Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Chapter 1 - Floor 1 #10
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[Chapter 1 - Floor 1 #10]
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The Great Labyrinth that had swallowed half the world was vast.
On the first floor of that Great Labyrinth.
Lucille wasn't the only angel who had urgently escaped from the Hall of Radiance.
The angel Aurael opened her eyes.
She snapped fully awake in an instant and jumped to her feet, quickly scanning her surroundings.
It was a narrow, dark space.
Cold wind blew in through an open window, and a campfire barely shielded from the draft flickered pathetically.
Likely inside a building— one that resembled a tower.
"Are you awake?"
The voice came from below.
Aurael exhaled raggedly and looked down. There sat a golden-haired angel crouched by the campfire.
Exhaustion was etched into every part of her face, but the eyes nestled between her refined features gleamed sharply as always.
The angel Raguel.
Aurael's peer.
Seeing her calm face instantly soothed Aurael's nerves. Aurael glanced around once more before plopping down onto the floor.
"More or less..."
She murmured softly, then closed her eyes against the throbbing headache that felt like it was splitting her skull.
Memories flooded back.
The fierce battle against the horde that had raided the Hall of Radiance.
She and her comrades had no choice but to abandon headquarters and flee into the Great Labyrinth.
She had lost consciousness right after arriving in the Great Labyrinth.
Raguel must have carried her out.
Aurael opened her eyes again. Raguel was still calmly adding dry branches to the campfire.
Rolling her eyes around, Aurael spotted a young angel curled up asleep on the floor.
Eizel.
The youngest in the branch, even younger than Lucille.
"Where are the others?"
"We're all that's left here."
Raguel replied softly, closing her eyes. A brief sigh escaped her lips, and her face bore not just fatigue, but an unmistakable sorrow and anguish she couldn't hide.
Aurael bit her lip. She didn't want to burden her weary peer further, but the name that surfaced in her mind slipped out anyway.
"And Lucille?"
She hadn't escaped with them.
Of course she wasn't here.
Raguel let out another long breath before meeting Aurael's gaze directly.
"She seems to have escaped successfully. But... we don't know where she is now, or if she's safe."
Aurael had always cherished Lucille like a little sister.
Aurael bit her lip again.
She felt relief at the news of the successful escape, but what came after weighed heavily on her heart.
Lucille, alone somewhere in the Great Labyrinth.
How terrified must that innocent young girl be right now?
No, was she even alive?
"Eat. Don't waste energy on useless thoughts."
Raguel handed over a small box from across the campfire. It was packed full of hard, dried stick-shaped emergency rations.
"It's the emergency food we managed to grab. I've already divided it equally. That's your share."
Aurael took the box.
As a combat angel, she knew well the importance of food.
To fight, she needed strength. And to maintain strength, she had to eat.
Aurael put one ration in her mouth.
It was bland and tasteless, but she forced herself to chew and swallow.
Her empty stomach demanded more.
"Lucille... must be starving, huh?"
"Probably... She basically escaped empty-handed. Her inventory's likely empty too."
Raguel answered quietly, staring back at the fire.
Aurael gazed at Raguel, then turned to the fire herself.
Her mind filled with images of Lucille trembling from fear, cold, and hunger.
'I'm sorry, so sorry, Lucille.'
Please forgive your big sister who can't do anything for you.
Aurael chewed another ration.
It was bitter, but she kept eating.
Lucille didn't even have this.
She was probably clutching her hungry belly, shivering in the cold, and crying.
'Lucille.'
Aurael's eyes reddened.
&
"Burp."
Oh dear.
Lucille covered her mouth in a rush, her face flushing red from the unexpected burp.
Cheon-ho naturally pretended not to notice.
It was manners his father had taught him.
Lucille gave a small smile at his consideration, gently rubbing her slightly bloated belly.
"Haa, I really can't eat any more. I'm so full."
It had been delicious and plentiful.
'I'm sleepy.'
Warm and full, drowsiness naturally crept in.
Cheon-ho chuckled softly.
"Glad to hear you're satisfied."
"I am, really satisfied. Thank you so much for preparing such a delicious meal."
Lucille bowed her head deeply once more, then beamed brightly again.
And in that moment, Cheon-ho once again realized his father was right.
'Son, there's actually one more reason I obsess over food.'
'What is it?'
'Watching you and your mom eat deliciously and happily fills my heart... Why the hell are you making that face?'
He had scowled back then, but now he understood.
Cooking something, then seeing people eat it happily—their faces lit up with joy.
It was truly rewarding.
He felt less like a hero and more like a chef, but whatever.
Cheon-ho glanced at the grill pan and pot.
"Alright, time to clean up... and do some nighttime work."
"Nighttime work?"
"Yeah, something necessary before bed."
"Got it. I'll help as much as I can."
The old anxiety at the word "work" was gone from Lucille.
