episode_0070

Dark inn hall.

Jeong Yu-shin and Snub Nose made eye contact.

Jeong Yu-shin crossed his arms.

“Do I really have to go in the middle of the night like this?”

“Yes. He says he wants to see you once.”

“Tsk. Okay. I’ll go put my bag in my room and come back, so wait for me.”

Jeong Yu-shin stopped as he was about to sling the bag over his shoulder.

“Wait a minute. Let me ask you one thing. I got this from those assassins, is it okay to use it as is?”

Jeong Yu-shin held up the bag to show him.

Snub Nose’s expression hardened.

“There’s a possibility that the assassins will recognize it. It’s dangerous, so I recommend you don’t use it for the time being.”

“Okay. I heard this is an enchanted bag, is it expensive?”

Snub Nose tilted his head.

“There is someone I know who knows about magical tools. Should I get it appraised?”

“Sure. And can this magic stone be appraised too?”

Snub Nose’s eyes widened at the magic stone Jeong Yu-shin presented.

“T…This is a high-grade magic stone?!”

“Is it expensive?”

“Yes! It’s worth dozens of gold coins! Where did you get something like this?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I got it from Oswald.”

“Didn’t you tell everything when you were with Aldaine?”

“I didn’t know it was that expensive. Never mind. Let’s go.”

Jeong Yu-shin threw the bag to Snub Nose.

Snub Nose was startled and caught the bag Jeong Yu-shin threw.

Squeak.

The two men left the inn.

A muggy summer breeze brushed past his forehead.

They walked slowly along the night street, where people were sparsely seen.

Snub Nose glanced at Jeong Yu-shin.

An even deeper gaze.

He was a man who gave off an unusual vibe when he first saw him.

Like an onion slowly peeling, he was gradually becoming more familiar with the labyrinth city with each passing day.

Snub Nose suddenly recalled his conversation with Aldaine.

* * *

After the story about Oswald ended.

Immediately after Jeong Yu-shin left Aldaine’s office.

Snub Nose scratched his head.

His curiosity was hard to resist.

“But Aldaine, why are you so surprised? Sca’s struggle is certainly noteworthy, but there are many strong people in the labyrinth city, aren’t there? Besides, there are cases where strong people from outside start as novice explorers, right?”

Aldaine’s neck tilted to the side.

“Are you asking if that bastard Sca wasn’t a strong man from the beginning?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Aldaine chuckled.

“Didn’t I tell you? That guy injured his hand once when he came to work through Darong’s introduction.”

“…”

Snub Nose waited silently for the next words.

Aldaine leaned back deeply in his chair and looked up at the sky.

“Let me tell you more. That guy mishandled his knife while dismantling a monster and almost cut off his finger. I treated him with recovery magic. I saw it then.”

Aldaine smiled.

“That guy’s hand. It was a hand just starting to develop calluses. A hand that had never held a sword in its life. It seemed like he didn’t even know how to hold a weapon, let alone a sword.”

“…!”

Snub Nose was speechless.

Goosebumps went up his spine.

A human who had never held a sword in his life went to the labyrinth a few times, and then stormed into the eastern district without a cheat skill and slaughtered the slave hunters, turning the tavern into a sea of blood?

No matter how much Aldaine had lent him his single-edged sword and leather coat, it didn’t make sense.

“You know the story after that, right? He might not admit it, but in my opinion, that guy is a born killing machine. He’s tenacious. He’s one of us.”

Aldaine smiled as he stroked his single-edged sword.

* * *

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

At Jeong Yu-shin’s question, Snub Nose quickly returned to reality.

“Ah… It’s nothing.”

“How bland.”

Jeong Yu-shin was walking with his eyes closed as if enjoying the muggy breeze.

The aura of a big shot was emanating from his slow steps.

Snub Nose swallowed hard.

His relaxed appearance was both frightening and reassuring.

‘Is Aldaine really right? I’m really curious about his true self.’

Snub Nose composed his confused mind.

Jeong Yu-shin, unaware of Snub Nose’s inner thoughts, had a heavy heart.

‘Damn… what should I do? Isn’t Luna’s mother going to faint when she sees me? I heard she’s not feeling well, what if she dies of a heart attack?’

