53. The Sorrow of a Reincarnated

“What…?!”

“I’m sorry. While you were gone, the guild suddenly called me. I think I’ll have to go outside the city for a bit.”

After finishing her hangover soup, Leah-ssi returned to the inn, and Yuria also began preparing to leave.

She even mentioned it was a top-secret mission that would take her outside the city for several days.

From the looks of it, something had happened, and she was going out to handle the aftermath.

“Outside the city? This suddenly?”

“Yeah. Seems like some suspicious people have entered the city recently. There was some commotion in the slums yesterday because of it. When I looked into it, it seemed connected to some outside forces… You get it, right?”

“Ah… Yeah.”

Yuria was being evasive.

She was probably going out to kill someone.

Murder or torture.

I didn’t know exactly what Yuria would be doing, but it wasn’t something I could dare to stop her from.

Yuria was the guild’s sword.

After all, her mother was the Guild Leader.

Yuria was deeply involved with the guild, and since the Adventurer’s Guild was a core institution of the Labyrinth City, it was involved in all sorts of incidents.

Naturally, this meant Yuria was in a position where she had no choice but to step up if something happened in the city.

Even if I didn’t want to send her off, I had neither the power nor the justification to stop her right now.

The guild didn’t belong to just the Guild Leader alone.

The Guild Leader was merely the person who represented and managed the Adventurer’s Guild.

No matter how strong Moira’s influence was, she couldn’t pick a fight with the entire city’s leadership.

Still.

Even knowing all this, I cautiously tried to whine a little.

“I can’t come with you, can I?”

“Hehe. You wanna stay with me? But I’m sorry. I have to make this trip quick. Keep an eye on Olivia and the house until I get back.”

Yuria, who had been packing her things while still hungover, tossed aside what she was holding and hugged me tightly when I sulked.

“Come back safe. Be careful.”

“Yeah. Sorry for leaving so suddenly. Just wait a little. I’ll be back soon.”

Yuria gave me a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying off.

Just what had happened?

If she wasn’t telling me, there must be a good reason for it.

Since she mentioned outside forces being involved, it might be related to the recent kidnapping incident in the slums.

I decided not to dig deeper.

Some information was dangerous to know.

All I had to do was stay here with Olivia and keep the house safe until Yuria returned.

I’d start training tomorrow, so time would pass quickly.

“U-um… Has Yuria-nim left already…?”

“Yeah. She just left.”

“Aha…”

The moment she realized Yuria was gone, Olivia clung to my side.

“W-we’re… finally… alone…”

“Hey, Olivia. Hold on. What’s with you?”

“N-no. Don’t push me away… Just stay still…”

Olivia hugged me from behind and refused to let go.

She even buried her nose in my back and sniffed.

“Sniff… Sigh… I feel safe… Um… Shion-ssi… no, Master.”

“Huh…?”

“P-please… don’t make me sleep alone… I get anxious… sleeping by myself… Can’t we sleep together, at least while Yuria-ssi is gone…?”

I already needed to share a bed with someone because of those lingering spirits-Loa or whatever they were called.

This was good for me.

I’d been planning to ask Olivia to sleep together, but since she brought it up first, it worked out.

“O-okay, fine. Let go of me first. I need to clean up the table.”

“Okay… I’ll help too…”

“No, just sit on the sofa. I’ll handle it.”

If I left it to her, she’d probably make an even bigger mess.

It was hard to delegate tasks when she couldn’t see.

“U-um…”

“Yeah. What?”

“Can we… talk about Earth…?”

“Sure, since it’s just the two of us.”

“Okay… Hehehe… I wanted to talk about Earth… There was no one else to talk to… It was so hard being alone…”

I was living a half-successful life in the Labyrinth City.

Thanks to my spatial pouch ability, I didn’t have to worry about money, and my luck with women had skyrocketed recently.

But Olivia’s case was different from mine.

She was born in a small, isolated tribe in the southern regions and fled to the Labyrinth City as soon as she came of age.

The phrase “fled” alone already hinted at a harsh struggle.

Small tribes didn’t allow much personal freedom.

In collectivist societies, individuality and personal freedom were always pushed aside.

Especially in places where women’s rights were practically nonexistent-she was probably raised from birth as just another cog in the community’s machine.

The tattoo-like markings and mysterious symbols etched into her skin were also done against her will.

How much had it hurt?

It must have been something like a rite of passage.

“I tried so hard… not to forget. Everything about that world. My family… the dog we raised… I tried so hard to remember all of it.”

How had she ended up in this world?

Olivia’s voice trembled badly.

“But… I’ve forgotten almost everything. Their faces. Their voices. I can’t remember any of it.”

“Olivia.”

“What should I do…? The Labyrinth is… my last weapon. I can’t afford to forget. I memorized it until it nearly killed me… but I can’t remember my parents’ faces at all.”

I walked over and patted her back.

