GILF Hunter

Chapter 515: 515 Why that

Ian and Frenda investigated the room together.

They carefully placed their hands on the locked door, but the handle wouldn’t budge as if it had hardened solid.

There were several doors in the room leading to other places, but it was the same for all of them. In the end, the two of them tried to force a door open together, but that also failed.

...Maybe there is another space to escape through.

Frenda muttered so while looking around the room, but naturally, no such place was visible.

Unlike the interior of the shop, which was made of wooden walls and floors, this room was surrounded by stone walls like a Labyrinth.

She even went as far as examining the walls by shining light on them to see if there was a secret door, but of course, there was no such thing.

After a long time investigating every corner of the room in vain, the two eventually sat down on the bed without having gained any results.

A large bed set against one wall of the room.

The lighting was a single lamp that emitted a tiny flame, barely enough to illuminate the top of the bed.

The bed was soft and felt good. It felt familiar, as if the bed Frenda originally used had been moved there exactly as it was.

Perhaps it was because the room was created by Frenda’s will. It seemed her tastes were actively reflected.

’....’

’....’

A silence followed for a moment. Their gazes briefly met and then hurriedly pulled away.

Frenda and Ian conversed with their heads turned away, unable to look each other in the face.

’It... won’t open.’

’I see....’

’Should I try breaking it with magic? Or perhaps try using the Holy Sword....’

’It might be better not to do that. Usually, if you try to force a trap to break, worse things happen. We’re inside the merchant’s shop, so we don’t know what might happen if we use large-scale magic recklessly....’

’I-is that so.’

In a malicious place like a Labyrinth, it is common sense that even greater danger follows if one tries to overcome a trap with force.

Moreover, this was not an ordinary mechanical trap, but a phenomenon created by the power of a mysterious crystal. There was a high possibility that the situation would worsen if they tried to force the door open.

Ultimately, they reached the conclusion that there was nothing the two could do right now.

After an awkward conversation continued in that state for a while, eventually, both of them fell silent.

A room with only a single bed.

Since there was no particular place to sit, the two were sitting close together on the one bed.

Between the subtle red lighting and the fact that they were sitting together on one bed, a very strange atmosphere bloomed.

The suspicious merchant who was with them, Calliope, likely knew the general situation here. They waited, hoping she might provide some help from the outside... but there was no news at all.

Frenda looked up at the sign hanging on the door.

The way to get out of here... was actually already written there.

[A room you cannot leave unless you have sex]

’....’

It was a truly absurd statement.

In this room that looked like nothing more than someone’s prank... did it mean they had no choice but to do, th-that?

With Captain Ian, th-that... thaaat.

Frenda’s face, flooded with countless thoughts, turned beet red. Frenda lowered her head deeply to hide her burning face.

And as she imagined what was about to happen in more detail, Frenda, whose face turned even redder, hurriedly shook her head.

...She had thought such a thing would happen much later.

For example. First, holding a wedding ceremony, then traveling together and spending time on dates.

When the sun sets and night arrives, sitting side by side by the window to watch the moon....

From the moment their eyes suddenly meet, naturally kissing and starting their first night....

- ....

Perhaps that delusion was transmitted directly, as a feeling of exasperation from the Elf returned.

Even for an Elf who maintained thorough composure, it seemed she couldn’t remain completely unresponsive to this.

’Um, Ms. Frenda?’

’Hic! Yes!’

When Ian suddenly spoke, Frenda answered with a flinch.

’Don’t worry too much. We have comrades outside, so if they realize we’re trapped, they’ll come to help.’

’Yes, yes.... I understand.’

Frenda nodded awkwardly.

As Ian said, the rational judgment was to calmly wait for their comrades to get them out.

However, the current situation was that they were trapped together because of Frenda. It was difficult for Frenda to be as relaxed as Ian.

Frenda questioned the Elf in her mind.

’Um... this, if we wait, they’ll be able to save us from the outside, right?’

- ...Well. It won’t be easy right away.

The Elf’s reaction was quite negative.

’The door is just locked. Won’t they open it from the outside...?’

- That’s just what it looks like on the surface. The cause is the power of this crystal moving to grant that... wish of yours. Since the wish hasn’t been fulfilled yet, would it let you out so easily?

