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DanMachi: Is It Wrong for a Mafia Boss to Go to the Dungeon?
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Chapter 30: The Midsummer Receptionist's Scandalous Secret (R-18)
The atmosphere inside the Guild headquarters was suffocating—not from the stifling heat of midsummer, but from the frigid, bone-chilling pressure emanating from the reception counter. The sharp, aggressive scratch of a fountain pen against parchment was the only sound permitted to exist, a noise that seemed to dominate the very air and drown out the usual low hum of adventurers and staff. The source was Eina Tulle, and the sheer, focused rage she was radiating had turned her corner of the office into a localized blizzard.
"E-Eina..." Misha Flott whispered, her voice barely a tremor as she dared to breach the frost.
"What is it, Misha?" Eina's voice was like a glacier cracking—cold, sharp, and final.
"H-Hie—! Look, those books about your 'little brother'... they aren't real, you know? They're just... fictional nonsense. You don't have to take them so personally...".
Liar, thought every single person within earshot as they kept their heads down, terrified of drawing her attention.
Eina didn't look up; her pen never missed a beat as she tore through a mountain of reports with a force that threatened to pierce the desk. "I'm perfectly fine, Misha. I'm not bothered by it at all".
The air around her dropped another five degrees. No one dared to argue. When she finally slammed the last signed document onto her supervisor's desk, the man didn't even look at it; he simply told her to go home early and get some rest, his voice barely a squeak.
"Honestly, I'd like to know exactly who is responsible for dragging Bell-kun into this filth—!!" Eina muttered, her frustration boiling over as she marched out of the building. She recalled the fleeting image of the artist she'd chased through the Entertainment District—a woman whose face she'd barely caught a glimpse of.
Despite her intention to go home and relax, Eina found her feet carrying her back toward the very district she claimed to despise. Under normal circumstances, a beautiful Elf walking alone in the Pleasure Quarter would have been swarmed by solicitors and opportunistic gods, but tonight, the crowd parted for her. The men held their breath, sensing the sheer, violent aura of the "Goddess of the Guild" and recognizing her as a heroine from the very books they were hiding in their cloaks.
"She's... not here!" Eina hissed as she reached the usual spot.
The usual stall was empty, but she soon discovered that the "God-tier Author" had adapted, selling her works via consignment in various shops throughout the district. It was a logical survival strategy for someone being hunted by the city's most powerful Familias.
Then, Eina found it.
The cover of the second volume featuring her as a model hit her with the force of a physical blow: it depicted a version of herself in a daring midsummer swimsuit, with a bright red Bell Cranel being crushed against her ample chest.
Is this... really enough to compete with Laurier Sual?.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Eina froze. She realized with a jolt of horror just how "tainted" her mind had become—that she was actually comparing the "quality" of her own scandal to a rival's. She let out a sudden, high-pitched scream of frustration that echoed through the alley. Realizing people were staring, her face turned a violent shade of red, and she snatched the book, threw down the Valis, and sprinted for the safety of her home.
"Gah! Why do I have to go through this embarrassment?!" Eina shouted, slamming the book onto her bed as she paced her room, her hair a frazzled mess. "It's all this book's fault!! It's garbage!!".
But despite her fury, her eyes kept drifting back to the cover. Her eyebrows twitched as she sat on the edge of the bed and tentatively cracked the spine.
————
The story was set on the sun-drenched beaches of Meren.
『Bell-kun! Over here!』 『Wait for me, Eina-san!』
The opening scenes were idyllic—the two of them playing in the surf. Real-life Eina didn't even notice that her standards of "decency" had eroded so much that "frolicking in a swimsuit" now seemed wholesome to her. If she'd seen this a month ago, she would have collapsed in despair, lamenting the loss of her Elven purity.
『Hey, Bell-kun. Where exactly were you looking just now?』 『Wha—!? N-No, I wasn't...』 『You were staring at that blonde Elf's swimsuit, weren't you? Even though you're on a date with me?』 『I wasn't! I swear!』 『Hm. Well, fine. But if you look at another woman again... you'll have to deal with this!』
In the comic, the illustrated Eina grabbed her own breasts, using them as a physical "punishment" for the stuttering boy.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS 'THIS' SUPPOSED TO BE?!" Eina shrieked in reality, her face exploding into a blush. She threw the book against the wall, watched it flutter to the floor, and then collapsed into her pillows in a heap of shame.
"I'm an idiot... letting a comic book run my life..." she groaned into her pillow.
She knew it was just an artist's fantasy. She knew the popularity rankings didn't reflect Bell's actual feelings. But the "Pure Love Epic" between Bell and Laurier had planted a seed of doubt in her heart, making her wonder if she was just a secondary character in his real life.
Eventually, she picked the book up again and kept reading. In the story, the pair spent the day playing and eating together before checking into an inn.
『We're all alone now... Bell-kun.』 『Yes... Eina-san.』
The lighting in the panels shifted to the warm, flickering glow of a lamp as they sat together on the edge of the bed. Having seen Misha's collection of previous works, Eina knew exactly what was coming.
『Since you were looking at another Elf today even though you have a cute girlfriend like me, you need a punishment!』 『E-EH!? No, it wasn't like that! Wait... is that the punishment? You mean... that?』
Bell's gaze in the comic was fixed on the valley of Eina's chest. The illustrated Eina leaned in, her eyes heavy with temptation.
"Ugh... the real Bell-kun would have run away blushing by now!" Eina complained to the empty room. "Wait... but if he ran away, I'd be hurt... but I don't want him falling for a trap that easily either...". Her Elven heart was a tangled mess of contradictions.
『Does... this feel good?♡』 『Ngh, Eina-san... it feels... incredible...♡』
The panels depicted the illustrated Eina using her chest to drive Bell into a state of blissful sensory overload.
"H-Hah...? A woman's... those parts are for raising children! Using them for that!?" Eina gasped, her traditional Elven senses screaming even as she kept her eyes glued to the page. A dangerous part of her wondered if Bell would actually enjoy it in person.
"No! I'm being poisoned!! ...But if I don't go this far, I can't beat Laurier Sual, can I?"
She read through to the end—the part where the swimsuit finally came off—and then threw the book away in a final fit of rage. Her anger was no longer about her dignity; it was about the crushing realization that her real life with Bell had zero "atmosphere" compared to these stories.
"Gah! I went home to rest, and I'm more exhausted than ever!!" Eina shrieked, rolling around on her bed in a state of mental collapse. "This is all Bell-kun's fault for being so indecisive and attracting so many girls!!"
She lay there, staring at the ceiling and wondering what kind of face she was supposed to make the next time the white-haired boy walked into the Guild.
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