60. I Want to Enter the Labyrinth

The day the evil women came, I was discharged from the hospital as soon as the sun rose.

After that, I rested quietly at home for about four days.

Yuria still hadn’t returned. It seemed her external mission was taking longer than expected.

So, for four days, I spent time with Olivia in Yuria’s house-without Yuria.

The past four days were peaceful, if a bit boring.

It had been a long time since I’d spent time like this, doing nothing, ever since I fell into the Labyrinth City. It made me think that resting quietly wasn’t so bad.

Of course, I couldn’t just keep resting forever.

The lady and her party members were probably waiting for me, necks stretched thin.

Since I’d agreed to guide them as the map leader of the labyrinth, it was about time to start heading into the labyrinth.

“I’ve mostly recovered now. Shall we enter the labyrinth?”

I gathered the lady and her party members.

Since I couldn’t just invite guests to Yuria’s house without permission, I suggested meeting at a decent dessert shop.

“Really? Are you sure you’re okay to go in already? You’re not in pain?”

“Yes, I’m fine. What about the rest of you?”

“I’m good if you are.”

“Hmm. I’ve been wanting to go in for a while now.”

“I’d rather not…”

“Hey, Rien. The lady agreed. You should hurry up and agree too.”

“Ugh… Fine, I agree…”

The lady, Rika, and Rien all agreed.

“I’m fine with it too.”

Erika-nim also agreed to the labyrinth expedition.

Rika and I would take the front line, while Lady Leah would scout ahead.

Rien and Erika would likely be protected in the rear.

“Then let’s plan to enter in two days. We should decide where to go.”

Alright, now it’s time to seriously prepare for the labyrinth expedition.

Surprisingly, this would only be the lady’s party’s second labyrinth expedition.

Rien, Lady Leah, and Erika had already adapted to the mana during the last expedition, so they could comfortably go down to the 2nd floor. However, Rika had died once before, so she hadn’t undergone mana adaptation.

This time, I think we’ll aim to explore only up to the 2nd floor at most.

Regardless of individual skill, without proper mana adaptation, the deeper you go, the harder it becomes to breathe.

“Last time, we went to the Botanical Garden, right? Where are you thinking of going this time?”

“We could go to the Botanical Garden again, or maybe the Breeding Grounds…”

“Ugh. The Breeding Grounds are a bit… too much right now. Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up.”

The lady made a disgusted face.

Well, she nearly died there, so it’s no surprise she has PTSD.

“Hmm. The Sewer has too many things to worry about, so it’s still too early for that. The Botanical Garden or the Underground Tomb would be better options.”

“Hmm… I think going back to the Botanical Garden would be good…”

“I also agree with Rien-nim. The Botanical Garden seems like the better choice.”

“Then, Porter-nim, how far down do you plan to go?”

“If possible, I’d like to go down to the 2nd floor. Since our party is still inexperienced and hasn’t fully adapted to mana, going deeper would just make it harder to breathe. The 2nd floor is likely our limit for now.”

“I see. So, a day trip?”

“Yeah. That’s what I’m debating.”

For the upper layers, day trips are the norm.

Since most of the paths are already known, the basic strategy is to bring a map, farm, and leave.

But due to the Great Cataclysm, the labyrinth’s internal structure has changed drastically.

Maps have become useless, and people like me without mapping abilities could spend an entire day wandering just the 1st floor.

I’ve heard from the general store owner that, back before maps were distributed, overnight stays in the upper layers were common.

Maybe I should let them experience an overnight stay? The lady and her party members have never had a proper labyrinth overnight experience.

“Um, Lady. The guild hasn’t released an official map yet, right?”

“I checked yesterday, and they said they haven’t made a proper one yet.”

“I figured. The adventurers with mapping abilities are probably working on it. They’ll need to cross-verify it too. Since we’re at this point, why don’t we take on a map-making request?”

“A request?”

“Yes. The guild will likely issue requests to those with mapping abilities. Since I have that skill, let’s take on the request and draw the map. It’ll be good for raising our reputation points.”

Reputation points are important.

Building them up diligently will help with promotions later.

Just having good skills isn’t enough to get promoted to Gold Rank.

