30. One Who Knows When to Leave

“Ugh…”

“Shion! Are you awake?”

“Huh… Yuria. Where is this…?”

“The 1st floor. We’re almost out.”

An empty room on the 1st floor of the botanical garden in the upper layers of the labyrinth.

Our party was resting there.

Since I, the one with the mapping ability who had been guiding them, had been unconscious, it seemed they had struggled to find their way up.

“We didn’t have spare clothes, so we just covered the essential parts.”

“Thank you, Hachi.”

Only my lower half was covered with a blanket.

When I turned into a rat, all my clothes had been stripped off.

So, naturally, when the transformation wore off, I was apparently naked.

“Hey, Yuria.”

“Hmm? What?”

“Stop staring and turn your head away.”

“But I’m covering my eyes.”

“I can see you peeking through your fingers.”

“Tch.”

Yuria turned her head away.

No, she had been pretending to cover her eyes with her hands while blatantly peeking through her fingers.

‘Am I overreacting?’

Honestly, in the labyrinth, clothes getting torn or melted-ending up naked-happens more often than you’d think.

So, there’s no need to be embarrassed about showing skin every single time.

But still.

For some reason, I felt a little shy about Yuria seeing me naked.

If I had no feelings for the other person, it wouldn’t have mattered, but…

Yuria wasn’t just anyone.

That’s why I felt a little embarrassed about being exposed in front of her.

“By the way, Yata-ssi, why are you turned away?”

“Huh? Oh, well. Um. I’m… also a woman…?”

“Wait, what?”

Hold on.

Yata-ssi was a woman?

But she had short hair…

“Long hair gets in the way…”

Her speech and mannerisms were so undeniably masculine that I had assumed she was a man.

“I, uh, act like a man because it’s easier to move around.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“No, no. A lot of people think I’m a man. I act this way on purpose to keep my gender ambiguous. Hahaha.”

Yata laughed awkwardly.

No wonder her frame seemed so slender-she was a woman.

Well, it’s not easy for women to survive in the labyrinth while maintaining their femininity, especially when even men struggle.

Especially for women who seem timid-there are always creeps who take advantage.

Come to think of it, there were more female adventurers with short hair than I expected.

Some even wrapped their chests with bandages, complaining that their breasts got in the way.

“I’m dressed now.”

“Tch. Should’ve let me look a little longer.”

“Yuria. If I were just a bit stronger, I would’ve smacked you by now.”

“What? Can’t I be curious?”

“Sigh.”

I shook my head with a sigh.

This girl is just shameless now.

“Shall we head out now?”

“Sure. We’ve rested enough.”

“Yeah. There should be a transfer stone nearby.”

“Ooooh! Finally, we can get out. So exciting!”

Horaru looked absolutely thrilled at the prospect of leaving the labyrinth.

I deliberately turned my head to avoid looking at her.

Yeah.

Horaru was female.

How did I find out?

Believe me, I didn’t want to know.

‘Damn it… I’m losing my mind.’

She’s cute.

Horaru is so cute I might go insane.

My blood keeps rushing down there.

I’m so pent up I might lose it.

‘That fluffy bastard, I just wanna-ugh, snap out of it. What’s wrong with you, Shion? She’s a bear… Grrr…’

My mind is all over the place.

I want to bury my face in Horaru’s soft, plush fur and rub myself against her like crazy.

SMACK!

“Shion, what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing. Just trying to snap out of it. Come on, let’s hurry up.”

I slapped my cheek to regain my composure. Or at least, I tried to.

“Ooooh. Shion. If you’re tired, just say so. I’ll carry you.”

“Guh-!”

I covered my mouth.

She’s so kind…

‘That… that fluffy bastard… she’s teasing me on purpose!’

Aaaaaaah.

I’m going crazy.

I feel like I’m losing it.

My brain’s gone weird.

A side effect of turning into a furball?

A fluffy lover’s club?

Rafnel, you crazy bitch!

What the hell did you make?!

Why does that bear keep looking so damn appealing?!

Stop wiggling your butt like that.

I’m losing my mind.

“Guhk!”

“Shion?!”

“Whoa, you’re pushing yourself too hard. Hey, Horaru. Can you carry him?”

“Mm-hmm. Leave it to me.”

“N-No! No way!!”

“Don’t resist. Just get on. I’m fine.”

“No, I’m not fine! Aaaah…!”

