episode_0041

When I left the Golden Shield Inn and arrived home, it was already well past midnight, almost dawn.

Even in a lively labyrinthine city like this, people weren’t bustling around at this hour.

The streets were mostly populated by those who had drunk themselves into a stupor, lying about.

“…”

However, Lynde was waiting in front of the door with a bright smile on her face.

“You’re late, aren’t you?”

“I had some things to take care of.”

“Some things? …You smell nice, though?”

“Yeah. Found a good spot and took a bath.”

“A good spot? Why not bathe at our place, then?”

“Kid really… Do you want to be my wife? I’ll tell you all about it inside.”

I passed Lynde and entered the house, with her following behind.

“…Where’s Krisha?”

“She fell asleep waiting for you.”

“In the Labyrinth, these things happen occasionally.”

“…”

“Oh, come on. Since we didn’t go to the boonies, relax a bit. We almost lost a kid on the way back.”

“What?”

I removed my helmet and armor.

Lianne’s armor-cleaning skills seemed decent; there wasn’t any smell at all.

If anything, only the scent from my bath lingered on my body.

If you’re assisting the eldest son of a prestigious family in the Knight’s Country, you must have mastered such skills.

“You said you’d explain in detail. Anyway, I didn’t do anything that would worry you.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Though I did use up half of a top-grade potion.”

“Oh… What? A top-grade potion?!”

“Yeah. But I only used half of it.”

I walked into the living room and sat down on a chair.

Lynde brought a chair over and sat beside me.

“Here.”

I took out the top-grade potion I had kept in my pouch.

The seal on the lid was clearly broken.

There was a team in the Labyrinth that suffered heavy casualties. Only one member survived, nearly dying, so I had no choice but to use it.”

“I see… Did you happen to know that person?”

Lynde’s demeanor completely relaxed.

“No. But he was quite young. I couldn’t just let a promising youth die like that.”

“I see… You’re truly a kind person.”

“Nah. It does sting a bit financially, but luckily, he was from a fairly prominent noble house. He’ll probably compensate later.”

“Which noble house?”

“Kapasella.”

“Kapasella… Hmm… Ah, was it Loreldia?”

“You know them well.”

“Was it about 30 years ago? During the Loreldian martial arts tournament, a knight from the Brighal royal family participated.”

“Huh? A knight from the royal family? What are you talking about? Royalty going all the way to Loreldia for a fight?”

“Yes. But he was defeated by the eldest son of the Kapasella family in the preliminaries.”

In terms of time, was it Brashikai, the current head of the Pestov estate?

“Was there such a story?”

“The royal family issued a decree. They even made an example of ten people who talked about it in the square by hanging them.”

“That’s quite severe… But how far did it go? Oh, right. Anyway, since I saved the eldest son of the Kapasella family, they should reward us nicely.”

“Well, that’s fortunate.”

“Forget about that story. How are things on your end? Is the retrieval of Pratia from the Labyrinth proceeding smoothly?”

“Well, we’ve been working on the theory, but to conduct experiments, we need a budget, as always.”

“A budget? Dimitri must be generously funding it, right?”

“Even considering that, yes. The time is pressing, so we need to maximize the number of attempts. The cost of catalysts is also significant.”

“I see…”

Strictly speaking, retrieving Pratia doesn’t bring any tangible benefits to city operations.

There must be a limit to the amount of money Dimitri can spend on such endeavors.

No matter how important friendship and promises are, the wall of reality stands tall.

“If I had known, I should have sold this…”

I gazed down at the remaining half bottle of top-grade potion.

“No, even so, I shouldn’t sell what I received for a mission to a noble. I’ll talk to Lord Capasella tomorrow. Ask for financial support based on the value of using the top-grade potion.”

Strictly speaking, it was not Festo but his maid, Lianne.

Perhaps Brashika, the owner of Capasella, had given some orders to keep Festo from meeting me.

Anyway, there is something to calculate between Festo and me, so that must be clear.

“Well, it should be fine… Is it okay?”

“It seems like it will work out somehow. He seems to be quite favored by his father.”

Well, if a fragile young boy resembling his deceased wife is his son, it’s not strange for him to receive such favor.

“I see…”

Linde’s voice slightly softened.

…How did Sangcheol raise Linde?

At least, if it’s about his personality, he wouldn’t have abused the child.

So, Linde must be missing him too.

“Anyway, I’ll try to find out as quickly as possible. After all, it’s my problem, right?”

“That’s right! Honestly, how could you think of living in a maze for 10 years without any regrets…”

“But do you still not regret it?”

“…”

“I’m not trying to ignore you or Krisha. But I have many other important things… It’s better for you to think that way too. Have multiple reasons to live.”

“That’s…”

“Of course, I’ll do my best. I know it’s not just over because of me. So let’s stay strong.”

“…I don’t know. Will I become like you someday?”

“Well…”

At least Sangcheol didn’t create many reasons to live.

Except for the determination to return to his hometown, there was only his wife’s presence.

And when he lost his wife, the guy fell apart miserably.

For a regular human, especially one who has suffered too much and lived too long, this is what happens.

