Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Five Members
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* * *
[We have five members now.]
[Initiating first transfer.]
[First transfer members: Park Cheon-ho, Mitra, Lucille, Ember, Demonic Sapling]
Cheon-ho blinked.
Lucille blinked too.
And both of them shrank back almost at the same time.
"H-Hero?!"
Lucille's bewildered voice was so small and frail. No, it wasn't actually that quiet, but it sounded that way drowned out by the surrounding noise.
A blizzard was raging.
It wasn't just snow falling from the sky. It was a fierce blizzard that made it hard to see ahead.
Lucille, dressed in thin clothes, shivered as the sudden cold assailed her.
The ground was blanketed in deep snow. Only about ten seconds had passed since the transfer, but Lucille's pink hair was already covered in white flakes. Her nose and cheeks had turned red in an instant, as if any more delay would cause frostbite somewhere.
"Mitra!"
Cheon-ho hurriedly drew Mitra. Mitra unleashed a powerful gust of hot wind, driving back the cold and snow, but it wasn't enough. They needed to move to an indoor space, not outdoors.
[There's a cave!]
The moment Mitra shouted, Cheon-ho spotted it too. In the distance was a massive wall that could only be called a cliff—its height impossible to gauge—and a large cave entrance.
"Lucille! Just a bit more!"
"Yes!"
They were right next to each other, but they had to shout to communicate. Cheon-ho wrapped one arm around the staggering Lucille's waist and pushed forward through the blizzard.
"Huff."
"Hah."
After advancing about 50 meters, Cheon-ho and Lucille finally reached the cave and exhaled almost simultaneously.
It wasn't suddenly warm inside the cave, but it was still better than facing the blizzard bare-skinned outside.
"Let's put up a wall first."
"Ah, yes."
Lucille barely managed to reply as she opened her inventory and began pulling out bookshelves. Cheon-ho glanced toward the back of the cave.
The cave was enormous. The ceiling was about 10 meters high, and the width seemed similar.
Light was visible in the distance, suggesting it was a relatively straight tunnel.
[No visible monsters for now.]
It was a straight tunnel, and the other end was visible, so there didn't seem to be any large monsters that would stand out.
Of course, that didn't mean they could let their guard down, but escaping the cold was the top priority.
"Hero."
Lucille, having set up four bookshelves—two on each side—curled up inside them and spoke.
Cheon-ho pulled out the tent cloth they'd procured from the 3rd floor with Lucille and draped it over the top of the bookshelves. It was the same method they'd used for the tent in the 2nd floor desert.
"Haa."
Lucille let her shoulders slump as if she could finally breathe, exhaling. Just adding a roof with the cloth made it feel so much better.
"Hang on a sec."
Cheon-ho stepped out of the tent to seal any gaps against the wind, then returned inside and raised Mitra.
"Mitra, please."
[Got it.]
A hot wind filled the tent.
Cheon-ho didn't stop there and pulled out a pot.
"Mitra, please."
[Hmm, alright.]
Given the situation. Besides, Mitra had become quite proactive lately about helping Cheon-ho.
Without a word, Mitra read Cheon-ho's intent the moment she saw the pot. She filled it with water far hotter than bathwater.
Cheon-ho crumbled chocolate from the Floren Kingdom into it. Because the water was so hot, it melted into the liquid with just a quick stir.
"Here, this'll warm you up inside."
"Thank you, Hero. Thank you too, Lady Mitra."
Lucille swallowed hard as she replied, taking the cup Cheon-ho offered. The wooden cup was warm.
"Haa..."
Now she really felt alive.
Her stiff fingers had softened again.
Cheon-ho, having drunk the same chocolate-melted water to warm his insides, finally asked his belated question.
"But what happened?"
"Uh... It said we had five members, right? Definitely."
[That's right. A light window like that definitely appeared.]
They now had all five members.
Honestly, he'd expected Mitra. But Ember and the Demonic Sapling?
"It makes sense, I suppose."
Ember and the Demonic Sapling couldn't fit into Lucille's inventory.
As they'd discussed when they first met, Lucille's inventory couldn't hold living creatures.
Even now, with her inventory level raised thanks to Cheon-ho, the capacity had increased, but the restriction on living beings remained unchanged.
So Ember and the Demonic Sapling always rode in Cheon-ho or Lucille's pouches.
Cheon-ho first opened the leather pouch at his waist and pulled out Ember.
The flame smaller than a fist looked drowsy, like someone just woken from sleep.
Kui kui.
It seemed to say it was sleepy, so don't wake it.
Cheon-ho placed the Ember under the pot to heat the water, then looked toward Lucille.
Lucille pulled a small flowerpot from the leather pouch at her waist.
"Demot Demot."
Just yesterday it had been a mere sprout, but today it looked more like a tree—or at least branches.
The round head at the end of the thin stem even had a mouth, allowing it to softly say its own name.
"We... are five members now, right?"
"Uh... Yeah. By Great Labyrinth standards, monsters, humans, spirits... they're all the same."
Strictly speaking, Ember was a spirit and the Demonic Sapling a monster, but as Lucille said, the Great Labyrinth didn't make much distinction.
"I'm worried about the others."
He'd thought about going just with Lucille, but that was just a passing fancy.
[Good thing we pulled out supplies in advance.]
While Eizel and the others argued over who would go with Cheon-ho, Lucille had preemptively taken supplies out of her inventory.
Since each group needed to carry their own anyway, pulling them out early had felt natural—and it turned out to be a godsend.
"This snowfield zone... how big is it?"
At Cheon-ho's question, Lucille pondered briefly before shaking her head.
"It said it's close to the layer, but since it's a connector, it shouldn't be too long."
