episode_0169

Delia’s face briefly appeared through the screen and then disappeared.

“Del, Delia?”

Luna sobbed.

Delia looked very distressed.

It was the same expression Mom made when she was receiving painful treatment.

How much pain must she be in to scream with the same face as Mom?

I just came to watch with a light heart.

It hurt to see her in so much pain.

I regretted it.

I realized exactly how scary imprinting is.

Luna covered her mouth with her hand, tears streaming down her face.

“It, it went in!”

“Yes! Gently push it in!”

The shadow beyond the screen soon became quiet.

After a moment of silence, Ska came out.

He must have had a hard time with the treatment because he took off his eyepatch and slumped to the floor, gasping for breath.

“Luna.”

And then a soft voice.

Tears welled up in Luna’s eyes.

“Oh, were you scared?”

Luna ran and hugged Jeong Yu-shin.

“I, I’m sorry! Luna didn’t know Delia was in so much pain, and Luna was careless…!”

Jeong Yu-shin gently stroked Luna’s hair.

“Do you understand why Mother was so worried?”

“…”

Luna just nodded silently.

Karin and Mion approached.

“Ska, Delia’s procedure is finished. The ‘Persona’ has adapted well to her body.”

“That’s a relief.”

Mion watched Luna crying for a moment, then came over, took out a handkerchief, and wiped away her tears.

“Luna, now you know how scary imprinting is, and how much it hurts people, right? You can’t just be interested and take it lightly. Especially in the Labyrinth City.”

Mion scolded Luna in a stern voice.

It was rare for the kind Mion to do that.

“Waaah.”

Large tears like chicken droppings streamed down from Luna’s big eyes.

“I, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay now. Luna is a smart girl. Keep this lesson in mind and be careful in the future.”

Mion’s face, gently stroking Luna’s hair, held a bitter sorrow.

Jeong Yu-shin’s face hardened slightly.

‘Could it be?’

Was there a child in the orphanage who had an accident because of imprinting?

He shook his head immediately.

‘It’s just a random thought.’

Don’t ask.

Nothing good would come of asking.

He decided not to think about it anymore.

He left Luna, exhausted from crying, to Karin and cleaned up the room.

Delia was lying in bed, eyes closed, wearing a white gown.

Except for her hair, which was soaked with sweat, she looked fine.

“Priestess Mion, when will Delia wake up?”

“Probably tomorrow at the earliest, or two days from now at the latest. Let’s go now.”

Mion turned and staggered as she walked.

“Oh, oh my!”

Jeong Yu-shin quickly rushed over and supported Mion.

“I, I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy lately.”

Mion blushed and bowed her head.

He supported Mion to her room and left the temple.

He took Luna from Karin and headed to the pharmacy.

As he opened the door and went inside, Edel was sitting at the counter.

Edel saw Jeong Yu-shin and jumped up to approach him.

“Ska.”

“I’m back.”

Luna hugged Edel tightly.

“Mommy.”

“Luna.”

“I, I’m sorry.”

“Do you know how scary imprinting is?”

Luna buried her face in Edel’s chest.

“Yes.”

Edel gently stroked Luna’s hair.

“You’ll be careful from now on, right?”

Nod.

Luna nodded and buried herself in Edel’s arms again.

“Thank you, Ska.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I… I’d like to offer you some tea. Do you have time?”

“It’s okay. It’s getting late, and Luna probably needs time to think, so I’ll stop by next time.”

“Ah! Yes. Please have a safe trip.”

Jeong Yu-shin left the pharmacy, seeing Edel off.

Luna helped her mother clean up the pharmacy and lay down on the bed.

Delia’s expression still lingered in her mind.

She could see it now.

That imprinting is scarier than she imagined.

She didn’t want to see people suffering.

Or the people who were hurting her mother.

She decided not to act immaturely anymore.

She wanted to practice the summoning magic that her mother had taught her even harder, to save people in pain and to protect them.

Like Ska.

Young Luna steeled her heart and reached out her hand.

“Squishy, come out.”

A light flashed, and a small, squishy slime bounced out of her palm.

