episode_0201

The next day, dawn.

Mion sat by her room’s window, gazing at the rising twilight.

She hadn’t slept a wink since confirming her brand last night.

Mion clasped her hands tightly together.

‘What should I do?’

Mion’s heart was filled with anguish.

As a servant of God, she should be sharing love and compassion with others, but she was finding it difficult to suppress the dark desires surging within her heart.

All because of the wicked and shameless brand.

Knock knock.

Mion snapped out of it at the sound of knocking on the door.

“Mion!”

It was her brother’s voice.

Despite holding the position of Knight Commander guarding the Labyrinth Fortress, he was visiting whenever he had time.

It wasn’t burdensome. Time with family was precious.

But.

‘Isn’t he visiting too often these days?’

Her brother was visiting whenever he had time, regardless of night or day, so she didn’t have any time to spend with Scar.

“Mion!”

Just as Mion was about to get up.

Cain burst into the room, throwing the door open.

“You went into the labyrinth?! Why?! No, that’s not it. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Cain was making a fuss.

Mion gave a gentle smile and shook her head.

“Brother, I’m fine. I didn’t go in very deep.”

“Could it be because of that black-haired half-blood bastard?!”

Cain growled.

A question that hit the nail on the head.

While Mion was momentarily flustered, Cain quickly noticed something was off.

“Really?! You went back into the labyrinth because of him…?!”

“B, brother!”

Mion quickly approached and took Cain’s hands.

“You trust me, right?”

Mion’s voice echoed in the room.

“Of course! Uh… um. Woo woo?”

Cain answered readily, but then wore a blank expression as if possessed by something.

“I went into the labyrinth because of Karin’s request. There’s no other reason. And shouldn’t you reduce the frequency of your visits? You don’t have much time because of the fortress’s duties.”

“Ah… I understand.”

Cain replied with a dazed face, but quickly came to his senses.

“T, this! Mion! I came to have dinner with you today, but I forgot about important work. I think I have to go back to the fortress. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay. We can have dinner together next time.”

Mion smiled and replied.

Cain hurriedly left the room.

Screech.

Thud!

Left alone, Mion placed her hand on her chest to calm her racing heart.

She had inadvertently used the ability of the ‘brand.’

Only a brief moment of guilt.

Scar’s face flashed through her mind.

Her heart raced even faster.

Gulp.

“W, with this brand, I might be able to hear Scar’s true feelings. Hehe.”

Mion muttered to herself, silhouetted against the sunlight streaming in through the window.

* * *

Awakened from his sleep, Jeong Yushin simply turned his head to look out the window.

It felt like he had only closed his eyes for a moment, but the sun was setting.

He had spent the entire day in bed.

He got out of bed, changed his clothes, and went down to the first floor, but only Elu was visible.

It seemed Karin and Ingrid were out on business.

He was too tired yesterday to talk to Elu, but this was something he had to ask.

“Elu, was everything alright?”

“Yes!”

Elu replied with a smile. It seemed he had eaten well and was doing well while he was gone.

‘That’s a relief.’

He was a pretty boy, but he expected it would be difficult for an incubus to adapt to the southern district. But his prediction was pleasantly off. Still, he felt good. The inn had become someone’s sanctuary.

Elu was still wearing a skirt.

Jeong Yushin gritted his teeth and ignored it.

‘Is he at an age where he’s confused about his gender identity because of puberty?’

He didn’t know. It wasn’t a problem he should step in to correct. It was something Elu’s parents should do.

“Scar.”

“What?”

“A guest came to visit a little while ago.”

“Oh?”

“They left a note saying to come to the Dragon Tail Tavern.”

Elu politely handed over the note.

Jeong Yushin unfolded the note and read it through.

It said that the Huntsmen Clan was holding a drinking party to celebrate the distribution of rewards and the subjugation of Count Pari.

“What time did they say to come by?”

“By tonight.”

Jeong Yushin stroked his chin. It was too late to go check the brand now.

