Chapter 162: The Veil Of Deception (4)

There are many people in the world, and as many preferences as there are people… Nevertheless, there exists what one might call a universal preference.

However, one must not be mistaken; the term ‘universal’ refers to most people, not all.

In other words, there certainly exist those so-called minor preferences, which are not universal.

Some prefer shorter people to taller ones, some favor obese over muscular builds, and some like poor and unfortunate people more than wealthy ones.

Some might even prefer aggressive and coercive affection over normal intimacy.

For instance, being thrilled by being pinned under a much younger boy.

“Am I right, Benny?”

“N-no?!”

“Aye. You say that, but here.”

Swoosh.

I slid my index finger from bottom to top along Benny’s spine as she lay face down.

“Eek?!”

“So honest. You’re cute.”

“D-don’t call me cute! Say I’m pretty!”

“…?”

For a moment, I tilted my head, wondering what she meant… Remembering that the Pan Continent is a world where gender roles are reversed.

And recalling that Benny has a complex about her frail body and is somewhat obsessed with femininity, I nodded.

By Earth’s standards, it would be like a cute boy insisting he’s cool, not cute.

“Yes, yes. Benny is pretty. Not cute at all.”

“…This feels a bit off, too.”

Benny tilted her head. Giggling at her sulky expression, I gently fiddled with her shoulder with a subtle hand movement.

Because I was perched around her waist, this was the only noticeable part aside from her short spine.

Perhaps due to the tight-fitting clothes, the outline of her shoulder blades was fully exposed. I gently teased the rounded bones and asked.

“Benny. I’m saying this now, but…aren’t you too skinny?”

“Huh? Am I?”

“Yes. Since a person’s chest and hips are also flesh, if you’re this thin, it’s natural for them to be small.”

“…Do you prefer a bit of plumpness, Jonah?”

“Me? Do I?”

I thought deeply and shook my head.

“No. It’s not really to the point of being a preference. Honestly, as long as they’re reasonably pretty and have their own unique features, I think it’s all good. It just seemed like Benny’s a bit self conscious, so I brought it up.” ɌÅ𝐍ОВËś

I like Ellie’s slightly muscular physique, Lydia’s petite and voluptuous figure, and Eve’s typical soft and glamorous style.

“Of course, I also like Benny’s small and skinny unimpressive body!”

“Did you have to say it like that?!”

Benny screamed and buried her head in the sofa as if she were upset. I continued speaking while gently stroking her purple hair.

“What did you hear from me? I said I like Benny too, didn’t I?”

“…Don’t lie.”

“I’m serious. Should I show you proof?”@@novelbin@@

“Pr-proof?”

Benny’s gaze, as she slightly tilted her head…surprisingly, was directed at my lower half.

“Wow. Benny, really….”

“N-no! I didn’t see anything!”

An unconvincing excuse. I shook my head and looked at Lydia, who had been drinking expensive liquor non-stop by herself for a while now.

“Miss Lydia, did you see that just now?”

“Yeah. If you’re going to sue Benny, I’ll be your witness.”

“Lydia, you too?!”

Benny trembled with betrayal at Lydia’s unwavering declaration. Lydia chuckled at the newly added vibration feature and lightly smacked Benny’s bottom.

Slap!

“Ouch!”

“Listen up.”

Whispering softly into Benny’s ear, I pressed down on Benny’s trembling back.

“It’s a shame Benny’s chest is lacking, but I do like the outline of your ribs showing a bit lower.”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay if your butt is small. Your hips are still prominent.”

“Really?”

“Of course. And what about Benny’s hair and eyes? No matter how many hair colors people have, such a luxurious purple is hard to find.”

“Purple is indeed rare.”

“Benny might not like it much, but… I like the heart patterns drawn in the eyes and the sharp, pointed teeth. It seems like you’re not human in a good way.”

“Did you really mean it in a good way…?”

“Of course. I wasn’t talking about your character, but your species. Doesn’t it give off a vibe like a naive little demon?”

“Well, it’s the influence of the succubus, and many monsters in the demon lineage have sharp teeth.”

Benny blushed, looking embarrassed. She leaned in closer, continuing to whisper in a subtle voice as if breathing into my ear.

“There are many beautiful people in the world, but there’s no one like Benny. Do you still not understand what that means…?”

“Huh? Uh…?”

Benny’s face was bewildered. In those eyes engraved with heart patterns, a hopeful anticipation was rising.

With a bright smile, I suddenly stood up from my seat.

“Eh.”

Benny looked at me with a blank expression as I quickly distanced myself. I sat leisurely right next to Lydia, as if to show off to her.

No, I even linked one arm with hers and filled Lydia’s empty glass with the other.

“What Benny should be worrying about right now isn’t trivial matters like that, but what to teach me to prepare for the 3rd Floor! For reference, Miss Lydia said she’d teach me how to use a greatsword.”

“I can handle all melee weapons, but the greatsword is my specialty. Yay.”

