Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: I Don't Dislike Him.
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She ran away from home?
It felt like I’d been hit in the head with a hammer.
“Thankfully, you know her. Well then, I have some business to attend to, so I'll be on my way.”
That guy Luke beat a hasty retreat.
“Hyeon-ung, is something wrong… Who is she?”
“Mister?”
Of all times, Hanna and Rina, who had been in their room, peeked out from behind me and asked.
“Ungie? You’re living with women? Two of them, at that?”
How did the situation suddenly get like this?
A situation had just been created that could get seriously complicated if I wasn’t careful.
“Living together? These are my companions. And it’s not just women. Alpen?”
“Did you call?”
“So there’s a man, too. He’s cute. Actually, I heard from Dad. He said you could summon your companions outside, Ungie.”
The way she was grinning as she replied, it seemed she already knew and was just teasing me on purpose.
“As expected of you, Ungie. Always so calm.”
“Ungie?”
“Why is this girl calling you Ungie, Mister?”
“Ah… no, it’s just a nickname.”
I was a bit dizzy, but I figured it would be best to talk inside, so I brought the Chairman's daughter in.
I introduced her to my companions as the Chairman's daughter and had them formally greet her as well.
“You’re all so beautiful. You’re a lucky man, Ungie.”
“Beautiful? I'll give you Hanna, but Rina… Oof!”
It was obviously a joke, but that girl Rina suddenly pinched my side.
“You all seem so close. I’m jealou… Oh? What are these? They’re so cute!”
It seemed she had just noticed Goldragon and Nix.
“They’re my pets. This is Goldragon, and that one is a phoenix.”
She asked if she could touch them, so I nodded. I gestured to Goldragon and Nix on my shoulder, and they flew over to her.
“Kyuing!”
“Ack!”
Maybe because I hadn’t fed him today, that little guy Goldragon bit her finger.
Of course, realizing she had no money, he immediately let go and flew back to me.
“Does he always bite?”
“Only because I haven't fed him today. More importantly, what's this about running away from home?”
When I brought up the topic of running away again, the young lady frowned.
“You know why, Ungie. Dad told me not to go into the Labyrinth.”
I had a feeling, but I see that’s how it was decided...
“From your father's perspective, he's just worried about you, so you should try to understand.”
It was a bit of a shame for me too, but objectively speaking, it would be much better for me to go alone than with her.
“Do you also not want me to go into the Labyrinth, Ungie?”
“Yes.”
I answered immediately, without a hint of hesitation.
“Why?”
Most people were desperate *not* to go. I guess it was because she hadn't received the basic training.
“Because the Labyrinth environment itself is dangerous. No matter how skilled you are, unfortunate accidents can happen. This place isn't the modern world, Miss.”
“But I heard people my age all go into the Labyrinth. Even kids younger than me go, so why can’t I...”
*Because you’re the daughter of a guild master, obviously.*
It seemed I needed to be a little more realistic with her.
“Miss, killing monsters is not an easy task.”
“I’ve played a lot of Elsia. If I just do it like in the game...”
“This place is very different from the game. And while it’s not common, if you’re attacked, you might have to kill another person. Could you do that?”
She must have been quite shocked, as her expression darkened rapidly.
“There are no police here. Well, the lord’s soldiers maintain public order in a similar fashion, but they aren’t in the Labyrinth either.”
From the moment we were summoned here, Elsia was no longer a game where you could laugh and have fun hunting and leveling up.
“...It’s not like I’d be going alone. Wouldn’t it be okay if I went with Dad?”
“The main party your father belongs to primarily operates on floors 40 and above, which are quite high. If he has to step away to take care of you, it could lead to dangerous situations.”
His class isn’t a frontline fighter, but his absence would affect all the guild members.
Of course, the Golden Lion Guild wasn't stupid. If he wasn't there, they'd probably hunt on a floor or two lower.
But that kind of action went against the Golden Lion Guild’s principles.
Among the guild coalition, they had the strongest desire to return home, which was why the Golden Lion Guild was always pushing forward with the goal of conquering the 100th floor.
“Still...”
“For now, your father must be worried, so let’s get you back. I’ll walk you there.”
“Um... actually, I didn’t run away.”
“You didn’t?”
“I told Aunt Seol-hwa I was coming. That I was going to visit you, Ungie. She’s the one who told me where you live.”
That was a relief, but...
*So Seol-hwa sold me out...*
“Ungie, can’t you hang out with me today?”
I was fine with it, but since I wasn’t alone, I looked at my companions.
“I’m okay with it.”
“Me too.”
“Kyuing!”
“Ppoyo!”
Hanna, Alpen, Goldragon, and Nix were all for it, but Rina looked slightly displeased.
