episode_0006

“Wow…”

Linde stood there, mouth agape, lost in thought as she gazed blankly at my house.

“What are you doing? Come in.”

I inserted the key into the front door and unlocked it.

“Oh, um, okay!”

The piercing sound of the rusty bolt snapped Linde back to reality.

Passing through the overgrown weeds and a few broken statues in the garden, I opened the door to the mansion.

Although the entrance hall and corridors were somewhat clean, thanks to occasional tidying up, the faintly musty smell and faded wallpapers typical of old houses made it hard to call them clean even in jest.

Of course, it was better than some rundown inn.

“Is this really Mr. Lashwood’s house?!”

“Yes. Take off your shoes and put on these slippers before coming in.”

I gestured towards the guest slippers placed on the floor.

“O-Okay.”

Linde changed into the slippers and placed her leather shoes in the shoe rack, where an array of shoes lined up almost like a collection, indicating its purpose.

Though filled with dust and cobwebs, making it seem worthless.

“Wow… This house is incredibly spacious…”

As Linde spoke, marveling at various things around with sparkling eyes, “The unnecessary space is the advantage.”

Though stripped of its grandeur, the mansion was dizzyingly vast due to its noble origins.

While the frequently used rooms and corridors were relatively tidy, over ten unused rooms remained shut.

Major cleaning tasks had long been abandoned.

Yet, hiring a cleaner seemed wasteful, so it was left neglected.

“From now on, this will be your room. It’s next to mine.”

I went upstairs to the third floor and pointed to the second room.

“The first room is mine, of course.”

“Um…”

Linde hesitated, bowing her head deeply.

“Why?”

“D-Do we… not share the same room… for now?”

Her face flushed as she asked.

“Oh… Not right now. Let’s combine later when things settle down.”

“O-Okay…”

Linde’s goal was pregnancy, specifically expanding the Evoni tribe.

I hadn’t inquired about her reasons and had no particular interest in the matter.

After all, my sole purpose was her magic.

Honestly, handling one child wouldn’t be too difficult, but judging by Linde’s talk of expanding by tribes, it seemed it wouldn’t end with just one or two children…

“Let’s check out the room first.”

I opened the door to the room.

“It’s quite dirty, but you can manage the cleaning yourself, right?”

“Y-Yes.”

Indeed, the room was disgustingly messy.

Since it wasn’t my usual living space, it hadn’t been cleaned properly, covered in dust and cobwebs.

There was a bed, but it needed a good airing out in the sun, and all the bedding required washing.

“This room is really spacious…”

To be precise, it was incredibly vast.

Almost ten times larger than the room Linde had stayed in at that shabby inn.

“Mr. Lashwood, are you… wealthy?”

“No, not really.”

“Huh?”

“All I have is what the guy who ran away with my money left behind—this house.”

“Oh…”

Originally, this house belonged to some nobleman.

Even though he was considered a noble, he was nothing more than a rich man who bought his title.

No, not even a rich man, just a swindler.

He had a silver tongue that impressed the aristocrats, mingling with them, receiving their support for his business ventures, while simultaneously building this mansion.

In his final days, he planned to build the largest inn in the Labyrinth City, seeking investments from the thriving adventurers of that time.

Among those adventurers was me… and as I told Linde, the guy ran off with the money.

Later, it was discovered that the supposedly successful business was actually drowning in insurmountable debts, hidden under false financial statements.

Naturally, the noble with a connection to the adventurer who paid money and all the nobles were turned upside down trying to find the guy, but he had already crossed the border.

All that remained was this mansion.

Initially, the adventurers who were scammed shared the mansion, but one by one, they retired due to various reasons, leaving only me now.

“Anyway, let’s start with cleaning. We can unpack later.”

“Yes. It will take quite some time. I’m sorry, but can you wait until dinner?”

“Why wait? Let’s clean together.”

“Yes? C-Clean together…? Are you going to clean your room too, Mr. Lashwood?”

“Of course, your room. My room is already clean.”

“Uh… Earlier, I was alone…”

“Today we’ll do it together. We’re already comrades. We should make good use of each other’s time.”

“Comrades…”

“I’ll bring the mop and bucket, so wait.”

“I-I’ll come with you… B-Because we’re comrades…!”

“Sure.”

I took Rinde and headed to the mansion’s well.

She was surprised again to see a well in the house.

After fetching water in the bucket and grabbing a mop, we returned to the room and started cleaning.

The cleaning that started around noon didn’t finish until almost evening.

“Phew, it’s clean.”

“It’s thanks to Mr. Lashwood’s help.”

“Now, about dinner… Huh? Did we have lunch?”

“Oh, we didn’t eat…”

“Why didn’t you say so?”

“That’s… ”

“Ah, forget it. It’s too late now. Let’s have dinner first.”

Dinner consisted of buttered bread, eggs, carrots, and cabbage grown in the garden.

And as I was about to take out the special wine… I shook my head and put it back, instead taking out a chunk of cheese and some salted pork from the storage.

“Is this… cheese?”

Rinde pointed at the yellow cheese.

“Don’t you recognize it? They have cheese in Brie too, right?”

