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Chapter 268 part 2

Unable to endure it, Jirgu raised his voice tearfully. Apparently she seemed slightly surprised by Jirgu’s unexpected reaction. The harsh choice of words from this young Dragon Succubus girl had no intention of belittling Jirgu. The tricky part was they could also be taken the wrong way, potentially making things worse.

「I’m sorry, I tend to blurt out whatever pops into my head. Plus, I still don’t fully understand the subtle intricacies when dealing with humans. Researching that is also part of my job, but since I’m just born, I’d be happy if you could kindly overlook things.」

Jirgu couldn’t get a word from Vite’s speech out of his head and had to ask for clarification.

While not overly knowledgeable about the ecology of the Succubus, let alone the Dragon Succubus. Thinking that the thought crossed his mind couldn’t possibly be true. Jirgu asked with some reluctance:

「Hey, Vite. You say you were just born, but how old are you exactly? You seem to be around twelve or thirteen from what I can tell」

「Oh dear, you shouldn’t ask a woman her age. Well, it’s fine in my case. Today marks my 7th day since being born.」

「7 days!? At least say you’re 7 years old…no, even 7 would be young, but 7 days, 7 days!? Not even 700 days or 7,000 days!?」

「You’re so persistent. Yes, it’s 7 days, s-e-v-e-n-d-a-y-s. It’s my 7th day of life. How quickly we grow varies based on the individual circumstances of our birth, but I’m a particularly fast case. Around my 4th day of life I had already grown into this form.」

Jirgu has not yet been informed, but Viterael belongs to the still-small-in-number new generation among the Dragon Succubus.

Usually, Dragon Succubus are transformed from beings who were formerly normal Succubus, voluntarily steeping the depths of their souls in the power and attributes of the Ancient-Celestial Dragon.

On the other hand, Vitellael and the other new generation Dragon Succubus were all born as Dragon Succubus from the beginning by Lilyeltiel.

For that reason, none have even exceeded a year old. Among them, 7-day-old Viterael is a particularly young individual.

In addition to the straightforward reason for increasing the numbers of the new Dragon Succubus race, the genesis of the new generation stemmed from the idea of creating more Succubus that were more amicable towards humans to facilitate harmonious exchanges with the many races led by mankind.

In contrast to the conventional Dragon Succubus, whose innate Succubus tendency to charm other races through near uncontrollable allure remained the new generation Dragon Succubus had been attuned to be capable of more delicate control over their charm and powers of fascination. They also served as touchstones for coexistence and mutual prosperity with other races.

「It doesn’t matter if I’m 7 or 70 years old. It has nothing to do with what you have to do.

You should train at the training area for a while, or take a simple job from the administration to afford better equipment. I can help with work and even teach you how to fight if you want!」

「Yeah, well, you’re stronger than me though…」

「Aww, you don’t like learning battle techniques from a younger girl? Let’s see…what was it, boys are all about pride, right? Is that it? It’s not something I can force, but why not think over your objectives first and what you can do to achieve them, then decide?

Now, first, let’s wash off the dirt in the bath. After a meal in the dining hall, we’ll go back to your room and quickly review plans going ahead. I’ll be spending the next month differently depending on what you want to do, so let’s talk seriously」

「O-okay」

The mercenaries and adventurers who had already made a name for themselves before arriving at Caravis Tower already took over entire standalone houses and residential complexes offered at affordable prices within Inraen, using them as their bases.

In contrast, bottom-tier explorers like Jirgu live in a housing complex with no rent, shared baths, and included toiletries, washbasins, and breakfast provided by Inraen’s administrative department.

There was a shared understanding within Inraen at that time that leaving the housing complex and securing one’s residence with their abilities marked the threshold to becoming a full-fledged explorer.

Vite had moved into the vacant room on the left of Jirgu’s. The two of them then became friendly neighbors and candidate partners and spent the remaining one-month trial period together.

*

A few days later…

Jirgu, swallowed down his pride, had been taking fighting lessons from Vite while also striving to earn enough for his living expenses and for the upgrade of his equipment. He was taking on quite an arduous life.

The previous night, he had fought a life-and-death battle against the Keevlins in Hegna Hell cave, returned to rest at the housing complex, sought Vite’s instruction in combat, and then collapsed into a muddy sleep from exhaustion.

Thankfully, the novice explorer housing complex in Inraen provided its residents with ointments and potion-form elixirs weekly, highly effective for bruises, scrapes, and internal bleeding. Thanks to these, yesterday’s injuries had practically healed, and any fatigue had also vanished.
Whereas Jirgu was being supported by the meticulously prepared environment of Inraen, Vite, with her originally high abilities and the high physical capabilities of a Dragon Succubus, remained in excellent health, unfazed by fatigue whatsoever.