“You don’t want to, Rina?”
“No. Well, you said she helped you a lot in the past, Mister. I’m fine with it too.”
Her expression said she wasn't fine with it at all...
*Well, she’s probably just feeling awkward.*
*Maybe she’ll warm up once we hang out together?*
“Alright. Then shall we go on an outing later?”
****
After quickly washing up and eating breakfast, we all left Kabisa together.
Our destination for the day was a lakeside park near the reservoir, north of Kramis.
I’d been there once before with Timi, Milli, and Elaine, but we’d only been visiting the outskirts lately and hadn’t come to this spot within Kramis itself.
It was a bit of a walk from Kabisa, taking us nearly thirty minutes to arrive.
“Wow! There’s a place like this in Kramis? I don’t think I ever saw it in the game.”
“It’s nice.”
“Oh, there are fish here, too.”
Hanna and Alpen seemed to like it.
“It’s not as good as the ocean we went to last time.”
Rina didn’t seem too impressed.
*Well, you can’t really compare an ocean to a lake.*
“The ocean, Ungie? I didn’t think there was an ocean in Kramis.”
“There’s an ocean in the Labyrinth.”
Rina tilted her head, looking like she was about to say something else, but I subtly fell back and gave her a look.
There was no point in letting her know we could leave Kramis, especially since she couldn’t come with us.
“There’s an ocean in the Labyrinth, too? How strange.”
“It’s teeming with monsters, so it’s not exactly a great place for sightseeing.”
We chatted amongst ourselves as we took a lap around the lakeside park.
We hadn’t walked very fast, but perhaps because their mana and stamina had disappeared, everyone looked a little tired.
“Aren’t you a little hungry? There’s a decent bakery nearby.”
“Ooh, sounds good!”
“I’m good with that.”
“Do they have strawberry cake, Mister?”
“Of course they do.”
I found the shop with ease and went inside, much to the owner’s surprise.
“Welcome... I see you’ve brought another different woman this time?”
“Were you a casanova, Ungie?”
*Casanova, my foot.*
“I came here with some other companions before. We’ll have the same cake as last time.”
We also ordered a cup of tea for each of us and found a table in a sunny spot.
“For a bakery, it’s very luxurious.”
“That’s because the owner is from a noble family.”
“I heard my mom and dad also met at a bakery.”
*That sounds plausible for Tae-soo’s generation.*
As we were chatting away, I noticed Rina’s expression looked a bit off.
“What’s wrong, Rina? Are you not feeling well?”
“No, Mister, I’ve been trying to hold it in. Hey, you. Why do you keep speaking so informally to our Mister?”
*...Informal speech?*
In our chats, I had always used formal speech while she spoke casually, so I never really paid it any mind.
“You seem much younger than him, so no matter how nice he was to you in the past, this isn’t right.”
*Turns out our Rina was a traditionalist.*
“Ah... I’ve just called him this way for a long time. If it bothers his companions and Ungie, I’ll use formal speech. I mean, I will use formal speech.”
“I don’t really mind the formal speech, but could you please stop calling me Ungie...”
It was one thing during the streams, but it's so embarrassing that I even asked Tae-soo not to use it.
“Ah, then what should I call you? Big Bro Hyeon-ung?”
*...This one is just as cringey.*
Maybe because I don’t have a younger sister, it felt strange.
Besides, I’m on ‘brother’ terms with Tae-soo, so her calling me that felt a bit wrong.
“Just calling me ‘uncle’ would be...”
“There’s only a ten-year age difference between us, Ungie. Why would I call you uncle?”
*Isn’t ten years a lot?*
*No, more importantly, she called me Ungie again...*
“Aunt Seol-hwa said that if a guy is handsome, he’s a ‘Big Bro’ even if he’s twenty years older. From now on, I’ll call you Big Bro Hyeon-ung.”
“Uh... okay.”
“You should also call me Ha-young, Big Bro. And speak casually.”
She must have felt a bit uncomfortable.
“I will.”
“What’s with that happy look, Mister?”
Rina glared at me fiercely.
*I just got complimented for being handsome, what am I supposed to do, cry?*
“No, it’s just...”
“Thank you for waiting. Here is the cake you ordered.”
Thankfully, the owner brought the cake out at the perfect time, letting me change the subject.
Seeing everyone enjoy the food so much made me feel proud.
Even Alpen and Rina, who usually don’t eat much, ate so well that I had to place an additional order.
“Why aren’t you eating, Big Bro? Ah!”
Ha-young scooped up a large piece of cake with her fork and held it out to me.
“I can get it my...”
“My arm is getting tired.”
