The full force of his body and mind left a tread mark on the ground. Sophia screamed as she saw the earth dent beneath his step
Imagining the worst, Daniel rushed toward the pit with all his strength.
"Pervert woman!"
Daniel thought he could save her. If only Elena fell, he could bring her back up.
With his hand on the edge of the deep hole, Daniel looked inside.
If the hole was just a pit, there was a chance she survived.
"Hey, Elena! Are you okay!? I'll get you out of here!"
"――Eh, ah, I'm fine...? T-thank goodness! If you hadn't given me that cloth, I'd be dead for sure… I nearly pissed myself, too…"
Elena floated upward, dangling awkwardly.
At the bottom of the hole were countless metal spears. If she had fallen, she would have been impaled.
In her skirt pocket, Elena had apparently placed a piece of the "Ryurei's Robe," an Elven cloth that could float, which she had taken from the treasury, and it had activated to save her.
"It's automatically activated...? I'm glad... I really thought you were dead."
Daniel caught her as she floated back up and set her down on solid ground.
Then he slumped in relief.
It was the first time in a long while that he'd been truly nervous.
In his seventeen years here, he had yet to witness a human die.
"Really… don't make me worry like that."
Sophia scolded Elena in a dumbfounded voice, then turned away in a huff.
"――You were worried about me?"
"I-I wasn't! ――I just thought it'd be bad for Daniel and me."
"I-I was scared, but I'm kind of happy… because I thought Sophia was going to say I should have just fallen…"
"Hmph!" Sophia pouted, but Daniel smiled faintly.
Even if her attitude was harsh, Sophia was basically kind. All the more so because he knew how she had been harsh with him at first as well.
He thought she simply didn't want her position shaken, rather than truly disliking Elena.
Since Elena said she was fine, Daniel decided to continue walking for a bit longer.
Part of him was concerned about Sophia, but the other part wanted to push ahead before Derek cleared too much. If Derek broke through first, all their effort so far would be wasted.
But they had to be wary after that trap. Daniel sharpened his focus more than ever.
The trap that Elena fell into earlier was probably based on weight—a load system, like an elevator capacity, triggered by the total weight applied.
"W-Why would there be a trap here? I really thought I was going to die, you know?"
"It's for intruders. They're designed to kill."
"Hmm, I wonder. It could also be for adjusting demon numbers. A lot of demons get caught in traps and die themselves, so maybe it's population control. Otherwise Earth would be overrun with demons."
Daniel wasn't sure, but it felt right.
The dungeon didn't seem designed with pure malice.
It felt like it had some greater purpose. Though he couldn't tell what.
One thing was certain—the dungeon was its own world. In a sense, a world within a world.
"――You don't seem very smart, Daniel, but you sure know a lot."
"You're a lascivious woman! How dare you!"
With a pop, Sophia lightly smacked Elena on the head.
Grrrrrr.
After walking a while, the three of them heard something that sounded like a roar.
Daniel drew his sword and focused on the dark path ahead, Sophia and Elena behind him.
――Demons. Judging from the sound, this one was big…
Daniel was already thinking of tossing Sophia and Elena into the Treasure House of Dreams if the worst came.
"S-Sorry… that was just my stomach…"
Elena, her face crimson, raised a hand.
Her stomach's rumble had been so loud it echoed like a monster's growl in the cave.
"A lascivious woman like you just wants something in her stomach. Greedy for both the upper and lower mouths. That's the embodiment of the three great desires."
"N-Not the case down there!"
Elena clutched her skirt at her crotch to hide herself.
This exposed her thighs, and Daniel's eyes wandered.
"You were fingering yourself like crazy though, weren't you? Saying 'It feels so good!'"
"N-No, I didn't say anything embarrassing like that! ――The way you said it!"
"She came about five times. Must have felt really good."
"I-It was amazing… it felt so much better than when I usually… um, no! I don't usually do that!"
――She's an idiot.
Daniel and Sophia thought it at the same time. Even Elena herself thought it.
"How much do you really do?"
"W-When I'm alone and free, I do it all the time… ――It feels so good! I haven't been able to stop since I was little!"
Her face flushed, Elena shouted.
Daniel felt himself harden at her confession.
"She's lewd…"
"Yeah… I've hardly ever masturbated…"
"On the other hand, if you don't, how do you spend your time alone? Waking up in the morning, in the middle of the night—normally, right?"
Elena looked as though she had just admitted too much.
She had to acknowledge she was more obsessed with sex than others.
When she was alone, she almost always masturbated. And she kept going until she couldn't move.
"You're hardcore lewd… Let's go into the treasury for now. We should eat, take a bath, and rest. It's dangerous to keep moving while tired. If we don't concentrate, we'll fall into traps like before, and Elena's stomach growling like a demon is just scary."
It was better to rest in a space where time didn't advance.
Normally, resting in a dungeon meant sleepless nights while keeping watch for demons. Mentally exhausting, and hardly true rest.
But Daniel had the Treasure House of Dreams. More cheat than magic trick.
It was a last resort, since he could only use it for a limited time each day. But if they encountered an unbeatable demon, he planned to flee there.
That was why he had brought Sophia along in the first place.
If he were alone, with nothing to protect, he could do whatever he wanted. But with Sophia—and now Elena—they slowed him down.
The most important person to Daniel was Sophia.
If he lost her, he knew he would make the same choice again.
