episode_0041

Jeong Yushin returned to the inn and immediately met with Darremong.

“What?!”

Darremong shouted in astonishment.

“It’s not certain.”

“The ‘darkness,’ the rule that governs the lower levels of the labyrinth, drives people mad. Didn’t you see what happened to Dean, the boy in the first Kaal party we were with? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Jeong Yushin scratched his head at Darremong’s serious voice.

“I didn’t know it was that important. I wasn’t crazy, so I thought Miss Karin was mistaken.”

“Hoo.”

“Don’t worry too much. Ashur seemed to have gone to the Magic Tower to find out about my condition.”

“I understand. Ashur has been a Sword Master for a long time and is a Changseng tribe member. His sharp insight is one of the best in the city, so he must have clearly judged your condition. Do as he says.”

“Yes.”

Despite Darremong’s worried gaze, there was no great anxiety.

This was because the pouch Karin gave him contained a whopping 5 gold coins and 50 silver coins.

In addition, there were also 26 silver coins that had been saved up.

In total, a large sum of 5 gold coins and 76 silver coins was collected.

Although 1 gold coin was spent to buy an engraving suppression ring,

And 30 silver coins were spent to register with the Swordsmanship Association, there were still 4 gold coins and 46 silver coins left.

Of course, the inn’s monthly rent, food expenses, and the orphanage academy tuition also had to be paid, but they were not very large.

Ashur told him not to enter the labyrinth for the time being, so he was thinking of focusing and training at the Swordsmanship Association and learning to read at the temple.

Even though madness was lurking in his head, Jeong Yushin’s mind was at peace.

This was because he had plenty of money and like-minded people around him.

Although he got a crappy engraving, he also got a pretty good engraving at the same time and leveled up.

When he thought about it carefully, life in the labyrinth city wasn’t so bad.

It was at that moment.

Thump!!

A cat beastkin opened the inn door and came in.

“Darremong! Letter’s here.”

The cat beastkin took out a rolled-up parchment from his bag and handed it to Darremong.

Darremong got up from his seat and received the letter.

“Who’s it from?”

“From your wife.”

Jeong Yushin’s eyes widened.

“You had a wife?!”

“Yes. I have a daughter too.”

“Heo.”

He was a married man.

And he had a daughter too.

I hope I get to see them sometime if I have the chance.

Darremong smiled broadly and tore open the seal.

Darremong’s mouth dropped open as he read the letter with a smile.

His lips trembled, and his eyes widened.

His hand trembled like an aspen, and the letter fell to the floor with a thud.

“Th…What.”

“What’s wrong?”

“M…My wife is pregnant.”

“Did you get a second one? That’s good news. Congratulations.”

“What are you talking about?! I’ve been here the whole time!!”

Darremong shouted.

???

‘Affair.’

A word flashed through his mind.

Jeong Yushin stared blankly at Darremong.

Darremong paced back and forth anxiously and suddenly charged into the kitchen.

Crash!!

Clatter!!

The kitchen utensils flew and shattered.

In less than a minute, Darremong returned.

Darremong was holding a 2m-long iron bar in his hand.

It was the perfect height for him.

Thump!!

The inn door opened.

“Darremong, I’m here.”

Karin came in.

“Miss Karin, I’m sorry. I don’t have time to talk long right now.”

Darremong said with an urgent expression.

A question mark appeared on Karin’s face.

“Why?”

“My wife…Keuk!”

Darremong distorted his face mid-sentence.

“Your wife what?”

Karin asked.

“Had an affair.”

Jeong Yushin answered instead.

“Keok!”

Darremong bent over and trembled as if spitting out blood.

“Really? Are you going back to your hometown? Then what about the inn?”

Darremong wrung his head anxiously and looked at Jeong Yushin.

“Ska, can I leave it to you? It’s okay if you make a loss, just don’t burn it down.”

“Yes, leave it to me. I will definitely protect it. And if there’s anything I need to consult or any questions I have while running the inn, I’ll send you a letter.”

“I understand. Miss Karin, I’ll be going first.”

Darremong bowed to Karin and ran out.

Whooong!!!

“Kyaaak!!!”

“Woah! Get out of the way!”

He ran out so fast that the wind blew and the screams of people in the street echoed.