You need to accumulate reputation early to get a good evaluation.

“So, it’s better to raise your reputation as much as possible early on. If you try to raise it later, you’ll have to do all sorts of odd jobs. It’d be a shame if you had Gold Rank skills but ended up cleaning sewers, right? That’s why it’s better to build up reputation early, while you’re still a beginner and expected to do miscellaneous tasks.”

“Reputation is more important than I thought.”

“Yes. For reference, my reputation alone is enough to fast-track me to Gold Rank.”

“Fast… track? What’s that?”

“Ah, it means getting promoted smoothly in one go.”

“Ah, I see. Wait, Porter, just how much reputation have you built up?”

“I’ve been stacking it up whenever I had time.”

Before meeting the lady’s party, I handled a lot of guild requests.

Thanks to my Dimensional Pouch, I could easily handle tedious tasks like transporting items without any trouble.

Participating in the subjugation campaign and occasionally recovering adventurers’ corpses to hand over to the Church also greatly boosted my reputation.

“Anyway, if the lady and the rest of you want to climb to higher ranks, you’ll need to start building your reputation now. Just follow me, and I’ll make you reputation-rich within three months.”

“Really?”

“There’s a know-how to it. It’s not something you can learn just anywhere, so make sure to follow along closely.”

“As expected of a veteran.”

“I don’t wanna work…”

“Rien! Show some enthusiasm!”

“Ugh… Rika, shut up…”

Rien is talented but lazy-that’s her flaw.

On the other hand, Rika is enthusiastic but not very efficient at work.

“Um, Porter-nim. I think I might already have a decent amount of reputation. Is that right?”

“Ah, that makes sense. Erika-nim, you’ve been doing volunteer work regularly.”

Erika often volunteered, so even without my help, her reputation would naturally accumulate.

Reputation is ultimately an indicator of how much you’ve contributed to the Labyrinth City.

“Then let’s take on the map-making request. Let’s aim for a maximum of three nights and four days inside.”

“Sounds good. This’ll be fun.”

“Ugh… Overnight stay… F-fine…”

“Rien, wipe that look off your face. This’ll be your daily life from now on. You’ll get used to it if you tough it out.”

“Rika… You… can sleep anywhere anyway…”

“Hehehe.”

Rien groaned like she was dying, while Rika preached perseverance at her.

The lady looked excited just at the thought of entering the labyrinth, and Erika smiled quietly.

As Rika said, overnight stays in the labyrinth are part of the routine.

By the time we reach the underground city, staying overnight will feel natural.

Besides, no matter how much Rien complains, she always follows through in the end.

“This time, I’ll teach you the basics-how to camp, start a fire quickly, find safe spots, and maintain hygiene in the labyrinth. Among the upper layers, the Underground Tomb is quite difficult, so let’s go to the Botanical Garden.”

“Got it.”

“Ugh…”

“Great. A Botanical Garden re-run it is.”

“Um, Porter-nim. Is there anything else we should prepare?”

“Make sure to thoroughly check your weapons. Speaking of, what’s everyone’s loadout?”

“I plan to go in with a longsword, shield, and chainmail.”

Rika seemed intent on going in fully equipped.

Normally, novice adventurers are so strapped for cash that they often go in with just a sword, but Rika’s default was full plate armor.

“I have leather armor, two daggers, six throwing knives, and lockpicking tools. Oh, and my teacher told me to bring this too.”

The lady showed me a thin thread.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just any thread-it was a silver thread, almost like spider silk.

“Your teacher… Did you join the Thieves’ Guild?”

“No, not the Thieves’ Guild. A mutual acquaintance introduced me. By the way, she’s a woman, so don’t worry.”

“Huh? I wasn’t worried.”

“You totally just got worried that my teacher might be a handsome man. It was obvious. Hilarious.”

“No… Ugh.”

“Anyway, I’ve been learning from her recently. I think I can handle 1st-floor monsters now. What do you think? Impressive, right? Praise me.”

“You’re amazing, Lady. I’m so moved I might even shed a tear.”

“What? Don’t tease me.”

“No, you asked for praise, so I laid it on thick.”

