GILF Hunter

Chapter 449: 449 Children?

’Come on, this way!’

’What’s going on so early in the morning...’

Tanya walked through the streets, her hands held by her friends as she was pulled along.

Anne, Karen, and Seria. Friends from her hometown who she had fortunately reunited with in Labyrinth and ended up doing mercenary work with.

Since they were in different teams and going out on separate schedules, it had been quite a while since their holidays overlapped for this long.

She had rarely seen them when they were out on commissions... but since they were all approaching C-rank soon, they seemed to be doing well enough in their own way.

After following her friends past a few alleys, they arrived at a small shopping street.

It was a modest shopping area with fewer people passing through compared to the main road. Everyone stopped in front of a shop settled on that street.

’I found a good shop the other day.’

’Ah... we came here to go to a shop?’

’I’m sure you’ll like it too!’

It felt like only recently they had all been horrified by the prices in Labyrinth when they first arrived. Now, they seemed to have completely adapted to life here. To think they’d developed a hobby of seeking out shops like this.

Anne led the way and opened the door.

It was a shop with a nice atmosphere. The interior, which looked like it had been decorated by hand, was filled with the scent of baking cookies.

Tanya sat at a table with her friends.

She was impressed by the chaotic menu that lacked a unified theme... as if they were trying to make everything they could.

Anne glanced around the shop once and said to Tanya.

’Tanya, you used to want to open a shop like this, didn’t you?’

’I did... once.’

It was a dream for the future from a time when she was quite immature.

A time when she had never even properly left the village. It was a dream she had built while reading books or newspapers brought by merchants occasionally, imagining a glamorous and wonderful city life.

Thinking about it now, it was a ridiculous dream. Even for a small shop like this, how much money would be needed to settle in a city?

Moreover, considering the customers who would visit the shop, one could only expect proper sales if it were built in a large city.

At that time, she had planned to open a shop in the city closest to the village.

But even if it was called a city, it only meant the largest city in that region; frankly, it was just a small place.

However, because she had no experience then, even that felt like a truly large city. If she had built a shop in that small rural town as she had thought then... she wouldn’t have been able to escape a deficit.

Recalling that, Tanya replied with an embarrassed face.

’I planned it too recklessly back then.... Even if I had luckily opened a shop, I probably would have failed.’

’Well, I guess there’s no need for that now? You must have earned a lot of money.’

’No, I still want to do it. Later, after I retire...’

Although the plans had changed a lot from then, Tanya’s thoughts on retirement life remained the same.

Of course, since she knew more now than she did then, the plan was actually a bit more clear and realistic.

Considering the money she had saved up until now, the scale of the shop could be a bit larger...

But since she didn’t want to be so busy that she had no leisure, the location would be somewhere slightly away from the square street.

Assuming the Leader continues to run the mercenary group, the location should be Labyrinth.

When there’s more leeway in the mercenary work, I want to live with him at home instead of the mercenary lodging.... That would be better for children to live in, too.

...Children?

As she was bringing up various thoughts, Tanya’s face flushed deep red.

While thinking about the shop, Tanya realized too late that some strange delusions had slipped in halfway through.

She was clearly thinking about a shop to run after retiring from mercenary work. But when she snapped out of it, she was naturally imagining a married life with Ian.

’Here is your order.’

Just then, a waiter approached and set a tray on the table.

Thanks to that, the conversation naturally broke off, and Tanya was able to stop the endless stream of imagination midway.

Tanya hurriedly calmed her flushed face and picked up her glass.

Retirement life... it was too distant a story to be worrying about already.

＊ ＊ ＊

At night after the sun had set, Tanya, who had returned from her outing, stopped by the hot spring for a moment before ending her day.

It was like a simple routine she had established after taking charge of managing the hot spring.

Since no guests had visited today, there wouldn’t be anything specific to do, but because something might be up with the spirit. She felt at ease only after stopping by once.

After briefly looking around the interior of the building like that, Tanya, who was about to leave, discovered someone’s shadow sitting in the hot spring.

There was no way a guest would be using the hot spring at this hour...

Of course, it wasn’t an intruder either. It was a back view quite familiar to Tanya.

Tanya approached quietly from behind and spoke first.

’Epirnoa-nim?’

’Kyaa!’

Just what on earth had she been thinking about so deeply? Epirnoa was startled and hurriedly turned around. She hadn’t even seemed to notice Tanya approaching.

Epirnoa recognized Tanya’s face and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

’Phew... it’s not Ian. Thank goodness.’

’The Leader?’

As Tanya asked with a puzzled expression, Epirnoa muttered while touching her hair with a slightly troubled face.

’No, it’s just, if I meet Ian now, well... I feel like a reproductive urge will arise...’