I resisted desperately…

I fought back with everything I had…

But in the end, I ended up on Horaru’s back.

‘Oh god… the fur… the fur…’

The musky scent of a beast wafting from Horaru.

That thick, animalistic fur smell aggressively assaulting my nostrils.

It’s crude, but…

I went into heat.

‘Fuck.’

Overwhelming shame and self-loathing so intense I wanted to die.

And beyond that self-destructive urge-a horizon of ecstasy.

Like burying my nose in the belly of the pure white dog, Bokshil, that my grandmother raised when I was a child.

Dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, goats, sheep-anything fluffy.

The best.

“Gahhh!!”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing… Just… had a really bad nightmare.”

After about an hour, I finally returned to normal.

All the filthy, chaotic thoughts, twisted desires, and wrong tastes that had polluted my mind, spirit, and soul had returned to their rightful places.

“Horaru. I’m fine now. I can walk on my own.”

“Mm. Okay. Tell me if you’re tired.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I had thought Yuria was the only girl in our party, but it turned out there were two more women.

What a shocking revelation!

No further thoughts on that matter.

Yes, that’s how it should be.

‘Woman’… no.

Horaru, who had seemed like a ‘female,’ was starting to look like a bear again.

Regardless of gender, Horaru was still a kind bear.

“Look, the transfer stone!”

As I shook my head to clear my weird thoughts, Yuria pointed in one direction with her finger.

In the distance, the transfer stone was visible.

“Ugh. Damn labyrinth.”

“Finally, we can get out.”

Louis sighed deeply, looking exhausted.

Hachi smiled faintly, seemingly satisfied that we had made it out alive.

“Everyone… you’ve all worked hard. I’ll definitely buy you drinks.”

“Y-You too… sniff…”

“Mm-hmm!”

Rohan laughed heartily, promising to treat us to drinks.

Yata’s eyes were slightly red, as if moved by the moment.

Horaru just looked excited.

Being a druid, she probably wanted to escape the stifling labyrinth and return to the forest as soon as possible.

“Alright, let’s go.”

This marks the end of the corpse retrieval team’s journey.

We perfectly completed our mission.

No one died-everyone survived and made it out of the labyrinth.

A full party return with the mission accomplished in the post-Cataclysm underground city, where the difficulty had spiked-that’s an incredible achievement.

Even if we nearly got wiped out midway.

Looking at the results alone, our journey was a great success.

---

“Phew.”

“We made it!”

“Ah. The air is so warm.”

“The sun. The blinding sun shines upon us.”

As soon as we exited the labyrinth, my party and I collapsed onto an open space near the entrance, gasping for breath.

Leaving the labyrinth felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest.

Staring up at the vast sky, I took deep breaths in and out, finally feeling at ease.

“Ugh…!”

“Maso adaptation?”

“Yeah…”

Maso adaptation kicked in shortly after.

My muscles trembled faintly.

‘This makes level 7.’

My seventh Maso adaptation.

My body must have grown tougher and sturdier.

‘Ah, it’s leaving.’

Once the adaptation ended, I felt something inside me slip away.

Probably the soul of the Great Warrior Shaka departing.

Just how long had he been wandering alone in the depths of the labyrinth?

His body must have rotted away long ago.

It’s more impressive that his mind hadn’t shattered.

If he hadn’t met me, he might have drifted in the darkness until his soul eroded completely.

He might never have gotten the chance to ascend.

Thinking about it, meeting me must have been a stroke of luck for him.

And I only survived because I met him right before death-we helped each other.

‘Go to a better place.’

I offered a brief prayer for Shaka’s soul.

I don’t know if he’ll make it to heaven, but I hope he at least doesn’t wander the Nine Heavens.

“Hmm…?”

After praying for Shaka, my head began to throb painfully.

Did I… gain another ability?

It hasn’t been long since I awakened the Insight Eye.

I didn’t expect to get another one so soon.

[Shaka’s Remnant]

Wait, no.

This wasn’t an ability-more like traces he left behind after ascending.

An imperfect but tangible imprint of Shaka’s combat skills and experience now resided within me.

‘It won’t lead to a groundbreaking power-up, but this is already a jackpot.’

It felt like I had laid the foundation to become a warrior.

Maybe I’ve gained the talent for combat?

It’s not just a new skill-it’s like acquiring an innate gift.

Think of it as a passive skill.

