Chapter 25: I know all about that…

Led by a goblin named Zaza, we made our way through the forest.

"So the fact that you’re going out of your way to guide us means you have some idea where the village men might be hiding, nya?"

Ririka directed the question at Gumro the orc, who was walking just behind Zaza.

"Of course, buhi. In this forest, there are only a few places where a large group can shelter from the night dew, buhi. There’s a good chance they’re in the cave we used to live in, buhi."

"So orcs and goblins go down to human settlements, and humans hide in caves instead, nya… How deep is this cave, nya?"

"No need to worry, buhi. It’s not very deep, buhi. And it’s not far either, buhi—we’ll be there soon, buhi. It used to be the perfect lair for monsters attacking the village, buhi. Looking back, even after being raided by adventurers over and over, we still stubbornly kept living there and causing trouble for everyone in the village… Just like wild boars, buhi. A shameful story, buhi."

While the orc stared into the distance, lost in memories of the past, I spoke to Natsumi, who was walking behind him.

"You’ve been unusually quiet since this morning. I get that you’re not exactly enthusiastic, but…"

"Well, that’s part of it, but… I feel like I had a strange dream last night. It’s kind of floaty, or rather, I can’t settle down…"

"A dream, huh. I felt like I slept poorly too, probably because I crashed on the sofa."

"Clarice-san, you’re a man on the inside, so don’t worry about such little things."

"I’m not really worried. So, what kind of dream was it?"

"That’s the problem—I can’t remember it, so I feel restless. It was just a dream, after all."

It was true that remembering the details of a dream was rarer than forgetting them, so there wasn’t much to be done about it.

After walking a bit farther, Zaza, who was in the lead, signaled for us to stop and look ahead from the cover of the trees.

"We’re here, gob. That’s the entrance you can see over there, gob."

On the slope of a hill concealed by forest trees, we could make out the entrance to a cave, modestly reinforced with some timber.

It was surrounded by dense brush—the kind of place you’d never notice if you were just passing through the forest.

"Doesn’t look like there’s anyone keeping watch, gob. If this is their base, that’s pretty careless, gob."

"So they’re not here, nya?"

"Can’t say that for sure, gob. Amateurs do things like that sometimes, gob."

"Either way, we won’t know until we go inside, buhi. Go a little way down the sloping passage and you reach a hall, buhi. From there, there are a few paths leading deeper, but they all end quickly, buhi. If anyone’s inside, we’ll know right away, buhi."

"Then let’s hurry up and check it out, nya. Everyone ready, nya?"

"Wait a second."

After Ririka stopped everyone before entering the cave, I pressed the button on the communicator at my waist, looked up at the sky, and called out.

"Erika, we’re exploring underground. Come here."

Almost immediately, a girl wearing what looked like a white school swimsuit descended from the Dragoon transport craft that had been flying overhead in stealth mode.

She’d been tailing us from the air the entire time since we left the village.

"Roger, Master. I understand the situation. Leave it to me."

Zaza and Gumro stared in shock, eyes wide, at the girl who had suddenly dropped out of the sky in a superhero landing.

"W-what was that, gob!? A girl just fell from the sky, gob!?"

"Summoning magic, buhi!? First time I’ve ever seen that, buhi!"

"Something like that. It’s a secret kind of magic, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t spread it around."

I offered a convenient excuse for the moment.

They seemed to have misunderstood on their own, so it should be fine.

"You called Erika-nyan, nya? If we’re just dealing with villagers, isn’t this a bit much, nya?"

"You say that, but last time we went into a dungeon that was supposedly ‘for beginners,’ it was still pretty dangerous, remember? Underground, unexpected things can happen."

"That’s true, nya… I’ll pray that nothing like that happens again, nya."

With Erika added to the group, we entered the cave.

Just like in the forest, Zaza the goblin—who had excellent night vision—took the lead, while the rest of us followed, relying on the faint light spilling in from the entrance.

After descending the narrow passage for a short while, we emerged into a space resembling a small hall, just as Gumro had said. For a natural cave, it was fairly spacious, and in the center were the remains of charcoal and ash that looked like the remnants of a campfire.

"That’s strange, gob. There’s nobody here, gob. And this fire pit looks like it’s from when we goblins lived here—it’s not from yesterday or today, gob."

