Chapter Index

    Jeong Yushin smiled and extended his hand.

    “It’s been a while. I heard you got a job at the smithy, but I see you here.”

    Ainhofer clasped Jeong Yushin’s hand and shook it.

    “Yeah.”

    “Did you quit being an explorer completely?”

    “I quit. I’m getting old, and my skills are dwindling, so I felt a wall.”

    Boron scratched his nose.

    “What? You two know each other?”

    “Yes. We were in the same party last time.”

    “Is that so? That’s interesting. Anyway, what do you need?”

    “A helmet and armor. I want a light type of armor.”

    “You’re not using a shield?”

    Jeong Yushin thought for a moment and said.

    “Not this time.”

    “I understand. The helmet will obviously be steel, and light armor would be a perfect fit. I need to measure your body size, so come into this room. Ainhofer, you come in too. I’ll teach you how to measure.”

    “Yes.”

    Jeong Yushin and the two dwarves entered a room in a corner of the smithy.

    The room had a large wooden table and a bookshelf. The bookshelf was densely packed with rolled-up paper scrolls.

    Boron brought a wooden chair, struggled in front of the bookshelf, took a few paper scrolls, and spread them out on the table.

    Armor was drawn on the scrolls.

    “These are light armor blueprints. I have a few more besides these. Look through them here and decide. I’ll measure your size and make it fit perfectly, so don’t worry about it not fitting.”

    Boron pointed to the remaining paper scrolls and said.

    “I understand.”

    Jeong Yushin meticulously examined the blueprints spread out on the table. While rummaging through the scrolls, his hand stopped at one blueprint.

    Jeong Yushin’s eyes lit up.

    ‘This is good?’

    It was armor with a leather armor base, with segmented steel plates added to the chest, abdomen, waist, and back. There were also spaulders covering the shoulders, and steel armor that could be added to the thighs, shins, and arms.

    A practical design that could defend vital points without significantly reducing overall mobility.

    “How much is this?”

    Boron approached, crossed his arms, and scanned the blueprint.

    “This is very good armor. It’s originally 5 gold coins, but…”

    Boron raised his head and glanced at Jeong Yushin.

    “Give me just 1 gold coin.”

    “Hehehehe.”

    Jeong Yushin swept his hair back and looked at the ceiling.

    “Suddenly 1 gold coin? I wouldn’t have that kind of money, would I?”

    “There are installments too.”

    ‘People really live similarly everywhere.’

    Installments.

    But I should refuse. It’s too expensive. With 1 gold coin, I could receive 3 months of training at the swordsmanship guild.

    He was about to refuse.

    Then Ainhofer caught his eye.

    A disheveled appearance with clenched fists.

    Ainhofer’s eyes met his.

    “Don’t worry about me.”

    As if reading Jeong Yushin’s mind, Ainhofer said calmly.

    ‘That’s what I should be saying.’

    Despite the negative imprint, he was a dwarf who walked the right path without falling into affairs like Ditto.

    A respectable man. Unlike himself.

    Unable to continue making eye contact, he turned his head and looked at Boron.

    “Let’s do this. If you give me a discount on future weapon and armor prices, I’ll buy this light armor.”

    “Okay.”

    Boron replied immediately.

    It seemed that the smithy’s management was quite difficult.

    ‘Farewell. My love.’

    With trembling hands, Jeong Yushin took out a gold coin from his pocket and placed it on the table.

    “Hehehe. Pretending to not have it when you do, you sly fellow.”

    Boron smiled and picked up the gold coin.

    He had guessed from the time he bought expensive alcohol.

    ‘That barbarian bastard has made a name for himself.’

    The orders had been overflowing for the past few months.

    It was difficult to handle alone, so he recently hired a dwarf with a negative imprint as an assistant at a cheap price, but then the labyrinth closure order was issued.

    All the requests that had been delayed for months were canceled, and he was left twiddling his thumbs, but today a good sucker had come along.

    “What about the helmet?”

    He couldn’t miss this opportunity. This customer.

    Boron asked with sparkling eyes.

    Jeong Yushin felt like tearing his hair out.

    ‘Damn it. Suck the marrow from my bones!’

    “The helmet, the same as last time.”

    “I have a good one that just came out, take a look.”

    Boron left the room like the wind and returned. He was holding a helmet in his hand.

    It was a steel helmet in the Barbuta style, but there was a difference. It had a visor to cover the mouth.

    “How is it? Good, right? It’s originally 30 silver coins, but I’m being generous. Just give me 20 silver coins.”

    “You son of a bitch.”

    ???

    Boron’s eyes widened at the sudden curse.

    “It’s really good, you son of a bitch. Yes. A complete masterpiece! Can you really just give it away like this? Boron?”