The crystal Frenda touched was a collection of nature’s wandering spirit power.

In other words, while it was in a state where only power was gathered without a will, Frenda’s will stimulated that power and moved it. It meant it was no different from a high-ranking spirit using its full power to grant Frenda’s desire.

Of course, since it was just simple power without a will, it would be weaker than an actual spirit stepping in... but even so, it wouldn’t be something that could be resolved overnight.

- That disciple of mine probably gathered various things, so it’s not impossible, but it will take quite a while to calm this down and neutralize it. She was clumsy at handling spirits.

’Ugh...’

The more she heard the explanation, the darker Frenda’s expression became.

The more accurately she grasped the situation and considered it calmly... there was only one way available right now.

Then... did they have no choice but to do it?

Frenda, having heard about the Labyrinth’s history and prophecies from the Elf ghost, knew how important the work Ian was currently preparing for was.

If she were trapped alone, she could wait indefinitely, but she couldn’t keep Ian trapped here with her because of such a foolish mistake.

’....’

Perhaps it was awkward to just sit beside Frenda. Ian had stood up and was uselessly examining the locked door once more.

The conclusion had already been reached that there was no way to open it in its current state, but sitting beside Frenda made the atmosphere feel like it was heading in that direction for no reason.

Looking at his back, Frenda, having finished her mental preparation, asked the Elf one last time.

’Um... if I lose my purity, will I also lose the qualification to use the Holy Sword?’

- That is not the case. Once decided, the qualification of a Hero does not change so easily.

’If that’s so... it can’t be helped in this situation, right?’

- Hmm....

The Elf couldn’t easily answer that question either.

The next concern was... of course, the Temple.

Although it was said to be better than before... it was still a great fault for an active priestess, who must protect her purity, to break the rules.

Apparently, a few decades ago, they would immediately hold a religious trial and even lock the partner in the Temple’s prison, but these days they don’t go that far.

Even so, for the sake of the Temple’s dignity, they couldn’t just let it go. In many cases, they would force the partner to belong to the Temple and work there. They tried to cover it up by saying it was a union between people of the Temple rather than an affair with an outsider.

...She couldn’t cause such a nuisance to Ian. Especially with such important work ahead.

First, as soon as they get out, she would immediately resign as a priestess.

And if they noticed before then...!

No matter how the Temple is, they wouldn’t be able to stage a demonstration of force in Labyrinth. The mayor, Lucia, would also never respond to a demand to hand Ian over.

If he stayed in Labyrinth and endured with the help of the knights there, even the Great Temple would have no choice but to give up.

If a show of force didn’t work, they would probably send an acquaintance like the Director to try and persuade her, but Frenda had no intention of being naively caught by such a shallow trick....

While agonizing, Frenda suddenly—

Thinking of the Director’s face, she remembered the contents of a certain letter she received not long ago.

What the Director had mentioned... when the ’if’ situation arrived.

Sharing love while protecting purity... th-that... tha-....

The method of using the back side.

’Um.... By any chance, doing it... from behind. Does that count as having protected one’s purity?’

- ....

The Elf had no answer for a while.

After all, this innocent Elf, who until recently didn’t even know what a kiss was and had simply lived an incredibly long celibate life—what conclusion could she possibly reach after hearing such a shocking statement about doing it from behind?

- Perhaps it... does?

After a long silence, such an answer came back.

It was an answer far too vague to come from the decision-maker who should be making accurate judgments.

However, seeing that the person who advocated purity so much couldn’t say for certain that it wasn’t... it seemed okay to treat it as a ’yes’ in practice.

’Sigh....’

Frenda let out a sigh.

The problem was... she didn’t accurately remember the contents written there.

Because the content was far too embarrassing, Frenda had burned it away without even checking it properly.

She was worried that if she uselessly put it in a drawer or threw it in the trash, someone would find it and even stranger rumors would spread.

...And she had thought that even without using such a strange method, she could share love in the proper way when the time came later.

If she had known it would turn out like this, she would have at least read the content once. Late regret washed over her.

- Um. ...nd.

’Pardon? I can’t hear you well.’

- ...The magic that was in that letter, I remembered it.

’...??’