Inside the Cave of Obscenity-Vol 7 Chapter 8: Vol7 Final - Those who Act in the Dark

"Jenna-sama, Fiana-san!"

When they arrived at the royal capital of Grabalt, the beastman's capital that was located in the shadow of a great tree rising in the center of a deep forest, Mariabelle, who was riding her horse, noticed a familiar face and raised her voice.

The hero―― Jenna, a priestess known as the "saint" in the holy kingdom of Lishlua, who traveled with their father, Mariabbelle and Meltia, and Fiana, a knight from Fonteau.

Fonteau, which lost many of its male knights in the Black Ooze's attack, needed to form a Female Knight Order, and she had been in the position of a Knight Commander over the past year.

Around Jenna and Fiana, a few Grabalt warriors and some monsters such as lizardmen who were cooperating with them were gathered, and they seem to be discussing something.

When Jenna noticed Mariabelle's call, she turned around, shaking her beautiful shoulder-length blonde hair, and smiled at her best friend's daughter.

Fiana, on the other hand, saluted with her hands on her chest with a graceful figure that kept her waist-length silver hair as undisturbed as possible.

"Are you discussing about something?"

"No, it's okay, Maria. We were just discussing which part of the forest we should explore today."

"......Um, is something wrong, Jenna-sama?"

When Mariabelle dismounted, Jenna looked slightly surprised.

She noticed the change, but Jenna shook her head as though it was nothing.

"Did you grow a little taller?"

"Eh?"

"Because you looked taller."

"Is it because I'm wearing high heels?"

Mariabelle said to Jenna's words, and the blonde saint smiled.

A bright smile.

Just looking at her smile, one's heart was being warmed and filled with tenderness.

How many times had that smile saved Mariabelle and her group, when they were on a journey to defeat the Black Ooze?

Remembering that, she naturally smiled as well.

"Is that so? After all, it seems that you are growing taller."

"I don't know... I don't really understand."

Mariabelle spun bland words with a wry smile as her companions arrived...... Kara, Meltia, and Fenelieka. Then they waited for Alfira, who led the knights.

A female knight with dark purple hair and a dignified expression, dressed in knight armor.

She was one of the female knights who were rescued after one year of Fonteau's capture by the Black Ooze, maintaining her reason while enduring its violation.

Having finally forgotten the humiliation and healed from the emotional trauma, she volunteered to be Mariabelle's bodyguard.

"Alfira, you're the knight who escorted them?"

"Yes. It's been a long time, Fiana-sama."

Alfira quickly dismounted and saluted at Fiana.

The knights behind her all followed Alfira's salute and bowed their heads.

Alfira was originally a knight who was on Fiana's team.

When the existence of the Black Ooze was not yet known, she went to the abandoned mithril mine, where the slime had set up a nest and was defeated in a trap by Frederica and Satia.

She was violated at that time while being connected with the Black Ooze by a strange fate, however, after the Black Ooze was defeated, she was assigned to a different team.

Fiana became a knight commander and an escort of the queen, and Alfira became a troop commander leading the knights on the bottom ranks.

Over the past year, they had no interaction, but she had never forgotten their names and faces, not even for a moment.

The expression on Alfira's face was the same as it had been since that time, a look of respect for Fiana, who was a woman but in a position to unite the knights.

"I am honored to work for Fiana-sama again."

"Fufu. Thank you―― Congratulations on your promotion to troop commander. I'm counting on you."

"Ha!"

When Alfira responded, her stiff expression tensed up, and Fiana's dignified face relaxed slightly and she smiled.

(This kind of thing hasn't changed at all since then, has it?)

Although she had grown up in terms of her rank, as a human being, she was still the same.

Fiana was tickled to feel something that was no different from the speed of human growth because of the elves' long life.

Perhaps it was the state of mind like a mother watching her child grow up.

Fiana, who had no children, looked at the familiar faces that came with Alfira.

"Jeez Maria. You suddenly started speeding up..."

"I'm sorry, onee-sama. I could see Jenna-sama and Fiana-san."

Mariabelle's sister, Meltia.

Kara, a Lishlua resident who claimed to be the "scientist" who created the poison that killed the slime.

And Fenelieka, a succubus.

The three of them seem to have been left by Mariabelle, who noticed Jenna and Fiana's appearance and ran, and when Meltia said so, Mariabelle smiled wryly.

Smiling at such conversation between the sisters, Jenna turned her attention to Fiana.

"Mariabelle-sama, Meltia-sama. We welcome your safe arrival."

"No. Thank you, Fiana-san, for arranging the supplies along the way. Thanks to your help, we were able to pass through Grabalt's Forest with ease."

"So, Fiana-dono. What's the situation?"

Kara asked a simple question, breaking Mariabelle and the others' small talk.

With one question, the air around them tightened.

