"So, Claire, be careful. Don't rush ahead..."
"Haa. I know, Paul. It's not like it's your first time in a dungeon."
"But... anything can happen in the dungeon..."
"I know, so get out of the way." When the dungeon appeared before them, Paul followed Claire like glue, repeating the precautions incessantly.
After all, Claire treated Paul like a shoo-away fly; it seemed her words weren't being heeded at all... Hmm. That's right. That attitude is ideal, Claire.
"Uh... the Gompas dungeon is a recommended level 27 dungeon as designated by the guild management..." Before the dimensional portal leading to the dungeon, someone who appeared to be one of the archbishops was reading the dungeon description from a piece of paper.
Level 27... a bit high for us, but with a balanced team composition of warrior, mage, and healer, plus my higher-than-level stats, it should be fine.
Just slowly and steadily break through, right?
The dungeons I've been to before weren't too bad, this one should be similar, right?
"The Hero Knights have already explored the interior... The overall assessment will be based on difficulty, time, and the team's condition after completion... Once you leave the dungeon, you cannot re-enter... If you abandon it midway,
the Kingdom Knights will assess the dungeon's interior and assign a score..." Claire didn't seem very interested in the Saintess title... and since she could abandon it midway, she shouldn't be too worried.
Besides, there are still some points to be awarded.
"As a Saintess candidate, you can't lose face... You must use the Goddess's hammer to punish the monsters disturbing Esendia..." After the Archbishop's long and tedious eulogy to the goddess ended, Lisbeth, Claire, and I entered the dungeon labyrinth.
"...? Huh...?" Claire looked around with a strange expression as she passed through the dimensional portal and saw the enclosed dungeon surrounded by walls.
When I asked her what was wrong, Claire said she felt something was off for a moment, tilting her head in confusion.
What happened? Did something happen when we passed through the dimensional portal? "...Sorry. Maybe it was just my imagination." Claire, who had been concentrating her senses for a while, seemed to have noticed nothing and said this.
Well...the hero knights have already patrolled, what could possibly be wrong?
Besides, I have Malboroughini to back me up; if there's danger, I can just run away, right?
Right now, the best thing to enjoy is this wonderful situation where it's just me and my female slaves in this dungeon.
I've been looking forward to this for a long time.
I tucked the two of them under my arms, whispering in a lewd voice.
"How about...a date in the dungeon with my female slaves?"
"Yaha♡ This is the first time there's no one in the way♡ We can enjoy ourselves to the fullest with Master♡"
"In the way...and Master... *gulp*" As I tightened my embrace, Claire's strange expression disappeared, replaced by a dazed look unique to females.
Then, listening to Lisbeth's words, Claire swallowed hard, trembling all over... Suddenly, she pressed herself even harder against me, her enormous breasts pounding against my body.
Hehe. This feels pretty good. I walked around with a woman on each arm. It's a pity the armor prevented me from fully enjoying the sensation.
I wrapped my arms around their shoulders, kneading their breasts with both hands, and slowly walked deeper into the dungeon.
Every time my hands kneaded their breasts, Lisbeth and Claire would tremble, seemingly enjoying the caress.
"But this is a dungeon after all. Don't relax too much, keep your guard up. Enjoy yourself only during rest periods. You both understand, right?"
"Yeah. Of course♡ Just being able to act like this without caring about what others think is enough♡, right, Claire?"
"...Y-yes...hehe...♡" Claire turned to me, giving me a beautiful, seemingly satisfied smile.
Now, I can't sense any resistance from Claire's expression or actions.
It seems taking Claire's virginity in the dungeon won't be a problem.
Wait, wouldn't it be a waste to enjoy Claire's virginity in the dungeon?
"Speaking of which, Claire doesn't seem interested in the position of Saintess? She doesn't seem very enthusiastic?"
Gazing at Claire's smile, I suddenly asked her a question that had been lingering in my mind.
After listening to Claire and Paul's stories about the Church these past few days, the position of Saintess should have been quite attractive.
The Pope is essentially the highest representative of power in the Church.
While the Saintess's power is slightly less than the Pope's, she is still a prominent figure in the Church, holding a second-in-command position.
Although the position of Pope has no gender restrictions, once one ascends to one position, one cannot hold another, thus effectively becoming the ultimate ruler within each area of the Church.
The selection process for the Pope involves a rigorous progression from priest to bishop to archbishop, with candidates only becoming candidates after their qualifications and abilities have been fully verified—a stringent procedure for the Church to select its representatives.
The selection of saintesses, however, is similar to a lottery; any nun can be a candidate.
Of course, the final decision is based on a combination of character, talent, and other factors… but with a recommendation from a bishop or higher, any nun is worth trying for the position.