    Boron smiled brightly.

    “Barbarian, what are you saying that’s so disappointing? Aren’t we close?”

    ‘What kind of relationship do we have?’

    Tears of blood welled up inside as he took out 20 silver coins from his pocket and handed them over. Boron grinned, pocketed the silver coins, and shouted.

    “Hehehe. Good! Ainhofer, bring the measuring tape! Let’s measure our customer!”

    “Yes.”

    He stood there blankly staring into space for 30 minutes.

    During that time, Boron and Ainhofer moved diligently, measuring Jeong Yushin’s size and writing it down on paper.

    “It’s done. It will take about 2 weeks for the armor to be completed.”

    “Then I’ll see you then.”

    “Goodbye!”

    Boron waved with a smile behind Jeong Yushin, who staggered out of the smithy.

    On the way, he stopped by the market to buy necessary supplies.

    He bought torches, healing ointment, rope and bandages, flint, and a thick robe, and just in case, he also bought two small healing potions.

    “Do you sell bags too? The kind that goes behind the waist.”

    “This is the best-selling one here.”

    The general store owner placed a small leather bag on the counter.

    “Torches won’t fit in this, though?”

    Jeong Yushin stroked his chin.

    “You can tie the torches with rope and fix them on top of the bag. If it’s really uncomfortable to move, you can cut the handle side of the torch to make it shorter.”

    The general store owner replied nonchalantly.

    “Oh!”

    “It’s 6 silver coins in total. Cheap, right?”

    “Oh.”

    With trembling hands, Jeong Yushin took out the silver coins from his pocket and placed them on the counter.

    Is this how a mother feels when sending her child off to the military?

    His heart felt like it was breaking.

    “Here’s a razor as a service.”

    The general store owner generously put a razor lying around into the bag.

    “Hoo. May your business prosper.”

    “Come often. Don’t come when my daughter is here.”

    “Yes, yes.”

    He left the general store and walked heavily. The market street was deserted with no people.

    Feeling dizzy, he squatted down on the side of the road for a moment.

    “Ah. Am I crazy? What kind of wealth and glory am I going to enjoy?”

    He had spent 1 gold coin and 26 silver coins today alone. He had used up almost all the reward he had earned from licking Karin’s belly.

    The remaining silver coins in his pocket were 28. After paying for the inn rent and the temple’s tuition, he would have about 26 silver coins left.

    Suddenly, his chest felt tight, and it became difficult to breathe.

    “Ah, no. Yushin, get a grip. It’s an investment for the future. Is the labyrinth exploration team a joke? Hoo. Peace of mind. Peace of mind. Asura balbalta. Asura balbalta. The one who smiles when things are tough is a pro.”

    As he muttered to himself, passersby flinched, looked at him like he was crazy, and kept their distance.

    He sat down on the street, closed his eyes, and meditated before getting up.

    He couldn’t gain peace of mind, but there was something he had to do.

    It was around noon, and he had training at the swordsmanship guild.

    A 30 silver coin per month class. He couldn’t delay any longer.

    He returned to the inn, packed his belongings, came out, and ran to the swordsmanship guild.

    * * *

    “Your sword is quite sharp today.”

    Swordsmanship Guild Leader Ashur praised.

    “Yes. Because there’s not much time left.”

    “For what?”

    “For the time I’m learning swordsmanship here. There’s less than 2 weeks left now, isn’t there?”

    “You got money from Karin, didn’t you?”

    Jeong Yushin’s eyes widened.

    “…How did you know that?”

    “If you’re in this position, you can hear it even if you’re just standing still? Didn’t we talk about this before?”

    “I used all that money. Today.”

    This time, Ashur’s eyes widened.

    “All of the 1 gold coin and 50 silver coins?! Aren’t you a beginner explorer?”

    Ashur was shocked by this barbarian’s extravagant spending.

    Ashur pointed at Jeong Yushin and continued.

    “When I was a beginner explorer, huh? I saved and saved while eating one piece of bread and one piece of jerky a day. What’s with that ridiculous spending habit?”

    “That’s just how it turned out.”

    Ashur was speechless for a moment at Jeong Yushin’s cool answer.

    “What did you spend it on?”

    “Let’s just train. Don’t waste time.”

    “Did you go to a brothel or something?”

    “No, I didn’t.”

    Just as Ashur was about to say something again, someone approached.

    “Brother.”

    Ashur’s head turned.

    “You’ve come. Delia.”

    A tall female elf crossed the training ground and approached. She was a beauty with long green hair and a delicate impression.

    “Oh? Scar? It’s been a while!”

    The female elf looked at Jeong Yushin from head to toe and pretended to know him.

    “Who are you?”

    “Del!”

