Next Objective

“Master.”

I slowly opened my eyes to the feeling of someone shaking my body. There before me was Inis’s face. She was smiling brightly.

“…Is it morning?”

“Yes.”

I stared blankly at her for a moment, then slowly sat up. I took the water Inis offered me, drank it, and got out of bed.

“Uhhh….”

I stretched thoroughly and moved around. My body was stiff. Looking at the bed, there were no traces of our lovemaking. Egun must have cleaned up.

“Inis. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. Unlike at the inn, I slept deeply with peace of mind.”

Contrary to her answer, she had dark circles under her eyes. I reached out and rubbed under her eyes with my thumb.

“You look very tired. Did you really sleep well? If you’re having a hard time, please be honest—we don’t have to go to the labyrinth. It’s more fatal to hide it and cause problems in the labyrinth.”

“N-no. It’s true I went to bed late yesterday, but not enough to significantly affect my condition.”

She answered with a blush on her face.

“I understand for now. But if you change your mind later, you need to tell me, okay? Remember that your body is no longer entirely yours.”

“Yes….”

Inis answered shyly. I couldn’t understand which part of my statement prompted such a reaction.

“Let’s wait for Isabella. Let’s go downstairs.”

As we went down the stairs together, a delicious smell wafted up. When we entered the kitchen, I saw golden hair gleaming in the sunlight. Her head was bobbing up and down repeatedly.

“Isabella.”

“Yes!?”

When I went behind her and grabbed her shoulders, she jumped in surprise. She looked around the kitchen and then looked up.

“M-Master?”

Instead of answering, I smiled and sat down at the head of the table. Inis, sitting across from Isabella, stared at her with wide eyes.

“You seem very tired. Did you go to bed late yesterday?”

I asked while picking up a spoon. The red stew in front of me, unlike what we ate at the inn, didn’t smell very spicy.

“…Yes.”

Isabella nodded with a red face. Inis was like that too. Why did they both react this way when asked why they went to bed late?

‘Could it be….’

Suddenly, I remembered what Egun had said yesterday.

Sexual desire might build up as a backlash from using abilities. So I should help relieve it. Could it be that both of them were too hot to sleep?

‘Then it’s my responsibility….’

But I couldn’t stay home mixing bodies with them instead of going to the labyrinth today. Moreover, I wasn’t even in that kind of relationship with them yet.

With Inis, it might be possible. But with Isabella, it was still difficult. We weren’t that close yet.

‘Let’s let it go for today.’

Later, if they wanted it first, then I should help them. Of course, if the situation became serious, I would have to intervene forcefully, but for now, I decided to observe.

“Let’s eat.”

“Yes. Enjoy your meal.”

“I-I’ll enjoy the meal!”

I first scooped some stew and put it in my mouth. The large piece of meat crumbled as soon as I bit into it. It had been a long time since I’d eaten such tender meat.

The salty taste from the tomatoes. The sweet taste from the onions. The fatty taste from the meat. The various flavors felt from the accompanying vegetables.

These complex flavors washed over my tongue like waves. It was so delicious that it felt wasteful to swallow it down my throat.

“Delicious.”

Muffin might feel hurt, but this was much better than what we ate at the inn. Should I say the depth of flavor was different?

“Really?”

“Yes. Your cooking skills are good. It’s much more delicious than I expected.”

“It’s the most delicious stew I’ve had in the Labyrinth City! With this level of skill, you could open an inn and make a living for life?”

Isabella said with a bright smile. Inis chuckled at our praise.

“It’s not that great. Thank you both.”

But it really was delicious, and I wasn’t just saying that. While Inis’s cooking skills were good, the difference probably came from the condition of the ingredients used.

“Did you make the bread yourself? Or did you buy it?”

“Many bakeries open from dawn. There was a store not far from here, so I bought it.”

“That’s good.”

When I tore the warm bread, a subtle butter scent wafted out. The texture of the soft bread. When I put it in my mouth and chewed, it had a slightly sweet taste. It had been a long time since I’d eaten such soft bread.

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes. It’s good. How much does it cost?”

“One silver per piece.”

At her words, I opened my eyes wide. The price was much higher than I had thought.

“Cough, cough!”

Isabella, who had been happily eating stew and bread, coughed with round eyes. It seemed she had choked.

“Is, is it that expensive?”

“Making good bread requires various ingredients. And this level of bread is in the realm of skill. So it can’t help but be expensive.”

