Chapter 314: Prohibition Zone (1)

When the morning sunlight filtered through the leaves and woke me from sleep, I was met with the face of AA sleeping soundly before my eyes. Covered only by a thin blanket over her naked body, she was letting out cute, peaceful breathing sounds. Getting an erection at the sight of her face, I burrowed under the blanket and pressed my body against her soft, feminine form.

“Eueung...”

As AA furrowed her brow and let out a moan, I checked that her cunt was wet and thrust my penis in all at once. AA’s face flushed red, and the regular, low moans slipping from her grew louder.

“Ah... Ah... Aaht...!”

The sound of skin brushing against the blanket rang out. AA opened her eyes and looked at me. Just as a flustered voice was about to spill from her crumpled face, I kissed her to keep her from speaking any further. Intertwining our tongues, my hips shook violently. Sleeping behind me, Erina tossed and turned, startled by the rattling of the bed.

“Eueup... Eup...!”

With her mouth blocked, the strength began to drain from AA’s hands as she held tightly onto me. Only after ejaculating forcefully inside her did I cease my movements. At the sensation of semen filling her belly, her eyelids fluttered. When I parted my lips, AA’s tongue clung to mine before sliding smoothly away. She panted for breath with her tongue slightly sticking out. Having just woken from sleep, she looked at me and spoke, as if dissatisfied with the sensation echoing in her lower abdomen.

“You’re really... too much, Sir Priest. Even without doing it like this...”

“I did it because you were cute.”

“Please don’t call me cute. Because... it’s awkward.”

AA said so, rubbing her legs together. Since I had clung to her the moment she woke up, she seemed to feel uncomfortable.

“Shall we wash up now?”

“Yes.”

Entering the bathroom, we soaped each other down. At the touch of her hands rubbing soap foam generously over my cock, I got an erection once again. As my hand slipped between her legs, AA looked at me with an awkward expression. Our eyes met, and AA wordlessly turned her body around. Applying soap foam to her buttocks as a lubricant, I thrust in all at once.

“Aaht...!”

“Haa... I love you, Sir Hero.”

“Eung...! Ah...! Aaht...!”

Slap, slap! The sound of wet flesh colliding rang out. After ejaculating at the end of vigorous sex, we rinsed each other's bodies with water and came out. On our twelfth day in Ahildern, AA and I were living like beasts in this manner. Drying her hair with a towel, I spoke:

“Sir Hero. We need to defeat Evangeline now, don't we?”

“Yes.”

AA nodded her head at my words. After shaking her hair once with a towel, I began combing it. It seemed that Erina used to comb it for her originally. Stroking her hair, I continued:

“You know my wife, Artie, right?”

“You mean Miss Dragon, right?”

“Yes. Among Artie's friends, there is an entity named Sioter.”

In fact, I didn't know what race Sioter was either. That was why, other than the word 'entity,' I had no other way to describe Sioter. AA giggled, wondering if the expression 'entity' was funny. Annoyed by her reaction, I deliberately parted her hair into an eighty-twenty style. Looking into the mirror, AA was startled and ruffled her hair back up.

“W-What are you doing!”

“Sir Hero looks pretty no matter what hairstyle you have.”

“This is weird, isn't it!”

Awakened by our chatter, Erina looked around with a disheveled face and spoke to AA:

“A-AA... Has something happened?”

“Hm? It’s nothing, Erina. If you’re tired, keep sleeping.”

AA spoke in a gentle tone and shifted her gaze back to me. In a half-asleep state, Erina nodded her head and buried her face back into the pillow. Nicely combing her hair again, I spoke:

“Anyway, according to Artie, meeting that person named Sioter will provide us with training. If we're going to get stronger anyway, it's better to receive systematic training, isn't it? That's why I want to go meet Sioter, and I'd like you to come with me.”

“With me?”

“Of course. We're comrades, aren't we?”

Now that the dream of hero rape had collapsed in vain, there was no need to become stronger than AA. Now, AA would take Evangeline's attacks in my stead and kill Evangeline for me. For that to happen, it was better for AA to become much stronger than me.

“Where does that person named Sioter live? Is it... a feeling like Mr. Dagon, whom we saw before?”

“I don't know either. I've never seen their face.”

“Didn't you ask Miss Artie?”

AA looked at me with a dumbfounded face. It was one of the disadvantages of relying on the status window. Since pulling up the status window allowed me to know at least the name, I tended to simply skip asking for physical descriptions that one should naturally inquire about when searching for someone.

“For now, I heard they're somewhere in the Dwarf Kingdom... But as far as I know, security in the Dwarf Kingdom is tight, so I heard we need to get a separate entry permit.”

“Yes. That's why I had to apply for a separate entry permit when going to the Dwarf Kingdom as well. When I tried to just enter, they told me that even if the Hero's grandfather came instead of the Hero, no one gets in just like that.”

What? They pulled that bullshit even on the Hero? Did these bastards have spare lives?