    Jeong Yushin’s mouth dropped open.

    “…That goblin?”

    “That’s right.”

    He couldn’t adapt to the changed appearance.

    “I heard you retired? Did you save up money to erase the goblin imprint?”

    “That’s right. I retired. I didn’t save up money, though. I received help from my family to erase the imprint.”

    He didn’t understand. He was confused.

    “Was there a reason you were specifically keeping the goblin imprint? Couldn’t you have just received help from your family and erased it?”

    “Explorers can’t receive help from their families. Especially the children of prestigious families in the Eastern Federation have to stand on their own. It’s the law of the labyrinth city. There are no exceptions.”

    “I see.”

    He didn’t find it convincing, but it wasn’t his place as an isekai person to meddle.

    The extravagance of Karin came to mind as a question, but he pushed it to the side.

    Even if high-ranking people talked about laws and exceptions, it was useless information to him. Because it wasn’t directly related to the labyrinth.

    He would just accept it and adapt.

    Del bowed her head to Ashur.

    “Brother. I came to say goodbye before leaving the labyrinth city.”

    “Okay. Be careful on your way home. Should I assign you some guards?”

    “No.”

    “I understand.”

    Del looked at Jeong Yushin and said.

    “Scar, thank you so much. I was able to save my life thanks to you.”

    Del reached out and firmly held Jeong Yushin’s hands.

    Jeong Yushin and Del’s eyes met in the air.

    “You’re welcome. I just did what I had to do.”

    Jeong Yushin replied that way and subtly pulled his hands out.

    “And this is a gift. Thank you for saving the party.”

    Del handed him a scroll sealed with a blue seal from her chest.

    “What is this?”

    “It’s an anti-poison scroll. A range detoxification magic.”

    “I’ll use it well.”

    Jeong Yushin put the scroll in his chest. She was already a pretty elf, but she looked even prettier now.

    “Scar, see you later.”

    “Yes. Let’s see each other if we cross paths.”

    Del smiled at Jeong Yushin’s reply and turned to leave the training ground.

    As Del disappeared beyond the training ground, Jeong Yushin turned his head and looked at Ashur.

    “Was she your sister?”

    “She’s the youngest of our family.”

    “The age gap seems big?”

    “It’s embarrassing, so don’t ask.”

    “Yes.”

    “But what did you spend the money on?”

    Ashur asked once again, as if he was really curious.

    “It’s embarrassing, so let’s not ask.”

    “Ha. This bastard.”

    A vein popped out on Ashur’s forehead.

    That day, Jeong Yushin was beaten by Ashur’s sword until evening.

    * * *

    A week passed.

    The city’s labyrinth closure order continued.

    Baseless speculations were rampant in the streets, and endless inquiries piled up at the explorer’s guild.

    Even more explorers gathered and sat idly in pubs and inns, chattering away.

    But Jeong Yushin’s daily life remained unchanged.

    It was a continuous series of endless training.

    The growth of the mutated body due to leveling up formed a fairly gentle curve.

    It had reached its limit.

    He added a few exercise menus to his morning workout.

    After asking for Darmon’s understanding, he started squatting with a flour sack on his shoulder.

    Then, he ran around the yard carrying the flour sack on his back.

    Finally, in order to quickly deploy the Sacred Weapon, which was his engraved ability, he constantly summoned it, ruthlessly drawing out the magic power remaining in his body.

    “Hoo. Hoo.”

    “You’re working hard?”

    Someone said from behind Jeong Yushin, who was exhausted after finishing his morning routine.

    When he turned around, Karin was standing with her arms crossed.

    “What’s going on?”

    Karin slowly approached.

    “The lockdown lifting order is in a week. Get ready.”

    “I’m all ready.”

    “That was fast. You didn’t miss anything?”

    “No, I didn’t.”

    Karin’s nose wrinkled as she got closer.

    Jeong Yushin took a step back when he saw that.

    “Why?”

    “No. I thought my sweat might be unpleasant.”

    “Not at all. I’m a lieutenant explorer. Would I be unpleasant just because of a little sweat?”

    “I was shortsighted.”

    “And if you’re a porter, you should be able to easily carry about 3 of those flour sacks, so if you’re going to practice, do it right.”

    “Yes.”

    Karin threw a white towel.

    “Catch. Wipe your sweat with this.”

    Jeong Yushin took the towel. It felt soft and fluffy, so it must have been quite expensive.

    “Thank you.”

    He used the towel to wipe his face and neck, then hung it over his shoulder.

    “Let’s go eat breakfast. Karin-nim.”

    “Okay.”

    The two walked side by side and came out of the yard.

    Jeong Yushin didn’t realize it, but Karin’s eyes were fixed on the towel.

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