Overcome with sorrow, Olivia clung to me and cried for a long time.

My chest was soaked. Drenched with tears and snot.

“S-sorry…”

“It’s okay. It happens.”

“Thank you… You’re so kind…”

“We’re from the same hometown.”

Olivia seemed to like the phrase “same hometown” because she hugged me again.

And cried some more.

She probably hadn’t had many chances to open up and cry like this.

After reincarnating into this world, she must have spent all her time watching her step around others.

So I just let her cry.

I cried a lot alone on the streets in the beginning too.

I had no money, couldn’t fight, and didn’t even know how to read this world’s language.

Before I got the spatial pouch, I couldn’t even afford a single piece of bread.

“I’m so glad… I met someone else from Earth… I’m so glad… There’s someone who understands everything I say…”

Computers, air conditioners, airplanes, cell phones, mobile games, NPCs, and so on.

Countless words that didn’t exist in this world.

The only person who could understand them without any issue.

The first person in her life since reincarnating who could be called a comrade.

Now that someone like that had appeared, she seemed eager to rely on me in every way.

“P-please… don’t abandon me… I’ll do anything you want. Don’t throw me away just because I’m useless… I’ll memorize everything about the Labyrinth. I’ll remember it with my life… Please…”

“…”

Olivia was begging me not to abandon her, even if her usefulness ran out.

While forgetting her parents’ faces, she had desperately tried to hold onto the Labyrinth’s information.

Even when I first found her in the slave shop, she had been half out of her mind, reciting Labyrinth strategy guides like a mantra.

She must have known it would be useful someday.

After all, before becoming a slave, she had tried to use the Labyrinth’s secrets to make something of herself.

“I get it, Olivia. I won’t abandon you.”

“R-really…? Promise me… Promise me too…”

“Pinky swear?”

“Okay… Pinky swear…”

I linked pinkies with Olivia and made a promise.

Not to abandon her.

‘As long as she doesn’t cause trouble.’

There was still a lot of information I hadn’t heard yet.

And if another cataclysm happened-if the Labyrinth updated-I’d need someone to tell me about it.

“Thank you… for promising…”

“Don’t mention it.”

When I stroked her back, Olivia hugged me even tighter.

“I want… to get even closer…”

“Aren’t we already plenty close?”

“N-no… Not just… physically… I want… to have a deeper bond with you…”

“A deeper bond?”

“Yes… So you won’t just… leave me behind… Hold me a little closer…”

“Are you scared I’ll abandon you?”

“I’m scared… The Labyrinth is… dangerous… Even if I tell you everything I know… it’s still dangerous…”

She was right. The Labyrinth was dangerous.

No matter how much information Olivia gave me, I was the one who had to act on it.

I could die at any time.

That’s why Olivia wanted to get closer to me now.

“How can we get closer?”

“Like… this…”

Maybe because she couldn’t see, Olivia missed and kissed the corner of my lips.

“T-that wasn’t… your lips… was it…?”

“Nah. You were a little off.”

“Ah… Aah… O-one more time…”

She tried again, aiming for my lips.

“Ah… That wasn’t it either…”

“That was my nose.”

“J-just one more try…”

Finally, after much difficulty, she managed to kiss me properly.

“Was that… it…?”

“Yeah. That time worked.”

“D-does this mean… we’re a little closer now…?”

“Hmm. Maybe a little?”

“That’s a relief…”

Olivia’s actions couldn’t just be dismissed as love.

This was her survival strategy.

I was her current master.

From her perspective, I was a fellow Earthling who didn’t treat her poorly.

If I abandoned her, she had nowhere to go.

So she was pretending to love me now.

No-whether it was an act or not didn’t really matter.

What mattered was that she had to make a good impression.

Well, whether her love was real or fake wasn’t the important part anyway.

The real question was whether I was satisfied with Olivia’s actions.

‘Satisfied. Very satisfied.’

Olivia was cuter than I’d expected.

After racking her brain to think of a way to please me, the best she could come up with was a kiss.

Was this what you’d call a maiden’s way of thinking?

It was amusing how she didn’t throw herself at me or beg me to take her, but instead got flustered over a kiss and thought it brought us closer.

“I’ll be heading out for training starting tomorrow, so you’ll be alone at home a lot.”

“Okay…”

“I’ll leave meals prepared for you. Make sure to eat properly.”

“Yes…! Thank you… for caring…”

Tomorrow, I planned to head to the Martial Hall in the morning.

After some training, I’d visit the black market in the afternoon to look into the Loa.

I also wanted to borrow that book on monster dismantling from the library.

‘I’ve heard about monsters from Olivia, but it’s better to study up separately.’

I needed to prepare as much as I could before the subjugation began.

I’d also have to work on the young lady’s party and the upper-layer conquest.

So for now, I’d enjoy today’s rest to the fullest.

Starting tomorrow, I’d be busy again.