"The situation is not good. The forest of Grabalt is wide and deep. We have searched the area around the village where the man with the Hero's Shield was seen, but we didn't get any leads."

"I see……"

"But does that mean we can assume that they are no longer anywhere near that village?"

"Yes. Right now, we are searching the vast forest, Fenelieka-dono."

"Uh, I've never been called "dono" before...... You can call me Fenelieka, Knight Commander-san."

"Fufu, but you call me by my position."

When she mentioned that she could not address her in public in an implicitly friendly manner, Fenelieka scratched her cheek as though she were troubled.

She did not like to be called in a formal way.

Well, she also didn't like the brusque attitude of people like Kara, who ask her to do miscellaneous things without hesitation.

"Even though we borrowed personnel from King Grabalt, we still had to search the whole area......"

"Is there a different way to look for them?"

Meltia noticed the change in Fiana's word choice and raised her voice.

To that, not only Fiana but also Jenna nodded.

"Yes. If the slime and a human are the ones who took the "Hero's Shield", they would have to go to the human villages to get food."

"I see. Rather than send people deep into the forest to tire themselves out, they waited for the suspicious ones to come."

"Yes."

Kara nodded in agreement, and Mariabelle looked at Fiana with a serious expression.

"So, what did you find out?"

"We just got information. That there was one adventurer, who was not a beastmen of Grabalt, but who had been constantly going around different villages for the past few weeks, stocking up on food."

"An adventurer?"

"...Meltia-sama. Frederica Rene, who was reported to be working with Slime, is a former adventurer. Maybe she's using that title."

"I see."

"Yes. An adventurer who for a long time bought food while changing villages so as not to be suspected by the stores. I don't know her name, but she is said to be a blonde female mage."

"Frederica... that woman."

Kara hatefully called the name.

She recalled the past when she had been attacked in Lishlua's research building and forced to become an experimental subject for the aphrodisiac she had created.

At the same time, the aphrodisiac, which had been made even more potent by the humanoid, made it difficult to create an antidote, and even now Kara and Meltia had to take a drug several times a day to weaken the aphrodisiac's effects.

The humiliation made her face tense, and so did Meltia's.

They looked at each other and nodded lightly.

"Then, if we follow this woman, Frederica, we might be able to find our father's shield and the missing Fasalina-sama?"

"Yes. The female mage go around different villages to buy food everyday, but there was a pattern. Let's ambush her at the next village she appears."

"I understand."

Fiana's explanation convinced Mariabelle.

With a dignified expression that showed no sign of fatigue from her travels, she turned her gaze to her companions who had traveled with her.

"We will join you in that mission."

"...Are you sure? You must be tired after your long journey."

"But even if we ambush her, something unexpected may happen. I can handle it right away."

It had been known since the recapture of Fonteau that Mariabelle had a keen intuition, almost like foresight, about the future.

It was a special ability she inherited from her father, the hero before her.

Fiana thought that if she had that ability, she should obey.

If Mariabelle sensed something, even unconsciously, it meant that there was a high possibility that this "unforeseen event" would happen.

"I'm glad you're here but don't overdo it..."

"I'll be fine. I have already killed the giant slime in Fonteau."

"Fufu―― Yes, you did."

The hero who saved them.

She was a dignified and beautiful girl in appearance, but her ability was in a much higher rank than that of the knight Fiana, who had been fighting since the days when the Demon King existed.

She was the princess of the country, but it was strange to be worried about someone with that much ability.

"From the information we have gathered so far, that person will appear tomorrow. We will leave the royal capital of Grabalt early so that she will not notice our formation."

"I understand."

Mariabelle sighed slowly as she said it.

Was it the right way to behave as a hero?

A slight feeling of uneasiness came to mind, but it quickly faded away.

The warriors from Grabalt and physically strong monsters who had gathered in the area looked at Mariabelle with respect, and she left the place as their gaze followed her.

Kara, who had come to Grabalt with her, stayed behind to finalize the strategy.

"Onee-sama, Fenel-san. If you like, why don't we take a look around the royal capital?"

"Well, we don't have anything to do until we move to the village in question."

"It helps. It seems that there are quite a lot of tools requested."

Her sister, Meltia, gave her consent, and Fenelieka seemed determined to use Mariabelle, who, despite her pretty appearance, was a hero, as her luggage bearer.

She fluttered her hair and showed the thing she had been holding to Mariabelle.

"This is?"

"Kara asked me for some tools that she needed. It seems she would use it for some kind of experiment."

"Ohh."

It would be used for the tools she saw when she visited Kara's laboratory before they left Fonteau's capital.

Certainly――.

"She mentioned something about a drug that separated the slime's mucus from its "nucleus"."

"A new tool for fighting the slime? How could she thought about those things, that woman."

"Thanks to that, we were able to recapture Fonteau. With this, we may be able to help the goddess."

