The Second Son of The Marquis Runs Away from Home ~ Lacking Talent, He Abandons Everything and Becomes an Adventurer ~ - 14

Chapter 14: Heading Next

(Oh, I messed up…)

Looking at Aria sleeping peacefully beside me, the hangover from yesterday’s drinking vanished in an instant. I hadn’t been drinking for a while, so I had forgotten about my own bad habits.

It was about a year ago. I had gone to a tavern attached to a brothel, invited by a senior adventurer. After my senior quickly found a companion, I ended up drinking alone, not knowing my limits. I got so drunk that I ended up embracing four ladies of the night.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m the type whose memories remain even when I’m drunk. The morning after, when I sobered up, I had to pay a hefty sum to the brothel’s owner with a wry smile. My senior adventurer had said, “Are you a monster?” and distanced himself from me.

Since then, I hadn’t drunk to the point of getting drunk, but yesterday, I had definitely overindulged. Of all times, I had to get involved with a princess. There was no way out of this except for a severe punishment.

“Ugh…”

As I held my head in my hands, Aria rubbed her eyelids and sat up. She looked at me with a vulnerable air and froze in place.

“Um…”

“Huh? Uh, oh, um?… Oh…”

Aria blushed up to her ears and hid her skin under the sheets when she noticed me.

“G-Good morning?”

Her demeanor, filled with embarrassment, made her look more like a girl her age than she did yesterday.

—

“Well, I didn’t expect my first time to turn out like this.”

“…I’m sorry.”

We left the inn and sat facing each other in a corner of the adventurer’s guild’s tavern. Aria, who seemed to have regained her composure, smiled as she started to talk.

“You know, Berg, you’re quite the beast despite your appearance. I still feel a bit sore from how rough you were.”

“Ugh…”

“We could consider it an advance payment… if you want, what do you think?”

“Is that alright?”

“For someone like you, Berg, it’s special. But since you took my innocence, you better make sure it’s worth it, okay?”

“Understood, that’s fine.”

If Aria said it was fine, then it was. In the end, I had escaped without losing my head, so it wasn’t all bad.

“Now, back to business… What’s the plan from here?”

“Right. For now, let’s gather information about monsters that are likely to drop rare items while we take on quests…”

As I tried to switch gears and start discussing our plans, I felt a sensation in my mind, as if information was flowing in. Then, I heard **that** voice.

“To the east… Fire Pit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Just give me a moment.”

I took out a map from my bag and spread it out on the table. The map marked the locations of the town, dungeons, and more. I traced my finger eastward from our current location.

“This is it.”

I stopped at one particular dungeon, and Aria leaned in to take a look. She spoke the dungeon’s name after peering at where I was pointing.

“The ‘Crater of Desire’… Wasn’t that a large, almost-volcanic dungeon?”

“Yeah, there are monsters in there that drop rare items.”

“How do you know?”

“This guy told me.”

I lightly tapped the weapon at my waist, and Aria understood. She nodded, and we continued our discussion.

“For now, we need information about the dungeon and preparations. Have you been there before?”

“I have, but it was a while ago. It might be faster to buy new equipment now. Want to go shopping?”

“Sounds good. Today and tomorrow, we’ll prepare and decide how to approach the dungeon.”

Continuing with Aria, we discussed our approach based on the dungeon’s information and went to buy what we needed…

“Are we staying at the same inn?”

“Yes. In fact, we’re sharing the same room.”

“What?”

“We stayed together yesterday, didn’t we?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“Isn’t it a bit late to be surprised now? I mean, you did pay for yesterday’s stay, but I’ll cover my own expenses. Besides…”

Aria cut me off and whispered in my ear.

“…I’ve always had a fascination with first times, you know?”

Her voice and words were incredibly alluring.

“I did say you’d have to make it worth it, didn’t I? I don’t want my first time to be a result of drunken recklessness. So, will you do it properly today?”

I couldn’t resist her, my willpower was fading…

(I fell asleep…)

I looked at Berg, who was sleeping next to me, and gently poked his cheek. Seeing him like this, with sharp eyes and a well-proportioned physique, I couldn’t help but think about it again.

His body was ideal, with just the right amount of muscle and a pleasant blend of softness and firmness when I touched it.

“I thought you were just a wild berserker, but you can be gentle too.”

As I pondered this, I wondered about Berg’s background. I couldn’t help but be curious if he had chosen the dangerous path of an adventurer by discarding his past.

I knew about his older brother, Bador. He was in his twenties and had risen to power, holding a central position in the Berga Kingdom. His abilities and talents were so extraordinary that he was often called a monster.

In contrast, Berg’s reputation was mediocre, but I found it hard to believe. When I saw the way he fought, claiming it was self-taught, I could say his combat sense was also monstrous.

“In my country, any knight order would want you.”

I murmured and suddenly remembered something. The Berga Kingdom primarily emphasized magic, and martial arts were generally taught to those who graduated from academies and joined organizations like knight orders.

The martial arts taught to students were regarded as too formal and impractical, and I had secretly thought that Berg’s talent would be wasted in such a system.

(Berg’s talent wouldn’t be recognized in a formal martial arts setting, so he probably had a hard time getting recognition.)

As I touched his hair, which was coarser compared to mine, I thought back. Meeting Berg was fortunate, thanks to him leaving his country.

I hadn’t initially planned to go this far, but in the end, it might have been better to offer myself to Berg, whom I was beginning to care about, rather than have my first time taken by someone I didn’t even like.

“Once again, nice to meet you, Berg.”

I whispered softly as I drifted off to sleep…