Chapter 44: Disciple (which means a growth-type sex toy) (3)

Chapter 44: Disciple (which
means a growth-type sex toy) (3)

“Your
greeting was a bit harsh. You’re not quite the same person.”

Idelbert
said, brushing the frost off her cloak.

We
were now sitting at a table in the corner of the inn.

Idelbert
sipped her ale with a grim expression on her face, and Diana covered
her face with her hands as if embarrassed and ashamed.

I
just sat there, helpless to do anything.

“Well,
that was⋯
because you said
it in a nuance that I misunderstood⋯”

“Misunderstood?
I gave you the plain, unambiguous facts. Your cursed, perverted brain
took it the wrong way. Isn’t that right, apprentice?”

“Bah,
Balkan. Honestly, don’t you think it was a misleading statement?”

Idelbert
stared at me with her characteristic expressionlessness, while Diana
glared at me with a face that looked like she was about to hug me at
any moment.

Ah.
If you ask me.

I
frowned, pondering the events of the past hour.

***

A
battle of monsters that eluded my perception.

I
couldn’t even chase them with my eyes, so I had to concentrate on my
perception to the point of drowning.

-Aaaahhhhhhh!

When
Diana drew her ice bow in the sky, dozens of ice arrows materialized
from the empty bowstring and rained down on Idelbert.

Even
ice picks shot out of the magic circle behind her back.

-Puck!
Puck!

With
her two fists, Idelbert smashed the flying ice arrows and ice picks
one by one.

Ice
crystals drifted down like snow in the dark Labyrinth City, and some
citizens came out to enjoy the mysterious scene.

Others,
on the other hand, rushed out in panic, their eyes lit up.

As
Labyrinth City Guard and their captain approached, Diana and Idelbert
stopped fighting and stepped back, as if they reached an
understanding.

“Ms.
Union Leader, and⋯Diana
Ordia⋯you
two are really putting us in a bind⋯”

“I’m
sorry, we’ve inconvenienced you.”

“Here.
Take this. I hear the guards are having a hard time with the
disturbances in the Outlaw District these days.”

“Oh
no! Hahaha! What the hell, all these precious soul stones!”

The
captain of the guards, who was salivating after receiving the Beast
Soul stones from Idelbert, left with the guards as soon as the
situation calmed down.

The
lack of damage to the surroundings seemed to be a big factor.

‘Or
maybe she just chickened out.’

In
addition to the guards, there was another unusual visitor.

A
design that struck a chord, two meters of pure white armor, a helm
that swelled her chest and a strange sigil embedded in the center of
her breastplate.

Her
appearance was unforgettable.

‘Armored
Knight?!’

The
benefactor who saved me from dying in a goblin lair during the
Labyrinth Trip, and the one who gave me the artifact map that Grumpy
took!

She
approached Diana and greeted her.

“Diana
Ordia, you’ve been retired for years, what’s all the fuss about?”

I
shook my head as soon as I heard the voice.

The
voice of the Armored Knight was so sweet that my eyes widened. It
wasn’t that gravelly.

The
armor was also strangely different in design. The one before me had a
flat breastplate.

The
breastplate of the armored knight I knew was of a magnificent size.
It also had a strange, peculiar design.

‘Come
to think of it, back then, as a token of gratitude, I should have
stripped naked.’

“⋯Huh,
there was a minor disturbance, but it’s nothing that the head of the
royal knights would care about.”

“Hmm.
I’ll keep an eye on you, I hope you won’t get into trouble like the
old days.”

And
with that, and the arrival and departure of the head of the royal
knights, or something, I revealed to Diana that I had entered into a
master-disciple relationship with Idelbert.

“My,
my, what a terrible misunderstanding.”

A
red-faced Diana stalked back into the inn, putting an end to the
immediate commotion.

***

“Well,
I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault but yours, and I’m just glad you’re
both alive and unharmed.”

I
chose to slither away from the argument like a loach and leave the
situation.

If
I agree with Diana, I’ll have a very difficult time with the duel
tomorrow morning.

If
I agree with Idelbert, tomorrow’s breakfast wouldn’t be Diana’s
special course, it would just be a special course.