"I think it's too much... well, I guess."

"......By the way, why did you tell us that, Fenelieka-san?"

"Well, it's difficult to carry them alone, so I thought the three of us could carry them..."

"You, how dare you let Mariabelle carry your stuff!"

As usual, Meltia started to get angry, but Mariabelle, who was used to seeing their exchange, didn't panic.

Rather, she smiled and gently calmed her sister.

"It's fine, onee-sama."

"No. You are not only the princess of a country, but you are seen as a hero. If you were to be seen carrying baggage, what would people think of you?......"

"You're as stubborn as ever."

"You're too loose in the head."

"That's terrible. Even I would cry, Princess Meltia. Sob* sob*."

"Kuh, imitating a cry only at such times..."

For Meltia, who was raised to treat her people kindly, a crying face was something that made her hesitate to go any further, even if she knew it was fake.

When Meltia was at a loss for words, Fenelieka smiled at the sister princess, who reacted in such an obvious way.

"Even if you know you're being deceived, you can't go any further... It's okay to be like that Mel. Yep."

"Who's Mel? Don't abbreviate people's names without permission."

"O-onee-sama. You'll attract a lot of attention if you shout so loud......"

"Uaah..."

Meltia, who was arguing with Fenelieka just usual, her long, half-elf ears turned red when she remembered that she was not in Fonteau, but in another country, and on the street.

"Uwaa, you're so cute."

"I'm angry, Fenelieka-san."

Fenelieka's smile deepened as Meltia yelled at her in a whisper.

It was really...... interesting to see her react so easily.

"I heard loud noises, so I came to see and it turned out, it was Mariabelle and her friends."

Then one woman called out to Mariabelle and her friends, who have quieted down.

A woman with waist-length gray hair and dressed in a tight black military uniform in the always-hot Grabalt territory―― her familiar voice brightened Mariabelle's expression.

"Fornelis-sama."

"Hey. I heard from the soldiers that you were coming today, so I waited for you at the royal castle, but I couldn't wait any longer."

"I'm sorry. I met Fiana and the others, and I was looking into the current situation."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I was just wondering whether I should join Jenna and the others or wait at the royal castle."

Fornelis then stared at Mariabelle from head to toe.

"Have you grown a little taller?"

"......Jenna-sama has also told me."

"Oh, really?"

"I don't know myself, but if you two say so, then maybe I've grown."

"Uu."

For some reason, Méltia next to her raised a small voice as though she were depressed at Mariabelle's words.

"It's alright. Mel's breasts are bigger."

Fenelieka said in a comforting and gentle tone, but it had the opposite effect.

"I don't care about my height, and my chest―― certainly, it's not..."

"Oi, oi. I don't think this is a topic for the princess of a country to talk about out loud on the street, so be careful."

"Ah―― Mou, Fenelieka-san!"

"I just tried to comfort you."

"Fufu."

Fenelieka's comment made Mariabelle laugh in a small voice.

Seeing her smile, Fornelis nodded slowly.

"I'm glad to see you all so lively. I hear Fasalina-sama is missing, but you guys don't seem nervous."

"Yes―― I will definitely help her and get father's shield."

"Yeah. I'll lend a hand...... and we'll fight together again."

"It is very reassuring. Thank you very much, Fornelis-sama."

In this way, friends were coming together again.

Mariabelle held bright hopes for it and truly believed that she would soon be able to help the goddess Fasalina.

......It had already been more than ten days since the goddess Fasalina went missing.

Traveling across countries took days, and it took too long for them to reunite together.

Mariabelle and her friends were still unaware of what the number of days meant.

That night when Mariabelle and her friends met up with the others in Grabalt.

In Fonteau, Leticia, who had taken over Méltia's duties, sat at her office desk until late at night, looking over reports.

She was wearing a sensual pure white negligee that showed the underwear she was wearing underneath, rather than the luxurious dress typical of a queen, as it seemed she had just taken a bath.

Underneath the negligee, she wore blue underwear that gave a fancy impression, not unlike a diligent queen, adorning her splendid limbs that make it hard to believe that she was a mother of two, and her expression was slightly clouded by sleepiness and fatigue.

But she never made a yawning voice.

As the queen who protected the country and as a mother waiting for her daughters to return home, she was doing her best to secure the place where her daughters, who traveled as a hero and her companions, should return to with peace and tranquility.

"Fuu. That's all for today."

In a room lit by a magic lamp made of a special ore that emitted light in response to mana, Leticia stretched out, leaning her body against the back of the chair in which she was sitting.

The softness of her large, shapely breasts, which were not typical of an elf, could be imagined at a glance as they quiver softly. If there were men present here, they would rather look away, thinking they had seen something sacred.

Leticia finished her work and stood by the window in her negligee.

Far away, the royal castle of Grabalt.