"That’s a problem, buhi. If they’re not here, searching through the forest will be tough, buhi."

"Weren’t there paths going deeper from here, nya? Let’s light something and take a look, nya."

"Even if you go deeper, they end pretty quickly, gob. Maybe one or two people could hide, but there’s no space big enough for the village men, gob."

Thinking this cave was a dead end, we were about to head back outside when Erika stopped us.

"According to ultrasonic scanning, there is a space behind the central passage that appears to be artificial. It also seems to continue further underground. Based on sediment patterns in the passage, it is likely that multiple individuals descended there within the last twenty-four hours."

At Erika’s discovery, Natsumi let out a voice filled with admiration.

"Erika-san, that’s amazing. Science really is incredible."

"By the way, isn’t there some kind of magic that can detect hidden doors or traps in dungeons?"

"I think there is, but I specialize in spirit magic, so I can’t use it. Ririka-san, as a magic martial artist, you should be able to use that kind of magic, right?"

At Natsumi’s words, Ririka awkwardly turned her face away.

Apparently, this foolish cat-eared girl had learned those spells in the game, but still couldn’t use them since coming to this world.

We lit a magical lantern and carefully examined the central passage, eventually finding a switch concealed between the rocks.

When we activated it, the stone blocking the dead end shifted with a heavy grinding sound, revealing a downward-sloping corridor surrounded by walls made of stacked stone.

Faced with such an unmistakably game-like mechanism, I couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

"That’s amazing, gob… We goblins never even realized there was a mechanism like this here, gob."

"Living in a place this suspicious without knowing it was careless of us, buhi."

As Zaza and Gumro descended the stone-built corridor, they muttered to themselves. I instructed Erika to scan the interior once more.

"Motion detected… it’s faint, but there is a reaction deeper inside. However… this is unusual. It’s as if multiple individuals are clustered in one spot. I can’t determine exact numbers or details."

Erika hesitated mid-report, which was rare for her. I tightened my grip on my handgun and detached it from the suit’s holster at my waist.

"Looks like this isn’t just a bunch of guys hiding out together in a hole."

"I figured as much, nya, but I really would’ve preferred it if that were all it was, nya."

"Ever since we came to this world, things never seem to go smoothly, do they…"

Ririka and Natsumi each retrieved their gear from their item boxes, Ririka pulling on her paw-pad gloves while Natsumi readied his magic staff.

"I-is this going to be a fight, gob…?"

"To be honest, buhi… we might beat villagers, but we’re no match for adventurers or monsters that live in places like this, buhi…"

"Relax, nya. This kind of thing is what Ririka and the others are here for, nya."

"Yeah… unfortunately, that’s about the only thing we’re good at."

"I really wish we could’ve enjoyed a nice, safe isekai life abusing knowledge cheats instead…"

"Don’t say that. In a game world with this many loose settings, knowledge cheats don’t really work. And even if you think you’re flexing on the locals, an actual expert might just laugh at how half-baked it is."

"Come on, nobody here is watching what we’re doing anyway…"

We moved Zaza and Gumro to the rear and continued down the corridor. It wasn’t as deep as expected, and soon we arrived before a massive, ornamented door carved directly from stone.

"This is one of the underground waterway gates beneath Larrentia, nya. It extends all the way out here, nya?"

"An underground waterway? That exists?"

"It’s the main dungeon of the Larrentia region, nya. The surface is just plains and rivers, nothing special, but ancient waterways run beneath the entire country, nya."

"It’s beyond this door. Multiple motion signatures detected. However… they don’t appear to be moving around. They seem to be moving in place. This remains… strange."

Erika hesitated again. At this point, though, the only way forward was to open the heavy door and see for ourselves. Natsumi and I exchanged a glance, and Ririka turned the handle at the center. With a deep grinding sound, the stone doors swung open outward.

The space beyond was far larger than expected.

Dim violet light illuminated a haze of mist swirling around our feet. Deeper inside stood a raised structure like an altar built from stacked stone, and beyond that loomed a massive stone statue. On the floor before the altar, something was writhing.

At first, obscured by the fog, it looked like a gigantic slime-type monster. But that impression vanished almost immediately.

They were human.

Not just one or two—many humans were gathered together in a single heap, naked, writhing against one another.

It resembled some kind of obscene secret ritual. Not that I’d ever seen one before.