Karin looked out of the inn and came back in.

“Hmm. Darremong’s village is far away. It’ll take about 3 months round trip.”

Karin said with her arms crossed.

“Is it that far away? Is there a reason to raise a child so far away?”

“From what I’ve heard, the labyrinth city isn’t a good place to raise children.”

“It wasn’t just an ordinary city.”

With Barbaroi in the city, it’s definitely not good for education.

“There must be a lot going on in the city. Strange guys.”

“What are you going to do, Miss Karin?”

“Why? You were so confident a little while ago when you asked me to leave it to you, are you scared now?”

Karin covered her mouth and laughed, “Kyokyo.”

“Miss Karin.”

Randolph opened the inn door and came in.

Jeong Yushin met Randolph’s eyes.

He was the beastkin who slammed his head into the muddy floor when he was first transferred to this other world.

“What is it?”

Karin asked with her arms crossed.

“Lady Ingrid is calling for you.”

Karin’s expression hardened like stone at Randolph’s words.

“Mother? Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s urgent, so she says you have to come right now.”

Karin frowned. Karin glanced at Jeong Yushin and said.

“I’ll be back. Behave yourself. Our tribe is closer than Darremong’s. It’ll take about 2 months. Silva, stay here and help Ska.”

A white-haired wolf beastkin called Silva came in quietly and bowed.

“Yes, I understand.”

Karin left the inn with Randolph.

Darremong left, and Karin left too.

It was so sudden that he was stunned.

On the one hand, he was worried about them.

But there were things he had to do.

He shook his head to clear his mind.

‘Let’s do what we have to do first.’

Jeong Yushin looked at Silva and held out his hand.

“Things are very chaotic. First of all, please take care of me. I’m Ska.”

“I’m Silva. Miss Karin told me a lot about you. Please take care of me.”

Silva smiled and shook Jeong Yushin’s hand.

Jeong Yushin and Silva worked together to clean up the inn.

They picked up the dishes scattered in the kitchen and checked the ingredients in the warehouse.

Jeong Yushin had no experience in running an inn, so Silva was in charge of most of the work.

The way she calmly and steadily did her job was reassuring.

She was a beastkin he liked from the start, even though they hadn’t met long.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the inn was deserted because people were flocking to the labyrinth, which had opened after a long time.

Jeong Yushin sat in a chair at the counter, taking a break and looking out of the inn.

He was going to rest and learn to read and train his body without entering the labyrinth as Ashur advised, but the situation was not favorable.

Darremong told him to protect the inn even if it made a loss, but his thoughts were different.

Darremong trusted him and left it to him.

Aside from the fact that it was an emergency and there was no time to ask someone else, he wanted to repay Darremong’s trust in him.

He thought that training and learning could be delayed a little.

Jeong Yushin got up from his seat. There was still a lot to do.

Around dusk.

Explorers returning from the labyrinth began to come to the inn one by one.

Silva was mainly in charge of the kitchen, and Jeong Yushin served.

Silva’s cooking skills were truly amazing.

The people who came to the inn only tilted their heads despite Darremong’s absence and didn’t ask separately.

Regulars who often came threw jokes at Jeong Yushin, who was carrying food. They were people whose faces he had become familiar with as he passed by.

“Is it the end of the world? A Barbaroi is serving.”

“Heo. Barbaroi, did you put some aphrodisiac in the food? Tell me honestly.”

“Just eat. Miss Karin’s subordinate made the food, not me.”

“Miss Karin? Isn’t she the daughter of the representative of the Beastkin Federation? Where did Darremong go?”

“Yes, Darremong is away for a while on urgent business.”

Jeong Yushin said while wiping the table.

He couldn’t say that Darremong’s wife had an affair and was pregnant, so he glossed over it.

“Is that so? It must have been really urgent. If the chef is Miss Karin’s subordinate, then it’s trustworthy. But be careful. My eyes are faster than your hands, so don’t do anything funny.”

“Just drink. Please increase our sales.”

“This guy is totally Darremong’s fan. I understand.”

People who saw the regulars talking comfortably with the Barbaroi felt relieved and ordered food and drinks.

Was it because curiosity preceded fear?

Many customers asked various questions, but Jeong Yushin responded with common-sense answers.