’Pardon? Spirits have things like that too?’

Because it was a completely unexpected answer, Tanya asked back immediately in confusion.

Epirnoa also explained to Tanya with a slightly flustered face.

’Originally we don’t, but because of the Link established back then... I ended up feeling your emotions exactly as they were. Since it’s a completely new feeling for me...’

After Epirnoa, who had been suffering all night from the unfamiliar emotions of pleasure and peak flowing through the Link, finally regained her senses.

Epirnoa felt an intense desire she had never experienced before.

It was a reproductive urge.

A completely unknown emotion that she didn’t know how to deal with or by what method to resolve.

For a spirit who has no concept of reproduction, let alone masturbation, there was no way to release it alone.

She had barely managed to calm it down while staying in the cave for a few days.

But because the aftereffects of that time still remained, she didn’t know what would happen if she faced Ian’s face directly now.

’Well, then anyway... you liked it, right?’

’...Yes. What I was curious about has been sufficiently resolved.’

Although there were some unexpected side effects, Epirnoa’s curiosity was resolved with excessive clarity.

It was a very interesting and new experience.

Since reproduction isn’t necessary, it was an excessively stimulating emotion for a spirit’s body—which has never felt sexual desire—to experience directly.

However, Epirnoa asked Tanya one new question that arose during that process.

’By the way... there’s something I’m curious about. Why did you purposefully block a child from being conceived? Even though you wanted to reproduce.’

’Pardon...?’

Receiving an awkward question, Tanya hesitated before answering.

’Well, actually... it’s not for the purpose of reproduction, but because it feels good, I guess. There are times when we do it even if we don’t necessarily make a child...’

’No. I felt everything you felt then, too.’

Epirnoa shook her head, denying Tanya’s story.

Epirnoa, who had shared the emotions directly, could clearly understand Tanya’s psychology.

As a spirit who had never felt such emotions, she could distinguish them one by one even more sensitively and accurately than Tanya herself.

’You clearly wanted to have a baby, didn’t you? At the end, you even shouted, ’Please get me pregnant.’’

’Th-that wasn’t sincere, I just got caught up in the atmosphere...’

Hearing it from someone else’s mouth like this, it was a very embarrassing action. Tanya’s face turned bright red as if it would explode.

Tanya shook her head and explained to Epirnoa as if making an excuse.

’And besides, it would be troublesome if one actually happened now. At least, not until everything is finished...’

’Finished?’

’The Leader is investigating the deepest part of the labyrinth. If a child is conceived, I’ll have to leave the party and rest... I can’t let that happen.’

Upon hearing Tanya’s words, Epirnoa turned her head. It was in the direction of the labyrinth.

’Ah... you mean that thing buried at the very bottom?’

’Do you happen to know about it?’

’Yes. Last time, the elves all stepped forward and barely managed to seal it. It seems the power of the seal is finally running out.’

’Elves?’

Hearing a word she was hearing for the first time, Tanya tilted her head. It seemed to be a very ancient word used by spirits.

Epirnoa pondered for a moment, then held something out to Tanya.

It was something like a water droplet.

The liquid dropped onto Tanya’s palm, but it didn’t flow away and maintained its shape on Tanya’s hand. It was like a sparkling slime.

It was an item called [Essence of the Spirit].

’I’ll give you this. Use it when that time comes. It’s a gift given as a reward for granting my request.’

’What... is this used for?’

’You’ll know when that moment arrives. Until then, you just need to carry it with you well.’

It was a completely incomprehensible statement, but Tanya nodded and quietly tucked it into her bosom. She could just ask Ian later.

’And, um... that.’

Finally, Epirnoa hesitated in an uncharacteristic manner, trailing off before making a request to Tanya.

’Next time, when you do baby-making again... could you call me just one more time?’

’...’

...It seemed she had liked it very much.

＊ ＊ ＊

Ian closed the book as he looked at the members gathered in the lounge.

’This should be enough for the basic explanation.’

There were several dungeons in the deep layers, and accordingly, there were various types of gimmicks.

If he hurriedly explained all those many things now, they wouldn’t remember them properly in actual combat anyway.

Since there’s only one dungeon anyway, most of the learned knowledge would become unnecessary and only cause confusion.

For that reason, Ian only informed the members of the most basic precautions they needed to know when exploring the deep layers.

The rest would have to be handled somehow after entering the dungeon.

Having finished the explanation, Ian asked Lia.

’How are the knights?’

’At least the basics... they should probably be able to move around the first layer safely.’

’Right... they’re knights, so they’ll manage on their own.’

Ian nodded and checked the date.

Frenda was probably making preparations similar to Ian’s by now.

The departure date was drawing near.