episode_0286

Sian, who was walking down the street, stopped.

“Sca, would it be okay to go to the inn in the central district and pack my luggage?”

“Want me to help?”

“No. I can do it.”

Jeong Yushin nodded.

“Take your time to pack up and come.”

“Thanks!”

Sian turned and ran to the central district.

Jeong Yushin scratched his head as he looked at Sian’s back.

He felt like he knew what Sian was thinking.

He will go to the inn and pack his luggage, but.

He probably wants to say hello to his former party members.

Luther and Sebastian’s personalities weren’t that great, but they weren’t bad enough to kill.

‘They didn’t really harm me either.’

Determined to throw a small welcome party for Sian.

Jeong Yushin moved his steps to Darumont’s inn.

* * *

When Sian arrived at the inn in the central district, Sebastian and Luther were packing their luggage.

Sian approached Luther.

“High Priest.”

Luther, who was standing in the hallway, widened his eyes and looked at Sian.

“Hero? Do, did you perhaps change your mind?”

“No.”

When Sian shook his head in denial, Luther’s face darkened.

“Is that so? If a return order is issued from the Empire, what are you going to do? Is this the end for good?”

Sian gave a bitter smile.

“I need to think deeply about the return issue. And don’t be too disappointed. We disbanded the party, but we can still meet from time to time.”

Luther was relieved only then.

“I see. You’re right, Hero. It’s not like we’ve completely parted ways.”

Just in time.

Sebastian, who had packed all his luggage, came out of the room.

“Hero?”

“Sebastian.”

Sebastian hesitated, then mustered the courage to open his mouth.

A question that sprang from his heart. It felt like if he didn’t ask now, he would never get to ask.

“U, um, by any chance.”

“Ask comfortably.”

“A, are you dating Sca?”

Sian’s face turned red at Sebastian’s question.

“Ah… well. Something like that?”

“…I see.”

Sebastian barely answered.

He realized it by looking at Sian’s expression even before the answer.

As expected.

‘They had sex.’

Why didn’t I know?

He was the most handsome guy in the party.

He was also the one who stood at the forefront to fight against the outer god.

‘And his penis was big too.’

It would have been strange if they didn’t end up together.

Their relationship must have become rapidly closer, starting with the massage.

His heart throbbed.

‘I liked him first!’

‘Once a woman is embraced by Barbaroi, she cannot return.’

Seti’s words flashed through his mind.

Sebastian felt a deep sense of defeat and eventually hung his head low.

“I will see you often later, Mr. Sian.”

Sian smiled and patted Sebastian on the shoulder.

“Will you? Say hello to Seti for me too. She seems like a good woman, and it’s nice to see you two getting along.”

Until the end.

He had no interest in what he was thinking.

Sebastian hid his painful expression and opened his mouth.

“I understand, Hero.”

‘Goodbye. My first love.’

* * *

Jeong Yushin, who had returned to the inn, sat at the counter and sipped alcohol.

Had about an hour passed?

Sian opened the door and came into the inn.

“Sca, did I make you wait too long?”

“No. I was surprised you came so quickly.”

Jeong Yushin came over and took Sian’s hand.

Sian’s heart was pounding.

“Ah.”

To think that I would be living under the same roof as this person.

‘It’s like a dream.’

Sian shook his head to come to his senses.

Not today.

“S, Sca? I’m sorry. It’s ‘that day’ today.”

Jeong Yushin, who had been tilting his head for a while, stepped back with an embarrassed smile.

“That day? Ah! That’s right. Take a rest. If there’s a room you like, feel free to use it.”

“T, thanks.”

Sian was embarrassed for some reason, as if he was telling him about his menstrual cycle.

Sian went up the stairs, unpacked his luggage in the room right across from Jeong Yushin’s room, changed his clothes, and came down to the counter.

Jeong Yushin put the food he had prepared in advance in front of the counter.

“It’s humble, but I prepared it as a welcome greeting.”

Tomato soup with potatoes and meat in moderation, and freshly baked white bread.

It was a simple meal, but it was a good menu to warm up the body in the cold winter.

Above all, he was grateful to Sca for preparing this for him.