Since he had to receive the reward distribution anyway, it wouldn’t be bad to attend.

“I’ll have to go. It’ll be late, so you can go to sleep first.”

“Yes.”

Jeong Yushin only grabbed his bastard sword and headed to the Dragon Tail Tavern.

Screeeeeak.

He opened the door to the tavern and went inside.

The inside was filled with boisterous laughter and the smell of alcohol.

The merry sound of a lute.

The foam of beer in wooden mugs.

The smell of sizzling grilled meat.

All of it combined with the chatter of the explorers, creating an immense heat.

The Huntsmen Clan members recognized Jeong Yushin at once and waved their hands.

“Scar!!!”

“Come quickly!!!”

The Huntsmen Clan members were sitting in the center of the tavern. Their faces were red, as if they had drunk a lot of alcohol.

“Nya nya!!!”

The cat beastkin Lumi had also drunk a lot of alcohol, and her face was the color of a radish.

Before Jeong Yushin sat down, he raised his head.

The huge head of the Pari monster was hanging in the center of the tavern.

As if it were a great trophy, the clan members pointed at the fly’s head and chattered.

Jeong Yushin shook his head and sat down among the Huntsmen Clan members.

Grilled meat on the bone and beer were placed on the table.

“Scar, eat a lot!”

“Yeah! We survived thanks to you! Thank you!”

Familiar-faced Huntsmen Clan members gathered around Jeong Yushin and chattered.

Just as Jeong Yushin was about to grab the meat and tear into it.

The cat beastkin Lumi, tipsy from alcohol, stood on the table.

“Nya nya!!! I will now introduce the protagonist of this Count Pari hunt!!! It’s the half-blood handsome Barbaroi Scar!!!”

“Waaaaaaaah!!!”

The Huntsmen Clan members stood up and clapped. Some of them danced merrily.

Jeong Yushin looked around with a dazed expression.

‘What’s with the hype?’

The people who were staggering around with exhausted expressions just yesterday were now floundering like fish in water when they were in the tavern.

Some of them grabbed the explorers sitting in the corner and swung their fists around.

“Hey! I saw it! That Barbaroi went swoosh! And climbed on top of the fly’s head. Uh! He cut off its head with his sword in one blow, clang!”

The other explorers sitting in the tavern raised their heads and glanced at the head of the Pari monster hanging from the ceiling.

Another person raised a question.

“That head? I heard the neck was quite thick, but does that even make sense? I don’t think you could do it even if you swung a greatsword?”

“Ah, really! I saw it with my own eyes! Scar!!! Tell them!”

Not only the Huntsmen Clan members, but all the explorers in the tavern were looking at Jeong Yushin.

The explorers who were having a drink on the second floor, as well as the tavern owner and the staff serving the drinks, all fixed their gazes on Jeong Yushin.

“I don’t know what I did that was so great.”

Jeong Yushin scratched his head and replied.

One of the Huntsmen Clan members thumped his chest, as if frustrated.

“I went home yesterday and lay down in bed, but I was so curious that I couldn’t close my eyes! How did you live?!”

Most people nodded in agreement.

“That’s right! You should have died, but you appeared unscathed and cut off Count Pari’s head?! Does that even make sense?!”

“You have to tell us how you survived alone without going crazy from mania!”

“What’s with that ghoul? Why did you take it with you?!”

The Huntsmen Clan members clamored and asked various questions.

The people in the tavern looked at Jeong Yushin with interested eyes.

Like children who wanted to hear a great adventure story.

‘I don’t know why they’re so interested in what’s supposedly a great story.’

Jeong Yushin tilted his glass, took a sip of beer, and leaned back in his chair.

“You want me to tell you?”

“”Quickly!!!””

The people shouted in unison.

Jeong Yushin chuckled and slowly opened his mouth.

“So, let’s see. Where should I start? After I passed through the red portal on the 10th floor…”

Jeong Yushin began to speak calmly.