“Squishy, come here.”

The little slime wriggled down her arm and stuck to Luna’s cheek.

A cool and soft feeling.

“Squishy, can I become kind and strong like Ska?”

The slime rubbed against Luna’s cheek without a word.

There were no words, but she could tell.

It meant yes.

Luna laughed and hugged the slime tightly, rubbing her cheek against it before closing her eyes.

* * *

Two days later, in the afternoon.

The party members were all gathered at the inn.

Barion, an intermediate priest of the Great Earth Mother.

Delia, the fallen noble.

Karin.

Jeong Yu-shin.

“Delia, how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine!”

Delia looked lively.

“Is that so? The reason we’re gathered here isn’t anything special.”

The party members looked at Jeong Yu-shin.

“The vice-president of the Explorer’s Guild has asked us to participate in the Labyrinth Expedition.”

“…”

A quiet silence fell on the table.

No one spoke easily.

“If we participate in the expedition, he promised us generous compensation. I don’t know the exact amount, but since it came from the vice-president’s mouth, it must be a considerable amount.”

“Ska, why is the Explorer’s Guild organizing a Labyrinth Expedition all of a sudden?”

Delia asked.

“I heard that several anomalies are occurring in the labyrinth. From the mid-levels to the deep levels.”

“Is that so? I think it’s a good idea.”

Delia agreed.

“I don’t know.”

Karin said, crossing her arms.

“Why?”

“Well, there’s no reason for the guild to hire a temporary party like ours, is there? There are several large, well-disciplined clans. And the reason the vice-president gave is too clumsy. I don’t like it.”

Karin seemed to have become skeptical of the guild after being badly burned during the last Labyrinth Expedition.

“Barion, what do you think?”

Barion crossed his arms for a moment and remained silent, then took out a pen and paper and wrote.

‘As a priest, I should say that it’s right to participate. The evils of the labyrinth will eventually affect the city. It would be good if we could find out the cause of the anomalies by working as a Labyrinth Expedition team. But as a colleague, I’m against it. It’s too dangerous. We almost died at the threshold of the Otherworld last time.’

Jeong Yu-shin nodded.

It was true.

Before trust, there is a lack of ability.

Jeong Yu-shin was also aware of this.

‘I’m neutral.’

When Barion put down his pen, Jeong Yu-shin stroked his chin.

Delia was in favor.

Karin was against.

Barion was neutral.

Jeong Yu-shin thought carefully and opened his mouth.

“I’m against it. We can accumulate wealth slowly, but not lives. As Barion said, I have a feeling that this is beyond our capabilities.”

The party members nodded in agreement.

“And Delia.”

“Why?”

“That imprint you have.”

Delia blushed.

“Wh-what?”

“You said you were saving money to remove the imprint, right? How much have you saved?”

“I don’t have much left. I just need a little more!”

“How much?”

“I just need eight more gold coins!”

It was a large amount.

At the same time, it was an ambiguous amount.

His wealth had increased so much that he couldn’t calculate each coin like he used to.

He had acquired as many as 1,000 gold coins.

Wouldn’t it be okay to be generous?

“I’ll help you.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“Never mind if you don’t want to.”

Delia suddenly blushed.

“Do…do you like me…?”

“That’s not it.”

Jeong Yu-shin said bluntly.

‘I pulled the ‘Persona’ out of your ass, how could I like you?’

He didn’t want to give Delia, who had just gotten out of bed, another shock, so he didn’t tell her the details.

He just told her that he had performed the “procedure” and the results were good.

‘How do I say it?’

The man in front of you worked hard to dig into your tight ass until it became gooey, then put the ‘Persona’ in.

It was true that Delia was a confident and active woman.

He also knew that she was brave, righteous, and had a warm heart.

But did he feel romantic feelings for her?

Well…

Even a thousand years of love can be scattered by a single fart, so can you like a woman who has a Persona excretion?

To put it bluntly, it was difficult.

“Don’t feel pressured, just think about it. I beat up some bad guys and made some money while you were sleeping at the temple.”

Delia tilted her head.