With a blank expression, Lydia made a ‘V’ sign with both hands. Perhaps because of the arm-linking posture, my arm was pulled along, pressing against the side of Lydia’s chest.

So soft…

Even with a slight touch, the sensation exceeded my imagination. As I trembled with excitement, Benny flopped like a fish and sprang up.

Then, following her peculiar habit of climbing to high places when discussing important matters, she hopped onto the back of the sofa with a leap.

The sufficiently large and sturdy sofa easily withstood the antics of Benny’s small and light body.

From a much higher vantage point than us seated, Benny pointed her finger at me with a snap.

“Ha! I admit Lydia is strong, but in a unified place like the 3rd Floor, magic that targets those features is stronger and more useful?!”

“Oh. Is there such a thing?”

“Of course! Who do you think I am? I’m the Creepy Witch Vanitas Benibeni!”

“It has to be magic other than Shadow, and it has to be simple enough for me to learn quickly. I’m a newbie, you know.”

-Grr?

Perhaps because its name was called. Shadow, who was playing in the corner stacking empty bottles Lydia left behind, created an extra eyeball on the back of its head to look this way.

A towering stack of six bottles.

However, maybe because its concentration broke while paying attention to us, the ooze it couldn’t control slipped down and touched the middle of the stack.

Crash!

Thanks to hastily catching it with its slime-like body, the bottles didn’t break…but all its efforts so far went to waste in an instant.

-Grumble!

Shadow bubbled sadly all over its body.

Of course, Benny doesn’t seem to care much about the sorrow of a traitor at the moment.

“Acid magic! It takes time to fully master it, but for Jonah now, a few days should be enough to use it moderately!”

“Acid? I know well that acid corrodes metal… But wouldn’t there be some basic defenses against that?”

“Of course, it would be coated on the surface, or remnants of divine power would make weak acids ineffective… But the acidic solution I create is somewhat special.”

“Special…how?”

Shuffle shuffle.

Benny shrugged and opened her palm. A dark brown droplet floated above her palm.

The pungent smell made my face automatically scrunch up. It seemed dangerous to even approach it.

But Benny, as if it were nothing, continued to speak confidently.

“Jonah, as you saw, the machinery on the 3rd Floor is incredibly sturdy and resistant to degradation. Each one is a small miracle imbued with the power of the gods, so it’s only natural…. But do you remember? The monster at the bottom of the moat was melted or corroded in places.”

“Oh?”

Come to think of it, that was true. The monsters we encountered at the bottom of the moat were mostly in severely damaged condition.

Not just broken, but the metal itself was often so deteriorated it couldn’t be used.

“Was the acidity at the bottom of the moat that strong? It did have a bad smell, but I didn’t think it was to that extent.”

“The order is reversed. It’s not that the cogwheel soldiers fell into the moat and turned into that state because of the acidic substance at the bottom… They threw themselves into the moat after being doused in acid, trying to wash it off, and died just like that.”

“If you’re so certain, there must be a record of it.”

The War of the Fallen Gods forms the foundation of the world view, yet it’s a distant past story that is never truly highlighted.

Therefore, unless it’s related to current events or directly connected to the Labyrinth, I’ve never thought about it in detail.

It’s only natural. What matters to me is how the God of Machinery was born, what thoughts it lived with, and with what regrets it met its end.

It’s not about how it fought well against some during the war, but got utterly defeated by others.

Perhaps what Benny is saying is also one of the records of the War of the Fallen Gods that I don’t know about.

“Dragons, the representative subordinate of the God of Beasts. Among them, the breath and bodily fluids of the Black Dragon are so acidic that it can dissolve the metal of the cogwheel soldiers.”

“…Did you reproduce the power of the Black Dragon with magic? I don’t think I could ever master that right now.”

“Well, that’s the same for me. I couldn’t properly implement it even after devouring the Black Dragon on the 6th Floor, so how could I imitate it when I was just roaming the 3rd Floor? This is a degraded version of a degraded version of a degraded version of a degraded version!”

“Devour…? Degraded version?”

Truly unsettling content. I guess it was intended to enhance the acidic bodily fluids of Shadow. It seems it ultimately failed, though.

“At most, it only makes the alloy on the 3rd Floor a bit softer… But Jonah, since you don’t fight solely with magic, that should be enough, right?”

“That’s right.”

If the Unicorn Dagger could cut through metal armor, if the Minotauros Horn Greatsword could crush an opponent in a single swing without needing multiple attempts…

The battle would have been incredibly smooth.

“The magic I’ll teach you is something I developed while ascending the 3rd Floor in the past. I’ve now improved it to make it easier for others to learn.”

“Wow! That’s amazing, Benny!”

For a moment, I clapped like a seal in admiration. But then I realized that my magical knowledge, apart from what was forcibly injected through skills, was superficial at best.

“…But if such magic exists, wouldn’t it be better for Benny to cast it when needed, rather than me learning it?”

“…?”

“After all, we’re comrades!!”

“……”

Benny’s expression began to sour.

Surely it was due to the stench of the acidic magic in her hand.

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