“···Is it true that Barbaroi are an indiscriminate species that is sexually attracted to anyone? That’s not true.”

“···Do I like rubbing my face on soft children’s bellies? Our customers are very drunk. Please leave.”

“···How big is my junk? Why are you curious about that, you son of a bitch. Just get out.”

As the night deepened, the drunken customers staggered out of the inn one by one.

It was a pretty clean finish for the first time.

Jeong Yushin sent off the last customer and helped Silva clean up the kitchen.

“Mr. Ska, you worked hard.”

Silva said, wiping her face with a towel.

“No, it’s you who worked harder, Mr. Silva. Thank you.”

“I’m glad I could help. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Silva smiled and greeted Jeong Yushin and went upstairs.

An inn without Darremong.

A strange sense of loneliness washed over him as he sat alone in the quiet inn.

He felt restless, so he went outside for a walk.

He took a slow walk in the park and sat on an empty bench.

The early summer night breeze brushed against his forehead.

As he was sitting still and admiring the fountain.

There was a rustling sound from behind the bench.

Jeong Yushin’s head turned.

“Dieeee!!”

A small child jumped out of the bushes and swung a knife.

Thwack!

Jeong Yushin’s hand moved quickly. He snatched the child’s wrist and twisted it.

“Eek!!”

The boy’s face contorted as his wrist became unable to move.

“Who are you?”

“It’s for my father’s revenge!! Barbaroi!!”

“Who’s your father?”

“Dito Piglik!”

Looking closely at his face, he looked like Dito. His mouth tasted bitter.

“Your father tried to kill me. For money.”

After taking the child’s dagger, he examined it closely.

The slave hunter’s insignia was engraved on it.

Shit.

“Eeek!!”

The child’s face looked painful, so he let go of his wrist.

“Where did you get this?”

The child didn’t answer.

Jeong Yushin reached out and grabbed the child’s collar.

“I’m asking you where you got it!”

The child’s body stiffened when he shouted.

Jeong Yushin glared at the child who didn’t open his mouth.

“Are your ears blocked? I’ll tell you again. Your father tried to kill me. The guys who gave you this dagger gave Dito money to kill me. You idiot. Is that little bit of money so important that you try to kill someone?!”

“What do you know?!”

The child glared poisonously.

“Do you know what it feels like to starve because you don’t have money? Do you know what it feels like to have your stomach stick to your back?!”

The child continued.

“After my father died, m…my mother collapsed. My younger siblings are crying because they’re hungry. What do you want me to do?!”

“So, what you’re doing is killing people? You incompetent fool. How much did you get?”

The child closed his mouth again.

Was he afraid that his money would be taken away?

He asked again.

“How much did you get?”

“50 copper coins.”

“Shit.”

Jeong Yushin let go of the child’s collar.

He was a small child whose face could be covered with one hand.

The children from the orphanage overlapped in his mind.

He couldn’t kill him.

“Follow me.”

“Why would I?”

“I’ll give you some bread.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!! Do you think I’ll fall for that?!”

“Don’t follow me if you don’t want to.”

Jeong Yushin turned and walked to the inn.

The child followed slowly from a distance.

How dire must the situation be for him to follow his father’s enemy?

Jeong Yushin bit his lip tightly.

‘Bastards.’

The slave hunters immediately reached out their claws as Darremong and Karin disappeared.

Even so, they were the worst of the worst to send such a young child.

Jeong Yushin went inside the inn.

The child didn’t follow.

He went into the kitchen, found a leather pouch, filled it with bread, and also put in a bottle of wine and cheese.

Something was missing.

He went up to the second floor, took out 20 silver coins, and put them in the pouch.

When he came down to the first floor and opened the inn door, the child was standing there.

“Take it.”

The child received the heavy pouch and swayed.

“Wh…What is this?”

“I put some money and food in it. Come back if you need more.”

“I won’t say thank you.”

“Come if you need more.”

Jeong Yushin said repeatedly.

The child didn’t answer, turned around, and ran away.

“Hoo.”

Jeong Yushin sighed and went upstairs.

He threw himself on the bed and closed his eyes, but he couldn’t sleep.

His stomach was churning.

The dark shadow of the labyrinth city was slowly revealing its appearance.