Chapter 252
Chapter 252
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 252
Chapter Title: Chapter 6-2. Labyrinth
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It wasn't until evening that he could introduce the newly joined companion Iris to Lime and Arhil. Mindful of people's gazes, the four gathered in the break room at the back of the kitchen. The moment they stepped inside, the outside noise was perfectly blocked out, which surprised Lime and Arhil a little.
But what surprised them more was the appearance of the break room itself.
It was a space that looked quite clean and comfortable for resting.
Iris walked to the table, pointed for Yuda to sit inside with her finger, and took the seat next to him. Arhil and Lime naturally sat across from them. The four-person table didn't feel cramped.
"By the way. Why is the server here…?"
Arhil seemed to have a vague idea from what Yuda had told him on the way back from the temple, but Lime, who had been cooking all day without hearing anything separately, was puzzled about why the mute server was sitting there with them.
Iris, without needing any signal from Yuda, pulled out her notepad and scribbled with her pencil.
-Pleased to meet you. I'm Iris, the hunting dog of the Shadow Kingdom, who will be working with you all^^.
She even drew a smiling face at the end of her friendly introduction.
Lime and Arhil's eyes widened as they read the words on the proffered notepad. They looked incredulous.
"I-Is that true? The... real Shadow Kingdom?"
He couldn't even bring himself to say the word "assassin." He didn't point at her rudely with his finger either. He could feel his body being cautious before his mind even registered it.
Yuda let out a small chuckle as he watched Lime like that and nodded.
"It's true. If it feels too unbelievable, you could test her out? She's skilled in trap dismantling and setup, handling hidden weapons, that sort of thing."
As he answered, Yuda glanced at her hand. Come to think of it, the crown pattern drawn on the first joint of her index finger had already changed to a hunting dog. He could faintly sense the flow of mana; it seemed the pattern was concealed with magic.
"No, no need for a test."
As if wondering what kind of rough treatment that would invite. Lime waved it off, saying it was fine.
"Nice to meet you, Iris. I'm Arhil."
Unlike Lime, who seemed somewhat fearful, Arhil smiled warmly and extended his hand, showing no concern at all that she belonged to the Shadow Kingdom.
Lime flinched when he saw Arhil offer his hand. It was hard to tell what he was so afraid of.
After shaking hands once, Arhil looked back and forth between Yuda and Iris, touched his own lips, and tilted his head.
"Looking at you like this... you really look like lovers—no, not lovers. More like family."
Realizing he might have misspoke, Arhil hurriedly corrected himself. Not lovers, but family... Yuda turned to look at Iris. She was looking back at him too.
Certainly. Though their skin tones differed, their similar hair and eye colors made them look like they could pass for siblings. By actual age, it would be younger brother and older sister.
'Now that I think about it, my age really is young.'
Yuda suddenly recalled his own age. His coming-of-age ceremony had been just a year ago. He thought he'd spent the busiest time since arriving in this world, yet only a year had passed, which left him dumbfounded.
"How old are you?"
-25.
"Wow, really? You don't look it at all..."
Arhil's face showed disbelief as he read the number on the notepad. Yuda, watching from the side, was also startled upon reading her age. She looked so youthful; he'd never have guessed twenty-five.
Fortunately, she didn't ask Yuda's age.
As they exchanged small talk, Yuda felt it was time to get to the main topic and brought up the labyrinth.
"Alright, we'll continue the chit-chat tomorrow or later. Now that Iris is our companion too, let's talk about our future plans."
"You're planning to go to the labyrinth and then to the Scorching Lands, right?"
Lime, who had been quietly listening just like Yuda while Arhil and Iris chatted, replied.
"Yes. We bought the labyrinth's location from the Shadow Kingdom."
"The labyrinth's location? Buying it means... it's a place not yet revealed to adventurers or mercenaries."
As expected. Lime.
True to a high-ranking magic engineer, he grasped the meaning immediately.
"Exactly. It's a labyrinth between the Byron Empire and the Ahman Kingdom's border region, undiscovered by adventurers so far. I'm not sure if the Empire side has pinpointed it, but at least the fact that adventurers and mercenaries aren't flocking there is reason enough to be grateful."
"Hmm. But if it's the border with the Ahman Kingdom... isn't that pretty far?"
The border city Aitram, where they currently stayed, was in the northwest of the Byron Empire. The border with the Ahman Kingdom was in the southeast, requiring them to travel diagonally across.
Moreover, within the Byron Empire, even the Magic Tower couldn't freely use spatial transfer without the Empire's permission—except for the tower lord—so the travel time could stretch from days to weeks.
"It's quite far, but we're heading to the Scorching Lands anyway, so it doesn't matter. Right?"
"Well... true."
Considering Lime had been hired for the Scorching Lands in the first place, it wasn't a big issue.
-You're going to the Scorching Lands too?
Iris, who had been listening from the side, quickly wrote on her notepad, showed it to Yuda, and offered him the pencil.
-Yes. As you heard, we're heading there after conquering the labyrinth. I'm interested because it was once the land of the Dragonians, the empire of beastkin in ancient times.
-Few know that. Impressive.
-There was a library where I grew up. The lord opened it for free, so I gained all sorts of knowledge.
Arhil watched Iris and Yuda nod in understanding, alternating between them, with a complicated, subtle expression.
"What are you talking about?"
"Ah, sorry."
Yuda apologized to Arhil's question as he handed the notepad back to Iris.
"I was talking about our schedule. Habit, I guess—I ended up replying in writing without thinking."
He let out an awkward haha laugh.
Arhil pouted and asked Iris if she could show him the writing too. Since there was nothing to hide, Iris smiled and handed over the notepad.
As Arhil read it, Yuda continued.
"Let's rest tomorrow and leave the day after for the southeast. Stopping by the Empire's capital on the way isn't a bad idea. Any objections?"
But the three just looked at each other's faces with no particular objections. Lime was already satisfied with visiting the Byron Empire's capital before the labyrinth. Iris and Arhil didn't care either way.
A brief silence fell.
"...Good. No objections, then. Rest well tomorrow. Lime, take special care of your health."
"Yes. Even without you saying, I'll sleep like a log tomorrow."
Everyone, including Yuda, let out small laughs at Lime's response. The talk ended there.
They departed for the Empire's capital, 'Ravega,' the next morning. With their luggage packed, they gathered in front of the shop and headed to the place where they'd pre-arranged a carriage rental.
It was a luxurious four-horse carriage pulled by four horses. The seats were so comfortable they didn't hurt at all, and the interior was spacious enough to stretch out without discomfort. Feeling like they were riding in a car, Yuda's group headed toward the Empire.
The journey was peaceful.
Perhaps because the country punished crime harshly, not a single bandit showed their face. When crossing mountainous areas, they encountered several knights belonging to the Empire. Clad in heavy-looking armor, they were splattered in blood.
Yuda grew wary as he watched them through the carriage window.
But the coachman didn't speed up at the sight. He just passed them by like a screen.
The knights showed no particular interest either, merely glancing once before moving on.
When asked, the coachman said they were knights dispatched by the Emperor to protect the Empire's citizens. It was a unique sight unlike anywhere else. While subjugation battles happened sporadically around castles for safety, seeing them patrol this far out was impressive.
After passing the knights, nothing notable happened. When a village appeared, they stayed the night there and departed again the next day.
The road to the Empire's capital was quite long. They passed two castles and five villages, and just as exhaustion set in from riding the carriage all day every day, they finally arrived at the capital.
Exactly 13 days after leaving the border city Aitram.