GILF Hunter

Chapter 447: 447 Temple trial...!

A long corridor connected to the hot spring.

It was a place not very far from the bath.

Tanya spoke with Epirnoa there, keeping her voice as low as possible.

Fortunately, all of Frenda’s attention was focused on the hot spring. Thanks to that, Tanya was able to have a secret conversation without drawing Frenda’s gaze.

Epirnoa muttered while looking at Frenda’s back.

’I can feel very positive emotions from her. If you invite her, wouldn’t she accept surprisingly easily? Ian would probably like it too.’

’In-invite? What on earth are you...?’

Epirnoa replied to Tanya, who asked with an uneasy face.

’Mating with Ian, of course. I specially gave my power, but to think the number of new mates hasn’t increased at all until now... at this rate, there’s no meaning to the gift I gave. I have no choice but to help a little.’

’No... you can’t!’

To think she would step forward personally to invite her just to increase Ian’s mates.

Hearing that bold plan, countless thoughts flashed through Tanya’s head.

The sudden appearance of a high spirit...

Asking to mate with the Leader...

Immediate arrest by the paladins for harassment of a high priest...?

Temple trial...!

Tanya hurriedly blocked Epirnoa’s plan.

’You really can’t do that! I-I’ll be the one to show you the m-mating instead, so please, just refrain from doing that!’

’Wow. Really?’

’...’

Epirnoa clapped her hands together lightly with a happy face.

Tanya realized the mistake she had made in her words just now only after the words had already left her mouth.

Reversing it now and saying it wasn’t true... wouldn’t work.

As a high spirit, Epirnoa had no idea what the position of a high priest meant in human society, and she likely didn’t care either.

If she didn’t hold her back somehow, she might appear in front of Frenda immediately and ask, ’Why don’t you mate with Ian?’

The problem was that it wasn’t an act intended to threaten Tanya or Ian, but a pure action performed without any malice.

’S-so...’

Tanya’s face turned pale as her thoughts reached that point. She couldn’t allow such a massive disaster to happen by her own hand.

Moreover, the other party was a guest, and a high priest at that. It was absolutely out of the question.

Tanya eventually squeezed her eyes shut and nodded in affirmation, obtaining a promise that Epirnoa would not make such a proposal to Frenda.

＊ ＊ ＊

’At that time, I felt like that was the only way...’

’...’

Deep in the night.

It was after Frenda had finished her bath, spent a long time praising the hot spring in the lounge, and returned with a satisfied expression.

Ian, who had come to the hot spring after receiving word from Tanya that a small problem had occurred, spoke with her for a moment in the empty bath.

Tanya sat upright in front of Ian and confessed what had happened with Epirnoa earlier.

’...Th-that’s how it happened. I’m sorry...’

Tanya lowered her head with an expression as if she had caused a major accident. However, Ian didn’t seem particularly surprised or troubled even after hearing those words.

He simply nodded with a face that looked as if he had expected this to happen eventually.

He knew it would turn out like this someday.

It was only a matter of time...

Ian shifted his gaze slightly to look to the side.

Epirnoa was sitting on a rock above the hot spring, watching the two with an amused expression.

’So... what should we do?’

Tanya asked awkwardly, glancing between Ian and Epirnoa.

Perhaps Tanya was hoping he would come up with some brilliant way to navigate this situation somehow.

Ian shook his head at Tanya and replied.

’There’s no other choice. We have to do as promised...’

’Pardon?’

’You said you made a promise.’

That meant, in other words, they had to do it right in front of Epirnoa.

Meaning... mating.

Tanya’s face flushed deep red.

Well, it had to turn out that way.

She had asked Ian hoping he might have some other good idea, but if even Ian said that, she had no choice but to do it.

Ian spoke to Tanya as if telling her not to be too nervous.

’And besides, haven’t the spirits always been watching anyway? Just think of it as the same thing.’

’Th-that’s true, but... how should I say it, it feels somewhat different from that...’

Since Ian couldn’t see spirits clearly, it was difficult to fully understand Tanya’s feelings, but he still had a rough sense of what she wanted to say.

Spirits were an entirely different species, so there was less shame, but Epirnoa was an exception. While she was a spirit, in some ways, she was excessively human-like.