Every time Cheon-ho worked, their quality of life improved anyway!
Seeing her enthusiasm, Cheon-ho smiled faintly.
"First, could you handle the dishes? I'll start on the work."
"Yes, Hero!"
And so the work began.
Cheon-ho first stopped Lucille from just scrubbing with cold water, then boiled more water in the pot.
Without proper detergent, hot water was the best way to cut through the grease right now.
'Her hands would get chapped too.'
He hadn't made rubber gloves yet.
'The pot really is the best.'
Good for cooking and boiling water.
Paying silent respects once more to the heroic ancestors, Cheon-ho truly got to work.
Sewing, specifically.
Cheon-ho first laid out the robes worn by the Plague God's priests.
They had already been purified by Lucille's magic, so they were surprisingly clean for rat-worn clothes.
'First, cut them up.'
He didn't need rat clothes—he needed leather and fabric.
Cheon-ho sliced through the cloth decisively, then began sewing the robes with skillful stitches.
[ Sewing Lv4 has been reached. ]
What he aimed to make was a blanket.
Not for covering, but for laying down.
When sleeping outdoors, padding the ground was crucial. It blocked the chill rising from the floor.
Finishing the sewing swiftly, Cheon-ho strung up wire along the wall and hung the giant rat hides on it. He planned to dry them with the campfire's heat and smoke.
'I want to remove the fur too, but this will do for now.'
He had plenty of dry branches gathered on the way—enough to burn all night.
Cheon-ho cracked open the blocked window slightly to vent the smoke, then eyed the wooden stairs and the half-collapsed second floor visible straight from the first.
'Better to sleep on the second floor.'
Climb up, smash the stairs, and no one could reach them at night.
Skeletons didn't seem able to jump, after all.
"Hero, all done."
Just then, Lucille presented the spotless grill pan and pot.
She had scrubbed them thoroughly—impressively clean without any detergent.
"Good work. Now, a quick wash before bed... and upstairs we go."
After explaining the second-floor sleep plan, Cheon-ho went up with Lucille and smashed the stairs with his wrecking hammer.
"Lucille, no alarm magic? Something to alert us if anyone approaches."
"I do. And I've already set it up."
Lucille smiled triumphantly. She was no fool.
'Good.'
With an alarm spell and sleeping on the second floor, they wouldn't need exhausting watches.
Just the two of them—standing watch would drain them terribly.
With unknown journeys ahead, they couldn't waste stamina needlessly.
Eat when you can, rest when you can.
That was the mindset of a dungeon-exploring adventurer.
"Alright, let's get ready for bed."
"Yes, Hero."
While Lucille set the alarm spell around them, Cheon-ho laid out the robe blanket on the floor, then lit a new campfire between two layers.
Seeing this, Lucille blinked and asked.
"Cheon-ho, you're sleeping separately?"
"Hm?"
"Sleep with me. I'll do something nice for you."
"Huh?!"
For the first time since meeting Lucille, Cheon-ho showed open fluster.
But he couldn't help it.
Sleep together.
And something nice.
Dangerous words that sent the brain of a soon-to-graduate high school senior boy— a male one—into overdrive.
But Lucille, the one in question, smiled innocently.
"My wings. Covering up with them is so warm. We can't have you catching a cold, right?"
She flapped them lightly— they did look warm.
"R-Right."
Of course, right?
Just sharing a blanket to sleep, yeah?
'No, sharing one blanket to sleep!'
The 19-year-old male Park Cheon-ho's brain revved up again.
But it was pointless.
Lucille gathered the blankets into one pile, lay down first.
"Hero, come here."
"Mm."
Half-reclining, she lifted one wing invitingly with a gentle smile.
And Cheon-ho thought.
As always, his father's words.
'Son, do you know the most important virtue of a hero?'
'Courage?'
'No, courage is basic. The most important is endurance. The endurance to overcome extreme pain, anguish, torment!'
Cheon-ho lay down beside Lucille in a rigid at-attention pose. Lucille curled up next to him and spread her wing over both of them.
"Mm."
It was indeed warm.
Cozy and pleasant.
"Good night, Hero..."
Lucille's voice trailed off as she lay down— asleep instantly. Her steady breathing soon confirmed it.
"Mm."
But Cheon-ho couldn't sleep. He couldn't.
'Turn even torment into your power, son!'
Even unheard paternal wisdom echoed in his head.
Torment.
Endurance.
Steady breathing.
Lucille's nice scent.
The rhythmic thump of her heartbeat.
Cheon-ho strained not to look beside him.
He squeezed his eyes shut, took deep breaths, then circulated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Torment itself becomes power.
Father was right again.
Cheon-ho circulated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art all night.
&
[Heavenly Demon Divine Art Lv2 has been reached.]
[Patience Lv3 has been reached.]
[Chapter 1 - Floor 1 #10] End