“Yes. But it’s usually white like milk… I’ve never seen yellow cheese like this before.”

“Either way, it’s cheese, so just enjoy it.”

“Yes… Hehe.”

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s just… we seem like a couple…”

“…”

“…Promise me you’ll keep it?”

“Sure. You want to expand the Eboni tribe, right?”

“Yes… Being alone… feels lonely.”

…”

Maybe considering having a child together…

Even if not the Eboni tribe, you can make plenty of friends.

Of course, I wouldn’t be so tactless as to say such things in front of Rinde.

“Well, we’ve worked hard, so let’s eat. Eating is what matters in the end.”

I stabbed the bread with my fork and took a bite.

“Do they say that in the Labyrinth City too?”

“No. It’s just something I say.”

“Um… ”

“Why?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“Alright then, let’s eat. Or should I eat yours too?”

“No, you can’t!”

We enjoyed dinner for a while.

Then we showered and fell asleep.

***

“Why does this keep happening.”

I woke up early in the morning.

Beside the bed, Rinde was sleeping soundly.

I picked up my scattered clothes from the floor, put them on haphazardly, and went outside.

“This idiot…”

How did I end up sleeping with Rinde again?

If I had to explain, maybe the atmosphere led to that…

I knew it shouldn’t have happened, but somehow it did.

This way, I would only get closer to the future where Rinde’s desired kinfolk were plentiful.

I took a moment to clear my head and looked out the window.

The dawn air was still cold, and the frost hadn’t melted yet.

But why were the city guards coming to my house this early in the morning?

“…”

I wasn’t mistaken.

They were indeed city guards.

When you think of city guards, you might picture cowards who avoid frontline duty and are just commoners lucky enough to get a decent job.

However, the guards in this Labyrinth City were on a different level.

The majority of the city’s residents are adventurers who wield power.

With their mediocre skills, adventurers who cause trouble will inevitably be subdued in return.

Therefore, the law enforcement responsible for the security of this labyrinthine city is entrusted to elite individuals selected from all over the country, taking turns.

Leading the guards is Chief Guard Marco.

He is a man of imposing stature who rose from commoner to viscount solely through his achievements on the battlefield.

The aura emanating from his robust figure could be felt even from the third-floor balcony of the mansion.

I descended to the ground floor, opened the main gate, and greeted them.

“You’ve had a rough morning.”

I shook hands with Marco.

“Adventurer Rashwood. Please come with me peacefully.”

Marco spoke without a greeting.

“Well, I’ll follow. Do you think I’d try to escape?”

“…”

“But before that, could I hear what this is about?”

“I’ll inform you once we reach the outpost.”

“Can’t you tell me now? Just between us, huh?”

“…A restaurant collapsed.”

“A restaurant?”

“Yes. You seem to be involved in that incident.”

“Got it. I’ll go inform my companion and be back.”

“No, bring your companion along.”

“Hmm… Can’t you cut some slack? He’s not very sociable.”

It might be quicker if I went alone.

“Hey!”

One of the guards behind Marco raised his voice.

Looking at his face, he seemed like a recent recruit.

Marco raised his hand to silence the subordinate.

The guard looked puzzled at Marco but just lowered his head.

“Orders. Bring them.”

“Alright. Wait a moment.”

I went back into the mansion and woke up Linde by shaking her.

“Ugh…”

“Wake up.”

“Ugh… Mr. Rashwood…?”

“Get dressed and come out. Something troublesome has come up.”

“Troublesome…? Ah, oh, clothes…”

“There’s no time to wash, so hurry down.”

I came out of the room and waited at the door.

After some rustling sounds from inside, Linde came out properly dressed a while later.

“Um, what do you mean by troublesome…?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

“What?”

“Follow me.”

We went outside the mansion again.

Linde visibly shrank seeing the gathered guards.

I put my arm around her shoulder reassuringly and stepped forward.

“We’ve brought our companion. It would be great if we could finish before lunch.”

“…That might be difficult.”

Marco said.

We crossed the city with the guards and arrived at the security outpost.

Usually, a security outpost might be a slightly larger cabin, but the one in the labyrinthine city was almost like a military camp due to its size and even having underground cells.

“Is everything alright…?”

Linde asked cautiously.

“Just trust me.”

Fortunately, there was no handcuffing once we entered the waiting room.

After a while, a well-groomed man with a mustache entered.

The moment I saw his face, I realized why we were here.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rashwood, and…”

He politely nodded and looked at Linde.

“My companion.”

“I’m… Linde…”

“…Ms. Linde. I am Rebart from the Inn Guild of the Labyrinth City. Of course, Mr. Rashwood is already aware.”

“Oh, hello.”

“Would you like to finish before lunch? Let’s wrap this up quickly.”

I said to Rebart.

“I share the same sentiment, but things may change depending on the situation.”

“I heard a restaurant collapsed. Did that swindler innkeeper report us?”

It’s certain that the inn where Linde stayed until yesterday was unauthorized.

But it’s unlikely they built the structure without informing the lord.

Perhaps they reported it as a restaurant and secretly operated it as an inn.

“That person is deceased.”