But Claire, despite being a candidate for saintess, inexplicably showed no interest in the position.
"…I feel unworthy of the position of saintess."
Claire sighed with a bitter expression in response to my question.
"The position of saintess is important, representing all nuns. Even if someone like me with visual impairment were elected, it wouldn't benefit the Church. Besides, there are many other excellent candidates…"
Having grown up and lived within the Church since birth, Claire, despite her young age, had already become a senior nun, equivalent to a department head in a company.
This version of Clya, let alone a saintess, seemed to find even the status of a high-ranking nun burdensome.
Sighing, Clya, with a hint of displeasure in her expression, began to rebuke Paul in a slightly angry voice.
"Honestly, although I don't know what he's thinking, Paul recommended me without my consent... It's incredibly troublesome. How could he be so selfish..."
From Clya's expression and voice when she thought of Paul, one could inexplicably sense a sense of disgust.
This is truly...
It's time to consider giving Paul some form of farewell, isn't it?
"...And...after becoming a saintess, I'll have to live in the church's capital branch...and there will be more scrutiny..."
...Huh? I hadn't thought of that...I originally thought that becoming a saintess would bring power, which was a good thing, but after hearing Clya's words, I suddenly felt all my strength drain away.
If Clya, as my female, has to live in the capital after becoming a saintess and can't even move freely, then that's a bit...I was planning to do my best to help. Now things have suddenly become awkward.
"Ah...indeed. That's quite a shame."
Although I haven't had a chance to properly explore the city these past few days, the capital is still a somewhat awkward place for me.
While it's certainly a large and wonderful city, it feels a bit awkward for an adventurer's life...most importantly, with heroes like the Hero Knight, who seem to have cheat codes, living peacefully is a bit...
If you casually strike up a conversation with a woman and find out she's the Hero Knight's lover or family member—the ending would be 'died at age 29. Stabbed to death for harassing a woman who was a hero.'
Ladia is just right. It has everything you need, and it's convenient for adventures. There aren't any heroes with cheat codes yet.
If Claire becomes a saintess, it'll be difficult to see her if I live in Ladia. Hmm...
"...Yes. It's a pity. So I have absolutely no intention of becoming a saintess."
Claire's expression as she said this showed that she had made up her mind not to become a saintess.
...
"Master! I'll tie that thing up! Let's just kill it!"
"Ouch!" After Lisbeth restrained the skeletal monster in front of me, I slammed my blunt weapon down on its head.
With a full-force swing, the blunt weapon shattered the incredibly hard skull, instantly turning to dust and vanishing.
This blunt weapon is so docile in my hands.
At first, I didn't like it because it wasn't cool enough.
But I've grown to like it?
Every time I swing it, I can feel the cracking sensation; at this level, I'd be a great blunt weapon warrior… Excellent.
Let me take this opportunity to name this thing in my hand.
From today onwards, you'll be called "Mabak."
Monsters and monsters, tremble before Mabak's power.
"Hmm... even so, the number of monsters is too unpredictable. Only one or two per room..." After naming the blunt weapon, I surveyed the rooms where the monsters had disappeared, suddenly recalling a sense of unease I'd felt somewhere before.
For a dungeon recommended for level 27, the monsters aren't weak.
I could clearly feel their attacks were quite powerful, and as long as Lisbeth wasn't restrained, they would dodge or parry my attacks and retaliate, making them quite troublesome.
But for a level 27 dungeon, the number seems a bit insufficient.
If there were three or four or more, protecting Kleia and Lisbeth would be quite tense.
At this rate, could I hunt them alone, even if I messed around a bit?
And... this feeling of insufficient numbers is different from before...
"...No way? But this is a dungeon chosen by the church. They shouldn't be so blatant..."
"...I didn't sense anything besides the monsters' aura. But... there's a subtle feeling in the deepest part..." Kleia closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, then said somewhat uneasily.
"Hmm... Is there anything special about the BOSS? Or is it exceptionally powerful?"
"Anyway, the Saintess's Trial is irrelevant. Since we're already here, going a little deeper won't hurt, right? Everyone's on high alert for traps right now."
Hearing Lisbeth say this, I nodded.
That's true. After all, it's a dungeon designated by the church, and they said adventurers could take some dungeon loot—perfect for earning some extra money.
Besides, the Hero Knights scouted it beforehand. If there were real danger, they wouldn't have let us in, right? Ah, maybe the Hero Knights cleared out some mobs on their way. Perhaps they're adjusting the difficulty for us.
With these thoughts in mind, my female companions and I ventured deeper into the Gompas dungeon.