The World Tree, which stretched higher than the castle, was faintly visible from Leticia's private room at the royal castle in Fonteau.

Or perhaps it would be more correct to say that this room was built so that the World Tree could be seen.

"Maria, Meltia. Please come back safely......"

The two daughters were no longer in her own hands and had flown away.

Not only for their abilities and as a princess of a country, but also as one of the lives in this world.

She was happy about that, but at the same time, she was anxious.

It was natural to worry about one's children.

But from here on, her two daughters would face the most difficult challenge...... The queen, unable to help them, troubled by her duties and the aftereffects did by the Black Ooze, crossed her fingers in front of her chest as though in prayer to the World Tree, her expression clouded.

Kneeling on the floor, the soft fabric of her negligee fluttered and fell as the air pressed down on it.

"Fasalina-sama, please be safe―― please protect Maria."

A few dozen seconds.

She prayed, crossing her fingers in front of her chest.

It had been several days since Mariabelle and the others left the royal castle.

It had become a daily routine for Leticia.

"――I need to wake up early tomorrow, and I'm done for the day......"

When she finished praying and turned around to turn off the countless magic lights decorating the room, there it was.

How long had it been there?

How did it get in?

"――――Ah."

A translucent monster in Leticia's private room.

A goblin-shaped slime stood in front of the door, the only exit.

In its hands, it held nothing that could be described as a weapon.

It wore no armor-like protection.

It seemed as it was naked.

They had received reports that there were slimes in the form of a goblin.

It was not just goblins.

It was rumored among knights and adventurers that the current slime mimicked the shape of various monsters.

"Where on earth!?"

Leticia conjured magic while wearing a negligee and collected the mana in her right hand.

Immediately, she released an ice magic―― a sharply pointed ice bullet that pierced its chest.

The goblin, unable to put up any resistance, was frozen from its chest to its entire body, even the tips of its fingers, and easily collapsed.

――At that easy end, Leticia was more confused.

"What is this... what does this mean? ――Someone, someone!!"

It was too quick.

Perhaps in proportion to the strength of the typical goblin, it was too weak compared to the slime that had tormented Leticia.

Leticia called the knight patrolling at night, puzzled not only by the slime's sudden appearance in her private room but also by how weak it was.

"What's the matter, Leticia-sama!? W-what is this!?"

"It's a slime. Find out where it came from!!"

"Y-yes!"

The female knight who appeared was in a panic, as though she had been blamed for her own ineptitude, and immediately ran away.

Immediately, a high alert was set up not only in the royal castle of Fonteau, but also in the royal capital, which was in the process of reconstruction, and night patrols set out more and more.

......However, in the end, the route of the slime that had invaded was not found that night.

"What in the world is going on......?"

As soon as Mariabelle left, the slimes began to show themselves again.

This time, however, they were not the typical-shaped slimes but slimes that mimicked the appearance of the monsters that had existed until now.

Her voice trembled with anxiety, and at the same time―― Leticia stared at the frozen goblin.

"No, Leticia... you're the Queen, You must protect the place where your daughters would return to."

She had to keep telling herself that, or she would not be able to keep her sanity.

It had been more than half a year since slimes of various shapes and sizes began to appear in Fonteau's territory.

Leticia, who should be able to fight as a mage, however, had never participated in the battle of these strange slimes.

Because―― her unparalleled mana, she was great food for the Black Ooze, and she was subjected to more intense torment and humiliation than anyone else in the country.

As a result, she was now unable to take her gaze off the stiff crotch of the goblin that still retained its shape even after being frozen in her gaze.

(This monster, I... I...)

Her beautiful limbs wrapped in a sensual negligee quivered, as though in fear or expecting something.

Both legs involuntarily rubbed their thighs together.

Sweat was showing up all over her body, and she was aware that her breathing had become slightly erratic.

"Nnh."

She swallowed her saliva.

(This monster was trying to violate me...)

Convinced of that, Leticia hugged her shoulders with both hands as though to protect herself.

Her beautiful big breasts, wrapped in fancy light blue underwear, softly change shape and form a deep cleavage.

Even the stimulation was a dull pleasure that made Leticia's breathing go fast.

After-effects.

Endlessly, she was violated for more than a year.

When she was awake, when she was sleeping, when she was passed out, when she was bathing, and when she was made to stand in front of her people and knights.

Leticia, who was violated continuously, remembered the pleasures she thought she had overcome in the last six months, but......

"Maria, Meltia...... I will protect the place to which you will return, I promise."

As though to say goodbye to such a past, Leticia spoke the names of her beloved daughters.

......If she didn't say it, she sensed that she would go out of control.

And it was shortly after this that Leticia noticed that the center of her light blue panties was wet even though nothing had been done to them.

With her cheeks stained with shame.

(I will never lose again.)

She vowed so strongly in her heart.