For a horrifying moment, I wondered if the abandoned men had lost their minds and spiraled so far out of control that they’d begun comforting one another.

Then I noticed bodies among the tangled mass that clearly belonged to women, and I let out a quiet breath of relief.

"I see… so that’s how it is. However, engaging in group sexual activity in a place like this is rather barbaric and unhygienic. Master, I advise against participating."

"Nyaaah… th-this is bad, nya… This is way too stimulating for Ririka, nya…"

"This is completely out of bounds… A supposedly all-ages game suddenly turning real and going full adults-only fanservice, huh… If they’d unlocked this earlier, they might’ve kept more players around…"

Erika delivered her completely off-target warning without changing her expression. Ririka, meanwhile, covered her bright red face with both hands. Natsumi tried to joke, but his eyes were unfocused, his face flushed, and he fidgeted awkwardly.

Perhaps noticing our presence, a woman slowly rose from the mass of bodies and turned toward us with a sultry smile.

"Oh my, adventurers, huh? You found this place pretty fast—nice work. But I can’t give these people back just yet. Four girls, hmm… Heehee. An orc and a goblin, too? Care to join in while you’re here?"

As she spoke, she slowly licked a sticky, viscous fluid from her fingers.

She looked almost entirely human, but two horns protruded from her head, and bat-like wings and a long tail extended from her lower back.

"They’re succubi, nya! Members of the demon race that should only appear deep in high-level dungeons—why are they all the way out here, nya!?"

Ririka explained, apparently peeking through her fingers the entire time. Cute little liar. I kind of wanted to kiss her.

"Ah! I remember now! That lady was in my dream last night! She called out, ‘Come this way,’ while I was asleep! I don’t have those kinds of tastes, so I turned her down!"

"I see… so last night, you seduced and manipulated the men from the village through their dreams, luring them to this cave."

Currently in the form of a cross-dressing boy elf—though her inner self was female—Natsumi had apparently avoided falling for the succubus’s temptation because of that. I should give her a kiss as a reward.

But right now, she was squirming while clutching her crotch. The way the elf boy’s small body writhed was undeniably cute. I bet it would taste delicious if I licked it.

Since I was currently a blonde-haired beauty myself, there was nothing strange about licking, taking it into my mouth, or sucking on it. No—if anything, it would be stranger not to. I absolutely wanted to lick it all over.

"Be careful, gob! Something’s wrong, gob!"

"We’re still okay, buhi, but this smell is messin’ with humans, buhi!"

"Master! Your brainwaves are showing abnormal fluctuations! Please regain control!"

Zaza, Gumro, and Erika were all shouting something, but it barely registered. More importantly, my lower abdomen felt hot, and my head was foggy.

The goblin’s small, toned body. The orc’s protruding yet powerfully sumo-like physique. Both were strangely appealing, their green skin sexy depending on how you looked at it. And then there was the girl in the provocative white school swimsuit.

Surrounded by such a lewd group, there was no way I could stay calm.

Surely something as simple as wrestling wouldn’t be enough to cool the heat building inside me.

"Hehehe, succubus charms don’t work on women, but this mist is a special succubus aphrodisiac scent, yo. Looks like the humans over there are already feeling the effects, ne~. Come on, don’t hold back—come over here and have fun with us, yo~♡"

On the floor, surrounded by naked men, an equally naked woman beckoned with a bewitching smile. The men sprawled around her were listless, yet the things between their legs stood tall, twitching and throbbing, capturing my gaze.

Heat surged from deep within my body, tormenting my lower abdomen.

When I looked over, I saw that Ririka and Natsumi had also collapsed to the ground, trembling and shuddering.

Poor things—they looked like they were suffering so much. Even that part of them was cute.

Ririka-chan was a girl, so unfortunately, she probably couldn’t satisfy the ache burning inside me. But Natsumi-chan was a boy—a femboy—so she could fill the empty part of me.

"Natsumi-chan, you look like you’re in pain… I understand that suffering."

"K-Kurarisu-san…!?"

"I’ll make you feel better… It’s okay. It’s my first time as a girl too, but I know all about tha-a-at…♡"

"No, no, no—this is completely not okay at all!"

I climbed on top of Natsumi-chan and reached for the zipper on the back of her bothersome suit, preparing to pull it down.