Today as well, Jirgu and Vite were tasked with escorting materials and food to a construction site outside Inraen, designated for a new relay point to aid in labyrinth exploration.

While Inraen was a perfect base for explorers, constructing more relay point settlements in the vast 1st layer to fully scout it out was essential. Beyond the stone-paved roads radiating out from Inraen, settlements were gradually being built.

Most construction workers were magical creatures created by Dragon Succubus, but there were also a fair number of explorers working here. They were those who faltered when push came to actual combat and were unable to fight.

To allow such explorers to still make a living in Inraen, the Dragon Succubus intentionally made the construction procedures less efficient for more vacant jobs, thus providing those explorers the means of survival.

「There seem to be quite a lot of explorers participating today」

Arriving at the western outskirts of Inraen, the departure point for the transport team, Jirgu couldn’t help letting out an admiring sigh at the nearly fifty explorers who had taken on the same job.

The food and various materials to be carried to the construction site were loaded in a distributed manner onto ten carts without wheels that had been enchanted with a floatation spell.

Each cart was pulled by two magical beasts that closely resembled rhinoceroses, which were a creation of Dragon Succubus. The cargo loaded onto these carts would be what Jirgu’s group was to guard.

「The magical creatures pulling the carts are called Rexrhinos. They have gentle, intelligent dispositions, and if it’s a simple road they’ve been down before, they’ll remember the route. Still, we have a supervisor just in case」

「It’s a half-day trip to get there, right? This is my first time leaving Inraen for another town, so I’m a bit excited」

「For me too, for places other than Inraen, all I know is the labyrinths, so I’m no different from you. But the place we’re going to has only just begun construction, so there might not be much worthwhile to see」

「That’s okay. I’ve never seen what it’s like building a town either!」

「Hmm, I guess that’s one way to look at it. Anyway, this job is easy enough even for you, the monsters that might attack aren’t tough, so we can take it easy」
「Hehe, you always tell me to take it easy. Whether you realize it or not, I noticed last night before bed that it’s your way of trying to reduce my tension. Thank you」

「Ehh? You think so? It is my first assignment, so I was planning to try my best in my own way…」

Apparently, Jirgu’s observation had caught Vite completely off guard. She started pondering deeply, grunting all the while.

It was a somewhat wishful remark from Jirgu, so he was slightly surprised that Vite started worrying that much.

I should have brought it up some other time, Zirg thought with regret, as he surveyed his surroundings again. This time he noticed that mixed in among them were some who had helped him tremendously.

「Ah, Mr. Dreissen!」

「Hmm? Oh, Jirgu. And the Dragon Succubus girl, is she a supporter from the administrative branch?」

「Yes, her name’s Vite. She’s much stronger than me and knows a lot more about Inraen so I feel a bit pathetic. I see that you are not only with Mr. Hanma and the others but also with the Dragonians today」

Jirgu noticed several Dragonians, not only Hanma, Dowben, and Quinn, but others as well, all gathered around Dreissen.

Except for Dreissen and Quinn, the party seemed to consist of members from different races, with several Dragonians present. They received curious and awed stares from the surrounding explorers like the line of spears held at the ready.

Jirgu observed several Dragonians, including Liu Yuu, daughter of the Water Dragon Emperor Ryoukichi, and the crimson dragon Vaje from Mores mountains, gathered around Dreissen.

「These are acquaintances of mine. This place seemed perfect for them to warm up a little and deepen our bonds, so I’m guiding them here. This seemed like a perfect place for a bit of a warm-up and to deepen our bonds. They’re not entirely committed to working as an explorer, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t scrutinize too much」

Among the Dragonians gathered around Dreissen was Liu Yuu, daughter of the Water Dragon Emperor Ryoukichi, the Crimson Dragon Vaje, and also dragons from the Mores Mountains.

Moreover, the moment Vite recognized Dreissen’s presence, she froze in place, forgetting to sleep.

The Dragon Succubus, specifically the new generation individuals, owed their very existence to Dreissen, so they harbored especially profound reverence towards both Dreissen and the ancient Ancient-Celestial Dragon. Vite’s reaction stemmed from that.

As Vite showed no signs of rebooting on her own, the only way for her to regain consciousness was for Jirgu to notice her. However, he was absorbed in conversation with his benefactor, and it seemed Jirgu would take some time to do so.

In the meantime, Vite’s mind and body fell into utter chaos, but well, things like this could happen.

To be continued…

Jirgu: Level 4

Vite: Levels 1-999 (Holding back)

Dreissen and his joyful band of companions: They transcend the concept of levels. Their strength is beyond the realm of level-based comparison.