The tavern immediately became quiet.

The sound of the lute stopped, and even the sound of breathing was absent.

The people who had finished exploring were chatting and gathering into the tavern one by one, but they read the atmosphere and quietly sat down.

Jeong Yushin continued his story in a calm and low voice.

The struggle with the ghoul horde.

Breaking through the swampy area thickly covered with red fog, exhausted.

Finding a rest area by good fortune and meeting a labyrinth wanderer.

Figuring out the ‘loneliness’ that was the law of the swampy area.

Leaving again to join Mix’s party.

Wandering through the swampy area again with Ghoul Johnson.

Obtaining a magic sword and joining the Huntsmen Clan members.

As the story continued, people’s mouths gradually widened.

“…!”

It was unbelievably miserable.

It was a story that made you doubt whether it was something a person could experience.

Wouldn’t an old heroic tale be much more realistic?

But the worries and emotions contained within it added truthfulness to Jeong Yushin’s story.

Unknowingly, Jeong Yushin’s handsome face also contributed to the credibility of the story.

“…When I picked up the magic sword, a loud noise erupted nearby. Johnson and I ran to where the loud noise came from. That’s when I met the Huntsmen Clan members. The rest is as the Huntsmen Clan members told it, I fought the fly monster. Ah! I didn’t cut off its head. I stabbed the sword into the crown of its head.”

“…”

When Jeong Yushin’s story ended, silence descended on the tavern.

It was a terribly harrowing tale that made your spine tingle.

“…Crazy.”

Someone muttered.

“He took a monster with him to break the ‘law’ of the swampy area? Hooo.”

“…It’s an innovative idea. I think various attempts will come out in the future.”

“Who would have that kind of guts? It’s only possible because it’s that man.”

“Tsk. There’s a problem with the Bracelet of Binding? What kind of combination will come out?”

“The trust in combinations has been falling lately. It seems like the factional strife is getting worse and worse.”

Various stories quietly went back and forth.

Someone asked Jeong Yushin.

“Scar, how did the ghoul listen to you? I don’t understand.”

Jeong Yushin took out his fist.

“You can ‘educate’ them until they listen obediently.”

“…”

The explorers stared blankly at Jeong Yushin’s fist.

Did he put that fist in?

Did he hit him?

They didn’t have a clue, but no one had the courage to ask.

Someone let out an awkward laugh.

“Ah…! I thought he was taking it with him to use its hole. Ahaha!!! Cough!!! The head?! The darkness of the labyrinth?!”

“…Actually, I thought so too. But how could a warrior like Scar commit such an act?!”

“That’s right, and he’s a really great friend. His idea and guts are on another level!”

The explorers began to open their mouths and chatter one by one.

The quiet inn was filled with heat again.

The tone of the lute became even more cheerful.

The drunken Mix and Pete brothers ran up and put their arms around Jeong Yushin’s shoulders.

“Sex!!! I knew it!!!”

“Sh…shit!!!”

They seemed to be quite moved by the fact that the half-blood Barbaroi had wandered through the swampy area to find them.

Jeong Yushin, who was drunk, also laughed.

Amidst the laughter, chatter, and clinking of glasses.

He realized why they gathered together to drink.

Sharing a drink was an act of washing away the sticky evil of the labyrinth by pouring out the stories that had accumulated in their hearts.

At least, that’s how it was in this city.

Jeong Yushin tilted his beer glass.

He used to live in a world where he was frustrated by sharing his miserable experiences. Criticism, ridicule, and contempt were a bonus.

But this place was different.

His story became nourishment, a stepping stone, and even comfort for some people.

That fact.

Was more precious and welcome to Jeong Yushin than gold and jewels.

“Puhaha!!! I’m paying for everything today!!!!!!”

Jeong Yushin, whose face was flushed, raised his empty glass high and shouted.

“Waaaaaaaah!!! Scar is the best!!!”

The people in the tavern cheered in response.

It was an autumn night.