The thought alone was terrifying.

Becoming the mortal enemy of a cute fox-human.

It shouldn’t happen.

“We’re almost there.”

Snub Nose’s words broke Jeong Yu-shin’s reverie.

They passed a frequently visited park and walked a little along an alleyway and arrived.

A shabby house.

Knock knock.

“I’m going in.”

Snub Nose opened the door with a word.

Squeak.

As they entered through the wooden door, there was a living room and two small rooms.

Jeong Yu-shin looked around.

Broken and dilapidated furniture here and there. Broken window.

The stove, which had not been used for cooking for a long time, was filled with only ashes.

A terribly bleak house.

“Cough. Cough.”

A coughing sound was heard from beyond the wooden door on the left.

“Madam, may I come in?”

“Yes. Please come in. Cough.”

A weak voice was heard from inside the door.

Squeak.

When he opened the wooden door and went inside, a fox-human woman was lying on the bed.

Jeong Yu-shin and Snub Nose cautiously approached.

Jeong Yu-shin could see the fox-human in detail.

Haggard complexion. Sunken cheeks. Dark circles. Faint pupils.

She looked like a dead person if she closed her eyes right away.

“···It is polite to get up and greet guests, but I am not in good condition. Please understand.”

A quiet but graceful and weak but formal voice.

Jeong Yu-shin nodded.

“Don’t worry, make yourself comfortable.”

“···I am Edel. You are not like a barbarian as I heard. Cough.”

At the words of the fox-human, Edel, Jeong Yu-shin gave a bitter smile.

“I hear that often. My daughter visits our inn and performs while I am away. Thank you for trusting her.”

Jeong Yu-shin bowed deeply.

“···You are really different. Cough.”

“People don’t recognize it, so I often have trouble.”

Jeong Yu-shin said with a gentle smile.

“···I see.”

The fox-human, Adel, stared at Jeong Yu-shin for a long time. Jeong Yu-shin also met Adel’s eyes.

Adel opened her mouth.

“I also heard that my daughter is indebted to Sca. I was going to visit you to express my gratitude in person, but I am not in good condition, so I asked you to come here. I’m sorry.”

“No. On the contrary, our inn’s sales have increased a lot since Luna came. I am more grateful.”

“···I see. Mr. Sca, I know it’s really shameless, but would you please grant me one request?”

“Yes, is there anything you need?”

“Please take care of my daughter.”

“…”

“Cough. I don’t have much life left. I don’t mind dying like this, but I’m worried about leaving my daughter behind. I raised her to be unashamed. Would you please watch over her until she can stand on her own?”

“…”

Jeong Yu-shin couldn’t open his mouth easily.

He is only 23 years old.

The heart of a mother who calmly counts down her fading life and only worries about her daughter’s future.

It was too heavy.

It’s hard to handle.

“Isn’t there anyone else?”

“The only time that child genuinely smiles is when she comes back from the inn.”

“···I’ll think about it.”

Jeong Yu-shin barely spat out.

“Cough. I understand.”

Edel smiled weakly and answered.

Jeong Yu-shin and Snub Nose got up from their seats.

“Then.”

Jeong Yu-shin bowed his head and left the room.

Squeak.

When he closed the door and came out, he saw the door closing quickly in the other room.

Was Luna listening?

Jeong Yu-shin stopped and looked around the bleak house once more.

Luna.

What should I do?

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Jeong Yu-shin and Snub Nose left the shabby house and walked along the dark labyrinth city street.

Jeong Yu-shin glanced sideways at Snub Nose.

Even though it was night, it was clear that his eyes were red.

“Snub Nose, why are you so sentimental?”

Jeong Yu-shin asked.

“Sniff. I don’t know.”

The boar-human, Snub Nose, sniffed.

‘Me too.’

He didn’t say it out loud, but his heart was the same.

The muggy summer breeze swept over Jeong Yu-shin’s hair.

“What exactly is that fox-human mother’s illness? Tell me more about it.”

“I understand.”

Jeong Yu-shin and Snub Nose returned to Darong’s inn and sat at the counter.