“Bad guys? Who?”

“Ahem!!!”

Pigsnout, who was watching the counter, coughed and approached.

“Hello? I’m Pigsnout, Ska’s subordinate.”

A boar beastman suddenly intruded into the conversation.

Delia’s eyes widened.

“Oh…oh?”

“Ska has been active in the Eastern District again. Are you curious about the story?”

“Uh, yes.”

Barion also seemed to want to hear the story, so he looked up and stared at Pigsnout.

“Oh my! This won’t do.”

Pigsnout clapped his hands, went to the counter, and brought back a bottle of alcohol and glasses.

He set the glasses on the table, brought a chair, and sat down among the party members.

“The story starts with Saul, that trashy guy, coming to the inn.”

From there?

Jeong Yu-shin didn’t want to stop him, so he didn’t try to stop him.

He also wanted to distract Delia.

He wanted to know how he felt from another person’s perspective.

Pigsnout had a talent for telling stories.

Karin, Delia, and Barion all held their breath and stared at Pigsnout’s mouth.

“…Saul said, ‘Crazy bastard, what brings you here alone?’”

“And then?”

Delia urged, her eyes sparkling.

“So Ska said, ‘One of me is enough for a trashy guy like you.’”

“Ooh!!!”

Delia made an exclamation of admiration.

Barion nodded.

Karin frowned.

Jeong Yu-shin scratched his head.

‘Did I say that?’

I don’t think so.

“He lured two hundred subordinates into the alley and swung his sword. Blood and screams spread, and even the mid-level explorers who were famous in the Labyrinth City were terrified!”

“Really?!”

Delia shouted in an excited voice. Karin glanced at Jeong Yu-shin with a worried look.

Pigsnout’s story was coming to an end.

“…and there Ska shouted! ‘To the Room of Truth.’”

Pigsnout lowered his voice and repeated Jeong Yu-shin’s line.

“When the barrier magic broke, there was Saul’s head and two fallen explorers!”

“So, so!”

“The subordinates lost their will to fight and knelt down. That’s when Ska said!”

Pigsnout cleared his throat and lowered his voice again.

He had a serious look on his face, as if he were the main character of the story.

“I have cut off all the chains that bind you. Follow me. I will teach you what conscience is.”

Jeong Yu-shin’s face turned red.

It was quite embarrassing to hear it himself.

But.

‘Did I ever say that?’

Something felt strangely twisted in the story.

Barion scribbled on the paper.

‘What happened to the rest of Saul’s subordinates?’

“Most of them came to the monster dismantling center. They’re new, so they’re clumsy, but they’re working hard. They’re sharing Ska’s heroic stories with saliva flying every break!”

“Huh. You have a lot of fans? Are there any women?”

Pigsnout scratched his head at Karin’s question.

“They’re all men. They’re people who know romance.”

Jeong Yu-shin clapped his hands.

“Okay! Let’s stop. I can tell that there’s too much embellishment when I hear it myself. It’s not that dramatic of a story.”

“Ska!!!”

Pigsnout looked up with sparkling eyes.

It was a very burdensome look.

“If you have time, please visit the monster dismantling center! Everyone is eagerly waiting!”

“O-okay. I understand.”

He looked up at the window.

It was evening, and the sun was setting, indicating that quite a bit of time had passed.

He didn’t realize how much time had passed because he had been eating, drinking, and listening to stories.

‘I should go now. It was a fun time.’

Barion got up and sent a hand signal.

He stood at the entrance of the inn and saw off Barion and Delia.

He gave Delia the money to remove her imprint and persuaded her to go to the Great Earth Mother’s temple with Barion.

He smiled slightly with Karin as he watched his colleagues’ backs gradually disappear.

Was there ever a day like this?

The situation in the Labyrinth City was unstable, but he could still pull himself together because there were times when they could laugh and talk together.

“Karin, shall we rest for a few more days?”

“Let’s do that. Mion said she’s off tomorrow anyway, so shall we go play somewhere together?”

“Sounds good.”

A late summer evening as the sun sets.

Two men and women chatted as they entered the inn.