“Balkan⋯”

“I
don’t know who you are, but you are very wise.”

Diana
looked at me, impressed, while Idelbert’s black cat tail flicked like
a whip.

Somehow,
I think I got away with it.

“By
the way, I didn’t realize you and Balkan were acquainted⋯”

“I
ran into him yesterday in front of the inn. He’s quite good, I’m sure
he’ll make it big if I teach him well.”

“Hmph⋯
Disciple⋯”

Diana’s
eyes widened slightly and she glared at Idelbert.

“Really,
he’s just a disciple?”

“⋯For
now, yes.”

“⋯⋯”

“⋯⋯”

“⋯⋯”

“⋯⋯”

Idelbert
leisurely sipped her beer, her tail wagging while Diana kept her eyes
on her for a while longer.

For
some reason, I felt stifled, as if I were suffocating.

“Hah⋯
yes. I’ll stop her if she does something stupid.”

Diana
muttered quietly, then looked at me again, her eyes narrowed.

“Balkan,
Idelbert may look a bit rough around the edges, but her skills are
proven. Since you’ve become her disciple, you might as well absorb
everything from her. It’ll surely be a good foundation for your
future growth.”

“Yes.
I will.”

Diana
surprisingly didn’t say much about my becoming Idelbert’s apprentice.
She simply respected and supported my choice to become stronger.

“Well,
you’re a bold pupil, daring to tell your master you’re going to stick
a straw in her.”

“What
straw? Think of it like the relationship between fertile land and a
new sprout. The disciple needs to be nourished by the master’s
teachings to grow.”

“That’s
a good mindset. Go ahead and grow while the land is fertile.”

-Gulp.
Gulp.

Idelbert
downed her beer in one gulp and stood up.

“I
see you’ve warmed up after a long time, Diana. I’ll come back another
time.”

“Yeah.
Go, go, go.”

“Be
careful what you wish for. Master.”

“Yes.
My student is very polite, unlike others.”

“You⋯”

Diana’s
reaction is new. Was this the bromance I’ve heard about?

Idelbert
walked away, her black tail behind her back and her hands waving
roughly while her pace quickened.

“By
the way, didn’t she just leave without paying?”

“⋯She
paid with a soul stone, so you can close
your eyes to that.”

Letting
out a rare sigh, Diana looked toward the inn’s entrance, which was
pierced by an ice pick.

“I’m
afraid I won’t be able to serve dinner, and I have to fix up the
shop, so I think you should just rest for a few days.”

“Yeah.”

I
had unexpectedly gotten three days off which would give me time to
adjust to the rigors of training with Idelbert.

“So.
How was the training? Was it too much for you yet?”

“She’s
a real demon, isn’t she? Totally one-sided⋯”

Diana
and I sat at a table and chatted for a while.

Mostly
about Idelbert, but we also talked about trivial topics.

It
was quite therapeutic to hear the laughter that crept into our
conversations, even when they were unimportant.

After
a pleasant conversation with Diana, I left the inn again.

As
I walked around the labyrinth city, the night sky sparkling, I soon
saw familiar faces.

“Oooh,
there you are, Balkan!”

Joy
Hog’s party greeted me.

The
time for settlement had come.

***

At
a table in a sprawling tavern, in the Explorers’ Quarter of the
Labyrinth City of Valerus a party of five gazed expectantly at a
dwarf.

“Here
we go. Does everyone want this?”

The
group shook their heads in unison as Joy Hog chuckled and held up a
large pouch.

-Bam!

She
slams the pouch down on the table, and the sound of coins clinking
inside echoes throughout the room.

Joy
Hog carefully untied the strap of the pouch, and out poured a handful
of silver coins.

“Oh,
my God, how much is this!”

“Drink!
Here’s another drink!”

“The
goddess is looking out for us⋯!”

“Crererek!”

The
harpy wizard Lammel Royce rubbed her face against a silver coin,
while the bovine girl, the swordsman Jubeel, called for another cup
of beer.

Hitolis,
the cat priest, sought out Mother Earth while Gregor, the lizard
girl, let out an unintelligible scream.

“Wow.
Shit.”

I
marveled, too. How much is all this worth?