Sian sat across from the counter and ate and drank with Sca, sharing stories.

How much time had passed?

Sian smiled with his eyes as he got drunk.

“Sca, are we in the same party now?”

Jeong Yushin shook his head.

“No.”

Sca said firmly. Sian’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Why, why aren’t we in the same party?!”

Jeong Yushin shrugged his shoulders.

“Why, you ask… Well, Sian is a lower-tier lieutenant. I’m now a mid-tier lieutenant.”

“Huh?!”

Sian made a rarely cute voice as he got drunk.

“Sian, level up. That’s how you can be active in the same party.”

“Wh, what does that mean…?”

Jeong Yushin took his time to explain the explorer promotion criteria.

“…Do you understand now? You can only satisfy the promotion requirements if you reach a tier with the same rank. You will be able to be more active if you become the same mid-tier lieutenant as me. We also need to prepare for the case of recruiting other party members from outside in the future.”

“Th, that?!”

Sian felt like the sky was falling.

“Work hard on city quests and form a party to meet the promotion requirements.”

Sian, who had been speechless for a while, made up his mind and nodded.

“I understand. I will definitely get promoted. It won’t take long!”

“Good. Don’t worry about city quests.”

“Hmm?”

Jeong Yushin smiled.

“There are many small and medium-sized clan members who need help. I will arrange quests that are as easy as possible.”

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.”

Jeong Yushin refilled Sian’s glass and thought.

‘It just so happens that Karin was also a lower-tier lieutenant, so it would be good to form a party with her.’

There was no need to worry about the time dragging on.

It was also the time when Karin, who had finished her training, was returning.

He was planning to take some time off before returning to the labyrinth.

Jeong Yushin carried Sian, who had fallen asleep from drinking, into his room.

Sian muttered that he could suck his armpits as much as he wanted, but he held back.

* * *

The next evening.

Jeong Yushin woke up.

It was partly because he had been drinking with Sian until dawn.

Perhaps it was because the fatigue from rolling around in the labyrinth had not completely subsided, but he slept longer than he thought.

Or it could be that drowsiness was coming on in the process of the body rapidly mutating.

A note written by Sian was placed on his bedside.

‘I’m going to the Great Earth Mother Temple for a while.’

Jeong Yushin put down the note, changed his clothes, and came down to the inn.

Two men were sitting across from the inn counter, sipping alcohol.

Matthias, the Elder of the Magic Tower.

Barbaroi Torgel.

He knew why Torgel had returned to the inn.

‘It must be because of that black iron greatsword.’

But he didn’t know why Matthias had come too.

He would know if he asked.

Jeong Yushin, having finished thinking, slowly approached and sat on the counter chair.

“Torgel.”

“Sca, I’ve been waiting for so long.”

Torgel’s eyes were sunken. A firm determination not to yield any further was revealed on his face.

“I bought the black iron greatsword at the blacksmith’s street in the west. It cost about 200 gold coins.”

Torgel’s eyes popped out.

“Th, that greatsword was only 200 gold coins?!”

Jeong Yushin frowned and interrupted Torgel.

“It was a scam.”

“Su, suddenly a scam? What do you mean?”

“It broke in half while I was using it.”

“What?!”

Torgel jumped up from his seat.

“You mean it wasn’t originally broken in two, but it broke while you were using it?!”

“That’s right? A blacksmith I know told me that someone with good skills reattached the broken greatsword without it being noticeable.”

“Where is the other half?”

“It’s probably stuck in the corner of the closet?”

Torgel slumped down.

“Sca, that greatsword is the treasure of the Barbaroi tribe.”

Jeong Yushin scratched his head.

He had roughly expected it. Because it was the first time Torgel had reacted so vehemently.

“Hell Blade, a sword that burns the magic of the abyss. Originally, the next tribal chief possessed it. Hoo…”

Torgel sighed deeply in the middle of his speech.

Jeong Yushin tilted his head.

“Wasn’t I the next tribal chief?”

“There was a next tribal chief under Ragna.”

“What happened? Is he dead?”

“No. He disappeared. In the labyrinth.”