‘Wait, does this mean…’

If I help other lost souls in the labyrinth, can I keep gaining talents like this?

If I figure out how to freely use the Insight Eye, becoming the strongest porter in the labyrinth city might not be just a dream.

‘Though if this ability only activates in life-or-death situations like last time… that’d be a shame.’

Nothing in life comes easy.

I only made contact with Shaka because I was on the verge of death.

The Insight Eye probably only awakens when you’re at death’s door.

I’ve been in and out of the labyrinth long enough to know better.

There’s no way it’d be that easy.

You’d have to grind and suffer like a dog before the labyrinth tosses you a bone.

Ugh, gross.

The Insight Eye won’t just pop up whenever.

Still, since I gained a talent, I should probably visit the Martial Hall during my break from labyrinth diving.

It’s about time I improved my combat skills.

Now that I can enter the underground city, I can’t rely solely on my spatial pouch to get through everything.

“Let’s head to the guild first. We’ll submit the exploration report and hand over the monster corpses. Oh, and lunch is on me.”

“Rohan, you’re buying drinks and meals? Aren’t you going to go broke?”

“Hahaha. I’ve saved up a bit. And… I’m thinking of retiring as an adventurer after this labyrinth run.”

“Wait, retire…?”

“What? Retire? What are you talking about?”

“After reviving Catherine… I’m thinking of settling down in some quiet countryside, Louis.”

Rohan’s sudden declaration of retirement left the rest of us stunned.

Rohan was a skilled adventurer.

Even though he didn’t get to shine much this time due to the Orc Slagger’s ambush.

If he kept exploring the labyrinth, he could’ve eventually reached Gold Rank.

His skills, experience, and talent were too valuable to waste.

“Hey, Rohan. You could definitely make it to Gold Rank if you keep going. Are you really giving up?”

“Gold Rank, huh? Yeah, if I kept diving, I might’ve reached it someday. But I’m just… too tired.”

Despite Louis’s attempts to dissuade him, Rohan just shook his head.

His eyes were filled with exhaustion.

One of the corpses we retrieved must have been his fiancée, Catherine.

After paying for her resurrection, he probably planned to leave the labyrinth city.

Unlike Hachi, who joined the retrieval team out of a sense of duty as a guide, Rohan’s main goal was likely to save his fiancée.

That’s why he pushed himself so hard.

And now that his mission was complete, he was ready to leave the labyrinth behind.

“Don’t take it so seriously, everyone. That’s just how adventuring is. You make a big score, then know when to walk away. Greed leads to ruin. And I… I’ve made my big score. Saving Catherine. It’s time to let go.”

The party nodded at his words.

For Rohan, the greatest ‘score’ wasn’t money or fame-it was saving his fiancée.

Money. Reputation.

None of it mattered more than the woman he loved.

Yeah. He’s right.

Like he said, he made his big score-now it’s time to walk away.

You can’t be too greedy.

Those who cling to excessive desires end up devoured by the labyrinth.

Maybe Rohan is the wisest among us.

An adventurer who knows when to leave is truly wise.

Someday, I’ll have my moment too, like Rohan.

By then, I’ll probably be the biggest slave collector in the labyrinth city.

Of course, until I make that big score, I’ll have to keep diving into the labyrinth.

“Shion.”

“Yeah?”

“Rohan, that guy… he’s kinda cool.”

“Yeah. He is cool.”

“I’ll become someone cool like that too.”

“Huh? Sure. Go for it. But why are you telling me about your resolve?”

“And if anything happens, I’ll protect you.”

“Wait, hold on. Don’t just cut me off-”

Yuria suddenly grabbed my hand.

“There, there. That’s all I needed.”

“Hey, what do you mean ‘that’s all’?! What kind of conclusion is that?! Why are you acting like we’re engaged?!”

“Hehe. Don’t be shy, Shion. You said you wanted to have a serious talk outside the labyrinth, right? Wasn’t this what you meant? Like… engagement. Or romance…”

“No, the ‘serious talk’ I wanted wasn’t about getting engaged to you!”

Yuria covered my mouth with her hand.

“Shh. Oh, you hopeless porter. Let’s save the serious talk for later. For now, let’s go to the guild.”

“Y-You-! Hey!”

I felt like I was being dragged along by Yuria.

This isn’t good. My slave harem plans…

With no room to resist, I was pulled toward the guild in Yuria’s grip.