Suddenly,
I remembered my second trip to the Labyrinth, when I’d gotten nothing
but dog damage on the first floor.

Excluding
the bounty for killing Deluna, the harvest was barely worth a single
silver coin.

‘Of
course, I didn’t even get to hunt a proper beast back then…’

On
the other hand, the money in my pocket now contained at least 200
silver coins. That’s almost two gold coins worth.

As
you can see, the labyrinth’s rewards increase with each level.

It
was easy to see why explorers would plunge into the lower levels for
greater rewards, risking the possibility of never returning to the
surface.

‘I
wonder how many months an ordinary citizen of the Labyrinth City
would have to work to earn this kind of money.’

If
it weren’t for the fact that I was an employee of Diana’s, I’d still
be saving up for an identification badge.

I
could have been investing years just to get it right.

“Come
on. Everybody calm down, let’s get this settled.”

Joy
Hog pulled the money from the pocket and distributed it with
precision.

Stacks
of silver coins were placed in front of the party like poker chips.

I’ve
heard of many parties where money causes fights and division, but Joy
Hog’s party didn’t seem to have that problem.

Smiles
lingered on the corners of everyone’s mouths.

Gregor
and I got a little less than the rest of the party.

That
was to be expected, since Gregor was a porter and I was a late
arrival.

‘Still,
twenty silver coins.’

I
was quite satisfied. I honestly didn’t expect to get this much.

‘Idelbert
said she’d replace the axe she broke, and Diana said she’d replace
the breastplate she accidentally tore, so I’ll get a new one⋯’

I
summarized the results of this labyrinth.

I
lost two party members, Grumpy and Jeremy, but gained a new blessing
plus 20 silver coins.

I
don’t know whether to consider this a gain or a loss.

“Balkan.
Why are you so silent after all that?”

“What?”

Lost
in thought for a moment, I realized that Joy Hog’s party was smirking
at me.

“I
wonder if he’s inexperienced, or if he’s just innocent⋯”

“By
the sound of your voice, I’m guessing you didn’t even think about it,
pooh.”

“Ew.
Maybe I should have just gulped it down first, but I can’t bite it
now that I’ve already spit it out⋯”

Jubeel,
the bovine girl swordsman, and Lammel, the harpy mage, giggled, while
Joy Hog, the dwarf, scratched the back of her head in amusement.

I
stared at them, my face full of questions.

Joy
Hog shoved her hand into her money pouch. She’d already finished the
allotment, so there was no money in there.

“You
don’t think you’ll get paid for the sixty-eight hobgoblins you
single-handedly annihilated?”

“Oh.”

No
way. They kept that while I was at it?

I
opened my mouth, dumbfounded by what happened next.

The
money bag was filled with silver coins.

Inside
the corner of it, a single gold coin was revealed, its golden color
shining through.

At
the same time, a piece of crystal I recognized from somewhere.

‘Soul
stone!’

One
day, Grumpy told me about them.

‘A
treasure that drops in extremely rare cases when you kill a monster,
and an essential ingredient for crafting artifacts!’

It
was placed in front of me.

“Fifth-level
Hobgoblin Soul stone. In simple monetary terms, it’s worth at least
one and a half gold coins.”

“Kiyahow!”

You
crazy, sensible, romantic, conscientious explorers, you thought to
pick this up from the mess!

After
all the trouble I went through, I deserve this much in return!

When
I received the one gold coin from Zernier, my heart was pounding in
fear of dropping it, and now I have over two and a half gold coins in
my hand.

It
wasn’t a favor or a tip. I earned it with my own blood and sweat.

Tears
of joy flowed down my face as I realized all the hardships I had
endured.

I
rubbed my face against the Hobgoblin Soul stone in excitement, then
suddenly remembered Hobgoblins and put the Soul stone down.

Joy
Hog watched me with a smirk on her face and made me a suggestion.

“Balkan,
would you ever consider working with us, since we’ve seen with our
own eyes that you’re a man of great skill and character?”

“Work?”

“Yes.
The date is the day the Labyrinth opens in two weeks and our
destination is the sixth floor.”

She
made a very curious proposal.

“The
purpose is to escort Academy students on a tour of the Labyrinth.”