Snub Nose explained the story in detail.

About 30 minutes passed.

He sat on the counter chair, tilted his glass, and listened to the story.

Fox-human. Edel.

A widow running a pharmacy in the southern district.

Her husband went missing in the labyrinth 8 years ago.

She lived with her young daughter Luna, running a small pharmacy, but she contracted a deadly disease a few months ago.

The disease is magical sclerosis.

It was a disease in which the magic circulating like water in the body hardened like stone.

A disease of death in which the entire body stiffens and finally the heart stops.

The cause of the disease is unknown.

There is only one cure.

The high-quality magic contained in expensive high-grade magic stones must be drawn out to pierce through the magic that has hardened like stone.

There was another obstacle, the help of a high-ranking priest was also needed in this treatment process.

Due to the treatment costs, she sold not only her store but also the house she originally lived in. The progress did not improve. Originally, she had to go to the shantytown, but with the help of an acquaintance, she barely managed to get a shabby house to live in.

No. The word living is not appropriate.

Edel was waiting for death.

Jeong Yu-shin rubbed his forehead.

Magic Stone.

There is one.

“Snub Nose, are you thinking the same thing as me right now?”

“Ah… It’s not.”

“Don’t lie, you bastard. I can see it in your eyes.”

“…”

“Tsk. Let’s go to sleep. It’s late, so let’s talk again tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

Jeong Yu-shin tapped Snub Nose on the shoulder once and went up to the second floor.

He changed his clothes and lay down on the bed. Lynn was nowhere to be seen, she must have gone somewhere.

Jeong Yu-shin put his arm under his head and looked at the ceiling.

Luna.

How could she smile like that with her mother’s death approaching?

Surely behind that smile was a desperate will to prevent her mother’s death.

If there was Jeong Yu-shin’s fight.

There was Luna’s fight.

“Yeah. I earned like a dog, so I should spend like a lord.”

Jeong Yu-shin made up his mind and closed his eyes.

Then he opened his eyes again.

For some reason, an uneasy feeling was sprouting in his heart.

“···It’s not going to be a child lover skill, is it?”

* * *

After spending a night full of worries.

The next morning.

Jeong Yu-shin came down to the first floor of the inn.

Snub Nose was visible. His eyes were bloodshot, probably because he didn’t sleep well.

“Let’s do it.”

It was a random remark, but Snub Nose understood it right away.

“Re… Really?”

“Yes.”

“But the treatment requires a high-ranking priest, what are you going to do?”

“I know someone.”

Jeong Yu-shin thought of one person and smiled bitterly.

Mion.

Mion did not come this morning.

He didn’t know if she had a separate class or errands to run, but he thought it was fortunate.

‘Boob sucking.’

His heart was heavy when he thought of Mion’s incomprehensible actions.

Still, I think she is essentially a kind person.

If she hears the story of the poor fox-human, she will surely roll up her sleeves and help, right?

‘Anyway, I need to check the skill once.’

Jeong Yu-shin steeled his heart and left the inn.

He walked along the street to the Mother Earth Temple.

He went to the reception desk and told them what he needed.

Then the temple receptionist looked troubled.

“Mr. Sca, this is difficult right now. Priestess Mion is in class right now. You have to wait a while.”

“I understand.”

It wasn’t possible to suddenly barge into the class and act stubborn.

He decided to wait in the garden for a while.

Jeong Yu-shin walked along the temple’s corridor and arrived at the garden.

The garden of the Mother Earth Temple was well maintained.

He walked among the colorful flowers and trees with lush green leaves.

Suddenly, an old memory came to mind.

I gave Eunha coins here back then.

Honestly, it stung a bit back then. But since the relationship has come full circle again, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

A faint smile appeared on Jeong Yu-shin’s lips.

“What a showoff.”

Someone spat out from behind.

Jeong Yu-shin woke up from his reverie in an instant.

‘Which bastard.’

Jeong Yu-shin’s head turned like lightning.

A man was slumped on a chair like a dried squid.

Cain Landishier.

Mion’s older brother.

A vicious younger sister’s panties hunter.

Jeong Yu-shin’s eyes widened.