Jeong Yushin’s complexion became sullen.

“That’s as good as dead.”

“Don’t say that carelessly.”

Torgel glared at Jeong Yushin.

Jeong Yushin’s expression naturally turned fierce.

“Why are you getting angry at me when you said it? Is that greatsword that important? It’s stuck in my corner, so take it.”

The position of next tribal chief he received along with the ring.

Anyway, it was a position temporarily entrusted to him by Ragna, so he had no regrets.

Torgel waved his hand in embarrassment.

“Ah, no, that’s not it. I’m just explaining the value of the sword…”

Matthias, who couldn’t stand it any longer, stepped in to stop him.

“Both of you, calm down.”

Jeong Yushin turned his head.

“Why did you come here anyway?”

Matthias scratched his head.

“It’s nothing else, I came to ask for a request.”

A request out of the blue.

“Do I have to do it? It hasn’t been 3 days since I came back to the city?”

“There is no one I can trust. Besides, you are now a mid-tier lieutenant with skills, aren’t you? Just listen to the details of the request first.”

“Tell me.”

“Sca, before asking for a request, can I ask you one thing?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you wield a sword at the outer god and inflict a wound? Is that ‘power’ that wounded the outer god the divinity of Lux Aeterna?”

“Yes. I received it by chance.”

Jeong Yushin answered casually.

Matthias stroked his beard.

“I see. You even met another outer god, Eros. You really seem to be quite loved by the outer gods.”

“I was lucky.”

“…”

Matthias, who had been silent for a while, opened his mouth.

“…I should get to the point. I found a strange magic tool in the ‘blood’ shed by the outer god. I don’t know if it can be considered a magic tool, but please understand because there is no other way to explain it.”

“Do outer gods bleed? I’m ignorant, so I don’t know well, but it didn’t seem like blood to me.”

“That’s right. To be exact, it’s not human blood. It seems similar to blood, but it is difficult to define clearly. The Magic Tower is currently investigating it.”

Jeong Yushin leaned back in the counter chair.

“So what is that magic tool anyway?”

Matthias tilted his head and lowered his voice.

“The tentative conclusion reached by the Magic Tower is this. The magic tool submerged in the outer god’s ‘blood’ contains the ability to move dimensions.”

“…!”

His heart sank.

Dimensional travel?

‘A way to return home!’

His heart beat loudly and his mouth felt parched.

Finally.

He found a way to return.

But.

Jeong Yushin’s expression did not change.

“So?”

Matthias observed Jeong Yushin’s face for a while, then returned his body to its original position.

“Do you know what area comes out after you pass the 20th floor?”

“The mine lake area.”

From the 21st to the 29th floor.

Various types of fish-man monsters are known to appear.

If there is anything strange.

The water in the lake mostly contains salt.

So some scholars called it the undersea cave area.

‘I also saw it in a book.’

“I want you to get the ‘mystery’ that only appears there. This is the general content of the request.”

“…”

Jeong Yushin crossed his arms.

Does he want him to accept the request if he wants to hear more details?

Something he can never give up on.

“Will you accept the request?”

Matthias asked.

Jeong Yushin emptied the remaining glass of alcohol and nodded.

“I can’t do it right now, but I will think about it positively.”

“I see. Take a good rest in the meantime.”

“Let’s do that.”

Matthias and Torgel got up from their seats and left the inn.

Jeong Yushin raised his head and looked at the ceiling of the inn.

‘Home.’

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His heart was beating more violently than before at the sight of the glimmer of hope for his return.

Various thoughts swirled in his head.

He cannot confirm whether Matthias’ story is true or false.

Still, it is worth trying.

Jeong Yushin closed his eyes and placed his hand on his chest.

‘Let’s calm down.’

He needs to be cold-blooded.

It’s a low-level thing to dive headfirst just because you see the road.

It hasn’t been long since he returned to the labyrinth, so he needs to rest sufficiently.

He also needs to repair his equipment and check his engravings.

Regardless of whether the request is true or false.

‘Prepare thoroughly.’

Late evening.

Under the dark inn lighting.

Jeong Yushin’s eyes twinkled.