“I wondered why it was so delicious. There was a reason for everything.”

Isabella trembled slightly and gently put down the bread. It was an unusual reaction for someone from a noble background.

“You said not to skimp on food ingredients, so I bought it. Should I look for another bakery?”

I dipped the remaining bread in the stew and ate it. Bread soaked in broth. It was delicious indeed.

“It’s a luxury, but considering our income, it’s not extremely burdensome, right? So let’s eat this.”

It wasn’t a cold-hearted judgment. But people can’t always live rationally. If eating this increases our efficiency in the labyrinth, wouldn’t that be a benefit in its own way?

Of course, I knew it was self-justification, but shouldn’t we enjoy things like this?

“Should we also enjoy some desserts at home later?”

“If it’s desserts, I’m confident! I know how to brew coffee too! And I know where the good shops are!”

Isabella leaned over the table. Her eyes sparkled. Considering how she acted at the tea house before, she must be interested in desserts.

“Alright. When we have time, let’s visit a tea house.”

“Yay!”

She raised both arms toward the ceiling in excitement. Having an energetic slave had definitely livened up the atmosphere.

“Then Inis should do something too.”

“No. It’s okay if you don’t do anything for me! Rather, I’ve already received so much grace that I can’t repay, how could I…”

Isabella glanced around and spoke up.

“A-actually, I d-don’t really need to drink tea either!”

“No. Don’t worry about it. I’m doing it because I want to. Hmm. Then for now, it would be good to build a training facility in the garden.”

If I request it from the Merchant Guild, they’ll gladly accept. Probably?

“I-it’s fine…”

“At times like this, say ‘thank you’ and accept it. That way, Isabella will feel comfortable too.”

Inis opened her mouth slightly with an “Ah.” She glanced sideways at Isabella and then bowed her head.

“I’m sorry, Isabella. I didn’t think about that.”

“N-no! R-rather, I feel like I’m causing trouble, so I’m sorry!”

I wasn’t sure if this meant they were getting along well or not. For the time being, I should observe their relationship without mediating.

“Today, we need to prepare thoroughly before going to the labyrinth. You know that, right?”

“Yes. We’re planning to conquer the Green Skin layer and move on to the next layer.”

“That’s right. We’ve stayed here for a while. So we should move on soon.”

Inis and Isabella nodded. They must be confident now that they had gained abilities.

“To move from the Green Skin layer to the next layer, we need to use the stairs in the tribe, right?”

“Yes. If we’re unlucky, we might encounter the tribal chief, so we need to be careful. In the case of open-type floors, monsters like the tribal chief serve as gatekeepers.”

It would certainly be troublesome to meet the tribal chief. However, I wasn’t too worried. I felt we had enough strength to win with our current forces.

“Or perhaps we should go around?”

“Go around?”

“Yes. Originally, there were two tribes controlling the Green Skin layer. And there was one leader in each tribe ruling over them.”

“Yes.”

“That means there are two gatekeepers, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t it also mean there are two sets of stairs going down?”

Inis nodded.

“It definitely doesn’t sound impossible. Isabella, have you seen or heard anything related to this information?”

“…I think I may have seen it. Or maybe I heard it. I can’t remember well. I’m sorry…”

“Then I guess we’ll have to go check it out ourselves.”

“Yes. But we shouldn’t expect too much. The stairs might have disappeared as the Green Skin layer underwent changes.”

“That possibility certainly exists.”

Even if the stairs existed, they might have built a fortress around them. Weren’t there orcs guarding the circular stairs that allowed escape from the layer?

“We should buy a layer map.”

A layer map referred to a literal map sold by the Adventurer’s Guild. In the game, buying one gave you a mini-map, but here I shouldn’t expect such a thing.

“It doesn’t seem like it would be much help. Are you sure it’s right to purchase one? The map would be drawn based on the stairs, but now the stairs appear randomly…”

“Still, it’s better than nothing. Let’s buy one before we enter. The guild must know this, so it won’t be too expensive.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s eat now.”

At my words, we resumed our meal. After finishing breakfast, we locked all the doors and went out to the street.

Since we didn’t know how many days we would be in the labyrinth, we went around shops buying necessary items until our bags were full. Only then did we head to the labyrinth.

“One map, please.”

“That’s one silver.”

After purchasing a map of the Green Skin layer, we headed straight to the labyrinth.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Today, we will definitely move on to the next layer.