Chapter 422: A Night in the Dungeon
"Right? So I once tried messing with him as a joke and made him put his arms up, but a few minutes later he was back to normal."
"What were you even doing?"
Iseul was strange for not waking up, but Qiong Xing was also strange for deciding to do that to someone who was sleeping so peacefully.
"Anyway, Lingxiao looks kind of pitiful. Move Raon’s arm awa—"
"Shh."
After telling him to be quiet, Qiong Xing approached.
He rescued Lingxiao from under Raon’s arm, then for some reason placed Lingxiao directly onto Iseul’s face.
Albe watched Qiong Xing’s sudden action in stunned silence.
After a few seconds...
"Guh...! W-what?!"
Iseul shot awake, gasping for air, while Qiong Xing’s shoulders trembled.
"W-what happened? Fufu. Ah, it looks like Lingxiao wanted to sleep close to his Papa. Fufu, please hold him."
"Eh? I-is that so? Sorry Lingxiao. Let’s sleep together with Papa."
No, Qiong Xing, it is obvious you are laughing.
Even if he was half asleep, how did he not notice that?
Iseul took Lingxiao back, completely convinced, and then immediately fell back asleep, leaving Albe exasperated.
"Fufu... fufufu."
"What are you doing? You were totally startled too. Well, I was surprised too that he didn’t notice anything at all."
A faint and wry smile appeared on Albe’s face as he watched Qiong Xing laugh like a child whose prank had succeeded.
Qiong Xing usually acted as a proper mother to the children, but every now and then he would do things like this, almost like a small child.
"With this, they should be fine until morning."
Qiong Xing nodded with satisfaction at the sight of Iseul tightly holding Lingxiao as he slept.
"Did you have fun? Still, you should stop now."
"Fufu. Okay."
Still smiling, Qiong Xing returned and once again sat down with Fenrisúlfr on his lap.
There were probably very few people who could casually hold a Fenrir like that.
The children did not resist much either, but when it came to Albe or Joa and the others, Fenrisúlfr would clearly avoid them.
It was as if Qiong Xing alone had been chosen.
"Lingxiao is actually more of a daddy’s boy than you’d think. He likes Raon too, but when he wants to do something, he always reaches for Iseul’s hand first, and he plays with Iseul the most."
"Really. So he’s actually doing his job as a dad."
From Qiong Xing’s perspective, Iseul usually looked pathetic, clinging helplessly to Qiong Xing, but it seemed he was growing in his own way.
"...Still, you know, sleeping in a dungeon like this with proper bedding. We’re probably the only ones who do this."
"It seems so. When we came with Rohen and the others, we just slept directly on the floor. That was pretty rough."
As if recalling it, Qiong Xing looked off into the distance.
But if anything, that was the normal way.
What they were doing now was the strange part.
Who would casually set up bedding and sleep in a dungeon?
"Even so, for something so sudden, you were well prepared."
Even though it had been the children’s idea, everyone had been surprised when Qiong Xing pulled bedding out of his bag after they decided to stay overnight.
"Just in case the children wanted to take a nap during the day."
Qiong Xing could not understand how "just in case" could lead to bringing an entire set of bedding.
"I did think it would be too much luggage and almost stopped myself... but then I realized it doesn’t matter with this bag."
So he put it in. Bedding.
There was no reasoning to follow that logic anymore.
Honestly, the idea of bringing it in the first place was already strange.
"Sometimes I really can’t tell if you’re careless or overly meticulous."
"Me? I’m pretty careless. Very laid back, and honestly I think I’m quite the mood driven person."
He seemed to at least have some awareness of his own behavior overall.
"Qiong Xing is surprisingly meticulous for someone who looks so careless. Thanks to that, it really helps me."
It was true that he often helped in place of Qiong Xing who looked capable but was actually clumsy.
However, whether Albe should simply be happy about that was another matter.
Still, if it meant he could be useful to Qiong Xing, then perhaps that was enough.
Albe found himself thinking in a rather resigned way, likely influenced by him as well.
"Qiong Xing will probably always be Qiong Xing no matter what happens."
"Hmm?"
Albe quietly came to that conclusion all on his own.
And just like that, the dungeon sightseeing, or rather dungeon exploration, suddenly came to an end.
...
"Iseul, I’m counting on you to carry Qiong Xing. Raon and Albe, you’re with me up front. Elias, Leander, watch the children and keep an eye on the surroundings. We’re heading back."
Deciding that there was no point staying any longer with Qiong Xing’s arm hanging limply, they chose to return.
They had enjoyed the exploration to some extent, so the children did not complain.
Instead, they looked worried about Mama.
"Papa will be fine. But I want him to sleep as soon as possible, so we’re going back quickly."
It seemed he had only fainted, so he would likely wake up soon, but they still decided to be careful and hurry.
The children nodded and allowed their heads to be patted.
"Still, that was unlucky. To think the boss of this floor was that thing..."
"Qiong Xing’s scream was amazing."
Iseul gave a wry smile as he carefully held Qiong Xing in his arms.
Joa laughed as well, remembering what they had just heard.
"GYAOOOOOOOOO!"
Right in front of the boss room, as they stepped in cautiously and saw it, Qiong Xing let out a manly, or perhaps very unmanly, scream they had never heard before, and in the next instant he probably sliced it apart with magic.
It all happened so fast that no one could react, and they blinked in confusion for several seconds trying to understand what had just occurred.