Deep down, he felt a creeping urgency to shed his weakness—the habit of treating things too much like a game.
Because when he had something precious, the thought of losing it was unbearable.
And even knowing that, Daniel had found something precious again.
*********
"Even a bedroom is here...! And what a huge bed it is!"
"I had just conquered a dungeon and came into some money, so I bought one," Daniel said with a small grin, patting the soft mattress. "This bed can fit three people easily. Sleeping alone in it feels kind of lonely, though."
"Master. May I suggest this perverted woman sleep on the floor?" Sophia said flatly, glaring.
"S-Sophia, you're so cold..."
"The floor is fitting for a perverted woman."
"Eh...?"
In addition to the main storage room, the [Treasure House of Dreams] had three other rooms: a pantry, a bathroom, and this spacious bedroom.
The bed itself was absurdly large—almost like two king-sized beds fused together. If everyone crammed close, it could probably fit ten people. Daniel had bought it back when he was still alone, swept up by a childish fantasy of living in decadent luxury like some high-class hotel.
It had actually been a bargain. The craftsman had made it on commission for a noble, but the order was cancelled. Desperate to sell, the man had let it go for a fraction of the original price.
"There are other rooms," Sophia muttered darkly. "She can sleep elsewhere. And she is forbidden from the pantry. She'll eat everything."
"I-I won't eat it! And I want to sleep on a bed too!" Elena huffed, puffing her cheeks.
――These two really don't get along... though it's mostly Sophia picking fights. It'd be nice if they could at least tolerate each other.
"It's fine," Daniel said, raising his hands. "Let's just all sleep here. Why don't you two go take a bath while I make dinner? Did you bring a change of clothes, Elena?"
"Ah—... I was in such a hurry, I left them on the upper floor..."
"Foolish," Sophia sighed. "Running off without even your belongings... must you rely on my master for everything?"
"B-because at that time…...Uhm... isn't it possible I could borrow some clothes from.....you again?"
"My clothes are my size. In other words—"
"My clothes are my size. In other words, your tiny chest would never fill them out," Sophia said with a sharp smile. "They would sag off you. Flat-chested pervert."
Elena stiffened. "T-tiny...! It's true they're not as big as yours, Sophia, but still—!"
"They're not just 'not as big.' They're practically nonexistent," Sophia replied coldly.
Sophia's clothes were all custom-made by Daniel, tailored to perfectly fit her lush curves. When Elena wore them, they hung loosely on her frame, clearly too large. Daniel had always favored outfits that showed off Sophia's body lines, and Elena's smaller chest left the fabric empty.
While trying to cover her chest with her hands, Elena pouted in embarrassment.
"Sophia, that's a bit harsh," Daniel interrupted. "We're both not very tall, so there's probably something even Elena could wear... ah, like that sailor uniform. The winter version. The one I showed you."
He also had a white summer one. He'd made them ages ago on a whim, chasing some lost sliver of youthful fantasy. They were slightly different from the real thing—more costume than uniform. He'd never used them because they felt too much like cosplay.
"Sailor... uniform?" Elena blinked.
"Yeah. Sophia has never worn it. I actually think it might suit you better, Elena-chan."
Elena had black hair and a quiet, disciplined air about her. She gave off the vibe of a serious committee chair, and a sailor uniform would suit her perfectly. He even imagined her wearing glasses.
"Hmph. Impossible," Sophia declared. "It would look better on me. Obviously."
"S-small...!" Elena gasped. "I told you, they're not that small!"
"They are that small. Practically flat."
Before Elena could protest further, Sophia suddenly and unceremoniously reached out and grabbed her chest, kneading it between her fingers.
"Ahn! W-wait, what are you—! Nnn!" Elena yelped, twisting away.
Daniel froze in place, eyes wide. It had been a long time since he'd seen two women this close together. The scene stirred memories of his Earth high school days, when classmates had occasionally played with each other out of curiosity.
"What are you even trying to rub?" Sophia teased. "There's nothing there. Are you even wearing anything underneath? Your nipples are already hard. Such a lewd little girl."
"S-stop—ahh...!" Elena squirmed as Sophia pinched her nipples through her clothes, her voice breaking. Her face flushed deep red, breath quickening.
To Daniel's eyes, Sophia was being a bit rough—but Elena seemed to be melting under it.
――She's enjoying it... she's an M.
Even Sophia usually didn't get into it unless the mood was right. Watching Elena's trembling legs, Daniel cleared his throat loudly.
"L-let's eat! Is there anything you can't eat, Elena!?"
"Ahn! I-I'd rather be touched than touch myself..." she gasped.
"T-that's disgusting! Don't you feel embarrassed, squealing like a dog when another woman touches you!?"
"I-it's... embarrassing, and it feels so good.....D-Daniel is watching me... It feels good..." she whimpered.
――Yep. Definitely an M.
Is she the kind of girl who would get into exhibitionism or walk around with toys hidden under her clothes?
Daniel felt equal parts baffled and fascinated.
"Pathetic," Sophia said, and squeezed once more.
"Ha—hee!" Elena let out a shuddering cry as her knees buckled.
"Did... did she just come from that?" Daniel asked, stunned.
"She's so easy," Sophia muttered.
"So... perverted," Daniel said.
This time, Elena didn't even deny it. She just trembled, blushing furiously, eyes hazy with lingering pleasure