Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Investment
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As the sun dipped below the horizon and night fell, darkness blanketed the streets of Labyrinth in an instant.
With no streetlights in this world, pitch-black gloom settled over the roads, and only faint lanterns hung in front of a few shops open late at night, scattering dim light here and there.
Thick shadows seeped into Ian and Rin's bedroom as well. A small lamp flickering on the table was the only thing casting a hazy glow over the room.
Members of the same mercenary corps staying at the same inn.
Party members sharing the same room...
Thinking about it, it was only natural.
Ian and Rin's eyes met by chance with that thought, and they both quickly looked away.
"Uh... Leader, which bed do you want?"
"...I'll take this one."
"Then I'll take this side."
The cramped room had two beds squeezed in, leaving only a narrow path between them.
There wasn't much point in choosing, but Rin plopped down on her assigned bed after deciding.
Rin fiddled with the cheap canvas sheet on the creaky wooden bed, looking around the room with a touch of curiosity.
"Still, a double room is pretty spacious."
"...You think so?"
"Yeah. Compared to the dorms..."
Ian tilted his head at the tight space that barely allowed room to stand aside from sleeping, but Rin wasn't just being polite.
The dorms Rin had stayed in before were like warehouses strewn with blankets, where she'd huddle with strangers just to sleep.
There were no fixed numbers for the rooms— they'd cram in anyone if there was space, and come morning, everyone got roused and kicked out.
To Rin, used to that, a double room with individual beds felt plenty luxurious.
"I've never tried the dorms, so I wouldn't know."
"Huh? Then where have you been staying all this time, Leader?"
Rin tilted her head curiously.
While job-hunting as a mercenary and picking up odd jobs, Rin had scouted all sorts of cheap lodging options, but the dorms had always been the most efficient.
She hadn't been in the city long, but even by her standards, finding something better at that price seemed impossible.
"Renting double rooms and sleeping alone."
"......"
Ian, oblivious to such places, had assumed inns were the natural spot for sleep—like in the game—and rented rooms solo.
Rin, who had tried to play the part of an experienced mercenary, gave Ian a strange look for not knowing about the standard traveler spots.
His command skills were sharp, too.
...Was he nobility, maybe?
If a noble was slumming it as a mercenary, maybe he'd been exiled from his family...
Or worse, fled treason charges—what if she got tangled up in that?
A flurry of thoughts raced through Rin's mind.
Rin fell silent, lost in speculation about Ian's background, so Ian—assuming she was sleepy—glanced at the time and spoke up.
"Getting late. Should we turn in?"
Rin snapped her head up, caught mid-thought. Their eyes met awkwardly from their respective beds.
"Y-you go ahead. I have stuff to do..."
"...Alright. Don't stay up too late. Work starts tomorrow."
As Rin stammered an excuse, Ian nodded without comment and lay down first.
Rin stared intently at Ian's back as he turned away, then tilted her head to check if he was really asleep.
"......Whew."
What am I even doing?
Rin let out a quiet sigh too soft to hear and slowly sat up.
She'd made up an excuse about things to do, but had nothing real lined up—and leaving the lamp burning felt wasteful—so she reached out and extinguished it.
The room's sole light vanished, plunging the bedroom into total darkness.
As Rin lay on her bed and closed her eyes, the quiet room amplified small sounds she'd ignored before.
Noisy murmurs and voices leaked faintly through the cheap inn walls.
Ian's soft breathing from right beside her.
And Rin's own heartbeat thundering loudly.
Haa...
Rin, inwardly tense, exhaled silently.
'He doesn't seem like a weirdo.'
Sleeping in the dorms had been tense for Rin too.
Strangers everywhere, constant rumors of pickpockets.
Hiding her wallet inside her clothes every night and staying vigilant was exhausting.
This double room was comfier by far, but sharing with a man alone brought a whole different kind of tension.
With today's unexpected goblin bounty, she could've paid for her own room if she really wanted.
But shelling out for lodging she didn't have to? No way she was wasting coin like that.
Same corps either way.
They'd be together long-term—couldn't keep paying separate rooms forever.
...And he didn't seem untrustworthy enough for that.
Worn out from her first real battle's fatigue and nerves, Rin drifted off faster than expected.
The next dawn.
Shops opened before sunrise, lights flickering on as Labyrinth's day began.
Mercenaries filled the streets one by one, and vendors started business at first light.
Mercenaries finished prepping before dawn to exit the gates at daybreak, maximizing daylight.
The guild district especially buzzed with early risers grabbing quests first, nearby shops opening pre-sunrise too.
Some only opened mornings and shut early afternoon, so shopping meant heading out early.
"This one, and two more of those."
"B-but isn't that the same as what you just bought?"
Rin, trailing Ian with a basket, stared at the orb he'd picked and spoke in confusion.
Ian held up two orbs like she was missing something.
"No. This reduces defense. That reduces armor."
"Th-they look the same...?"
"Haa..."
Rin shrank under Ian's cold gaze, falling silent and following quietly.
"Right away! It's rare to see a customer distinguish them so expertly—you've got a real eye for quality!"
The shopkeeper beamed, glued to Ian's side as he scooped up goods.
With the basket's contents' price tag, it was understandable.
"Oh, Rin. Grab that one over there."
"Th-this one's really the same, right?"
"The last reduced evasion. This reduces evasion rate correction."
"......"
Rin reached for the orb with mild annoyance, then gasped at the price tag and swallowed hard.
She lowered it into the basket with exaggerated care to avoid damage.
"Thank you so much!"
Rin, hearing unprecedented gratitude from a shopkeeper, left the store.
Her hands overflowed with potions and magic items after shopping the district.
"Think we've got the essentials."
Is this guy really reliable...?
Rin eyed Ian dubiously, basket full of consumables whose uses baffled her.
The goblin bounty yesterday was windfall money, but today's spending dwarfed it.
He must've emptied his savings.
"Um, Leader... Is it okay to spend like this?"
No experience running a corps, but surely operating funds needed cushioning?
Rin asked cautiously.
"It's fine. Still got margin."
E-rank standards made it hefty, but the game's starting cash was generous—Ian had plenty left.
System-wise, unpaid mercs deserted instantly, disbanding the corps and soft-locking the game.
Likely to prevent noobs hitting that early, it gave ample starter funds.
Of course, vets like Ian hated idle cash.
They invested everything in growth from the jump—like now.
Ian was conservative; some players blew it all on top-tier swords for mercs right away.
"Necessary stuff anyway. Just investing early."
"Don't most people skip this stuff?"
Rin glanced at her basket's haul.
Potions that boosted physical stats temporarily when drunk.
Orbs that, when smashed, triggered embedded magic—letting non-mages use spells.
Too pricey to ogle lest the owner suspect theft, she'd only sneaked peeks while passing.
Who even used these?
This guy.
"Don't worry. We'll earn this back quick."
Is he really from nobility...?
He'd seemed dependable yesterday, but this money sense worried her—they might end up debt-ridden fugitives soon.