guild.