I ended up taking the bite, only to receive piercing glares from not just Rina, but Hanna as well.
“Hyeon-ung, say ‘ah’.”
“Mister, me too. Open up!”
*I don’t even like cake that much...*
But it seemed like they’d be disappointed if I didn’t, so I accepted a bite from each of them.
Wait a minute, now Alpen was holding up his fork, looking conflicted.
“Alpen, you don’t have to.”
I had planned to look around the market in the afternoon, but as we left the bakery, a few drops of rain started to fall.
“Oh? It’s raining, Big Bro Hyeon-ung?”
*Hearing her call me ‘Big Bro’ over and over, I think I’m starting to get used to it...*
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon.”
Hearing Hanna, I looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds gathering.
It was sunny when we went into the bakery; the weather is so fickle.
“Looks like we’ll have to save the market for another time.”
With this much rain, the market stalls would be closing up anyway.
I remembered the raincoats I’d bought for my other companions and took them out of my inventory to hand out.
“Wow, you’re so prepared, Big Bro.”
“This is just basic.”
“Mister, this coat smells like that vixen Timi.”
Of all the luck, the one I gave her must have been Timi’s. She has the nose of a dog.
“So, you’d rather get soaked?”
“N... no.”
I handed out the raincoats to Ha-young, Hanna, and Rina in that order, leaving just one.
I couldn’t just leave Alpen out, so I gave him my raincoat.
“It’s mine, so it’ll be a bit big on you, but it’s better than nothing.”
“What? If you give this to me, what about you, Hyeon-ung?”
“I’ll be fine.”
I figured it would be better to show him, so I dashed out into the downpour.
“Hyeon-ung?”
“Mister, what are you doing?”
A tremendous amount of rain was pouring down, but not a single drop touched my head.
“Whoa, what is that, Big Bro?”
“Hyeon-ung?”
“When did you learn magic?”
“It’s not magic, it’s Ideation.”
I used Ideation to form a wide, rectangular plate above my head.
This would have been difficult before, but I’d trained with Bio on the 60th floor while waiting for the phoenix.
I wasn’t sure if I could maintain it all the way back to Kabisa, but I’ve been doing nothing but relaxing this break, so training like this seemed like a good idea.
“Alright then, let’s go everyone.”
Repelling the rain with Ideation, we headed back to Kabisa. But maintaining it while moving was much harder than I’d thought.
After about ten minutes, my head started to ache, and a little while later, it felt like it was splitting apart.
I could have bought a raincoat nearby, but I didn’t want to give up, so I quickened my pace and arrived at Kabisa without getting hit by a single drop.
“That was amazing, Hyeon-ung.”
“Even Bio said it wasn’t an easy technique.”
“Who is Bio?”
“Bio is another companion. A very self-centered one at that.”
“Hyeon-ung?”
Hanna shot me a prim glare.
*Such a Bio fan.*
“Sounds like a companion you don’t like very much?”
“No. I don’t dislike him.”
I wasn’t just saying that because of Hanna’s look; I meant it.
His self-centeredness and obsession with training were a bit much, but he was the first companion I met in this place.
He disappeared saying something urgent came up. I wonder if he’s doing okay.
I hope I can see him next time I go into the Labyrinth...
****
The Depths of the Sanctuary
Before a six-winged angel, a man holding a shabby wooden sword stood with an indifferent expression.
“I came because you said it was urgent, and now you want to break the contract? You’re spewing more bullshit than usual today.”
At Bio’s coarse language, the angel facing him frowned.
“I’m not saying we’ll break it immediately. This is a warning. However, if you continue to act as you have been, we cannot simply stand by...”
“On what grounds? I have never broken the contract.”
“How is freely crossing in and out of the Labyrinth not a breach of the...”
“Isn’t that also part of my ability? Weren’t you the ones who said it wouldn’t matter after the contract was signed?”
The angel shook its head at Bio, who retorted without yielding an inch.
“It seems we’re not getting through to each other, so I won’t drag this on. You would do well to be more careful in the future.”
“And I said I have no intention of doing so.”
Bio’s reply was still defiant, but the angel didn’t back down either.
“You seem to have forgotten. Unlike you, we can exert our influence outside the Labyrinth.”
To the angel’s blatant threat, Bio shrugged and replied.
“I’m well aware that you can’t use your full power outside, either.”
“Hmph. It seems you’re unaware that we, at least, are not forced to simply sit on our hands as you are.”
“Is that so? Then do as you please.”
“You think we can’t?”
The angel cried out in a venomous voice, but Bio simply shrugged with an unfazed expression and replied.
“No. It’s not you I trust, but my contractor. I didn’t raise our contractor to be weak.”