“In a sense, that's amazing. So, how did it feel once you went inside? For now, I plan to apply for the entry permit right away, but I thought it would be good to get a feel for the atmosphere on the ground in advance.”

“It's closed off. The dwarves don't try to come outside the Dwarf Kingdom at all, and only a few certified dwarf merchants who interact with the Magic Tower travel outside. Thanks to that, the dwarves have no slaves and suffered almost no losses in the war. Even during this Demon King's Resurrection, the Magic Tower protected them as a top priority, so I heard there was no damage.”

“Closed off, huh. Is it because it's a nation of artisans?”

“Yes. They seemed quite sensitive to technology leaks. Even if I just touched an item while wandering around, guards would come up and demand to see my entry permit, and even after my social standing was verified, I couldn't wander beyond the designated zones.”

“You couldn't wander beyond the designated zones?”

“Yes. They were extremely strict.”

Rattle, the bathroom door opened. Erina, whom I thought had buried herself back in bed to sleep, had gotten up before I knew it and just finished showering. After tidying up AA's hair, I turned to look at Erina. Wiping her body with a towel, she asked me:

“What were you talking about, Lucius?”

“We were talking about the Dwarf Kingdom. Erina, is there anything you know about the Dwarf Kingdom?”

“They are troublesome and finicky bastards. Despite looking reliable and solid like rocks, whenever they open their mouths, they chatter like washerwomen at a stream. I accompanied Mother to diplomatic meetings a few times and visited for goodwill in the past, but they are not bastards one can normally associate with. Being petty and difficult is their daily routine, so you have no idea how bothersome they are...”

Erina grimaced, spewing her complaints. Even AA shook her head at Erina's scathing assessment. Synthesizing AA's and Erina's assessments of the dwarves, they were a group of eccentric, shut-in artisans who lived amongst themselves because they couldn't adapt to society. They were extremely finicky and so closed off that it was impossible to tell how they even conducted trade with the Magic Tower.

“What do they mainly trade with the Magic Tower?”

At my question, Erina grimaced as if asking how I didn't even know that, and spoke:

“You must have traded a few times, yet you do not know? The Dwarf Kingdom and the Magic Tower trade magic stones. They extract minerals imbued with high-purity magic power and hand them over to the Magic Tower, and the Magic Tower refines them so they can be used. It is said to be the traces of the Demon Race from the past, but that magic stone is found in abundance exclusively in the mines where the Dwarf Kingdom is located.”

“How do they extract it? Do they cut out a large chunk of magic stone little by little to take it out?”

I recalled the mountain ranges next to the Magic Tower that were riddled with holes like cheese. Did they have to dig to such an extent just to discover magic stones? Despite being close to exhaustion like that, was there really no change in the supply? Erina shrugged her shoulders and replied:

“No one has ever entered the magic stone extraction mine, so I do not know. The people in charge of magic stone extraction are only those among the dwarves of great age and high rank. Even foreign royalty like Mother and myself cannot observe the extraction process.”

“So it’s a top secret among top secrets.”

“Sir Priest. Even if you’re curious, I think it’s right to drop your interest in that. Our purpose is to meet that person named Sioter, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. How they mine magic stones is none of my busi...”

I stopped my words right there. Traces of the Demon Race? High-purity magic stones extracted in unusually large quantities? Artie had brought me high-purity magic stones, calling them hard-to-find items. The Dwarf Kingdom was delivering high-purity magic stones to the Magic Tower, calling them 'traces of the Demon Race.' No one could observe the Dwarf Kingdom's magic stone extraction process, and in every other aspect, the Dwarf Kingdom was morbidly closed off.

“Fuck, hold on.”

Isn't Sioter already dead? Just by being alive, Mimir was functioning as a battery maintaining all of Ahildern. If Sioter was a monster of tremendous build, and that monster had died for some reason or ended up in a state like Mimir, wouldn't it be possible to use it as a power source for magic stones?

“Erina. If I apply for an entry permit to the Dwarf Kingdom right now, how long will it take?”

“Well. Since we only need to apply for yours, it will not take that long. The Dwarf Kingdom tends to grant transit clearance fairly easily to those from noble or royal backgrounds, after all.”

Although I still had to investigate the surroundings further, the place with the highest possibility was that mine. AA wore a puzzled expression at my reaction. Stroking AA's head, I spoke to Erina:

“Erina. Then we will head back to Peta Territory for now. Once the travel permit comes out, send it to us immediately.”

“W-We? Did you say we? Are you saying you will take AA right now?”

“Of course. She is my woman now, and we have to go to the Dwarf Kingdom together.”

I wrapped my arm around AA's waist. AA's face flushed bright red at my statement, not knowing what to do. Erina seemed slightly flustered at the news that I would be taking AA along.

“Still, A-AA is my husband, and...”

“We are going to accomplish the Hero's achievements. Please rest assured.”

“Erina. Please don't worry too much. You know Sir Priest is kind, don't you?”

“B-But...”

Erina was on the verge of tears. However, we decided to leave.