The Sage that the Sword Saint is Obsessed With

32 – 9. The Witch’s Curse (5)

1.

Dungeons exist in various forms.

They can be natural environments like caves or forests turning into dungeons, or they may establish themselves in ancient castles. Occasionally, dungeons are constructed directly.

The interior of underground dungeons is designed to evoke the image of a temple.

From the entrance, the inside seemed as mysterious as an ancient ruin that had passed centuries. Considering that such a structure was within the cliff, the sense of mystery was heightened.

It would be nice to visit such a place for tourism, but…

Unfortunately, there was no time to leisurely admire the different patterns carved on each pillar.

“Is it that trivial?”

Evan flicked his hand.

The shining magic circle on his palm disappeared.

“…Yes.”

Leven responded to Evan’s murmurs.

Dungeon, underground level 1.

About thirty black knights were scattered in such a miserable state, it was almost excessive.

Although they were slightly sturdy due to being demons, that was about all.

To these two, they were simply scrubs.

There were magical traps hidden everywhere to catch intruders, but Evan destroyed them all with his spell destruction upon entering.

It wasn’t difficult.

Because it was a simple structure of magic circles, just looking at it was enough to dismantle it.

Did they even need both of them for this?

It’s trivial.

Even though they were still at the beginning of the dungeon, if only enemies of this level continue to appear, it would be disappointing.

They weren’t obsessed with slaughter.

They wanted to try out various spells.

They had thoroughly studied all the magic books in the Sage’s library, but they didn’t have the opportunity to use the magic that they had learned.

Even on the battlefield, using reinforcement and strong blows was enough to wipe out the enemies, just like before.

Unless intentionally using high-level magic, there seemed to be no need to use 10th-level magic.

When they reached such a high level and felt it, they understood how amazing it was when they first met the inspiration and saw them use 10th-level magic.

Using 10th-level magic twice against such an opponent.

It was a complete attack to show off.

To show that they were truly an amazing magician.

Now, looking back, it was such a waste of mana.

They descended to the next floor.

“Wait.”

As soon as Leven saw the crowded enemies and tried to rush at them with excitement in his eyes, Evan stopped him.

“Don’t just recklessly rush in.”

Leuen tilted his head.

“We don’t need to disable the traps.”

Naturally, traps were scattered throughout the underground second floor.

Although they were slightly more sophisticated than those seen on the first floor, a few more lines drawn didn’t make much difference to Evan.

Leuen nodded silently, waiting obediently.

Evan scanned the space, reading the flow of mana.

Just by feeling the mana’s flow on his skin, he could see how the magic circle was constructed and where to unravel it.

With this information, using spell destruction caused the magic circle to shatter completely.

Was it because he had interpreted the giant’s composition?

The speed of reading magic circles had increased.

He thought his ability to analyze magic circles had already reached its limit, but it seemed there was still room for growth.

“Alright, ready. Seize them.”

Like a dog that had been quietly waiting, ready to dash out at any moment upon its owner’s command, Leuen charged fiercely at the enemies as soon as Evan spoke.

“…Like a dog.”

Evan looked at Leuen and commented.

It wasn’t really an insult.

Well, unconsciously, he had mixed in a bit of profanity.

Still, calling him a dog was just an honest observation based on his actions.

Leuen, who had swiftly brought down the enemies like a gust of wind, approached Evan with blood on his face.

“I’ve captured them all.”

He hadn’t given a command, but Leuen showed Evan the enemies he had defeated as if reporting that he had executed the order well.

Leuen glanced at Evan with a hint of expectation.

In his golden eyes, a small spark of desire was clearly visible.

He couldn’t bring himself to say it, but Leuen hoped Evan would pat his head again.

Like in the old days.

Back then, just defeating a single demon was enough for Evan to pat his head, praising him as remarkable. Each time, Leuen would react with a blank expression but secretly revel in joy, letting out a silly laugh in his mind.

He just didn’t express it.

Of course, those days were now nothing more than a daydream.

As they journeyed through dungeons with Evan, memories of the past resurfaced vividly.

“Let’s… go down to the next floor.”

Lost in thoughts of the past for a moment, Llewellyn eagerly longed for a gentle stroke, feeling ashamed of her sinful desire as she hurriedly descended to the lower floor.

You still haven’t let go of your regrets?

Give up.

It’s already over.

You know very well that we can’t go back to how things used to be.

As if there was another self within her heart, Llewellyn inwardly admonished herself.

No matter how hard you try to suppress it, you can’t suppress emotions infinitely.

Even a saint wouldn’t be able to do that.

The speed at which emotions rise varies depending on their type. And among them, the feeling of liking someone is the emotion that rises fastest after anger.

Although she barely managed to suppress it with guilt, it isn’t something that can be controlled rationally, as emotions keep seeping through the cracks of guilt.

If it were now, she could scream that she likes him thousands, no, tens of thousands of times more than she couldn’t in the past.

But because she can’t do that, all Llewellyn can do is suffer.

Perhaps she will live the rest of her life in regret and suffering until the day she dies.

When one curses others and fails, it often leads to a greater curse on oneself.

2.

The structure of the dungeon seems to change in difficulty as you go lower.

Compared to the second floor, the third floor was clearly different.