On the contrary, I still have many reasons to live.

If I must die, I can accept it, but I won’t throw away my life recklessly.

“Anyway, it’s late. Let’s go to bed.”

I got up from the chair.

“Yes…”

Linde also got up weakly.

“…Want to sleep together?”

“Yes… Huh?!”

“Just kidding. I joked because you seemed so tired.”

I patted Linde’s shoulder.

“…Pervert.”

“Haha… Sorry. Well then, good night…?”

As I tried to pass by, Linde grabbed my sleeve.

“…”

“…”

And this dawn, I made the third mistake with Linde.

***

“…”

Krisha is staring at us intently.

“Tell me honestly.”

“What?”

I asked as I tore into the morning bread.

“Do I look like a fool? Tell me honestly what I did last night.”

“Nothing much.”

Krisha abruptly stood up from the table.

“Don’t joke! You’re like… Linde’s uncle!”

She pointed at Linde, who was unusually quiet in the corner.

Linde flinched.

“I know that too.”

“If you know!”

“It’s not exactly a blood relation. There’s a significant age difference.”

“That! That… But…”

“But what?”

“I don’t understand! Why are you so nonchalant about it?!”

“Why are you getting so angry? Adults sometimes do such things. You’re an adult too.”

I popped a piece of torn bread into my mouth and sipped coffee.

“Ugh…!”

“Oh, is it because you’re a Holy Knight?”

“Forget it!”

Krisha left the dining room.

“…That’s mean.”

Linde said.

“What is?”

“Krisha is…”

“She’s not a child either. She’s an adult who knows everything. Aren’t you the one who raised Krisha too strictly?”

“That’s…”

“Anyway, after breakfast, I’ll go see that little nobleman I met yesterday. What about you?”

“Miss Lamia and Mr. Gryam will come here before lunch.”

“Alright. I’ll go to the Golden Shield Inn first and then head to the maze around lunchtime. If there’s an emergency, call me before lunch.”

“Yes…”

I finished eating the bread and coffee, then got up from the table.

“…Sir.”

Just before leaving the restaurant, Linda called out.

“Why?”

“You won’t regret it… will you?”

“…”

Regret.

Regret…

“I might.”

“…”

“But I won’t leave you behind. Feeling and acting are two different things.”

“Alright then… Take care.”

“Yeah. I’ll be back.”

I put on my armor and headed to the Golden Shield Inn.

Krisha peeked at me from a corridor corner, then ran away when I waved at her.

Childish.

No… that’s how paladins are.

The best paladins are often naive and pure-hearted.

I still regret it now.

The two paladins I met long ago.

What if I had helped them a bit more?

“…Sigh.”

It’s a pointless thought.

They’re already dead.

Like Sangcheol.

Although it wasn’t suicide, their end was no different.

No one in this world remembers them.

Those they saved at the cost of their lives probably don’t either.

They must have aged and died by now.

“Tsk…”

I’ve been sentimental lately.

Did Misty notice my feelings like this?

I lightly shook my head and headed to the Golden Shield Inn.

“We have it all! These throwing daggers for sale! Boost your strength with just one sip of this potion…!”

“The morning market is always bustling.

Adventurers heading to work in the morning, returning in the evening and night.

That’s when the market is most lively.

As usual, the Labyrinth City is vibrant.

No, it’s even more energetic than usual these days.

The new recruits of Brigal are gradually adapting to the Labyrinth City.

“Oh? Mr. Lasiwood!”

Someone recognized me and approached.

“Ah… Gellina?”

It was Gelli, the leader of the Orichalcum-ranked adventurer team ‘Red Lake’ whom I met at the Golden Shield Inn yesterday.

His comrades stood solidly behind him.

All geared up for their adventure into the Labyrinth.

“The Labyrinth isn’t in that direction, where are you going?”

“I have someone to meet. We’ll head to the Labyrinth around lunchtime.”

“I see.”

“What about you? How deep are you planning to go today?”

“Well… you see…”

“…?”

“Actually, we had a discussion with our comrades until late yesterday. We thought it might be good to venture deeper now.”

“What?”

“These days, with the increase in new recruits, we felt we couldn’t just sit still.”

“Recruits are recruits, and you are you. Why suddenly go deeper? How many floors are you aiming for?”

“The 40th floor.”

“No, don’t go. It’s dangerous.”

“Even if you say that… everyone has already agreed. Right?”

He looked at his comrades.

They nodded in agreement.

“This guy and that guy, really…”

I’ve experienced this kind of thing too many times.

Teams confident in their abilities like Orichalcum or Mithril going down to the 40th floor and not coming back is not an uncommon sight.

And every time, without fail, no matter how tired I am of it, nobody listens to my advice not to go.

“If we just try a little harder, we can reach Adamantite.”

Adamantite.

The pinnacle for adventurers.

Just above Orichalcum.

“…Tsk, don’t die. Run away if it’s too dangerous.”

“Yes! Let’s go!”

The Red Lake Orichalcum-ranked adventurer team moved away.

I watched their retreating figures for a moment, feeling disheartened, then closed my eyes, turned my head, and continued on my own path.