"That's a relief at least."
If it was just a few days, the rest of the group could manage somehow.
With supplies and all.
After this exchange, both Cheon-ho and Lucille felt their tension ease all at once.
They slumped almost simultaneously and shared a small smile upon seeing each other.
Lucille's cheeks flushed a bit too.
"Um, Hero."
"Yes, Lucille."
"It's been a while, huh. Reminds me of the 1st floor."
Back on the 1st floor, it had just been the two of them traveling.
"Yeah."
Cheon-ho replied, and Lucille averted her gaze anew. Her cheeks flushed even more.
It felt good being alone with Cheon-ho, but also embarrassing.
"Hm."
Cheon-ho maintained his poker face as he thought.
'C-Cute.'
She was cute. No, adorable.
Even without any purification magic, it felt like pink light was emanating from Lucille's body here and there.
[O Hero.]
[I am here too. I am here.]
[Ember and Demonic Sapling too.]
[Not just the two of you. Not just the two.]
Mitra spoke in an oddly stiff tone, and Cheon-ho nodded perfunctorily.
* * *
A fierce blizzard raged.
The biting cold assailed mercilessly.
In a rocky crevice barely qualifying as a cave that they'd somehow found.
Eizel squatted with hollow eyes, staring at a small campfire, her mind blank.
And Raguel, huddled right beside her, wasn't much different.
Cold, hungry, sleepy.
The small fire's heat was too weak, and their only food—jerky—was frozen solid like rocks. Even melted over the fire, it was hard to chew and swallow.
"Both of you, snap out of it."
Aurael, with the most stamina left, looked after Eizel and Raguel. Actually, there were two more she needed to tend to: Rock Dwarf Sara and Dudi.
The two Rock Dwarves seemed somewhat resistant to the cold, but they too huddled with hollow eyes.
The blankets from the 4th floor had all been used to block the crevice, leaving nothing to cover up with. They could only huddle close and share body heat.
One day in the snowfield zone.
In just one day, the group had been worn down to exhaustion.
"Lucille..."
Eizel murmured weakly.
"Lucille's probably... eating well, sleeping well... living it up, right?"
They used to worry a lot about Lucille before. But not anymore.
It had been a long time since they'd learned the truth.
Since they'd tasted the sweet truth.
"Baths..."
Raguel muttered softly.
Out there a blizzard raged, but she was probably bathing in warm water right now. Maybe even enjoying an open-air bath.
"Warm meals..."
Sara said quietly.
Not grilling tough jerky over a campfire, but proper cooking. Maybe even a full course meal.
"Bedding..."
Eizel murmured again.
Not crammed into a rocky crevice, but a proper tent. Perfectly heated.
Sprawled comfortably in a wide space.
Maybe with the Hero?
Eizel let out a sly chuckle at the end, but her eyes quickly turned hollow and fierce again.
"Not fair..."
Strictly speaking, it wasn't unfair.
Lucille was truly kind and a good senior.
Aurael let out a long breath. She spoke in a weary voice.
"She'll be fine... but she'll be worrying about us. Probably can't rest properly because of it."
"Really?"
"Y-Yeah?"
"Aurael."
"Yes, Raguel."
"When we meet, let's just beat her up a bit."
"I'm pinching her."
"Y-Yeah."
Sara and Dudi nodded along to the angels' conversation.
They felt the same way.
'Lucille...'
Aurael pictured Lucille's face.
Yeah, she was surely living comfortably, just as Eizel said. But Lucille was a really kind girl. She must be worrying a lot about the others right now.
'Right, Lucille?'
Aurael gazed at the campfire with warm eyes.
* * *
"Burp."
Lucille burped unwittingly and hurriedly looked around, but fortunately, she was alone.
Atop a small mountain peak that could pass for a local hillside.
Soaking in the hot holy water filling the bookshelf bath, Lucille gazed into the distance. The scenery visible through the small ventilation window in the tent was beautiful.
And the perfect temperature.
The water inside was warm, and outside blended cool air from the window with steam for just the right feel.
Thanks to Ember, the water temperature stayed consistently warm.
Lucille set her bowl down on the tray floating on the water. The special udon Cheon-ho had made had filled it, but now it was empty.
Chewy noodles and a sweet, deep broth.
The coolness outside the bath seemed to enhance the udon's flavor even more.
Full and warm, drowsiness crept in.
Lucille leaned against the backrest installed in the bookshelf bath and lightly touched her belly and thighs.
She seemed a tiny bit plumper.
Was it okay to live this luxuriously?
'Aurael sis...'
Eizel, Raguel senior, and everyone.
You're all doing okay, right?
I believe in you all.
Hang in there.
May the five goddesses bless you.
Lucille prayed brightly, then instinctively closed her eyes.
She fell asleep quietly, lulled by the warmth.
And at the same time, beyond the bath partition.
Cheon-ho was drawing a map on the floor. Not just their path so far, but one including the route ahead based on observations from the mountain peak.
As an angel, Lucille could instinctively sense the stairs—or rather, the direction of the opposite transfer circle, just like before.
There were no major obstacles on the path ahead, so they could just head straight.
But right then.
Mitra, who had been filling the tent with warm air, let out a low groan.
The map Cheon-ho was drawing felt strangely familiar.
Where had she seen it?
No, when had she passed through this area?
The Great Labyrinth contained fragments of the eroded Labyrinth World scattered throughout.
Having traveled the world with the first Hero Leonhardt, it wasn't odd for familiar terrain to appear.
But it wasn't just familiar terrain.
Something more.
Mitra delved into her memories.
Not just the map, but everything she'd seen and felt over the past day traversing the snowfield zone.
And at one point.
Like an awakening, a single memory surfaced.