“Ugh. I asked for praise, not flattery. Idiot.”

Lady Leah pinched my arm lightly.

Seriously, I praised her because she asked, and now she’s picky?

But I am genuinely a bit surprised.

I never expected her to seek out a teacher and learn combat skills on her own.

And someone who uses threads, no less.

‘Have I heard of anyone who specializes in threads?’

I don’t think so.

“Rika-nim’s set is good. Lady, yours is nice too. What about Rien-nim and Erika-nim?”

“I… just need this staff and pouch…”

“Um, last time, you said a club or mace would be good, so I bought one. Will this do?”

Rien didn’t seem to have brought any extra weapons, while Erika had apparently bought a mace somewhere.

The mace Erika handed me felt decent enough. Then again, I’ve only ever used cheap weapons myself, so I’m no expert.

“Everyone seems to have their gear sorted. One last thing to confirm before we go.”

“What is it?”

“Inside the labyrinth, I might drop formal speech, get angry, or give one-sided orders. Don’t take it personally-just follow my instructions completely.”

“Fine. I agree.”

“If the lady agrees, so do I.”

“Well… Porter is sharp, so…”

“Sounds good. Let’s do that.”

“Great. Then let’s meet in two days. I’ll go ahead and pick up the request from the guild.”

Now that we’ve settled the general plan, it’s time to part ways.

“Oh, right. Shion, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it, Lady?”

“In about a week, some people from my family will come to visit.”

“Oh, does that mean…?!”

“Yeah. Finally, I can repay you for saving my life. How about it? Excited?”

“Yes. I’m so excited my heart’s pounding.”

“Pounding? What kind of expression is that? Hehehe. Anyway, my father sent something big, so you can look forward to it. He’s quite generous to his benefactors.”

“Wait, Lady. If you hype it up that much, I’ll really get my hopes up?”

“Hehe. Get hyped!”

What on earth did they prepare to make her say that?

I have no idea what they’re planning to give me, but now I’m excited too.

By next week, the labyrinth expedition should be over.

“Alright, I’ll head out now. See you in two days.”

“Yes, Lady. Take care.”

“See you later…”

“Yeah, yeah. See you, Rien-nim.”

“Come by tomorrow for training. Gon’s waiting.”

“Uh. Okay… I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good work today.”

“Yes, Erika-nim, you too.”

Everyone left.

I should head home now too.

‘But first.’

There’s one place I need to stop by.

“Huh? What’s this? You’re back?”

“Yes. It’s been a while.”

I visited the slave shop.

With Yuria’s return date unknown, I couldn’t leave Olivia alone.

I needed someone to look after Olivia while I was gone, but there’s no one I could trust to care for a blind woman.

So, I came here.

“Do you have any slaves? Don’t tell me you still haven’t gotten any in stock?”

“Ugh. Don’t even ask. Nothing. Completely empty. The Church doesn’t seem to be releasing any slaves.”

“Huh? Still nothing to sell? Why even keep the store open if you’ve got nothing? You’re just confusing people.”

“You think I’m sitting behind this counter like an idiot for fun? I just opened the shop to clean up or something. And do you think I’m happy about this? It’s been weeks since I’ve had anything to sell. I’m miserable too.”

“Sigh.”

It seems the slave supply still hasn’t normalized.

Seriously, what’s going on? Give me back my slave.

“This is driving me crazy.”

I checked all the shops, but…

As expected, not a single proper slave was available.

What should I do?

I can’t just leave Olivia alone-it’s too risky. I also need a slave to handle household chores.

It’ll mean another mouth to feed, but Yuria had already agreed to buy another slave, so I might as well.

“I never thought I’d come back here.”

The slave shop near the black market entrance.

Where slaves cursed with transformation are kept.

“Eek! What?! You’re back?!”

“Hello. It’s been a while.”

“Grr… Here to buy a slave?”

“Yes. I need a housemaid.”

“Gonna lowball me again?”

“That depends on the slave’s condition.”

“Grrr… Ugh. Not this time. Last time, I let one go for 22 gold, but no way that’s happening again.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Damn it. Follow me!”

We headed down to the basement where the slaves were kept.

Now, how should I negotiate the price this time?