Not only were there more Black Knights, but their sizes had also grown larger, and their resistance had become stronger. The traps had also become more complex. Up until the second floor, there were single magic circles, but starting from the third floor, they changed to double magic circles.

But still, these two couldn’t be stopped.

They descended to the underground fourth floor.

As they descended the spiral staircase, they were greeted by a dark and long corridor.

Guiding light.

She used magic to instantly illuminate the darkness.

It was truly a long corridor.

She knew that as they went lower, the interior would become narrower, but she didn’t expect it to be this narrow.

Llewellyn awaited Evan’s words.

She had already commanded herself in her mind to only move after Evan had deactivated the magic traps.

“…There’s nothing on this floor.”

She didn’t sense anything.

It’s only darkness.

There was no mana other than Leuen’s beside me.

“Is it just a corridor?”

“Wait…!”

As I moved forward, Leuen called out to me.

“…There might be other traps.”

“You just said there was nothing.”

“No… not magical traps, but regular ones.”

Stepping on the wrong tile could activate a hidden mechanism. Or the ground might collapse.

“…Remember, they said it’s safer inside the dungeon, but we need to be even more careful.”

Leuen moved ahead, checking for traps.

I glanced at Leuen’s back.

That was something Evan had said in the past.

He had said that to Leuen, who had almost fallen victim to a trap while exploring the dungeon and had become complacent in a supposedly safe area.

Nostalgic, but unsettling.

Although advised to forget all memories from the past, Leuen seemed determined not to. If you can’t forget, at least try, but it seemed like even that effort wasn’t being made.

“…But they’re just playing into it.”

Tsk tsk, Evan clicked his tongue, illuminating the path and following behind Leuen.

“It’s a dead end?”

The corridor was blocked by a wall.

This couldn’t be the end of the dungeon.

There must have been someone, a black knight, giving orders and setting traps in the dungeon. Above all, in a dungeon, there was never a case without a dungeon boss.

“It’s not magically concealed either…”

Evan felt the wall blocking the path with his hand.

“Oh… don’t touch it recklessly…!”

Leuen tried to stop, thinking about what to do, but it was too late.

*Clunk*

A brick slid into Evan’s hand.

Evan was a transcendent being as a magician but a novice in conquering dungeons as an adventurer. Reading mana to detect magical traps was easy, but finding typical hidden traps like this was difficult.

Still, it wasn’t a thoughtless act.

He had a hunch that there might be a device hidden in the wall.

Nevertheless, he fumbled about with a reckless indifference, as if whatever happened, it didn’t matter much.

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In his mind, he had already prepared strategies for various situations that might arise.

If a contingency occurred, using magic would solve it.

-Swish!

The ground opened up, and the two of them plummeted downward.

Quite a height.

Evan utilized low-altitude flight.

-Thud

After descending slowly for a while, the two landed on the ground gracefully.

“Where is this?”

The place they had fallen into was a small room.

Calling it a room might be a stretch.

The six-sided walls enclosed it, and in the center of the room, there was something like an altar.

“I don’t feel anything here either.”

Evan searched the room for any device that could lead them out.

Based on his extensive experience, Leven contemplated the trap they found themselves in.

“Hmm…”

A room entirely blocked by walls.

An altar in the middle.

“I’ve heard of something similar… Ugh!”

Suddenly, Leven’s face turned bright red.

He recalled overhearing the members talking loudly while drinking.

“Have you ever heard of an inescapable room?”

“An inescapable room?”

“A trap where you can’t get out unless you satisfy certain conditions. And among them, there’s a room where you can’t leave unless you have s*x! That’s what they said while they were drinking!”

“What? s*x? Is that a thing?”

“I’ve heard of it too. They said there’s such a room in the Succubus Queen’s mansion. It’s not just insertion; you have to finish the act for it to count.”

Leven’s golden eyes trembled.

An inescapable room.

Walled in on all sides, with a bed-like altar in the center. It was a structure similar to what the member had described back then.

“….the, the situation?”

Lewin searched through his mental dictionary for the meaning of “situation.” As he found the meaning and read it, he felt dizzy.

Reflexively, he crossed his legs and covered his lower abdomen with both hands.

“In, in a place like this…?”

Regardless of the location, it is torture for both of them.

Evan has to embrace a woman he despises, and Lewin has to be embraced by a man she loves but loathes.

Lewin had imagined a few times that she would be happy if she could embrace everything, including a maiden, in Evan’s arms. But now that a similar situation actually arose, it only caused her anguish.

It didn’t seem happy at all.

Lewin might be able to somehow like it, but for Evan, there would be nothing more nightmarish than that.

“Ugh… Uhh… Uhhhhh….”

When he was pondering about what to do, pacing back and forth, he suddenly felt his feet stepping on something.

“This is pressing down.”

Evan, who had been looking around the room, pressed down on the altar that felt like a button.

-Creak!

Then, one of the walls shook and slowly descended as if opening a door.

Another passage appeared.

“So there was a hidden mechanism like this.”

Evan felt a little amused, as if he was solving a puzzle, and took a step forward into the open passage.

“Don’t just stand there like a statue.”

Evan threw a word at Lewin, who was frozen like a stone, and moved his feet.

“Mmmppphhh…!!”

Lewin covered her face with both hands and forcefully suppressed the scream she wanted to let out.

She trembled at how perverted she was for thinking of something explicit.