Dungeon of Lust: Managing Otherworldly Beauties

Chapter 281: Midnight Excursion

This was all conjecture.

Would there even be someone at the waterfall? Would this someone be an oracle? Would this someone know he was coming? If someone was there, waiting for him, would he be able to use [World Without Witness] without Ximena noticing?

Naturally, the answer very well could be "no" — that there was nobody there and this expedition was fruitless.

However, it was time to trust in luck and his instinct.

A few of the Akkuron lookouts watched Vale and Ximena leave, but they made no motion to stop him, only relaying his actions.

As Vale stepped outside the dungeon for the first time since becoming Emergent, his advancement in power was expressed in full.

Taking a deep breath of the night air, Vale monitored his Aether leakage and guessed that, as long as he didn’t overtly expend his Aether, he could stay outside for over a year — eighteen months or so.

Ximena, a little behind, raised her eyebrow at Vale’s odd glee. Instead, her eyes focused on what Vale had just pulled from the [Nexus of Beginnings].

"What’s that?"

Vale exhaled with a calm smile on his face.

"A bike."

Vale mounted the bike and pointed to two jutting prongs.

"Stand there... wait."

Motioning her over, Vale felt the cold caress of [Absolute Zero]. After a passionate kiss to incite the effects of [Lust], Ximena awkwardly did as Vale said. As she got on, she nearly fell right off, having to wrap her arms around Vale.

When she got settled, Vale kicked off the ground and began pedaling.

"Ximena, can you help guide me? Also, unsummon your crystals."

The last thing Vale needed was to be a beacon in the night. To that end, he also deactivated [Charm] and [Flame of Lust], killing the glow of his eyes.

Also, there would be the secondary benefit of extending the invisible sphere of death around them.

Ximena steadied herself, her arms sliding around his body and gripping Vale’s chest.

"O-oh! O-of course!"

She didn’t exactly know what a bike was before a few seconds ago, but the mechanics behind the mechanism weren’t exactly difficult to understand. With that in mind, Ximena began using her fabric to guide Vale.

Ximena shuddered. Whether that was due to her closeness to Vale or because she had seen something spooky, who knew?

"W-why did you want to do this?"

Vale smiled as a cold headwind bit into his skin.

"Is the night air not refreshing?"

"I guess it is..."

Pressing her face against Vale’s shoulder, keeping one eye on the path ahead, she said:

"I do like being away from all those humans."

"Hmm? Have they been treating you badly?"

"Not exactly..." Ximena picked her head up. "Watch out, there’s a pile of talus."

"Thanks."

Vale lifted the front of the bike, letting it hop up in the air after the back wheel smashed into a rock, sailing over the stone cluster.

Ximena chuckled lightly at the brief moment of being airborne, then said:

"The humans... they simply look at us with contempt when we’ve done them no wrong. It was the same back on my old world. I’m starting to think it’s the same on every world."

Vale veered around another cluster of rocks.

"Ah, you can’t really blame them. They’re taught to hate anything different. And beings like us are scary to them. Because we’re supposed to be different, but we’re not. And because they can’t accept that, it leads to their harsh, grating looks."

"I guess that makes sense... but I still don’t like it."

Vale shrugged.

"By the way, hold on tightly."

"What?"

A moment later, Vale lifted the front wheel again and simultaneously activated [Nitro].

"Gyah!"

Ximena let out an uncharacteristic high-pitched screech as the bike sailed through the air, her arms pulling Vale in close, her chest smushed against his back.

Even if Vale had used the diorama to map out the cleanest path to the waterfall, that path did include some obstacles like pitfalls.

Oh, and they’d be passing a few of their neighbors soon.

Hopefully, they don’t mind.

The bike smoothly landed on the ground, and Vale continued to pedal as if nothing happened.

"V-Vale! I’d appreciate a sooner warning!"

Vale chuckled, ’Not Master?’

"Ah, but you’re so cute when the stoic facade crumbles."

"Guah! Stoic facade?! I don’t put on a front."

Vale reveled in seeing the icy princess like this, especially after her crystal confinement.

"Uh, huh. I believe you."

Continuing to follow the sash, the two continued their calm journey into the darkness.

Despite traversing the hellish Scar, which had been turned into a warzone as of late, both above and below, no beasts had been able to get anywhere close to them.

The headwind felt like it was taking all their worries and carrying them away as it slipped behind them.

Sadly, once they turned around and made it back to the dungeon, they’d be racing to pick those worries back up. But for now, Vale’s struggle to fight the wind was liberating.

Ximena sighed as she looked up at the dark sky.

"It looks like it’s going to rain tomorrow."

"Does it? It hasn’t rained often since we’ve been here."

"Well, it feels like it’s going to be quite a harsh downpour."

’Is that her bird senses kicking in?’

Vale always forgot Ximena was a bird person because she kept her wings folded around herself, using them as a dress.

After hopping another minor chasm, the two had finally made it halfway to the waterfall.

Still, nothing major had impeded them. Nothing had attacked. Nothing had begun stalking them. It was... peaceful.

Vale had used peace and tranquility as a pretext to justify this outing, but in the end, the statement came around to possess quite the truth.

Though, if fate was being so kind now, that only meant it was going to be harsh later.

That was how everything worked in life.

Give and take.

Vale pedaled, covering most of the rest of the distance with ease.

A nasty smell breached his nose.