At that moment, Epirnoa, who had been eavesdropping on their whispering conversation, smiled and spoke as if she understood the problem.

’Ah, was it because you were bothered by me watching? You two are the type whose wariness increases during mating.’

’It’s not that we’re strange, that’s just normal...’

Epirnoa nodded as if she finally understood.

’No wonder you rarely showed me... Fine, then let’s do this.’

As she said that, Epirnoa clapped her hands lightly, and her form suddenly vanished.

It seemed she had become invisible even to Tanya, not just Ian, as Tanya looked around in slight panic.

Seeing as the peculiar energy unique to a high spirit could still be felt, it seemed she had only made her form invisible.

Was she saying she would make herself invisible, so they should act as if she wasn’t there? That was, surprisingly... helpful in reducing the shame and moving things along.

As Epirnoa’s form and voice disappeared, an awkward silence suddenly settled over the hot spring.

Inside the hot spring, which had become strangely quiet, Ian and Tanya’s eyes met.

’Tanya.’

’Ye-yes.’

’Shall we get into the water first?’

’In the hot spring...?’

That would be better than starting abruptly. It was often that way when they usually did it anyway.

After considering Ian’s proposal for a moment, Tanya nodded.

Tanya, who had been fiddling with the hem of her clothes while gauging the mood, hesitantly undressed.

One by one, Tanya slowly discarded her clothes and, now naked, blushed as she covered her body.

Was it because of the thought that Epirnoa was watching from somewhere, even though she couldn’t be seen? Tanya, who was naturally quite shy, seemed much more embarrassed than usual.

Tanya followed Ian and quietly entered the hot spring.

Their bodies were submerged in the water.

As the intense heat of the spring soaked in, it felt as though their bodies were gradually heating up. Not just their body temperature, but some hot emotion began to surge.

Tanya, sitting next to Ian with just a slight distance between them, felt a strange sensation rising that she had never felt before.

Somehow, a peculiar sensation bubbling up from deep within her chest...

Tanya, realizing instinctively what it was, gave a start and looked up.

’...Hyat!’

’What’s wrong?’

’A-ah, it’s nothing. Just a moment...’

Tanya, suddenly startled, began to look around here and there.

Then, she looked down at her own body with a face that said ’could it be.’

’Leader, wait... just a moment.’

Tanya hurriedly moved away from Ian to a corner of the hot spring, and then muttered quietly while looking down at herself.

’W-what is happening... Pardon? Link? With me? Suddenly such a...’

Although the voice couldn’t be heard directly, Tanya could immediately tell what Epirnoa was thinking.

Tanya spoke in a small voice, glancing at Ian with an extremely troubled face.

’What do you mean, don’t mind it! Th-this is much more embarrassing than being watched from the side...’

Ian stared intently at Tanya’s back as she conversed with someone.

Because her voice was small, he couldn’t properly hear what Tanya was saying, but there was only one person she could be talking to right now anyway.

Tanya seemed to be having an urgent conversation with Epirnoa.

Since Tanya had better senses for spirits than Ian, he assumed she could still hear the voice.

After muttering in a small voice and conversing with someone invisible, Tanya glanced at Ian and let out a small sigh.

Tanya returned and sat next to Ian with a face that looked very much like she had resigned herself to something.

’Um... I’m sorry. I guess I was mistaken.’

’...’

It seemed things didn’t go well with Epirnoa, so she intended to push forward with that excuse.

Tanya, returning to Ian’s side, let out a tired sigh and submerged herself in the water.

Her mind was exhausted, but the effect of the hot spring was still certain, fully recovering her fatigue and infusing her with stamina.

...It was a peculiar atmosphere.

Was it because it was happening suddenly at someone else’s request, rather than out of personal emotion?

Between Ian and Tanya, an awkward and subtle atmosphere lingered, just like when they had done it for the first time. They repeatedly met each other’s eyes only to look away.

If they kept stalling like this, they would just end up staying up all night.

Ian, thinking so, quietly leaned over and pulled Tanya into an embrace.

’Ah...’

Ian pulled Tanya close and overlapped their lips.

He felt a startled tremor being transmitted.