Chapter 12 – Exposed Already?

Chapter 12 – Exposed Already?

____________________「Fuu… Carving complete. This part is always worse than actually beating the monster.」

Aria heaved a sigh as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Right in front of her was a small pile made up of the three goblins she’d just killed, sans ears.

Why’d she cut off their ears, you ask? She has to bring back proof of a monster’s defeat for the guild to recognize her achievements. For goblins, that proof is their ears.

Ahh… Master, such a filthy job is sullying your lovely hands… If only I could show you the truth, this kind of stuff would be a walk in the park for me…

The behemoth was grieving from his hiding spot, watching Aria get blood on herself. The slime he’d eaten after he was born gave him the Storage skill. If he could show it without putting himself at risk, there wouldn’t have been a need to cut up any bodies; he’d just bring back the whole damn thing.

「Fufu. Still, if I can handle this many goblins at once, I can probably go down to the next floor soon.」

She stored the goblin ears in a leather pouch, and started walking again.

With the labyrinth separated into floors, monsters naturally got stronger the deeper you went. For the most part, materials gathered also increased in value to match.

Don’t go down there, Master! That kind of confidence is a death wish in a dungeon! The best place for a beauty like Master to hunt is safely in the upper floors like now!

Regardless of his unspoken warnings, he didn’t realize the girl he decided to protect was already moving further inward.

Skill aside, why does Master challenge the dungeon on her own…? It’s a rule of thumb to go in pairs at the very least…

Labyrinths are dangerous places. Rare though it may be, it’s a non-zero chance that an adventurer gets surrounded by a goblin horde. Men face a tragic end, and women a fate worse than death.

Goblins are weak, and live short lives, but they make up for it in sheer numbers. Male goblins can impregnate women of any race, turning them into little more than a nursery for goblinspawn for the rest of their days. It’s common knowledge, so no matter how skilled an adventurer might be, it’s always safer to dive into dungeon with a party.

「But let’s stop here today. I only need one more.」

While the behemoth pondered all the horrible, heinous, degrading, unspeakable and all-around kinky stuff that could happen to his master, Aria abandoned the path of descent, much to the kitten’s relief. After a short while, she came across another goblin by its lonesome.

「?Acceleration?—!」

On sight she cast her skill, and made it to the goblin in an instant. Before it could even swing its shortsword, Aria’s knife was deep in its skull.

I see, I see. I get it now!

The behemoth noticed something in Aria’s movement.

It was her tits. He was watching her tits.

Whenever she ran, it was natural for her breasts to be swinging back and forth, up and down, this way and that. It made for great eye candy. But once she readied an attack, the behemoth realized why Aria was seeing success as a high-motion close combat class.

She wasn’t fighting against the weight of her own chest. The moment she laid her hands on her weapons, her breasts swung and stopped in perfect sync so as not to slow her down or throw her off balance.

How intriguing! Master’s melons are full of mysteries!

Then, as she chopped off one of the goblin’s ears, it appeared.

『Gigi…kchch…』

「Another one? I already have enough, but… Well, I guess a bonus won’t hurt. Come at me.」

Aria prepared her blade, standing about five meters away from the goblin.

No! Master didn’t notice?! That one’s—

The behemoth rushed in once the goblin pointed a crude magic rod ahead.

『GUGYA ?Fireball?!』

The goblin—or rather, goblin mage, fired off its spell, and Aria stiffened from surprise just long enough for it to be a problem.

「NYAON ?Fireball?!」

The behemoth got in between Aria and the goblin, casting the Fireball he’d stolen from the minotaurs.

PKHGHKCH—

Violently crashing into each other, the fireballs were erased in an explosion that made the dungeon shudder.

I’m ending it! Eat this, ?Icicle Lance?!

A frozen spear flew from the behemoth’s mouth, piercing the goblin through the gut and coming out the other side.

「Kitty…?」

Once the goblin hit the ground, a voice called him from behind. Naturally, it was Aria.

「…」

The behemoth didn’t answer—just quietly turned around to face her. There was no way out of this. He couldn’t run from her, and he definitely wasn’t going to lie when he can’t even talk.

「Kitty, it really is you. Why are you here…? And that magic—ah! That must mean you’re…!」

「……」

To all the questions she asked with her trembling eyes, the behemoth only hung his head in silence.